Nothing Like a New Outfit

Mr. BTEG and I had to go to Wal-Mart a couple of months ago to pick up something he needed. I of course hung out in the doll aisle while he was shopping, and I found two outfits and an accessories pack that I had to bring home.

Rainbow High fans have been begging MGA for years for separate outfits (for that matter, most doll collectors want these.) What we got, however, was not the same fashionable, detailed looks that Rainbow High was known for, but simple sets that looked one step up from dollar store quality. To my mind, the pajamas set is the pick of the bunch. Meet my model, Priscilla.

 

Are these slippers cute, or nightmare fuel?

 

I got Priscilla for Christmas, but I've been terrible about blogging about my new dolls. I'll talk about what she came dressed in on another post. For now, she's warm and cozy and ready to hit the sack. The set also came with four barrettes, and a hair straightener and curling brush.

The pajamas are adorable, and we don't often see nightwear made for our dolls, so they're nice to have, anyway.

Next is an accessory set for Barbie, that mostly centers around sweets. Barbie chose this sleeveless plaid dress to model. What's up with the shoes, though? They look like you'd wear them with another type of outfit. I was worried Barbie might be as messy with ice cream cones as I am, but she's Barbie. She doesn't get messy. And her hair bow coordinates nicely with her outfit.

Next is a blue Popsicle, with heart-shaped glasses and an ice-cream shaped purse. That's a lot of sweets there, Barbie.

I don't gain weight, either.

The watch looks nice in this picture, but as gravity will have it, the heaviest part of this watch (the face) will slide around to the underside of Barbie's wrist unless she's posed just right.

Lastly is this all-purple beverage, a pink tote with a faux fluffball key chain and a faux cupcake key chain, and a strawberry-shaped wristlet.

 

It's a cute accessories pack, and everything in it is useful except for the watch. I guess the ice cream purse is a bit weird too. It doesn't look like something that you could carry anything in.

A new doll line has been produced, by a company named Far Out Toys. As you might be able to read on the box, the doll line is named LUV, which stands for Limitless Unique Vibrant. I'm guessing that the VP Sharon Zuckerman is probably the same one who used to design for Mattel, so that's interesting. However, the name of the line reminds me way too much of the late lamented LIV doll line. If someone produces a group of dolls named LAF, I'm going to riot.

There are four core dolls, and each also has a separate outfit made for her. At least they have the separate outfits thing going for them. Problem is, despite wanting to go with a fashion forward concept, and having a fashion show where human models showcased all of the outfits in human sizes, some of the concepts are a bit dated and don't always make a cohesive look, in my opinion. My favorite outfit is the one that I bought that was made for the doll named Autumn. I was hoping that my Pullip could pull this outfit off, but instead, the only doll body type I own that can fit into this is Ever After High. Ashlynn Ella is a great model, since she has the same basic coloring as Autumn.

This outfit has a boho feel, which makes sense, since Autumn is "the boho one." It also gives me images of strolling through Rome; perhaps some of that is because of the bag that this outfit came with, and the rose neck accessory. The shoes that were included do not fit Ashlynn, so I tried a couple of EAH shoes with her look.

Bon giorno. Il mio nome è Ashlynn. Mi piacciono le tue scarpe.

I'm impressed by the tulip sleeve in such a tiny blouse, but the (faux) pockets on the boho skirt feel a bit odd.

Her bag looks like a smaller version of a market bag. It's cute, even though her arm has to be posed rather high to keep it from falling off.

The shoes that came with this outfit do fit Barbie, even though they are a bit big for her.  I don't know how I would like them with the other pieces in this look. What do you think?

Do you have a favorite from my three new sets? I'm happy with all of them, even if I don't find every piece useful. Isn't that always the way? I'd like to get some sewing for dolls done this year and create my own things. The hottest days of around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32C) this summer have really been tiring me out. Thank goodness for air conditioning, and that the temps haven't been even higher.

Real Littles Hello Kitty Backpacks

I love the brands like Real Littles and Zuru 5 Surprise that are producing mini items. When I saw these two Hello Kitty backpacks at Aldi, I had to buy them. They won't work with Barbie, but I decided that they were just about right for Ann Estelle and her friends. Ann and Dotty are today's models. One of the backpacks features just Hello Kitty, and the other has her and several of her Sanrio friends. 

Here's what came inside each of the backpacks: a notebook with blank pages, a pencil case, a pencil, a ruler, two sheets of stickers, a carabiner (not made for climbing) and an eraser in Hello Kitty's iconic head shape with bow.

Everything in these sets is just so nice and well thought-out. All the zippers and sliders open. The pink backpack doesn't have the zippered pouch in front, but the top part of Hello Kitty's head in the front is open, to allow for more carrying space.

Here Ann thinks about what she wants to write in her new notebook.

And here she is walking off to school with her new backpack. She's so adorable in these pictures, if I do say so myself. :)

And now I think they need at least two school desks! It's not a normal time here to be posting school items, since schools here are almost out for the summer. I just bought these, though, so of course I wanted to share. What minis are your favorites of all the new stuff being made? I think I like all the mini Fisher-Price toys. They're on my wishlist.

Doll Show - Toledo, Ohio - April 27th, 2024

I see by one of Tam's latest posts that she was here too. We were hoping to bump into each other, but it was not to be this time. Fortunately for me, the photos that I took are almost completely different from hers, although I took a lot fewer.

This table near the front attracted me, because the dealer arranged some of her dolls in a holiday type theme. I took pictures of Easter and Independence Day displays. I know RagingMoon likes the red, white and blue, and I do as well.

 

 

This was technically a Doll and Bear Show (most of them are around here) and there were plenty of stuffed animals for sale. The adorable bunnies appear to mostly be Steiffs. I'm not sure who manufactured all of the cats, but I'm guessing that the Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood character Daniel Striped Tiger was a cousin of one of these felines. (By the way, Daniel's middle name is pronounced like bi-ped.) At least one seems to have the Steiff logo, so they may all be Steiff animals too.

When Mr. BTEG and I were in Hamburg for several weeks, one of our favorite places to visit was a local toy store. Mr. BTEG loved the LEGO and building toys, and I looked at all the dollhouses, but we each ended up with a Steiff animal too. The new ones at least are a lot cheaper there, although I suppose ours are vintage now, since they're over 30 years old. Yikes! I got a sweet stuffed lamb named Laemmchen, which literally means Little Lamb. Not very creative, I know, but it suits her. She measures around 7" inches long.

This dealer is building up her own Tammy army. Barbie, Midge and Ken are not very far behind, but no match for the wall of Tammy.

There were very few modern dolls compared to the vintage and antique dolls. There was one Ellowynne. I was tempted by the Mattel Teen Trends Gabby to the bottom right behind Ellowynne, but her white pants were badly yellowed.

I also saw my first Leeann doll in person. Leeann is a doll created by Canadian doll enthusiast and creative, Denis Bastien. He was mostly involved with doll sewing until he got the idea to create his own doll, a girl with endless energy and curiosity. Leeann was eventually joined by a whole group of friends. I have linked to his website, but there will be nothing on it until August 15th, as he has journeyed to France for the summer. Leeann is about 12" tall, if I remember correctly. Judging by her box, this particular doll was a UFDC convention souvenir.

I saw one My Child doll, a boy in a very pastel get-up.

I loved this doll, but also her outfit. When you get closer to her, you see that her jacket is a very tiny check pattern.

I took a few pictures of dolls to share with people. The Disney Fairies were for my youngest daughter, who loved the Disney Fairies series when she was a girl. I think these were Disney Store exclusives.

And the Terri Lee dolls photo is for RagingMoon, who shared pics of her own Terri Lee recently. My favorites here are the one in the blue velvet coat, and the one in plaid.

Unlike Tam, I did not buy any dolls. I don't have the money or proper storage space for antique or vintage dolls that I would consider right now, and antique and vintage were the huge majority of this show. I didn't see any newer dolls or clothes that I couldn't live without, either. I did buy three pieces of doll jewelry, though. Cecilia from Rainbow High will be my model, as she was handy and has appropriate clothes that won't detract from the baubles. I got a pair of blue teardrop earrings. Cecilia is merely holding one up to her ear. The posts are very long, and I'm not ready to trim them until I figure out which type of dolls will be wearing these.

 

The chain is also rather long on this necklace with the porcelain rose pendant. You can see it to Cecilia's right going down her back, if you look. This means a larger doll will probably get to wear this.

Lastly is this petit point pin. This is also a little bit large for a 1/6" scale doll, but I love petit point, so I had to get this. It will certainly look nice on a Tonner size doll. It's even about the same size as a petit point pin and earrings which are supposed to be for humans. My set is also vintage now.

Sadly, most of these dealers at this show seemed to be based out of Michigan or thereabouts, which is further west from me than Toledo, so I won't see many of these people in Strongsville at the next doll show there. It was an hour and a half drive from home, and I think any large area in Michigan might be a bit too far for a day drive. If I want to go to something badly enough, Mr. BTEG and I can always make a vacation out of it, I suppose. What would you most want to see/purchase at a doll show?

Totality's Best Seat - April 8th, 2024

That was an advertising phrase that was used around here, as a way to promote this area as a good place to observe the latest solar eclipse. Here in the Cleveland, Ohio area, we did indeed get a 100 percent totality view of the eclipse, and there were people from various other states who converged here in Cleveland. Mr. BTEG got the best shots of the eclipse. I did get a few shots of the area around us, taken with my phone camera (but not looking directly at the sun.) :)

The pictures make it look hazy and cloudy, but it was really a beautifully clear day. It was quite an unusual day for NE Ohio in April, which was appreciated all the more because of the eclipse viewing. Full totality started at 3:15 PM EST, and lasted for three minutes.

As it got progressively darker, the street lights and lights on people's garages started to come on. We also heard bird song. I've read that elsewhere people heard crickets, but it is too cold for crickets here right now. As totality occurred, we could hear a chorus of "ohs" from around the neighborhood, along with applause and some fireworks.

My husband got these fantastic shots of the actual eclipse by using the lens of one of our eclipse glasses in front of his camera lens. This is what we saw when we looked directly at the eclipse using our glasses. The first one is when the moon had started to move into position in front of the sun. The second one is full totality. It got so cold during totality, too! One minute, I was comfortable in short sleeves, five minutes later, I was shivering in a hoodie with the hood pulled up.

I did not make eclipse glasses for any of my dolls, or even take any of my dolls out for the view, like Raging Moon did. We did meet up later with Mr. BTEG's sister, her husband, and their daughter, who drove out from about an hour and a half away, and spent a few days here in a hotel. They watched the eclipse from the Great Lakes Science Center in downtown Cleveland. We then spent most of the next day together shopping, and Mr. BTEG and I were both completely worn out yesterday, thus the lateness of this post.

Raging Moon will probably also get a kick out of the fact that people were jokingly attributing the beautiful weather to the spirit of Dick Goddard, longtime Cleveland, Ohio weatherman. Not only did he create and host the very popular Woollybear Festival, he was also a strong advocate for animal protection, and holds the Guinness World Record for longest career as a weather forecaster.

Hoping to bring more doll content soon!

Rainbow High Color & Create Fair Skin

This Color & Create doll was one of the ones that I received for Christmas. The idea behind this wave was that the doll owner can customize the outfit and hair with the included washable markers, wash the color out, and make a new design. In practice, I've heard that the marker doesn't complete wash out of the hair. There were three dolls in this wave, with three different skin tones and eye colors.

In keeping with the plain white of their attire and hair, the dolls don't have any makeup on. A lot of people liked this aesthetic. I do as well. Her hands are also plain, with no long nails or nail polish. You'll see the difference between this, and some of the other dolls, in upcoming reviews.

Here's how she looked in the box. The section where her hair is flattened out to show a rainbow design (plastic over the hair) is gelled stiff, so she definitely needs a hair wash. I decided to photograph her as she came, though.

Her jeans have real front pockets, and Rainbow High on one leg, in white. I wasn't planning on dying any of the clothes that she came with, but I may dye the jeans. The white pants are a little too see-through to me.

This is her second top, and the second pair of shoes. The white heels are pretty bland. The tennis shoes have detail on the front and back. I like her white scrunchie. I wish I had more of those.

In my opinion, she's a very pretty doll. She's a fun contrast from other Rainbow High dolls, and basic clothes are always useful if you're going for modern styles. A lot of collectors are having fun dying this wave of dolls' hair and clothes, although collectors having been changing hair colors with their other dolls who came with a hair color, and dying clothes too. I've been hesitant to dye anything on my dolls before because I've never dyed anything at all, so I don't have any experience. I'm afraid I would mess something up. Still, as I said, I think I will dye her jeans.

By the way, her name is now Cecilia. 

Total dolls: 87