More On The Tsai's

Hey Gang!

Three Tsai brothers have moved to Johnston after prodding from their cousin
Connie.

Connie: You guy have to be tire of moving all around!  We need to stick together! 

Besides who other than family is going to sit for our rambunctious kids!

The Tsai family is originally from San Francisco.  Their family originally
came to the United States to build the railroads. Yes, they are Chinese but
they are Americans too!

One branch of the Tsai family moved to Oregon to farm.  The boys are from
that side...Blaine, Blake, Blair and little brother Blaidyn. They lived on an
fruit orchard.Their father grew the fruit and their mother was an artist.
They grown up spending a lot of  time outdoors. They like martial arts and
loved to fight as boys.  Anything was a weapon to them. They still fight as
adults! It is a little different! It is mostly verbal unless they are in the dojo!

Hae is married to Blake Tsai!  They are both teachers. They met while teaching at
the same high school.  He had been teaching longer than she did.  Blake offer to help
her get things organized and show her the ropes.

Blaine and Blair: Yeah, helping the new teacher!
Blair: That's so lame

Blaine and Blair

Blake: OK, You guys want some of this! I didn't think so! Don't make me take my tie
off!

Blake has been named teacher of the year... and met the Present! Hae was a
runner up.

They have moved to Johnston with their daughter.
Hae: Your brothers are just teasing!

Blaine and Blair: Like we would be afraid of him taking his tie off!

Blake and Hae have a daughter Meadow.

Blake and Hae have been taking care of their niece Willow for his brother Blaine 

while he was on a long term teaching job overseas.

His wife died two years ago.  He has moved here for a position as an Art professor.

You have also met Kieu...

but you know her husband, Blair and the other brothers.

Connie introduced them...well kinda.

Connie: I invited her to a party I was giving.  I had invited Blaine and Blake. Let me tell 

you it was really hard to get Blaine to even come!  I really thought that Blake or Blaine 

would have been more her type than the care free Blair. Who knew? I didn't even invite

Blair! He just showed up! The next thing I knew she was moving in with him! Moving In!

Conservative Kieu was moving in before being married! Six months later they were down

the aisle.

Blair: I knew what I wanted her when I saw her! It was seeing her in traditional dress that
did it for him.

And she speaks five languages including Chinese. Blaine and Blake spoke Chinese
better being older. He has since gotten better.

Blaine and Blake: You fell at her feet begging! You followed her around the whole
party!

Ha, ha, ha! She made you get a real job too! No surfing all day!

Blair: What ever!

Blair is a father of three. He and Kieu have a son Blaisden, continuing the the BL names,
his mother calls him Rin, a daughter Mio.

Rin and Mio

 The Tsai men love their hair! It is a part of their mother's culture. 
She was Japanese.

and a daughter Cheri.

Blair has just opened a sporting goods store in Johnston. His love of sports
combined with his love of the outdoors while in college.  He got his degrees
in Phys-ed at West Chester University. The setting and the school let him know
that small town living was the life he wanted!

Youngest brother Blaise is still in college back in Oregon! He hasn't made a visit but
they are expecting him for Easter break!

OK, Thanks For Looking!

Video Of The Month-Changing The Eyes Have It!

Hey Gang!

The video I am featuring this month is from My Froggy Stuff!  It isn't a
new video but it is one that has enticed me for a while.  You might say
an oldie but a goodie! It is on doll contact lenses!

Y
You might remember me saying that I don't like dolls with sideways glancing eyes!
I have some dolls that have these eye but I didn't feel like repainting them.  After
watching this video when it was first posted, I thought that might work. Then after
watching year a later, thought why paint anything, why not just take pictures of the
eyes I want and make the pictured eyes into coverings.

So first up is HSM Sharpay!

I wanted my Esmae (first version of HSM Sharpay-taller) to be the mom. She has
forward looking eyes.

She needed a daughter who is kind of a mini me that I am calling Chrystal (second
version of HSM doll with Skipper size body).Now does have the side glancing eyes.

BTW, in my area, this is doll is #2 of the doll always seen at the thrift store! 

I have three.  Only one I am keeping. One I use the body for another doll. I

might sell there other! 

So I searched the web for pictures  of Sharpay (yeah I now I could
have just taken a picture but I didn't). You want a close up picture of the doll 
facing forward. I crop the picture to get just the eyes.  I did it in a labels sheet
which forces it to be kinda small. I use a free editing program to get a mirror
image and measure to get the right size. Then I cut them out.

Following the rest of what they did on My Froggy Stuff, I built up a layer of clear
glue, added the paper eyes and just a little more glue to seal.  I put several pair
of eyes on the label sheet. Save it as a doc for later.

 She is no longer looking to the side!

Aww! Mother Esmae and daughter Chrystal

Next up is Li Shang, 

The other versions have forward facing eye (Two of the Tsai brothers)

but this last Disney store version has those eye again!

I used a photo of the first version's eyes since they are brown and detailed.

 This is the reverse image of the eyes!

I did both and chose the ones I liked best.

I put a little too much glue on these! Especially on the top of the photo.  It is
more of a shine than I wanted.

The next time I will put less and I might 

even use Disney version #2's eyes. 

Blaise and his best frien Zhang!

Lastly, SIS Chandra!

Yeah I know I painted her eyes and that was OK, but years later....

(I also lighten this photo and replace the one in the original post! I do try to up
and change my blog to make it better when I can.)

I think I can do something different! 

So I can give here eyes more like here

sister Vanessa.

Vanessa! 

The updated Chandra!

 I like her!

Chandra and Vanessa!

This was so much fun! I can easily see my self doing more.  One of the key 

problems for me in off brand dolls are they eyes. So this could be a big help!

Now I am looking at other dolls sideways!  

OK, Thanks For Looking!

A Few Things For My Birthday-PT 2!

Hey Gang!

It's been a while since I added another animal to the zoo. I saw this guy at Walmart
this September. They only had the one. So I had been eyeing this guy for a while!
I was going to purchase him back in early December but he must have sold.  I didn't
think that they would get another in. But when I walked down the toy aisle the other
day, what did I see?  Him!

Adventure Force Soft Gorilla Toy!

 He is pretty big but light!  He is 10 inches tall and about 7 inches from shoulder to
shoulder. He reminds me of the gorilla Shabani, I saw on the web that women

are going crazy over!

So he need a large enclosure. I started on this room-box for something else but I think it will work for him too!

I am calling him Shabani and he is an Eastern lowland gorilla! His size and coloring tells
us that.  His pictured here with Lucy!

I might repaint his eyes. I am not feeling the red.  They should be more of a cream
with brown iris.

Lucy's eye are closer to what the eyes on Shabani should look like. I might paint
over her silver to black.

Shabani weights  a little over 500lb! This is on the high end of the scale for an Eastern
lowland gorilla but not out of the norm for this type of gorilla.  Here, like in the wild,
he is an Alpha male in this little group!
Shabani is thing-No I don't want a banana!

I like the way he can stands. It adds to his look of strength! If he stand up straight,
he will be looking Ken in the eye!

 What is up there?

 Side view!

 Oh Lucy!

Lucy normally stays in his shadow! She isn't as outgoing as he is. I found her
in a thrift store.

 I should have given them a window and door!

There is something separating them from the public!  I worked on this fence before the
Flower show too but didn't finish it until after.

OK, Thanks For Looking!