I know some people who thought that Blythe was a bit odd (or just freaky) when they first saw her. Sometime it’s the large head, the changing eye colours, the odd proportions, the unnerving stare. But for me, it was the fascinating eye mechanism, large child-like features and the delightful fashions that kept me interested in her when I first saw Blythe. I was interested enough to track down what kind of doll it was, find out more about her.

Changing eye colours? Large, wide eyes? That is definitely Blythe’s best feature, according to me.

Which feature of Blythe is her best according to you?

Every year in March I’ve been interviewing new talent in the Blythe community. This year is no different! I’m looking for four people to interview this year for the March Talent Showcase. In the past I’ve interviewed customizers, knitters, seamstresses and so many more fascinating and amazing people.

In order to be considered “new” talent, you must have been doing whatever amazing talent that you have since January 2013 or later (not earlier!).

The interview process is really simple and takes place via email. Most interviews are 9-12 questions long and you can send me whatever relevant photos you want included (if photos are not taken by you, please get permission from the photographer[s] prior to sending me the photos with links to photographers).

If you are interested, please head over to the How to Get Featured page and let me know! Please include links to any blogs/sites/shops/pages that you want me to look at so I have an idea of what to ask you and be sure to mention that you want to take part in the March Talent Showcase!

From head to toe, I’m going to be sharing the wardrobe staples that are used on a regular basis within my doll family. Staples to me means things that can go well with many outfits, can be classic designs that won’t go out of style (but it’s dolls, so who cares?) and mostly solid colours. Not that prints or designs can’t be wardrobe staples as well, but solid colours tend to go better with more things (such as black or white). Here are some of the things I’d come up with!

Basic black helmet (or hat). Just something good to travel in, it helps keep the bangs in check and the hair from going every-which-way when your plastic sidekick is in transit.

Solid colour tops – including shirts and cardigans/sweaters. We like a “classic” look here, so a white collared shirt and a cute cardigan is the way to go.

Jeans. Jeans, jeans and more jeans. Notice I’m not showing you dresses or skirts. I wear jeans on occasion and they are fantastic for just looking smart from day to day. Dark coloured ones are best to add to this ‘staple’ collection. (Please, for the love of all things Blythe, do not leave dark coloured clothing on your dolls for long periods of time or have on dark coloured denim on them without tights/leggings on first. Blythes can stain! Don’t put on a pair of jeans at the expense of her legs!)

Now shoes. We all know that I love a good pair of doll shoes. Today is no exception. I utilize the plain, solid-coloured ones the most because black and white go with so very much but never under estimate the beauty of a good pair of brown, yet detailed boots. The brown ones are stock shoes that came with Monique Magnifique and they are darling and I love them. I want a pair for me. And being brown in colour, they can go with quite a bit!

These are just some of the wardrobe staples that exist in my dolls’ ever-expanding closet! What are some of the staples in your dolls’ closet?

Her Majesty, Princess Primrose

Stock doll names make horrible doll names in reality. I would never call my Kenners by the name Kenner. I would not refer to Belarus as Love Mission or Minnow by Hi-Ho! Marine. I find inspiration in many different places for doll names. For Moxie and Mollie (Molybdenum), I wanted names that both started with the same letter. For Emmalynn, I wanted a letter that I hadn’t already used. Cedar ended up with a nature-name because of her reddish hair. Minnow was named Minnow because of her marine-themed box and general theme. So sometimes the original stock does influence my naming scheme, if you can call it that, but sometimes a name is just a name. And sometimes I end up calling a doll Prim(rose) due to the immense irony I see in a vintage doll with frizzy hair become called Prim (and proper).

What influences doll naming for you?

With a new year come new resolutions made in the hopes of making oneself become more… active. Be it in mind, body or soul, I bet more than one of you had decided that this was the year you would do a 365 challenge. It is a long, long challenge. I should know, I completed one with Sophie a while ago, and failed one with Eden. 365 challenges seem simple enough – take a photo of something or someone every day for the duration of a year. 365 photos, the commitment to both take a photo and to upload a photo. That’s where I fell behind a bit. And then more. And more. And more. Because it is a commitment and I think that anyone who makes it to 365 is awesome, amazing and kinda an inspiration. Even if all you do is take photos of your Blythe with your textbooks while you’re busy studying, you still took a photo and shared it with the world. I used that as an example because I took many photos of my Blythes with textbooks. And homework. And possibly even a few with my stethoscope when it was new and shiny to me.

365 photo challenges are hard. But there are a lot of options out there! There are some challenges where you take photos of the same thing every day (like 365 Days Blythe) and others where it’s okay to change things up (such as Kenner 365). If daily photos aren’t your thing, there are weekly challenges available too, like 52 Weeks of Kenner Blythe. Much like a marathon, the difficulty doesn’t lie in the beginning, but in middle and end. When I started my 365 project with Eden, I was very energetic about it, very eager to do it right and actually upload photos on time. Then I fell behind on uploading, then taking photos, then finally admitting that I was out. The beginning is easy. It’s when you have the notion of taking on such a task to begin with and you don’t realize the effort that it takes to perform such a long-term project until you’re further in.

No matter what photography challenge you decide to undertake, remember that it is an impressive feat no matter how far you end up. And also remember that it’s okay when other priorities in life take over – nobody’s going to be any less impressed with how far you’ve come when it comes down to it. Life comes first, a photo a day can wait.