My sweet husband help me set up and put all the food together, since I’m moving a little slower these days. Didn’t he do a great job?!? All simple snacks that don’t require a plate. One guest just used the table (I won’t name names) which was exactly why I used Kraft paper, instead of a real tablecloth. Messes were welcome!

I had been trying to figure out something super simple we could do while hanging out, and I seriously could not think of a thing for TWO MONTHS! Then, of course, I had an idea the night before. I quickly stitched up a few knit hats that we could embellish with beads and plastic flowers from my craft stash. It was super easy and all the hats ended up really cute!

My sister Cori (who a few of you have possibly met if you’ve ever seen me at a craft show) has been experimenting with making Blythe clothes and accessories lately. I just had to share this adorable dress and skirt she made!! How cute are they? She’ll be attending BlytheCon with me in August, and I’m urging her to bring a bunch of these!

You guys also get the privilege of seeing the aftermath! This was me thinking “oh no, I forgot to take photos today!!!” and quickly snapping this before putting everything away.

I had a lot of fun and am so glad to see the girls who came!! Maybe I’ll host one again?

I’m also super excited about the fact that my house is pretty clean and kinda tidy right now. Having parties is a great way to keep your house presentable. Ha, my husband says it’s one of the reasons he’s cool with having so many.

What are you thoughts? Should I make more? Should this be something I bring to BlytheCon? Do you want me to stop asking questions?

My little sister Cori is most likely coming with me, and it will be our first time visit the Pacific Northwest. So if theres anything you think we should check out in Seattle, and possibly Portland, let me know!!! Also if you will be attending, I’d love to know about that too.

All I requested in return was some photos to share on this here blog…

… and here they are!! I think she did an amazing job! I seriously had the biggest smile on my face when she tagged me in the photos! Oh and look what she used the necklace for. A pull ring!

This is the fabric that was sent to her for inspiration (you can find it on spoonflower along with all my other monster designs). I’m thinking I may want one for myself now, maybe using this fabric as a jumping off point instead?

If you are interested in any more of Sarah’s work you can check out her blog or flickr account! Everything she does is so beautiful, I bet if you don’t have a Blythe doll yet, you’ll want one just so she can customize it!!

Please note that the first three photos are courtesy of Sarah Glahe/Kaleidoscope Kustoms and the rights belong to her. I asked permission before using!

She also provided a bunch of sculpey and cute faux food craft books so we could make little sweets for our dolls! I kinda viewed the day as a break from making teeny things, so I didn’t make much. But it was neat seeing everyone else working away! Like look at that mini lipstick and donuts Lindsay made?! super cute!

Heidi also brought some of her doll customizing tools so I was able to see how a few of those processes were done. If you look above you can see some of the hair she plans on adding to one of her girls scalps. It didn’t look too hard, but seriously tedious. I really want a girl with black and gray hair, so I THINK I may try.

I think it’s neat how all of our dolls are basically from the same mold, but each of them has such different looking personalities! The top one above is one of mine, the second one down is one of Heidi’s and the last one is one of Molly’s.

Anyway, back to the get together real quick! As always it was great seeing everyone. It’s nice to everyone and have a some time away from CT. Some months I REALLY need it! Thank you Molly!!

You can find all of the new eyes in the shop HERE.

I’m also in the midst of editing photos of some medium sized arrow necklaces and even more eye chips. Once the skies aren’t as dark I’ll get even more new pieces up! So make sure to keep an eye on the shop!

Blythe!

About four years ago I had a customer turned friend ask if there was anyway to turn a pair of my bee earrings into a tiny doll sized necklace. I took this as a challenge, I LOVE challenges. So I set out figuring out length and size and quickly put together a mini necklace. Well I actually put together about three dozen mini necklaces. It was fun and it used up all those little chain bits I had been hoarding for years. I didn’t have a doll of my own yet, so I sent the necklaces to my friend and asked if she could take product photos for me in exchange for the necklaces. You can see one of these photos here.

Apparently there was a huge demand for little necklaces and I sold out super quick. So I just kept making more. I enjoyed all the new customers I was getting to know and the community they had built. Everyone was so nice and creative. I was sold on it all. I had to have a doll of my own!

It wasn’t until after I had CT that I finally gave in and purchased myself a Blythe doll. She was a previously owned redheaded girl that I named Random (Trillian and Arthur Dent’s daughter from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). I received her at the most perfect time, sorta. I had been admitted to the hospital for gallbladder problems and pancreatitis. It was during a snowstorm so I was in there for 8 days waiting for doctors who were snowed in. She arrived on the third day right before my surgery. My awesome husband brought her to the hospital along with a measuring tape and some sewing supplies. I used the downtime I had (when I wasn’t asleep from all the painkillers) to make a few patterns and such for my new doll.

The first one was a little beanie similar to ones I had made CT before she was born. Actually it was the same pattern, just altered to fit Blythe’s huge head! I used my own fabric designs (which I guess should have been talked about during this timeline thing… oh well) and had them printed by Spoonflower. I actually sold a few of these beanies before I even had a chance to properly photograph them! Another happy accident. From there I started making shirts, dresses, skirts and more. It was a lot of fun designing for something so little and something that doesn’t really care how brightly colored or busy the patterns may be! I could make anything!

Over the years I have made many little pieces, and the designing is still super fun. However the itty bitty tiny sewing has taken its toll on me. So this past year I started selling the pre printed dress patterns. So anyone who still wanted my designs could make them at a much cheaper cost! I’ve also added hand cast plastic blythe eyechips to the mix. It’s a brand new adventure, but i’m enjoying it just as much as everything else I do.

This venture, like some of the others has enabled me to meet some of the most amazing people! I love talking to them and seeing what they create. I’m crossing my fingers that my plans to go to BlytheCon this year don’t fall through like previous years (something crappy always came up, like I was cursed). This year i’m going up with friends so that should help! I just want to meet all of these amazing people so bad. Are any of my readers going?

So now onto the giveaway portion of this long post…

So as part of week four (the final week) of Art School Dropout’s 10 year anniversary, I am giving away all of the Blythe accessories pictured above plus two sets of our DIY dress kits (not shown)!

Here’s a list:

• Little Bow Hair Clip in Dark Gray
• You choose any TWO instock Hand Cast Plastic Blythe Eyechips (I figured this is something you’d want to pick out)
• A finished Blythe Shift Dress – Olive Toned Monsters
• A Blythe Beanie – Pink Rocket Ships
• Three Blythe sized necklaces: a Lime Green Squirrel, a Dark Purple Bee and a Bubblegum Pink Crab
• A Blythe Boatneck Shirt – Bright Red Trees Everywhere
• Six DIY Pre Printed Blythe Dresses with instructions! (not pictured)

Now Here are the rules:

This giveaway is for everything listed above, there will be no substitutions. The contest starts right this second and ends Sunday, June 2nd at 11 p.m. EST when comments will be closed. Since my weekends have been pretty busy lately, a winner will not be chosen until next Monday. The winner’s name will be added to this blog post soon after. Winner(s) will be contacted by email 48 hours after the giveaway ends. If the first winner does not reply back to an email sent out within 24 hours, a second winner will be chosen. So please make sure to give your correct email address! Each giveaway item will be shipped out the day the next giveaway starts until the fourth week when it will be shipped out three days later (unless something comes up, in which case I will email the winner).

This weeks giveaway is open to international readers!

To earn one entry all you have to do is comment below:

Ask me a question! Any question! It could even be a rhetorical question! Haha.

(Just a heads up, if its super duper personal I may not answer)

I liked the idea from previous giveaways of tweeting to earn a second spot. So if you add Art School Dropout on Twitter (username @jesseesuem) and/or tweet about this giveaway, please comment letting me know. Your comment will count as additional entries (just make sure its a seperate comment).

Here’s an example

“I just entered Art School Dropout’s #Blythe Accessories Giveaway! You should check it out: http://artschooldropout.net/blog @JesseeSueM“

So in the end everyone has the chance to enter three times!

Good luck to everyone that enters! I am excited to see your questions.

This giveaway is closed! Our giveaway is commenter #4 – Amy! She won everything pictured plus more!

Thank you to everyone who entered! I won’t be doing another giveaway for a bit, but keep checking back for other goodies!

I also updated all of those Blythe eye chips I was talking about last week!

I’d love to hear what you guys think of it all!!!

I had a friend request some Blythe eye chips for one of her girls, plus I had some new 3D printed pieces I wanted to test out, so I put aside a big chunk of time to get them all done. I am so happy I did! It was so much fun to think outside the box and work with clear plastic for once. I even messed around with glitters, powders, fillers and beads. I now love it all!! I may be glitter obsessed.

I may have gone a little overboard with the eye chips too, as you can see in the first photo, but I’m ok with that. Whatever is left over, after friends pick out some pieces, I’ll add to the shop soon!

I also have a whole new line of necklaces, brooches, hair pins and bracelets now. I seriously can’t wait to share those with you. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do a sneak peek (as long as the weather permits photos, were expecting snow!)