For some of my dolls, they came out of the box that they arrived in and poof, they had a personality. Some of them took a little bit longer than others, but for the most part they eventually came into their personalities and let me know who they were.

Case in point, my first Blythe was a Cappuccino Chat. I named her Sophie, I wasn’t really expecting to get a Cappuccino Chat as my first Blythe. I’d read horror stories about her hair being super thin and thinly rooted. And yet, I walked into a store one day and came out after spending an absurd amount of money on a doll. I spent the entire car right home trying to think of the right now. I wasn’t going for something original, I wasn’t thinking “Oh, what if someone else has a Blythe with the same name?” because that wasn’t part of my ‘moment’ that I was having. I had a Blythe doll. A pretty, silver-haired doll with special dark purple-red chips that needed a name. And somehow, Sophie just somehow fit.

Her personality didn’t come out for a little bit. She was docile, she let me keep her in her stock outfit for a few weeks while I struggled with the idea that I had just spent so much money on a doll. And once I was over that, she came out as a fashionista who wanted to know why I just kept her in the same outfit day in and day out. At first, due to lack of funds (and lack of fabric), she got to wear what I had available. Which wasn’t a whole lot, but I crocheted her a hat and knitted and sweater that came out too big. This was fine for a while, but it slowly become evident that I just needed more.

I honestly thought that silver hair would look good with a lot of colours. And it did (and still does), but due to the length and just by how I perceived her personality, it was obvious that nothing I had made so far was going to cut it.

There were a few things that I thought were going to keep true when I got my first Blythe:

• I would only have/want/need one Blythe
• I would  sew all of her clothes
• I would only need to buy shoes

But it didn’t take me particularly long to realize that this wasn’t the case…

When on Flickr, I see some great photos that people take of their Blythes in airports, at landmarks or just about everywhere that they go. I’m still working up the courage (is that the right word to use for it?) to take my Blythes out and about in my local community, but I haven’t taken my dolls to many places outside of my house. But while I haven’t gone on any measurable sense of a vacation since before I was a teenager, I would love to take one of my dolls with me on vacation and get some photos of them in some exotic-to-me places with the local flora and fauna.

But while I think about the idea of taking a doll with me on this fictional vacation that I don’t have booked yet, I start thinking about all the things that could go terribly wrong. Airport security gets scared of Blythe and thinks she’s a covert spy weapon, she gets stolen (!!!), I lose one of her shoes, I don’t bring the right clothes for the weather, she gets stolen (!!!), I feel the need to bring all of my dolls on vacation with me so “no one gets left behind”, I don’t bring the right accessories for the weather/area, I get so caught up in taking photos of the scenery, I leave her in my purse for an entire day or she gets stolen (!!!). I mean, these are all legitimate concerns (yes, even the covert spy weapon concern!), so I would like you to share with me how you get your dolls ready for traveling and how on earth do you make sure you get all the right clothes and accessories for your dolls so your favourite clotheshorse doesn’t end up looking like she’s scowling at you all the time?

Questionnaire time!

• Have you ever gone on vacation and brought a Blythe doll (or two or three…) with you?
• How did she travel? (In your bag? In your luggage? In your hand? Other…?)
• How much clothing and accessories did you pack for your doll? One outfit per day or a handful of outfits for the entire duration of your vacation?
• What kind of concerns do you have about traveling with Blythe?
• Do you only travel with one or two Blythes or do you feel guilty about leaving someone behind and bring them all?

Blythe can be a large part of who we are. After all, as the people who own these beautiful, sassy and incredibly demanding dolls, we do a lot for them. We buy them new clothes, new shoes, we’ll find them new sisters or friends and then we start learning how to sew, knit, crochet, and how to cobble together little leather boots. Not that I have done the latter just yet, but a certain someone keeps on teasing me that he’ll find me sewing little leather bits together one day. With so much involvement that this hobby takes from us, I just have to wonder what your spouse or significant other thinks of Blythe and your hobby.

My boyfriend freaked out the first time I changed Sophie’s eyes for him. It may have been because I somehow neglected to tell him (while gushing about Blythe) that their eyes changed. And he thought the pinks were reds (I was showing him over the webcam) and he thought she was evil. He’s changed his tune (now), but it was pretty darn funny when it was happening.

For me, I don’t live with my boyfriend so he doesn’t have too much interaction with any of my dolls. I’ll occasionally have one in my bag and pull her out and he’ll comment on the clothes or the hat or “Hey, didn’t she have different coloured eyes…?” and I have to remind him of the pullstrings and what they’re used for (again). He hardly ever remembers anyone’s name (except for Sophie, because she’s my “original Blythe” as she was my first). To him, they’re pretty, but they’re not anything that he’d really want to ever own for himself. Granted, he’s the kind of person who could be happily working away on a car or any other kind of type of machinery or drinking beer and watching the latest UFC fight on pay-per-view. (And I thought I had expensive hobbies…) But nevertheless, he’s never said anything bad about my dolls because he knows that they make me happy. Plus he thinks it’s neat that the community’s just so involved and there’s so much creativity going on.

How does your SO feel about Blythe being in their lives, even if it’s just slightly on the fringes of their lives? Are they involved? Do they mind helping you pose your dolls or carrying them out in public?

I’ve been tagged a few times on Flickr to do this meme, so I thought I would share it with you. All you need to do is make a list of 11 doll related things that you’re wishing for in 2011 (you can accompany photos of everything in a mosaic, but if you’re lazy – like myself – you’ll just come up with the list).

1. Red-headed Kenner – because, you know, it’s one of the few molds I’m still missing a doll from… I’d love either original hair or a mohair reroot for that carrot-red.
2. Sunday Best BL – Meg/irulethegalaxy’s Sunday Best (Goose) is the *prettiest* SB ever, and makes me want one, every time I see her photo (click for pic).
3. Prima Dolly Paris or Simply Vanilla – I would love to have a white-headed FBL in my dolly family!
4. Aztec Arrival BL – I have a ‘thing’ for the ‘softer’ looking BLs, I guess!
5. Simply Bubble Boom! – love her hair, love her stock name!
6. Pukipuki Pong – always a super happy looking doll! I’m in love with this tiny cuteness, I blame Sioux/milkandkisses for this dolly lust though (click for pic).
7. More dolly photo props – I love the idea of Re-Ment, I just don’t like the price of it (time to go shopping for polymer clay, perhaps?).
8. Doll clothes – Sophie’s a bit of a snobbish clotheshorse, Eden only likes wearing pink, I have picky dolls…
9. Doll shoes – Like I said, everyone’s picky (or maybe I’m the picky one…)
10. More eyechips & the courage to do more mild customizations.
11. To do more interviews – if you want to help make this wish come true, find out more about getting featured on BlytheLife.com!

And now I tag everyone who reads this to do this meme on Flickr or on their blog. 😉

What kind of things do you do when you’re unboxing a new (or new-to-you) Blythe? For me, I like to take photos of everything from the exterior box (i.e. shipping box!), the doll in the box, all the goodies that come taped up with an entire roll of tape to the insides of the box, when I pull the doll out, taking that plastic headband off and the first non-stock outfit on the new doll.

I’ve done this for every single Blythe that has ever entered into my house – even my Velvet Minuet who was new-to-me and came in a different stock box than the original. There’s just something that’s incredibly fun about opening up that box and seeing the doll for the first time. I could do without copious amounts of tape that hold everything hostage on the inside of the boxes (I’m sure you can relate!), but it’s still fun to pull everything out and see everything up close and personal rather than on the computer monitor!

What kind of unboxing rituals do you have? Do you take photos of every step or just the box and then the doll out of the box? What’s your favourite part of unboxing a new doll? Do you care if you’re the very first person to take the doll out of the box since she left the factory or do you like purchasing second-hand/previously loved Blythes?