Taking dolls on trips is fun. While this summer is not a summer that I’ll be going anywhere far (I believe staycation is the term for what I’ll be doing?), it is fun to take dolls around with me anyways. Despite being in the Blythe hobby since 2009, I can still be shy when it comes to pulling out a doll in public and taking photos with them. I do much better with public doll photography when I’m with other people who also have dolls. Safety in numbers applies to public doll enthusiasm as well!

I tend to choose which doll(s) I take on trips based on who has the easiest to manage hair. That is one of my primary criteria for taking a doll along – if they have hair that will behave because one of the last things I want to do when on a trip is deal with unruly or ridiculously tangled doll hairs. Especially since I never remember to bring a comb or brush with me!

Are you taking a doll on a vacation this summer?

I have many favourite names that I’ve given my dolls. Of course, I’d better like them if I was willing to name one of my Blythes with that specific name. While I love all of the names that I have given my dolls, I think my personal favourites are: Primrose, Mollie (short for Molybdenum), and Bennett.

Primrose makes me smile because the nick name Prim is mildly ironic, given the ever constant state of Prim’s hair. She’s prim and proper, see.

Mollie’s name  is one my favourites because I love science and it’s such a geeky name. Molybdenum. Bonus, Molybdenum is atomic number 42, and 42 is the answer to life in the universe and everything.

Bennett makes me smile because it’s just such an unassuming name and then bam, it’s a name assigned to a beautiful stock doll. I love Margaret Meets Ladybug for being one of the prettiest made stock dolls ever (not biased at all, nope!). Bennett, Bennett, Bennett. I may never tire from it.

What’s your most favourite Blythe name that you’ve given one of your dolls?

Prim’s wearing: top/Puppy52Dolls, capris/Fancy Pansy stock.
Mollie’s wearing: dress/Plastic Fashion, tights/Simply Sparkly Spark stock.
Bennett’s wearing: dress/Vinyl Belly, tights/Cool Cat.

Cameo has been in this Plastic Fashion dress pretty
much since forever. But isn’t it great on her?

I would be the first of many to admit that I leave my dolls in the same outfit for days, weeks, and months on end. Poor things. But sometimes I just find the ‘right’ outfit for a doll and it just looks great on them and I just don’t want to change them! Plus, finding a new ‘right’ outfit can be time consuming. Luckily, Blythes tend to look great in everything, and I also have the tendency to buy (or craft!) clothing items in a manner that curated a wardrobe that, in general, goes well together.

New outfit time! Cameo is wearing a dress by Puppy52 in
BlytheCon Vancouver 2015 fabric, her kitty tights are by Endangered Sissy.

There are certain dolls in my collection that just don’t get a lot of “play” time. This isn’t because I don’t love them, I do, it’s because there’s just some aspect of them that makes general handling a challenge – this is mostly in reference to the thick, heavy, always-in-my-way hair that some of my dolls have. But sometimes I’ll take one of these troublemakers off my shelf and pop them in a new outfit… Mostly because I’ve realized that they’ve been in the same dress for at least half a year. Or more. I’m such a bad dolly owner sometimes.

How long is too long for an outfit?

There are times when I see photos of people’s doll family photos (or collection photos, for those that don’t refer to their collection as a family like I do) and wonder if I would ever want to have that many dolls. I’m actually quite happy with the extent of my collection so far. I have nice mix of a ‘little bit of everything’ – including customs, which I honestly at one point never thought I would want or need. At this time, I’m mostly wanting to add a BL into the mix (a stock or mostly stock one), although I’m waiting on that one for a bit as I just need to save/have funds available before biting the bullet there.

I realized recently that this was my last dolly family photo that I had taken:

And it really needed to be updated, so I took another one because it was missing some new members:

The dolls are organized according to arrival.

Back row: Sophie (Cappuccino Chat), Belarus (Love Mission), Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint), Bennett (Margaret Meets Ladybug), Eden Mouse (Punkaholic People), and Kindred (Velvet Minuet). Middle row: Emmalynn (Kenner), Moxie (Simply Bubble Boom), Molybdenum (Simply Sparkly Spark), Lillian Rose (Kenner), Primrose (Kenner), and Halo (RBL custom by Friends With Blythe). Sitting on the sides: Kitty Brighton (Jackie Ramone), Cedar (Monique Magnifique), Minnow (Hi-Ho! Marine), Cameo (RBL custom by Friends With Blythe), and Lydia Melbourne (Yellow Marshmallow)

I have 3 Kenners, 12 Neos, 2 Middies, and 2 Petites (LPS). That’s 19 dolls altogether that are of the Blythe variety (my non-Blythe dolls aren’t being counted here). I didn’t include either Petite in the photo – not because they’re not important, but (sorta) because I may had forgotten then when I was putting the dolls together for this photo. You know you might have too any dolls when you begin to forget some… Is that too many? Some people would probably say it is, others are probably shaking their heads at me going Michelle, you haven’t hit too many until you’ve broke through the triple digits. If I had 100+ Blythes, where would I even put them all?! (If I could afford 100+ Blythes, I’d probably have more shelf space. And a doll room. Or two.)

How many Blythes are too many Blythes (for you)?

I love being crafty and creating things for Blythe – it’s a fun thing to do and the end result is something that my dolls can actually wear. It’s a pretty awesome feeling to be able to make something that looks cute and fits the dolls when I put them on. However, I’m not interested in the logistics of running an online shop at this time – mostly because of time, the additional costs of running a business (packaging, taxes, etc.) and just not thinking that people would want to buy what I make at a price that seems ‘worth it’ to me to put that time and effort in. But, I digress. There are many online shops that put out a lot of fantastic items every single day – and that’s good for people like me that don’t necessarily do those crafts.

Do you own a Blythe-related shop online? Share it below!