A little reminder that the March Talent Showcase for 2016 is coming up! For every Friday in March, I will be showcasing a talent in the Blythe community and that makes me very excited! There will be four individuals featured in the month of March, and some of them even have giveaways attached to their interviews (a little hint-hint to check back!).

Not only that, but to celebrate the March Talent Showcase being back, I will be doing my own little giveaway. For every comment that you leave on BlytheLife.com during the month of March, you’ll get one entry into a giveaway for some dolly sized clothes (and perhaps some other surprises, if I can wrangle them together). The winner will be announced in April. Spammy comments will not count, of course, and international entrants welcome. All you need to do is comment during the month of March.

On occasion, I get emails from people who are new the Blythe hobby and are wanting to purchase their first doll. While some people are a bit confused as to why they can’t buy one of my dolls (mine, all mine!), I do try to direct them to the proper channels (this list of legitimate online Blythe retailers). There comes a time when those online retailers don’t fit the bill, for instance if someone is trying to find a release that isn’t that recent or a Kenner. Here are my tips for finding a genuine Blythe doll via one of the largest online auction sites: eBay.

The first thing that you need to consider is your search terms. Using the full name of the doll’s stock release name can be most helpful in your efforts of finding that doll. For example, you want to look for a Simply Peppermint Blythe doll. It stands to reason that you would input “Simply Peppermint Blythe”. If you don’t get a lot of results, you might want to drop the “peppermint” and see what other Blythes pop up. If you just look up “Blythe doll” or “Blythe”, you’ll get a lot of auction listings for doll clothes, shoes, accessories so it does help to include the full name. Keep in mind that there are handful of Blythes that have been notoriously faked: Simply Mango, Simply Guava, Urban Cowgirl, and Last Kiss are the big ones. To the untrained eye, well-done fake might look like the real thing so those are some stock dolls to avoid unless you feel comfortable attempting to identify the doll as real.

Avoid any listing that lists the doll as being “factory”. These dolls are often sold nude, and have a combination of hair (colour, cut, style), eye chips, eye lids, and skin tone that is often a combination that has not been produced by Takara. These dolls make claims of being factory seconds or being produced from factory reject parts. These are fakes/counterfeits. If you’re looking for a genuine Blythe doll, the best advice I can give you is to avoid any listing that claims that it is a “factory” Blythe doll (these are listed as being real Blythe dolls on eBay as eBay doesn’t allow items to be listed as counterfeit/fake). Most of these listings are based out of China, which isn’t to say that all Blythe dolls coming out of China are fake (but the majority of the “factory” dolls are from China).

Take a look at the seller’s feedback that they have received from buyers and also what else they are selling. Often times the sellers who are selling fakes will have more than one doll listing (or even dozens!) and they will have the dolls listed for low prices. A genuine in box Blythe doll can cost $100 USD or more (this is not a cheap hobby), often the fake dolls are being listed anywhere from $45-80 USD. If the price tag seems too good to be true, there may be a reason for it. (Please note, there are still sometimes good deals to be found for legitimate Blythe dolls. If you’re unsure, I would recommend asking someone that has been in the doll hobby a little bit longer for their opinion on a listing.)

The fake Blythes are not limited to Neo/full-sized Bythes – there are also fake Middies on the market (the same tips above also apply to the Middies, so watch out).

Lastly, you have to use your judgement. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Dolly mail is exciting. Blythe-sized shoes or clothes arriving in fun coloured packages, checking and rechecking the tracking number on an incoming doll. I currently have a few things incoming, after many months of not buying dolly things online – there’s a couple dresses coming my way, along with pairs of pants, capris, and shorts. Having new doll clothes is always fun, and since there’s been a bit of a ‘dry spell’ when it comes to my dolly spending, having it rain is fun. Even if I have to buy all the items coming my way, it is still fun to get things in the mail!

Do you have any incoming dolly mail?

You have a doll-related website/shop/blog and BlytheLife has your target audience!

BlytheLife.com is an active doll website with a high readership that primarily consists of women who are Blythe and other doll collectors/hobbyists. By advertising your doll-related site or business with BlytheLife, you can ensure that your ad is being seen by the people that are your potential customers. Every time someone visits BlytheLife, they’ll see your ad on the side!

Did you know? Sponsorship costs are purposely kept low to keep advertising accessible to people in the doll community.

There is one spot currently available for the month of March and all sponsorship funds go towards the costs of keeping BlytheLife.com live on the internet!

Large – 1 spot available for March! (325×200 pixels)

• $10 – 1 month
• $18 – 2 months
• $26 – 3 months

If you’d like more information on how you can advertise on BlytheLife, click here.

In late January, Nina shared this amazing video of her process of creating the perfect miniature Simply Chocolate. After watching the amazing video, I messaged her to ask her if she’d be interested in doing an interview and being featured here on BlytheLife – she said yes and here it is!

Hello Nina! What can you tell us about yourself?
Hello, I’m 29, from Chile and I live in Vancouver, Canada since 2011 with my husband and my two Yorkies. I have a background in acting and I’m also nail technician and crafter. Recently I created a YouTube channel to share my works on miniatures and doll related accessories. I like to explore different techniques and use different materials on my projects. I’ve always interested in miniatures and doll related things. For instance, when I was a child I used my dolls as models for doing clothes rather than for playing with them. My Mom is also crafter and dressmaker, so she used to give me her fabrics scraps to make dresses for my dolls while she worked.

How did you discover Blythe dolls?
The first time I saw a Blythe was in 2008 when I was searching other things on internet. I got very impressed when I saw her big eyes and head so I decided to do a search for more information and I discovered a huge world of creativity and inspiration behind her. At that time, I couldn’t afford to buy one because I was still a student. So I got my first Blythe as a gift from my husband in 2010. (I got married to get a Blythe doll *joke*)

Who is in your doll family right now?
My collection is small. I have a Very Vicky (she is my favorite), a Simply Vanilla which I used to make my first custom, a Simply Chocolate, an Ashley’s Secret, 2 Blyth’s, 3 Littlest Pet Shop and my recent creation, the Blythe inspired miniature.

How did you start creating miniatures? What was your first miniature?
I have always been interested in miniatures. For instance, when I was studying to be a nail artist I used to sculpt very tiny 3D pieces with acrylic to decorate nails and I used to make little charms with polymer clay. When I made my first custom, I created a pair of leather shoes for her. That one was the first miniature accessory for Blythe I did.

You shared photos and a video recently about the process of creating a miniature Blythe doll and it has received some amazing response from the Blythe community. Clearly your inspiration was Simply Chocolate, but what was the design process from scratch like for you?
I had this idea in my mind for quite a while. I wanted to make something different, unique and challenging. I like to challenge myself, so the idea of creating a miniature Blythe was something I really needed to make. First, I did a search on internet looking for a miniature Blythe smaller than 5 cm height and able to move her eyes and I didn’t find anything like this. Then, I started to work on the eye mechanism and later I began to build the doll, defining the scale and drawing the sketch. Then, I decided to make a video as a making of, showing parts of the process, and sharing it on my channel. I was very surprised and grateful when it was accepted by the community. At the beginning, I didn’t have the idea to sell it, because it is a hard work, with many details, but after the great response from the community I am very excited to create more of my miniatures Blythe for collectors.

What challenges did you run into when creating your miniature Simply Chocolate? How did you overcome those challenges?
The most difficult part of the process was sculpting the hands because I tried to make them proportional to the body (the hand size is 1.8 mm). I have a lot of patience and I like to work on them when I’m relaxed and inspired, I don’t like to rush. I was also filming the process at the same time so I had to be aware of the focus of my camera while I was working. When I started to feel frustrated I liked to go for a walk or to do other things (take a break) so when I was back I had more inspiration and I could continue working on my project.

I think it’s very creative that you made a miniature Blythe to scale and with an eye mechanism! Would you make another miniature Blythe?
Yes, Now I’m making another miniature inspired Blythe doll, with more details than the first one and she will be on eBay very soon. I think the eye mechanism is a very important characteristic of a Blythe so the miniature should have an eye mechanism to be like a Blythe.

What has been your favourite miniature pieces that you have created so far?
One of my favorites miniatures until now is a wooden Nutcracker that I created as a tutorial on my YouTube Channel for Christmas. I think it looks very realistic because it has a handle to move his mouth as the real ones. I love Nutcrackers and they are my favourite Christmas ornaments.

What creative projects might we expect to see from you in the future?
I will continue working on my YouTube channel, learning, making miniatures and sharing some techniques, so people can use them as an inspiration to create new things for Blythe. I’m also working on a very special Blythe custom right now.

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Nina! What advice do you have to share for someone who’s interested in creating their own miniatures?
Thank you Michelle, just to say that the world of miniatures is a big world of possibilities; you can create whatever you want (i.e. makes a miniature of everything) and you’ll have a lot of fun. Be patient and be persistent are the clues and keep trying until to get the expected results. Practice makes perfect.

You can learn more about Nina and Corali & Co. Dolls on: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and her blog.