Saturday, September 18, 2010

Etsy Wishlist

Etsy is such a cool place to browse. This post goes out to the top three obsessions of mine...

1. Bella the Wool Felt Plush by GingerUrchin



I love the way this little bear looks. The steampunk flair is cute!

2. A Blythe Bubble Pendant by Mirella von Chrupek



I love the shots of her Blythe, Nutella. She also does customs with pics of your own Blythe! I wonder if I should get one of Cassie...

3. Panda by Knittingdreams



I love pandas, and always have. This little guy is just too cute and has been on my wish list for some time.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Of Tails and Wings and Pretty Things...

This post is a mish-mosh of all that has been happening lately.

This past weekend was my baby shower, and I hid Cassie in my purse because I couldn't bear not to bring her. I realized recently that most people react very positively to Blythes, despite their creepy appearance, there is something very alluring about them. No one at the shower who hadn't met Cassie seemed particularly bothered by or concerned about her presence. My sister, who hadn't seen her but in pictures, set her next to a cute pink elephant and brushed her hair. ;)



The shower was really nice, and I got a lot of really beautiful clothes for Riley. It was great to see my friends and family, and to hear that my big sister got engaged! I also got to see my best friend Jeannette, and she helped tote all of the gifts home, since her Suburu holds a lot more than my Neon. It was such a wonderful day!



Next up...Ren Faire! I sewed my little fingers to the bone and tried my patience fixing an outfit for Cassie to wear. I was pretty dismayed that it rained for most of the day. Luckily it was a misty rain, so we weren't getting drenched. I couldn't fit into my bodice (surprised?) but I wore my skirt and blouse. Here is my favorite pic of Cassie:



I have been reading great blogs lately, and am feeling more inspired to post entries than ever. I will also try to splice in some things that aren't totally Blythe related.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

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!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Adventures at Rice's

I got it into my head awhile ago that I wanted to make steampunk for Cassie. I'm not sure why, but I did. I saw tiny watch gears at Rice's the last time I was there and fought the urge to buy them...but recently found myself wanting to go back to find them.

My friend Robert and I went this past Tuesday, and I brought Cassie-belle. It was the first time Robert met her, and he took the whole doll-thing pretty well. ;) By the time we went in 'the barn' he was like, "Oh, put her over here with this mummy..." and "over here with the pumpkins all around her..." :)





We had fun shopping and I told Robert about the Blythe Physical Challenge to find a funny sign...Well, Robert found one alright. It is so Blythe appropriate too! I want to submit it but make sure the language is okay (it does say B*tch, afterall)



I bought Cassie some black and white hair clips. I may have to decorate some of them a bit, as they are rather plain ;)

After Rice's we went to a farm market near where we live and picked zinnias. Here is Cassie holding them. Mine wilted, and Robert told me it's because I was choking them! It's hard to hold a doll, a camera, and a bunch of flowers...not to mention being 8 months pregnant, struggling against the heat, uneven ground, and poor footware choice (flip-flops)



Overall a productive day...as I also did some Blythe furniture work! More to come about that in my next post!