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Dolly Holiday Craft Tutorials

Written on November 29, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Musings

My local doll group is having a December meet in the next month that will be holiday themed with a gift exchange! I love adding a little handmade touch to gifts in the holiday season and I wanted to share with all of you some of the DIYs that I’ve shared previously on BlytheLife – just in time for the holidays and perhaps you could make something for your own dolls or a friend’s doll family!

For any crafter, there are a variety of crafty hobbies represented in the tutorials – mainly because I do a variety of crafty hobbies. Sewing, knitting, crocheting! There’s a little something for everyone – and this also means that there’s no excuses not to have something newly handmade for your dolls for the holidays – regardless of which one you celebrate.

Love, Sophie: *My* Gift Recommendations!

Written on November 27, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Article with tags:

It’s almost my favourite time of the whole year! What is so fantastic about it? Gifts, of course! I’m quite fond of gifts. Unfortunately, due to the sheer amount of sisters that I have, we tend to receive ‘group’ gifts. So things that are shared amongst us,although I try to remind my sisters that I was here first and therefore I should have first dibs. That seems fair, doesn’t it? First come, first served, first dibs! That and I am the only one that Michelle has entrusted with her Paypal details… (This is not true, Sophie! I’ve changed it now!)

My best holiday gift ideas for your Blythes are as follows; Michelle, take note!

  1. Get yourself to your local Ikea (or just the Ikea website!) and get a HUSET for your dolls! Possibly the best furniture set that has come out for us dolls in 2013!
  2. A pair of black Mary Janes, any style that you’d like. They’re a fantastic staple to have in a girl’s shoe closet.
  3. A new dress. Holiday themed in shimmering gold is a great idea.
  4. Golden hair bows. Lots of them. The more, the merrier as shiny things are a girl’s best friend.
  5. And to top it all off, a cute cardigan to keep your warm while you’re out in the freezing cold.

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What kind of holiday gifts are you looking forward to and have on your holiday list, fellow dollies? Please share so I can add some to mine!

Until next time, stay fashionable!

lovesophie

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.

QOTW: What’s on your holiday wishlist?

Written on November 25, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Question of the Week

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Image from sxc.hu user Egilshay.

It’s exactly one month until Christmas Day! Are you mentally freaking out now that I’ve mentioned it because you still have a lot of shopping to do? Personally, I am! Between now and Christmas, I’ve got two weeks left of classes, one week of finals and then one week where I have the possibility of going shopping for gifts. Every year I tell myself that I’m going handcraft all the gifts that I give people.

How many times that it actually work out? Not very often (ever, actually).

My birthday is fairly close to Christmas. Not in the same month, mind you, but it’s close enough that I tend to get a lot of things that I’ve already wanted so Christmas is just gravy for me. More chocolates? Yes, please! I tend to get some things that I need, rather than want. The Blythe that I had received for my birthday is also my Christmas present from my parents, so I already know not to expect another doll for Christmas (although I do so wish for that BL that I still do not have in my dolly family – Aztec Arrival, Sunday Best or Mondrian…). And I’ve already bought myself some things throughout the year and recently, so I’m not likely to buy myself something either. I’d treated myself to some books recently, and some yarn that I haven’t even touched yet back in the summer, and a set of knitting needles – all the better to knit dolly things from!

So what’s on my holiday wishlist this year? I am so glad that you asked!

  • Simply Guava stock shoes (the hot pink Converses)
  • Nude doll stockings – I have several dolls that don’t have (permanent) stockings on still
  • A decent unscented hand cream – obviously for me!
  • Hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows
  • Snow on Christmas Day – I’m very okay with it if it all melts away by the morning of December 26th

What I’m most looking forward to this holiday season is baking cookies (many, many cookies!) and to spend time with friends and family. And perhaps even putting the dolls into some new(!) outfits for the holidays.

What’s on your holiday (dolly?) wishlist?

Sponsor BlytheLife in December!

Written on November 24, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: News

You have a doll-related website/shop/blog and BlytheLife has your target audience!

BlytheLife.com is an active doll website with a high readership that primarily consists of women who are Blythe and other doll collectors/hobbyists. By advertising your doll-related site or business with BlytheLife, you can ensure that your ad is being seen by the people that are your potential customers.

Sponsorship costs are purposely kept low to keep advertising accessible to people in the doll community.

Did you know? In the month of October 2013, there was an average of 1890 unique visitors per day and a total of 388,260 hits for the entire month!

There are two spots currently available for the month of December and all sponsorship funds go towards keeping BlytheLife.com up and running!

Small – 2 spots available for December (160×160 pixels)

  • $5 – 1 month
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If you’d like more information on how you can advertise on BlytheLife, click here.

Interview with Pamela of Endangered Sissy & Giveaway!

Written on November 22, 2013 at 12:00 pm by Michelle
Filed under: Featured, Giveaway with tags:

I had the chance to meet Pamela, and her daughter, in October of this year when they were here for an art show. Prior to that, I knew about Pamela from her book, Hello, Cutie!, as it had a small feature on Blythe and was the talk of the community when it came out (and featured some Blythe collectors as well!). I was so happy that Pamela was willing to do an interview with me – it allowed me to get to know her a bit better and to introduce her to those who haven’t had the fortune of meeting her yet!

sissy72pinkred

Hi Pamela! What can you tell us about yourself?
I’m a Canadian writer and photographer, and a mom to a 12-year-old girl. I’m also an avid collector of cute things, including Blythe and Dal dolls, whom I love to sew for when I have the time.

lunaconfection

How did you discover Blythe? Who’s in your doll family?
I first knew about Blythe in 2000 or 2001 when Gina Garan’s This Is Blythe was published. In 2003, I was in New York and bought some Blythe Kubricks and a Paisley Star petite (they were still the kind that were on the keychain) at the Kidrobot store in Soho. Then in 2005, when I was working as the literary editor for a newspaper, I came across Blythe Style. I wrote about it and started thinking about getting a full-size Blythe. As luck would have it, a friend had a Kenner from her childhood and gave it to me.

It didn’t get much play, however, and ended up being stuck in a drawer for a couple of years. My daughter — who was very young at the time — hated it and was terrified, to the point she didn’t want it in the house. So I ended up giving it away.

I had a pretty Blythe-free life after that until 2011. My daughter and I were at the local anime convention and one of the vendors was selling Pullips and Dals. We both liked the Dals and ended up getting a couple online. Within a couple of months there was a Blythe back in the house, too! My daughter wasn’t scared anymore — she loved them and wanted her own.

Today, we have 31 Neos, 8 Middies and 2 Petites (plus several LPS petites) in our combined collection. I am one of the seemingly few people out there who really likes SBLs, so we have quite a few of those including Groovy Groove, Rendezvous Chou Chou, Paradis by Mono Comme Ca, Silver Snow and more.

frothdresses

Where did the name Endangered Sissy come from?
My daughter misread an old Stüssy t-shirt her step-dad had on one day. I can’t remember exactly what it actually said, but she thought it was “endangered sissy.” I thought it was a really fun (and ridiculously nonsensical) name, and pulled it out when I decided to start listing some Blythe clothes on Etsy.

What was the first item that you sewed for Blythe?
Hmm. That’s hard to remember. I already had been sewing a bit for Dals, and would just swap the clothes that fit over to the first Neo Blythe we had in the house. I know I made a lot of the classic vintage Skipper “party dress” during that time, as it was the dress that I taught my daughter to sew first.

ohmydeergroup

What kind of routine do you have when you create things for your shop?
My schedule is all over the place, so it really depends. If I’m working on a big writing project — like a book — I typically don’t have time to sew at all (or do much of anything else!). But if, like right now, I’m between books and working on regular projects like my eighties vintage fashion blog or shooting new images for one of my ongoing analogue photography series, I try to sew two or three days a week in the afternoons, while my daughter is at school. Basically, I just squeeze it in when I can.

tulle

Can you tell us a bit about your creative process when it comes to your designs and inspiration?
I have a huge collection of vintage textiles — over 1,000 pieces of mostly cotton prints — so fabric and trims are the big inspiration for me. I’ll pull out a fabric or a piece of vintage lace and think of what I can make with it, and set to work on the pattern. And because the amount needed for doll clothes is so small, I don’t feel too guilty cutting into my collection!

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What was it like making your first Etsy sale? What kind of thought were going through your head?
I have had two other Etsy shops for a long time (one selling vintage fabrics and sewing/knitting supplies; the other indulges my passion for vintage children’s books), so I was used to the Etsy system and making sales. Still, there’s something special when a person buys something you actually made. Though I had occasionally used the Endangered Sissy shop to sell kitschy vintage items here and there, I started my shop in earnest earlier in late spring of this year selling Middie clothes, as there’s not as much choice out there as there is for Neos. My first sale was two tiny, lacy Froth dresses to a collector in the UK. She was really excited to find them, and that was really heartwarming. Sewing for Middie is actually a lot harder than sewing for Neo, since the pieces are so much smaller, harder to fit properly and fiddly to work with, but those dolls need cute clothes too!

If you had to ‘sell’ your brand in the length of a Tweet (140 characters or less), how would you describe your shop and work?
Cute and colourful, with a vintage twist.

kindercuties

I believe you when it comes to Middies being harder to sew for than Neos. What is your most challenging design to put together?
Anything for Middies with a set-in sleeve — those pieces are a challenge for sure.

What have you learned so far about yourself and sewing since opening Endangered Sissy?
Creating for Blythe has definitely rekindled my love of sewing, design and pattern-making. It’s been wonderful to polish up and revisit those skills. I’ve found I actually find working with these tiny clothes relaxing, whereas I often found my quest for sewing perfection stressful in my younger years. Not everything works out perfectly the first time, but I’ve surprised myself with the extent of the patience I’ve grown into and don’t mind fussing with little details and drafting and re-drafting a pattern or unpicking and re-sewing stitches until I get it right. I figure the new-found patience probably has something to do with having a child — and age!

jumperdresses1

What can you share with us about what you have planned for the future of Endangered Sissy?
I’m just going to keep sewing up new pieces and designs as I’m inspired (and have the time). I’m currently making some slouchy dresses, but in super-fancy vintage fabrics, which is fun, and I’m experimenting with some interesting textile manipulation. It takes forever, but the result is really unique and I’ll be revealing that soon. And hats! I’m working on a classic men’s-style fur hat with a brim and earflaps. It’s very old man, circa 1950s winter, but I think in some cute colours and with a few strategically placed more feminine trims, it could be quite adorable.

goldslouch

For you, what is the best part about running your own business?
Endangered Sissy is much more of a hobby than a business, but I love the creative outlet it provides and designing and making little clothes keeps that part of my brain fresh and eager for more.

citykitty

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Pamela! What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the Blythe hobby?
Well, thanks for asking me, Michelle! As far as advice goes, I’d say read lots, don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t be afraid to like what you like. For example, if you like SBLs (like me), don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it. Think of it like art: we all have different tastes and opinions — no one is right or wrong. But most importantly, enjoy the fun of the hobby, whatever that may mean for you!

You can find out more about Pamela on her website, Flickr and at her Etsy shop, Endangered Sissy!

You can save 30% off of your Endangered Sissy purchase with the fantastic coupon code BLYTHELIFENOV from now until November 30th, 2013. Enter the coupon code at check-out to get your discount!

Dress Set Giveaway!

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Pamela has generously decided to giveaway one dress set to one lucky reader here on BlytheLife! This set, which consists one of jumper-style dress and a Swiss dot blouse underneath, was made with one of my dolls’ favourite styles (young, girly) and colours (pink!) in mind. There are two sets in existence and one of the lucky readers will be able to win one!

The giveaway runs until Saturday November 30th 2013 at 11:59pm Pacific. The draw will be held on Sunday December 1st 2013 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Pamela so she can get in contact with you regarding sending you the prize.

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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