I get a lot of emails as a result of this blog, and a lot of those questions become repeats after a while. So, because I get the same questions again and again, I thought I’d share some of the questions (and my answers!) here on the blog. I’ve omitted the senders’ names and some questions have been edited for clarity. Here are a few questions that I’ve seem to have gotten a lot lately:

Are you planning to do a doll giveaway on this blog? I’d really like to win one!

I was just thinking that I’d love to win a doll too! Unfortunately, as I’m sure most of you know, Blythes are not inexpensive. At this time, I do not have enough money that isn’t already allocated to something more important in my life (e.g. school). I had previously had a custom doll giveaway here on this blog, that was sponsored by Melly Kay. Since then, I have done some customization giveaways with some great individuals as well as giving away a customized faceplate (by cocochoo). If you or someone you know would like to giveaway a doll, get in touch with me!

Can you buy me a Blythe?

See answer above.

Why does BlytheLife have ads on the side?

It costs money to have a website up on the internet. It also costs money for that fancy .com URL that you type in or favourited to get to this blog. If it weren’t for that, you’d have to type in a much longer URL just to get here! Long story short, the ad revenue that comes in goes towards paying for hosting fees (so that the website stays up on the internet) and for the domain fee (for the blythelife.com name). Anything left over, if there is any left over, goes towards shipping costs of giveaways.

Do you get paid to do this? How much do you make writing a blog?

I wish that I got paid to do this! It’d be fun as a full-time job! Unfortunately, most blogs on the internet don’t generate enough income to become a full-time job. I do not get paid to do this, I write BlytheLife out of love for the dolls and the community that goes along with it. I love getting to ‘meet’ new people through the blog and doing interviews and giveaways. It’s really rewarding for me to do this. As for how much I make – didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s rude to ask how much a person makes? (On a more serious note – ad revenue covers a portion of the hosting costs associated with keeping BlytheLife alive).

How long does it take you to write a post?

That really depends on the post and how much research or work is involved. I’ve spent all of 15 minutes on a Question of the Week post before and well over an hour working away on an interview or an article. It really depends on the post and what it’s about. I’m constantly striving towards producing better content for BlytheLife, so the amount of time spent per post has gone up significantly than when I first started the blog back in 2010.

Are you ever going to talk about other dolls on BlytheLife?

Blythe is always going to be primary figure on this blog, it is called BlytheLife, after all! I have mentioned non-Blythe dolls before (such as when I got my first ball-jointed doll), but posts about non-Blythes will remain rare on this blog, only due to the nature of how it is a Blythe-centric website.

Can anyone be interviewed here?

Anyone! Anyone at all – as long as you’re interested in being interviewed! You don’t need to be a customizer or a shop owner, I’ve interviewed photographers, organizers of Blythe events and even controversial Tumblr blog owners. If you’re interested in being interviewed and featured on this lovely slice of the internet, please let me know!

I hope these helps some people with their questions about BlytheLife! If you ever have a question for me, you can use the contact form or email me at michelle@blythelife.com.

A week ago I posted a link to a survey that I set up to see if people were interested in reading more reviews here on BlytheLife and I thought I’d do a little recap of the answers! If you haven’t already done the survey, you still can and I do take answers/replies into consideration when it comes to developing a plan for this website’s future and deciding, in this case, what to review.

 An overwhelming majority of people want to see more reviews! One individual said no.

As for what people want to see reviews of, the most popular choices written in were new doll releases, patterns and doll books, accessories (e.g. Re-ment, shoes) and clothing from Etsy shops.

The majority of people stated it was not applicable for them to send in products to be reviewed, while a little over 20% said yes that they’d be interested in sending in something to review.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated! It’s very helpful to know what you want to see more of here on BlytheLife! If you haven’t already and want to let me know what you think about reviews here on BlytheLife, click for the survey.

Lately I’ve been all about the miniatures. I’ve gotten into reading dollhouse blogs (primarily 1/12 scale – Blythes are 1/6 scale) and I’ve ever gone ahead an ordered a book from Amazon about making miniatures. It’s a book on 1/12 scale miniatures, but I’m sure that the techniques and ideas can be extrapolated easily to Blythe size. I never really thought that I would be interested in miniatures, at least not to the extent that I have become! I always thought that Re-ment and other mass-produced miniatures are very cute (and I do love the Re-ment that I have), but I never really thought I would end up accumulating any. As it is, right now I have a teeny tiny box of Re-ment and non-Re-ment miniatures that would barely fill a kitchen. I’ve been collecting furniture with ideas to make my own here and there…. Yet I still do not have a dollhouse or a room box. Clearly this needs to change!

Do you collect miniatures to go along with your Blythes?

Since Flickr announced, and unveiled, their big changes in May, the doll community has remained rather split on if the changes are good or bad. I asked then if people were wanting to stay with Flickr or move to another photo sharing site. A lot of people migrated to Ipernity, but then people moved back for whatever reason.

I personally found Ipernity a bit of a pain to use. Yes, it had some fantastic features that I think a lot of people enjoyed (e.g. journaling capabilities, the fact that the Ipernity staff is okay with people using images to sell items), but a lot of people eventually moved back to Flickr. I had opened an Ipernity account, but I found it cumbersome and honestly, I didn’t want to maintain two social media accounts for photos when I had already established myself onto Flickr for years now. As a non-Etsy/Artfire seller, I haven’t been reported for selling on the forums and I know some people have and found it frustrating that Flickr takes selling so seriously – especially when there are some that get away with selling without so much as a peep. I found Ipernity to be slow at times, and I felt that it could have been better organized. Plus, initially I did not have email notifications turned off so when people were adding me as a friend/contact, my email inbox just imploded upon itself and I was suddenly faced with a staggering number of new, unread emails in a very short period of time. But I feel that the community’s stance on Ipernity has also declined as well. While I don’t actively use Ipernity (this may be because I can directly upload Instagram photos onto Flickr…), I’ve noticed a decrease in the number of photos being uploaded there, as well as a decrease in activity amongst the people I had added as contacts. Was the community’s mass migration from Flickr to Ipernity too hasty?

If you are still on Flickr…

1. Have you gotten used to the changes by now?
2. Do you still prefer the old Flickr to the new Flickr?
3. Are you having trouble finding certain pages still or has the navigation system become like second nature?
4. What is, in your opinion, the worst aspect of the ‘new’ Flickr?

If you made the move to Ipernity…

1. Do you find Ipernity active?
2. Do you still check Flickr to see if there are photos you’ve missed seeing?
3. What are your favourite Ipernity features?
4. What is your least favourite aspect of Ipernity?

Remember, if you have a Pro account now, you still have until August 20th to change your account from Pro to Free status and get a prorated refund on your annual subscription. However, once you change to a Free account, you are no longer eligible to subscribe at the same rate (annual fees will double).