I saw this adorable string of bunting that was designed to be strung across the top of cupcakes on skewers. It was super cute, and came in a variety of designs (football! minions! robots!). It was also $7.50 per package and I knew that was just too much, I could definitely make something that was more size-appropriate for Blythe at a much cheaper cost. So I did.

You will need:

• String (or thread) – 30cm long (I used extra pull string cord – $1 for 3 colours, 11m/12yd total)
• Washi/paper tape (as many or as little designs as you want!) – I paid $2 for 3 rolls of tape
• Ruler
• Scissors

Directions:

Cut your string or thread so that it is 30cm long. You can make it longer or shorter if you’d like. Knot the ends. The knot helps the dolls hold the bunting a little bit better!

Cut pieces of washi tape to be 4cm each (approximately 1.25″).

Fold each piece of washi tape over the string, make the ends meet (even out with scissors as needed).

Put one piece approximately every 3cm, or evenly across the string.

Using your scissors, cut out a small triangle from the rectangle of tape.

Hang around your doll house or have your dolls have in a photo. And you’re done!

Vintage shoes makes my heart sing. Even more so, vintage squishy Barbie boots make my heart sing.

You know what makes me even more happy? A pair of vintage squishy pink Barbie boots.

Oh yes. I am a very lucky girl. So is Eden Mouse, as she wears them most often out of all of the Blythes in this house.

Eden Mouse wears: Kult of Kulta (dress), vintage Barbie squishy boots.

You don’t know how much I love these boots.

(I also have a lot of pink shoes and boots to showcase in future installments of Tiny Shoe Love. You’ve been warned!)

Tiny Shoe Love is a feature on BlytheLife.com to showcase and share doll shoes that grace Michelle’s picky dolls’ feet. We love tiny shoes in this house, and we hope you do too!

Welcome to the third, and last, installment of the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 3 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. In the first week, I mentioned some goodies for the dolly customizer in your life, and in week two it was all about the general Blythe enthusiast. What’s in store for part 3? Read on!

There is a very distinct crispness in the air. There’s a unique crunch when I step onto snow, there’s that smell that the air gets when it is about the snow, and there’s that delicate fluff that melts on my tongue. I am, of course, talking about snow. But no matter if you’re in a place that is currently winter or summer, it is still December which means that the number of days you have until the gift-giving winter holiday of your personal choice is fast approaching! There are some bigger (and smaller) ticket items on this week’s list, so keep one eye on your bank account! Click to read more of this entry.

Welcome to the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 2 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. If you missed part 1, it was all about things that customizers might like to receive for the holidays!

This week is all about the every day Blythe lover. Not someone who necessarily sews, knits, crochets, customizes or any of that. Just someone who loves Blythe. Which is pretty much all of us.

Minnow (a Hi-Ho! Marine RBL+) thinks that everyone should get a bright doll like her!
Minnow wears Plastic Fashion (dress).

1. A new Blythe. If the Blythe enthusiast in your life is anything like me, he or she heavily hints towards doll that they want all the time. For instance, I tend to send screenshots of Blythe photos that I’m crushing on the boyfriend on a fairly regular basis. He tends to think that I “quite a few dolls already”, but I really do don’t. Some dolls that I think would make fantastic gifts include: Kenners, Regina Irwen, Bianca Pearl, Hi-Ho! Marine, Cadence Majorette, or Scotty Mum. Just to name a few.

2. A new Middie. Maybe you’ve heard your Blythe enthusiast talking about these funny dolls that are shorter that Blythe. They also make fantastic holiday gifts. My personal favourite is Jackie Ramone, but I also think that Yellow Marshmallow or Alicia Cupcake would make great gifts as well! Bonus, if the opening of the stocking is big enough, an in-box Middie would make a pretty amazing stocking stuffer.

3. What is up with all the dolls on this list? Next is something that I would love to get: Vintage doll clothing & shoes. Get yourself over to some garage sales or flea markets, online to Craigslist or eBay and start looking for vintage Skipper clothing. You’ll get bonus points if it’s in fabulous condition. All vintage Skipper will fit the standard Blythe body (and can fit Licca bodies as well). The shoes will fit onto the standard Blythe feet, but not onto Licca (just too wide!), but the flats do look so cute and dainty.

Tertiary Jane is wearing a dress by an unknown maker.

4. Hunting for vintage doll clothing not your thing? How about getting to your local Ikea (or online to get it delivered) and ordering your favourite dolly lover HUSET? It is a fantastic living room furniture set – I’ve reviewed it on the blog. I personally have one too many sets (is that possible?) and the pieces are very versatile! There’s even people on Etsy who sell couch covers (if you’re not partial to pink), along with throw pillows. Very cute! And gives the dolls a place to hang out besides on their stands.

5. Last, but certainly not least on the list of things that I think any Blythe lover would be happy to receive this holiday season… Storage or shelving. This could be in the form of a bookshelf, floating shelves, small set of plastic drawers, or sectioned off boxes to store things in. Organizational items are so great in the doll hobby. I personally love using plastic drawer sets to store clothes, and bead organizer boxes for all the doll shoes that I own (I also have a couple for beads as well, but that’s neither here nor there).

Velcro is an amazing thing. Except when my hair gets stuck in it, or one of my Blythes’ hair. I’m sure many of you know what I’m speaking of. Whenever I’m buying dolly clothes online, I like to see if the seamstress listed what kind of closure it is. My personal favourite closures include metal snaps (I’ve also seen them referred to as ‘poppers’ online), and dolly velcro. Dolly velcro is like this amazing invention because it is super slim and my hair (and doll hair) doesn’t snag in it. And once in a while I end up buying something that has regular velcro in it and I just feel so bad for my dolls when their hair gets tangled up into a nest.

Dolly velcro (left), regular velcro (middle), and a metal snap (right).

After a while, it’s gotten to the point where unless someone specifies that it’s dolly or thin velcro, I might not even buy it because it’ll just cause a bit of headache for me. Snaps all the way though. Unless they’re plastic. I may have broken a plastic snap before when I wasn’t 100% gentle with it, which is why I greatly prefer metal snaps on doll clothing. When I actually take the effort to add a closure to the clothes that I make for Blythe, I use metal snaps (this may be only because I don’t actually own any dolly velcro in which to sew in). As long as dolly or human hair doesn’t snag in it, it works well for clothing closures in my opinion. I find that snaps are so much easier to find in local stores than dolly velcro though, as I’ve only ever seen dolly velcro being offered for sale online.

Do you have a preference for snaps over velcro?