Big & Small

Warning: This post is actually on time!


This week's Big & Small is one of the first ideas that inspired this segment. When I received my European Grandmother's Kitchen series, I noticed immediately that the little cheese grater was a perfect replica of our IKEA Idealisk grater! I wanted to take a picture in the store with my tiny one...so today I did!

I couldn't even help it. After I snapped the big and small shot, I wanted a picture with an army of Idealisk graters...so I did that too. Find the bitty one!



See you next week...or maybe even mid-week if I'm on my game this week.

Reflections on 365 Days of Cassie Part 2

I had to break this into two posts, because I wanted to write a lot, and also show a lot of my 365 photos. I'm very proud of many of the pictures that I took of Cassie. I feel that for as many as were last minute, and not at all creative, so many others were well done and creative. To pick up where I left off, it was just after Christmas...


My best friend Jeannette got a Blythe doll for Christmas! She named her Simply Mango, Melinda. I was so happy that one of my 'real life' friends had the Blythe bug too!


The creativity that sometimes flows through me inspired this photo; Cassie's own dollie-photo adventure. I feel like Cassie probably wouldn't play with dolls! Haha.


365 certainly makes you want to continually have new things. Photographing your doll in the same clothes and with the same props gets pretty boring, pretty fast. I was happy to finally pick up some Lucky Blythe mags from ConfettiLexi. I felt like about this point Cassie came into her own 'style' as well.


Meet Oceanna! The second 'real life' friend to get a Blythe doll...Kristi! I was really surprised that she wanted a doll at all, and more so when she decided she had to have a blue-haired Can Can Cat! It has been really fun sharing my doll hobby with friends that I thought would only admire from afar!


One thing I finally did was to make Cassie an IKEA uniform out of one of my old shirts. I did this for a Physical Challenge, and I had a ton of fun using this shirt as a prop for other photos:



I got more and more into Re-ment and collecting it, using it for props (like the iron above!) I also participated in several personal swaps and the Blythe Swap group on BK. These awesome hairbows are from DollyBird.


Some of my photos got very boring. Others took a lot of time and a lot of shots to capture.



This one for "May the fourth be with you" Haha.


I actually spent a lot of time creating things to 'celebrate' Cassie's birthday, which is May 15.



In June we organized and went to our first Blythe Meet!!! It was at Longwood Gardens and several girls (flesh and Blythe) came out! It was so exciting to meet a Kenner. I of course couldn't decide between my girls and just brought them all! By this point there were six!

As I neared the end of my time with 365, I tried to take Cassie out more and do more exciting photos of her. I took her to work with me for the early morning kitchen planning session one weekend:


Cass had a spa day:


And finally, it was down to our last photo. I poised Cassie, my 365 Queen, with her celebratory spirits, a crown of congratulations, and her camera 'hung up' for the year (NOT!)



The 365 challenge was difficult. There were days where I had a great photo op, days where the LAST thing I wanted to do was take a pic, weeks where I fell behind, weeks where I had too many photos to choose from, and times when I was flat out disappointed with how my photos looked (snapped in haste in the crappy dining room light...ugh) I think that for the good photos that came of this project, it was worth it. I like that I can say, I made it, difficult or no, for 365 days of photo taking. I didn't think that I would (make it). I'm a little sad that it is over, and while I contemplated doing a new 365 set, I don't know if it will be the same. Cassie is especially special because she is my first girl, and the one who came everywhere with me. It's weird to look at the girls and actually choose one to accompany me, because now it doesn't *have* to be Cassie. I think she is a bit sad too, to see it go. Maybe she and I will do another photo project sometime. For now, I am trying to balance the love between my six girls, and figure out if my little family could stand an addition or two ;)

If you get the chance, try out the 365 challenge on flickr. It is a worthwhile project.

Kitch-Inspiration!

Lately I have been trying to take more creative shots of my girls, and some of the 'best' of these have involved our only room setting: The kitchen!

To start, my shot of Cassie the baker. :) I was having a VERY stressful Christmas Eve, and I finally looked at my to do list and said "FORGET IT!" At about eleven pm I started making Cassie's apron and cutting sheet metal to make little cookie sheets. The end product:



Here is a close-up of the little corner of baking supplies that is behind Cassie in the photo:



My Re ment collection has come in handy, but I can see why fellow Blythe fans collect so much of it; I was lacking for things I *know* exist. One good use of my mugs was after a snowy adventure that sort of...evolved. I love when that happens! I took the girls out in the snow to 'play' and take some pics, and when I brought them in they were all wet. I changed all of their outfits and placed them in the kitchen to warm up with some coffee. :)



Last was my little idea of Cassie doing her own '365' with her Lalaloopsy doll. I had always meant to explore Cassie's personality as a photographer, since she came with a camera as part of her stock. This is one of the first times I've actually done that.



These photos made me realize how much I enjoy the well done photos, as opposed to the last minute, "oh shoot, I need something for 365! *Snap*" I am also REALLY looking forward to putting together new rooms for Cassie and her friends. It's funny, I wondered when I started making the kitchen if it would be Cassie's or if they all lived together, or what the 'situation' was. It is most definitely Cassie's and no one else's.

The next room should be the living room with a small laundry room to the right of it. I am looking forward to 'laundry' photos and decorating, as well as having my husband help me make mini IKEA furniture pieces. My dollies wouldn't have anything else, now would they?! :)

Kitchen Design!

The kitchen, as mentioned in previous posts (like my first few...) is very, very dear to me. I work in kitchen planning, and though I don't cook, I LOVE beautiful, functional kitchens!

So for Cassie I was obsessed with creating the most perfect kitchen possible. I started with a love affair of the Kenmore kitchen, and then, after realizing that tons of Blythe and Barbie lovers have this exact set, I sought something more unique.

I paged through ebay listings galore of Barbie kitchens, before finding Vintage Sindy had a MUCH better kitchen than Barbie ever did... The pieces came with yellow doors and white countertop. What really impressed me was the cooktop cabinet and wall oven. Those were big in the seventies, but then became passe for a few decades. Now, built in is all the rage. The sink amused me the most, because it looks just like IKEA's Boholmen sink with drain board. With IKEA kitchens in mind, I realized that I could paint the cabinets (which sort of resemble our Abstrakt door style)

From there it was a long, drawn out process of acquiring pieces. I don't even want to know how much was spent on ebay in the past few months. I got the wall oven first, then a sink and cooktop cabinet. I decided on the Kitchen Littles refrigerator (it has an ice maker and great interiors). The worst (monetarily) was getting the Sindy cabinet that has four drawers and one door. The auction was in euros, and once converted to US I cringed and went "I did WHAT?!" It came with a second sink and a second cooktop cabinet.



I chose one of the sink cabinets to experiment on, since one had a broken door. Armed with Krylon Fusion for Plastic, I spray painted it white, and I couldn't have been happier with the result. Once I taped up the 'appliances' I went to town on the other pieces. The refrigerator was hit with silver spray to give it a 'stainless' look (since it was white and purple before that...)

I was obsessed with making this kitchen great, so I didn't want to simply paint the countertop...I wanted Cassie to have some custom laminate! I ordered samples from Wilsonart. They have small samples for free, but I got 8x10 sheets for a dollar. They also conveniently allow you to up the quantity of samples. I got three sheets for the kitchen. The first cabinet to get covered was the drawer unit.



From there it was just covering the other cabinets and detailing the handles. I used my husband's miniature paints that we get through Reaper. They are a steely black. The cooktop cabinet was difficult to cover with laminate, so I took my handy spare and experimented with popping the cooktop off. Let me tell you, Sindy stuff is WELL MADE. I couldn't remove the doors to paint because they are secure with METAL rods, rather than plastic, and they run all the way through the door, not just a little nub at the top or bottom. The cooktop was equally secure, so I had to use pliers to BREAK the pieces that held it on. That made covering a flat piece MUCH easier...and...I discovered I had a second cabinet at my disposal!

This changed Cassie's layout quite a bit. I went from an A-line kitchen to an L shape. I liked the way it put the fridge; when you open the refrigerator side you can see all the interiors if you look at the house straight on. It also helps hide my one paint boo-boo. I plan to detail the ice maker in black with silver buttons, and then paint the sides and top black as well. It will look like IKEA's Nutid fridge. :) The oven/microwave have not been painted yet, but Glenn cut the floor pieces, and I picked up some tile for the kitchen (yes, it will have real tile. :)



I can't wait to finish the detail work, add a window and backsplash, and then assemble the room. :) Cassie's Re-ment goodies finally have a home!

A Quick Cassie Update

...because it's been awhile. I was so proud of my Valley Forge pics, and I was VERY disappointed that they didn't make it into the flickr pool. The next challenge is a 'Where's Waldo/Blythe' so that should be pretty fun. I'm thinking of letting Cassie hang out in kitchens on Memorial Day when we are busy. ;)



Anyhoo, on Monday I got a lot of happy mail, and some not-so-happy-as-it-first-seemed. The long box was the Kitchen Littles fridge, and the other little box contained all of my rement goodies. The seller sent me a cute little note and stickers!



One of my little Rement items was supposed to be a clear plastic cake dome. It was one of about a million little baking things included in the lot. I got a message from the seller saying that she had dropped it when trying to pack it and it cracked. She felt bad, so she offered to include the Rement dress form instead! I was ecstatic because that is an item I was planning on purchasing anyways, and now I won't have to!



On to the disappointing part of this story. The super large box. I assumed it contained the kitchen, but I couldn't figure out for the life of me why it was SO huge. That big box for a Barbie Kitchen? The problem became apparent as soon as I opened it. The kitchen was very much NOT Barbie sized. Cassie barely comes up to the counter top.



It almost doesn't look too bad in this picture, but it is. Your countertop (unless you are five) should be a little above your mid section when standing. Cassie came up about eye level when she was right next to it and flat foot. From what I've seen of the other Barbie/Blythe kitchens, this was NOT the right size. Most Barbie things actually run a tad under scale, not over. I contemplated cutting off the toe kick and the panels above the base cabinet doors, but the doors themselves are just too far off scale for Cass. I finally contacted the seller and let her know how disappointed I was. She told me that I could return the item and she would refund my original payment plus the return postage. Off it went today, and I am back to the kitchen drawing board. I still like the Sindy kitchen, and could pick up pieces slowly but surely for that. Otherwise, Glenn thinks I should make my own. It would be interesting, but I doubt I could make functioning drawers and the like.

We shall see what today's mail brings. With any luck, some new dresses for Cassie.

Adventures in Crafting Blythe Headgear

This post is a day late because I went out on a date! Glenn took me to Olive Garden, and I thought I wasn't hungry...but two bowls of salad, four breadsticks, half an entree and a portion of Lemon Creme Cake later, THEN I wasn't hungry. :) We finished really late but Glenn was adorable and still tried to see if AC Moore was open (I'm sad it wasn't; isn't often that hubby takes me to a craft store!)

Cassie and I waited all grueling day long for the mail, but still no vintage kitchen :( To pass the time I made her a beaded headband from Willy Nilly Waterlily's Tutorial. Her Loovee is sooo pretty! I think my headband came out pretty cute, though the next one will be a color that pops more against Cassie's hair.




I like this picture with the light source next to her. I tried to get the little lamp into some shots, but it didn't work. The little lamp is called Knubbig, and is from IKEA, of course. Glenn got it for me for my birthday one year because everytime I went in there I admired it (it wasn't very expensive, but I had no real reason to buy it.) Now, it is the handiest little light ever! We leave it on the bookcase in the living room and it provides just enough light for if you are coming home late at night. <3 Knubbig!

I also finally finished the slouch hat that I started for Cassie the night before. Unlike the little bear hats that are simple and quick to make, this was very time consuming. I was so worried it wouldn't fit (since all of the bear hats are small) but it does! Whew! I got the pattern from createloves.



I got work for the rest of the week, so we will see how ambitious I feel after eight energy sapping hours of school. -_-... I still haven't sewn the jeans I cut out, but I read online about how to fake surge with the zigzag stitch. I'm going to try that when I finally assemble them.

Tonight late I won Cassie some Rement items on ebay. They were in lots, but I got some cleaning supplies, an alarm clock, tons of kitchen stuff including the expresso machine, mixer, cookies, and sugar and flour containers. There are a lot of other odds and ends too. I was so worried about losing the baking items that I set my alarm to get up when it ended!

Rement Love <3

Still no kitchen today, and I am finally posting this. I took Cassie to school, but I forgot my camera, so no pictures of her. It's all for the better anyway, because she is wearing the same outfits all the time! I have to make her more! Off I go to sew til hubby gets home.

Dreaming of Doll Houses...

In my quest to find everything that is Blythe, I stumbled upon an article about housing Blythe. It seems that many collectors use book cases or similarly sized structures to house their dolls. That seemed logical and do-able.

What absolutely captivated me were the details. I hadn't even purchased my Blythe doll at that point, but the photos I found made me want to create my own house for her! WoollyRockers cute little kitchen had me from the moment I saw it...

...and the addiction only got worse when I stumbled upon Squeaky Towers. Blythe fashion designer Squeaky Monkey created an absolutely amazing, detailed, BEAUTFIUL Blythe home for her dolls...Check out the full set on Flickr...the photos are as beautiful as the house! There are many rooms, in progress and complete pictures, and best of all, lots of notes to help would be doll house makers!


Thanks to helpful Blythe collectors who leave notes (like Squeaky), share tips, etc, I finally figured out where all of the cute food and accessories were coming from...Re-ment. Re-ment is a Japanese miniature company. The sets usually come in mystery boxes, so you have a one in ten shot at getting any certain set. There are plenty of shops now that offer individual sets for around five dollars, so you don't have to play with Lady Luck. I spent a ton of time just looking at all the different Re-Ment sets and figuring out what everything was, what I might want, shipping, etc. One of my favorites is The Doll Peddlar They have a large selection!




The object of my obsession though, appears to be the kitchen. I don't know if it's due to my new job as a Kitchen Planner at IKEA, or because I love food, or because my own kitchen is a mess...but I want my doll to have an amazing kitchen. The set that Squeaky used and the popular favorite amongst the B-gals is the "My First Kenmore Kitchen Play Set" that was produced by Sears. The appliances look so clean and realistic, everything opens, and the wall cabinets really give it a complete look. I am on my quest to find and purchase one!



So, my insanity ensues. I spent a decent amount of money on a doll, and now plan to spend even more to make her a house that is nicer than my own! Haha. I am waiting on a few ebay purchases, and then we may get construction under way! I almost dropped dead when my husband told me that yes, it was a good idea to get the furniture FIRST! Hopefully this weekend I can land my dream pieces and start working on it!