In January of this year, I did a little impulsive (but oh so good) shopping online. The real photos of Jackie Ramone (the Middie little-sister version of Punkaholic People) showed up online and I fell in love.

My self-given Valentines gift this year? Totally got myself a Middie Blythe.

The theme of the doll was punk (but there’s a bit of a discussion on Blythe Kingdom about how they seem to have a weird idea of what ‘punk’ is – mixing the ideas of Japanese and British punk). She has a bob cut in reddish brown and the cutest boots ever. Obviously I had to get her.

Jackie Ramone (that name is not sticking, if I can help it!) will be released sometime this month, so look forward to me blogging in the future about getting a new doll. Plus I’m new to Middie dolls, so I will be discussing that as well. Being new to Middie means a lot of things – new shoes, new clothes, new hats. A new size of doll in general to play with (hopefully she can wear some of my Blythes’ tops as dresses or something!). But I will need to get my hands on shoes for her at least. Something besides the rockin’ boots that she has.

Let’s talk about how excited I am about getting a Middie – because you should know I’ll probably be talking about her a lot!

Any suggestions for names for my new Middie?

I’d like to put the blame on BlytheCon for my reasons for wanting a Kenner. It was 2011 and I was totally okay with not having one. That said, I met some fantastic people, held some beautiful vintage Blythes and the rest, as they say, is history. It took me a while after BlytheCon to find my first Kenner. She was an eBay ‘win’ and came to me from the UK. A little sidepart redhead with a lot of potential, but quite a few ‘issues’ that needed to be fixed. Notably a big ol’ crack that doesn’t naturally occur on the body. Restoring Emmalynn took me a while and it was frustrating for me. I wanted a Kenner that I could play with, straight out of the box as it were. I didn’t set out really wanting to find a doll that needed some help – but she was what was available and I fell in love with her photos so… I won the auction and this little waif made her way to me…

Looking back, I’m pretty amazed that I just jumped in on dismantling her. After a few photos, I had her scalp off, then removed her hardcap to get her dismantled to give her a good cleaning. Probably a good thing anyways, she had a fair bit of grime on her. But what I really learned (besides how to secure hair plugs and how to put the silly scalp back on) is to be patient. It was hard, because I wanted to just play and get her all dressed up in fun clothes. But I had a goal to reach – and that was to put her back together in a way that she’d be restored. So off I went on that little goal, which took a long while.

Being patient was something I really did need to learn. I had to do the research to find the right materials, I had to read the instructions to figure out how to use the glue product. Then there was the clamping and then waiting for the glue to set and trying (repeatedly) to get the legs back in. It is frustrating to watch it crack open all the time, very frustrating. But finally (finally!) it held and I was so ecstatic that all the time and effort had been well worth it (along with actually being able to fix her without sending her off!). It’s a pretty awesome feeling when something you read about doing online actually works. It’s also a really rewarding feeling when you realize that your little TLC girl isn’t so TLC anymore…

All Kenners are different, which is what makes them magical. They all have different quirks, different things to be ‘fixed’ and sometimes, they tell you that all they want is some new legs and their hair left alone. The neat thing about Kenners is the personalities that they come with and share.

I will be documenting my process throughout 365 with Eden Mouse this year. Here are a selection of images for January 2013.

So often I’m on the dolly forums or on Etsy looking up things for my dolls. I like spoiling them – getting new clothes, hats, shoes, stockings for them. It’s fun! And it’s great getting things in the mail all the time for my dolls because it’s just… fun. I enjoy it greatly. But the doll hobby isn’t an inexpensive one. Since joining in the hobby, in 2009, I’ve spent more money on the dolls than I have on myself (besides school things – textbooks, I’m looking at you!). And while technically the things that I buy for the dolls are really for me, it’s “for the dolls” in my head. So I try make a conscious effort once in a while to treat myself to something, even if there’s something else (doll related…) that’d I’d rather have. It’s nice to get a tiny pair of shoes in the mail, or a small frock – but at the same time… I need shoes too, and clothes, and perhaps a new bag since I’ve been using the same one for goodness knows how long. And I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way –  we cannot forget to do something nice for us too! Sometimes it’s nice to have a human-sized treat from time to time?

My most recent human-sized treat? I bought myself a new bag – mostly because my old bag has a tear in the lining and the straps are starting to go (yes, it was on sale too – that wasn’t the point though).

Have you done something nice for yourself lately?

It’s that time of the year again where people make resolutions, write out their goals and wishes for the upcoming new year.

A lot of the time, it just seems like one big shopping list for the new year, but sometimes it’s not. For instance, here are my Blythey goals and wishes for the new year:

• Doing more interviews and giveaways on BlytheLife – are you interested?
• Doing a closet and shoe clean out
• A 365 with Eden Mouse – starting tomorrow!
• An addition of a BL, lucky Blythe #13 – likely Aztec Arrival
• Wishing for the arrival of a Middie (#1)
• The acquiring of squishy vintage Barbie boots (white, tan (arrived in December), brown and pink)
• Celebrate the ‘birthdate’ of each doll this year as they come

I think that my 2013 goals are fairly attainable and I hope to be able to cross all of them off (although, if I cannot add an Aztec to the doll family in the next year, I’ll be okay with that too!)

What are your 2013 goals and wishes?