The Blythe Adores Anna (Anna Sui collaboration) Blythe lottery has come and gone, and there are some disappointed people in the community! Not surprisingly, there was only 500 dolls in the international lottery via Junie Moon for the otherwise region-exclusive collaboration doll. This limited edition beauty is one of the more unique dolls to be put out by Blythe in a while, what with the hair-make up-eye chip combination, as well as the style of the Blythe stock (and we all have Anna Sui to thank for that).

But what happens if you’re one of unlucky ones that didn’t win the lottery? If you’re still hoping to get your hands on the limited edition beauty, here are some of your options:

• Find someone who did win the lottery draw but decided not to buy her. Partner up and have them buy the doll, and then sell the doll to you.
• Wait until the doll ships – there are usually some people who get their hands on the doll and then their financial situation changes or they decide to not keep her.
• Go to eBay and pay extraordinarily absurd secondhand prices to secure the doll.
• Or, perhaps, realize that everything happens for a reason and decide that your money is better spent elsewhere.

I personally had entered the lottery on a lark. I figured if I decided to not buy her, I could always resell her or find someone else who was really wanting her. I do love the look of her in photos though, so I kinda wish that I was a lottery ‘winner’ (even if I am trying to save up for BlytheCon later this year).

Did you fall short of winning the lottery for the new Blythe Adores Anna doll?

There is just something about the start of a new year that has people setting new goals and resolutions. And that for me has me eyeing the doll closet in a way that is probably not good (for the dolls). I’ve been thinking about cleaning out the doll closet for a while now, and to look at each piece critically to decide if I want to keep it or if it’s just because I’m too lazy to actually go through the process of listing and selling it (spoiler alert: it is definitely the latter).

I think as long as this isn’t the only dress left, my dolls will be okay. Maybe.

Part of the issue with me clearing out the closet is that I have substantially curbed the clothes and shoe buying habit when it comes to my dolls’ wardrobe. I’ve gotten more selective in what pieces get brought in, and what pieces that I want to add to my collection. Part of this is because I’ve already amassed a great deal of items (in my opinion, I’m sure my collection of dresses and boots pales in comparison to what others collectors have!), and part of it has to due with a sheer lack of space. I had to downsize in terms of the size of my room last year when I moved, so the amount of space that I have has significantly changed.

It’s probably for the best that I haven’t gone through the wardrobe with a fine tooth comb (yet), but one of my goals for January is to do just that. Go through each piece and decide if I want to keep it because I love/like it, or if it’s because I’m just too lazy to go through the process of selling it. Chances are, I’ll try to enlist the help of a local friend in doing the selling for me (or just bring it to a doll meet and let people at it). Then will come the process of deciding what to add to the collection – but I need to make room for things first!

Have you cleaned out your doll closet recently? How much did you keep because you didn’t want to go through the process of selling it? (And if you have any tips for selling/getting rid of doll clothes, share them below!)

I hate the cold and being cold, so couple that with the fact that the weather is miserable outside and I’m less-than-likely going to venture out to take photos of my dolls. On occasion, I do take photos outside.

Very, very rarely.

Like finding a perfect pearl in your first oyster kind of rare. The above photo is the closest I got to taking Maple outside for a photo this weekend.

Do you take photos of your dolls outside?

This is a question that I get asked from time to time, especially around December. Do I get my dolls gifts for the holidays? The reality is that when I get them a gift, it’s really a gift for me! Things have gotten more expensive this holiday season as I’ve had to expand my list of people to shop for, so it has turned into less shopping for me and more shopping for others. Which is really what the season is supposed to be about (giving, being generous, thinking of others).

I might get my dolls some little gifts post-holidays when I’m not feeling the pinch as much from the shopping. Some new shoes, perhaps some more separates, and then more knitting to be done for the dolls! If you have any shops to recommend to me, leave the links below in the comments to help me out a bit.

What was something nice that I have done for the holidays was go to the annual Christmas meet with Vancouver Blythe Bunch – definitely a gift in itself! It’s felt like forever since I’ve had a good amount of dolly fun (our last meet was a Halloween meet!), so it was great to see people, sit, relax with some colouring, chatting, and ooh-and-ahh over dolls and their outfits.

Are you getting your dolls gifts for the holidays?

Happy Monday, BlytheLife readers! Today’s the day that I announce who won big in the BlytheLife Holiday Giveaway!

A special thank you to the anonymous donor and Katie of Kult of Kulta & Blythopia for their generous donations!

Here’s a rundown of the prizes again (in case you’ve forgotten!) for the blog portion of the giveaway:

And if you participated in the Instagram portion of the giveaway, the prize is:

Awesome, right? I got some fantastic haikus (and haiku attempts). No judgement from me if you can’t count syllables as it was pointed out to me last week that I can’t count syllables properly either! Here are some of my favourite haikus that people submitted for extra entries:

From Pamela:

The Blytheness, head large, big eyes
The awesomeness looms
Blink on, vintage friend, blink on

From Laura:

Would love this prize for
Life is Blythe and Blythe is life
Cannot have enough

From Andi B. Goode:

Big head and big eyes
On such a little dolly
We all love Blythe, here!

From Fae:

Blythe, you have sent me
Across the world and into
The arms of dear friends

From Rachel Morssink:

Middie Blythe you star
On top of my Christmas tree
You sparkle so bright

There were a total of 222 entries into the blog giveaway – totally awesome! Thank you so much to everyone for participating!

Click to read more of this entry.