Oh, lord, save me from myself.  I’ve discovered Blythe.

For the uninitiated, Blythe is a doll that was originally made back in 1972, but she didn’t catch on and was discontinued that same year, reportedly because she scared little girls with her wide-eyed, spaced-out, possibly menacing stare.

In 2001 a doll collector named Gina Garan published a book of photos of the doll called “This is Blythe” sparking the worldwide Blythe conflagration.  Blythe dolls are in production once again, and there are countless blogs and shops for custom Blythe dolls and absolutely unreal clothes and accessories for her.  You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Blythe at Gina’s blog, aptly titled This is Blythe.  It’s worth a trip over to Gina’s blog, if only to watch the clip of the original t.v. commercial for Blythe (on the “about” page).  Seriously trippy.

I learned about the Blythe phenomenon after hearing that the annual BlytheCon was held here in Portland just last month (missed it!).   And, yes, I’m aware that lots of people find these dolls disturbing.  Online articles about BlytheCon prompted disparaging comments even from open-minded, arty farty Portlanders.   Comments such as: ”fugly and freepy”, ”blyarf”, and the simple yet emotive “Jesus.”  But I just can’t help myself — I think I love her.  I am not blind to her creepiness.  In fact, it is the vaguely sinister vacancy in the eyes that kind of draws me in.

The funny thing is, there are other dolls that are really popular and people go nuts customizing them and making all manner of teeny tiny clothes and accessiories for them.  But for some reason, these dolls do nothing for me.  Sure, they’re creepy.  But not in the good way.  Like the Lati doll:

I mean, it hits all the marks for cute and quirky, but ew.  Nope.  Nothing.

Or the Pullip doll:

Now, I have to admit that if I were to make an actual foray into the world of Blythe, I would be very tempted to re-create clothes from classic movies.  But, as close to my own sensibility as the above image comes, the doll just falls flat for me.  Maybe the simple reason is that the Tali and Pullip dolls are too realistic — not cartoonish or stylized enough.  And there you have it — it is reality that truly creeps me out.

So, open your mind, feast your eyes, and escape from reality for a little while:

Until next time! xxx

Excuses, shmexcuses.  Would you like to hear them?  No?  Ok, then, off we go!

I haven’t posted since this spring’s Crafty Wonderland, so here is a recap of my version of the highlights.  My first purchase was a lovely beaded and crocheted necklace made by Sarah Hulin (a.k.a. Sarah Hoo).  The necklace I chose was in the style of the one below, but with different beads in gorgeous blue and gold tones.  I didn’t want my lack of photography chops to negatively reflect on Sarah’s work, so I’m using her image as a surrogate:

While I’m whole-heartedly a fan of handmade jewelry, I’m pretty particular about things — I admire pieces that are crafty in an un-self conscious way, if you know what I mean.  Sarah uses such beautiful materials, and mixes media so that you’re not overwhelmed with masses of fussy beads or smothered by loads of yarn.  Miraculously I made it out of Sarah’s kiosk at CW with only one purchase.  I mean, check out the pretties and funkies:

Then I stopped by Chet and Dot to ogle the plushes with the plausible excuse of needing a gift for a friend who has recently had a baby girl.  This wasn’t my first trip to Chet and Dot’s booth – they’re a longtime favorite of mine.  I won’t provide and photo of the plushie I chose – wouldn’t want to spoil the wee one’s surprise!  (Kids today are so internet savvy.)  But here’s the general gist of the sweet merchandise:

One degree of cuteness is all that separates Chet and Dot from Plants and Animals, creator of this tooth fairy monster friend:

Next I stopped by Trilby Made’s booth to check out the leather cuffs.  Recycled and reversible!

And then on to drool over the jewelry Little Black Rabbit fashions out of vintage tins:

And last, but not least by light years, I stopped by the booth of Andrea Beth Burnett, proprietress of Sheep Creek Needlecraft.  I was initially drawn in by what I thought were garlands made of felted balls. But as I got closer, I realized that the felted balls were clever counterweights for mobiles featuring beautifully detailed needle-felted animals:

As I admired the felted lamb mobile, I noticed Andrea was working on a needle felting project that looked somehow familiar.  Could it really be . . .

Hang on a sec . . .

Indeed.  It is a felted wool Star Wars mobile!

Absolutely amazing.

Until next time!

While poking around for cuckoo-inspired goodies a few posts ago, I found this cute cuckoo necklace print top by Red Prairie Press:

I loved the print, but was hoping for one with sleeves.  Part of the beauty of dealing with the actual designer and creator of an item is that you can talk to a real person and get exactly what you want, right?  Right.  So I emailed the shop, and was contacted by the lovely shop owner, Rachel.  Rachel informed me that, lo and behold, they’re selling a version of this shirt on one of my favorite clothing shop sites, ModCloth!

Here’s another design Red Prairie Press has for sale on ModCloth:

Go, indie fashion, go!

Like everyone these days, I receive relentless email offers from both Groupon and Living Social.  They’re all sort of intriguing, but for some reason I just never pull the trigger on the coupons — maybe I don’t like being rushed, or I know deep down that it’s all stuff I can live without.  (Yes, I realize the crushing irony of that statement given the general content of this blog.)  But that’s all about to change, for I just became aware of a beautiful entity called Heartsy.  It’s pretty much the same system as the others — you get emails with a selection of limited-time discounts from selected Etsy sellers.  For example, right now you can get $40 worth of goodies for $17 at Renee Anne’s Etsy shop where you can find lovelies such as these:

And Heartsy lets you choose which Etsy shops will have offers in the future, in case you fall in love with these:

Go nuts!

Until next time,

Carie xxx

I really love free hand embroidery, but I find all that blank white fabric an intimidating starting point.  So I’m considering the possibility of using a pattern.  Part of me chafes at the idea of using someone else’s embroidery pattern — it’s kind of like paint by numbers, after all.  But when someone has hit the nail on the head with a pattern like this, why fight it?

It’s the liberal use of jackelopes and mushrooms, and the cheekiness of that little squirrel that mean I MUST attempt to stitch this clock.  Of course, after finding the clock, I was off and running.

I think I’d like to redecorate my whole home in a cartoon woodland theme.  This amazing fabric from Moda’s Hideaway line would come in very handy for that little project:

Once I was in this cuckoo headspace, I didn’t want to leave.  You could go mod with this bright yellow clock by Bonni1982:

Or this stylized but adorable clock by Pepper Sprouts:

Ok, so this one isn’t handmade, but independent design is a close relative of handmade, and this watch is just so cool that I had to sneak it in.  Notice that in the first watch, the little cuckoo house doors are closed, but in the second one, the digital cuckoo appears!  Unfortunately, the cuckoo looks a little like something you’d see on scary political propaganda poster, but I’ll overlook that.

Or instead of mod, keep it folksy with a knitted pillow:

Or even a knitted clock!

Did somebody say cake?

Until next time!

Carrie xxx