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BlytheLife Features That You May Not Know

Written on August 21, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: News

Once in a while, I’m reminded that not all of you have been reading BlytheLife since the beginning (a long, long, long time ago back in 2010!) and I’d like to introduce you all to some of the great features of BlytheLife.com. I like to make it easy for people in the doll community to get involved and share their stories, shops and dolly-related tidbits here on the blog as well.

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Hmm… This looks familiar…

Blog Blurb Wednesday

Blog Blurb Wednesday is not a frequently used feature, but I’m hoping that after you read about it you might be interested. It’s a way for people to have their blogs ‘showcased’ on BlytheLife with a small amount of information about you and what you write about. Doll/Blythe blogs only, please! Blogs that are primarily dedicated to posting about shop updates will not be featured. But if your blog is like that, I would always be interested in interviewing you!

Community Corner

Community Corner is my way of letting others in the doll community make announcements! So far it’s been used a small number of times – mostly for mentioning fundraisers that people in the community have organized. If you have a cause that is near and dear to your heart, or anything else that you’d like to announce, you can let me know in an email and I can see if it’s appropriate for the blog.

Events

The Events page is a way of showing the need-to-know information about upcoming major Blythe events like various BlytheCons happening around the world. If you happen to know about an upcoming Blythe event that I do not have listed, be sure to let me in on the news and I can keep others updated as well.

Shopping Saturday

Shopping Saturday is a great way for you to let others know about any sales you ave going on at your Etsy or other online shops! Shops must be Blythe related. Simply let me know the name of your shop, where it is, the coupon code (and what it’s for!) and how long the coupon code is valid for. All coupon codes must last for the duration of the weekend to be eligible to be included with the Shopping Saturday posts.

I hoped this help you to become more familiar with some of the lesser known features of BlytheLife.com!

QOTW: The largest your family has ever been?

Written on August 19, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Question of the Week

Family portrait
Once upon a time, I thought that eight was a lot of dolls!

My doll family remains fairly static – as in the fact that nobody ever leaves. However, the dolls do come in and then stay – forever. I’ve gone through moments when I have thought about selling some of my Blythes. Then I realized that no, that’s just not a good idea, and there’s no reason for me to sell them besides a mild whim that is quickly squashed when I realize that I’m being a bit stupid about it. But, I digress. The dolls are here to stay, but yesterday (after adding two more Monster High dolls), I realize that this is the most dolls that I’ve ever owned at the same time. But this could be said with every new addition. I’m currently at: 13 full-sized Blythes, 1 Middie, 1 Petite, 1 ball-jointed doll, 1 mini Lalaloopsy and 6 Monster High dolls (4 out of box, 2 in box). Which means that there’s a total of 23 dolls living with me right now. Twenty-three. That’s a lot! (I’m sure I just made some people who have over 50 dolls chuckle at the naivete that 23 is a lot…)

What is the largest your doll family has ever been?

Community Corner: Fundraising for Alissia

Written on August 16, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Guest Author
Filed under: News with tags: ,

Alissia

In 2011, Michelle (creator of BlytheLife), other Blythe friends, and I (Sioux, of Rob & Sioux, Rob is Alissia’s uncle) created a fundraiser called “4Alissia”. Many people from the Blythe community came together and donated items they created, custom dolls, and gave donations all for Alissia.

Alissia is a little girl who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called Pineoblastoma.  She’s been battling cancer for 2 and half years now. Alissia has endured many difficult procedures and treatments for this rare and aggressive cancer, including the strongest dosage of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, three bone marrow transplants, two corrective eye surgeries, and a year of physical therapy. Throughout all of this, she remained strong and happy.

Alissia was making great progress for long time until recently. In July, she went on her Make-A-Wish trip to Disneyland. During this time, she became very ill. The day Alissia returned home, she was taken to the hospital and had an MRI & CT Scan. We received the devastating results – her cancer relapsed and spread to her spine.

Alissia is now undergoing more chemotherapy; this time around it’s more difficult. Treatments like surgery and radiation are too risky. On August 13th, Alissia was taken to the emergency room because she is now experiencing horrible seizures, unable to feel her legs or stand. They determined her seizures were caused by her tumors. Her latest test results from Thursday, August 15th, showed that Alissia’s cancer has spread from her into the meninges of her brain.

Alissia and her family could really use some help. Medical and living expenses have been piling up since this began two and a half years ago. Her parents have lost jobs and homes during all of this. There are a few things you can do to help.

You can donate directly on her page http://www.gofundme.com/3kolr8 – any amount is appreciated, it all helps. We know many people are going through a difficult time financially right now too if you cannot donate, share her page. If you want to keep up with how Alissia is doing, her father updates the donation page often as well.

If you are in the Southern California area, there is a rock ‘n’ roll benefit show for Alissia on August 16th at 6 P.M. at the Coachella Valley Art Center. https://www.facebook.com/events/198395706988199/

Benefit Flyer
Click to view the image in full size.

Do you have your own Blythe-related announcement that you’d like to share here on BlytheLife.com? Click here to find out what Community Corner is all about!

Blythe On A Budget: Best Non-Doll Doll Buys

Written on August 14, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags:

It’s that time of year again where we’re all still clinging to the hopes that we can fulfill our resolutions for the new year – or maybe you’re like me and have already given up on the idea of keeping with this year’s resolutions. It’s also the time of year where I’ve recently paid off tuition for school and therefore I’m a bit short on funds. This means, of course, that I’m not running out and buying two Kenners at once or clicking ‘Add to Cart’ on really pretty doll dresses – no matter how much I might like another two Kenners or those doll dresses. No, this time around it’s a bit different – mostly due to my severe lack of income.

I decided to think about some of my favourite and best non-doll doll buys. That is to say, things I bought related to Blythe that weren’t actually the dolls themselves. Due to the number of things that I like that I’ve bought, I decided to pick five that I greatly enjoy and thought I’d share. Not only are they all great, but also good deals as well. I included any prices that I could remember.

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The Re-ment dress is the most recent purchase in the photo at $6 – I’ve wanted it ever since I saw it on a photo of a Rainy Day Parade on Flickr. The lime green dress was from a bag of thrifted doll clothes, approximate value that I paid would be less than $1. The Licca body came to me at $12 with free shipping via eBay. The tea set was purchased in China during my travels this year and was less than $2 CDN. Lastly, the pair of hot pink knee socks (which I love!) came with an outfit set that I picked up in Hong Kong came with a dress, shrug and shoes that came out to be under $2 CDN altogether, so the socks were quite inexpensive – and I love the colours for Eden!

What are some of your favourite non-doll doll-related buys?

QOTW: How has Blythe taken over your life?

Written on August 12, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Question of the Week

My girls at the meet

I was briefly considering how things have changed in my life since I started collecting Blythe dolls and all their little clothing, shoes and accessories. I got my first doll in 2009, back when I had zero clothing for dolls that weren’t Barbie, and it’s just gone up from there. Whenever I go shopping for yarn or fabric, I take into consideration the scale of the print or the weight of the yarn. When I really considered things, Blythe has changed my life a lot (for the better).

I own books about Blythe now – clothing pattern books and otherwise, as well as a lot of sewing things (despite not using them as much as I could), and a lot more sock yarn or thinner. I don’t knit enough socks to justify the amount of sock yarn that I have, but I have actually knitted more in general since Blythe has come into my life. Along with sewing, crocheting and I buy a lot more doll shoes now. This is especially true when you consider that I didn’t buy any doll shoes for myself until my late teens/early twenties – mostly because there was no use for me to buy doll shoes. But now there is, so I have way too many pairs of doll shoes. (Sophie says “There’s no such thing as ‘too many’ when it comes to shoes!”). I do want to craft a lot more when it comes to my dolls, mostly because when one doesn’t have a regular income source, it’s a smart idea to not buy as much as one is inclined to do when it comes to dolls and dolly things…

How has Blythe taken over your life?

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