Kawaii

My blog has moved!

I've decided to pick up and move. I started a new blog back in September and I've been writing there ever since.

New blog:
http://happilycandied.blogspot.com/

If you followed me on Vox and then at TypePad, I'd love to keep in touch with you at my new blog. Feel free to drop by, leave a comment and/or email me. And if we knew each other before and have lost touch for one reason or another, I'm sorry! I hope you're doing well though. <3

Much love to Vox and TypePad-- especially Vox! I still love you with all my heart.

<3, Lauren

Beautiful 'Resin Blythe Eyechips' by Zombuki

I was honored when my good friend Brigitte of Zombuki asked me if I wouldn't mind trying out a new product she has in her Etsy shop: Resin Blythe Eyechips. Of course, I was more than thrilled to see what her eyechips looked like in person so I hopped right on board and said, "YES, PLEASE!"

I've been a fan of Brigitte's work for years. She has an amazing eye for detail... and a knack for creating unique and one-of-a-kind designs for dolls and toys. The first "products" that attracted me to her work were her custom Blythe and Pullip dolls. They're some of the first custom dolls I saw when I started collecting Blythes that made me take a step back from my idea of what custom dolls were, and they caused me to really think about how far someone could take customizations. The very idea is intense and wonderfully thrilling! Brigitte shows no fear in all of her work and is constantly breaking any dolly barriers previous custom dolls have set. Now that's talent.

I think my admiration for Brigitte's custom work is why I was so eager to get a piece of that "Blythe wonderment" from her. Something as simple as a pair of eyechips for Blythes can turn an entire Blythe doll into a Zombuki doll-- totally amazing! I chose one of my favorite dolls ever, Pinkachu, to help display the Zombuki eyechips Brigitte sent me. I was able to pick out the chips (from an array of fabulous colors) I wanted, so of course I went with the hot pink pair! And there was no other doll of mine more suited to wear them. ^__~ Pinkachu is honored as well.

Like I said, I saw an immediate transformation when I put the Zombuki eyechips in Pinkachu. She's always been my sweet, innocent and pink Hello Kitty doll. <3 I feel like she's overcome a little of her shyness after being transformed with these new chippies. She can be a little more bold and brave now that she's been Zombukified!

Thank you, Brigitte, for giving me the opportunity to see your gorgeous eyechips in person. Pinkachu and I couldn't be more amazed by your creative eye. (Pun intended.)

FS: OOAK Rainbow Wawaya plushie (DaWawa #81) - $52

A very special new Wawaya plushie is joining the family soon (a present from Shawn for our anniversary next month) and I need to make room for her! So this gorgeous rainbow Wawaya plushie that I bought in 2008 from Wawaya's shop on Etsy must find a new home. ^__^ He's only been used for display purposes and has been sitting in my cubby shelves with all my other dollies, plushies and toys since his arrival. He's like brand new!

Wawaya #81 is approximately 18 inches (46 centimeters) high-- a nice, big plushie to hug! You can kind of gauge how tall he is by viewing the above photo. The height doesn't include the ears so he's even a bit taller if you factor them into the mix. ^__~ The ears and feet are made of a soft red fur material. The majority of the body is made of a pretty rainbow striped fabric. A silver velvety bow is tied around his neck with one silver bell hanging from it. It adds a really sweet touch to this guy! Keep in mind that, like all of Wawaya's plushies, this guy is one-of-a-kind (OOAK).

His original price was $72. The price I'm listing him for is $20 less than the original listing price.

You can view the plushie's original sale listing on Etsy here. I also took a few new photos of him so you'd get an idea of what great condition he's still in.

Note: I'd like to thank my sister, Kathleen, for being my model in all my photos!

Purchase details:

Rainbow Wawaya plushie (DaWawa #81) - $52

Shipping within the US will be $10. Shipping outside of the US will be $25.

I only accept PayPal for payment.

If you have any questions, or you'd like to adopt this plushie, feel free to message me on Facebook.

Braille's arrival: my Kenner dream, a long time coming.

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Flickr, you most likely know that I recently reached a huge landmark in my dolly life: I bought my very first vintage 1972 Kenner Blythe. After years of collecting and waiting (all the way back to 2004!), my dream to own a Kenner has come true. I'm still in disbelief...

I'd like to introduce you to Braille.

Braille joined my family last week on Wednesday, April 13th. I had been quietly looking for a Kenner for the past few months, ever since the 2010 holiday season. (The holiday season always puts me into an "I need a new dolly" mood.)  In fact, I had been hoping to get one in December, but I didn't feel like I was in the right place financially at the time. I put off my serious search for a while, but still kept my eyes open for a deal that I might be able to handle.

I figured that the little hiatus in my search happened for a reason. I was still unsure of which Kenner I wanted. By then, I had narrowed down my search to raven and blonde haired dolls. I liked the boldness of the dark haired Kenners, but I also loved the angelic quality of the blonde Kenners. I figured that I would know which one was for me when the time was right.

I came across Connie's Kenner threads on This Is Blythe and Blythe Kingdom. She was selling five (out of her fifteen) beautiful Kenners. The Friday morning before Braille joined me, I scrolled through the sales thread very casually, secretly hoping to come across something special. And then I saw her-- the very last Kenner in the thread. She was a blonde Kenner, one in beautiful condition and listed for an amazingly reasonable price. (All of her stock makeup was still intact, with the exception of her blush that had been added by a previous owner. Her hair was frizz-free, besides a few centimeters on the tips of her hair. Her body had no cracks at all and her legs clicked perfectly.) I never thought I'd be able to find a gorgeous Kenner that I was instantly drawn to for under $1000, but sure enough, I did!

With beautiful gifts like Braille come sacrifices. I knew I had to sell another doll in order to afford a Kenner. After talking it over with Shawn, I decided to put up one of my two Lati Yellow dolls for adoption so I could pay for my Kenner in one full payment. As much as I miss my Lati (who I sold to a very sweet person on Den Of Angels), I have no regrets.

After sending Connie my payment, I waited four and a half grueling days for Braille to arrive. I checked my package's tracking number at least once every fifteen minutes during the day when I was awake. Of course, the day she arrived happened to be the one day a new mailman was on my route so she ended up getting delivered around 5 PM instead of the usual 1 PM. (What are the chances??) I had her shipped to Mom's house because I don't trust the mailing system for my apartment building. Poor Mom. I kept calling and texting her to see if my Kenner packaged had arrived. I could tell I was making her nervous after a while. Finally, at 4:38 PM, I got the call: Braille was delivered and Mom was on her way over to drop off my package. *happy dance*

The one regret I have right now is that I wish I had taken deboxing photos of Braille. I always cherish those memories when it comes to Blythes. Because I had waited extra long for the mail that day, I was way too excited to bring out my camera and take shots as I took my new doll out of her package. Luckily, there's one thing I'll never forget: the wonderful sweet antique shop smell of an old Kenner. It's so pretty and unique! I'm hoping that Braille will always keep the scent.

I'd like to get into the meaning behind Braille's name now. I already explained it on Flickr, but I'll go into more detail here since I can ramble on for as long as I want to. xD A lot of my dolls have fun kawaii names, like Pinkachu and Plum and Utopia (Topi) and Nami. I wanted my Kenner to have a somewhat more serious name, one that resemebled prettiness, tranquility and gentleness. The first night after I paid for my Kenner, I went through hundreds of ideas for names. Finally, as I was falling asleep (which is one of my best times to think of names for dolls/plushies), the concept of braille popped into my head.

In Connie's description of the blonde Kenner, she let interested buyers know that the tips of the doll's fingers had been cut off by a previous owner. I found this quality incredibly endearing. It made me think back to what my friend Sherri told me about her Kenners when we were driving to BlytheCon in 2009. She explained that she had felt most connected with the Kenners that weren't perfect. Most of her beloved Kenners had flaws: frizzy hair, a cracked torso, a missing limb, etc. The flaws in the Kenners were the qualities that made them special; not only did their age show, but the love and time that they had endured over the years were reflected in a very visual way through their outward appearances. At first, I didn't agree with Sherri's outlook on Kenners. I mean, why would I want to pay a LOT of money for a doll that wasn't perfect or near perfect? The moment I laid my eyes on Connie's photos of Braille, I felt like I finally knew what Sherri was talking about.

Thank you, Sherri, for that beautiful insight!

I embraced my Kenner's "flaws" and I wanted to make sure that the thought of imperfections creating perfection always stayed with me. According to the dictionary, braille is "a system of writing and printing for blind or visually impaired people, in which varied arrangements of raised dots representing letters and numerals are identified by touch." I think the meaning of braille connects the perfect with the imperfect, thus creating a beautiful balance in the world. My Kenner-- my Braille-- is a permament reminder of that beautiful balance.

A lot of Blythe fans have big, gorgeous Kenner families. I've always admired people who can do that! I wish I had the ability to do it myself. ^^ At the same time, I've never wanted a big Kenner family, or even a big Blythe family. I like doting on my dolls, spoiling them each with lots of clothes, accessories, photos and attention. I know that if I had a big Kenner family, I'd get overwhelmed; most of them would not receive the attention they deserve. I decided a while ago that I would have just one Kenner. And that's another reason why Braille is so special to me: she'll forever be my one, special Kenner. <3

The results are in for the Kawaii ButtonTails Giveaway!

First, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to enter the Kawaii Lalaloopsy ButtonTails Giveaway! It was really great hearing from people from all over the world. Entries came in from the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Greece and from all over the United States. After seeing this raffle's success, I hope to host more Lalaloopsy raffles in the future. ^____^

And now for the winner... (Pocky wanted to help present the results. ^_~)

Many congrats go out to Rachel! She'll be receiving a congratulatory email from me shortly so I can ship off her ButtonTails prize. ^^

Lalaloopsy ButtonTails Giveaway Raffle!

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This raffle was completed and a winner was chosen in March 2011. Thanks to everyone who entered it! You can view the blog post where the winner was announced here. Stay tuned for future fun activities on my new blog that will be launching in early 2012!

Welcome to Kawaii's Lalaloopsy ButtonTails Giveaway Raffle! Read this entire blog post for all of the information regarding the giveaway, and please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you might have. ^__^

The reason behind the raffle

Lalaloopsy dolls have become a huge sensation for both adults and children around the world, including myself! Recently, I've been working on a special Lalaloopsy custom and I'm planning to sell her very soon. I thought hosting a fun raffle would help celebrate the beginning of a fun new custom doll journey for me. ^o^

Raffle details

I am raffling off a brand new Lalaloopsy ButtonTails cat plushie (seen above). It's one of the two current ButtonTails releases and has a value of about $15.00 USD. This raffle is completely free of charge, meaning that you will not have to pay for the ButtonTails OR the shipping. Both are my gifts to you!

The raffle will begin today, March 28th, and will end this Friday, April 1st, at noon (Central US time).

The raffle is open to adults (ages 18+). While a large part of the Lalaloopsy market may be geared towards children, I have to ask that only people who are 18 years and older enter the raffle. The winner will have to provide me with a home address and I find it appropriate to ask only adults for that information.

If you're younger than 18, feel free to show your parents this blog post. They must then follow the given directions in order to enter the raffle for you. (I will not accept entries from children who say they have a parent's consent.)

The raffle is open to people in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe (with the exception of Italy).

How to enter

ONLY ONE ENTRY IS ALLOWED PER HOUSEHOLD!

1) Read this entire blog post so you know all of the information before entering.
2) Leave a comment in this blog post stating that you're entering. In the name field, make sure to enter your real first name. You only have to say that you're entering in your comment. The rest of your personal information can go in just the email!
3) Send an email to me ([email protected]) with the following information:

Name (first and last):
Location:
Email:

4) Check my blog and your email on April 1st (sometime around 1-2 PM) to see the announcement about the winner.

I ask for both a comment and an email for the rare occasion that I don't receive your email. Your location will give me an estimate for what I'll need to pay for shipping, and it will also help me make sure that people aren't entering more than once.

After I receive your comment and email, I will email you back with your raffle number. And then on April 1st, I will use http://www.random.org/ to pick a winner! I will immediately contact the winner by email to let them know that they've won the giveaway. The winner will have two days (until April 3rd at noon) to email me back with their address. If I do not hear back from the winner within that time, I will pick a second winner and go through the same process.

Thanks for entering!

I'd like to thank everyone who enters and to anyone who passes along this blog post to other people. If this Lalaloopsy giveaway is successful, I'll try to hold more in the future!

Lalaloopsy dolls: my new obsession.

If you know me on Flickr or Facebook, you'll know that a huge chunk of my life has been dedicated to Lalaloopsy dolls for the past two months. I originally discovered them last year when they were first released by MGA Entertainment, but I didn't get serious about them until January of this year. What attracted me to them? Easy. It was their bright hair, cute styles and unique similarity to Neil Gaiman's Coraline (one of my favorite books).

While some people are scared of Lalaloopsys because they slightly resemble the evil characters in Coraline (like the Other Mother) I'm drawn to the dolls because of the fact. The button eyes set them apart from every other type of doll out there and they greatly show off the fun story behind Lalaloopsys, which is shared on all of the dolls' boxes:

"Lalaloopsys were once rag dolls who magically came to life when their very last stitch was sewn. Each doll has her own charming personality from the fabric used to make her. "

Putting initial aesthetic attraction aside, Lalaloopsys are uniquely special in another way. Basically, you get the product that's described to you: a rag doll. Upon taking a Lalaloopsy out of her box, you'll notice that she's extremely floppy and loose. I've heard some people express concern over the floppiness of the bodies, as if they believed their dolls were broken, but there's no need to worry! MGA was true to its word and created a rag doll for kids and adults alike. Only, this doll isn't made of soft fabric; it's made of a heavy, durable plastic. Personally, the heaviness is something that I immediately loved about the dolls. I feel that the dolls are sturdy and can handle being tossed around by younger children, the product's target audience.

The first series of Lalaloopsy dolls was made up of eight dolls: Crumbs Sugar Cookie, Spot Splatter Splash, Pillow Featherbed, Peanut Big Top, Mittens Fluff 'N' Stuff, Jewel Sparkles, Dot Starlight and Bea Spells-A-Lot. All the dolls have their own unique, fun and bright personalities, qualities that people of all ages can relate to!

The first Lalaloopsy doll that I bought for myself was Blossom Flowerpot. I had originally been attracted to a doll in the first series, Crumbs Sugar Cookie, because I loved her bright pink hair, but I didn't like that the pink leaned more towards magenta rather than a true HOT pink. (Magenta is purplish-pink and is my biggest pink pet peeve!) I held off and waited for a different release. MGA then released two new dolls during the holiday 2010 season: Blossom Flowerpot and Tippy Tumblelina. As soon as I saw Blossom, I knew she was the one for me. That bubblegum pink hair was a perfect shade of pink and her light brown skin set her apart from all of my pale skinned Blythes and BJDs. (It's close to my own skin tone, yay.) She looked like candy to me! Unfortunately, because she was so new in December, all online sellers hiked up her sales prices. The waiting began.

Finally, in early January of this year, I found one Blossom sitting on a shelf at my local Target. I immediately snatched her up and took her home with me. After deboxing Blossom, I realized that I wasn't completely happy with her style. The whole flower theme was a bit too spring and not enough dessert for me. That's when I decided to give my new doll a brand new look. I'm still learning to sew and my capabilities are nowhere near where I need them to be in order to create a frilly (and rather complicated) dress for a Lalaloopsy. I decided to raid my Blythes' clothes. Out of the hundreds of items I own, only two dresses kind of fit the Lalaloopsy body.

So here's a warning for anyone who is wondering about clothes that fit Lalaloopsys: Lalaloopsys have VERY large waists compared to other dolls (like Blythes) so it's very unlikely that other doll clothes will fit Lalaloopsys. I would check measurements on garments and comparing them to your Lalaloopsy's measurements before purchasing any clothes online! I would hate to see you waste your money on clothes that won't fit the dolls.

The two dresses I found didn't even fit my doll very well; they refused to close in the back. Still, the pink and brown dessert dress that kind of fit her was a perfect match for my doll's theme. That's when I decided to name her Pocky, a Japanese sweet treat composed of a biscuit that's partly covered in chocolate. My favorite type of Pocky is strawberry, which happened to be the color of my doll's hair, so I knew the name was a perfect fit!

The weeks following Pocky's arrival were incredibly fun. I started making some very minor customizations to her. She received new hair decorations. I first removed the original Blossom stock flowers that were attached to her head. Then I attached some desserts (a cupcake and macaron) in place of the flowers. (I had picked up the desserts at a fair a while back and had been saving them for a special project.) Some brown ribbons tied into bows completed the new hair look.

I had very much disliked Blossom's original bright orange shoes so I bought one of the new Lalaloopsy Fashion Packs and used the black pair of Mary Janes on Pocky instead.

One of the last touches I made to Pocky was adding her pink bear friend, Yan Yan. (Like Pocky, Yan Yan is a Japanese treat composed of a biscuit and icing. The only difference is that the icing is not on the biscuit; it's in a separate container and is used for dipping.) Now that Pocky has a little pink friend, I feel like her customizations are complete! I'll eventually make Pocky a new dress. I just need to perfect my sewing skills.

Since Pocky's arrival, I've been slowly picking up new Lalaloopsy products. While the big Lalaloopsy dolls are my favorite products in the toy line, I don't plan to collect all of them. (They take up so much space! My hobby room is already overflowing with toys and dolls...) Other items, like the ButtonTails plushies (seen above) and the mini Lalaloopsys are fun friends to get for Pocky. She currently has three mini friends and a ButtonTails mouse friend named Shortbread. I think all of my Lalaloopsy products will end up revolving around Pocky in one way or another. ^__~

Recently, I've been searching for the newest Lalaloopsy release, the very first boy doll! His name is Patch Treasurechest and he has a pirate theme. When I eventually get him, I'll be de-pirating him and customizing him to a special theme I have in mind.

I'm ecstatic over all the new Lalaloopsy releases planned by MGA over the next few months. To help contain my excitement, I'm often "talking Lalaloopsy" with other fans over at the official Lalaloopsy Facebook page and on my Twitter.

Apple Caveys & the monster.

I surprised myself today by being in the mood for another blog post. xD I'll be honest... It's a good feeling to have! I'm so happy with how the Apple Cavey photos turned out; they're giving me the perfect reason to be a little creative.

I received my three Apple Caveys a few weeks ago. As soon as I saw them in person, I had a pretty good idea of what kind of photoshoot scene I wanted to create. I love the idea of seeing Caveys with what object or theme inspired their existence in the first place so using apples was a must. Kathleen jumped at the chance to be a Cavey model. ^^

The "Viking Hat" (which we believe to be a Minotaur Hat) was actually a last minute addition to her wardrobe. She showed me three different hats she had in mind after we put her outfit together, and after seeing the Minotaur Hat, we knew it was what was needed to complete the ensamble. She really rocks it no matter what she's wearing though!

We decided that she would act as a monster girl posing with the Caveys. In this second photo where she's holding the basket of apples, she doesn't realize that there are Apple Caveys amongst the fruit. She's taking it easy, enjoying her day of walking through the snowy woods. Truth be told, monsters are rather happy creatures, especially when it snows and all other predators in the woods are in hibernation. The forest is theirs, a quiet home where they have full reign over all.

The monster decides to take a break from her walk and look at the apples she took from a nearby animal hollow. Upon further inspection of her new treasures, she realizes that the mythical Apple Caveys are hiding between the real pieces of fruit. O___O The monster's hunger takes over, and without thinking, she starts to form a plan to EAT the Caveys who have so cunningly deceived her during her walk. This trickery is unacceptable in the kingdom she claims as her own!

The monster discovers the little world the Apple Caveys have made for themselves within the juicy fruit. Without hesitation, and Toffee Apple Cavey already in her grasp, she moves towards all of the Caveys. She pauses just for a second, realizing that these creatures may be the last of their kind. Whether she acts on her instinct and gobbles up the Caveys or weakens at the thought of destroying the only remaining Apple Caveys in existence... remains a mystery.

Cavey releases & the holidays are keeping me busy.

It looks like Holly is having more really great and successful Cavey releases. I'm so happy for her! Her Snowman Cavey went up in the Playlounge shop (both in the online shop and in the UK store) just this morning, and Reindeer Cavey was just released about an hour ago in the Hey Cavey Big Cartel shop. I was able to get one of each so I'm happy. To help celebrate, I took a photo of my favorite Cavey ever, Hello Kitty Cavey.

Getting a photo that I was satisfied with was extremely difficult this time around. >__< In fact, this photo is from the third photoshoot attempt in the past week. I feel victorious now that I produced a shot that I'm happy with! *pumps fist in air* I'm extra picky with my Hello Kitty Cavey photos. Like I tell everyone, she (along with Pink Strawberry Cavey) is my pride and joy when it comes to Caveys and plushies in general... so everything always has to be just right.

Now that the Cavey releases for the month are over (that I know of, haha), I can focus on other holiday plans. I'm trying to get my creativity back in gear by making my own Christmas cards this year. I'm running a little late with that plan-- I'm getting all the supplies I need this Friday and I might be able to take the photos the same day, depending on the light. Whatever service I choose to go through for printing, I'm hoping it will be fast so I can get the cards out to all my friends and family before the holiday.

I've been putting off a rather big project for quite a while and I now realize that I really need to put it in motion before the holidays. It's a surprise gift for a friend of mine, and I think it's something that will take quite a bit of time to make.

Other gifts for the holidays have proven to be very difficult to get this year. *sigh* I've had such rotten luck with buying items online; I've almost given up even trying! Two of my orders on Amazon were cancelled because the store's stock wasn't updated, so I ended up purchasing two items that weren't even available. On eBay, I either get outbid in auctions or the price goes up ridiculously high before I can even place a first bid. All this bad luck has taught me to start shopping in October or early November, grrrr! I hate feeling rushed.

I think I'll be able to breathe more once I get at least half the gifts on my present list and my cards made and ordered. It will definitely be a busy few weeks. I don't mind a bit though-- it's still my favorite time of the year. ^____^

Meet the new robo hammy, Jacques Toupee!

I could not be happier with the newest hammy addition to our family. Ever since Fru passed away a few months ago, I've been keeping an eye out for the perfect hammy. This time, I decided to try something a little different by looking for a robo hammy, a breed even tinier than my past cuties, Fru and Yukimo. Just a little under two inches in length... please meet Jacques Toupee!

Little Toupee joined our family this last Wednesday, November 24th. He's the first boy hammy I've had since I was in grade school, which is pretty cool-- and different for a change. Quite a few of my friends have had boy hammies and I've seen how calm and friendly they are. As much as I loved Fru and Yukimo, they had the tendency to display a bit of attitude every now and then. ^__~ Because of that, they could be snippish if they were in a mood. Just like I predicted, Toupee is incredibly sweet and I haven't detected one ounce of "snippishness" from him.

There's a rather funny story behind his name. I had gone to the pet shop with Mom and Kathleen last week and we looked at all the hammies in the cages. The cage that Toupee was in contained three adorable brothers who were almost identical. We all commented how cute they looked because, well, they looked like little old men! The patterns in their fur made them look like they had fluffy white beards and bushy white eyebrows. >w< So cute. Shawn and I returned to the pet shop this week and he made the same comment. After we decided which hammy was the perfect one for us, I realized that he would definitely have to be named something that reminded me of a little old man.

I did a lot of research on names and concepts associated with cute little old men, but I never intended our adorable new hammy to be named after a fake hairpiece worn by older men. *sigh* I was joking around with Shawn and randomly said "Toupee!" in a (really bad) French accent. He laughed, so going along with the joke, I added, "Jacques Toupee!" Shawn thought the name was hilarious and started calling the furball Toupee. -____- I begged him not to call our new cutie that, but sure enough, the name caught on. The next day, Beth, Kathleen and Mom geeked out about the name as well... so now our hammy is called Jacques Toupee. xD

So far, Toupee has shown off really adorable personality traits. I originally chose him out of the group of brothers because he was so calm compared to the other robos. Robo hammies are known for their speed and the pet shop employees constantly told me that "robos are not meant for holding." I have a lot of experience holding hammies (which they didn't seem to believe) so I wasn't too worried about the problem with their habit of running super fast. Toupee was the first hammy I held from the group and he slowly walked around on my lap, sniffing me and just staring. His brothers zoomed in and out of my hands at top speed. Toupee was also notably smaller than his brothers; as if robo hammies weren't already small enough, he was about half their size! Toupee's small body size and his calm demeanor were what really drew me to him. I'm in love.

Jacques Toupee loves tunneling in his cage and he's already grown used to my scent. I can put my hand next to him in his cage and he'll jump right on it, fully aware that it's time for an adventure outside of his home. I'm so proud of Toupee... and I still have so much to learn about him. ^__^