FOR SALE

Saturday 17 May 2014

A break from sewing....well almost!!

After having seen my Blythes which I'd customised myself, Steve Kingaby sent me his new Blythe for me to work on.  He gave me 'free rein' to do what I wanted with her, so I gave her the full 'works'!  Steves Blythe is an ADG Blythe which were designed to look like the original Kenner Blythes which were produced in 1972 and she had long blond hair with a middle part and no fringe.  She was completely default and the first ADG Blythe that I've customised.  And I freely admit that she was a challenge!!  Here is a 'before' photo showing her with her original blue eyechips :


I thought she was quite a pretty girl but can understand that Steve wanted a new look for her because the default girls can lack 'personality'.

Here she is during the carving process.  You can see that I've carved her mouth, given her a philtrum, a small chin cleft, as well as a button nose and nostrils.  I also made her eyeholes a tiny bit larger at the top.  This is a photo showing her prior to sanding:


Then comes the sanding.  It takes a lot of work to get the plastic nice and smooth again after all the carving.  But once that's achieved, the makeup is next...for this I use good quality artists chalk pastels and seal it several times as I go along using Mr Super Clear Flat sealant from Japan.  I also gave her four new sets of eyechips from Brain Worm and Cool_Cat, new soft long dark eyelashes, I 'boggled' her eyes and gave her 'sleep eyes'.  I painted her eyelids with four layers of pearly cream coloured artists acrylic paint.  I also washed and conditioned her hair, then cut it to about waist length.  I also gave her a fringe as I think Blythe has such a big forehead that a fringe softens the look of that expanse of plastic!!  Here she is with damp hair but showing her new makeup:



Here you can see her sleep eyes and her painted eyelids, as well as her lovely long lashes:


I think she has a cheeky little face, especially in this next photo!


It was quite windy when I took these photos, so she has hair everywhere!!


Showing her special pale pink eyechips:


Dark brown eyechips:


A 'before' and 'after' comparison:


Finally I made her a new outfit to go home in, it consists of the little smock top and matching shorts, both made from blue and white seersucker which has tiny 'summer' themed motifs on it, long red and white stripy stockings, a red hair bow clip and white 'leatherette' boots.





Steve has seen her photos and is very happy for me to share her on here, in fact it was his suggestion for me to do so.....I hope he'll be very happy with her when she arrives home to the UK!!

14 comments:

  1. Wow Sharon! What a transformation of Steve's Blythe! I think her outfit is so cute, what tiny little buttons, just perfect!!!! :) xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Ginger, I'm glad you like her outfit. I didn't make it until the end because I really had to see how she'd come out before deciding what she'd wear.....and this outfit idea then immediately came to mind once she was finished!
      xxx

      Delete
  2. What a fabulous change you have made on her ! You are a master of the art Sharon, I'm sure Steve is over the moon with the life you have put into a very standard doll which now looks so much better! Love the outfit.
    It's a shame that you are in Spain or you could run some classes on all these things, starting with removing the head!!! that part soooo worries me!! lol
    another triumph! hugs Dee xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Dee, glad you like her! I would love to show people how to do customising as I find it such fun.....I don't know that I'd want to be doing it all day every day because it's hard work on the arms and fingers, particularly the carving and sanding, but I particularly love seeing how they transform from,m as you say, standard dolls, to something that has a personality of it's own! I never plan how they'll look either, I just start and see what happens!!!
      xxx

      Delete
  3. Well done Sharon!!! I know working on my Blythe has been a real labour of love but i am so glad you persevered, her transformation is amazing, thank you so much. I love her fab outfit that you made her too and of course the boots and strippy socks pull the whole look together. THANK YOU AGAIN SHARON XXXXXXXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Steve, I'm so happy that you like her! She is looking forward to coming home and meeting you as her 'new self'!!!! I know she was hard work but I'm glad you feel that she was worth it!
      Hugs xxxx

      Delete
  4. She looks fabulous Sharon, what a transformation indeed, and I am sure that Steve will be over the moon with her. she really is wonderful as is her super outfit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lorraine. Yes, thankfully Steve is really happy with my work on her, so that's worth all the hard work!

      Delete
  5. My life as most of you know is completely revolved around the Sasha Dolls so seeing all these little dolls of Sharons etc is rather out of my comfort and knowledge zones BUT I can see the wonderful transformation that you have worked on her making her into a delightful little OOAK girl who looks ready to give Steve a 'run for his money' when she finally arrives back in the UK.

    Your skills in this kind of customisation and trendy sewing for these 'little people' are nothing short of fantastic. Where did you learn this art form from? A course? I'm full of admiration but mustn't be tempted down these new paths/roads at my time of life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much Kendal, I'm glad you can see her personality coming through!
      To be honest, I've just taught myself, I've always liked art but I couldn't sew up until about 7 or 8 years ago when I decided to give it a go when I started collecting more expensive dolls and realised that I couldn't have the dolls AND the clothes for them...so I decided to make my own! And then a doll shop in the US contacted me to sew for them and it went from there!! As for the Blythe customising, I just decided to jump in and have a go.....I bought a Blythe and then after a while looked around the house for things I could use to carve her!!!!! You wouldn't believe the sorts of things I used at first to carve the dolls face!!! So every time I want to try something, such as Sasha reroots, or anything to do with changing my dolls, I just give it a go and see what happens!!!!
      xxxx

      Delete
  6. She's so cute! She has a lot more personality now... :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so muchy Lynn!! Glad you think so!

      Delete
  7. What a difference - she looks great

    ReplyDelete

Your comment will be visible after moderation.