Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Linda of Darkroom Dolls nominated me for the "Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award". Here are my answers to Linda's 10 questions:

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?

Well, if you ask my kids, I collect lots of things! I collect artwork done by my kids and memorabilia of their childhood. Of course, though, my dolls are the items I collect the most avidly.


2. Why did you start a doll blog?

In May of 2011, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had many a sleepless night after the diagnosis and I spent a lot of time on line browsing the web trying to get as much information as I could about my particular type of breast cancer. One night, I stumbled into a doll blog called "Dollies Series" which was Adrian's blog before she changed the name to "The Waverly's". It took me a while, but I read all of her blog entries from the start of her blog. This lead to finding other doll story blogs such as Van's Doll Treasures, Roville and more. I found the doll blogs very intriguing and it gave me a break from thinking about my cancer. After a while, I began leaving comments and got to know some of the blog authors, who encouraged me to start my own blog. I started my blog in the summer of 2014. BTW, I have been cancer free for 4 years now!

3. Do you have one particular doll that is the favorite in your collection?

I have many dolls that I love, so it is hard to pick a favorite. I do treasure my vintage Platinum Blonde Bubble Cut Barbie from the early 1960's. While she is not MY original doll, she is just like her! My first Barbie was this doll. She went everywhere I did, even to school! Me and my sister played with our Barbies for hours on end. This treasured doll is a favorite since she is representative of my first doll and the quest to find her is what got me into collecting dolls.

4. Your favorite doll accessory (American Girl or other)?

Can this be something I made? Well my favorite homemade accessory is the black & white bathroom sink and vanity I made for the Gordon house. My favorite purchased accessory would probable be the Jonathan Adler pink sofa for Barbie.


5. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection (you don't have to tell the number of course :-) )?

No, I do not know exactly how many dolls I have in my collection, but I would guess upwards of 500 dolls.


6. Do you play any instruments and if so, what?

No, I do not play any instruments. I wish I did though!


7. Where is your most favority place you've ever been?

I have been fortunate to have travelled a lot, but hands down favorite place I have traveled is China. Why? Because I adopted both of my daughters from China. I would love to take them back to China someday!


8. What is your most favorite thing about yourself?

Physically, it would probably be that I look a lot younger than I am. People are always surprised when they find out my real age. I also like that I am pretty crafty. That helps a lot with this hobby!



9. Favorite book or movie?

I have many favorite books and movies. I love animated movies and one of my favorites is "How to Train Your Dragon".  I am also a huge fan of the Avengers series.


10. If you could design your own doll, how would it look like?

There are so many beautiful dolls out now that I would be hard pressed to top them, but if I could design my own doll, it would probably look like my daughters. Asian features, with long black hair, a little shorter than Barbie with full articulation. 


My questions are:

1. Do you collect anything other than dolls?
2. Why did you start a doll blog?
3. What is your grail doll?
4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you travel to?
5. What kind of music do you like?
6. How did you get started collecting dolls?
7. What are your feelings about doll articulation?
8. Do you know exactly how many dolls you have in your collection?
9. What type of dolls do you collect? (American Girl, Barbie, Fashion Royalty, etc.)
10. Do you set up dioramas for your dolls or do you keep them in display cases?

My nominees are:

1. Smaller Places

2. Cindi Mortensen of Moreville Life and Times

3. Male Doll World

4. Jewell of Doll-Lightful

5. Miranda of One Sixth Avenue

Of course, participate only if you desire! I had fun answering the questions, I hope you do too!

Have a great day!

The Quest for Perfect Articulation

I know that many of us are on a quest for the best articulation for our dolls. I mean, how many of us get a "stiff" doll and wait for the right skin tone on an articulated doll to really be able to play with that doll? How many of us watch for sales and stock up on articulated bodies just to have on hand for body swaps? How many tutorials have you seen out there sharing techniques on how to improve the articulation on a body with limited range or how to modify a head to make it work on a different type of neck knob (or visa versa) only with the goal in mind of giving that doll articulation? Why do we do it? For me, it makes telling a story with my dolls more plausible. It makes taking pictures of them more enticing. It makes playing with them so much more fun!

When I first started collecting dolls, I only did it for looking at them. I put them in a glass case for the pure pleasure of admiring them. With my vintage dolls, they still hold there place of honor in that glass case. I seldom would rebody one of them as there is something about preserving that aesthetic that won't let me modify them. 

One thing that finding the doll community on the internet with all of the wonderfully posed pictures and creative story telling and simply sharing a mutual joy of doll play and collecting is that my eyes were opened up to the possibility of telling my own stories and expressing my own creativity through my dolls. I found other adults like me who were not afraid of sharing their love for dolls. I feel as though I have made some truly wonderful friends through this connection. And although I haven't personally met any of you, I still feel that I know more about you and you know more about me than a lot of people I have met face to face! I do hope to meet some of you in person some day! Who knows, maybe at a doll convention or something similar.

Ok, I digress! The point of this post was to share what I believe is sheer articulation perfection! Without further ado, meet the latest additions to my little doll town (Hanaly Corners):

Meet Stephanie (Left) and Mayumi (Right). Just having a little girl talk and wondering about the possibilities of life in Hanaly Corners!

These ladies are both the new Phicen figures with the stainless steel skeleton. So far, these ladies have demonstrated the ultimate in articulation. The movement is like silk -- no clicking or "breaking" sounds, just free movement into a multitude of positions. And the feel of their skin is so realistic! Their bodies have realistic shading and they are anatomically correct! I had to be careful when posing them not to show off some of that correctness! They do not fit into most Barbie clothes, but they are seen here wearing dresses from my Mixis ladies. I do not know yet what their roles will be in Hanaly Corners. Will they be married and/or have children? Will they be single and play the field or will they have boyfriends? Their future remains to be seen! In the meantime, I did a photo shoot with them demonstrating some of the posing possibilities that they have!

Shoes are a bit of challenge for them. Mayumi is wearing a pair of high heeled pumps from IT Color Infusion

Stephanie is wearing a pair of red high heels for Cy Girl I found on eBay.

I hope you found this post interesting. I am going to try to post more often and work more on my town. I do have a lot of work to do and stories to tell!

Thanks for stopping by. I welcome your comments!

W Club Registration Dolls, City Shine Barbies and Latest Fashionistas

I have had these dolls for a while now, but have just gotten around to taking pictures of them. First up are the W Club Registration dolls. Since this is my first year in the W Club, I took full advantage of this opportunity. 

Yup, I got all 3 of the registration dolls. Aristocratic Agnes, Groovy Galore Poppy Parker and Vice Effect Ollie Lawson. 

At first, I was on the fence about getting Aristocratic Agnes. But, I knew this would be my only chance to get her and besides, if she arrived and I didn't like her, I could always sell her. Well, when she arrived and I opened the box to this beauty, I was glad I decided to order her as she definitely did not disappoint. She has a beautiful face, lovely dress and gorgeous blonde hair. Below is a close up of her face.

Next is Groovy Galore Poppy Parker. This is only my second Poppy Parker doll. I also have a Poppy Parker as Corrie Bratter. I am just starting to see the appeal of this doll. I do also have a Darla Daly and Kimiko Gunn from the Poppy Parker line, but I now have 2 actual Poppys! I don't think she will be my last! (Of course she won't as I have 2 more on order - Mood Changers and Hippy Dippy!)

The last doll of the registration dolls is Vice Effect Ollie Lawson. He definitely is modeled after Don Johnson of the old Miami Vice series. He is a handsome blonde fellow and he already has many of my ladies talking about him. They are not exactly thrilled that he arrived with a woman on each arm, but I am sure they won't let them stand in their way! Just look into those baby blue eyes and I dare ya not to swoon!

From Barbiecollector.com, I ordered all 4 of the 2015 City Shine Barbies and the latest Grace and the Redheaded Fashionistas. I have not yet deboxed the Barbie City Shine doll, so I did not photograph her at this time. 

"Purple" has the Aphrodite face mold and the most glorious curly red hair. I rebodied her on a hybrid body from a Resort Style Barbie and the legs from a Barbie Director. Usually, I am not able to get the Model Muse dresses on a regular Barbie body, but in this case, the dress fits just fine. "Red" has the Lea/Kayla face mold and has been rebodied on an Elvis Barbie Pivotal body. I love her hair, which has been shampooed and conditioned. "Pink" has the Pazette face mold and has been rebodied on a Style Grace body. Her dress also fits her very well on her new body. 

I also got the 2 latest Barbie Fashionistas from Barbiecollector.com. The latest Grace and the new Redhead. 

The Redhead has been rebodied on a Style Barbie body and Grace has been rebodied on a Baby Phat Grace body.  

Here are some additional shots of the dolls from Barbiecollector.com.

 "Red" is long and lanky! I just love this outfit! She will fit right in with the other models in Hanaly Corners.

 Grace and "Pink" stop to pose for a picture together.

 These 2 redhead look like they might be related! Maybe sisters?!

 "Purple" stops to pose for an individual shot. She is very beautiful after all!

Uh oh, "Pink" saw this new fellow arrive and she grabbed onto him right away. This is Djimon Hounsou from "The Guardians". Hmmm, do you think she will be able to keep him to herself once they join the other residents of Hanaly Corners???

Dasia's New Wardrobe

Thanks to Vanessa from Van's Doll Treasures, Dasia's wardrobe has grown significantly. She has incredible handiwork and I (well Dasia) have certainly taken advantage of that fact. If you haven't done so already, you should check out her Etsy shop. In addition to buying from Vanessa's line of custom Dasia clothing, I also purchased a couple of Groovy Girl outfits for her. She was more than happy to put on a little fashion show for you and her hubby!

First, the clothing from Vanessa's fashion line:

Red skirt with red blouse with white polka dots

Red floral print dress with blue ribbon belt

White V Neck top with Navy skirt with white polka dots

Black & White print top with black skirt. This is one of my favorites!

Animal print night gown Dasia's husband really likes this one - He wanted to give a special thanks to Vanessa for this one!

I also purchased a denim skirt from Vanessa. in the next couple of photos, I am pairing the skirt with Ken shirts I purchased on ebay that fit Dasia very nicely.

Now for the Groovy Girl outfits!

Here is a pair of pajamas from Groovy Girl

Here is a blue jean outfit from Groovy girl.  Note that the jeans don't close all the way in the back, but since it is covered by the top, it is not noticeable.

I also paired the Groovy Girl jeans with some of the shirts from the eBay seller.

With that, our little Dasia fashion show is concluded. Keegan liked all the outfits, but he especially likes the animal print night gown made by Vanessa!

Keegan: Thank you, Vanessa!

I Got a Ruruko!

Some of you may remember that a Ruruko doll was the top item on my Grail list. She sells out very quickly when they go on sale from Petworks, so they are quite expensive in the secondary market. I found one on eBay that was going for a reasonable price. Although she was nude, I jumped on the Buy It Now option and she arrived in my home yesterday. I dressed her in a mini AG dress and shoes. Isn't she adorable?

She very quickly made friends with my homemade Ruruko (the Momoko/Pure Neemo hybrid). 

Before I found the Ruruko doll, I had ordered several Licca heads to go on the XS Pure Neemo bodies I had previously purchased.  I now have 5 new girls and 1 new boy for Ruruko to be friends with.

Ruruko is so happy to be meeting so many new friends. They all cannot wait to get their names and find out what families they will be in. In the meantime, I think they will have fun playing with one another!

World Doll Day Tag

I got tagged by Jaye at Jaye's Doll Space and Farrah Lily at Cozy Comforts and Dolls. I had never heard of this before, but, thanks to Jaye for her research, I now know what it is! 

For this tag, you are requested to:

1. List 3 favorite dolls from the ones you got last year
2. List 3 dolls currently on your wish list
3. Tag 5 people to do the same thing

So for my favorite dolls, this was difficult to make the choices since I did get so many in 2014. Let's face it, I went a little crazy! Here is what I have narrowed it down to these 3 selections:

The Dhoom:3 dolls which I was able to purchase from a seller in India. This guy was such pleasure to do business with. I wish I had taken pictures of the packaging, because it was amazing! And the shipping was free to, so I was so very happy!

Tenzin and Ayumi from the FR 2014 Convention (purchased on the secondary market). These 2 are a power couple!

Last, but not at all least, I purchased this Wildflower doll. She is named after my sister Margie who passed away in 1969 of leukemia. This doll is very special!

Now for my wish list. I actually have rather large wish list, but these are definitely my top 3 on my list.  

1. Any Ruruko doll! This little girl doll is so full of cuteness, I just have to have one! She is Momoko's little sister.
2. A tall, dark and hadsome male Wildflower doll
3. Any OOAK creation (male or female) from Emmajude or Doll Anatomy.

Here are the friends I am tagging. If you have been tagged before, you only need to do it once! Have fun!

1. Muff
2. Mustitwait
3. Jewell
4. Brini
5. Miranda

Quick Update

Just wanted to touch bases with you guys real quick as I may be absent from the web for a while. Tomorrow I am going in for a procedure on my bladder. It is supposed to be a very quick insertion of some implants that are supposed to make my bladder function better. 

Sometime after that, I will be set up for a trial procedure (assuming the insurance company approves) to put in a spinal cord stimulator. This is supposed to help with my back and lower extremities pain. The goal is to make my pain at least 50% better and to give me some of my mobility back. If the trial works, then I will get a permanent implant. I am a little nervous, but I want to be able to do more things including getting downstairs to work on my doll projects.

So far, I have breast implants and 16 sets of screws in my upper and lower back. With these additions, maybe I will soon be bionic! Sometimes I wish I could just do a body swap like we do with our dollies!