·:[ Blythe Blog ]:·
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July 2010 poll results for “Which type of  Blythe do you prefer?”

Stock girls ! Love them just the way they are. 20.3% (12 votes)

Slightly modified – I like a spray-matte and eye-chip change and other small mods. 15.3% (9 votes)

Custom – I prefer completely changed girls. 15.3% (9 votes)

Random – I love all of them ! 49.2% (29 votes)

Total Votes: 59

Tags: 2010, blythe, July, mold, poll, prefer, results

I started this group ADAM (a doll a month) and just finished my first month with Phoenix. My custom FTS by Morgan Orton.

As someone who has previously failed the 365 group challenge on more than one occasion, it was fun and refreshing to actually complete a set. I actually felt a sense of accomplishment !

I do very much plan on doing a complete 365 run when I find the girl that I think will last the year with me. But until then, I am enjoying the low-key casual approach of ADAM. You can choose whether to do the full month 1 picture a day or just 1 picture for the month. I think for July I will just choose 1 photo and give myself a little break.

With all of the fun Flickr groups out there, You are sure to find a challenge to participate in with your favorite Blythe girl.

Tags: ADAM, custom, june, Morgan Orton, Phoenix

My “Cassiopeia Spice” finally arrived yesterday as I took the cheapest shipping method on my pre-order and she was well worth the wait. I was so happy with her that I immediately wanted to write a review on her.

I really feel like she is a great starter Blythe! Great for someone who isn’t sure about the hobby, or for someone who wants to get a friend, child or sibling into Blythe. Or for someone who wants to try and customize a Blythe.

Immediately out of the box I loved her hair. Although now a day later I can see that it needs washed as it’s a tad bit greasy in the back. But it’s very soft and a beautiful color. And for the brave, a pretty good color that might hold a dye. I’m pondering to try a purple dye on her or to try my first reroot!

Her stock is great! The dress is beautiful and vibrant and well-made. I personally love it. The orange blouse underneath is a great universal piece that will mix and match well. Not to mention she also comes with tights, that cute camera, hairpin and shoes. And don’t forget, she has earrings!

She isn’t “cheaply” made but her quality is a little different than other Blythe girls. I noticed mine had some weird blotches on her arms that look like puffy circles? Really odd but doesn’t bother me.

All in all, her price-tag is reasonable. Especially for those of us who don’t have Junie Moon somewhere close! Her price is reasonable, her stock is adorable and she’s simply:

A well rounded Blythe that will surely sweeten your dolly shelf.

I’m sure you remember our Designer Spotlight on “Morganannie” about 3 weeks ago. Well, we just did a 10 question follow-up interview with her. Annnnd! This is your chance to win one of MA’s beautiful dresses! Read on to find out more!

Q1: Sooo Morgan! How do you feel about being awarded our very first Blythe Blog designer award?
MA: It was so thoughtful of you to select me as your first award recipient. Everyone knows you have great taste, April so I take it as a high compliment!

Q2: How long have you been a Blythe collector?
MA: I bought Mod Molly and Dainty Biscuit in March of 2008. So pretty soon it will have been 2 years!

Q3: How did you get into dolly dress-making?
MA: I’ve always loved sewing and quilting. I was really into paper-piecing quilts and I think that helped get me ready to sew such tiny items. Before my first Blythe arrived, I sewed a few things – some pants and a dress or two. I think my first sale came in April of ’08, only a month after I started collecting.

Q4: Do you remember the first dress you made for a doll?
MA: The first dress I made was a green a-line with colorful polka dots for my Mod Molly, Emory. It came out alright. My girls still wear it every once in a while. It could probably be hunted down in my photostream pretty easily.

Q5: Do you have a secret fabric stash you save for a rainy day or do you tend to use new fabrics right away?
MA: There are a few fabrics that I love so much that I don’t ever want to cut. Eventually, though I decide a dress is worth it. There is one fabric in particular that I have purchased again and again because I love it so much.

Q6: Do you require a mood when making your dresses or is it more based on your available time?
MA: As far as mood goes, as soon as I turn on Death Cab for Cutie, I am ready to sew. And as far as available time goes, I wish I had more!

Q7: Do you have a favorite dress you’ve made?
MA:  My favorite dresses are always the simplest ones. I wear a lot of plain clothes myself, so maybe that’s why. And yes, I’ve had a few “duds” too!

Q8: Do you have any plans to expand or change your shop or designs? Is there a direction you are planning to take your
creations?
MA: Every once in a while I’ll try a new design. Lately I’ve been experimenting with knit fabrics for Blythe – sweatshirts, sweatpants and the like. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to make these available on etsy.

Q9: Do you have any other craft hobbies?
MA: I’ll try anything! But I’ve been a crafter since childhood. I’m pretty good at knitting, crocheting and beading.

Q10: What advice would you give a new dolly dress maker?
MA: Ask your friends for help and advice if you need help along the way. There are TONS of dress makers out there and I know
that many of them are willing to help out with advice and questions along the way.

Thank you Morgan for a great interview!

And as if she wasn’t awesome enough for giving us her time, we conjured up a little Valentine’s Day contest together!

The complete details and entry information will be listed tomorrow afternoon. Until then, here’s a snap of the dress she made for the contest!

I’m guessing we’ll see you tomorrow, huh?

Tags: contest, designer, follow up, interview, morganannie, Spotlight

Unless you’ve been living under a plastic rock, I’m sure you’ve seen it somewhere.  The “Jonathan Adler” big pink couch making it’s rounds all through the Blythe community – Mentioned on this months cover of  Lucky Blythe magazine and even getting it’s own “Blythe Loves Jonathan Adler” Flickr group! And it’s no surprise that I’ve climbed on the wagon — err, couch too!

While I’ve found it as low as $25 on Amazon – Please note that price does fluctuate there, but stays mostly around the $35-$45 range. For someone like me, over $30 was a bit of a splurge, but it is definitely one of my favorite dolly items and I can go so far as to say one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Comfortably seating 2 and able to squeeze in 3, it’s durable and heavy enough to not topple over from those big Blythe noggins. And really.. extra seating on those display shelves is always welcomed, right?

Some might not like the bright pink color, but it’s easy to tone down by making a few miniature throw pillows. And hey, this could be the motivation you’ve needed to finally start sewing for your dolls!

Regardless of your thoughts on the decor, everyone will agree the quality and fun factor of the couch makes it one of the few things you won’t mind seeing everyone have. In fact, I am tickled “pink” by all the creative photos I’ve seen this couch cameo in.

*Some of our faves from the group!

Move over Barbie, there’s a new doll with the remote! So, think pink and get your girls their own couch! It’s the only time in your life where being a couch potato can be so cute.

You can find the couch and the matching table stand @ Amazon:

Tags: couch, cute, furniture, good buy, Jonathan Adler, pink, robot approved

Part of the fun for the Blythe hobby for me is collecting the little things. Things that are great to photograph, things that display well with my collection and things that are entertaining. Well, Lexi over at Lucky-Blythe Publishing captured all of those aspects in 1 little thing – A Blythe Magazine!

These detailed Blythe-sized magazines talk about current topics circling the dolly community. For example, on this months January cover there’s a blurb about the Jonathan Adler couch everyone is raving about (a review on that is coming this week by the way!) and past blurbs highlighted such events as BlytheCon.

As if the cover isn’t enough to make us smile, every back issue has an ad that your Blythe can relate to. Lexi also takes the time to fill each magazine with clippings from life-size magazines. A clever way to provide the magazine with substance and recycle!

We can only hope that a real magazine like this exists one day. But until then, these are great copies for our dolls to collect.

Oz is a huge fan of Lucky Blythe and has every issue since the first release in July of 2009.

We were also excited to see BlytheBlog gain an ad on the back cover of this months issue celebrating our official launch.

We’re happy to award Lexi’s clever little press-shop with our Designer Spotlight award for a great little accessory to look forward to every month for our Blythe girls.

You can visit Lexi’s Etsy shop to purchase your own magazine here.
And visit her Lucky-Blythe Publishing Flickr group to see the issues in action!

Tags: blythe, designer, etsy, living, lucky, magazine, read, review, Spotlight

I couldn’t think of a better way to start off this part of Blythe Blog more than to acknowledge a very special dressmaker, Morganannie.

When I started collecting Blythe a year and a half ago, I scoured Etsy for days looking for the perfect dress for my first Blythe girl, V-Smash. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful dresses. But one dress stood out to me.

The dress was made of chocolate (perfect for a redhead) fabric with beautiful little deer all over and adorned with a rainbow ribbon belt. Seeing as my VS was named Fawna, I felt it the perfect dress for her.

Like many new to the hobby (and to sewing!), you truly don’t realize the time and effort that goes into creating these dainty doll accessories. I believe I paid $12 + shipping for the dress. And for someone who wouldn’t spend $12 on a pair of shoes for themselves, I must have really wanted it.

I’d also like to add that in the beginning of my collecting these dolls, I also didn’t understand why some folks were all jazzed up over RBL vs. BL face-molds. I couldn’t tell the difference! Why on earth would they pay $45 for a knitted hat? Or $25 for a pair of doll jeans? I thought it was insanity. But now I know better.. I completely understand. And if you are new to Blythe and those same thoughts cross your mind, you are perfectly sane… but I believe that you’ll understand in time too. And your dolly closet will probably boast those same things you felt too expensive a few months prior.

I am also willing to admit that I actually spend more money on myself now. I went from wearing $9 clearance shoes and only hand me down items to taking better care of my own closet and appearance and even getting my hair done on occasion!

I didn’t want to clutter up this spotlight on Morganannie with a bunch of rambling, but I really thought it was important to put that out there, especially since she started it all for me. And I know that a lot of new collectors have those same feelings.

So, Morgan.. Thank you. Thank you for breaking my mold. Thank you for creating beautiful, high quality and reasonably priced dolly dresses… and for helping me find the doll inside myself who wants to be pretty and pampered too.

I just recently took this photo of Oz with all of our Morganannie dresses.
Oz lovingly added: “I think it’s safe to say Morganannie is our fave dress maker.”

You have been a great friend this past year and a half. You are inspiring in so many ways. I hope over 2010 your shops grows as your skill is already that of a true designer and with that, we happily crown you as our first Designer Spotlight award winner.

You can visit Morganannie’s Etsy Shop or her Flickr.
We’ll be interviewing Morgan about her shop soon with a follow-up interview
… maybe we can get her to spill a few secrets too!

Tags: award, designer, dress, etsy, morganannie, Spotlight

I keep seeing these commercials on TV talking about the top 5 of this and the top 10 of that.. It got me to thinking about my favorite Blythe girls of this past year. I figured why not ring in the New Year with my first official blog post here with my “Top 9 Blythe picks of 2009″.

So here it is, blytheblog’s Fave 9 for 2009!

09: Urban Cowgirl (November)

“The Country Bumpkin”

She was an easy pick for the countdown with that luscious hair of hers. I’m a sucker for those natural looking girls. Her adorable cowgirl stock set is a real cute addition to your dolly closet. How can you go wrong with a pink cowgirl hat? And her special color coral eye-chips set her apart from most other brunettes available.

08: Friendly Freckles (February)

“The Best Friend”

I don’t think Friendly Freckles was given the chance she deserved by some. I had pondered putting her closer to the top of the countdown here but was comfortable putting  her at #8. She was the first Blythe I ever opened that made me speak out loud. I remember saying “Wow, she really *is* friendly”. Her vibe and persona is just that; totally friendly. She’s cute, her pink blushy cheeks are sweet and her headphones are a staple to any good dolly closet.

07: Prima Dolly London (August)

“The New Chick”

With the release of the FBL mold this year – I wasn’t too smitten by any of the other FBL girls… except London. With her smooth looking creamy skin paired with that cupcake pink hair, she was an instant favorite. Sadly out of my personal price range, but I do love seeing her pictures within the Flickr community and one day I may plan to save up for her. Her stock wasn’t that spectacular, especially for her price tag. But good for some mod shots nonetheless.

06: Simply Lilac (September)

“The Sweetheart”

This little violet princess was one of my favorite releases this year. (along with her “sister” who made it a little higher in our fave 9.) Her much requested hair color along with her cute outfit and coveted headband made her an instant pre-order for me personally. I wasn’t disappointed at all when I opened her up along with my 3 year old who still *loves* this “purple haired dolly”. Simply Lilac was a great release – she was unique, had pretty great stock and was reasonably priced with her “sister”.

05: Cappuccino Chat (January)

“The Classic Beauty”

CapChat wasn’t a personal favorite of mine right off the bat. I kind of felt she resembled an old lady. (not that there’s anything wrong with old ladies! I just don’t want to collect them ) – I chose her for the top 9 not only because of her popularity with others but because she’s a great doll to customize. Every CapChat that I have seen customized has been an absolute masterpiece. She just needs simple things to be the “classic beauty” I think they intended her to be. Her stock isn’t as retched as I originally thought. Her mocha colored dress is great paired up with other items and her coat will always get a smile if you take a dolly out in it.

04: Ice Rune (December)

“The “I don’t need another blonde but I think I need her” girl”

Ice Rune became popular fast this year. She was just released this month but the buzz about her is big. For starters, she is a blonde. I suffer from bringing in too many blondes and I end up adopting them out quite often.. but she is a unique blonde. So you can kind of talk yourself into getting her. Aside from that, her stock outfit is just adorable. You’ve gotta be made of ice to not grin at the little kawaii happy faces on her boots, seriously. Ice Rune may be a December girl, but I suspect she will be chased all through out 2010.

03: Simply Peppermint (September)

“The Poor Girls’ MSR”

When I first pre-ordered the Simply duo, I thought that Peppermint would be my replacement for a Miss Sally Rice. But upon receiving her, they are nothing alike… obviously. While she is another minty-haired beauty, they are very different. Peppermint is a lot more toned down than MSR. Although she’s one that doesn’t photograph as good as she looks. Her fantasy colored hair makes some outfits clash but her sweetness totally makes up for it. Her cute mix-matchable stock and coveted headband make her a must have.

02: My Little Candy (February)

“The 80′s Child”

Maybe it’s just me, but when I saw her in her candy covered box in her happy stock outfit with that cotton candy pink hair; I was instantly taken back to being 9 years old again and felt like I just opened a brand new My Little Pony. For starters, her stock outfit is just adorable in every way. She has everything from a tee you can mix and match to great yellow cons. Going to her hair.. it seemed that a lot of people had varying issues with her hair. Her bangs were uneven in some cases or she had total box head and needed a good washing/fabric softener treatment. But once that was settled her hair really sets her off. And only needing to change 1 of her eye-chips because she already has 3 great colors in? Sign me up!

PS – I recommend R43 Eggplant in Brainworm as a good replacement for those unflattering orange beamers she has.

01: Prima Dolly Heather Sky (March)

“The Exotic Beauty”

Heather Sky was the first girl I ever pre-ordered. There was so much buzz about her I was deathly afraid that I wouldn’t have gotten her any other way. And she was heavily overpriced and Tickle-Me Elmo crazy for awhile there. She wasn’t as dark as some were hoping but I really feel she is still a beautiful doll. The camera loves her darker complexion and she looks smashing in almost any outfit. She’s also great for swapping a scalp. Slap on an MSR scalp (shown here with my hybrid girl “Siren“) or a Dainty Biscuit or any other girl and she’s instantly changed and usually looks good in it! By far one of the lasting Blythe dolls of 2009.

So there it is ! Our Top 9 for 2009 ! I hope you enjoyed reading our first official blog entry. One of many more to come!

Happy 2010 ! May you experience good health and all the blessings life has to offer.

Tags: blythe, dolls, review, top 9 of 2009