One of my goals when I began in the Blythe hobby was to eventually have at least one Blythe of each mold type.

It’s just one of the things that I always liked about looking at photos of Blythes – dolls next to one another and me trying to see if I could see the difference between the molds. At this point, I’m pretty good about recognizing the different molds in photos. It takes a lot of time getting them dressed though. At this point, I have 9  and they spend a lot of time in the same clothes (heh). It’s not their fault, of course, it’s just that dressing and figuring out what clothes each doll should wear takes a lot of time. But I love them. A lot. Even if they’re always demanding new shoes and clothes, something that I’m not trying to give into this year.

All my Blythes, except for the newest addition – Mollie (short for Molybdenum), Simply Sparkly Spark.

I have one of every mold except for ADG (which I’m currently not interested in) and BL. I’m currently thinking of a Mondrian or a Parco – but the idea of plunking the amount of money down for a Parco would probably put me into an anxiety fit (yet buying a Kenner was somehow okay?).

I know that some people don’t like the SBL mold, but you have to admit that a lot of the SBLs came with fantastic stock clothes. My only SBL is Velvet Minuet, who was one of the first Blythes that I had seen (online). I have a maximum amount of 10 that I want to maintain, so seeing as I have 9 Blythes right now, that only really means room for one more (a BL – but I have decided to give myself a loophole that Blythes after the tenth one will be okay provided that they are Kenners).

Are there other people who have one of each type of Blythe mold, or are working towards having one of each Blythe mold?

I’ve thought about what it would mean to be a one-Blythe kind of girl. It would mean downsizing. It would mean selling my dolls and sending them off to new homes. It would also mean that there would be one doll to spoil, one doll to have all the clothes and shoes and accessories. But at the same time, I know I’m capable of downsizing – but do I want to?

After a lot of thought (and maybe a twinge or two of guilt over having so much money in dolls – especially after buying a Kenner), I’ve really decided that I’m probably not able to be a one-Blythe girl. At least not right now. At seven Blythes, two of them were gifts, the rest were grail dolls. And they’re still dream dolls that I don’t think I could ever let go of. There is a reason why I was attracted to them in the first place and those feelings have not faded since the dolls have arrived in my grabby-grabby hands. If nothing else, they’ve intensified.

I feel horrible with the idea of selling gifts, especially since my Punkaholic People (Eden Mouse) has become one of my favourites (but it’s also hard to not have them all be favourites when I have a relatively small dolly family). And then Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint) was also a gift and she’s just darling. She had the best hair out-of-box out of any of my girls and she’s got that yummy mint hair that makes me smile.

When I do look at my dolls, I get a happy feeling inside. And since I’ve only had a slight twinge over feeling bad about how much money is ‘locked’ up in dolls, I think I’m still okay. As long as no emergencies come up where I need a sudden cash influx anytime soon, I think I’ll be perfectly content with the dolls that I have right now without needing to add any new additions for a while (or doing any major subtractions).

I do sometimes wish I could be a one-Blythe hobbyist. Some people have families of under five or even just a dolly family of one. That one doll gets all the attention, gets completely spoiled (because there’s no competition) and there’s no choosing necessary to figure out who’s getting their photograph taken today. I think that’s a nice feeling, not having to choose or play favourites. I just don’t think I’m capable of downsizing right now and I’m pretty okay with that.

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Could you ever have just one Blythe or a very small dolly family?

I know Wednesdays are usually Blythe On A Budget, I actually just moved the post that was supposed to go up this week to another week (I’m awful, I know) because I had something more important to say. There’s a lot of overwhelming things in this world. Dolls shouldn’t be one of them. If you have one doll, that’s awesome. If you have one of every single release ever, that’s awesome too (and I’m totally jealous of your Parco). I started BlytheLife.com because I wanted to give back to the dolly community. I had hobbies before Blythe and I still take part in those hobbies, but I’m not active in those hobbies. I don’t make a whole lot of new friends when I crochet or knit, because I do that in my own time and I don’t have time to head out to regular knit nights or anything like that. I never joined clubs for stamp collecting (which I still do and have done since I was 8). But with Blythe, it’s hard to avoid people. There’s dolly forums and so many people on Flickr (which is so, so, so awesome). It would be very difficult, I think, for most people to be in the Blythe hobby world and not interact with people. It’s easier with a lot of other hobbies, but not with Blythe. (And now that I’ve made myself sound like a complete hermit…)

Going to BlytheCon in Portland in June was fun. I finally got to meet other people in the doll community and it really opened up my eyes to the awesome people behind their doll avatars. I got to see people who’s photos I favourite and admire. I got to meet people who are from right where I am. Which was amazing, because suddenly I have a whole new group of friends and we all have something really, really awesome in common. We all bring something different to the group and we’re all joined by a common thread, but I’ve also found other things in common with these people too. It’s not all about the dolls anymore, not really. It’s about the people behind the dolls. And the people in this community are wonderful individuals. You are, you truly are. I know that sometimes there’s ups and downs in the dolly community and there’s a whole ton of drama that happens at times… But we’re all sorts of awesome and we all bring something really great with our love for dolls.

You may not realize it, but you are a wonderful person. You love dolls and that makes you pretty awesome.

I received an email from a lovely woman named Annette. Her daughter, B, is turning 12 this year and has been hooked onto Blythe since the release of Littlest Pet Shop Blythes and then her daughter discovered the bigger Blythes on the internet. And Annette asked me the following question:

What age do you think is appropriate for a child to have their own big Blythe?

The thing is, I’m not a parent. Not even close. I got my first Blythe (Cappuccino Chat) at the age of 19 and I paid for her myself. My first gifted Blythe was Simply Peppermint (also at the age of 19) where it was my birthday gift from my parents. I wasn’t born when the original Blythes were released and I didn’t have any Blythes as a child. I had a couple of Barbies, and the poor things didn’t fare too well under my tender care. They were neglected and hair turned into frizzy balls due to overcombing of the plastic hair. But that was me as a child.

What you really need to consider about your own child is not so much their age but how mature they are. There are some incredibly mature 12 year olds out there and there are some incredibly immature 12 year olds. Blythes can be pretty expensive, depending on which one your child wants. You need to make sure that they’re aware of the costs of a Blythe and also help them to understand what they shouldn’t do with their dolls (eg. not getting stock eyelashes wet or else they fall out, not leaving very dark fabrics on for long periods of time).

If your child is mature enough to realize that Blythe isn’t just some regular old doll and that she’s special, maybe they are old enough to have their own Blythe. Perhaps you could supervise your child while they’re handling their special dolly, or maybe they’ll surprise you with already knowing that Blythe is something special. It all really depends on the individual child.

If you are considering getting a Blythe for your child, just make sure that they understand that she’s special and shouldn’t be mistreated. I think the fact that your child wants a Blythe is a fantastic thing. There are a lot of young Blythe enthusiasts out there that your daughter can interact with. Keep in mind that some forums require members to be a minimum age (13, 16, 18, etc.) so keep an eye on your child’s internet activities. But remember that Blythe is all about having fun.

In the holiday spirit, I decided to write a little letter to Santa this year. Just because I can.

Dearest Santa Claus,

I’d like to think that I’ve been very nice this year, although I suppose you would know best as you keep an eye on me all the time like you do all the kids (and big kids!) around the world. Well, this year I’m hoping to have a great dolly-filled Christmas. Now, I’m not expecting your elves to make me a Blythe in their workshop (I know that Blythe is made by Takara Tomy and not by your elves), but I would greatly appreciate some Blythe-sized clothing and shoes, if your kind elves have a moment to spare.

Sincerely,
Michelle

You can really send a letter to Santa! Volunteers over at Canada Post help Santa Claus with all his mail. You can send him a real paper letter or an email (because Santa is up to date with new technology!). So for the big kids (and little kids), in your life, you can help them (or yourself!) send a letter to the North Pole.

For email, you can check out the email form over at Canada Post.

Santa’s address, if you’re wanting to send him a letter is:

Santa Claus
North Pole HOH OHO
Canada

Remember to include a return address so he can write you back!