A new home for the Blythe girls; a new project for me

A work in progress......

Mademoiselle Blythe Features Moi!

The girls and I are so lucky to have been chosen by the talented and popular blogger Mademoiselle Blythe (her header shown) a.k.a. Fanny Zara. She recently featured some of my dollhouses for Blythe and others on her blog here or click the headline of this post. Her feature begins an interior designer series in which she will also be profiling some of my besties, Angela and Lindsay.
Even luckier still, I got to meet the lovely Fanny in person at Blythecon 2011 in Portland, after having followed her blog and her Flickr, and occasionally purchasing from her on Blythe Kingdom. And Fanny has exquisite fashion taste, let me add!

So, I decided to revisit some pictures of my first dollhouse, Blythe Manor I, which no longer exists. Gosh! I had forgotten about all the itty bitty pieces and parts in here. You can see Blythe Manor II, The Leesburg Hotel and my Petite Princess three-quarter scale dollhouse on Fanny's blog.

Updates from all my properties

I think I need a property manager!

Diorama photo practice

In repose
Originally uploaded by Gina2424

I played around with shots using my window seat backdrop, curtain, cushions, lamp and plant, all by Maryann Roy of Welcome Home. Lucite table and topiary by Jenn of Style in Scale, Chair by smidgehouse/smidgegirl. Jason Wu FR "mink" throw as rug, floor and wall box by Adorning Elements from Collector182 from Lafayette, IN on Ebay. Real mink pillow/pom found at the Sideshow gift shop at The American Visionary Museum from old 1960s store stock they were selling. I also got some tiny mink ball earrings that I will use at Blythe pullrings.
Did I say I am IN LOVE with this lamp! Oh, and French guide book by ckworkshop on Etsy.

The Leesburg Blythe Hotel, our home away from home

After I brought Phoebe, above, home from the Michigan Blythe Meet, I set about making a dollhouse in the location of my former Blythe Manor I. (Blythe Manor II is the one you usually see). I brought a shopping bag full of extra furniture, accessories, and about 10 different cans of spray paint. Krylon Fusion is made especially for plastic.

Since I had some great pieces left that just wouldn't fit into Blythe Manor II, I knew I wanted to make a second dollhouse anyway. So, I sorted what I had into room grouping and then figured out what needed painted in order to fit in. I especially wanted to use the IKEA-like shelf by Smidgehouse on Etsy and the leopard settee by Barbie Furniture and Fashions on Ebay. I also received a great Takara vintage desk in a trade and snagged a Bratz egg chair and lips bed on EbayUK.

Along with all that, I improvised to make a mirror from a silver tray, a "wicker" wall unit from a coffee table, a window blind from a placemat, a frame from a lid, a hanging light from a photo ball, a lamp from an air freshener, another lamp from a dangly pendant bead, records from stickers and key tags and an art desk from some clothespin photo holders and two acrylic frames.

Some other repurposed items included placemats for flooring, a baby's headband for a photo hanger, a piece of sink mat for a bathroom rug, a Hello Kitty plush keyring for a pillow, and a piece of placemat for a window shade.

All the rooms are pictured above, with and without their plastic occupants. The house was a one-day project, thanks to fast-drying paint.

Full House: Blythe Manor

Now what do I do? That's my lament. Planning and decorating the twelve openings at Blythe Manor has been some fun that I'm a little sad that it is full. I could possibly squeeze in one more tower, but I don't want to get too eccentric or have my bedroom look too ridiculous. So maybe it's time to just enjoy The Manor by photographing some of the girlz actually IN it! And like a true minor OCD player, I just keep thinking: but I don't want to move anything and mess it up! We shall see.

Meanwhile, the Re-ment cleaning products and the orange 'pop' cubes from one of the older room sets make a perfect (and OCD?) finish to the laundry room. I couldn't be happier! I'm never far from my own Windex, Brillo, Comet, Bounty, Glade solid and heaven help us all if the pantry gets lows on toilet paper!

Welcome to Blythe Manor! Y'all sit a spell.

Updates from Blythe Manor

The dollhouse is nearly done. I just recently realized I haven't taken a single picture of a Blythe in the house! Must do that. I guess now I will wait until it is done. That top space is already wallpapered and partially filled. In fact the picture of Angela's Nikki cat on the computer was taken in that square.

The three "Charlie's Angels," "MerAngels" or "MerBlytheAngels" feature Maggie's visiting Verde from left and then my Virginia and Charlotte, all customs, although one can still tell Charlotte is an Urban Cowgirl, which is fine. The mermaid outfits are pieces I snagged on Plastic Paradise, and then I made the tops on Verde and Virginia with Blythe stock bras and sticky rhinestones. Photo fun!

As you can see Cherry Cat was caught at the computer late at night. Not sure what she is up to, but I am sending her home to mama! Those little plastic/rubber cats are amazingly expensive- many are well over $100! At Wal-Mart, they would be $3 in the dog toy or baby toy aisle. I am not panning Angela's cat; in fact, I love these Nikki cats by Odecco/PetWorks. I am just amazed at their collectibility because they are the size and material of a rubber squeak toy! Squeak! Eek!

My new Ashton Drake Pow Wow Poncho Blythe arrived, replacing the Gwynyth I used to have. She really is very pretty. I added eyelashes and all new chips: brown, blue, pink/clear and purple/green. Here she models a tagged vintage Skipper dress. I am still considering names and welcome opinions: Gwynyth II, Bitsy, Blondie, Muffy, Barbie, Lindsay, Elle.

My Cover Girl

Thanks to Confettilexi and Lucky Blythe Publishing for choosing Daisy as the April cover girl. We are excited and grateful! P.S. Get my girl an agent! Here is the link to get this and other excellent Blythe mini-mags.


Here is the link to the Lucky Blythe Publishing Flickr group. Daisy is a custom Takara by RuiRui on Flickr or Neroli on Ebay. I am very thrilled with Daisy.


RuiRui is in Tokyo and has perfect feedback on her customs. I give Confettilexi a perfect 100% on her publishing!

Thanks to Confettilexi and Lucky Blythe Publishing for choosing Daisy as the April cover girl. We are excited and grateful! P.S. Get my girl an agent! Here is the link to get this and other excellent Blythe mini-mags.

Here is the link to the Lucky Blythe Publishing Flickr group. Daisy is a custom Takara by RuiRui on Flickr or Neroli on Ebay. I am very thrilled with Daisy.

RuiRui is in Tokyo and has perfect feedback on her customs. I give Confettilexi a perfect 100% on her publishing!

More DIY, a Coach purse and a tiny Blythe box

Had such fun making the tiny, one-inch replica Blythe box. Instructions from Dr. Blythenstein on Flickr. I first found one in kittyrobot's room, also on Flickr. I used it, along with other little goodies, for some finishing touches for Blythe Manor II.

The black bedroom dust ruffle, the black throw pillows and the Coach purse all are by Pistachio Libby on Etsy. The Coach fabric is the former wiping cloth from my authentic Coach sunglasses. Ah, the sacrifices we make for Blythe!

I crocheted the little peach throw pillow in the top photo. More details to come.

Tiny Needle Mad Skills

Aren't the tiny mittens and sweaters adorable? I admire anyone who can knit or crochet in the small. I made the hat above, and although the photo is tiny, the work is not. I'm usually happiest with about a G to K hook. I cannot imagine the tiny needles or hook necessary to make the mittens especially. Or the patience!

I got the mittens from Felicity (Flissy) on This is Blythe or etsy. They are straight from the U.K. She makes them in a gazillion colors, with or without the string. And, she takes custom orders and has some pretty cute hats on Etsy right now.

The sweaters are from Brazil in a trade with Nanipatch on Flickr. She also has an Etsy shop, Nani's Store and adorable pictures of her stuffed felt items on Flickr. The Blythe-size felted bag is from Lusitania on Etsy. She also has great people-sized felted items, too.

A post about Blythe knitting and crocheting would not be complete without mentioning the talented Zoe Aarden, author of GrrrlieDesigns, available from Blurb (and edited by Moi!). She's busy getting her master' thesis published right now, but she has great items on Etsy also. And finally, the lovely Rima of Willy-Nilly Waterlily has darling Blythe crochet and sewing and also amigurumi on Etsy.

Please check out my sweet Blythe friends for your holiday shopping!

Blythe, Art & Vintage

I'm always trying to tie these three together: Blythe, art and vintage. From the looks of the framed print above, you can see someone has done it with much more talent and style. Miss Surprise on etsy http://www.misssurprise.etsy.com often sketches out outfits for the ultra cool Eurotrash of Finland http://www.eurotrash.etsy.com before she goes about making the clothes and helmets she sells. I have no idea why American Blythe collectors call knitted hats "helmets," but it makes us feel ultra cool, too.

Eurotrash is so of-the-moment and hard-to-get that her audiences around the globe check the international time converter and set alarm clocks for wee hours just to try to bid. She loads her etsy store about once a month, and I last saw about two dozen (not cheap) outfits and hats sell in less than three minutes.

I didn't even know about Miss Surprise or her role in the fashion process, but I accidentally found a set of three of her prints on etsy and promptly snatched them up. I chose the frame and mats above for the print I kept, and I gifted the other two to Miss Vicky http://www.cutitup.com, Re-ment habit supplier and to Angela http://www.geminiangelart.com. The scene above is the lavender and sage setting atop the armoire in my office. The girl on canvas and the single cat on the easel were both painted by me.

Speaking of etsy, the crocheted throw pillows pictured above on the lovely green faux leather (plastic) couch were made by me for my etsy shop http://www.hpsgsmith.etsy.com. I got the idea from crochet-covered focal beads or buttons used (usually just one) to close a shawl, stole, cape, wrap, etc. They're the perfect size for Blythe-looks like something they might have purchased at "Pottery Blythe"- you know, that cool store.

I even shared a tutorial for making my little pillows (so much for making my own cool million) on ZNE Dollz http://www.znedolls.com at http://chelise.typepad.com/zne_dollz/2008/02/groovy-little-p.html. Now everyone can have tons of tiny pillows, but why make them when you can get them from me on etsy http://www.hpsgsmith.etsy.com? It's the American way.

The top photo is just Olivia (GR) in her $1 vintage dress and a Supergirl comic, courtesy of the US Postal Service, back when stamps were 39 cents.