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Question of the Week: Do you like the Littlest Pet Shop Blythes?

Written on October 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Question of the Week

They’re cute, they’re portable and they’re tiny.

Extra bonus points for being readily available in North America.

I am, of course, referring to the Littlest Pet Shop Blythes, otherwise referred to LPS Blythe or LPS Petites.

Introducing... I think that they’re cute! They’re also quite affordable. In Canada, they go on sale at approximately $8, non-sale price is around $11-13 for just the doll without a pet or other additional accessories. They seem to be doing quite well under Hasbro’s advertising campaigns (I may still occasionally watch shows that are geared towards children and thus I occasionally see LPS Blythe adverts). On the other hand (just to play devil’s advocate), they’re still the petite version of Blythe. If you want a Blythe (pullring, 4 sets of eyechips and all that), having the cheaper version of the little sister is just not going to cut it (and if you have a collection of 12+ LPS Blythes, you’ve probably spent the equivalent amount of money as a regular release Simply Neo Blythe costs) – so keep that in mind if you think buying LPS Blythes (no matter how cute they are!) is going to stop you from getting a full-size Neo.

There’s a lot of pros and cons to LPS Blythe (and for those who think that they’re identical to the Takara Petite Blythes, please keep in mind that the Takara Petites can ‘sleep’ when you lay them down – the LPS Blythes do not close their eyes at all and I’ve been told that the LPS heads are a smidge larger than the Takara Petites), all of which just boils down to your own personal preferences.

Do you like the Littlest Pet Shop Blythes?

Freebie Friday Five: 004

Written on October 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags:

Every month’s last Friday (or just once a month, sometime on a Friday) is part of a feature on BlytheLife.com, Freebie Friday Five. Welcome everyone to the fourth instalment! I mention 5 things I love every month that’s free to do/read/see.

If you have any suggestions for next month’s Freebie Friday Five, please don’t hesitate to email me! Maybe you have a site you think that I should feature or a pattern that’s free and up on the web? Tell me!

  1.  Miniature food is delightful and sweet, but the cost of re-ment can be pretty pricey at times especially if there’s a specific piece that you’re looking for! You can always learn how to make your own polymer clay miniature foods for your Blythes with handy (and free!) tutorials online. Read up on safety tips and some great how-tos for miniature food.
  2. Did you miss out on going to BlytheCon UK this year? Never fear as there’s a lot of photos up on Flickr up on the BlytheCon UK 2011 group.
  3. Is there a Freecycle group for your local area? Yes, in order to ‘claim’ something on Freecycle, you have to put up something for someone else (good karma, and not taking advantage of the system!) but Freecycle is a great way to get new-to-you crafting supplies. For instance, I’ve put some books on Freecycle in very poor condition (someone wanted them for crafting purposes) and I was able to get a box of unused sewing thread from someone else. (Alternatively, you can try the freebies section on your local Craigslist and see what people are offering up and if you can get some free craft supplies!)
  4. I do like seeing what doll releases are out there from Blythe. One great resource for that is Blythopia, which has a complete list of all the doll releases by Takara and they include information about if it was a limited release, special chips, what kind of stock the doll comes with.
  5. One blog that I always love reading is written by Fanny, better known as Mademoiselle Blythe. Her blog is always full of great posts with interviews or resources for people in the Blythe community. I was able to meet Fanny at BlytheCon this year in Portland and she was an absolute delight.

If you know of a site, group or activity that you think I should highlight in next month’s Freebie Friday Five, let me know! Comment below or email me.

Blythe On A Budget: Cheapest Costumes Ever

Written on October 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags:

So it’s under a week until Halloween and what’s a Blythe to do if their owner can’t sew (or just doesn’t have time to sew) and there’s not enough time for that pretty outfit to come in via the mail? Improvise! My dolls had a bit of a discussion to come up with the three best ideas that they had for cheap and easy Halloween costume ideas:

  1. Birthday Suit: Not only is it quick and easy, it also doesn’t involve needing to change! (A minor suggestion: include some black privacy bars.) Cost: nothing (or black cardstock).
  2. Mummy: Wrap yourself up in tissue! Downside, you probably can’t run around in it without it ripping. Cost: only tissue (and your dignity).
  3. Yarn Ball: Take any old ball of yarn, unravel it, wrap it around yourself until you become ball-like. Cost: only yarn (and a potential hospital bill for when you trip over yourself).

However, after much debate that went from Halloween costumes to the fact that Sophie needs more clothes in general because her massive wardrobe just isn’t large enough, the general consensus among the Blythes here at my house that it’s better to be a doll wearing something rather than a doll wearing, well, nothing at all. So don’t go with a Birthday Suit, even if it is one of the cheapest options there is (you never know who may be lurking with a camera).

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Question of the Week: Dressing up for Halloween?

Written on October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Question of the Week

There’s just one short week before the scariest day of the year when all the cute little ghouls, goblins and witches come out to play and knock on doors. While you’re probably busy with figuring out costume ideas for yourself or for your children, keep in mind that Blythe wants to dress-up too!

Vancouver Island Meet - October 16 2011

You could go traditional with a witch or ghost costume, or you could go elaborate with one of the largest stock Blythe dresses ever created… I’m sure there’s some very creative Blythe hobbyists out there that can also sew (or pretend to sew!). I haven’t fully decided on what my dolls will be wearing for Halloween (it’s a Monday/school day, so it might not be anything special at all!), but that doesn’t mean that your dolls can’t have some fun!

What are your Blythes dressing up as for Halloween?

From Kenner Fever to Cured – Part 2

Written on October 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article, Musings with tags: ,

 From Kenner Fever to Cured is a three-part mini series of me detailing my journey from just being feverish with wants of a Kenner Blythe to actually getting my first Kenner, an absolute dream girl. In Part 2, I include a lot of information about what I did to do some restoration work on my Kenner Blythe.

This is what worked for me, if you don’t feel comfortable doing work on your vintage Blythe, please send it to someone with experience restoring the dolls to their fullest potential. I am not a professional Kenner restorer at all, so please take that into account when you read about what I did. Where possible, I reference the source of where I learned these tips from.

When I last left off, I had been impatiently waiting for Canada Post to finally scan in the tracking number to let me know that yes, she was at least in the country! They took their on sweet time on it, of course. 3 days after the tracking number on UK’s Royal Mail website updated as having left the UK, Canada Post let me know that she had arrived! Two hours later, she was out of Customs and in the hands in the postal service. The postal carrier made an attempt to deliver her the next day, but unfortunately no one was home. So I waited (again, impatiently) until the next morning (October 4th) and went straight to the post office just ten minutes after they had opened.

Within minutes of getting home, I had cut open the tape and pulled her out. My Kenner. And in the first hour of having her in my grabby hands, she was inspected, photographed and her scalp was taken off.

Tip! For those who are wanting to remove their Kenner’s scalp – I ran hot water from the tap directly along where the edges of her scalp are in order to soften the rubber enough to edge it out from under the hard cap. The scalp has a ‘lip’ that goes on the underside side of the hardcap. The construction of a Kenner’s head is pretty ingenious, I don’t know why Takara or ADG ever felt the need to use glue of all things when they had a simple (but effective) original construction to follow.

Hello, gorgeous

Upon first inspection, I made a mental list of all the flaws. She had frizzy ends, very little thatching left for her part, missing plugs (which means loose plugs!), one visible scalp tear (I later found out that she had more than one), very mild yellowing of the front faceplate, yellowing where the two faceplates meet, a small liprub, a horizontal pelvic crack  (both legs come out very easily) and dirty legs (some of it came off, but I think an ink spot is destined to stay). So she needed a little bit of love to go back to the way she once was, but she was my little bit to love. She told me that her name is Emmalynn.

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