How I came to own two kozys kozies Kozy Capes

I know what you're thinking.

"Two Kozy Capes?!" or "What the heck is a Kozy Cape?"

If you're the latter, you probably won't care to read the rest...for everyone else, this is how it happened.

I went on a mad Kozy hunt several months ago. As some might recall from my Gillian Post, she found me after I went a totally different direction and bought a Rosie Red (the same girl who sold me rosie knew I wanted her Kozy and later agreed to sell her to me!)

As ecstatic as I was to finally have a Kozy, I had become moderately obsessed with GIRLIE, pink-lovin, hair accessorizing kozys kozies Kozy Capes. Gillian was NOT that Kozy. Hm.

Then, a month or so ago when I was poor as dirt and dreaming (delusionally) of a Parco, a bobbed Kozy popped up on BK. She was cheap. I mean, for a Kozy. You "What the heck is a Kozy" gang would still exclaim, "Wait, HOW MUCH?!", but I didn't care. She was so CUTE! She was named Pocket, and she had her hair cut (which I liked and made me want her MORE) and her other flaw was that at some point her eye mech must have broken and it was replaced with an EBL eye mech. Like I cared! I'm no purist...but I was broke. Beyond broke. Like, I could not even so much as imagine how I could buy this doll.

See how cuuuute? This was her first for sale pic. Warning, this is not my photo. If it's yours and you are mad, I will remove it!

I started toying with the idea of selling ALL of my Blythe clothes. My girls would have been naked. All the shoes and boots too. Still no. I have my nice new Anniversary JerryBerry, so I could sell the basic one that I bought, right? And maybe one or two of the lesser loved Blythe girls? No. Hm.

I watched her Princess Needing Rescue thread obsessively until she was sold. I was so sad. I told myself it was just not meant to be. I mean, I never had a desire to have 'twins.' I thought it was such a strange idea; they are the same doll, what is the point in having two identical when there are so many different dolls out there???

Pocket wouldn't have been a twin. She would have been different. She has that bobbed haircut! Blythe dolls are also strangely different from one another, even when they are the same doll and same mold. She was unique, I was sure of it.

Pocket's second 'For Sale' photo...also not my photo. This one belongs to Jlee. If you are mad, I will remove it.

Then she popped up again. I had just made my semi-annual greek letters small fortune. I talked to hubby, he okayed it, and I PMed for her! I was so nervous that she had already sold and I missed her again! She wasn't, and after some pricey shipping from Canada, I had her in what amounted to two days (US Post was shut down for Thanksgiving.

Pocket took her place as Gillian's younger sister, not twin. Though they are a month off from being legitimate Irish twins! I immediately worried if Pocket would be girlie or not. She arrived in a cropped pair of jeans and a really cute sweater. I changed her into a dress and bow (I KNEW she would love bows! I just knew )

I am completely smitten with cute little Pocket. She is fun to dress and photograph (especially b/c she is matte!) and she brings a different element to the 'family.' I think she is even girlier than Fawn. I'm so happy that I wound up with two kozys kozies Kozy Capes!

Joining 'da Wubba Wednesdays!

I have seen lots of "Happy Wubba Wednesday" pictures, "BA Friday" and even some "Moshi Mondays" but I was never really sure of the specifics. Were these just things people did, or did only certain people in certain groups do this?!

After watching from the safety of my dining room, I finally decided, heck, I have some wubba chickens, I'm down!

I love playing with that downward "WTF" glare that the BL girls are all blessed with, and since Gillian was my September challenge girl, I started off with this cooky little photo. Gilly and Fawn are eating their breakfast on a Wednesday. ;)

I really liked how the newness of wubba-wednesday sparked my creativity. And then it happened: Talk like a Pirate Day COINCIDED with WW!

Though I'm not militant about it each week, I have gotten almost every Wednesday. Occassionally I do BA Fridays (when I remember!) and MM Mondays (we LOVE Hilary's stuff!) Mostly I like that this has given me one more reason to take a photo, one more creative idea a week, and one more way to enjoy my dollies.

Happy Wubba Wednesday!

Naming Convention...

I have been thinking about doll names lately. One train of thought led to another, and suddenly I realized that I have weird patterns to doll naming; especially as I acquire more and more dolls.

Cassie was named right after her doll name; Cassiopeia Spice. I will admit, I was not very original, but it definitely seemed to suit her.

Next came Hana. I reached out to my lovely anime genre and thought of all the cool Japanese names I could use. I finally settled on Hana, short for Hanajima, a character from Fruits Basket.

Yula is named for a former bass guitarist in one of my favorite bands, The World Inferno Friendship Society. Yula's whole theme is based around them. She was my second custom that I created, painting album art and song lyrics on her lids, and styling her to be a rockin' punk girl.

My best friend Jeannette named Fawn. She listened to me ramble a bunch of awful names (none of which I even LIKED) and just said simply, "Her name is Fawn." Good call, J. That has worked out well. :)

Autumn was more a vibe on letters. A lot of times I get a feel for which letter a name should start with, and as Autumn is such a natural looking girl, she fell into her name after a vibe told me she liked "A" names. I really wanted to just call her Azzie (Aztec Arrival) but thought that might be kind of lame?

Next came Elsa. Elsa was named before she made it to me. She is a Rosie Red, and her namesake, the rose, led me back to my fraternity. We are a music organization and there were seven founders. I thought through their names, and wasn't wild about any of them (despite my love of Minnie Davis Sherrill, I was NOT naming a girl after her!) So then I thought, "There must be someone within the ranks that has a great name." It didn't take much searching (I know a lot of the history by heart) to recall a woman who asked NOT to be named a founder. She was the daughter of the dean, and did not want to be counted. Her name was Elsa. :)

Finally, my Kozy Kape. That beautiful hair just reminded me so much of my fave X Files gal, Scully. I didn't want to name her Scully, so I settled on Gillian. It suits her. I call her Gilly sometimes.

I have found that girls that I have a lot of trouble naming are generally not "keepers." I had a custom that I named Kylee, but I kept bouncing back and forth between Kylee and Kaylee and all sorts of names and never felt "final" with her name. The same was true for Lilah, a T42. I wasn't sure if it was Lilah or Leighla or Leia...and finally I wound up selling them both.

The thing that worries me and makes me a bit sad to think is that the beautiful custom that I won in the Blythe Con raffle has been more like those last two. I searched for names, tried to settle on Calliope, but it just doesn't feel right. I can't seem to find her name, which to me means she isn't meant to stay with me.

Conversely, I have been fantasizing about a Parco, and started going through some favorite teacher names. I think if I get a Parco she may be a Donna (2nd grade teacher)...funny because I am not wild about that name, but it would work on Parco for sure. I also like May (an art teacher I had) which then led me to June...which would just an adorable name. Funny how I can settle on a name for a girl I don't even own...

Blythecon Texas!

I was thinking about putting up a post about Blythecon, Texas. I will try to keep it short, and pertinent!

Elsa and Cassie were the two lucky Blythes that got to come with me. It killed me a little to leave Fawn at home, but I just didn't want to manage more than three. My best friend, J_and_Melinda and I flew out of Philly International on Saturday morning and arrived in Dallas. I didn't do so well on the plane, but thankfully recouped quickly so that we could eat lunch and head to the pool!

Here is Elsa with Pudding!

We were so lucky to meet a lot of Blythecon goers at the Water-park meet up, including Kimberly and Juliet. I also finally met Jennifer and Pudding! They all encouraged us to come out to the dinner that night, even though we hadn't made reservations. It turned out to be the same place we'd had lunch, and it was plenty large enough for all of us!

And Cassie with Gertie and Elouise!

After the dinner there was a secondhand sundries sale that was awesome! It also got us so geared up for the next day. I bought a Megipupu wrap dress, some tights, shirts, and a cowgirl hat. I sat down to change my girls when I heard someone say, "Should I take out my stuff? I only brought some shoes." Something went off in my head and I immediately asked, "What kind?!" "Converse." I yelped and demanded that she give them to me. Haha. I scored the Black Samedi Marche cons AND the My Little Candy cons! HAPPY! J was pleased with a Very Vicky stock dress and some other lovelies. :)

Here are Elsa and Cassie in their Western attire!

We got up at five am to register, to make sure that we got in to the main event pretty early. J and I were numbers 20 and 21. It turned out that they were doing tickets for BC Helmets and for Eurotrash. We both picked BC, and I was so excited that I wouldn't have to race for my helmet!

Elsa to to meet Plum! (she's also wearing our new BC helmet!)

I got to meet a lot of fantastic people, like Mandy, Mab, and Lauren. It was so amazing to meet their girls too! I love Pinkachu and Plum, and Pinky. :) I bought a Fawn cameo for Fawn, some note cards, an absolutely gorgeous Mab cameo for myself, some dresses, and a SewPixie case. I decided very last minute that it would be a great idea to buy $25.00 worth of raffle tickets to suppliment the one from the goody-bag. I was determined that I would not win so much as a dress; let alone the coveted sundries or a doll.

I met a Parco and decided that yes, I need one. Not just want. Need. I love my BL girls so much. :)

J won a stock Simply Guava! Shortly after, my fifth ticket, 916281, was called for the most beautiful collaborative custom girl! I screamed, "IT'S ME!" and went up, bright red and already flustered. I felt very confused and dazed, took my girl, and went back to my table. Holding her out for everyone to see, I was shaking like mad! Her hair was teal and so, SO soft...she was dressed beautifully and her makeup was so natural and gorgeous. I must have dreamed it...

My custom girl, Calliope (left) with Ms. Bluebell (Gbaby custom)

We broke for the Rosie Roundup photos, and I posed Elsa and took pics. There was a dinner break and then more raffle drawings, and then it was done...

J and I had a great time at Blythecon Texas and cannot WAIT for NY!

Ten Reasons I HATE Sewing for Dollies

1. It's REALLY freaking tiny
2. I can't cut straight
3. ...or make things even.
4. The fabric gets stuck in the machine
5. No two things ever come out the same EVER (witness different sized sleeves...on the same shirt.
6. I wind up stabbing myself with a pin (or two)
7. I attempt hand sewing, and then hate life
8. I get thread wrapped around a girl's pullring SO badly that I have to stop and cut it (the thread) to de-tangle her.
9. Most of my stuff looks so bad my OWN dolls won't wear it.
10. Shopping for sundries is WAY more fun.

How Gillian 'Found' Me

After Elsa came to live here I calmed down a bit with my Kozy search. One popped up on BK, and she was in excellent shape, but she didn't really appeal to me, I couldn't justify it, etc.

Then I took in an epic amount of greek letter orders for this semester's initiation. I began thinking about hoarding the money for Blythe con...or maybe stowing it in case the perfect Kozy appeared.

The same day that thought dawned on me, I had a flickr message regarding the most beautiful Kozy. I had inquired about her ages ago, but she wasn't for sale at that point. Her owner recently decided to part with her, and gave me first dibs! I sent the money and four agonizing days later I went to the post office to pick up Gillian.

She is named after my favorite firey red-head who I fell in love with on The X Files, Gillian Anderson. I think she might be a t-shirt and jeans and boots wearin' kind of girl.

The Helmet Factory: Interview & Give-away!

Photo is Meg's, not mine!

I was so happy to see some new interviews and giveaways on Blythelife.com! Meg of irulethegalaxy's Helmet Factory is giving away two of her gorgeous beaded helmets for Blythe!

Read Meg's interview on Blythelife.com and visit The Helmet Factory to purchase some helmets! You can also enter for a chance (or chances!) to win the two give-away helmets!

Creating a 'Look'

I have been dying to create a series of cute tops and dresses a la The Future or Button Arcade. The trick to any good line is that they are recognizable, cute, and simple enough to make (you can't spend 15 hours sewing and sell something for 15.00...and no one is going to spend 60.00 on a doll dress unless you're Eurotrash or someone uber famous within Dolly-land)

So, I dragged my feet and hemmed and hawed. I though, "I can make pants! Yeah! Pants." Well, pants are hard. I hate sewing pants. I don't want to sew pants. You put a pair of jeans on a girl, even well made jeans with working, cute lil pockets, and they are still just what she is wearing with her cute top. The focus is on the shirts.

I decided to try and sew once Elsa arrived. I have been racking up dolly bills, and let's face it; headbands don't earn me enough fast enough. My plan is to expand into sewing, offer some 'complete outfit sets' and also some painted eye chips. I need to raise and save (therein lies the trick!) some money for Blythe con. Yes, I can swing GOING to Blythe con...but I want to be able to SHOP at Blythe con!


So Elsa's dress at the top is the first of my efforts. I based it on this cute little baby top/dress I found online. It has an empire waist and a square neck. I rather like it on Elsa. I swear that girl looks good in everything (I said the same about Fawn. BL girls are so happenin') The first thing I made was a shirt, where nothing lined up properly, and then today I was more careful. Tomorrow I will try to nail down the patterns and 'refine' my efforts.

Elsa is Here!

I'm feeling a sense of completion in my little Blythe family. I know I say this after every new addition, but I really feel this is it. With the addition of a Kozy, of course. I am thinking about moving one or two girls on, and welcoming my final two BLs.

The first of those two to move in arrived today while I was at work...my beautiful Elsa made it from South Korea in record time (thank you, EMS). Since the tracking info fooled me into thinking that delivery today was impossible, I was even MORE pleasantly surprised to find Elsa waiting for me at the of a really long 'red day' at work.

I took a few rushed photos tonight, caught up on webby stuff, and I am still hoping to sew...so I hope this post and un-inspired photo are enough for now!

How NOT to save for a Kozy

Step 1: Spend all of your etsy earnings on Button Arcade dresses.
Step 2: Decide that you really can't sell any of your dolls, as you are quite attached to your current family.
Step 3: Don't bother sewing for your etsy shop or creating anything new to draw attention or generate more sales.
Step 4: Buy a Rosie Red instead.

Photo belongs to pink-fairy, not me!

I am beyond excited for this little beauty to arrive next week (this week?! Haha) I have decided to name her Elsa, and I will post more about her shortly, after I can take some of my own photos!

Punk Rock Girl

I know that I have been spreading myself too thin with Blythe projects (and other projects). Embarking on making Yula into the doll that I purchased her to be was definitely part of that over tasking. I was already in the middle of customizing Hana, working on the dollhouse, sewing, and my 365, amongst other things.

After Riley was born I painted Yulas lips and colored her lids. I changed her chips. I ordered hair for her highlights and it was the wrong color. I never finished fixing her chips; never gave her lashes. If you remember my last post about Yula, I painted her lids and totalled her lashes sealing them. I still didn't do her highlights.

Well, I finally got some purple hair. To be safe, I ordered TWO different purples. I'm glad I did, because the one worked really well. I put in her highlights, gave her purple and black lashes, and bought her some clothing just for her.

I couldn't be happier.

Claribari Headbands on Etsy

With the burst of energy I seem to have received when the date changed from 12/31/2011 to 1/1/2012, I have poured a lot of energy into my etsy shop. Initially I tried to sell headbands, some dresses, and even patterns. I have a hard time getting started sewing, so I decided to focus on headbands first.


In the past two weeks I have updated the shop with several sets of headbands, many of which are completely NEW! I have also created some ribbon wrapped headbands as well as this fabulous Valentine's antennae headband! Doesn't Cassie look happy?

The other day I had my fiftieth sale on etsy! I never thought I'd have that many, but now I am excited for more! To celebrate I am offering a coupon code for 15% off of your order. The coupon code to enter at checkout is: FABFIFTY

As some of you know, all of the profits from my etsy sales are being saved toward my Kozy Kape!

So...

(MorgantOrton's Photo!)

...I suck at saving.

Saving for a Dream Dollie

Oh sure, I've read and seen it a million places. "Selling sundries to fund my dream girl." "Adopting out a few dollies to raise some funds for my Grail Girl." Etc. I have even read articles about actually setting aside separate savings for dolls and doll-related stuff. Anyone who knows me, knows that saving just isn't my style (even though it should be!)

But at least I can finally say that I'm one of those people! I was pretty fortunate with dolls so far. I used a birthday and a Christmas to fund two girls, sewing money for another, etc. I have never had to actually save for a doll...but then again, no doll in my collection costs quite as much as a Kozy.

I posted awhile back about how Kozy fever hit. Shortly after a BK member posted a Kozy on the forums and I just about died. I wanted this particular Kozy SO badly, but there was no way I could raise the funds that quickly. Forget "selling this or that" I don't have anything to part with that would even come close. I decided after she sold that I would work on my etsy shop.


I posted several new sets of headbands and a ribbon wrapped one. I am happy to report that all of those, as well as some I posted the night after, have already sold! I am keeping the money from the etsy sales in my Paypal account and saving (gasp!) the balance for my Kozy! I am already 1/14 of the way there (which sounds better to me than it does to you, I'm sure) There will be another shop update tonight, and so far, all of the 'plastic' headband sets that I sell are being restocked immediately.

If you have purchased or plan to, THANK YOU!!! for helping me fund my Kozy!

Resolutions

Michelle at Blythelife.com recently put up a great post concerning doll-related resolutions. I had more to think about than I felt was appropriate for her comment box, so I decided to put up my own post!

The Blythe hobby is so multi-faceted, that I had trouble narrowing down my resolutions. There are photos, clothing (go Michelle for shooting for two pieces a month!) the doll house, the blog, the craft room, my etsy shop, and of course, more dollies, sundries, and the money involved...

So, here goes:

1. To take more photos and more creative photos of my girls (I got lazy when I stopped doing 365. I've joined some new flickr groups for this year)

2. Organize the bejeezus out of my dollie room. It is unusable at current...So far this year has brought me a cleaning and organizing vibe. I have been keeping up on cleaning and catching up on organizing, and hopefully it will continue and move on to the doll room. :)

3. Finish Hana's reroot, seal her, and have a "new" dollie! She has been in pieces for so long. If I can get that far, I would love to start a mohair reroot for Kylee. As you can see in the photo, she needs new hair...badly...

Overall (but definitely dollie related) I am trying to save more and spend less. Hoping that 2012 brings some all around balance to my life.