Programs that people like to use to make their lives easier can be expensive. Off the top of my head, I know that I use some programs that most others would consider to be expensive (eg. Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office) but there’s a lot of programs that are available for free that are not pirated.

This post is not a jab towards those who used paid-for programs. I myself absolutely love Adobe Photoshop and I love my Microsoft programs but it’s always good to be aware of free alternatives out there. Computer programs can be expensive and why would you want to spend money on programs when you could be buying new dolls…?

Please note that BlytheLife.com does not take responsibility for anything that may occur to your computer after downloading the programs – please ensure that the program(s) are compatible with your computer and you should always run regular virus-checks on your computer.

GIMP – alternative to Photoshop
For photo editing needs, I prefer to use Adobe Photoshop and I try to keep up with the updates between versions. I know that this is a very expensive program. A completely free option is GIMP, which is a decent stand-in for Photoshop. GIMP stands for The GNU Image Manipulation Program and while it is a huge program with a lot of capabilities, many people write tutorials geared towards Adobe Photoshop, so it shouldn’t come to a shock to you if you cannot use the tutorials directly (some wording changes between programs and the menus are set up differently).

GIMP can run on some UNIX computers, Microsoft Windows (up to Vista) and Mac OS X. There are other system requirements that you will need to read about on the GIMP website prior to downloading.

Calc – alternative to Excel
Instead of using Microsoft Excel for keeping track of all that dolly spending (because we really should be keeping track of expenses – plus it’s a great way to know how much you paid for something if you’re considering selling the item), you can use the Open Office equivalent, Calc. There are some differences between the two programs, including how the formulas are entered but you can find help online to figure out how to get used to these changes. It’s a good alternative for those not wanting to spend money on Microsoft Office.

Open Office (all of their Microsoft Office equivalent programs) can work on Microsoft Office (from Windows 2000 to Windows 7), Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X. There are some other system requirements that you will need to read on the Open Office website before you download.

Free anti-virus programs
There are many anti-virus programs out there and many of them are popular (and required paid subscriptions for active coverage). With so many choices, it can be difficult to figure out what’s the right fit for your computer. And with that in mind, it’s always a good idea to read testimonials online and see what others think about it. Some paid-for anti-virus programs can be fairly inexpensive (~$20 for a few years worth of subscription), so it really falls down to what you need in a program. Some programs are a fantastic deal for their price, especially if you can find them when they’re on sale. A paid-for program that often comes up for sale is Kaspersky.

It’s always a great idea to keep your anti-virus program active, people are always coming up with new ways to attack others and steal their information. As Blythe hobbyists, I know a fair number of us do transactions online (for buying new dolls or doll clothes or even supplies for customizing or crafting new things). So with that in mind, and I know that many people want to spend their money on things they love (like Blythe!) instead of expensive computer programs. Many companies that produce free anti-virus programs do so for personal use only.

• AVG
• avast!
• Avira AntiVir
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Panda Cloud

Photo from sxc.hu user adamci.

Before Blythe, I collected stamps. I do still collect stamps, but with people sending e-cards for Christmas instead of physical greeting cards, the amount of stamps I’ve gotten in the last several years has dwindled down (besides from people who know, and encourage, my stamp collecting). But while I was looking over my stamp collection (because there’s nothing more self-reassuring than looking through a few thousand stamps…) and thinking about all the doubles (or even more multiples) of stamps that I have.

Postage stamps would make great decorations for doll houses. If you don’t want to cause any damage to the stamp itself, you can use photo corners (which are used in scrapbooking) or you can get stamp hinges (primarily used for stamp albums) or you can even make little photo frames for the stamps with a piece of plastic over the actual stamp.

Places you can get stamps include… the post office, from your mail (if you happen to get interesting stamps) or from a generous stamp collector.

If you’re getting the stamps from your mail, you’ll want to cut the stamp out (leave a margin of paper around the stamp(s)!) and then soak it in water until the stamp comes free from the paper. Then you’ll put the stamp face down (image size down) on a flat surface to dry. Once it’s fully dried, you can use it in your doll house decorations.

I have a hard time finding fabric prints that at a size that won’t overwhelm my dolls. There are a lot of cute prints available online, but I have a hard time making myself want to pay for the cost of shipping that it can cost to have things delivered to Canada. Which means that I’m constantly on the look for small, adorable and doll-friendly sized prints. And here are a few suggestions of places to look for small print fabric.

1. Your local thrift store. It’s not just a great place to look for that elusive thrift store Kenner, but if you go to the kids clothing section, you’re bound to find a lot of clothes that come in small prints. The beauty of looking at baby or children clothes in the thrift stores is that they’re generally in pretty good condition. This is because babies grow really quickly and grow out of their clothes before they get to wear out the fabric. The bonus to thrifting is that the clothes will be generally inexpensive (or at least they should be!) and you should be able to get a few articles of doll clothes, even from a baby or toddler’s clothing item. Just be sure to throw everything into the washing machine first (or wash by hand, if that’s your thing) before using, you don’t know where it’s been.
2. Your local dollar store. Now this may not apply to you, but a few dollar stores that I’ve gone to carry socks (in plain colours and in stripes and other prints), t-shirts (mostly for babies/toddlers) in cute prints as well as underpants (!) for kids and adults. The underpants usually come in some of the best prints and I’ve come across things like lip prints, ice cream cones and cute stripe patterns. It’s definitely worth a look!
3. Your local department store. Or any place that has a clearance bin for children’s clothing. It’s a lot like the thrift store suggestion: a lot of children’s clothing has a lot of cute prints and they’re generally small because, well, babies and kids are small people.  I don’t usually buy things out of the clearance bin at department stores because I feel that it’s usually cheaper if I go for the thrift store, but sometimes there’s some incredibly adorable prints that you can’t find anywhere else or something that’s steeply discounted that makes it a great deal.

If you have any other suggestions for places to find cheap and inexpensive small print fabric, be sure to share below in the comments.

A lot of the Blythe On A Budget articles here at BlytheLife.com have to do with taking photos because, let’s face it, those big-headed dolls are awesome for photography (who doesn’t like a model that looks gorgeous and a cute wardrobe?). This week’s installment of Blythe On A Budget is all about photo backdrops and I’ll be going over 5 different photo backdrops for you to utilize that you can find in your very own home.

1. Walls – I like using my own bedroom walls for photos, I don’t have to move very far and it’s a very bright green. Sometimes it shows up as pale green (depending on the lighting) and sometimes it shows up as very bright. I also use walls from other places in my house – there’s all sorts of colours. It’s also helpful if you use a wall that’s close to a window during the daytime (and there’s sun) for some natural light.
2. Paper – You can use all sorts of paper, but I’m going to focus on scrapbooking paper, because it’s awesome. I love scrapbooking paper, it comes in some amazing patterns, colours, textures. Some are glittery, some are glossy, so there’s always a huge selection available. I’ve found that scrapbooking paper (12″x12″) can run anywhere from $0.33/sheet to $2+/sheet, but it really depends on where you’re looking and what you’re looking for. A dollar store just opened up near my house and it carries scrapbooking paper for $0.50 each, which is a fairly good deal considering that’s their blanket price for all of their paper and that includes anything from the very plain to the glittery types. You can also use other types of paper, if you have it, like printed stationary, lined paper, wrapping paper. It can get expensive, if you decide to go for the pricey variety, but there are a lot of inexpensive options out there.
3. Wood “Things” – Here I’m thinking of closet doors, bedroom doors, perhaps a dining room table that you might have or any other kind of furniture. Wood grain things have a very ‘earthy’ feel to it, which may or may not suit the look that you’re going for. It’s a great way to utilize something that you already own (who doesn’t love a ‘free’ backdrop?). You can also opt to go outside and put your doll up in a tree (it seems to be very popular on Flickr) or in the garden. Where else would you put your Blythe when they’re dressed up like a garden nymph or fairy?
4. Mirrors – I think photos with mirrors can be exceptionally beautiful. It gives your doll an air of realism, you can learn how to use angles to your advantage to make sure that you and your camera are not in the shot. It helps reflect the light onto your doll to brighten her up as well. Even small handheld compact mirrors would be great, if you can set it up for your doll to use. I think mirrors are a very underused item in people’s houses for dolly photography.
5. Kitchens – There are a lot of things you can use in your kitchen for doll photography. You can have your doll trying to climb out of pots and pants. You can have them help you hold an egg or measure out sugar. You can put your doll on top of a scale or in the bin with the vegetables. There’s a lot of things you can use in your kitchen. I’ve taken photos of my Blythe while I’m looking and she’s ‘supervising’ and it’s a lot of fun. What you do need to be careful of is keeping sharp objects away from your doll and to keep her away from the heat – last thing you want is to cut her hair, make scratches or (worse) melt her. So for the love all things Blythe, don’t put your doll in oven. But it’s okay to have her sitting on the counter giving you pointers.

For those who have an active Blythe blog, this will surely interest you! What I want to do is build up a directory of sorts right here on BlytheLife.com

Links will be organized in alphabetical order and will be showcased over on the Links page right here on BlytheLife.com and will remain there unless your site disappears or stops being updated for a long period of time (long period of time = 6 months or more).

All types of Blythe blogs will be allowed on the directory list – I don’t care if you have your own domain name, you’re hosted on WordPress or Blogspot. All I care about is if you have a dolly-related blog (if you blog about Blythe only, that’s great – if you blog about Blythe + other topics, that’s okay too as long as Blythe is a major blog topic!). Blogs where you write from a doll’s point of view, showcasing your crafty Blythe projects, sewing for Blythe and your other dolls, even if you blog about selling items that you make!

So all you need to do is comment below saying that you want to be listed and remember to include the URL to your blog. It’s really simple, isn’t it? Just comment and get some exposure for your blog and get some link love to boost your readership and rankings on the internet! Spreading link love is free and just takes a little bit of time.

If you want to return the favour, you can have a link on your blogroll/list of links going back to BlytheLife.com (http://blythelife.com) or use the handy dandy awesome button to share some link love: