HOUSE OF PINKU dress

We got our very first House of Pinku dress in the mail today! Thanks Julie! Stella got to wear it first because she's the oldest.

New Project Runway Project

I don't know what's up with Season 6. Last I read it was supposed to be starting next month, but I don't see any evidence of that.

So. A N Y W A Y I got a gift certificate to B&N for Christmas this year. So what did I order? PROJECT RUNWAY the ENTIRE first season on DVD! Yay!

So maybe I'll start up with the challenges/blog thing again on my own, kind of like an independent study....

Batik Babydoll 3

Red Roses

I fell in love with this fabric, although the scale is a little large for Blythe clothes. It really is that red.

More Mod

New Additions

This is the second of the vintage fabric dresses, a lot of hand-sewing on this one, and a dilemma about whether to close the back of the skirt. I opted not to, as closing the skirt "tamed" the petticoat, and I like how it looks.

This one was SO FUN to make! I am so pleased with how it turned out, especially the buttons as embellishment. She looks like she's ready for an Austin Powers set.
How could I possibly resist this fabric? Another classic party dress. I'm considering doing a "series" of black and white clothing, for some reason I've been drawn to that color palette lately.

Skull Dress

Found this great print at Hancock Fabrics...

Vintage Linen Dress

I finally dug into my vintage linen/lace stash to make the girls a dress. This is vintage linen, tea-dyed. I'm not sure what the original piece was, as I only had an end and a corner to work with. It is embellished by a single vintage mother-of-pearl button. I also made a petticoat to go with it, and used some vintage tape as a sash, although that got a bit bulky around the waist. It's the first of what I hope are many OOAK dresses from vintage linen/fabric.

Cupcake Hats for All

I've been playing around with a crochet pattern for "cupcake hats," which I think are about the cutest things ever. I'm working towards a variation that I like, so far I favor the new girl's version (left), which I actually didn't do correctly (according to the pattern).

Root Beer Barrel Polka redux

New Dress for the New Girl

Blythe Scrabble Tile Pendants

These were so fun to make except for getting that &$^*& bubbles out of the resin...

YouTube - Old Blythe Commercial

Batik Babydoll

I really like how these batik-style fabrics look when used for small dresses, the patterns become a whole new design element. I had a hard time deciding how to embellish this because the pattern is so prominent. Finally, while looking through my beads I found a tiny glass flower with a slightly blue tint. Perfect. Available on Etsy.

Circle Game

Isn't Max stunning in this? I remember singing "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell when I was in high school. The Women's Chorale had to wear high-waisted uniforms that remind me of babydoll dresses, although they were some weird wrap-dress-huge-collar seventies thingies...

Available on Etsy :)

Back to the Shop

I'm back to stocking up the Etsy shop. Here's the first two in a series of babydoll dresses. Although I altered the Skipper pattern for this dress, I'm not entirely happy with it, I just don't like this bodice. I may have to use the bodice for another dress and just shorten it to give me a better result.

Yay! Leanne Wins!

I was totally cheering for Leanne over the past few weeks!

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't too impressed with her work during the first few challenges. But she won me over during the course of the season, and when she was announced as the winner of season 5 I got a little choked up. I think she is remarkable for her personality (as being rather subdued, serious, and not egomaniacal) as well as for her designs.

And she has an Etsy shop! Leanimal. Even though I'm sure she won't need Etsy as a venue any longer, I hope she keeps it up and running at least a little, the Etsy community deserves to have its "star."

So, I didn't finish the season on time here at Project Blythe, but I will continue to work on the challenges until I do, just because I want to. I am currently working on challenge number 11 - design a look inspired by a musical genre. Max's genre is Gothic Bluegrass. ;)

Challenge 10 results!

Here is my outfit for Project Runway challenge 10, in which the designers were asked to design professional looks for young college graduates.

One of my favorite "work" outfits is a two-piece suit from Chico's with frayed edges on the jacket. So I decided to do a "frayed edge" outfit -- the top is a two-layer crumpled silk blouse with the neck and hemline frayed with pinking shears, the neckline is asymmetrical and intentionally "messy" looking. The vest/tunic also has frayed edges and the seams are on the outside. I stayed conservative (hems) with the gingham checked flared pants.

Full size photos available for viewing at my Flickr account.

Granny Dresses

Since I've been into the "Blythe" thing, I've noticed a lot of party dresses and current looks, but I haven't seen many of the "Granny" or "Peasant" style dresses that I see most often as the 1972 Kenner dolls' original clothes.

So I thought I'd play around with a vintage Skipper pattern to develop a good Blythe "granny dress." Here are the results. I've tweaked the neckline, the size of the bodice, and lengthened the skirt. I also designed a neckline facing to avoid having to do one of those tiny hems (I'll never been good at 1/4" neckline hems, ugh).

Project Runway Episode 10 Challenge!

Challenge number ten is to create a professional look for a recent college graduate. I'm looking forward to this as I have been wanting to dress Stella and Max is more current clothing, a departure from the Skipper vintage party dress pattern :).

Challenge 9 Results!

Well here's Max as an Avante Garde Aries. Really, I don't think the look is Avante Garde, but the fabric is hideous, and in this proportion to the model, is waaay out there. The rolled collar is a nod to rams' horns, and the fire element is self-evident. I bought the fabric precisely because it is so wacky, I don't really even like it. This was also frustrating fabric to work with, and I finished it wondering how many PR looks go down the runway held together with safety pins....

As always, click on the photos to see the full size images on Flickr.

Project Runway Episode 9 Challenge!

OK, so I don't have a kicked-off designer to pair with, which is OK. I'm going to make an Avante-Garde look for Max based on the zodiac sign Aries, which is my sign. Stella's a Taurus and Max is a Cancer, (both about which I know a little) but I'm going to express fire and curly horns for this one. Stay tuned, I've started it already and it's going to be hot. Well OK maybe just bizarre.

Maybe while I finish it I can pretend I'm arguing with Michael Kors about what's Avante Garde and what's not....a girl can dream...

Challenge 8 Results!

So I am seriously messed up and behind on these challenges, which is OK because NOBODY READS THIS BLOG! Seriously! I could say anything here.

Anyway, here is the result of the DVF challenge. I decided to depart from her "look" and add some color. I LOVE her work but it is mostly neutral in hue. I have to admit, if I had more time I would've fussed with embellishments, but I didn't.

And I will add that, concerning last night's episode (Sept 24), I am a bit peeved that Kenley didn't get the boot. I think she is so obnoxious, which is probably why the producers keep her. After all, PR is not a personality contest; if it were, half the finalists from previous seasons wouldn't have made it....

Anyway, click on the images to see their full size at Flickr.

Project Runway Episode 8 Challenge!

The 8th Project Runway challenge this season is to design a "look" for Diane von Furstenberg's fall collection. It's about Marlene Dietrich, Shanghai, Berlin, travelers and international spies. For a look at von Furstenberg's 2008 fall collection, go here: Diane von Furstenberg Collection.

Challenge 7 results!

Shaggy Chic

Well this challenge called for adjusting the parameters a bit. Rather than actually getting car parts for this challenge, I widened the allowed materials to include things that you use on a car, and things that would be in a car in Stella's ideal world. That is: dusty rose (faux) suede (Stella's choice for upholstery) and a wash mitt. A PREMIUM CHENILLE WASH MITT. With a super-shaggy pile. From Target.

Project Runway Episode 7 Challenge!

The challenge for episode 7 is to create a "look" using materials from a Saturn car.

Thinking on this, I had to adjust the parameters. My first thought was to go to an auto supply store and just buy stuff. But car stuff is expensive, and I didn't feel like spending money on a whole seat cover or sun shade or whatever just to use up about 1/8 yard of material.

So I expanded the criteria to include things that you *use* on or in a car, which helped. The results should be along soon. I think the outfit is going to be really cool.

Challenge 6 Results!

G.I. Joe as a drag queen. The "dress" was relatively simple, it was the hair, make-up and pedicure that was challenging :).

Labor Day Weekend

(click on the photo for more views)

Well, I took some time off from turning GI Joe into a drag queen and made a couple of dresses for the Project Blythe Etsy shop...here's one of them, I call it Pistachio Salad.

G.I. Drag Queen is coming along nicely, but the manicure and pedicure nearly did me in.

Project Runway Episode 6 Challenge!

Make an outfit for a drag queen! Yaaay! Neither Stella nor Max could pass for a drag queen, but I am lucky in that I bought a G.I. Joe at the thrift store a few months ago....

Challenge 5 Results!

I did my research on Lipstick Jungle and thought OH YEAH. That's just what we need. ANOTHER television show about the erotic angst of white upper class women! But that's a rant for another blog.

So, I tried a shot at what Blayne did for this challenge and constructed some "shorts" for a day to evening look. I even chose the gray palette to make it "classy."(To see more shots of this outfit, click on either of the pictures )I actually like this outfit, and had fun dreaming it up. For fabric, I used coordinating swatches of drapery fabric samples. The jacket is made from an oversized plaid, so you can't detect the pattern, only see a blocking of color. The shorts are made from a micro-version of the same plaid. My only regret is that I didn't have high-heels for Stella to wear, that would've been a better look. But she loves her boots and is happy in spite of me.

Project Runway Episode 5 Challenge!

The episode 5 challenge is to create a day to night look for Brooke Shield's character on "Lipstick Jungle."

Ummm. I haven't watched it. So I will do a little research and come back with it....

Challenge 4 Results!

Here's Max wearing my version of the U.S. Olympic team outfit for the opening ceremonies. I was having a hard time with this until I put the bodice on backwards and turned it up to make little points.

Project Runway Episode 4 Challenge!

Challenge number 4 is for the designers to create a "look" for U.S. athletes at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in China. I have to admit that this particular challenge doesn't trip my trigger -- I'm not much interested in sports, and the red, white & blue color combination is one of my least favorite. But I'll give it a go.

Challenge 3 Results!

I chose to do two looks for challenge 3, because the first look I did was inspired by something in the day time. On watching the episode again, I realized that I needed a night time shot and a night out look. Plus, I got a new girl so now I have two models.

Below is one of the first shots I took for the challenge, a building in downtown Lincoln. I love the architecture and the color palette.
The second shot I took is from standing under the lit dome at the Sunken Gardens at twilight. I love how the blue sort of "glows" behind the structure. The lace-like work of the dome depicts trees and landmarks of Lincoln around the bottom edge. Around the inside of the bottom of the dome is some text, some of which reads "the most beautiful place in the city." And, although I live only several blocks from the garden, I'd never before visited them at twilight. There is certainly an air of magic there at that time.
So here are my girls, Stella (blonde) and Max (blue) wearing their Challenge 3 dresses. I do have to admit that they, and I, are not entirely pleased with the results. As Laura Bennett of Season 4 would say, "there's a whole lot of ugly going on in that room."
Stella says, "good thing my hair is longer than this dress, at least something is covering up my ass!" (Yes that girl swears like a sailor!)Max, on the other hand, is slightly less peeved than Stella, although the dress itself is a tad short, and the lace is M.O.B., she likes that the dress matches her fabulous blue hair.