Dolls! My Large Head Dolls

 

This little group photo is of my Takara Blythes, some of my Diva Starz and down the front, some recent additions to my collection, two Cutie Pops who are from the Swirly Brights range made by Jakks.

 

The designers of these two Cutie Pops dolls went mad using colour and pattern.  They look very much influenced by the psychedelic 60's and I just love them.

 Their hair pieces and bows are inter-changeable.

Their makeup is great and the way they have designed the eyes is so creative.

Some of the dolls come with an extra pair of eyes so you can make them look like they are sleeping. The eyes just snap off, and you press the new ones into the heart shaped hole.

Here is my Blythe who is the biggest headed of all my big head dolls.  Her hair is amazing it is just so thick and heavy.

My other Blythe.  Both my Blythes have shoes, but I put them in a safe place (probably their boxes) and didn't bother to go looking for them for the photo shoot. I just love my Blythes too.

Here is one of my Diva Starz who was an ebay buy and she is wearing her original outfit.

Good night everyone and happy dreams!

Thankyou to Bila for joining my blog, go and have a look at hers as it is so stylish.

Dolls! Ideal Crissy Gets a Maxi Dress Too!

This is my poor little Ideal Crissy doll, who has had her base hair trimmed at some stage by a previous owner.  I still think she is great.  The 70's were a back to nature movement for some people, so I have used a folksy patchwork print fabric for her maxi dress.

I think her tail has been trimmed slightly at some stage as it is not level.

Happy with her new dress.

 Here is Brandi and Crissy in their maxi dresses.  I have one more maxi dress to make for another Crissy who has the wavy base hair.  Hers will be red.  When that is done, I will be making another shirt for myself.

Dolls! Brandi from the Ideal Crissy Family - the Ugly Doll?

When I saw Nymphaea's post about the Ideal Crissy doll, I was immediately caught up in the Crissy doll phenomenon, and promptly got one from Ebay.  The 'caught up' feeling didn't stop with one member of the family, and now I have Brandi, Crissy's Californian tanned friend (I also have some more of the family in a fairly beaten up state, but that is a story for another day). 

Brandi pre-makeover:

When my Mum saw Brandi after her bath and her hair treatment, she remarked on what an ugly doll she was.  I thought she wasn't the prettiest doll when I got her, but now I think she is great.  I made her an outfit this week from one of the patterns Beth Colvan kindly has on her site for free, and I think she looks sensational in an outfit from her era, the 1970's. This dress is the backless maxi-dress for the larger Crissy family dolls which are about 17 1/2 inches.

I think that is a pretty face, don't you?  Brandi doesn't have the glassene eyes that Crissy and some of the other members of the family have such as Velvet and Kerri.  I don't have a Kerri and would like to get her next.

She is an out-doors type of gal.  Note the daring backless maxi dress which is great for showing off one's tan.  This fabric is left over from a top I made and I was able to 'shop my stash' for all the ribbons and lace trim.

Out-doors gal

These are the markings on her back, showing that she was 1971 model.

Now, about her hair. I did my usual technique of shampoo, conditioner and fabric softner but I could not get her hair to stay un-tangled. I would just get one section untangled and it would be tangled by the time I had finished the next one. So in desperation, I tried the wet towels technique on the ironing board. It de-knotted the majority of her tail, but the ends were still frizzy so I gave them an extra iron (still protected by wet towels) and made them melt and frizz even more. My Mum suggested cutting them off, but I have decided to leave them on and just say she is an out-doors sun loving gal who hasn't looked after her hair very well.

I did read on the internet about this kind of hair can stretch with a lot of brushing, and I think that the previous owner did a lot of brushing, which is understandable as the main focus of this toy was the hair.

Hair before treatment

I adore these dolls and I am about to make a maxi dress for Crissy, hopefully this weekend. Thanks Nymphaea for writing about them on your blog.

Connie Crawford Shirt Butterick 5300

Here is my finished Connie Crawford shirt made with Butterick 5300, view B.  I used a Japanese spot seersucker that I bought from the sale table at Spotlight last July.  I finished it in early January just in time for the extreme hot weather we have been having here.

According to Butterick's website, it is now out of print.



I like this pattern because it is more realistic sizing and it comes with different pattern pieces for the front to choose from, according to your bust size. The finished shirt was a little large across the front, so I will try the next size down next time I make this.

Cute round collar.

 The pattern has side slits:

Back view:

I have had some very busy weekends, so I haven't got any Crissy doll clothes to show you, but it is coming soon!

A huge thankyou to Maverika for following my blog!