There are some Blythes that I knew would be very much loved in my doll family before I even got them. But there were two that were a bit more unexpected and I hadn’t thought that they would become favourites too. That isn’t to say that I didn’t like them before I got them, but I hadn’t expected to like them as much as I do currently.

The one that some might be surprised at is Eden Mouse. I didn’t think I was going to getting Punkaholic People (she had been a gift from my parents) and while I had genuinely liked her, her personality didn’t come out really until I popped a pink mouse hat and started dressing her in pink all the time. And then it was like bam, her personality shone.

A little doll with a hair cut that was very similar to what I had as a child. She wears pink everything, has tea parties and a little dolly of her own. She even has a pink-pink-pink carry bag that only she uses. But Eden was still unexpected. As a gift, I’m inclined to never sell her, but it was a pleasant surprise to find that I really do love her. She has a big personality that took some coaxing out. Turns out all I had to do was dress her all in pink and her voice comes out.

The second that came to a bit of a surprise was Primrose, who was featured earlier this year when I posted about her restoration story. Primrose was one of the Vancouver Seven Kenners who had been ‘rescued’ from a secondhand toy shop in the Metro Vancouver area. She had no legs, a cracked pelvis and the frizziest hair that I had ever seen (in person and in photos) of a Kenner. I thought she was lovely (and cute!) in photos before I got her, and I said a dibs on her so I could have first crack at purchasing her. Then the moment I saw her? I was fully taken in by her. It was a mix between the wonky eyelashes that she had, pretty pink lips, actual original blush (!) and her head of frizzy hair. Princess Prim went straight into my heart and took residence there and popped a crown onto her own head and proclaimed herself majesty of the realm around here.

Which of your dolls (if any) surprised you by how much you’d like them?

I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now that sundries, unless desirable, have been sitting on the forums getting discounted and further discounted and priced next to free. I noticed the same thing too when I was trying to clear out some things that I no longer wanted, didn’t necessarily fit Blythe particularly well (some Barbie and Ken fashions that I had thrifted in bags of dolly clothes). I couldn’t find buyers after a few weeks so what did I do? I spread the dolly love to others.

More specifically, I knew that some of my coworkers have young children (ages 3, 4 and 7). So I bagged up the clothes (shirts in one bag, dresses in another, all Ken stuff in one) and brought them into work. The girls’ dads were very thankful – they said that their kids were going to love new-to-them doll clothes for their Barbies.

They weren’t wrong – I got thank you cards done up in crayons with the ‘e’s in my name mirrored (and not mirrored! in the same card) and drawn images of little girls playing with dolls the same size as them. Not only did they draw what they looked like, I also got invited (not entirely seriously, I believe) to play dollies with them one day.

It’s nice to be able to do something nice for someone else, and it’s also nice to be able to spread some dolly love once in a while.

And when I really think about it, being able to share the love of dolls with others was a lot better than selling them.

Imagine that you get a letter and they’re asking you to design the next anniversary doll. The only requirements is that the doll base must be either RBL or FBL. The doll must come with at least one full outfit and one special accessory that hasn’t been done yet on any other Blythe.

Previous anniversary dolls that had been done were:

• Miss Anniversary – dressed like a beauty pageant winner
• Courtney Tez by NIKE – super cute with Nike accessories and the swoop tattoo
• Art Attack – who had several outfit boxes and so much stuff
• Cinema Princess – bright red hair with princess clothes
• Darling Diva – platinum white hair, multiple outfits with those cowboy boots that everyone wants
• Princess a la Mode – beautiful teal hair, gorgeous bird cage for her dress, the reason that Alexis Emerald has been so popular
• Christina the Bride and Eleanor the Forest Dancer – beautiful outfits for both anniversary girls and two very cute accompanying Petites
• Fashion Obsession Jenna – a ‘regular’ girl with fashionista dreams, a super casual outfit (with cute sunglasses!) with a gorgeous red-carpet-ready dress
• Marabelle Melody – the Blythe that reminds me of Sailor Moon who had a trio of Simply super heroes as her sidekicks
• Ten Happy Memories – she was released along with Cherish Me Always (Middie) and Birthday Party Surprise (Petite) who make a very cute trio.

If you could design the anniversary doll, what would the doll look like and what kind of clothing and accessories would the doll have?

Did you know that if you have a Blythe/doll related blog that I’ll link to it from BlytheLife.com? Now you do!

All you have to do is pop over to the Links page (make sure your blog isn’t already listed!) and scroll down to a handy little form where you fill out your name, email, site URL, what kind of site you have (blog/forum/etc.) and if you’ve already linked back to BlytheLife.

If you’re looking for buttons to link back to BlytheLife.com, you can find them at the Link Back page.

You will need:

• Yarn – worsted weight or thinner (sock yarn would look awesome too!)
• Knitting needles – size indicated on the ball band for your yarn
• Elastic – mine is 3mm wide and 6.5cm long
• Needle and thread (in a matching colour, if possible)
• Yarn needle/tapestry needle

Directions:

• Cast on 6 stitches
• Knit across the 6 stitches and then slide them to the other end of the needle
• Knit across the 6 stitches again and then slide them to the other end of the needle
• Repeat the last two steps until you have an i-cord that is approximately 20cm in length
• Bind off 6 stitches
• Sew the elastic to both ends of the i-cord (you can tuck the elastic in or sew it to the outside of your knitted cord)
  
• With the yarn needle, tuck the ends in
• Put the headband onto your doll

Change it up:

• Add buttons, badges/pins or flowers to the headband!
• Change the colour yarn you use to make it striped!
• Knit 2 i-cords and twist them together!