Adventures at B-Lo

The Blythe Physical Challenge #9 was "Blythe vs Food" and was supposed to be a photo with a local 'dare eat' a la that show on the food network. A lot of the other group members sort of punked out and just went with fast food (Five Guys is delicious, but not a dare eat...)

I thought immediately of the gordo at Burrito Loco, and while I was too cheap to buy one (especially because I don't like burritos...) I took Cassie and headed down to West Chester.

It was a dual purpose mission, because I needed my B-Lo shot and I had made SAI letters for a sister that needed to get delivered. Tri-purpose if you count that my brother moved in that day as a freshmen!

After dropping off the letters at the music building (which was also the most convenient parking and not nearly as much of a zoo as the rest of campus) I set off to find my brother, Jack. We headed over to Burrito Loco, and he told me he would "freak" if I took "that doll" out of my bag. He's no fun.

My sister and friend, Kristi and her husband are much better sports. Kristi was moving her little sis who is Jack's age in that day as well, so she and her entire family met us for lunch. Kayla, like Kristi, loved Cassie at first sight, and wanted to hold her and change her eye color. :) Too bad I don't have another little sister!

After snapping a shot of Cass with Kristi's burrito, I elected to put Cassie on this giant fake cactus that is right near a big 'Burrito Loco' banner. This attracted some attention...When I got over to the "Wall of Fame" the cashier made it a point to check out Cassie. She said she wasn't sure what she was (I don't think she knows even now...haha) but overall Cass was well received in West Chester. Here is the photo-montage of my labors...

Cassie Ventures

I've been posting a decent amount about progress on Hana, and Cassie is feeling left out. She shouldn't, because I've been spending extra amounts of time on dollhouse efforts, and I joined a new flickr group. 365 Blythe is a group where you take a photo of your doll every day for a year. It has to be the same doll all year, so naturally, that is Cassie!

I also took a trip to the Poconos, and pretty much brought Cassie everywhere with me. I don't even feel that odd about it anymore. It helps that my husband gladly holds her and poses her for me, and my friends had no qualms about toting Cassie for me.

This is one of my favorites from a natural spring waterfall we visited. The water was 40 degrees F! Brrrr.



And my other favorite of Cassie roasting a marshmallow. I was so afraid the fire would singe her or a bit of ash would get her...but she is okay!



And last but not least for photo sharing...my submission for the Blythe Physical Challenge #8: Blythe in Space. You know I had to go with a Star Trek theme. It sort of came together at the last minute, and THANKFULLY made it into the pool in time!



Borg Cube: We are the borg. Lower your shields, and surrender your ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own...

Cassie (looks at R2): You're a robot...you talk to them.

R2: Beep; Whistle.

Me: Why is R2D2 on the bridge of the Enterprise?

In other news, the final pieces of Cassie's kitchen arrived today. We also got a cute little squirrel dress for her and a pair of shoes (I tend to leave Cass barefoot for fear of losing what few she has) Other than that, tons of Rement has been pouring in, and I fear I have yet another addiction. I can't wait to get Cassie's house together so that it all has a place to go... Now if only I had a place for her house...

Gimme a Head with Hair...

Long, beautiful, plug-by-plug hair.

Lots going on as of late. I went on a buying spree and ordered all of my custom goodies from Coolcat. I also had a Re-ment relapse. There will be photos when those goodies arrive.

Here is a Hana-chan outing. It turned into a failed kayaking endeavor, but I got to take Hana out as she was one time before the big changes coming her way.



...but the big news is that I ripped up Hana-chan. I unscrewed the back two screws and then pried and cut and pried some more, and destroyed about half of the flange, and then, FINALLY got her scalp off of her head.

The glue wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I had read ADG horror stories about glue and plugs and was planning on taking a Dremel to her head if need be...but I was able to de-hair the scalp with just a needle, scissors, and my fingers. Poor Hana-chan's dirty, poorly cut hair is no more...



I think she looks like the one toy from Sid's room in Toy Story. Haha.



First attempt at rooting hair using the crochet hook method...Failed.
Second attempt at rooting hair using the crochet hook method...also FAILED.
I was worried I would have to weft, when finally...
Third attempt: The needle method...Moderate Success
Fourth attempt: The modified needle method, now with string...Great Success!

Houston, we have thatching. Here is the progress shot...



I'm very proud.

In other news, and so Cassie-belle isn't left out, she got to go ghost hunting this week! The Blythe Physical Challenge was to find a haunted location, take a photo and make it black and white, and tell the creeeepy story. So here goes:



Charles Hunsicker was one of the earlier burials, in 1895. His grave was later robbed and his coffin discarded in the woods. Officials recovered the coffin as well as the three grave robbers, but Hunsicker's skull was never found.

All three grave robber's deaths involved dismemberment!

That's all for now. :)

...And Then There Were Two

"New girl" arrived rather unexpected today! She was mailed on Tuesday, and it is only Thursday! Most excellent...

Cassie and I got her cleaned up (literally, her sand matted little face was all dirty) and changed her into a new dress (she came in the red thing in the first pic I put up) Brushed her hair a bit, and then gave her a cute little clip to hold her bangs. She looks much better here, than she did upon her arrival!



Looks can be a bit deceiving...her eye mech was dirty as heck. I think they didn't take her apart to sand. Her hair is very gritty and dirty. I'm contemplating washing it and cutting it before her new scalp arrives, if just for the experience. That's the other thing...her hair is so choppy and uneven it kills me. I discovered her part, and it goes the opposite of how I envision it going...so I will start anew. Her hair plugs are very, very sparse. It must be an ADG thing. Cassie has thick, gorgeous hair.

We named her Hana, after playing with several names. Hana is getting a very new look soon. I went on Coolcat and ordered two wefts of wine red/black hair (it has black highlights!) That will be put onto a brand new, blank Coolcat scalp, with the plug pattern modeled after Cassie's (Though Hana is getting a side part and likely short hair.) Along with those items are new chips: Enlarged pupil in a dark grayish purple, Sakura chips in a dark blue, oblique angle in brown, and custom flat with a green hue. I plan to make her some kickass customs, and probably will spruce up the eyeballs of the enlarged pupils. For good measure, I threw in new eye lashes (they were very cheap) and a green sparkly pull ring, which is for Cassie. I will use her discarded ring for when I do sleep eyes on Hana, and get Cassie a second ring when I finally do sleep eyes on HER. Whew!

Also found out that Hana has had an arm transplant. Either that or ADG sucks at matching skin tone and makes their arms of totally different material (aka, I'm reasonably sure they aren't her arms) I'm debating getting her a Takara body from the forums or going for an obitsu or Neemo, trying on her, and then maybe donating to Cassie if I like it. :/ Gr. The Takara body will wind up being twenty with shipping from the UK, but the same seller is offering a clover stand for a dollar, which I also need. Decisions.

Hana doesn't seem as rough around the edges as I first assumed she would be. She has no makeup, and half her lip color, but I meant more figuratively I guess. I thought she would be a tough little cookie personality-wise, but she isn't really. She and Cassie seem to be getting along, which is something else I didn't quite expect. I suppose when I finally make "Cassie's House" I will have to include somewhere for Hana to crash. She can be *that* friend.

Speaking of friends (and I know this post is really long...I'm typing a mile a minute, and you KNOW I don't edit) my best friend and SAI sister Kristi came over. Not only was she *not* freaked out by Cassie, she actually liked her a lot. I went through all my blythe geekdom with her, and she was there when Hana arrived this afternoon. Kristi understood Blythe personality so much, that when I mentioned Cassie's she didn't even bat an eye, and told me she completely knew what I meant!



More to come about Ms. Hana...

ADG Girl for Customization!

We are getting a new girl!



She doesn't look like much right now, but that will change! She's an ADG that was purchased by her current owner for customization. I believe she was given a (bad) haircut but nothing else. She was a steal at $45.00, and I intend to use her for the same thing!

My plans for un-named ADG Girl:
-Reroot her hair with a straight synthetic from Coolcat. I think the deep wine red.
-Change her eye chips to some custom colors that compliment her hair
-Sleep eyes and new pull rings
-Sand matte or complete that process on her (think she may have been sanded)
-Completely new makeup
-Possible lip carving
-Possible new body

It will be a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I sense customizing is a very satisfying process when the results are good. Plus, I want to do the eyes on a doll that ISNT Cassie, before swapping out her hideous chips. (Lately I am only using her blue)

What is interesting is Glenn seemed unusually opinionated about hair color for the new ADG. He wants a punk rock blue. Haha. I am not so sure I like the blue haired girls, and if I were to do a blue or purple, I feel like it would have to be a very dark shade. I would dig a punk rock doll, but that is a ways away. I think a wavy reroot would suit her better, and I'd like to try straight first. Maybe this will just give him reason to let me buy more dolls! Haha.

Next post will hold some info about my soon-to-open Etsy shop! Cassie and I are very excited to unveil our line of summer dresses. Accessories and other fun may be next if they are at all successful!

Butterfly Dress Design

Round 2: Clari versus the sewing machine attempting to create another Cassie dress...

I started thinking I would attempt to dart the top again, but after one fail and a second quasi-fail, I changed my design a bit. The top is modeled after most of the summer dresses that I wear. This is the end result.



Traveling back to the Blythe Challenge, Glenn and I took Cassie to Cabela's and kayaking at Blue Marsh Lake to get her out of town...here are some of those results!

Cassie in the kayak, and...


Cassie versus the bear!


Glenn actually helped me with this photo. I loved seeing him holding Cassie and messing with her eye chips to find the perfect "horrified" color. :) Challenge: Met. I submitted a photo collage of images that I was quite proud of, along with the story of Cassie's trip. Can't wait for the next challenge!

You have much to learn, young Jedi...

This is my first (piss poor) attempt at creating a pattern. I wanted the bodice of this dress to be fitted, and well, it fits Cassie about as well as a sack of potatos would. The skirt came out nice (usually gathers look terrible whenever I do them) the straps are too long (one is too low so that if the dress shifts, you can see her boob. Scandal!) The most irritating part is that the waistline is NOT even, and with the addition of the ribbon you can really tell. I sewed it and seam ripped it twice because it looked so bad. Then I gave up.



I posed Cass so that the dress looks the best it can. To be positive: I love the pink accent with all the blue, I love how the darkest blue in the dress is the color of her blue eye chips, and I love that I have cute little blue clips to match. I am so frustrated, but already can't wait to try again, and tweak this pattern until it is something I can make to sell in my non-existant Etsy shop!