Sometimes I think about how my life would be different if Blythe wasn’t in my life.

For starters, I probably wouldn’t have had the need to get storage options just for dolly clothes, shoes, accessories… I certainly wouldn’t have had to make room on my desk to display the bulk of my collection. I wouldn’t spend so much time on forums, crafting sites, sifting through thrift store toys or watching auctions on eBay.

Let’s face it, if it weren’t for Blythe – I’d probably have a lot more spending money than I currently do.

Then I think about what I would do with all this time and money if I didn’t have Blythe to fret over. And the likely answer would probably be bumming around on Facebook or forums, and spending money on things for me or school. Before Blythe, I had an extensive stash (collection?) of yarn – after Blythe I’ve added to this extensive stash of yarn. Some things remain the same – I’d probably just have more of it.

If you didn’t have Blythe in your life, how would you spend your time and money differently?

Photo from sxc.hu user ajmac.

I received an email earlier this month about if it was possible still to purchase a Kenner Blythe for a “good price”. That got me thinking about it again. Before Takara, before This is Blythe happened – Kenners could be purchased on eBay for pretty decent prices (think <$50 shipped). Nobody knew the value in the vintage dolls because there wasn’t a following, there wasn’t a bunch of people on the internet looking at photos of the vintage dolls, chatting about her on forums and there certainly wasn’t show featuring Littlest Pet Shop animals with a character with Blythe. Before that, Blythe was a blip in the history of toys because she didn’t last very long. One year, mass production, heavily discounted when she wasn’t loved.

Kenner prices tend to range for $600 to very, very high prices (well over $1000USD). But the price range depends on so much. The hair colour (and rooting style – wispy, chunky, side part or centre part), condition of the body – cracks? knees bend?, condition of the face (blush is a big one!). Whether or not the doll comes with any original clothing doesn’t really seem to be an issue with Blythe because most collectors play with their dolls – they’re not the type of doll that gets left behind glass cabinets staring vacantly into space. That said, there are stock dolls (anniversary dolls, older models of BL dolls like Parco, Goldie or Kozy) and custom dolls that go for more than a Kenner. A lot of people have noticed this. BLs were not mass produced like Kenner Blythe was. In theory, there are still more Kenners in existence then there will ever be of stock Parco, Goldie and Kozy combined. But that’s not what this post is about – it’s supposed to be of the possibility of finding a vintage 1972 Kenner Blythe doll for a good price. That really depends on what your budget is and what kind of flaws you’re willing to deal with.

For example, when I decided that I would get a sidepart redheaded Kenner, I gave myself an ultimate limit. I had X amount of dollars that I would be willing to spend on the elusive Kenner for my doll family. This included any money that I would have to put towards shipping costs. So with this hard limit, I went on a search.

I posted a WTB (want to buy) thread on Blythe Kingdom stating what I was looking for and asked people to get back to me with how much they were looking for. This was both good and bad. Good in the sense that I got responses from people with dolls to sell, but bad because some of the dolls were out of my price range by hundreds of dollars. One incident involved a member of the forum asking if I’d be interested in purchasing her Kenner Blythe that she had put up onto eBay and in the 3 minutes that it took for her to send the email, me to read it and to go to the link – the doll had been sold. I was let down because the photos of the doll was gorgeous and I would have bought her. Then I turned my search to eBay. I know some people don’t like using eBay, that a lot of people end up charging absurd amounts for shipping and they don’t take the best photos ever, so here are some of the things that I considered on my search:

• If you aren’t familiar with the pricing of the Kenner Blythe that you have in mind, “Watch” the auctions. Watching the auctions allows you to have a record of auctions and you can see what they doll looked like and how much they went for. Comparing auctions of similar dolls is a great way to see how the price range is for the type of Kenner you want.
• I’ve noticed that there are trends to Kenner sales. If you don’t mind a doll that’s missing legs, has a crack across her bum and has yellowed plastic – those tend to be less expensive. If you want a minty-mint Kenner, you will have to pay for more her unless someone sets a Buy It Now price that’s fairly low and you happen upon it. Additionally, listings that end on school nights tend to be a little bit higher (likely because people are less likely to go out and they have time to be on the computer) while those that end on weekend nights (so Friday or Saturday night) tend to go for a wee bit less. But your mileage may vary on this one.
• Take a look at the photos. Are they blurry? Is there something questionable about it? Never fear asking an eBay seller for more photos of the item that they’re auctioning. It’s in their best interest to supply good quality photos. Some things that they should include photos of include the back of the doll (with the Kenner copyright information), any cracks in the body, and all of the eye chips (if the doll still has the string or the owner knows to hand roll them).
• Don’t necessarily shy away from auctions run by people with less than 100% feedback. Always look at the feedback to see why they had a negative or neutral feedback. Sometimes it can be explained if you look at the comments by either the buyer or seller.
• Don’t be afraid of flaws. There are people in the community who restore Kenners for a fee, but there are also people in the community who are willing to share tips and tricks on doing minor restoration things on your own. For instance, I shared on this blog about doing a Takara leg transplant, fixing a pelvic crack and about securing loose hair plugs. There are always people willing to share information. Flaws that you can fix yourself could save you big bucks if you’re willing to take on a little waif in need of love
• It’s okay to lose auctions. There will be another Kenner, and that other one will be the right one for you. Set yourself a hard limit and stick to it. Overspending is no good for you (or your wallet, or your sanity) and it can make you feel guilty over how much you ended up spending on your Kenner – you don’t deserve that and neither should those feelings be attributed to your new-to-you vintage doll.

Short of finding a Kenner Blythe doll at your local thrift store or in the attic, you’re unlikely to find one for less than $600 – unless you’re super lucky. Doing research on what you’re going to buy before you buy it is important – I don’t know many people who impulse buy Kenners. Be aware of pricing trends, see if anyone in the community is selling one first! Those in the doll community are more likely to know what kind of things to disclose (like cracks, missing hair plugs) compared to someone who happened to come across a Kenner and is now selling it on eBay for a quick buck.

Good luck on your search for your Kenner!

One of the things that I love about the Blythe community is how nice a lot of the people who collect dolls are. Sure, I’ve come across people who won’t play nice or share – and they ruin it for a lot of people. Thankfully, most people in the doll community aren’t like that. The golden rules of childhood – share and be a friend; treat others as you’d like to be treated – apply throughout life. For me, Blythe is a happy place. You get cute dolls, beautiful clothes, tiny shoes and the joy of sharing all of that online with other like-minded people if you’re too far to meet other doll people in person. And even if you do get the chance to meet doll collectors offline (e.g. local meets, BlytheCon), you still have online interactions.

I’ve met (online, offline) a lot of fantastic doll collectors since I started with those whole collecting-dolls-thing. Some of the nicest people I’ve met are dolly people. When I couldn’t find the Simplicity pattern locally, a dolly friend found an extra copy in a fabric store in the US and mailed it up to me. I’ve gotten some cute little things from giveaways run by other people. Someone who shared a love for Olympic mascots exchanged souvenirs with me. There are some amazing people in the doll community and I think I’m very lucky to have some of them as my friends. There are some wonderful, generous dolly people out there and I think they all deserve a shout-out!

Have you ever received an act of kindness towards you by a fellow doll collector? Show your appreciation with a comment below!

For every sleepy-eyed Blythe, a good bed is a great addition to any doll house or room box. I was introduced to Atlanta’s work before she approached me , but I didn’t realize it! I had seen the beautiful vintage-esque beds before on Flickr in photos but I didn’t realize that the beds were something that I could actually find and get for myself. Here’s a look at the world of Dream Come True.

Hi Atlanta! What can you tell us about yourself?
I live with my big family on a ranch in Texas, and normally I am a historical clothing seamstress, though just now I am having lots of fun with mini bedding sets! Next year I’m getting married and moving into a log house deep in the hills of Tennessee. My fiancé is currently working with me in the shop, doing the welding of the beds.

How did you discover Blythe? What does your Blythe family look like?
I actually don’t own any of my own Blythes. Its very tempting, though, they get cuter every time I look at them. We discovered Blythe after so many of our doll bed customers wrote back to share pictures of their beds in their Blythe houses and photo-shoots. They were so cute! I am amazed at the creativity and photography skills that seem to go with the Blythe hobby! It’s great, and I love looking at photos, I’ve always been a big fan of miniature worlds!

You have an Etsy shop called Dream Come True – where did the name come from?
Our customers kept using phrases about how the bed they ordered was just like ‘a dream come true’ for their Blythe collections, so we named our shop after it. We love making the beds sturdy and detailed- hopefully looking just like a mini real-life version!

What kind of routine do you have when you’re crafting for your shop?
My fiancé works much of the day out in the shop creating and welding together the doll beds. I paint and antique the beds, make the bedding, and take care of customer service and shipping! My routine is pretty varied, sometimes I sew first thing in the morning, sometimes I’m kept busy just packaging up ready to go orders.

Where do you get your inspiration for new designs?
Oh lots of things! – vintage pictures, antiques, Blythe photoshoots…I love getting color combination ideas from Pinterest. We’d eventually like to expand to have more style of ‘iron’ beds, copied from 19th and 20th century antique examples.

How does it make you feel when you see your work being used in photos?
It really gets a little mind boggling when I think about our little beds going to so many different places around the world! But I love seeing the photos come back, it makes me feel wonderful when I see the works of our customers – because I know that the beds are being enjoyed and inspiring new creativity! It’s always fun too when I happen to stumble upon a new picture of one of our beds on Flickr or such!

For those who are unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe it?
I think people are surprised when they first see one of our doll beds in person, and pick it up and feel for themselves. Words to describe? Heirloom, quality, sturdy, unique, realistic.

I am always amazed by people who can craft on the small scale – what is one of the challenging aspects of your work?
Crafting in miniature has a whole new set of challenges – you constantly have to keep in perspective the scale of the piece, because if you use materials that look too big or bulky, it won’t look life-like when finished.

What kinds of plans do you currently have for expanding what you sell at Dream Come True?
We plan to very soon also include American Girl size beds, Photo Prop beds, and lots of new designs of Blythe beds, which are all in the works, and I am very excited about. If any of your readers have style suggestions, we would love to hear about it!

What has been the most rewarding part of having Dream Come True so far?
For me, either the fun of photographing the beds, and also ‘meeting’ people from all over the world!

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Atlanta! What kind of advice do you have for people who are learning to sew on the small scale?
Patience! Sewing for dolls or miniature items I often find just as hard as making full-sized clothes because all the spaces for the seams are so much tighter. Sometimes hand-sewing is easier when you are dealing with a really small seam (such as a doll dress sleeve!), so cultivating good hand-sewing skills is a must! But sewing for small worlds is fun too, because projects are usually much quicker in timescale, and that’s always fun

You can find Atlanta and more information about Dream Come True at her Etsy shop, on Facebook, over at Big Cartel and on Flickr.  If you don’t want to wait and see if you’re the big winner, you can go and buy a darling vintage-style bed now!

Custom Bed Giveaway!

Atlanta has generously offered a custom doll bed for the giveaway! The winner will be able to decide how the bed is painted and styled to their liking, the above image is just an example of what one of her beautiful doll beds looks like!

You can get up to twenty (20) entries for this giveaway draw and you can enter until Friday November 23rd, 2012 11:59pm PST. The draw will be held on Saturday November 24th and the winner will be announced here on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Atlanta so she can be in contact with you about your custom bed!

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

Mandatory Entry: Comment below with which shop item is your favourite. This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #1: Tweet about the contest! Please retweet the following from your public Twitter account! (If you look below, there is a box for you to include your Twitter username, if you do, I can easily verify your bonus entry!) One tweet entry per person. This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway. Please comment below to tell me that you’ve been tweeting (1 comment per tweet!)

Check out the @blythelifecom interview with Atlanta from Dream Come True! Custom bed giveaway! http://bit.ly/UHFi7K

Bonus Entry #2: Heart the Dream Come True shop on Etsy! Comment below with a link to your Favorite Shops. This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #3: Blog about the contest! Be sure to include some details about the contest and include links to BlytheLife.com, this interview/giveaway page and to Atlanta’s shop, Dream Come True. For 1 blog entry, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway! You must comment below with the URL to your blog post.

Bonus Entry #4: Post on Facebook about the giveaway, include a link to this interview/giveaway. For 1 Facebook post, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway. You must comment below with the  URL to your post.

Bonus Entry #5: “Like” Dream Come True on Facebook. This is worth 3 entries into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #6: Follow Dream Come True on Flickr. This is worth 2 entries into the giveaway. You must comment below with your Flickr screenname stating that you’ve followed the account.

Bonus Entry #7: Pin photos from Dream Come True to Pinterest. This is worth 1 entry per pin for a maximum of 2 entries (2 pins). You must comment below with URL(s) to your pins.

I wanted to get a better idea of the demographics of my readers! So below is a link to a survey – all the better to keep yourself anonymous if you don’t want some details to get out. I’m just curious about you, my reader, and I want to get a better idea of what kind of posts people would like to see here on BlytheLife.com so please help me out!

Click here to go to my survey!