Life is Good

Relax.

Play with dolls.

Life is good.

This is Anna, my Curly blue Babe Blythe doll. (And no, her hair is not curly, only slightly wavy!)

Make Today Great

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."
                                                                
                                                                           --Groucho Marx

This bright trio of Blythe dolls are Simply Thumpty Thump, Simply Bubble Boom, and Simply Sparkly Spark.

Smile

Bridget wants to remind you that smiling is good for you. Studies suggest that smiling (even fake smiling) lowers stress and anxiety, strengthens your immune system, and releases endorphins. 

Come on now, everybody, SMILE!

This Blythe doll is Allegra Champagne, wearing her lovely stock outfit.

Cat Questions

Cats often seem to be asking a question when they meow as us.
If only we could understand what they are saying. 

If you can guess which Blythe doll this is, you are amazing!

I love this pink kitty I found recently at a toy store. She looks extremely realistic, except for her color (which I WISH was real!)

In The City, at Night

Becoming lost in thought as she gazes at the city lights, 

Ann realizes that she has many beautiful reasons to be happy.

Ann is my UFO A Go Go Blythe doll.

Read Everywhere

One of the best things about reading is that 

you can do it almost any time, any place. 

For example, you can read in the downstairs hallway 

while waiting for your slowpoke sisters 

to get ready to go in the morning. Like Tess.

Prima Dolly Peony

Read a Book

Never put off until tomorrow

the book you can read today. 

In a book I once read, a father and daughter ran a book store. Every afternoon they would close the store for an hour, make tea, and choose books from the shelves to read. I think the world would be a happier place if everyone took a reading break every day!

You can easily make little books for your dolls, like the ones I made in this photo. Just google "book covers" and choose what you like. Save the images to your computer, then reduce them to dolly size using a photo editing site or Microsoft Word (which I used). Print them onto card stock and cut out. I filled the book with pages that I cut from an old dictionary. A little glue along the binding edge holds them in place. 

These Blythes are Bow Wow Trad (left) and Petit Dejeuner (right).

Friendly Visit

The road to a friend's house

is never long.

--Danish Proverb

This Blythe doll is Ichigo Heaven.  You might have noticed that I played with the colors a bit...

her hair isn't really this intensely pink! 

A Hat for Every Head

Sometimes the girl wears the hat,

 sometimes the hat wears the girl. 

When I first got into Blythe, I noticed that there was a huge variety of hats, hairbands, and fascinators available for her, which made perfect sense to me: since her head is her most prominent feature, why not play it up? I started buying and making a lot of hats, with the idea that I wanted something fun and different to go on the head of each of my girls. But as I got more into taking photos of them, I realized that the hat often gets in the way of the little story I want to tell with the picture--a big hat can be a distraction.  Now, I only use a hat in a picture when it helps tell the story; or, as in the case of this photo, when the hats ARE the story!

That's My Little Candy on the left, and Petit Dejeuner on the right.

Skyline Memories

Whenever we see this Dunkin Donuts mug with the New York skyline, Candy and I reminisce about the fun time we had together at Blythe Con New York in 2013. It was the first Blythe Con for both of us, and this mug was a souvenir from that trip.

This year, Blythe Con will be held in Brooklyn in October, and I have tickets! The theme dolls are "tanned girls". I haven't broken that news to Candy yet.

This Blythe is My Little Candy.

Beautiful and Blue

The sun is up, the sky is blue

It's beautiful, and so are you.

--from the song "Dear Prudence" by The Beatles

When I first started collecting Blythe in 2012, I didn't get the appeal of Miss Sally Rice (on the left). To me, she looked a little strange and different from most Blythes, with her translucent face and bigger lips. Then suddenly, I loved her and had to have her! I don't know exactly why, but it may be that the very fact that she is different made her special to me. That, and her awesome blue-green hair. 

Fast forward to 2016, and the moment I saw the announcement for UFO A Go Go, I knew I had to have her--there was no question about it! Her gorgeous aqua blue hair and pale face with salmon lips and blush make her so appealing to me. 

They both have great stock outfits, as you can see here. Aren't they beautiful together?

Best Friends

Be slow to fall into friendship, 

but when thou art in, continue firm and constant. 

--Socrates

These Blythe dolls are Cousin Olivia on the left, and Precocious Candy's Mushroom on the right. Because they are BFF's, they are wearing parts of each other's stock outfits. 

Patiently Waiting

Patience is the companion of wisdom.

--St. Augustine

This is Patience, my Veronica Lace Blythe doll. I like this St. Augustine quote so much, I may have to name a doll "Wisdom" to be her companion!!

When I came into the hobby in 2012, Veronica Lace was one of the dolls I wanted the most, because of her gorgeous hair: it is light brown with purple strands mixed through it. She was one of the more expensive dolls (and still is), so I was happy when, a year or two later, I found her used, at a reasonable price, in a Facebook group.

The hair is still the thing I love most about Blythe, although now I gravitate mainly towards dolls with wilder hair colors. Patience's quieter look adds some nice variety to my dolly family. 

  

Little Doll

Sometimes the smallest things 

take up the most room in your heart.

(These words were spoken by that well-known philosopher, Winnie the Pooh.)

I've decided to give my Lady Camellia Blythe doll a Japanese name.  She will be called "Emiko".

Lady Camellia

Approximately five minutes after receiving a big check in the mail from my mother for Christmas, I was online ordering my newest doll: Lady Camellia. I had been thinking about her for a while, but wondered if she was too similar to my other brown haired girls. It turns out that her hair is an interesting and beautiful purplish-brown, so no, she is not similar to the other brunettes at all!

She came with everything you see here, plus a pair of basic pink panties that I forgot to include in the shot (the same "economy" version that come with most of the newer releases).

It was a pleasant surprise to remove her kimono and discover that she had another robe-type garment underneath. I googled it and learned that kimonos are usually worn with this inner layer, called nagajuban. The item above the kimono in the picture is her obi; it goes around her waist and the bow goes at the back. The flowered headband pulls her look together.

I love the combination of colors and patterns in her outfit...especially the little checkered socks! So cute! The sandals are really cute too. I can't wait to put everything on her and gather a few Japanese props for a themed photo shoot.

Snow Day

She's just a little girl in a great big snowy world. 

This is Bonnie, my Raspberry Sorbet Blythe doll. We got our first snow of the season yesterday, here in Williamsburg, Virginia--about 8 inches. The snow plow hasn't come near our road yet, so we aren't going anywhere for a while. 

Anna's Dress Shop

Anna has discovered that if you do what you love,

and you will never work a day in your life.

Anna is my Curly Blue Babe Blythe doll.

Knitting is Nice

Sonny Angel had been complaining of the cold 

so much that Marina took pity on him 

and decided to knit him a sweater. 

This is my new Sonny Angel, Pansy, and my Playful Raindrops Blythe doll.

There's Always Room for One More

Dolls are like friends: 

you can never have too many. 

This is UFO A Go Go

Introducing: Stella Serendipitous

Stella Serendipitous is the Blythe who was waiting for me under the tree on Christmas morning. She's gorgeous! She is my first silver-haired girl, and she is the perfect compliment to her BFF, Allegra Champagne.

Her dress is especially well-done; the huge, floor-length ball gown skirt is removable, revealing a super-cute short dress. I love that she had a different piece of headgear to wear with each look: the crown is amazing with the ball gown, and the "ruby" studded headband is perfect with the short dress (although the crown looks great with the short dress too, as you can see in my picture!)

Her necklace is interesting: it is a string of black beads with velcro for the closure! I've never seen that before.

She also comes with pretty dangly earrings, and a clutch bag. Although she doesn't come with stockings or tights, she does have lace undies are nicer that most of the recent stock dolls come with.  I totally love her shiny red pull ring--it really completes her look.

All in all, she's a fabulous girl and I look forward to seeing how she looks in other styles and colors.

Resolutions for 2017

Before getting out of bed on New Year's Day, 

Ellie took some time to think about 

how she wants to improve herself 

during the coming year. 

Ellie is my Ichigo Heaven Blythe doll. 

Happy New Year 2017

Anastasia and Bridget wish you a new year 

overflowing with health, happiness, and prosperity.

Happy 2017!

These glamorous BFF's are Stella Serendipitous and Allegra Champagne.