A Baker's Dozen?

Uh oh! I thought that I was satisfied with my Dozen Blythe but I succumbed to yet another in less than a month. I'm thinking of her as a Valentine's Day gift. She doesn't look to be very special at first glance but rumour has it that her stock eye chips are fantastic! I love her dark brown, wavy, shoulder length hair and her very rosy cheeks. Plus she's an animal lover to boot. I suppose there are some who think I should've donated the money to an animal rescue group instead but I didn't. Perhaps I'll leave my collection to auction when I die and then all monies raised will be used to save little black pugs who desperately need saving.

"Save the Animals Blythe aka Valentine" (picture courtesy of previous owner)

Virtual Hugs from A  Dozen Blythe (and more)

American Hustle - Blythe Style

Ashton Drake Love 'n' Lace as American Hustle Tribute

We  went to see  American Hustle because my hubby and I have mutual crushes on  two of the actors - Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. What I didn't realize was how nostalgic it would make me feel about my childhood. It made me think of how life must've been for my mother when I was growing up in the seventies.

(Perhaps with a little less edge and a little more Canadiana)

I remember listening to most of the songs from the soundtrack through my bedroom door as my mother played the LPs on the record player. Clothes similar to those in the big screen clung to wire hangers in our one bedroom apartment. We still watched everything in black and white and drove the most economical car around - a VW beetle. Bell bottoms and cork heeled platform shoes were all the rage and my mother had both.

Peace Out from A  Dozen Blythe

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