Liebster Award 2016

I was nominated by Brini of Brini's Doll Domain for the Liebster Award. Thank you Brini!

I was also nominated by Farrah Lily and her questions are different enough in that I will also answer her questions in a separate post.

OK, now, for the Rules:

1. Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog. 
2. Post the award image on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter.
4. Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers.
5. Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer.
6. List these rules in your post. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them to your post.

Here are my answers to the 11 questions posed by Brini:

1. What is your most treasured doll and why?   My most treasured doll would probably be my vintage Platinum Bubble Cut Barbie from the 1960's.  Although I don't have my original doll from my childhood anymore, the quest to find a "replacement" for her is what got me into collecting.                    

   

   My Vintage Bubble Cut Barbie

2. What motivates you to continue your blog?    You guys! As I gain followers and receive comments, this provides encouragement for me to continue my blog. Also, reading your blogs and stories is a big motivator to me as well.                                                                                                               
3. What blog challenges have you faced, (limiting, selling, etc.)?    All of the above! Space has been a huge challenge for me. Also funding my habit er hobby! I need to sell some dolls or donate them. Since I have rebodied a lot of my dolls, I need to move out the old, stiff bodies.                                                              
4. What new skills have you challenged yourself to in your selected playscale?            Furniture modification and making. Whether it is painting and renewing the pink plastic Barbie furniture or making a table and chair set, I have challenged myself to do this. Also, while I can sew, I find making nice 1:6 scale doll clothes challenging because of the small size. I would better from a pattern, so I would like to learn more about creating my own patterns.                                                                      

   

   Here is the first sofa I made!

5. What was the last item you created or purchased for yourself that you second guess because you rather have a doll time?      Interesting question! I really don't buy that much for myself such as clothes, etc. because when I do buy something for me, it is usually doll related! I did purchase a new expensive air cleaner that I regret purchasing as I could have bought many other things if I had not purchased that. I do sometimes feel guilty about how much I spent on my dolls because our funds are so much more limited now that I am retired.                                                                                                                     
6. How do you decide what to add to your collection?     Reading blogs of other collectors and viewing photos on Flickr make me aware of what is out there and I often make a decision based on what I see from other collections. Sometimes it is news from Mattel or Integrity Toys that motivates me to purchase a new item.   
7. What was the one doll mistake you made and what did you learn from it?     When the Made to Move Barbies first came out, I was very anxious to get one and purchased a set of dolls well above the market price. Once they came out in abundance, I did buy more of them as body donors and the lower retail price, but I was mad a myself for acting too quickly. 
8. Which doll was your holy grail and do you feel the same about the doll now?     In 2015, my holy grail doll was Ruruko. All the ones I saw on eBay were so expensive that I could not bring myself to spend the money. Through communication with some of my Flickr friends, I found out how to purchase them directly from Petworks and I purchased my first Rururko. After that, I was hooked and purchased a few more of them. I still love them! They are so adorable! I do not regret purchasing them or their older siblings (Momoko)!
9. Has anyone ever given you a doll gift that you did not know if you should accept it or not?        No, I really don't receive that many doll related gifts. My kids have purchased some doll items for me as birthday or Christmas gifts and my sister once got me a Barbie doll as she also collects them, but I do not receive many doll gifts.
10. Which doll or item is on your wish list that you will no longer pursue?    I really wanted to get the Karl Lagerfeld Barbie, but her prices on the secondary market are just too high and I since that have released her face mold in a few other lines, I am happy to have those and I could always get one of them rerooted to look like her!
11. Which doll will be the doll you have to have this year?    Now that Mattel has announced that the Barbie Fashion Model Collection Silkstone dolls will all be on jointed bodies for 2016, I have added that to my "have to have" list. I have seen a few of them on Amazon at an inflated price, but not yet on "TheBarbieCollection.com". I have learned my lesson on this one and I will wait!

  Here are my nominations:

1. Robyn from Desperately Seeking Dolls
2. Miranda from One Sixth Avenue
3. Shasha from atelierni Shasha
4. Billa from Billa's Dolls and Fashions
5. Chynadoll from Chynadoll Creations

And the 11 questions:

1. What was the first doll you remember having and how did it influence your collection now?
2. Have you ever been to a doll convention or dollshow?
3. Do you have a favorite doll in your collection and if so, who is it?
4. What are you looking forward to in 2016?
5. What is your favorite doll line?
6. How do you decide what to add to your collection?
7. What doll or doll items have you made, repurposed or reworked that you are most proud of?
8. What is the one doll mistake you have made and what did you learn from it?
9. What dolls are on your top 5 doll list to acquire in the future?
10. Do you have any creative activities related to your doll collection?
11. Do you take your dolls out to a public place to photograph them?

Well, that is it! Only participate if you want too, but I am interested in reading your answers as I am sure others are!

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!

It has been a busy, but happy Holiday for us! We spend the weekend before Christmas in Sparta, MI at my youngest brother's house. We had such fun. This was the healthiest I have felt in a long time too! Below is a picture of those of us able to attend the family festivities!

Family Christmas 2015. I am in the back row with the gray striped sweather, blond hair. My daughter are right in front of me on the end of the sofa

I made dessert for this gathering - 6 apple pies from scratch! 

One of the 6 Apple Pies I made! They were delicious! 

On Christmas Day, it was just me and my daughters. We got up, looked to see what "Santa" left us in our Christmas stockings and then opened the presents we got each other. My daughters got me a camera accessory package with lens filters, macro lens, wide ange lens and a fisheye lens and more! They also got me a beautiful cardigan! We spend the rest of the day playing games and fixed a nice dinner! And even though I was feeling a bit under the weather, we had a great time together.

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and will have a great 2016! I look forward to sharing more dolly stuff with my new camera accessories!

BTW, my giveaway will begin right after the first of the year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Me and my girls spent a no frills day with a scaled down Thanksgiving dinner, a movie (the final Hunger Games Mockingjay 2) and just time together talking about what we have to be thankful for -- mostly each other! 

In Hanaly Corners, the new Pastor arrived with his family. Here they are hoping that all of our readers spent a wonderful Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it!) with family and friends.

Welcome Pastor Timothy Donally, his wife Miranda, 15 year old Daughter McKenna and twins Jacob and Jezebel (Jez) age 8 to Hanaly Corners!

Made to Move Barbie Review

Yes, I purchased the Made to Move Barbie dolls from Amazon.com. I decided that I like them so much, that I would do a review on them. I did purchase multiples of each of them so I would have them for body swapping. Some of my Flickr friends have blamed me for them not being able to get a doll, but I say, you snooze, you lose! Oh well, they will have more available soon!

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

There are 3 versions of the Made to Move Barbies. Theresa has a tan skintone, Barbie has a medium caucasian skintone and Lea has a pale Asian skintone. According to the photos on the box, there will also be an AA skintone with the Asha facemold. Speculation is that she will have the Grace skintone.  

Overall, these dolls for me are a win-win. Their articulation is spectacular and I say to Mattel it is about time. The current dolls are an early release and have only been available on Amazon and eBay. From the Amazon Barbie Store, they were $14.99 each, and have sold out. There are still private sellers on Amazon and on eBay that have them, but they are asking between $30 to $75 for them. Because the official release of these dolls is supposed to be in January, I would recommend waiting, however, do keep your eyes open as there have been reports of them being available in some TRU stores at $14.99 and Amazon may get more in stock. If Mattel is smart, they will make them available in time for Christmas.

As you can see from the above photo, they have very flexible joints. They are double jointed at both the elbows and the knees and have jointed ankles, thighs, upper arms and torso. I will show some picture later of them naked so you can see all of the points of articulation. The good news is that the joints are all nice and tight, the doll is sturdy and well constructed.  The only negative I see so far is that the hair in the Lea and Barbie versions is extremely glue laden. I had a couple of them where the glue had dripped down the neck! When you take the head off of the prong, the prong is sticky with glue and there are chucks of glue that come out with it. So far, all of the Theresa molds that I opened did not have any glue at all in the head. I do hope that they remedy this problem for Lea and Barbie in the production release.

I have done some comparisons to other jointed dolls that I have, which include a Barbie Style body, a Liv body and a PlayToy Action Figure body. I have tried to put each of them in a comparable pose, but as you will see, they could not all do every pose.

Here you see each doll crossing her arms in front of her chest. Playtoy says she cannot get her arms close to her because she has such a large bosom (I gave her that one). Made to Move can not only cross her arms in front, but she can get them close to her body. Liv does a decent job, but she cannot get her arms as close to her chest as Made to Move.  Barbie Style can cross them, but not tight to her chest.  Made to Move is the winner in this category!

Play Toy Action Figure with Kumik head, Made to Move Theresa, Liv body with Hilary Duff head, Barbie Style Body with Paso Doble head.

Next they tried putting their hands on their faces. This would be helpful for holding a phone to talk on it, for putting on make up or doing your hair!  Made to Move can put her hands on her face, actually in many positions. Play Toy can also touch her face, but not at as low of a point on her face as Made to Move. Barbie Style, she says: "Ummm, this is giving me a headache!" as does Liv. Once again, Made to Move takes this point!

Excitedly, Made to Move shouts: "How about we get on the floor and do some yoga poses?!" Liv and Playtoy look at her and say, "What?! Are you nuts?!" and Barbie Style looks at her as says: "This will have to do!"  Made to Move is grinning inside and whispers: "Yes! I win again!"

The next move is to sit on their legs on the floor. Barbie Style: "I stoop to noone!" and she just kneels. Made to move and Play Toy are pretty equal in this pose. Liv is pretty close, but cannot quite sit all of the way down. This one is a tie between Made to Move and Play Toy.

Warning: Dolly nudity! 

Ok, if you are still with us, they are now posing nude so a comparison can be made based on the aesthetics of each doll's body.

First up, we have Barbie Style. Her body appearance is very nice and smooth. Her joints are subtle and do not detract from her pleasant appearance. The Made to Move joints are much more obvious, but to me, I do not thing they detract from her appearance. Some find that the upper arm joint makes her look too muscular, but I actually find this look attractive as you can tell she takes care of her body and works out! The inside of her elbow joints are a little obvious, but not overly so. The joint I find the least attractive on her is the upper thigh joint, but the trade off of her ability to pose in so many positions make it worth it! Play Toy has a very attractive body. As with many Action Figures, her joints are more obvious, but the fact that you can exchange her hands and feet give her more expressive posing options. She can hold a drink, shoot a gun or even point at you! For me, the Liv body is probably the least aesthetically pleasing, however, it is a less mature body and is good to use for younger characters. I do like its versatility as a body exchange option.

Rear view! They are all fairly equal when looking at them from behind! The least noticeable knee joint is probably Barbie Style, then Liv, Made to Move takes third and Play Toy takes last place in this category. Only because the joints are more noticeable. However. I also find that Play Toy's elbow and wrist joints are somewhat less attractive than the others, but her butt is probably the most realistic and aesthetically pleasing butt! All in all, I will take the looks of these joints over not having any at all!

With that, Barbie Style, Play Toy and Liv bid us farewell and my very favorite poseable body gal stops in for a cameo appearance. The Phicen Stainless Steel skeleton body, to me, is by far the best poseable body around. However, at a pricetag of between $80 to $120, she is also the most expensive. Here she goes head to head with Made to Move on the merits of poseability:

My medium bust Phicen, Stephanie, pulls up a chair and invites Made to Move to curl up like her. Made to move can match her pose quite well!

Stephanie says: "Try this!" as she stretches out a bit in the chair. Once again, Made to Move excels at the challenged pose!

Stephanie says: "Not bad at all! Now get on the floor and do this!" Stephanie gets on the floor and pushes herself up with her arms and arches her back gracefully. Made to Move has a little difficulty arching her back, but Stephanie commends her on her ability in this area!

Stephanie is impressed with this $15 doll and her ability to pose. She does one more pose on the floor. This one she says is a magazine or book reading position. Made to Move thinks, "Yes, I can do this too!" but secretly she thinks she would rather read a book  or magazine curled up on the couch next to a fireplace with some hot cocoa to drink! 

Made to Move gets her street clothes back on and waits for her boyfriend to come and pick her up. I think she looks great in this outfit. She looks like a girl who takes care of herself and keeps her body toned. Her arms are shapely with a hint of muscularity. She is looking good!

Her boyfriend Liam also appreciates her efforts to stay healthy and look good. He, for one, is very happy she has joined him in Hanaly Corners!

Liam with his Made to Move sweetheart. He says, "Give her a name already!" 

I do hope you enjoyed my review and photos. Thanks for stopping by. I enjoy receiving your comments!

My First Attempt at Hair Flocking and Other News

I have seen others transform their dolls by removing the factory hair and flocking new hair on. When I saw a tutorial on YouTube: How to Turn OHC Girl into a Boy - Flocking Tutorial
I decided to give it a try my self.

I have multiples of the Happy Family Grandma dolls, so to make them look differently, I have done some different hair treatments for them. I had purchased a long grey wig for another doll and after cutting it to a shorter length, I had quite a bit of hair left over. I used this to make my flocking. I also decided that she needed a nice looking mature fellow as her partner, so I took an extra Finnick doll I had purchased at a discount to use as a body donor and gave him some flocking as well. Below is the couple out for their wedding anninversary:

Happy Family Grandma with a "mature" Finnick as her husband!

All dressed up for their anniversary!

I also wanted to give her more mobility since her man is very mobile, so I did a leg transplant on her.  See her new legs:

Her new legs gives her a new lease on life! She can really kick up her heels now!

Her husband likes them too!

After seeing how well the flocking experiment worked out, I decided to give my AA Happy Family Grandma a new man too. So I took the head of an AA University Ken doll whose body had already been snatched and put it on a tall COO Model body. I left his current flocking intact, but added my salt and pepper grey flocking to his head and face too. Check out this guy!

Here they are! Grandma has been rebodied on an AA Liv body. I also gave her hair a trim. She is the younger sister of my other AA Happy Family Grandma who is married to AA Happy Family Grandpa

Here is a closer look at his face. I noticed that some of his beard rubbed off, but that will be easy to fix!

I also purchased the Disney Athena character from Tomorrowland. I thought she would look good as my Katie Lamm's little sister (my Lammily doll). What do you think? I still need to give her a name.

That's all for now! 

Contest Winning and New Clothes from Atelierni Shasha

I don't often win contests, but I did have a bit of luck this year. During Brini's birthday celebration, I won her give-a-way contest and received a wonderful pool from her. With everything that has been going on in my life with health and other issues, I never did post the picture of my dolls enjoying the pool! So, without further delay, here is the picture of my dolls enjoying the pool we won from Brini. Brini, I am sorry it took so long to get this posted, but you know that I was so excited to win this!

My Resort Glam Style Girls enjoying the pool I received from Brini in February!

Another item I won was the bag from Atelierni Shasha. It is so well made, even my daughters were impressed! I loved it so much, that I decided to buy some clothes from Shasha as well. Here are photos of the fashions I purchased as well as the bag I won!

My Lady Tremaine doll in a top and skirt purchased from Atelierni Shasha. She is rebodied (again!) on a Poppy Parker Japan skin tone body

Here is Lady Tremaine holding the bag I won from Shasha!

Here is a top and pants I purchased from Atelierni Shasha

I have taken a lot more photos along the way, so I will be getting out a few more posts within the next couple of weeks.  

Thank you, Shasha, for the lovely bag and thank you for being such a talented clothing designer and seamstress! My dolls and I will be enjoying these for a long time to come!

Clothes From the Very Generous Shasaringnis

I haven't posted in a while, but I did what to be sure to share photos of clothing I received from the very generous Shasaringnis. You can check out her blog at: Shasarignis Barbie & Co.  You should know that all of her clothing is hand made -- literally! She doesn't have a sewing machine, so she hand sews every stitch! I am amazed at the quality of her work and the evenness of her stitches. She contacted me after I posted one of the dolly blog award answers and asked if she could sent me some clothes that she made. Of course, I was more than happy to say yes! She sent me several items -- mostly made for the Lammily doll and some for Fashion Royalty (can be worn by FR or CI dolls). Here are some photos of the outfits she sent to me!

For Fashion Royalty:

Check out the large bag! She can use it as an overnight bag!

This is 2 pieces!

Back view

This dress is reversible!

This is the reverse side

A nice warm coat for Lammily! My Katie says this is just what she needs for the winter!

Back of coat

Side view of coat

Felt hooded jacket. Katie says she can wear this to the football games!

Skirt and jacket. Katie is wearing a Lammily top with this. The skirt is a wrap-a-round.

Strapless white dress

Yellow and pink satin dress.  Katie says she might wear white or yellow leggings with this, but she can't wait to wear it out!

Front view of dress.

Katie's friend Miranda models this simple white tank dress with a yellow hooded jacket

Here is Randi with just the white tank

Shasaringnis, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of these lovely clothing items. Your hand sewing skills are amazing!