Blythe Themed Paper Dolls

Here are a few of the Blythe-themed paper dolls I've been working on:

Handmade: Sushi Socks for Baby

I have plans for this. :)

Just take six pairs of socks - 3 white, 3 black, roll 'em up, add cut felt pieces for a little extra flair, and you're done! How cute is that??

Handmade: Origami Light Box

I was reading a neato tutorial here about making your own light box for 40 cents. It looks collapsable so storing it would be a cinch, and it's super cheap. Now we thrifty folks can take pictures on a white background, too. :) I've actually got a light box that I made myself from an old box, but it's big, can't be folded down and stored, and just sits around all ugly... I think this will make a nice replacement.

Handmade: Beaded Flowers

This article on Oh So Crafty blog was pretty neat. It's an easy-to-do beaded flower that has so many fun uses! ...Maybe even an accessory for a new little Blythe doll...maybe? ;)

A possible next purchase

Sometime around Thanksgiving I discovered Blythe dolls. At first I just thought they were cute. Then I developed an affinity for them. Then I started to think about what it would be like to have one. Now I want one. :) But at $135 per doll, they're hardly something you pick up after work. At least in this household. ;) So I'm starting to figure out the logistics of getting one and whatnot... but anyway, I actually think I'm going to get one. Why on earth a married woman wants a doll for herself is beyond me, and I'm quite sure beyond any person reading this. Especially Mom. Mom, if you're reading this, no; this is not a result of a deprived childhood and no; I'm not losing my mind. :) It just sounds like a lot of fun.

Now when it comes to actually choosing a doll... gracious. That's the hard part. There are SO many! But I think I may have found one... we'll see what Victor says about this whole thing. :)

Where have all the good paper dolls gone?

I've been looking around for some paper dolls to print off and make. I guess my childhood memory has betrayed me, because what I remember of them is so much cooler than the ones I'm finding now. I'm wanting cute ones - fun, girly, bright, little dolls. I don't want plain, gingerbread shaped dolls, but I don't want frilly Victorian era ones, either. I like (au contraire, love) Blythe dolls, and am thinking about making some in Illustrator based on them. But does anyone out there know of any cute, modern, GREAT paper dolls? :)

Handmade: Make your origami a forever origami

Check this out - there's a product out there called Plasti Dip - I think it's really a hardware store product for making grips on tools and whatnot - but how about using it to dip your fragile origami and make them a little more permanent and user-friendly?

This tutorial gives you all you need to know - and it's easy. I love it!

Handmade: More Paper Fun

So I got to looking around a little more this afternoon and came across these two sites:

The Disney Experience

and

Paper Inside

Both have free models, and they are amazing mode

ls. These aren't just for kids. :) There are Alice in Wonderland characters, entire BUILDINGS from Haunted Mansion, WWII replicas, and more. So if you're in the mood to make something fun and intricate, check it out. I'm all over the Alice in Wonderland critters... so many good

 memories!

A little paper room

I had too much fun on this one. There was way more cutting than I wanted (turns out this particular room has like 50 posters to cut and hang...) but putting it all together was very neat. Victor seemed to be pretty impressed, as well. I just want to know how people design these things. Every little piece had so much detail and the folds were so cool! Now I just have to figure out what to do with it. I don't exactly have room for another room...

I'm about to look up paper dolls. I loved those so much as a kid - I can't wait to find some good ones!

I almost forgot!

I was officially dubbed Riley's three-day-a-week nanny this afternoon. I'm almost giddy with excitement. :) Newborns are always so fun. They're tiny and soft and smell so good, and don't mind that they don't understand all you're telling them. But secretly I'm happy for *me* that I'm keeping Riley because now I'll have a little baby to knit for! And a pretty one, at that! Oh my goodness, and I can take baby pictures! Well, I'll have to ask Brooke first. Baby Riley + Miss Krista = fun times ahead!

Scratching that itch

I've printed off the design for the japanese kiosk - I couldn't pass it up. I'm half tempted to make all the rooms, but I don't have the space. And really, I liked several of the rooms better than this one, but this little kiosk was so fundamentally Japanese that I couldn't pass it up. Right now I've just got a scattered mess on my desk, but by tomorrow I should have something worthy of a picture or two. :)

Folding Trees: One more before bed

All of my exploring today has yielded some wonderful finds! There's a new site out, Folding Trees, and it's dedicated to the sharing of all things fun and paper. There are like a bajillion crafty ideas on just the first page. It's giving my fingers the craft itch... you know the itch. Something fun is about to be made in the Albright household. :)

A quick post script: Should any of you recognize the papyrus font on the home page, just ignore it. I did.

Lemmings. LEMMINGS!!

Someone did it! It's done. Recent history's greatest little friends, the lemmings, have been immortalized in yarn! Check it out for yourself! I hope she feels like sharing... I can't imagine the immense joy I'd get from having these guys sitting on my desk. Ah.... teamwork.

Handmade: Paper Dollhouse

You're not gonna believe this. Okay, maybe you will. Either way, this was way too fun to keep to myself.

You get cardstock. Go to this website. Find a room you like, print it off, fold it up, and... tada! Your very own paper village. I couldn't believe how amazing these looked! I can't wait to have the girls over and get started!

Testing, testing, one...two...three

...Is this thing on?

For Grandmommy...and I guess Grandpa, too ;)

It's true, I cut my own hair. Chopped it right off with a pair of kitchen scissors. And I guess you know by now that I had no clue what I was doing, either. Lucky for me and anyone who has to look at me, it turned out just fine. :) Dare I say a little cute, even?

That's one orange sheep!

Okay. WHAT a blast spinning and dyeing yarn is. I'm totally hooked.

Who are you and what have you done??

So yesterday I went into town to spend the day with my sister and Rae. It was an amazing day on all accounts. The weather was lovely, the kids were in great moods, I met baby Caleb (amazing), and there was chocolate - in abundance. The brownies were for me. :) Victor didn't have to work, so he had Daniel over and they did, I don't know, whatever guys do when they hang out. Played XBox, I'm sure.

It was a great ladies day. We talked about babies, pregnancy, marriage, life and all the good things that make us women smile with content. All while eating chocolate. Mmm...

Anyway, I stayed till just before dark then headed home. And here's where the day got even better - when I came home Victor told me I had an anonymous gift... "A what? What do you mean 'anonymous gift'?" "I mean someone brought you something, and I don't know who it is! Look on your desk." So I did. What happens next still has me wondering. Who would do this?? Behold:

My dream come true. I have been wanting to spin yarn since the day I heard about it. Just this week I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a small package of roving there - but it was rough and scratchy... even then I had a blast! I still can't believe this.

Who are you?? Why did you do this? And WHY won't you tell me who you are so I can wrap my arms around your neck and squeeze the life out of it?! I was jumping up and down, clapping my hands together and squealing like a child at Christmas. And I almost cried. Oh wait. I take that back. I did cry a little.

To be sure, I put my little head to work and started making lists of people who could and could not be the gift giver. I knew this much: it was a mutual friend or acquaintance of ours and Daniel's. Okay. That really shortens the list. Well, at least on a practical level. I mean, my parents wouldn't have gone to Daniel. He's had it since Christmas, and at that time the only people who knew that I wanted to spin yarn were immediate family and... *click* of course. Blog readers. "Well, great," I thought. That could be anybody. So it was at that point I decided to stop trying to figure out who sent this to me and just get on here and write about it. I figure if this is where it all began, they might get to read about it. After all, it makes for a great read. :)

So, my anonymous giver of roving and dyes and bright smiles, thank you. Thank you for the gift, but more importantly, thank you for letting me see a little more about how selfless love works, and how Jesus wants us to love Him: extravagantly and off the record. I mean, who doesn't just love knowing someone did something for them without telling the whole world about it in order to get a big pat on the back? I do! And I'm pretty sure Jesus does, too. :)