The third featured talent for the 2016 March Talent Showcase is Eliana of ClassicBlythe! She creates such fun things, I was very excited to get to know her – and now to share what I learned with all of you!

Hello Eliana! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hello, my name is Eliana and I am from Argentina. I’m a photographer and I own a hardware store but I can’t stop doing and looking for creative things to do with my free time. Thanks to Blythe, I learn new things every day and develop new skills. Not to mention the great people you meet from around the globe.

How did you discover Blythe?
I discovered Blythe about four years ago. I’ve always loved dolls and one day just googling I discovered a Blythe by Melacacia. As a doll lover and photographer I couldn’t help falling in love with that picture, so I started searching for “big head doll” and “big eyes doll” I didn’t have to look again, it was late for me so I started looking where to buy, haha.

Who is in you doll family right now?
My doll family has 18 members right now (13 Blythes, two Icys, one Pullip and two Dals), and I think that I’ve reached a point where I start being a lot more conscious about who is going to get in it, because is going a little out of hands.

Calíope was my first Blythe, she is a TBL, Perséfone (TBL), Athenea (Blythe Prairie Posie), Casandra (Blythe Rachel’s Ribbons), Berenice (Dal), Electra (ADG Blythe- Flower Power), Galatea (Dal Another Rabbit), Juno (Icy Kikyou), Emilia (Icy doll), Alice (Custom Alice in Wonderland), Elizabeth (custom by BlytheShed), Niké (Blythe Allie Gabrielle), Nix (custom Blythe by StrawberryLand), Olivia (custom by Melacacia), Rei (Blythe rei Ayanami), Sabbath (custom by S. Cola), Scarlet (custom by Sandra Soulgirl), Sofia (Pullip)

How did you start sewing for Blythe?
My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was fifteen years old with an old pedal sewing machine. Since then I’ve started making all kind of things, after discovering Blythe the step was mandatory, that and the fact that is very difficult to get things from abroad, because we have a not very good exchange rate and because the government has restrictions on how many purchases a person can make a year (two is not a very large number sadly). So I started making clothes for my dolls and I found it very therapeutic, I can spend hours sewing or just looking at the fabrics trying to make color schemes on my head. For me is like a getaway from a very busy world.

What was your first sewing project for Blythe? (Would be a good idea to include a photo of it, if you can)
My first sewing project was a denim skirt, with the T-shirt and socks, it turned out very well, sadly that was also the moment when I discovered, in the worst way possible, that some fabrics stain the body, from that moment on I use that same body to try every little piece of fabric I use.

What made you decide to start selling your clothing on Etsy?
Some friends of mine encouraged me, they bought somethings, some others had their own Etsy shops, and I started thinking that maybe it could be a good thing try earning some “dolly dollars” so I can buy whatever I wanted.

What has been your most favourite piece that you have created so far?
My most favourite piece has to be an English dress set, it has a lot of details and I really like it. Also a custom hand dyed dress is grey with x-long sleeves and some hand-dyed lace, anyway I hope I can make it better with time.

What has been one of your most challenging pieces so far? What made it challenging and how overcome those challenges?
The most challenging piece, has to be the grey dress, it was challenging because it was a custom order and a very specific one, I had to fulfill my client expectations, keep my style and make it affordable. I ended up hand dyeing laces, and fabrics in order to make it the way we both wanted it. Finally that dress became one of my favourites, because it made me see that I could make some better things than just some plain dresses, it was a breaking point, that’s why is one of my favourites.

Tell us about how your day is like when are spending time working on things for ClassicBlythe.
I can’t work on ClassicBlythe everyday because I have to work into adult stuff, the good thing is, that when I can make the time to sew I really enjoy it, it’s the best part of my day. Normally I do it at midday when I have about three hours and I’m alone because my husband is not at home, so I can spread out a lot of fabric on the table to try to make the scheme that I like, small things as hand sewing and embroidery I leave them for the afternoon, because I’m no ta lone anymore and it doesn’t take so much space.

What are some tools that you think you couldn’t live without?
My scissors, my pin cushion and a box full of fabric, it doesn’t matter if I use them all or not, I just like to look at it.

What has been one of the most exciting moments for you since opening ClassicBlythe?
It has to be my first sale, I woke up to find that something has sold on Etsy, strangely it was not a dress but a custom Blythe. Best moment ever.

Thank you for doing this interview with me, Eliana! What advice do you have to share with someone who’s thinking of opening up an Etsy shop for Blythe?
Only one advice, patience is the key, sometimes you spend a lot of time and sell nothing, but is important to be patient and of course sew what you like, something you can be proud of, something your dolls may use, those things that when you finish them you just think: I can’t sell this, I want it for me. Thanks a lot for the interview it was really a big pleasure.

You can learn more about Eliana and ClassicBlythe on Etsy, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

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Do you recall all those times I’ve mentioned that I really wanted to add a BL to my doll family and how I would love it if I were to get a Mondie (Mondrian)? Well, if you recall the dolly family photo I posted last week – it’s already out of date!

This is Lottie:

She’s a secondhand Mondie that I purchased off of Yahoo! Japan auctions for what I consider to be a steal. She does have some issues though (her pull string does not work, her eyes are hand-roll only, she has been opened before because she has a scalp gap in the back, she has some faint staining on her legs that does not bother me), but she is all mine and I finally have my Mondie!

I’m kind of really smitten with her.

Lottie’s wearing: dress/Plastic Fashion.

I received this darling Middie-sized dress from Pamela of Endangered Sissy, who had noted that my Middies suffer in the clothing department. Now the problem is, this meant competition between the two Middies who live here of who owns the dress (the answer is Michelle, but let’s ignore that logic for a moment), so there was a fashion smackdown in regards to who ‘owns’ the dress – which resulted in an impromptu fashion show with two dolls, one dress. You, the readers, get to decide who wore it better.

Top photo: Kitty Brighton [Jackie Ramone]; Bottom photo: Lydia Melbourne [Yellow Marshmallow]

Who wore it better, Kitty Brighton or Lydia Melbourne?

I had so much fun interviewing Andreja, and she was so generous with donating the sweater with miniature notebooks to one very lucky winner. If you’ve forgotten what it looks like, it looks like this:

And don’t forget! If you’re not the winner, you can still head on over to Katjuss on Etsy and buy your own goodies!

The winner is…. Click to read more of this entry.

The second installment of this year’s March Talent Showcase features Becky of Scrumptious Delight! Already known for making adorable plush toys, she’s branched out into customizing Blythe and sewing for the dolls we all know and love! Read on to learn more about Becky!

Hello Becky! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Hi, i’m a toy and craft loving mother of two human teenagers and multiple fur kids. I am originally from the UK but have moved around a lot and have been happily living in Vancouver BC for the last 8 years. Some may know me for making plush toys and soft sculptures.

How did you discover Blythe?
Back in the good old days of Flickr I first discovered Blythe as some of my plush friends would post photos of their dolls. When I search to find out more I found a wealth of photos and had a case of the need, want, must haves. It took me a while to get my first doll but once you have one it’s hard not to get her a friend or few!

Who is in your doll family right now?
Right now I have Pumpkin (green haired TBL), Candy  (My Little Candy), a Zinochika who is mid customization, and a Simply Mango and Simply Guava who are waiting to be customized. I recently finished customizing a Simply Mango into a Little Red Riding Hood for the show “a date with Blythe” the new Guava and Mango came along to replace her. I have a Pixie Peaceful and Nanas Little Lass middies, I love their size it makes them easy to take along with you. I also have a few petites including Fluff who I customized with cotton candy coloured hair.

How did you start customizing? Which was the first doll you customized?
The fear of customizing is real. It took me a long time to over come it. Way back I bought and customized a couple of Blybes to get some practise in I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, hot screws in eyes to get chips out…nuff said.
I then customized Pumpkin my TBL and Fluff my petite. Last year I was finally brave enough to customize a stock doll she was a Cadance Majorette who became Saphy Rose and went to “a date with Blythe” show.
I hope to build confidence and improve my technique. There are definitely more petite customs in my future too.

You’ve certainly jumped into the world of customizing! What are some of the challenges you overcame with customizing Pumpkin or Fluff?
I guess the main challenge was overcoming the fear of carving. I still have a lot to learn, with each custom I try to carve a little more extensively or differently to get a feel for the plastic and learn where I can carve more deeply and how to create the shape I want.

With Fluff the challenge was really her tiny size, I had to carve slowly and try and keep it all as symmetrical as possible.

I know you also sew for Blythe and other dollies. With so many other Etsy shops and crafters out there, how do you make your work stand out?
I don’t think I do, yet! There is a lot of cross over between plush and dolls and my plush work is fairly well know. I always assume that when people buy doll clothes from me that they found my store by some happy accident or that they were looking for plush. I do take pride in the quality of my work though and I hope that customers will find the clothes as well as my other items well made and will become repeat customers.

My tiny cotton candies are the one doll item that I think people actually come searching for in my shop. People in the Blythe community are wonderful about sharing photos and tagging where various items come from, it’s e-word of mouth.

Your Petite custom, Fluff, sports a pretty amazing cotton candy coloured reroot! Can you tell us about your rerooting experience? Would you do it again?
I would, I have since done an alpaca reroot on Boo the petite. The mohair on Fluff was a bit of a pain to work with, I didn’t enjoy having to wet the plugs to knot them. One mistake I did make was to make my plugs a little large when rerooting. I was very close to running out of space for the knotted ends, the scalp is stuffed full!
The alpaca on Boo was really nice to work with and there was no need to wet the fibre at all.

With your fingers in so many creative pies, how have you managed to incorporate your different skill sets together with your work related to Blythe?
I am obviously pretty comfortable with sewing but I really enjoy switching things up a bit and trying out new techniques and mediums. The thing that draws me to Blythe the most is the possibilities she represents. I really enjoyed making Boo and her little room box and all the different skills I had to employ to tell her story.

You created a Red Riding Hood-inspired custom for a charity auction recently, how did you get involved with that? What can you tell us about that project?
I was contacted by Rhodora Jacob who is the owner of Tiny Dodo Gallery and organizer of the event. Rhodora was already familiar with my plush work and had seen some of my work on dolls on Instagram, I also customized a doll for last year’s event.

20% of funds raised go to the Seattle Children’s Hospital fund for uncompensated children, for this reason the theme and vibe of the dolls needs to be child friendly, nothing too gory or dark. This year’s theme was “Dark Woods” that would tie in perfectly with the work of the featured artist Irene Garcia of Sirenita Dolls. I felt quite inspired between the theme and the cause and chose to base my doll on the Little Red Riding Hood from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes. Roald Dahl was in my opinion the best children’s writer ever and being British I grew up on his books so I was in my happy place.

In the revolting rhymes tale Red shoots the wolf and is seen three weeks later in the woods by the narrator wearing a wolf skin coat. I made her a reversible cape, red velvet one side and furry the other with detachable ears, held by magnets. On her eyelids and back plate I drew the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood in the style of Quentin Blake who illustrated Roald Dahl’s books.

What do you enjoy most about creating for Blythe and the Blythe community?
There are so many ways to customize and style a Blythe doll and so many people out there creating so many amazing things, it’s really very inspiring. I work from home and find myself needing new challenges and variety to keep things interesting. There are so many possibilities in creating for Blythe from customizing, making clothes and accessories to carry cases and room boxes, every work day can be different and new and exciting.

The Blythe community is friendly and supportive. The best is meeting in person with others from the community. I love our meetings with the Vancouver Blythe Bunch, my daughter and I have found real friendships there and I can honestly say I haven’t never met a more friendly accepting group of people.

Thanks for doing this interview with me, Becky! What advice do you have for someone who’s new to customizing?
Don’t be too afraid, take your time and try to always work with a plan. Mistakes happen but most mistakes can be fixed or at least turned into something else.

You can learn more about Becky and Scrumptious Delight on Etsy, Facebook, Flickr, and Instagram.