Fun fact, today may be BlytheLife.com’s 7th birthday – but it’s also Canada’s 150th birthday and it’s basically a party all year long here in Canada with fun events and commemorative things everywhere.

The break allowed me to recollect myself, reevaluate my doll collection and thing about what was important to me about Blythe. And it wasn’t stressing about getting posts up on time. I’m looking forward to going to New York in the fall to attend BlytheCon Brooklyn, and I’m looking forward to interviewing new people, working on new projects/tutorials, and just having fun again. Less stress, more fun. Like Blythe should be all the time.

Wilhelmina’s wearing: dress/astrosnik.

There are certain names, of which I’m sure you can think of right now, that command top dollar. When a doll starts hitting four digit price tags (especially before the conversion of USD $ to CAD $), I get a bit antsy. I’m always aware that the Canadian dollar is doing poorly compared to the American counterpart. That $30 doll dress turns into a $50-plus purchase after taking into fact the costs of shipping to Canada and the price conversion. With the way that the market currently is, and how poorly the dollar is doing, I’m highly resistant to actually buying new dolls right now unless it’s an incredibly good deal – whether it be a Kenner, a custom, or a stock doll of any kind. The dollar isn’t kind at the moment. However, I think for the right custom (or Kenner!), I’d be willing to open up my wallet. Chances are though, I’d spend more on a Kenner than a custom (but that’s just where my personal preferences are).

Would you pay more for a custom or a Kenner?

Cameo’s wearing: helmet/Cakewalk Queen, dress/Plastic Fashion, leggings/Endangered Sissy.
Prim’s wearing: dress/Endangered Sissy, capris/Fancy Pansy stock.

We are going to completely ignore the fact that my Petites aren’t wearing very spring-summer clothing. This is because I don’t actually have spring-summer Petite-sized clothing for them. (I’m a bad dolly owner, aren’t I?) That said, I actually got them off the doll shelf for a photo and what I did do was marvel at how small they are. Yes, they are called Petites, but still – they’re small!

Today is just a little bit of a Petite Appreciation Day. They often get over looked and ignored – partially because of their size, partially because they’ll never be quite as popular as their Neo-sized big sisters.

How many Petites do you have? Besides these three, I have one more (named Pipsqueak). She’s in an even more winter-themed outfit (complete with a toque!) so I didn’t take a photo of her as well. I have two LPS Petites (stock), one custom Takara Petite and one stock Takara Petite. I think they’re pretty cute! I wouldn’t mind getting a few more Petites in the future, since they don’t take up a lot of space. They’re handy as little travel companions, but the thing I find most difficult with Petites is finding clothes for them as not a lot of people sew for these teeny tiny dolls. While I do own a lot of pattern books and they do have Petite-sized clothes in them, I don’t have the motivation to sew that small…

Top photo (left to right): Shrimp and Chickadee.
Bottom photo: Lark (Sirenita custom).

A lot of my dolls haven’t had a proper outfit change in a really long time (yes, feel sorry for them, I do too!) and I recently decided to change Kindred’s outfit. She’s been in this outfit for definitely more than a year. Possibly close to two. I’m terrible at times when it comes to being a Blythe owner (I’m really sorry, Kindred). And it took me about 15 minutes to come up with what I wanted to put her in and another couple of minutes to do the full outfit change. I find sometimes it really depends on my mood as that kind of determines how long I wind up sitting on the floor, pawing through drawers of tiny clothes.

How long does it take you to do full outfit changes?

Kindred was wearing: top/Joelle (swap), overalls/Nostalgic Pop stock.
Kindred is wearing: cardigan/made by me, dress/Giulia (swap).

I was terribly uninspired in the month of April for all things Blythe. I’m not sure what happened there. I had some time off from work for vacation, which really just turned into a whole lot of time off from the internet in general because I spent a lot of time outside of my home doing things, and going places and making plans! Now that I’m back at work, I’ve had a bit of time to get back into a routine and I’m all energized again to do things with my dolls. Mostly because I have a lot of sets of eyes looking disapprovingly at me whenever I leave the house without them.

I have some projects on my knitting needles right now, but they’re not done yet so I’ll probably have photos available for next month’s Middie Monday (this is also partially because some of those projects are for a swap – even if my Middies will get a chance to model before I ship things off). But until then, you get the following photo mostly because I think it’s hilarious (and proof that I actually changed outfits on one of my dolls for the first time in forever?):

Middie Monday is a feature that is published on the first Monday of each month! A guaranteed monthly post on Blythe’s little sister – Middie! If you have any suggestions for a future Middie Monday post, please send me an email or use my Suggestions form!

Three cheers for everyone who commented and entered into the giveaway that I hosted with Jessica of Dear Girlface. If you missed the interview, you can check it out here! If you’re (unfortunately) not the winner, you can still get your hands on Dear Girlface merchandise (and who doesn’t want those cute buttons and stickers?!) over on the Dear Girlface Etsy shop!

And in case you’ve forgotten what you entered in to win, it was this amazing prize pack with stickers, cute buttons, along with a top and skirt set that fits Neo/Kenner Blythe dolls. I feel like we all have at least one doll that would wear that ‘I’m a little BRAT’ top with pride.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Cherish! Your email will be forwarded to Jessica, who will be in touch with you about your amazing Dear Girlface prize pack!

I don’t make it a secret that a large chunk of my Blythe collection came to me brand new in box. I’ve been lucky with the minor defects that I’ve experienced – either that or I’m not as critical or picky as others are (perhaps???). If it’s not something that I can see on first glance, or from across a room, I tend to find the issues to be fairly minor. That said, I was plenty upset with my Punkaholic People’s hair out of the box because it was sadly uneven. I wound up taking a pair of scissors to it to even it out, and even still Eden Mouse lives with a hat on all the time. It’s just part of her now, so I don’t see the need to have her without a hat. My Margaret Meets Ladybug suffers from the unfortunate lip rub that resulted from the design of her house-shaped box, but I can’t see it unless I literally have her less from a foot away from my face so it’s a non-issue for me.

When Devi Delacour came out and people were venting over the issues that their dolls had, I was terribly apprehensive about picking her up from the post office and unboxing her because it was a bit like Schrödinger’s cat. As long as she remained inside of the box, she was (in my eyes) both perfect and unperfect because I wasn’t able to verify any issues she might or might not have had. In the end, I did unbox her as she was my birthday gift to myself last year (I give myself good gifts, what can I say?). And honestly? I think I lucked out with her because her face was pretty good, and so was her hair cut. That said, I am not overly critical with my dolls compared to other people, so perhaps there are flaws that I’m just unaware of.

With the prices of preorders for brand new releases on the rise it seems with every new release, it’s getting harder and harder for me to justify preordering a Blythe doll (although I had to have Devi Delacour), so my question for all of you this week is:

Will you risk preordering a doll?

I had the opportunity to interview Jessica of Dear Girlface and I’m pleased to share Jessica’s beautiful customizing work with all of you! She’s a vendor for the upcoming BlytheCon Brooklyn vendor this October If you’re a vendor for an upcoming Blythe event, get in touch!

Hello Jessica, tell us about yourself!
Hi! I live in a small town in NJ right over the bridge from Philadelphia with my wife and our two tiny black chihuahuas – Elvis and Memphis. I’m originally from California but moved out here to go to art school and loved it so much I stayed! I’m a graphic designer by trade, and used to do that full time although now I work for a clothing company where my duties are a bit more spread out. Occasionally I still get the chance to design!

How did you discover Blythe?
A good friend of mine has an impressive collection of vintage toys and dolls and she also has quite the collection of stock Blythes. I’d be at her house and always thought how cute they were but thought “Oh, I’m not really the sort to get into dolls.” How naive I was! Ha! Fast forward to many years later, I was becoming a lot more active on Instagram and had noticed Blythes popping up here and there which sent me down a rabbit hole until I eventually discovered that people we’re customizing them. That changed everything! Suddenly the appeal of being able to create my own doll into whatever I wanted was very exciting. Before I knew it, I was researching them like crazy and had ordered my first TBL/factory doll, a redhead who I named Penelope.

Who is in your Blythe family?
There are four TBL/factory girls that I customized myself: Penelope, Colette, Jinxie (my “mini me”), and Jupiter. Two that others customized: a Kawblam custom, Queenie Boom Boom (aka Boomie) and a Sweet Crate custom, Clementine. Then my Lounging Lovely, Millie; a Playful Raindrops/SM hybrid, Raina, and the newest girl – a UFO A Go Go named Starbuck. I also have a trio of custom LPS Blythe cuties all created by my dear friend, Denise Farinsky.

How did you get started customizing Blythe dolls?
At the time, I was out of work on disability because I was very sick with chronic lyme disease and was facing the reality that I was probably going to lose my job. I wasn’t working, and even though I felt awful, I hated not having something to do creatively and was starting to go a little nuts. What I used to create were plush critters, mainly deer, and I wasn’t able to make those anymore because I had a lot of pain in my hands and hand sewing was out of the question. When I stumbled across the photos of custom Blythes, I thought I’d try giving it a go. I spent weeks researching on YouTube and reading as much as I could about customizing before I even dared pick up a knife. I figured my hands wouldn’t even let me do it! But once I started, I realized it wasn’t bad on my hands at all and it was actually pretty relaxing. It ended up being one of the very few ways I had for getting my mind off of all the pain I was in. Customizing requires so much concentration I didn’t have room for any other thoughts!

Where do you find inspiration for your custom projects?
Pretty much everywhere! In addition to swiping color palettes from things like vintage illustrations and fabrics, I look at a lot of interesting makeup artist’s Instagram accounts for face-up ideas. When I first starting customizing, all I did was look at other custom Blythes, but now I find it’s far more inspiring to look beyond that world for ideas. I’ve also recently become increasingly more fascinated with drag queens as their makeup looks are incredibly inspiring. Phi Phi O’Hara did a “365 days of drag” last year and some of the things she came up with were out of this world!

Who was your first custom Blythe that was sold? Tell us about that customization process.
Well, a dear friend of mine was more than happy to let me “practice” customizing on some dolls for her in my beginning customizing days. In exchange for her providing the doll, I would do the customization work. So the very first custom I ever did for someone other than me was for her – a black haired dark beauty named Lydia. She had some specifications as far as lid art and makeup colors but pretty much let me do my own thing. It was very nerve-wracking to have someone else’s doll be at my mercy but she ended up turning out great! It’s never lost on me how trusting people have to be to let me create something for them – I’m incredibly grateful to my friend and everyone else that’s ever commissioned me thereafter.

What tools could you not live without when it comes to customizing?
I’m incredibly fond of my curved x-acto blade, anything else and I feel clumsy! It’s become like an extension of my hand. I also use a number of diamond needle files, and wood carving knifes. I’ve recently started upgrading my pastels to Pan Pastels brand and I love the intensity of the colors and their metallic and iridescent colors are fab for highlighting!

With all the doll customizers out there, what would you say sets you apart from other customizers?
Oh gosh. Well, I’ve always said I don’t try to just make “another pretty girl” – I strive to make a doll that is truly unique. My love for all things vintage and retro comes out a lot through my dolls as well. I tend to do a lot with interesting picture eye chips and I love playing with colors and unusual palettes too.

You also sew as well! What’s the trickiest thing you’ve discovered with sewing for dolls?
Oh, it’s all so different when it’s so tiny! But I’d say the thing that still trips me up is collars, I’ve probably tried 10 different patterns for them and it never turns out as good as I want it to! It’s my goal to get those conquered! I recently discovered that switching to a 1/4″ presser foot really helps a lot with tiny stitches, so that’s been a welcome addition.

How do you think your graphic design background has helped you when it comes to customizing dolls or creating doll clothes?
Graphic design taught me a lot about use of color as well as scale and proportion, so it’s surprisingly a big help. It’s also given me a perfectionist complex, which is a blessing and a curse! Haha! I actually think just having a background in art school in general has helped a lot – I feel like I’m pretty good at looking at something and being about to duplicate it/figure it out. I’ve had some detailed requests for eyelid art before where I’ve doubted myself being able to pull it off…then I do it and go, oh, right! I went to art school! lol!

What has been the most exciting moment (so far!) in your customization journey?
The most exciting moment so far has to be when I sold my first custom to a complete stranger. That was incredibly validating! I’d also have to say that getting picked to vend at BlytheCon Brooklyn this year has been really exciting too!

Thanks for doing this interview with me, Jessica! What’s some advice you have to give to someone who’s starting off with customizing for the first time?
Thank you Michelle! My advice would be to learn and absorb as much information and technique as you can before starting for the first time. You’ll have many moments of doubt and frustration, but just stick with it and practice, practice, practice!

You can learn more about Jessica and Dear Girlface on Etsy, Instagram, and Facebook.

Dear Girlface Prize Pack Giveaway!

Jessica of Dear Girlface has generously decided to give away a tee and skirt set for Blythe with stickers and buttons!

The giveaway runs until Saturday April 29th 2017 at 11:59pm Pacific. The draw will be held on Sunday April 30th 2017 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. The winner’s name and email address will be provided to Jessica of Dear Girlface, who will be in contact with the winner.

Please only use one email address per person, those using multiple email addresses for more entries will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ve seen some really odd doll names throughout the years being mentioned, and I have personally named some of my dolls some odd names. Off the top of my head, I would say some of the more ‘odd’ names I’ve given my dolls include:

• Cedar (Monique Magnifique)
• Belarus (Love Mission)
• Minnow (Hi-Ho! Marine)
• Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint)
• Molybdenum (Simply Sparkly Spark)
• Cameo (Friends With Blythe Custom)

Yeah, I pretty much should not be allowed to name small children or animals, lest they get saddled with a weird name that I wind up spending my entire life explaining to people. But I know I can’t be alone in this community in giving a doll a weird or ‘out there’ name.

What’s your oddest doll name?

The great thing about the Blythe community is that everyone interacts with their dolls differently. For those that bestow personalities onto their dolls, of which I am one of them, it’s nice to dress them according to age groups. For me, Eden Mouse (Punkaholic People) and Minnow (Hi-Ho! Marine) are my younger ones while all of my Kenners (Primrose, Lillian Rose, and Emmalynn) are the ‘older girls’. I think there’s just something about being a Kenner that makes them older. Being produced in 1972 does that to a doll, I think. But even if the Middies were made before some of my Neos, I find that they’re perpetually younger. Size has to do with it, which is an unfortunate fact that transfers over to people as well – I’m fairly short and people are constantly assuming I’m younger than I am…

What are the ages of your Blythe dolls?