Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that love and affection can’t be shown for the Blythes. So I looked at all the dolls that I have (Kenners and Neos – I do not have more clothes for my Middie or Petites, unfortunately) and decided that I would show a little love to the friends at I’ve made in this community by dressing up all of my dolls in clothes that have been made by some very talented people in this community.

Everything being worn was handmade by someone talented and someone that I’ve actually gotten the chance to meet, even briefly, in person. The items made by me have been made possible by encouragement of people that I’ve met in through this hobby and it’s been a great source of inspiration for me. Shoes and most tights do not apply to this though, and I’ve tried to include links to Etsy/Artfire/Facebook pages where possible.

Mollie is wearing a sweater knit by me and stock tights (Simply Sparkly Spark). Minnow is wearing a winter-seasonal sweater dress by me and cat tights by Endangered Sissy. Moxie is wearing a dress and bloomers by Luxie Lou. Click to read more of this entry.

I thought I’d show Kindred, my woefully neglected Velvet Minuet, some love for this lovely Valentine’s Day.

To spoil her a bit, Kindred got to wear a new dress first (even before Sophie!) and I fashioned her a little headband out of some ribbon that came as packaging from a gift I received. I love little details like that. Who doesn’t need a Valentine’s Day headband that says “I Love You” all over it?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

If someone had told me back when I started collecting Blythes that I would make lots of new friend and actually get to meet awesome people (both from all over and locally), I probably would have been all “Pssh, no, way too shy to talk to people about dolls”. Yes, how naive was I at the time?

I’ve met some wonderful people, and I’m so glad that I had made the decision to go to BlytheCon in 2011 because it opened up my world to the idea that I wasn’t as alone in the hobby as I thought that I had been. After all, I first bought a Blythe in 2009 and didn’t meet anyone in person until 2011. It was a great feeling to learn that there were others locally that also shared a love for the big-headed, many coloured-eyed doll that I know and love.

Dolls made me happy and it’s great to be able to share that with people who get it and understand it and are willing to talk to me as I go on and on and on about Blythes. Very happy indeed!

The photos I’ve shared are from the most recent meet that I attended locally.

Since I stopped doing 365 (with Eden) and since I’m a busy, busy person with school (and all the lovely things associated with school…), I don’t have a lot of time for my dolls. It almost seems ironic when I write that, because of this website. I make time for the site and I take photos of dolls (or use photos already taken) for posts and that, lately, has been the only time that I get to take photos of dolls or at meets, which are thankfully more often than not.

I decided to look at my dolls and see which one has been wearing the same outfit for the longest period of time and unfortunately it is probably Halo. She’s been pretty much wearing this dress (by puppy52) since I bought it and because I haven’t really taken her out to any meets or anything, so there hasn’t been an outfit change. The Kenners and Halo (a custom Blythe) don’t get as much photo time on BlytheLife itself because they aren’t displayed (mostly due to lack of space, stands), so they aren’t often the ones I go for when I need a model for a photo. I couldn’t really tell you just how long it has been since Halo has been in this dress, but if the Flickr set for her is anything to go by, she’s been in that dress since November 9, 2012 (with maybe a couple brief changes, then back again). So much over a year. I think it’s time for a change! Perhaps? But I do love this dress so much.

Is over a year too long for a single outfit? It isn’t as if she’s on display all the time so I don’t really notice that she’s in the same dress day in and day out, but if I were to have to wear the same outfit every day for over a year, I’d be incredibly bored, wouldn’t you be? So is a year too long? I’m sure there’s others out there that have kept their dolls in an outfit for an even longer period of time, but it is time for a change for my dear little Halo…

I first became aware of Moo cards back in 2011, when everyone seemed to have them and I was all “what is this madness?!”. For those not in the know, Moo cards are half the height of a standard business card while retaining the length. You can print an absurd variety of photos onto your cards without a minimum or maximum. Want to print 100 cards? You can put 100 different images on them. Yes, crazy. Something that I cannot do at a local print shop because, at that scale, it’s not worth it to them. I also got some ‘faux-Moo’ cards at BlytheCon in Portland, OR. Some innovative individuals had gotten their cards printed at local print shops and then cut them in half, length-wise, because it is cheaper to do something like that – especially if you’re not invested in the idea of having 100 cards with 100 different pictures.

Business cards as a whole, in this community, are delightful. I find them charming and I tend to keep the ones that I am given or get slipped in the mail when I’ve bought something online for the umpteenth time. Because they’re so collectible, it makes it ideal to include your details on them – website, Etsy or Artfire shop, Flickr name, email address. People keep things that they like, bonus if it’s small and doesn’t take up too much room. I like them, and I plan to have them on hand when I head to Seattle, WA in August this year.

And what does one do with all the cards that they amass over time?

I’ve used some as bookmarks, and I want to get a frame one day and put them all together in a collage. A lot of the ones I keep are from people that I’ve met, designers that I admire (and am perpetually jealous of their sewing capabilities!) and friends that I keep in touch with on a regular basis.