Blythe's sleepy eyes and new lashes

I've always wanted to try customization on my Blythe for the following reasons:

a.  I wanted a matte finish for my Blythe's face so that when I took her photos, the lights won't bounce on her face.
b.  I wanted sleepy eyes!
c.  I wanted cute lashes!
d.  I wanted a  more poseable body like Licca
e.  AND I wanted an OOAK Blythe art doll!

Yesterday, I finally found the courage to try this on Pepper (Simply Mango).  After doing some research, I went to the market to get some supplies.  I bought a sheet of Hippo 1000 and a sheet of Hippo 400 abrasive paper for 10 pesos each in a local hardware store.  Then I also bought fake eyelashes for 10 pesos in a local Taiwanese store.

By 9 pm, after finishing all chores for the day, I started working on Pepper.  Unscrewing the back of her head was easy even without a screwdriver.  I used a strong hairpin instead.  The part where you separate the back of the head was difficult.  I think I wasn't strong enough.  So I asked the Mr. for help on this.  I told him to squeeze the ears just like what most customizers share on their blogs.  He was adamant at first.  He was afraid of breaking the doll's head.  I assured him that that will never happen.  And so he squeezed until we heard a snap! "Oh, that was easy," said the mister. =D

Here is Pepper with her head open.  See her sleepy eyes? Yes, that's the effect of unhooking the string off her head.

I grabbed her from the Mr. as soon as I heard the snap. I was sooo excited! I tested how the sleepy eyes work.  And then I started sandmatting the back of her head with the Hippo 1000.  I skipped the Hippo 400 because I wasn't sure if it was fine enough for a Blythe. I rubbed a patch at the back of her head in circular motion and the Hippo 1000 didn't leave any scratch marks so I continued sandmatting.  When I was halfway done with her back, I stopped to look at Pepper...

...and she was looking back at me!  Her face was just so pretty and I was afraid that if I sand matte it, she will no longer be my Pepper!  So I put down her head and decided to work on her lashes first as I debate with myself if I will sand matte her lovely face or leave it as it is.

As I was soaking her eyelids in cotton with hot water, I showed the back plate of her head to the Mr. and asked for his opinion.  He just advised me to weigh the difference.

So I did as I was plucking Pepper's eyelashes.  This part was really very easy.

But I had a hard time inserting her new lashes even when I used a needle.  The lashes came out with the needle because of the glue.  Nevertheless, I persevered. And here's my reward...

Isn't she gorgeous? I definitely love her new lashes!

Then we both contemplated if we're going to sandmatte her face as I finish the rest of her back.  I polished the back with a cotton cloth.  See the difference between the the original shiny face and the sand matted back plate?

In the end, I decided not to sand matte her face last night.  Here are my reasons why:

a.  I wasn't sure I can sand matte her face without ruining her original face up;
b.  I do not have chalk pastels and MSC to give her a new face up after sandmatting; and
c.  She's just so pretty as is!

So I just added a sleepy eyes pull string using a crocheted yellow yarn and charms.

And I was done before midnight!  It took me that long because I took a break when I fed my little Perry.

Here's Pepper giving me a flower for her beautiful new lashes and sleepy eyes. =D