Today's the day...

That I'm off to the UK and so as I lie here in bed at 7.15am I thought I'd use my iPhone to do a quick Blog entry! I've not used my phone to blog before so hope it comes out without not too many spelling mistakes!

I slept better than I expected too, as having been burgled here twice in the last couple of years I did expect myself to feel aprehensive at every noise but fortunately I was fine...i'm much braver than I thought perhaps!

Although I have to say that I'm missing my hubby, son and doggies already! I guess when you're with someone 24/7, as in the case of hubby and dogglies (and you're happy with that), it is natural, isn't it!

So it is getting on for 7.30am and I've had a cup of tea and soon will start with my ablutions!! I'm leaving for the airport at about 10am so I have ages yet but I don't like to rush!!!

See you all soon...London here I come!!!!

Getting ready to travel.....AND dolly packages!

We came back from the coast on Friday afternoon, the week down there just went toooo quickly!  So here we are home again and the house is sooo dusty as work began on our road whilst we were away....resurfacing and new underground pipes!  It resembles a builders yard out there as the road surface is no more, currently just ... well dust!!! 

However, all was not bad about coming home!  I had two lovely parcels here waiting for me from Australia.  One was a very cute little crossover style cardigan from May (Maisiedoats) which was made for Blythe but will fit my Person dolls too!  Such minute and delicate stitches as usual!

And the second package was my gorgeous Elfdoll Lovely Dami which Sugarlump on DOA so kindly let me adopt!  Sugarlump was a brilliant seller; at my request she took Dami to pieces so that she could travel in a much smaller box and everything was packaged up so carefully and safely!

I'm absolutely delighted with Dami, she is everything I expected and more!  I spent Friday night trying on every wig I have in her size and have to say that she suited nearly every one of them, she is soooo versitile!  Here are a couple of photos that I took of her after putting her together, wearing an outfit that I made especially for her arrival....now to think of a suitable name for her!

This morning I have been packing my bags for my fast approaching trip to the UK!  Only two more days and then on Wednesday I will be heading off to Malaga for my flight to London.  I have packed two Blythe girls, Heather Sky and Nicky Lad (both customised by me), well it is a Blythe Con that I'm going to!  But of course I couldn't leave it at that, I had to add my two Secretdoll Persons (8 and 21) ..... and I really really want to take Dami with me too.......I'm trying to talk myself out of it but the more I do so, so the other part of me has an answer as to why she will be fine if she comes along for the trip!!! 

I'm sure I will be able to fit her in....after all she is very skinny!  And I've packed as little as I possibly can (apart from the dolls of course!) as I can wash things at my mums!  No need to waste space on clothes for myself when that space can be better utilised with dolly things!!! 

I also have a toaster and 10 tins of roasted red peppers packed in the case for my mum!!!!  I was going to just say "Don't ask!" but I'll explain anyway.  My mum loves the peppers, she eats them like other people eat crisps or sweets....but apparently the ones she can get in Tesco are "just not the same"...... and the toaster?  Well it is a flat style toaster that my mum had her eye on, apparently they are not available in the UK....so we got one for her!!! 

Thank goodness that British Airways is very generous with their luggage allowance!!

Back at the beach....

After almost three weeks at home, we felt it was time to come back down to the coast again, so here we are, having arrived yesterday lunchtime.  All is well down here, we have new neighbours that we've yet to meet and the weather continues to be beautiful, hot and sunny....although I have to say that the humidity is very much higher than at home.

I spent yesterday afternoon sitting on our deck,  giving my Puki Fee Ante a new faceup.  This is the second PKF Ante that I've had, the first one left to live in the UK....and this one nearly went the same way as I really did not like her faceup....I honestly felt that it was not up to Fairylands usual great standard.  I just couldn't warm to her at all.  So I thought "I've got nothing to lose, I'll try giving her a new faceup myself"....which is exactly what I did!  And I'm happy to say that I'm actually very pleased with it...she is far more what I had in mind than her default faceup was!  Here are a couple of photos of her finished look....please excuse the bed hair!    

 Now all she needs is a name!

Speaking of faceups, I've been lucky enough to secure a spot for late October with a wonderful faceup artist here in Europe!  I am hoping to have my big Volks F01 Nana repainted!  She has a nice faceup now but I'm looking for something different!  I am really looking forward to seeing what this lady can do for her....she does beautiful work!  Watch this space!

One of those 'nothing' sort of days.....

Today was one of those 'nothing' sort of days, you know, those days when you have plans to do things but nothing really gets done!  I had great intentions....I was going to sew some Blythe hats from a pattern that I made yesterday, but I never even got as far as turning the sewing machine on!  But here is the 'prototype' that I made yesterday.....it isn't finished of course, but gives an idea of what I have in mind.....

It's very hard to think about making cold weather wear when the thermometre is showing 37C in the shade!!  But hey, maybe tomorrow I will get some sewing done!

Later I took photos of Ashleigh, my Dollstown Ganga on the DT7 body.  She has such  a sullen face but is so photogenic!  I sometimes think I should try something a bit more girly and 'frou frou' on her but to be honest, I always come back to this tomboy look....I just think it suits her so much!!  I made the dungarees especially for her and I really like how she looks in them!
Shirt by Iplehouse, red knitted hat by Maisiedoats.

Continuing problems with Flickr & dolly purchases!

For some time now I've had a problem with Flickr.....and now it is getting worse!  I can't view photos on there, not even my own.  However, it is not ALL the time, just most of it!  All I get are red crosses when I try with Internet Explorer and a little 'torn paper' symbol when using Firefox.  I am at the end of my tether.  Looking at photos plays such a big part of my dolly hobby, so I find it increasingly frustrating.  Brian has tried everything he can, searched all sorts of geek sites in the hope that he could get an answer for me, but no such luck.....I am at the end of my tether!!!


On a happier note,  I have now found an Elfdoll Dami for sale, have paid for her and she is on her way from Australia.  I'm excited and have been sewing for her already so that she has something new to wear when she gets here!

The temperature is still high here, it is gone 9.30pm as I write and the thermometer is still showing 32C!!  Usually by mid September the heat has lessened a bit but not this year.  Having said that, I'm not complaining, if I had my way we would have Spring and Summer all year round!  I definitely am a warm weather person! 

I spoke with my mum a couple of days ago and she assured me that the weather in the UK had not been too bad at all...."in fact..." she said "I've only had to put the heating on twice recently....."   Oh boy, I'm not going to like that cold at all when I go to visit in a couple of weeks time!!! 

Now where did I put that big coat of mine.....!

Good dolly package day....

Today I received three packages in the mail and for once, my increasingly lazy postman, brought the parcels to the house instead of leaving them at my son's girlfriends house, which is right next door to the post office!! 

The first packet, which was actually not a packet at all but an envelope, was my ticket for Blythe Con UK!!  Hoorrrrrraaaaay, I'm almost there!  So I must now remember to put it in my handbag when I go to England in three weeks time!!!  Here is Hershey, she's just as excited as me as she thinks she's coming with me.....it's going to be a hard choice deciding who to take!

The second package was two incredibly cute and well made hats for my dolls, these are from my friend May in Australia (Maisiedoats on Etsy/Ebay and Flickr).  May and I have been friends for years now and we speak on a daily basis and I asked her if she would knit them for my girls.  Today was May's birthday and yet it was me getting pressies from her!!!  Anyway, I'd said that I would be happy with plain pull on hats but these are beautifully knitted with cables and the wool is sooooo soft, it must be something special because May only uses the best and most expensive yarn that she can get her hands on!  My dolls will be the cosiest and best dressed dolls around once the cooler weather comes!  I will take photos of those soon. 

And finally the third  package was a Simply Vanilla Blythe which I bought on Ebay a few weeks ago with a view to customising.  I don't think I'll make a start though until I come back from BlytheCon UK as I hope to go to Olga's  workshop on carving whilst there, so perhaps I will be able to do better once I've been!!  Lets hope so!

Two posts in one day...!

Yesterday my 'bargain' Ellowyne Wilde arrived from Wilde Imagination.  She is an Essential Ellowyne 4 with blond hair and she is really pretty....I hope this one stays here longer than the previous ones!  Anyway, I say 'bargain' because she really was a great price.  I got her for $68 (approx 47 euros) plus postage direct Wilde Imagination in the US.  However, as with all bargains bought outside the EU, I risked her getting caught by Spanish customs...and sure enough, she got caught for 25.13 euros.....more than 50% of the value of the doll!!  It just doesn't seem fair that we have to pay such high customs duty on something that isn't available to buy here anyway, but there you are.  I can moan about it until the cows come home but it isn't going to do me any good!!! 

Anyway, here are a couple of photos of her that I took yesterday.  I will take some more today with my Dorothy (Pop Goes Oz) as the two of them look great together!

Blythe Con UK here I come.....

I finally booked my plane tickets for Blythe Con UK this week and I'm really excited!  Because I'm staying with my mum and brother, I'm going for a week so I'll arrive there on the previous Wednesday and not leave again until the following Wednesday, with the BIG EVENT  being on the Saturday!  I'm meeting up with lots of dolly friends who I've previously only met here on the internet and also with my good friend Sue, who doesn't live too far from my mum and whom I've met on a previous trip to the UK back in 2009.  I'm really looking forward to it all!

Of course I'll really be happy to see my family as, by the time I go,  it will be 10 months since I saw my mum and brother which was when they were over here at Christmas last year.  I speak with my mum about twice a week on the telephone but of course there is nothing like meeting in the flesh, is there! 

I have lots of plans that I hope I can carry out whilst I'm there.  I really want to go to Hobby Craft, the big hobby supplies chain, as I really NEED to have a fix!  Then of course I must have Pie and Mash whilst I'm in Romford....can't go to Romford without eating Pie and Mash for lunch!!!!  I also want to go to Holland & Barratt, the health food store as I want to get some Neals Yard Dried Mango.....(yes, I have simple tastes!) as on the very rare occasion that I've found dried mango here (about twice if I remember rightly) it was horrid, as it was chunks of mango coated in thick sugar...YUCK!  Give me the H&B stuff any day!

Other stores that I really must visit: WHSmith (yes, I know that I don't need books now that I have the Kindle, but can't beat browsing through all the magazines, especially the doll/craft/knitting ones that we just don't get here); Boots the Chemist .... just because; Primark of course, as I will look for knit garments that I can unpick to use the fabric for dolly sewing!  Where else?  Well I'm sure BHS, Marks and Spencer and perhaps a trip to Lakeside Shopping Centre which isn't far from my mum either.  Oh and I was thinking perhaps we might go to London for a mooch around, perhaps adding Liberty's, the fabric store, to my list.  Add that to the shoping at Blythe Con and......well, my goodness, that is a LOT of shopping!!!!

Looking for a good home.....

I have decided that this sweet girl needs to go to a new home where she will get the attention she needs!
She is a lovely tanned Blythe Manuheali'i Paradise Girl and she has been lovingly customised by me.  She is just three months old, I bought her new from Hong Kong at the end of May.  I planned on having her as a twin to my Heather Sky but realised that I only want the one tanned girl.

I have carved her mouth, nose and philtrum, given her one set of new eye chips (although I can replace these with her stock turquoise ones if you'd prefer).  The other three sets of chips are her stock ones, they are custom colours and really pretty.  I gave her a whole new make up using high quality chalk pastels and sealed several times with Mr Super Clear Flat.  She has soft freckles across her nose and cheeks to give her a sunkissed look.

Her hair has been washed and conditioned and I put a few plaits in the front to keep it out of her hairs.  Her hair hasn't been cut at all, and it is really long and thick! 

She will come with her stock outfit and box.  My home is smoke free.

More photos available on request, or can be seen here on my Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9168922@N04/sets/72157626834430822/

I'm asking $275 or near offer, plus shipping.
If you're interested please email me:   dambuster01@yahoo.co.uk

The rain in Spain.....

We are now home from the coast, having returned on Tuesday and this afternoon we have had a massive rain storm!  It is like the Rio Grande outside our front door as I write....I suspect that there could be some localised flash flooding as the ground is so hard and dry after so many months without a drop of rain.  I have to say though that the excess water is really needed in the garden as the plants were beginning to look a tad sorry for themselves as we'd left Brendan in charge of watering .... he is not as vigilant of their watering needs during the hot summer months, as Brian is!

Yesterday I put to good use some of the lemons that we have so many of from the garden.  I made a lemon tart for the lads...I'm not that keen on it  myself, so they will get to eat it all!  It is so simple to make and yesterday I made it even easier as instead of using a pastry base, I actually used crushed Digestive biscuits mixed with butter.  They tell me the base was "LOVELY!".  The actual lemon filling is just condensed milk mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice and then poured into the base and left to set in the fridge.  No need for weighing or measuring....MY kind of cooking!

I've spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of days working on my Blythe Heather Sky.  I think I wrote that I'd had a problem with her hair after giving it a conditioning treatment, so I wanted to rectify that (if possible) as soon as we got home.  I think the problem was that down on the coast our water is really really soft and the conditioner I used just wouldn't come out of her hair.  Plus her fringe went all weird on me.  So when we got home here, I gave her a whole new hair treatment then following instructions from a lovely lady on Blythe Kingdom, I re-thatched her parting and then ironed her fringe in place.  Now it looks absolutely perfect again!

Whilst I had Heather in pieces, I decided to give her a whole new make up, so I did that too and am really delighted with how she has turned out.  I carved a little more on her mouth too.  She is still the same Heather but with a more colourful fresh look!  Here she is in all her glory:

 I also gave her sleep eyes!

I also got a Licca body for my Nicky Lad.  I think this thin gangly body really suits this face sculpt.  Here is a photo that I took of her this morning.  Funny little thing, isn't she!

 
I think these two girls will come to Blythe Con with me!