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?

Today’s shoes are some of my favourite, even if I don’t use them in photos a lot. (And in case this is not your first time reading a installment of Tiny Shoe Love, yes –  I do have a lot of favourites.) These beauties:

Yes, they are skates. These are Simply Sparkly Spark and Simply Bubble Boom’s stock skates. SSS came with the pearl skates and SBB came with the appropriate orange skates. And how cute are they?! Very cute. I’m featuring them now because it’s been very hot where I live (mid to high 20s °C) and I’m dreaming about snow and ice and skating and all things wintery. Summer is not my favourite, I’m afraid. I’m a huge fan of cooler weather – hand knit socks, sweaters, and cute hand knit accessories weather. That is my favorite. Alas, it is nearly officially summer… So while I’m trying to stay hydrated I can admire the adorable skates and think of cooler times.

The skates that came with the trio (I do not have Simply Thumpty Thump, STT came with matching skates, but in violet) are super adorable, I really appreciate the details that are added on. The silver colouring for the blades, the details for the laces. Little added touches like these are what makes doll shoes so very irresistible for me.

I’m still holding out hope that one day Takara will put out another series of shoes sets since I totally missed the boat on the Shoe Cruise Day and Night sets. I kick myself every time I see those cute pink boots on a doll’s feet in photos because I want them a lot.

Tiny Shoe Love is a feature on BlytheLife.com to showcase and share doll shoes that grace Michelle’s picky dolls’ feet. We love tiny shoes in this house, and we hope you do too!

Cameo’s wearing: dress/Puppy52Dolls in BlytheCon fabric, tights/Endangered Sissy, skates/SBB.
Eden’s wearing: dress/Monique Magnifique stock, tights/unknown, skates/SSS.

Wednesday poll time may not be a real thing, but I do have a survey for you! I think it’s important to know what you want to read and learn about! And I’m all about self-improvement as a blogger, so what better way to learn what you want than through a survey?

It’s a super short survey, you can answer as many or as little questions as you’d like. Feel free to leave your name and email address if you’d like some credit for coming up with the idea! And without further delay, here’s the link to the survey:

What Do You Want to See on BlytheLife?

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.

Sometimes it is hard to find time for Blythe because of real life situations. Case in point, during midterms ‘week’ or finals ‘week’ (and, let’s face it, midterms and finals were never contained to a single week!) I spent a lot less time with my dolls. During the holidays and I’m going from one party to another another and then out for dinner with relatives that I primarily regularly see in December? Not going to spend a lot of time with the dolls either. It can be difficult to carve out some time for hobbies, like Blythe, because other things just seem a bit more pressing. And, if we are going to be perfectly honest, some of those things are a lot more pressing. Going to your job, or spending time with your significant other/children/other family/pets, or going to the grocery store so you actually have breakfast for the morning. These are all important things. So where does Blythe fall in the general pecking order of things? Do I just not spend the time on Blythe because other things are more important? Don’t be silly!

It’s important to me that I spend a little bit of time each week (not necessarily each day, I don’t think that I could manage that) doing something with my dolls. Why? Because it’s a hobby, it’s an outlet for me, and I like spending time with my dolls. If I didn’t, I should probably considering selling them then!

The time that I carve out for Blythe time isn’t the same every week. Sometimes it’s an afternoon where I am tired of studying, so I decide to try out different outfit combinations on a doll. Sometimes I have a moment of inspiration for a blog post for BlytheLife so I scribble the idea down on a notepad so I can get to it later when I don’t actually have something more pressing to do. For instance, I am writing this current post about making time for Blythe during a lovely Monday afternoon while having a cup of tea.

It’s important to make time for the things that matter – like cooking, or spending time with loved ones. But it’s also important to make the time for your creative and fun outlets because nothing wears a person out more than doing nothing but ‘what you have to do’ without anything fun in the mix.

It can be hard to find time for Blythe, but it doesn’t have to be a lot of time every week. 30 minutes spent changing outfits can be fun and rewarding! If a few minutes rearranging who sits where on a little couch is enough to make you smile, then that makes it worth it – because a happy hobby should be indulged in whenever you can.

Cameo’s wearing: dress/Puppy52Dolls in BlytheCon Vancouver fabric, tights/Endangered Sissy.