Once in a while, I’m reminded that not all of you have been reading BlytheLife since the beginning (a long, long, long time ago back in 2010!) and I’d like to introduce you all to some of the great features of BlytheLife.com. I like to make it easy for people in the doll community to get involved and share their stories, shops and dolly-related tidbits here on the blog as well.

Hmm… This looks familiar…

Blog Blurb Wednesday

Blog Blurb Wednesday is not a frequently used feature, but I’m hoping that after you read about it you might be interested. It’s a way for people to have their blogs ‘showcased’ on BlytheLife with a small amount of information about you and what you write about. Doll/Blythe blogs only, please! Blogs that are primarily dedicated to posting about shop updates will not be featured. But if your blog is like that, I would always be interested in interviewing you!

Community Corner

Community Corner is my way of letting others in the doll community make announcements! So far it’s been used a small number of times – mostly for mentioning fundraisers that people in the community have organized. If you have a cause that is near and dear to your heart, or anything else that you’d like to announce, you can let me know in an email and I can see if it’s appropriate for the blog.

Events

The Events page is a way of showing the need-to-know information about upcoming major Blythe events like various BlytheCons happening around the world. If you happen to know about an upcoming Blythe event that I do not have listed, be sure to let me in on the news and I can keep others updated as well.

Shopping Saturday

Shopping Saturday is a great way for you to let others know about any sales you ave going on at your Etsy or other online shops! Shops must be Blythe related. Simply let me know the name of your shop, where it is, the coupon code (and what it’s for!) and how long the coupon code is valid for. All coupon codes must last for the duration of the weekend to be eligible to be included with the Shopping Saturday posts.

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I hoped this help you to become more familiar with some of the lesser known features of BlytheLife.com!

Once upon a time, I thought that eight was a lot of dolls!

My doll family remains fairly static – as in the fact that nobody ever leaves. However, the dolls do come in and then stay – forever. I’ve gone through moments when I have thought about selling some of my Blythes. Then I realized that no, that’s just not a good idea, and there’s no reason for me to sell them besides a mild whim that is quickly squashed when I realize that I’m being a bit stupid about it. But, I digress. The dolls are here to stay, but yesterday (after adding two more Monster High dolls), I realize that this is the most dolls that I’ve ever owned at the same time. But this could be said with every new addition. I’m currently at: 13 full-sized Blythes, 1 Middie, 1 Petite, 1 ball-jointed doll, 1 mini Lalaloopsy and 6 Monster High dolls (4 out of box, 2 in box). Which means that there’s a total of 23 dolls living with me right now. Twenty-three. That’s a lot! (I’m sure I just made some people who have over 50 dolls chuckle at the naivete that 23 is a lot…)

What is the largest your doll family has ever been?

It’s that time of year again where we’re all still clinging to the hopes that we can fulfill our resolutions for the new year – or maybe you’re like me and have already given up on the idea of keeping with this year’s resolutions. It’s also the time of year where I’ve recently paid off tuition for school and therefore I’m a bit short on funds. This means, of course, that I’m not running out and buying two Kenners at once or clicking ‘Add to Cart’ on really pretty doll dresses – no matter how much I might like another two Kenners or those doll dresses. No, this time around it’s a bit different – mostly due to my severe lack of income.

I decided to think about some of my favourite and best non-doll doll buys. That is to say, things I bought related to Blythe that weren’t actually the dolls themselves. Due to the number of things that I like that I’ve bought, I decided to pick five that I greatly enjoy and thought I’d share. Not only are they all great, but also good deals as well. I included any prices that I could remember.

The Re-ment dress is the most recent purchase in the photo at $6 – I’ve wanted it ever since I saw it on a photo of a Rainy Day Parade on Flickr. The lime green dress was from a bag of thrifted doll clothes, approximate value that I paid would be less than $1. The Licca body came to me at $12 with free shipping via eBay. The tea set was purchased in China during my travels this year and was less than $2 CDN. Lastly, the pair of hot pink knee socks (which I love!) came with an outfit set that I picked up in Hong Kong came with a dress, shrug and shoes that came out to be under $2 CDN altogether, so the socks were quite inexpensive – and I love the colours for Eden!

What are some of your favourite non-doll doll-related buys?

I was briefly considering how things have changed in my life since I started collecting Blythe dolls and all their little clothing, shoes and accessories. I got my first doll in 2009, back when I had zero clothing for dolls that weren’t Barbie, and it’s just gone up from there. Whenever I go shopping for yarn or fabric, I take into consideration the scale of the print or the weight of the yarn. When I really considered things, Blythe has changed my life a lot (for the better).

I own books about Blythe now – clothing pattern books and otherwise, as well as a lot of sewing things (despite not using them as much as I could), and a lot more sock yarn or thinner. I don’t knit enough socks to justify the amount of sock yarn that I have, but I have actually knitted more in general since Blythe has come into my life. Along with sewing, crocheting and I buy a lot more doll shoes now. This is especially true when you consider that I didn’t buy any doll shoes for myself until my late teens/early twenties – mostly because there was no use for me to buy doll shoes. But now there is, so I have way too many pairs of doll shoes. (Sophie says “There’s no such thing as ‘too many’ when it comes to shoes!”). I do want to craft a lot more when it comes to my dolls, mostly because when one doesn’t have a regular income source, it’s a smart idea to not buy as much as one is inclined to do when it comes to dolls and dolly things…

How has Blythe taken over your life?

I get a lot of emails as a result of this blog, and a lot of those questions become repeats after a while. So, because I get the same questions again and again, I thought I’d share some of the questions (and my answers!) here on the blog. I’ve omitted the senders’ names and some questions have been edited for clarity. Here are a few questions that I’ve seem to have gotten a lot lately:

Are you planning to do a doll giveaway on this blog? I’d really like to win one!

I was just thinking that I’d love to win a doll too! Unfortunately, as I’m sure most of you know, Blythes are not inexpensive. At this time, I do not have enough money that isn’t already allocated to something more important in my life (e.g. school). I had previously had a custom doll giveaway here on this blog, that was sponsored by Melly Kay. Since then, I have done some customization giveaways with some great individuals as well as giving away a customized faceplate (by cocochoo). If you or someone you know would like to giveaway a doll, get in touch with me!

Can you buy me a Blythe?

See answer above.

Why does BlytheLife have ads on the side?

It costs money to have a website up on the internet. It also costs money for that fancy .com URL that you type in or favourited to get to this blog. If it weren’t for that, you’d have to type in a much longer URL just to get here! Long story short, the ad revenue that comes in goes towards paying for hosting fees (so that the website stays up on the internet) and for the domain fee (for the blythelife.com name). Anything left over, if there is any left over, goes towards shipping costs of giveaways.

Do you get paid to do this? How much do you make writing a blog?

I wish that I got paid to do this! It’d be fun as a full-time job! Unfortunately, most blogs on the internet don’t generate enough income to become a full-time job. I do not get paid to do this, I write BlytheLife out of love for the dolls and the community that goes along with it. I love getting to ‘meet’ new people through the blog and doing interviews and giveaways. It’s really rewarding for me to do this. As for how much I make – didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s rude to ask how much a person makes? (On a more serious note – ad revenue covers a portion of the hosting costs associated with keeping BlytheLife alive).

How long does it take you to write a post?

That really depends on the post and how much research or work is involved. I’ve spent all of 15 minutes on a Question of the Week post before and well over an hour working away on an interview or an article. It really depends on the post and what it’s about. I’m constantly striving towards producing better content for BlytheLife, so the amount of time spent per post has gone up significantly than when I first started the blog back in 2010.

Are you ever going to talk about other dolls on BlytheLife?

Blythe is always going to be primary figure on this blog, it is called BlytheLife, after all! I have mentioned non-Blythe dolls before (such as when I got my first ball-jointed doll), but posts about non-Blythes will remain rare on this blog, only due to the nature of how it is a Blythe-centric website.

Can anyone be interviewed here?

Anyone! Anyone at all – as long as you’re interested in being interviewed! You don’t need to be a customizer or a shop owner, I’ve interviewed photographers, organizers of Blythe events and even controversial Tumblr blog owners. If you’re interested in being interviewed and featured on this lovely slice of the internet, please let me know!

I hope these helps some people with their questions about BlytheLife! If you ever have a question for me, you can use the contact form or email me at michelle@blythelife.com.