Hello to my adoring audience! And welcome to the first Love, Sophie post for 2015!

It’s been kind of an up-and-down year so far for me. Michelle has implemented this No Spend challenge and it’s been so hard for me. I’m trying to get her to break it by adding her into Facebook groups and bookmarking eBay listings… But she has a strong resolve, that one. So in lieu of doing some kind of Etsy haul post, I wanted to know what you wanted to read from me this year!

I love writing about fashion, but it has been pointed out to me that sometimes I can wear things that are a bit… pricey. And that maybe your owners are as stingy as Michelle when it comes to her No Spend challenge. If there are any specific fashion topics that you’d love to read about, I’d love to hear about them! After all, Love, Sophie wouldn’t be able to exist without you (and me!).

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.

Every year, many people who make New Year Resolutions usually include something about eating healthier, exercising more, save money, or just spending less of it on things that they don’t necessarily need. Contrary to popular belief, Blythe is not a need (I know, I know), it is a want. As many of you may already know, I am a student and currently unemployed. I sadly cannot live off of sunshine and clean air, because if you know anything about British Columbia in the winter months, is that there are many days with zero sunshine.

A personal challenge to myself for the first month of 2015 is to do a No Spend month, and it sounds as fun as it is. My exceptions are: tuition, groceries, gas, regular bills, and other necessary things in life. Necessary things would be like medication, and not doll shoes. (Personally, I think that doll shoes are a necessity in leading a cute life, but somehow I don’t think that would make it a challenge if that was an exception…)

“More dresses for me? Great!” – Kitty Brighton

So in addition to my current goals for the new year, I will also be including a limit on dolly-things-spending until August. To make it fun, I want to limit myself to $15 a month (starting from February) to put towards doll things or crafting materials to make things for my dolls. It’s a high enough budget that I could definitely purchase shoes or a dress, but not so high that I’m adding to my stellar designer dolly frock collection, if you know what I mean. $15 a month is an affordable amount of frivolous spending money, for me. An affordable monthly budget for you  may be different for you, based on your own income and financial responsibilities.

August will be my ‘big’ dolly spending month because, hello BlytheCon! and I will be employed by then *knocks on wood*.

For my set limit when determining my budget, I looked at what I spent on dolls and doll things last year, divided it by 3 and then divided it by 11 months (since January is a no spend month). That way I’ll be spending less this year (overall, hopefully, despite August) on dolls and doll things. Three cheers for keeping things under control!

You didn’t think that 2014 would end without a post from me, did you?! As the holidays are reaching their peak, Michelle is getting a bit frazzled what with the parties to attend, the gifts to wrap, and the cookies that still need to be baked. There’s just so much to do, and so little time to do it. In this house, we happen to celebrate this odd holiday where a jolly man in a red-and-white suit drops off presents via the chimney to the tree while being carted around the world by a bunch of horses with head-gear. Or something. I don’t really know the specifics, okay? The presents just show up! Anyways…

What do I want this year for the holidays? I’m glad you asked (because Michelle sure didn’t!). I’d love some more dresses. The favourite dress designers in this house tend to be Plastic Fashion and Kult of Kulta.

And maybe some separates too! We love tops (and casual dresses) by erica duh and Luxie Lou, and pants by Blythe Couture and Puppy52 are aces.

Then there’s the shoes. The shoes! We have a lot of glittery shoes (from Jemgirl Creations) that we love (and I absolutely adore, I don’t share if I can help it!) and I think we would benefit from more boots in general. I love boots, and all other tiny shoes.

My secret holiday wish is for Michelle to decide to bring in a new sister. This may seem a bit counter-productive seeing as how I loathe sharing, but whenever we do get a new sister, Michelle goes off on this splurge process where she buys new things! Thus, getting a new sister is good for my wardrobe and shoe closet.

Merry Christmas to all of my wonderful fans! There will be more from me in 2015 as I talk about new fashions and what I think will be awesome!

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.

The thought of my Blythes taking part in hobbies that I partake in just tickles me, so I had to find a way to get them involved in knitting. If you already know how to knit, this DIY will be a lot easier for you. If you don’t already know how to knit, you will need to learn how to cast-on (I use the long tail cast-on) and how to do the knit stitch. I find that KnittingHelp.com (very appropriately named!) is very helpful when it comes to learning knitting, they have many free videos! Click to read more of this entry.

Mimi Bobeck x Blythe hybrids makes for a Blythe on a chubbier body. Is it a phase that will eventually wash out in the Blythe community, or is it here to stay for good? Only time will tell!

The Blythe community is no stranger to having Blythe heads on non-stock bodies. See: Licca, Pure Neemo, and Obitsu. Generally speaking, those bodies offer more posing capabilities with Blythe rather than detracting from what poses the doll initially has uncustomized. Mimi Bobeck, for those in the dark, was a character from The Drew Carey Show. There were dolls released of Drew Carey and Mimi Bobeck in relation to the show, both of which are considered to be collectible items.

If you are looking to get a Mimi Bobeck body for a doll either now or ‘sometime in the future’, might I recommend that you try to find one now before the prices get a little more exorbitant? Prices on eBay are climbing! Unlike Licca, Pure Neemo, and Obitsu, Mimi Bobeck dolls are no longer being manufactured which adds to the limited factor of how many are available which does nothing to help the price of each one.

The Mimi Bobeck doll, in her unaltered glory.

The Mimi Bobeck body has many differences from the standard Takara Blythe body:

• The knees do not bend
• The legs are naturally set further apart than Blythe’s legs are
• The hands are spread far apart (making it more difficult to dress)
• The neck must be adjusted to allow it to fit into a Blythe head
• The bust is larger
• The doll’s stomach is rounded
• The arms and legs are thicker
• The plastic is more rigid

Shoes (and we all know how much I love doll shoes) are hit and miss with the Mimi Bobeck body. The plastic is harder than Blythe’s, and that makes fitting on boots a bit more difficult. This is really a trial-and-error type of experiment when it comes to fitting shoes on.

Some people have found that their Mimi Bobeck’s have stained bodies – this unfortunate phenomenon is due to the stock clothing that the doll comes with (think of Rosie Red and the red bodice of her dress – same thing). Your mileage may vary on the presence, or amount, of stains that your doll comes with as there are many factors that come into play when it comes to the plastic staining (including humidity and temperature).

Genius! Jen extended the neck peg which will allow the doll to still tilt her head.

Having a customized/hybrid Blythe on a Mimi Bobeck would mean getting a new wardrobe that could be able to accommodate the difference in size of the body, as well as having a wardrobe that was more ‘open’ in the back to compensate for how far apart the the hands are set on the Mimi Bobeck body.

The photos included in this post are all from Jen/Blythe Spa Time. Photos used with permission.