Welcome to the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 1 of a 3 part mini-series to help those who are trying to figure out what to buy for themselves, or what to buy for the Blythe-lover in their life. Over the next three weeks, I will be mentioning 5 (or so) things that I think Blythe lovers would love to receive for the upcoming holiday season.

This week, it is all about those who want to dabble in customizing their dolls! What do I think might be great holiday gifts for that customizer in your life?

1. A base doll. Like how a painter needs a canvas, a Blythe customizer needs a doll to work on. So that your gift give-ee isn’t cursing while opening up the head, I would recommend an RBL, FBL, or RBL+ , for ease of opening. There are many inexpensive stock dolls to choose from. Some that are fairly inexpensive and can be found online include: Simply Love Me (RBL), Simply Delight (RBL), Simply Mango (RBL), and Simply Guava (RBL).

2. Pastels. What customizer couldn’t use some new pastels do use in their face-ups? There are many brands available, and you could stop by a local art supply shop to see what’s around. Please note: you want to get chalk pastels, not oil pastels. They are two very different beasts. Get the chalk ones. Trust me.

3. Glues. What a world that we live in that there are so many different types of glue available. From my personal customizing experiences, I use a lot of hot glue sticks and water soluble glue (Aleene’s is the brand that I use). These are super easy to find, you can get them at department stores that have craft aisles or in Big Box craft stores. And who couldn’t use more glue?

4. Matte sealant. This one may be a little tricky. You’ve probably heard your loved ones mumbling about MSC or Testors – that would be Mr. Super Clear (MSC), and Testors Dullcote. These come in spray cans, they are aerosols – you are best off trying to find these in a local store than ordering online, because there are so many rules about shipping aerosol flammables in the post. Try out some craft stores, call around and see if they carry them – and if you ask early enough, perhaps they could order it for you if they don’t carry it!

5. Last, but certainly not least, the eyechips. The eyechips are such fun things. You could buy coloured chips (from online retailers such as Cool Cat or Brainworm), plain clear chips for those eyechip painters (also from Cool Cat or Brainworm), or you could go to Etsy and search for handpainted Blythe eyechips and get that special someone something really pretty.

Come to think of it, a lot of these items are small and (fairly) inexpensive, aside from the base doll. You could definitely make up a customizing-themed stocking filled with goodies if you wanted to.

Happy shopping!

Way back when I was a newbie Blythe collector, I thought stock dolls were it for me. Not only stock doll, but Takara stock dolls. I didn’t have it in my head that Kenners were worth it (oh, how I shake my head at my old self now!) because I hadn’t had the opportunity to see a Kenner in person (or hold one, hear the Kenner pip, admire their pretty chubby cheeks…). At the beginning, I was definitely all “Yup, stock dolls are pretty rad.” I may have been slightly in denial because I always saw customs as being crazy expensive. When you consider that my first two dolls were stock, and cost about the same amount as a textbook for one of my university courses, and I thought that they were expensive as not incredibly limited dolls (Cappuccino Chat and Love Mission), customs were seen as being ridiculously expensive at $300 or higher. I think at that point, the highest price tag I saw attached to a custom was maybe around $500, maybe. That seemed like a lot of money to me back then. Especially since I saw that as being “Why would I buy one doll for $500 when I could get three to four dolls for the same amount of money?”

I clearly had no clue.

But as time went on, and I was exposed to more and more dolls and different photos of these beautiful custom dolls, I kind of knew that I would eventually succomb to getting custom doll. But, I would fall weak to Kenners first. I know that Kenners are the ‘grail’ doll for a lot of people (grail as in holy grail, for those new to Blythe-lingo), and for a long time they were for me too. Then I got a Kenner. And then I upped that amount to three. And then I added a custom, a handful of stock dolls, and then another custom. I’m on a roll. I like to think of it as my tastes in Blythes becoming more sophisticated with age. Like fine wine. Or something. All I know is that I haven gotten more pickier as time goes on because it’s almost like an internal struggle whenever I add a new doll to the family now. The curse of having too much in such a small space, I think. Maybe I just need more room.

So now I have stock dolls (mostly stock, they tend to have eyechip changes, maybe some charms, a gaze lift), custom dolls, and vintage Kenners. I am pretty much an equal opportunist when it comes to Blythe dolls and loving them, but I do have more (mostly) stock dolls than anything else. And that’s okay, because if I didn’t have stock dolls, I wouldn’t have some of the colourful characters that show up on BlytheLife from time to time. When I started this website in 2010, I only had 6 Blythes and now I have… well, now I have more. I don’t get the opportunity to take as many photos as I want to when I’m busy with school and school things (hello, papers-worth-a-ridiculous-percentage-of-my-final-grade!), but I do appreciate them because I have them set up in a way that I can see them every single day. And that’s what makes it worth it to me to experience them, even if I’m not experiencing them.

How have your tastes in Blythe changed since you started collecting?

As the temperatures drop and there is a distinct chill in the air that makes me think that it’s going to snow soon (temperatures below 0°C always have been bundled in knits), it also puts me into the mood for the upcoming holidays. The holidays are the best because of all the togetherness, the decorated trees, the hot chocolate (!), and so much more. It’s also the time of the year that I start to really consider who’s on my nice list and what kind of presents I want to wrap up for people. Which, of course, leads to me thinking about what I want for the holidays. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what people want – but what about me?! (The me-me-me attitude is leftover from my birthday, it’s mostly gone now!)

“Even stock, there is still only one of me. Any twin would be inferior!” – Bennett (MML)

Someone to pay off my student loans. Maybe a car (that has a good gas mileage). New winter boots! Chocolate – a lot of chocolate. And then it comes to the dolls. Well, Santa, I would love a new doll – it is no secret that I love Kenners, and I wouldn’t mind another Margaret Meets Ladybug (who remains, to this day, my absolute favourite stock doll). And some more doll shoes (and boots!), and perhaps a new camera – all for the better photography of dolls, of course. And maybe a few new carrier bags. Gosh, that seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

Middie, the middle sister in the Blythe family. Firmly stuck between the long-standing Neo-sized Blythe and the little Petite, what is there to say about Middie? For one thing, she is a significantly different size than both of her sisters, which demands an individualized wardrobe, and shoe collection (even though stock Takara Middie boots will fit both Neo and Middie just fine).

Middie splashed out into the Blythe scene in 2010, with Macaron Q-Tea Party. I remember thinking that she didn’t look that different in sizing, at least until I saw a photo of a Middie next to a Blythe. And even then, she seemed a lot closer in size until I saw a Middie in person (finally!).

The sizing makes Middie tricky to dress because she is so much skinnier and shorter than Blythe is. Like the Neos, Middies have been faked on the online market, but she is still easy to find via legitimate doll-buying channels (such as Junie Moon and CC-Toys). When in doubt of the legitimacy of a doll online – always ask questions. I find that it’s easier to find truthful sellers in the collectors’ community than with eBay shops, but for the most part you can compare the photos of the dolls with official release promotional photos, especially if you are buying a stock Middie doll. If you’re buying a custom doll, be sure to ask questions if you want to know what the base doll was – the customizer should be able to tell you. Despite the fakes and the sizing issue, the nice thing about Middie is that she does fit Kelly shoes, and other similar-sized Barbie little sisters – the unfortunate thing is that once people in the Blythe community discovered this fact, the prices of Kelly shoes did raise on eBay. Click to read more of this entry.

I try to avoid talking about sad or negative things here on BlytheLife, if only because Blythe is a happy thing for me. In light of the recent attacks that have happened in Canada against two upstanding men who had given their lives for their country, it does make it hard to be quiet because despite the attacks being on the other side of the country – there are ripples that come out and touch every single Canadian when it comes to thinking about how safe we feel within our own borders, and thus I did want to highlight Remembrance Day – referred to as Veteran’s Day in the United States.

In Flanders fields the poppies grow,
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

– Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 1915.