The Difference New Clothes Can Make

My Tonner Ultra Basic Daphne doll from 2010 came dressed in a white one-piece swimsuit, as befits a basic doll, right? Only, I've been remiss, for various reasons, in sewing many new clothes for my dolls over the years, so poor Daphne has just been wearing her white suit. I still have plans to sew, but I also happened to buy a Tonner brand doll shirt recently, that to me just makes Daphne shine.

I couldn't find Daphne's original white suit. I've made big strides in cleaning up my doll stuff, but obviously I'm not quite there yet! So here's a picture of Daphne, modeling a necklace that I bought at the Tonner convention.

And here's Daphne now, wearing the new shirt that I bought (not at the convention), with a basic black skirt.
It may be more obvious in person (and with better lighting!) but I couldn't help but love how much more Daphne is a standout in her new shirt.

And it's also nice quality, with snaps up the back instead of Velcro.

So Daphne's happy, I'm happy, and the other girls want new clothes too! I'm looking forward to making that happen.

And since I'm talking Tonner doll clothes, I read online that Tonner 16" dolls can wear some of the Teen Trends doll clothes, so I decided to try it out. It seems Ellowyne dolls are more like Teen Trends dolls in figure, but Tyler looks nice in this skirt from Teen Trend Courtney's Night Out pack.

It's big at the waist, but would look nice with a pullover top of some type to cover that. However, I was having problems with the tulle trim at the bottom of the skirt. It is supposed to show, but I was having problems making it hang properly. Oh well.

I have my eye on a table top photo studio set on Amazon. It seems to be the best way to get proper lighting for my pictures. Thanks to blogging, I've been taking pictures of my dolls again, and just enjoying my collection more, so I'd like to have proper equipment for the photography now. Something new to try out!

Improving Storage For Doll Items

In my experience, doll collecting is a lot more fun if you can easily find what you want, whether that is a new outfit, some jewelry, or even a backdrop or prop for display or photography. I wanted to show some pictures of a couple of changes I've made recently in how I store things related to my dolls.

First of all, I found a few double-decker small storage containers at Target. Unfortunately, these were being clearanced out, but there are probably similar storage items out there. I also picked up some more round stackable containers which are generally sold as a way to store beads for crafting. I already had some of those to store small snaps for doll sewing, but I've decided I also like them as a place to store doll jewelry, and some small accessories like sets of doll dishes. In so doing, I managed to cut down space in at least one of my doll drawers. I went from this:

to this:

The new containers are on top of the old container to show how much less space the new stuff takes

And since my drawer is deep enough to stack the two rectangular boxes on top of each other, it takes up even less space. Coincidentally, most of my 16" size doll shoes fit really well height wise and width wise in this container. In this picture you'll see how a row of shoes fits nicely in the box, with another row of shoes lined up the same way on the other side of the box. The shoes in the top box are loose because most of them are too tall to stand up.

Next, I've never really had a single place to store clothes for my 11 1/2" dolls. They've just been stuck in several plastic storage boxes, since I didn't have anything big enough to hold them all, especially the large, poofy princess dresses. What I ended up getting was an ArtBin Super Satchel. I consider it worth it just because I won't have to buy anything else to store 11 1/2" doll clothes in for a long time. As you can see in my picture, I haven't used very many of the separators available for this box. I might put another separator in on the right side, and put tops and jackets in the new, smaller space, and pants and shorter dresses in the second space. Right now, I also have Stacie size clothes in the top left. In the top right section, for now, are larger shoes, the ones made for My Scene dolls, that I want to keep. I also have my one pair of Liv doll shoes in there as well. I'd like to find a doll who can wear them, and who fits in my collection.

Lastly, like some of you, I've been buying more and more pieces of scrapbook paper, both to use for photo backdrops, and as wall paper and flooring in some of my smaller rooms.

After a couple of pieces of paper got a bit crumpled, I gave in and bought a case specifically for storing scrapbook paper. Sometimes I do hate spending money on storage instead of dolls, or doll furniture or jewelry or clothes, etc.! But protecting and storing what you've got is important as well, so I got a case.

I'd been in a storing-things-the-same-way-forever rut. It was nice to make some changes for the better. And in the end, it works towards the same goal of enjoying what I already have in my doll collection. Do you have any clever ways to store things?

Rebodying Belle, and Ever After High Book Party Ginger Breadhouse

I've started getting into the trend of rebodying dolls with the new Barbie Made to Move bodies. However, the first doll I picked to rebody was an older doll, a Mattel Belle doll from... quite a while back. I have many dolls that would be fun to have out again, if they were a little more posable, including this one. I did have to wash Belle's hair, to clean out the rubber band that had dried out and stuck to her hair. I haven't managed to make her hair behave enough to avoid using a rubber band completely.

First, here's Belle dressed as a modern young woman. I quickly discovered that this top sheds sparkles.

She has the ability to actually carry books now. :)

And here she is in her original clothes. The dress is too big in the bust now, but it works. Now she has the ability to offer tea to a visitor to the castle.

And she can reenact scenes from the movie.

Below the fold, I'm going to put pictures of another older doll of mine who could really use a rebody, and my new Ever After High doll.

OG LORI and Basic Ever After High Dolls at Target

I could write a bunch of explanations, but let's just say that between my daughter's recital, and spending some of the Independence Day holiday out and having fun with real people, there hasn't been a lot of dolly stuff going on. I did buy a few things I will share pictures of later this month; I'm *still* working on making my sewing and doll areas better organized. In the meantime, I saw some pretty nice new outfits on some of the OG LORI dolls at Target.

These three dolls were in the OG mini doll ballet studio. I'm thinking this was not marketing as much as a little girl "playing" with the dolls in the store.

The LORI line seems to be headed toward fall outfits. Is this actual planning, or just what they decided to produce next?

Some of these clothing pieces are cute, but I don't want the dolls. It is a very, very common complaint, though, that there not enough individual outfits produced, instead of dolls with outfits. However, I did end up not very thrilled with the LORI outfit that I bought to review, last year. If I see a 6" doll outfit that I want badly enough, I'll buy the dressed doll, keep the new outfit and donate the doll and the outfit I don't want to the Salvation Army or something.

I do feel like Our Generation missed the boat somewhat with LORI. They released some of the cars, campers, houses and furniture to some stores, right before Christmas, but never completely stocked them, leaving customers really interested in buying and not being able to. Even now, the LORI stuff is still just on an endcap, and there's usually only one camper, patio set, etc. when I look. I also still occasionally see people asking scalper prices for these items on eBay. In my opinion, OG should have introduced a new furniture set or a mini camping accessories set or something to keep people talking about the brand, after the Christmas fiasco. The posts I wrote about the LORI dolls are two of the most heavily visited posts of the ones I've written, so people were interested in this stuff. We'll see in the fall if they bring something new and exciting out for the Christmas season.

Speaking of brands, the Ever After High brand has been going through a lot of changes recently. Most of the EAH stuff that I saw at Target is on clearance. The only new dolls are the basics with the new smiling faces. I don't mind the basic line, as I'm sure it's profitable to have low costs EAH dolls available. As I've already talked about, I also bought two basic ballet dolls to do head swaps for the new faces. I don't mind the new faces either, although to me, they look more like younger siblings to the original dolls, and they may become siblings in my EAH collection. I do still want to see higher-priced doll waves, some with the older faces.

I've read people's opinions that while a smile is perfectly in character for Maddie, who is a Wonderlandian and enjoys craziness, Apple doesn't seem like she smiles much. I must admit I've watched all the EAH webisodes, and Apple does smile a lot, although a lot of times, it's in the prom queen/royal wave kind of way. Here Apple just looks like a little girl who wants to play. Then again, if their target audience for these dolls is three or four years old, that kind of friendly smiling face is probably appealing.

I also found a smiling Raven, although my pic is blurry. Even Raven does smile in the webisodes, though!

Maddie looks like she has molded on white tights. That seems a shame for the little girls who do like to redress these dolls.

When EAH was first produced, I thought Mattel was going to follow some of the same themes as Monster High. I thought maybe we'd see an Art Class wave, maybe a Magic Spell/"Science" wave. Most of the waves we've gotten recently seem to revolve around the latest Netflix movie release, and I've heard there will be no more Netflix releases after Epic Winter. I have no idea what direction the EAH brand will take, but there are still a *lot* of dolls that could be made. The reroot/repaint artists out there are already making dolls that older fans want to see, so I'm sure at least some of the dolls that people want to see will be produced, in one way or another.

ETA: I forgot I was going to include this picture I took at a Toys 'R Us, of a first and second release signature Darling Charming. As you can see, the newer release (on the left side) is lacking the bracelet and the paint on her neckpiece, that the Darling doll on the right has. Re-releasing signature EAH dolls with fewer details is not winning Mattel any friends, either.

Quick Review of EAH Ballet Holly O'Hair, With an Appearance by Signature Holly

I'm not in favor of the direction that the Ever After High dolls seem to be moving in. Too many of them have next to no articulation, and molded bodices and legs. While the newest Signatures are similar to the original waves, even there the new dolls are missing several items, like earrings, that were included with older dolls. But since the new ballet line, featuring Apple, Holly and Briar, is quite inexpensive, at $5 a doll, I sprung for Ballet Holly and Briar just to get the new faces. Just so you know, the ballet dolls do NOT come with stands. I used one just to make picture taking easier.

Basic, basic, basic. Holly's arms don't even move out to her sides.

Holly's molded on bodice follows her theme with the flowers and braided trim.

The molded legs are gorgeous, but bending knees would have been nice.

Her hair isn't a bun so much as a roll.

She can't even sit well, not just because of how her legs stick out, but because her torso and legs can't quite make a 90 degree angle.

These new faces have appeared at the same time as the new faces for Monster High. I don't think there's as much difference between the EAH faces as between the new MH faces, though. Here's signature Holly with Ballet Holly.

Our ballerina's head is smaller, and she wears less makeup. Honestly, I think Mattel would only have had to put a little more curve at the sides of the lips on the molds they already had to give our EAH girls a smiling face. Maybe little girls also liked the smaller head when they did market research?

These dolls are fine for play by very young girls, and the price reflects the simplicity of the doll. I just hope the entire line doesn't go this route. After all the time and money Mattel has put into the storylines and the "themes" for each doll, it seems a waste to dial these dolls down for the younger set. The new signatures are okay, although lacking some of the details that the earlier waves had, that made them stand out. They're also lacking the diaries that came with every doll, which makes sense if the target age can't read very well yet, or read at all. In some ways the new Epic Winter line is an Epic Fail, though. Molded leggings (although with bending knees), less jewelry and fewer painted details make these dolls compare poorly to waves like Spring Unsprung or even Dragon Games. If Mattel makes more money overall selling to a younger age group, though, simpler is how it will be. I guess older EAH collectors will have to pick up older dolls they haven't bought yet, and/or work on customization.

Speaking of ballet, my youngest daughter the Dancer expressed an interest in Ballet Holly. Since I was already planning to do a head swap, the Dancer will get a new Spring Unsprung Holly's head on the ballet body. She also loves her Misty Copeland doll, which she received on Sunday. Misty is going to stay in the box.

2016 Tonner Convention -- What I Brought Home!

I meant to get this post up several days ago, but it turned out to be more work than I thought it would, getting everything unpacked, sorted out and photographed. It didn't help that my sewing/doll area was in a shambles from deciding what I should take with me to the convention. Also, it didn't seem like I brought a lot home, but it seemed like an awful lot when I went to take pictures of all of it!

Let's start with the dessert event on the first night. In addition to a chance to buy the centerpiece, the doll I've already shown, everyone received a 17" DeDe Denton doll. Half of the dolls were fair with blond hair, and half of the dolls had browner skin, and dark hair. It was pure chance which doll you received, as they were wrapped in paper, and laid out on the tables. I got the blond one. She's already moved on to a new home, as I'm not fond of the DeDe Denton line. A lot of it, I think, is because I don't like her heavy black eyeliner. I'm also not in to rooted eyelashes.

That night the sales rooms were open after dessert. I was a bit disappointed, as they were rather small. Not only were there not a lot of tables, but there was not a lot of room to move around. Marcia was there, and I bought two hair barrettes for my dolls from her, as well as a working umbrella, 6" tall. I was also interested in buying a tiara, but she didn't have the space to have everything on show, and I decided to wait until the doll show on Sunday to look at more.

Something told me that this star barrette would look nice on Meg. She loves it.

This circle barrette doesn't look as good as I thought it would, using Basic Daphne as a model.

It suits this Sydney better, with her thicker, curly locks.

It will be difficult to get the strap around the umbrella, back through the buckle.

Pretty much like a real umbrella!

The more articulated dolls can even look like they're holding it!

At another table, there was a basket of random Tonner clothes, which two women were already rummaging through. I waited for a few minutes, then got impatient and moved in a little to start my own search. I practically grabbed this dress out of a woman's hands when I recognized it! She was in the process of putting it back in the basket, though, so it didn't turn all Black Friday-ish. :) I got the dress, originally made for a Patsy doll, for $3. It was a fantastic deal!

There was another Patsy two piece outfit in the basket, but it was made of a rather thin feeling material, and I didn't love it, so I passed on it.

You already know about the Ann Estelle doll that I bought. Here's some decent pictures of her, and a picture of her next to her "older" sister, an unarticulated Ann from the first time the Mary Engelbreit line was produced.

Poor Ann-on-the-left's wig is just not as nice as Ann-on-the-right's.

The lace-trimmed petticoat beneath Ann's dress was made with too much material, so that the fabric folds up on itself. I suspect that the petticoat was designed before the velveteen was picked to be the dress fabric. The petticoat just can't hold up the weight of that heavy material.

Oh, also, everyone had table napkins at the Ann Estelle luncheon that matched the print of 18" Ann's plaid skirt. I forgot to take pictures of those, but they're just pieces of fabric. I collected a couple from other people who didn't want theirs, and no, they hadn't used them. :) There were regular napkins at the table as well. I'll use the fabric to make something for my 10" dolls at some point. Here's the picture of 18" Ann on our table.

At the formal dinner event on the last evening, there was a small jewelry box at every place setting. This contained a necklace and a pair of earrings sized for the 16" dolls, or possibly the 17" ones too.

In the human sized silver tote bag that everyone received at registration, there was one doll accessory, along with a few other items like our name tag. I don't know if everyone got the same thing that I received. In mine was a red purse with white bows, made for the Ellowyne Wilde line.

And at last came the Mid-Ohio Doll Show! Tam has explained how much bigger the show used to be, on her blog. Here, I think there were only four aisles, with tables on either side. It took place in what had been the room where we had our meals at the convention, so if you've seen anybody's pictures of that entire place, you can tell how relatively small the room was. Not only that, but the aisles were pretty crowded. Plus, chairs for the vendors to sit on were not behind or next to the tables, but in front of them, which blocked some of the merchandise. Honestly, knowing that Marcia (see above) has an online store, I passed on buying anymore of her items. It wasn't her fault, but she was standing right in front of the tiara display, digging through a box for a customer, while a man was on one knee, stretched out to look at something, right behind her. And her chair was on the other side of her. I waited for a couple of minutes, but I didn't want to wait too long for something I can get at my leisure later on (and also when I've saved more money up!)

One of my biggest priorities was shoes for Ann Estelle and the gang. Having bought so many nude dolls, several of the poor girls had bare feet! Clothes I can make, but shoes are more difficult. I ended up picking up a pair of white Mary Janes, a pair of black T-straps, and two pairs of sneakers. The shoes were not specifically made for the 10" Tonners, and are a little roomy. On the other hand, the shoes with buckles slip on easily that way, and I don't want to mess with tiny buckles anymore than I have to.

I also bought a couple of pieces of doll jewelry, only I made a mistake there. For some reason, I thought the numbers written on the front of the package were the size doll they were for. Turns out, it was the chains that were 6" and 11" long. Oops. I can put them on new chains, or something. I also need to do something about the earrings I bought. Both the hooks are way too long, and oddly shaped.

Lastly, I got to meet a real life fellow doll blogger! I met up with Tam, of Planet of the Dolls, at the doll show, and then we had lunch before I had to head back north. It was so nice to talk to someone who likes dolls, as I do, and is a nice person besides! Here's the "selfie" that I took.

I've enjoyed sharing my experiences with you fellow collectors out there! Thank you for reading through my posts!