Blythe in Banff

Fred Herzog is best known for taking photographs of 'life'. One of my favourite images is the Banff Meateria taken in 1955 showing a younger, less 'sophisticated Banff. The picture below was taken from the same location - 50 years later. The building and mountain stand the same; only the streetscape has changed.

Herzog's Blythe 

Also love Herzog's many images of window shops. It reminds me of the french expression used when window shopping:  faire du lèche-vitrines  - literally, "window-licking". So delicious. Deliciously Blythe.  I'll add more pics tomorrow.

Virtual Hugs from A  Dozen Blythe

La Poupée est arrivé.

The latest addition  to our Blythe Family arrived at 3:51 pm on October 16, 2013. Weighing in at less than a pound, she is the epitome of  La Poupée with painted red lips, matte face and fancy French Dress. We're working on her French Trench Flickr Portfolio by Studio Melenka and it's progressing quite nicely. This doll is going to have a lot of stories to tell as she will be coming to Paris in the Springtime with us. Stay tuned.

Blythe Hugs from A  Dozen Blythe 

"{Not} Simply Guava" Takes a Fall

"{Not} Simply Guava" Takes a Fall

The girls and I recently discovered an imposter amongst us; Simply Guava was simply not herself - her head said one thing (2006) while her body said another (2002). Devastation hit us hard. I had my doubts from the moment Simply Guava arrived but didn't want to believe that I had been duped. Limp hanging hair, hastily sewn clothes and sloppily painted running shoes hinted at her inferior quality.

After months of denial, I consulted  Dr. Blythenstein's Scalp Line Comparison and it seemed to be okay. The scalp colours matched! Kinda. A huge sigh of relief exhaled. Almost.

Her body parts were the same colour! Another small victory!

Feeling reassured, I went further and double checked the back screw (see Dr, Blythenstein's Back Screw Comparison ) and that familiar feeling of dread began to creep back in. I think I had purchased a TBL Blythe (aka Taobao Blythe aka FAKE BLYTHE) and not an RBL (aka Real Blythe).

Her pink eye chips were awkward and they photographed poorly.

Dr, Blythenstein's Ear Comparison was the penultimate nail in the Blythe coffin. "{Not} Simply Guava" had failed this as well. The space measured the FAKE TBL 5 mm and not the authentic RBL 2 mm. Then I thought "Maybe this Dr. Blythenstein isn't always right". I grudgingly went back to My eBay to check my buying history and the feedback for the person who sold me "{Not} Simply Guava".

The coffin could now be nailed shut : all negative feedback for the seller screamed "SELLS FAKE BLYTHES!".  Great - to this day, I will never know how that got past this savvy ebay shopper and museum professional!

We still haven't decided the fate of  "{Not}Simply Guava".  We may feed her to the pug.

To buy or not to buy......

Sonata, Raven (Corbeau) and Love 'n' Lace

I'm in the final scene of my one act play about a Steampunk Princess living in the fifth dimension totally inspired by my Blythe Dolls. I purchase a lot of my Blythes and associated paraphernalia while writing as I seem to take a lot of 'shopping breaks' or 'inspiration breaks' as I like to call them. Sometimes my good judgement is cluttered by visions of Blythe or narcissistic reflections. We're planning a trip to Paris in the spring so now I am infatuated with the Blythe French Trench.

Blythe French Trench

So do I NEED her to ensure that my trip abroad is a success or is it better to put that money towards the trip? The one I;m looking at has been customized and no longer has the box or original outfit so to the true collector, she is of lesser value. How do I feel about her? I'm not sure. MIB she sells for $249; this one is on Ebay for $139. To buy or not to buy, that is the question.

Sonata's Sleep Eyes

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Gosh, I've been having trouble with Sonata's sleep eyes from day one. She's a gorgeous custom Blythe whose weakness is her eyes - in more ways than one. The cords (as seen in the image below) will allow me to activate her eyes two, maybe three times tops and then BAM! They break off! She was sent back to her creator to be repaired and now my husband has replaced them two more times! Is anyone else out there having problems with sleep eyes?

Taking apart the head to access the torn cords and determine where they are rubbing and breaking off.

We've ensured that the two cords are coming through two different exit points and hope this helps.

Sleep eyes fully closed.

Sleep eyes halfway open.

Blue Eye Chips

Green Eye Chips

Gold Eye Chips (my fave)

Lavender Eye Chips

Love 'N Lace Makes Nine.

Love 'N Lace

Squeeee! Just became the proud owner of an Ashton Drake Blythe!  In 2004 Ashton Drake Galleries began producing Blythe reproduction dolls.  The aim was to design them in the likeness of the original 1972 Kenner Blythe dolls.  They reproduced each of the 12 original Kenner outfits and named each doll accordingly.  ADG stopped production of the dolls in 2007.  The ADG Blythes have the same eye mechanisms as Kenner and Takara dolls with the colours switching from Blue to Pink to Green to Amber.

Release:  ADG  ’Love ‘N Lace’
Release date:  Sept 2004
Original Price: $79.99
Style: Redhead wearing Love N Lace

Original Hasboro Ad for Blythe

The Design Studio is Now Open

Raven and the first Blythe Blanket sample

1972 Blythe Advert.

I previously posted a Chrissy and Velvet advertisement so thought it most fitting to also include a  Blythe Advertisement  l. Until I figure out how to embed the video it will have to be just the link for now. *sigh* #missingtheseventies

Pieces of Me

Blythe '72

To your left is my Blythe '72. This was my Blythe as a child and she'd been in my mother's basement for the last 40 years. Considering how much I played with her as a child, she's in pretty good shape (or so I thought). The biggest issues seemed to be her broken neck. This task seemed a bit daunting so we let her sit and wait. And wait. And wait.  

Gack! We finally took the plunge and took her apart. At first I thought I could be a willing participant in the dismantle but in the end couldn't bear to be there. I waited nervously in my office distracting myself with a shopping sprees for  Blythe baubles on e-Bay. 

The First Cut

Following  how-to videos on the web, we first removed her hair for a wash, detangle and defrizz. There was some damage to the back skull plate - I figured I must've done this as a child BUT once inside the head we realized that this was not the first tyme that Blythe '72 went under the knyfe.

Five years old and it seemed at one point in my lyfe, someone cared enough to take my doll to be fixed when she was broken. We also discovered the eye mechanism had been previously repaired.

As she came apart, piece by piece, I realized one of the reasons it was so difficult to watch was because it was more than just a doll sitting on the kitchen / operating table; it was my childhood.

Removing the Spring is a bit trickier in the vintage models. 

Taking apart the scalp revealed even more damage in unsuspecting places. The broken neck was becoming less and less important.

 

Skull Fracture

 

 

I also gave Blythe '72 pubic hair. I was a very progressive child.

Pieces of Me Laying Open on the Table. I know there's a Frida Kahlo painting in here somewhere.

Aaaaaah, here it is: Henry Ford Hospital, 1932; Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907-1954)

Previously broken and repaired eye mechanism becomes weirdly symbolic of a fleeting moment of childhood tenderness.

                                                                                                                

Flowers from Work

One of my bosses sent me flowers for what I considered 'just doing my job' but it is always nice to be appreciated for the everyday. Blythe was certainly appreciative of the impromptu photo shoot it provided. 

  

A Day @ the Beach

A Day @ the Beach

As I frantically try to finish my play before my husband returns home, I find it much more pleasant to take the Blythes to places they haven't been before. Like the beach. I love this shot of Raven for so many reasons. The now dead cricket made from a palm leaf in Tulum, The 1920's feel of the stage. It's kinda like Little House on The Prairie but Blythe-ified.

Homage to Aganetha

New wardrobe additions arrived in the mail today from JennyTheArtist and as I unwrapped each delightful creation, I was reminded of one of my favourite artists Aganetha Dyck and her work "Sizes 8-46"  that can be checked out (and should be checked out) here: http://www.aganethadyck.ca/sizes846/content/Scan10010_large.html.

Beck's Blythe in Homage to Aganetha Dyck 

Post Blythe Get-Togetha

The local newspaper recently ran an article on our Blythe Get-Togetha #YYC. You can read more about us here: http://www.calgaryherald.com/swerve/living/Blythe+Doll+collectors+Calgary/8419552/story.html

Gosh I wish Blythe and I had matching superhero costumes. Now who would I be? Catwoman Blythe? Nope. I feel like that's been done to death. Supergirl Blythe? Nope - too little girlish. Maybe it will have to  be someone entirely different. Like Frida Kahlo. Or Marie Antoinette.

Back to Her Creator

As many of you know, you can change Blythe's eyes with a simple pull on a cord located on the back of her head. With a simple tug, her eyes go from blue to green to pink to yellow (depending on which eye chips you have). Blythes can be customized to have what are known as 'Sleep Eyes' with a second cord - this is where the eyes stay closed allowing for your Blythe to catch a little shut-eye. Sonata has both custom eye chips and sleepy eyes making her doubly cool EXCEPT when the cord breaks! GACK! Scared to fix it myself, she is being sent back to her creator in Vermont.

It got me thinking how it would be nice when we break down if we could  ship ourselves off to Vermont (or Tahiti or Paris - your pick) and have someone make us better! Heck, her creator is even going to throw in a free outfit to make up for the trouble. Free clothes! Feeling better than before!  A trip to another place and time!

*sigh*

Makes me wanna be a Blythe.


If anyone is interested in doing their own work, there are some great tutorials at http://www.puchicollective.com/tutorials/

Not Blythe!

I've been working on a play-slash-novel for the last 12 months and had been hoping to base the protagonist on one of my Blythe dolls but can't seem to make any progress. Then my Sixth Sense Italian Tangkou doll showed up and I put the hand knit aviator cap on her and it just might work! But it's not Blythe! The story isn't about a Blythe Doll per se but a young girl inadvertently left with the legacy of kingdom sustainability. Plus there are humming birds and other winged creatures.

Not Blythe, Charlie Russell and Chief Crowfoot

Blessing of the Graves

O and I drove up to Edmonton today for the annual Blessing of the Graves for Russian Orthodox Easter. It's where Orthodox Christians in Canada celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday - kinda. The Orthodox Christian date for Easter Sunday, also known as Pascha, is often at a later date than the Easter date observed by many western churches. This happens due to the fact that we follow the Julian calendar and not the Gregorian. Orthodox Easter tend to jump around a lot but Ukrainian Christmas stays put. I don't question it. I just show up - to both events!

Another tradition observed in Orthodox Christian churches is the blessing of food baskets.  The baskets are usually filled with bread, cheese, meat, eggs, butter, salt, and other types of food. The baskets along with flowers and candles are placed in front of the loved ones' graves and wait to be blessed by the Father of the Church. Once the food has been blessed and the ceremony complete, we hang out and have a bit of a tailgate party.

Whether you believe in God or not, it's a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon while paying respect to both family and traditional life ways.

Blythe Get-Togetha #YYC

Blythe Babes

Last night I went to my first Blythe Get Together at my girlfriend V's knitting lounge in Inglewood. http://www.stashlounge.com/  If you're ever in Calgary and love vintage and knitting and all things awesome, it's a super cool place to be. Plus, V  does more than just sell wool - V holds fantastic parties and last night was no exception. We drank champagne, ate Blythe-sized cupcakes and caramel macaroons. We even made little leather satchels for the girls! 

V and Bo modelling the leather satchel

V asked me if I would attend if she had a Blythe Get-Togetha and I immediately responded with a resounding "YEAH!". A chance to share my love of Blythe would be great! There would be others who would understand me! Most of my friends think they're creepy. I counted down the days as date came closer and closer and then something strange happened. All of sudden doubt began to settle in - Did I really want to share something that was so personal with a group of strangers? These girls - especially Vintage Blythe had become more a part of me than I wanted to admit. A world that existed with no cruelty, no bitterness - it contained only what I gave it. What would happen if I let others into my private universe?

Are we defined by our dolls? Talking to a few others at the Get-Togetha, it seems that we might be. Or at least our alter egos are. These dolls are often everything that we are not. One guest even had matching Wonder Woman outfits for her and her Blythe! #covet

I left the Get-Togetha with mixed feelings.  For my grown-up R, it was great to see other Blythe-ettes but for my five year old R  (the age when I received my first Blythe) it felt like an epic fail play date. Maybe it was just the first time jitters! *SIGH*

Stay strong and keep Blythe-ing!

 The Blythe Babes have now expanded to a sextet: (note that Vintage Blythe is not featured in the image below)

Blythe Sextet

The latest addition to the family was Sonata. Sonata is a custom Blythe by Cindy Sowers and  carries the essence of a Marie Antoinette and Frida Kahlo mezcla.

Sonata Melenka by Cindy Sowers