The Blythe clone (Basaak) I had ordered from Thailand arrived on Saturday. I was so impatient to have her in my hand but when she was finally there it was made immediately clear what the ebay seller meant by poor quality, not comparable to an authentic Blythe. The Thai on Ebay are masters at frank disclosures. After a moment of doubt I soldiered on and started taking her apart, first discarding her stiff body, which I replaced with the second hand jointed one you see above, sanding her face completely and washing her hair with dish soap many many times.
Carving her face is much harder than YouTube /Flickr makes it sound. Finding the right tools for the job is a bit of a guessing game but after a good 3-4 hours of trial and error I had learned a lot and decided to stop while I was ahead. The first attempt at painting the face was a bit similar, easier though than carving.
I replaced her eyelashes, gave her sleep eyes, a hair cut and voila! my girl is all new and I can't stand it she is so pretty. Creating a face is a bit like having a baby, really hard work but you just can't help but being happy and in love.
This is what she looked like before all the violence:
I sewed everything she is wearing before she arrived, making friends with the Bernina 580 decorative stitches. I found one (713) that gathers as you sew with thick strait stitches. I can see myself using it over and again where I want fullness and don't need stretch.
The beret was knitted last night, you can find my Ravelry notes here.
I really hope to sew somthing esle for her tonight, a little cape maybe...I wish I could make her shoes too. Much more to come with Serafinn no doubt!
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She's a cutie. I love her little outfit. What did you carve? And HOW did you carve the plastic? The freckles are adorable and I love her bright read lips. :)
Posted by: Lisa | April 28, 2014 at 08:35 PM
Hello Lisa!
She IS a cutie isn't she!
I carved the nose to round it, the nostrils (she didn't have any), the groove under the nose that leads to the top of the mouth and the mouth of course extensively! You have to use caution and all the will in the world to carve the plastic. Also you can use wood knives, x-acto knives, random little things you find in your drawers... you get the idea!
I will definitely do it again. I love making faces : )
Posted by: juju | April 28, 2014 at 09:18 PM
She looks so pretty! I love everything you did and her clothes are so sweet! My sister would go nuts for this.
Posted by: Alexandra Audrey | April 29, 2014 at 05:25 AM
Hi Audrey,
glad you like it!
juju
Posted by: juju | April 29, 2014 at 07:55 AM
She's adorable! I was just admiring her picture in Ravelry - I adore her, the photo and how you styled it, her outfit and of course cute beret :) thank you for such a sweet comment on my first Blythe post!
Posted by: Claire | May 07, 2014 at 07:53 AM