Factory Girl

Yo, is it cool if I admit I got a factory girl??

I know they are somewhat controversial, as they're illicit hybrids cobbled together from parts that are perhaps leftovers, prototypes, or just not up to snuff. It's theorized these parts are taken, perhaps by factory workers, assembled, and sold on eBay without any kind of permission from Takara.

edit: She's actually a TBL, or Taobao Blythe!

Personally, I've had more and more experiences with a decline in quality from official releases -- terribly tangled, knotted, matted, greasy hair, super wonky fringe, clear lines left on the legs from the molds, increasingly cheap stock. Many new releases have required extensive fixing. This is crazy to me because Blythes are so expensive! I don't expect to pay so much money for something that arrives having to be fixed to the extent some of my girls were, or for stock I don't even want to use because it's so cheap-feeling. So I don't feel terribly bad for purchasing a nude, imperfect doll Frankensteined from unused pieces on the sly for half the price of a new (and also likely to be jacked up) release.

I just completely couldn't resist this combination of nearly perfect shade of pink hair, Dear LeLe Girl-style lashes, rosy lips, and these pretty eye colors. (She also has pink and purple chips.)

I've endlessly waited for a pink-haired girl whose shade of pink is not too blue, too hot, or too bright and neon, and I don't know if I'll ever see an official release with the perfect pink. I've always thought she may have to be a custom. I like very red pinks and very soft pinks. If her hair looks like this in person, I'll be so happy! She feels very "me," and I'm very willing to supply her with the things she lacks, like a stand and a pull ring!

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Licca Life

My Wendy Weekender (who has been, finally, dubbed "Fey") came with a very loose body! When holding her by the legs, her hips were very slippery and the weight of her head would cause her to fall backwards, bending in half at the waist. It's really hard to take pictures of a doll that just falls over, so I thought maybe I should try a Licca-chan body out on her.

Lots of people prefer Licca bodies since older Blythes had them. Their size is almost identical but their stance is very different. Licca bodies look very innocent to me. With the less graceful "pose" to their arms, it really makes them look childlike -- especially with Blythe's big eyes.

Some clothes fit differently and some shoes I have and love (like the Takara Mary Janes) don't fit Licca feet at all. I'm also getting used to the way their heads tilt. Middie heads tilt too! I've had girls who are pretty much stock for four years now, so I'm accustomed to that. If I'm making a hat or something, I use a doll at various points as I pin and stitch on the antlers and ears (and sometimes snaps). I definitely don't want to fit the hat and sew on antlers and ears onto a swiveling, tilting head. They come out crooked!

Still, Miss Beatrix also got a Licca body. I've always thought one would suit her.

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march of March

Man, Aury is just livin' in pink lately. Me too, Aury.

In case you wonder why I usually take pictures of my Blythes in front of a tree, I live on the plains, where everything is flat, and the tree in my backyard is this lone sundial, providing the only shade... and I think a tree is a better neutral background than the siding of my house!

Finished up this floral striped journal I got from Staples a few years ago; it covers 2013, plus January and February of this year. It's time for me to make the jump to this adorable green journal with foxes, owls, hedgehogs, and toadstools on it that my little sister got me for Christmas. Spot-on, right??

Listery:

• Listening to: Glee's cover of I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For; emotional and nostalgic.
• Eating: A Snickers ice cream bar... don't judge me
• Playing: Ace of Base's "The Sign" on my ukulele
• Dreading: my major dentist appointment on Friday...

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conquest of cute: crocheted Wacom tablet sleeve

My best friend lately is my Wacom tablet (it's a small Intuos4). It may be the smallest size, but it's still kind of a large black rectangle to have hanging around in my room, whether I'm using it on my desktop or laptop. I can sense that if I'm not careful to keep it protected and find a permanent place for it, I will accidentally use it as a coaster sometime. I believe there may be tablet cases out there, but in terms of actually cute cases, not so much.

Years before I even had this blog, I made iPod cozies, so this was a big duh. "Have yarn, will crochet!"

The yarn is tremendously sturdy cotton yarn, a lighter weight than worsted done up in SC with a small hook, so it's nice and durable and fits like a glove. The colors are mulberry (I think it was a Hobby Lobby "I Love This Cotton!" skein), peachy-coral (Lily Sugar 'n Cream), and cream (also Lily Sugar 'n Cream).

It took me several days of crocheting to get through it -- the yarn is actually somewhat stiff, and I have a lot of natural tension in my crocheting/knitting. That combined with the small size F hook meant progress was hard on my wrist and I had to just take it easy and take lots of breaks. I rewatched the first two seasons of Community while making it. ("Hey, Britta, whatcha gonna knit-ta?")

Still auditioning the best place to tuck it while it's not in use, but I feel better now that it won't be subject to dust, fuzzies, crumbs, and me accidentally leaving a cold, sweaty drink on it.

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sleeve-to-be

Crocheting today! Working with leftover yarn I've had for years (last year I used this mulberry-colored yarn to practice knitting a dishrag, and I've had many balls of Lily Sugar 'n Cream hanging around for years). Using up stuff from my stash feels great.

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hodge podge

Snowed in! As usual, it isn't possible for me to get cabin fever. Au contraire; I've been cleaning, practicing my ukulele, and wearing snow-inappropriate shoes!

Painted this little black plastic storage caddy that I've had for probably ten years... pastel pink! By hand. With a brush. It took about five or six coats and then a couple of coats of varnish. I don't particularly recommend doing this, haha! But I like how much it lightened up my space.

Fiddling around with learning what's what in Paint Tool SAI. I don't draw as much as I used to, but I'd like to figure out how to do decent lineart. My tentative pencil-pushings don't seem to be cutting it. I'm practicing with the tools by coloring in scanned in Disney coloring books (seriously) and free lineart.

I really like this lineart of a sweet mouse by twisk on DeviantART, available for coloring for people like me. It reminded me of my pet rats. I've had a fair number of them! So I actually colored the tail on this mouse in a manner that reminded me of some of my ratties' tails. They had pigment blotches that looked like birth marks. Rat tails are something many people are grossed out by, possibly because they look segmented, but in reality, they are very soft and warm.

This post is the equivalent of a toddler being like, "Look, Mommy, I dwewed a twee!" Will my mother see this??

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