What is a doll to do when nothing seems to go with her outfit? Pick the shoes that go with pretty much anything.

I have always loved little Mary Janes on my dolls’ feet, and when you have a doll that insists on wearing pink everything you learn to keep a pair or two of pink shoes on hand at all times. I really love these ones, I actually have no clue what doll they belong to because it came in a bag of doll accessories from a local thrift store. But let’s ignore the fact that I can’t tell you where to get your own pair and let’s just focus on how cute these shoes are!

The bow detail is my favourite part, right along with the colour.

Eden’s wearing: helmet/chelleshocks (me!), shirt/Luxie Lou, pants/Blythe Couture, tights/unknown, shoes/unknown.

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!

Hello fashionistas! It’s 2016 and I’m here to share my personal new year resolutions (which Michelle was not kind enough to share with you all last week when it was actually January 1st…). And I know what you might be all thinking, what could a doll possibly have to have resolutions about or changes that she might want to make in her life and it’s really quite simple. Just because I’m a doll does not mean that I don’t have goals too. That’s elitist. Or something. Humanist? Discriminatory against dolls? Don’t be dollist.

Anyways, what I want to say about my goals. My goals this year include:

#1 – Making sure that Michelle doesn’t bring another doll to live here. There’s just too many. Yes, I know the overall count only went up by one this year, but that’s still too much. (Lark, I’m looking at you!)

#2 – Making sure that Michelle remembers to buy me something new at least once a month. That isn’t something new for the entire family, for me only. Full stop. I’m still the Queen around here not “Princess” Prim, thanks.

2016 is the Year of Sophie, and I won’t let Michelle forget it.

Sophie’s wearing: dress/Dollies Love Dresses, tiara/unknown.

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.

Michelle likes to think I’m spoiled because I like having new things. But I don’t agree with her because everyone likes having new things from time to time. I just happen to like to have new things more frequently and I don’t think there’s any harm in that.

While the weather has not been particularly snowy this month (contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Canada has to deal with a metre of snow during December or has a dog sled team at their beck and call – it’d be so neat if we did though, provided they don’t chew on shoes), I still enjoy wearing wintery fashions because it’s the proper season for it. If you’re not going to wear cute sweaters or big coats, when else can you?

What I love the most this holiday season is cute toques. I get Michelle to make me things by batting my eyelashes at her and by reminding her that she moved in 14 sisters around my age, along with two Middie and 3 annoying pipsqueaks without consulting me. There are perks to being the first one here. I just love my winter head gear because it means being fashionable and warm – which are two very important things (and in that order!).

Happy fashionable holidays!

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.

Sophie’s wearing: helmet/Eurotrash, (top) dress/Plastic Fashion, (bottom) dress/Re-Ment.

Whether you’re looking for a late Hanukkah present or a last minute Christmas gift, the holidays are more about the giving than the receiving. But when you’re giving a gift to your own dolls, it’s both good to give and receive. Some great last minute gifts for your own dolls could include:

• New hair accessories (a local dollar store should be a great source!)
• New eye chips (non-painted versions are as low as $4, hand painted go for about $20-25 – best write an I.O.U. due to time for mailing)
• A Blythe-related book (more of a gift for you, so perhaps you’ll be okay with an I.O.U., might I recommend a couple books?)
• Doll furniture – not only can you find things at the big (HUGE) Swedish furniture chain, you can also find 1:6 scale furniture that’s branded towards other dolls that will fit Blythe, you just need to go and look for it! (Keep in mind that most popular fashion dolls, e.g. Barbie, Monster High, are considered to be 1:6 scale!)

A little present to yourself is always good. If you’re looking for some quick and easy DIY projects, here are some things out of the BlytheLife archives for you:

• Printable 1:6 scale holiday cards
• Knitted Bow Headband pattern
• A big Felt Stocking pattern
• Ornaments perfectly sized for Blythe’s hands

Happy shopping and happy crafting this holiday season!

Welcome to the 2015 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. Part 1 was the $25 and less part, while part 2 was the $100 and less price range of the shopping guide!

Blythe – a somewhat unnecessary, can be expensive, and very much a luxury hobby. For the third part of the Holiday Shopping Guide, let’s explore the gift options that are greater than $100! For pretty much all of these suggestions, you’ll likely want to involve the gift receiver as you wouldn’t want to buy something expensive that isn’t to their taste (or something they want, or fits their needs).

1. A new doll. There are many different new stock Blythe releases out there for the Neo and Middie sizes, pretty much all of them will cost you more than $100. And if the Blythe lover in your life is anything like me, they have a list of what new releases they really love and want. It may take some creativity on your part, but be sure to check out their Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr to see if they liked or commented on any images of new Blythe releases that they really love. If it’s a newer new release, be sure to check out this list of legitimate online Blythe retailers to see if the doll is available for sale.

2. An old doll. And by ‘old’, I mean a 1972 Kenner Blythe doll. If you’re looking at a doll in pristine condition, be aware that you may be paying a pretty penny for her! It is a good time to buy a Kenner Blythe though, as prices have been fairly low for even the minty dolls. You should be able to find a fairly minty looking Kenner Blythe with no body cracks and minimal issues with the hair for about $500-750. Obviously if the hair colour or cut is more rare, the doll will be more expensive, but I have recently seen several fairly minty Kenner Blythes sell for very reasonable low prices.

3. An alpaca or mohair reroot. These are reroots done in natural fibres that are kitten soft and can come in some beautiful natural or dyed colours. These labourious and oh-so-time-consuming works of art can cost you quite a bit – expect to pay a minimum of $200 for an natural fibre reroot, more depending on the type of fibre, length of fibre, and colour(s). But they’re so pretty!

4. Without getting into the politics and controversy of the incredibly expensive doll clothing sets, what about some form of display cabinet? Yes, there are many shelf units out there that are less than $100, but think about the sheer size of your loved one’s collection, followed by the necessity of glass covered doors so that the collection is visible but also protected from mischievous cats and the dolls don’t need to be dusted on a very regular basis. Something nice and sturdy with glass doors would be lovely, and likely to cost well over $100, depending on where you shop.

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I hope that the 2015 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide has been helpful to you in determining some potential gifts for the Blythe enthusiast in your life! For the discerning Blythe hobbyist, it’s probably best to get them involved in helping to choose their gifts – that way you can be sure that they get something that they love! There’s a huge price range that Blythe-related gifts can fall in, so don’t be afraid that all Blythe gifts will wind up being expensive!