Welcome to the 2015 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 1 of a 3 part mini-series to help those who are trying to figure out what to buy for themselves, or what to buy for the Blythe-lover in their life. Over the next three weeks, I will be mentioning a few things within a certain price range that I think Blythe lovers would be over the moon about receiving for the upcoming holiday season!

For the first part of the 2015 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide, I will be looking at things that are $25 USD or less (including shipping, if it’s an online purchase).

1. The Ikea HUSET Bedroom Set – I love this set. I bought it recently for myself and I think it’s pretty sweet. It would be a fantastic gift for someone who owns Middies. For those looking for a gift for someone else, a Middie looks like this:

2. To go with the bedroom set, the Ikea HUSET Living Room Set would be a great addition. This one is a little bit more versatile because it is sized better for the full size Blythe dolls. The white Expedit is one of my favourite pieces. If you don’t think pink is your gift recipient’s favourite colour, you can also go to Etsy and search for custom couch covers.

3. I love storage boxes, and they’re pretty cheap! I get my plastic organizer boxes at Michaels, usually when they are 50% off, for $1.50. So even if you don’t have a coupon, $3 is not a bad deal at all! If you really want to go the extra mile, buy your loved one some doll shoes too!

4. I am a huge fan of tea (I even have a tea blog now!), but what is even more darling is doll sized tea sets. These can be both inexpensive and expensive. You can generally find some sets at dollar stores, you just need to watch the size and make sure they look ‘right’. You can also look on eBay and search for something like “playscale china tea set” or “Barbie china tea set” to get the right sizing – I did a quick search while writing and found a lot of sets that were priced at $10 USD or less, and many of them had free shipping.

Happy shopping! What’s coming up next week? Only time will tell!

Welcome to the third, and last, installment of the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 3 of a 3 part mini-series to help those who are trying to figure out what to buy for themselves, or what to buy for the Blythe-lover in their life. In the first week, I mentioned some goodies for the dolly customizer in your life, and in week two it was all about the general Blythe enthusiast. What’s in store for part 3? Read on!

There is a very distinct crispness in the air. There’s a unique crunch when I step onto snow, there’s that smell that the air gets when it is about the snow, and there’s that delicate fluff that melts on my tongue. I am, of course, talking about snow. But no matter if you’re in a place that is currently winter or summer, it is still December which means that the number of days you have until the gift-giving winter holiday of your personal choice is fast approaching! There are some bigger (and smaller) ticket items on this week’s list, so keep one eye on your bank account! Click to read more of this entry.

Welcome to the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 2 of a 3 part mini-series to help those who are trying to figure out what to buy for themselves, or what to buy for the Blythe-lover in their life. If you missed part 1, it was all about things that customizers might like to receive for the holidays!

This week is all about the every day Blythe lover. Not someone who necessarily sews, knits, crochets, customizes or any of that. Just someone who loves Blythe. Which is pretty much all of us.

Minnow (a Hi-Ho! Marine RBL+) thinks that everyone should get a bright doll like her!
Minnow wears Plastic Fashion (dress).

1. A new Blythe. If the Blythe enthusiast in your life is anything like me, he or she heavily hints towards doll that they want all the time. For instance, I tend to send screenshots of Blythe photos that I’m crushing on the boyfriend on a fairly regular basis. He tends to think that I “quite a few dolls already”, but I really do don’t. Some dolls that I think would make fantastic gifts include: Kenners, Regina Irwen, Bianca Pearl, Hi-Ho! Marine, Cadence Majorette, or Scotty Mum. Just to name a few.

2. A new Middie. Maybe you’ve heard your Blythe enthusiast talking about these funny dolls that are shorter that Blythe. They also make fantastic holiday gifts. My personal favourite is Jackie Ramone, but I also think that Yellow Marshmallow or Alicia Cupcake would make great gifts as well! Bonus, if the opening of the stocking is big enough, an in-box Middie would make a pretty amazing stocking stuffer.

3. What is up with all the dolls on this list? Next is something that I would love to get: Vintage doll clothing & shoes. Get yourself over to some garage sales or flea markets, online to Craigslist or eBay and start looking for vintage Skipper clothing. You’ll get bonus points if it’s in fabulous condition. All vintage Skipper will fit the standard Blythe body (and can fit Licca bodies as well). The shoes will fit onto the standard Blythe feet, but not onto Licca (just too wide!), but the flats do look so cute and dainty.

Tertiary Jane is wearing a dress by an unknown maker.

4. Hunting for vintage doll clothing not your thing? How about getting to your local Ikea (or online to get it delivered) and ordering your favourite dolly lover HUSET? It is a fantastic living room furniture set – I’ve reviewed it on the blog. I personally have one too many sets (is that possible?) and the pieces are very versatile! There’s even people on Etsy who sell couch covers (if you’re not partial to pink), along with throw pillows. Very cute! And gives the dolls a place to hang out besides on their stands.

5. Last, but certainly not least on the list of things that I think any Blythe lover would be happy to receive this holiday season… Storage or shelving. This could be in the form of a bookshelf, floating shelves, small set of plastic drawers, or sectioned off boxes to store things in. Organizational items are so great in the doll hobby. I personally love using plastic drawer sets to store clothes, and bead organizer boxes for all the doll shoes that I own (I also have a couple for beads as well, but that’s neither here nor there).

Welcome to the 2014 Blythe Holiday Shopping Guide! This is part 1 of a 3 part mini-series to help those who are trying to figure out what to buy for themselves, or what to buy for the Blythe-lover in their life. Over the next three weeks, I will be mentioning 5 (or so) things that I think Blythe lovers would love to receive for the upcoming holiday season.

This week, it is all about those who want to dabble in customizing their dolls! What do I think might be great holiday gifts for that customizer in your life?

1. A base doll. Like how a painter needs a canvas, a Blythe customizer needs a doll to work on. So that your gift give-ee isn’t cursing while opening up the head, I would recommend an RBL, FBL, or RBL+ , for ease of opening. There are many inexpensive stock dolls to choose from. Some that are fairly inexpensive and can be found online include: Simply Love Me (RBL), Simply Delight (RBL), Simply Mango (RBL), and Simply Guava (RBL).

2. Pastels. What customizer couldn’t use some new pastels do use in their face-ups? There are many brands available, and you could stop by a local art supply shop to see what’s around. Please note: you want to get chalk pastels, not oil pastels. They are two very different beasts. Get the chalk ones. Trust me.

3. Glues. What a world that we live in that there are so many different types of glue available. From my personal customizing experiences, I use a lot of hot glue sticks and water soluble glue (Aleene’s is the brand that I use). These are super easy to find, you can get them at department stores that have craft aisles or in Big Box craft stores. And who couldn’t use more glue?

4. Matte sealant. This one may be a little tricky. You’ve probably heard your loved ones mumbling about MSC or Testors – that would be Mr. Super Clear (MSC), and Testors Dullcote. These come in spray cans, they are aerosols – you are best off trying to find these in a local store than ordering online, because there are so many rules about shipping aerosol flammables in the post. Try out some craft stores, call around and see if they carry them – and if you ask early enough, perhaps they could order it for you if they don’t carry it!

5. Last, but certainly not least, the eyechips. The eyechips are such fun things. You could buy coloured chips (from online retailers such as Cool Cat or Brainworm), plain clear chips for those eyechip painters (also from Cool Cat or Brainworm), or you could go to Etsy and search for handpainted Blythe eyechips and get that special someone something really pretty.

Come to think of it, a lot of these items are small and (fairly) inexpensive, aside from the base doll. You could definitely make up a customizing-themed stocking filled with goodies if you wanted to.

Happy shopping!