My Collection Part Nineteen: Madame Alexander Travel Friends

There aren't going to be any new pictures of these dolls. I bought them back in 2015, so even if you saw the posts when I reviewed the dolls, you've probably forgotten about them, and what they looked like. I reviewed them in great detail; unfortunately, there were a lot of flaws in the dolls, clothes, and box art. If you're interested, check out Germany and Ireland here, and Italy, Kenya and Russia here.

Here are the five dolls together.

Top from left to right: Italy, Russia, Kenya

Bottom from left to right: Germany, Ireland

The Germany doll, who I named Gretel, is wearing mini AG Felicity's dress, because her own outfit is just horrible. The shirt was too short, and the lederhosen were too baggy, and the straps were too tight when I tried to sit Gretel down. Plus her shoes were huge on her, as opposed to the other dolls. I guess that's because she came wearing stockings, which none of the other dolls did.

So ein Pech

The girls' clothes also had huge tags in them, that could stick out from the outfit.

 

When I re-read my reviews, I didn't remember how much I had really savaged some of the aspects of these dolls. However, I only paid $10 or so for each doll, and overall they *are* cute. They kind of remind of dolls like the Kruselings, only about 2" or 5cm shorter. I think I like my dolls' overall look better, actually. It's just too bad that Madame Alexander, a doll manufacturer name associated with quality, produced dolls with so many issues. This type of doll, which they also tried to use for a princess line, and a NASCAR line (so odd!) didn't sell very well, and few doll styles made it to stores.

Total dolls: 82

My Collection Part Seventeen: Tonner Kripplebush Kids, and Ashton Drake Gene Marshall Croquet Set

Kripplebush Kids are 8" dolls that were created by Robert Tonner in the 1990s. They have hard plastic bodies and heads, are strung, and have sleep eyes. Some of the dolls produced wore modern little girl clothes, but the ones in my collection all came wearing antique fashions.

I don't know why that middle picture turned out darker. I tried taking pictures again, and they were still dark. I had problems getting this photo shoot together, so after two tries I just want to get this post up. First I forgot my mini SD card downstairs. Then I had to find my mini SD card somewhere on my desk. Then I realized that I had another Kid tucked away in a drawer (the one with the hat and croquet mallet and ball.) Then I realized that she had accessories, and had to remember where I put them. Fortunately for me, I remembered that all my Kids' accessories and extra clothes were put away neatly in this Ginny wardrobe. I kept dropping things (that's a part of every photo shoot, to be honest.) Argh.

Here is a Kid with some of my similar size dolls for comparison: Eden Madeline, Madame Alexander Travel Friends Ireland, and mini American Girl Samantha.

Speaking of Madame Alexander, I see a resemblance between these dolls and the ubiquitous Madame Alexander 8" dolls. I don't know the story behind the creation of the Kripplebush Kids at all, though. There were some Kids dolls that were pictured in a Tonner catalog and never produced. The Kripplebush Kids body was supposedly later used for the bratty child star Merli Stimple character in the Gowns by Anne Harper 16" doll collection by Tonner. However, Merli appears all vinyl, with a new face mold and painted on eyes.

Lastly, since one of the dolls above has that really cute croquet mallet and ball as accessories, I though this was as good a place as any to show a picture of my treasured 1/4 scale Ashton Drake croquet set for the Gene Marshall collection. It featured in a story about Gene playing croquet with some of the Hollywood set and talked about her grandfather Gene teaching her to play croquet (if I remember correctly.) Since croquet was so popular in the mid-1800s into the early 1900s, someday I want to dress some of my 16" dolls in antique gowns (maybe 1860s) and pose them playing a game. Of course, I should get some male dolls to play as well, since part of the popularity of croquet way back when, I have read, was the chance to mingle with the opposite sex. When has that not been popular?

Sydney contemplates how to challenge the handsome young Lord Dawlish. And how to win the croquet game as well.

The BTEG family is going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. If I don't get any kind of Thanksgiving doll diorama up, I will at least be taking a doll to the restaurant, I think.

Total dolls: 76

October Instagram Challenge Day 8: Pumpkins

I took this picture at the same time that I went to the farmer's market/pumpkin patch for my Day 5 picture. The white "pumpkins" that you see further back are called ghost pumpkins, but I'm pretty sure they're just another type of gourd.

Mr. BTEG dug out his old recipe for homemade pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving, and the pies were a huge hit. We can wait awhile to buy pie pumpkins, though.

ETA: Nope, ghost pumpkins are just albino pumpkins, and they're orange on the inside, to boot.

October Instagram Challenge Day 5: Harvest

I decided that going to the local farm market might be a good place to take a picture with the theme of Harvest. I had my choice for pictures, but I decided to place Masha with the corn. She's one of my Madame Alexander Travel Friends dolls, who hails from Russia. I should have framed this pic better, but I didn't want to stand around too long.

You'll see another pic of Masha at the farm later on in the challenge, but for now, here are a couple of other pics that I took to show some of the other features that a pumpkin farm can include here in Ohio.

Here's a wagon pulling into its "station," which was a bunch of hay bales where people can sit and wait. There's very often a wagon of some kind to take people back to the pumpkin patch to pick their own pumpkin. They can be tractor-drawn or horse-drawn. Just for fun, I'm including a pic of the Dancer, when she came to this same pumpkin patch on a preschool field trip, sixteen years and ten days ago.

Here are some pictures of the corn maze. I got a picture of the entrance, and then played around with the panaroma feature on my phone camera to get a picture of the entire corn field. Apparently it does take a little bit of time to get through the maze.

I also grabbed some produce: apples, grape tomatoes, and mini pumpkins. I like the apples, the Dancer will like the tomatoes, and the mini pumpkins are for decoration. Do you have any special fall produce that you like?

Twelve Days of Christmas - Day Eleven: Madame Alexander Travel Friends

The BTEG family is very interested in foreign languages. Mr. BTEG studied Latin, German and Attic Greek, as well as being exposed to Italian growing up. I studied German and Spanish; Mr. BTEG and I went on a college trip to Germany together. Several of the ornaments on our Christmas tree have greetings in another language, so I thought they would be good for a photo shoot with a couple of my 8" Madame Alexander Travel Friend dolls.

My Germany doll poses with an ornament that says Merry Christmas in German, French, Italian, Spanish and English.

My Italian doll poses with an ornament that came in a series. There are only three ornaments; each has a boy and girl in representative costumes of the chosen country. Each says Peace on Earth on the front in the given language, in this case "Pace al Mondo." All three ornaments say Peace on Earth in English on the back.

Italy was the first one in the series, then Spain, then Poland. I really wish that they would have continued this ornament line longer. Only one day left of the Twelve Days of Christmas!

Happy Easter!

Rabbits are one of the symbols of new life that Easter holds. Mashka is enjoying playing with this mama bunny and her two babies. I hope fellow celebrants of Easter had a good one!

Correction on Madame Alexander Dolls

After looking at several people's shots of the Madame Alexander booth at Toy Fair, I didn't see any of the 7" size dolls like the Travel Friends, and so I thought the line was over. But the Princess line that I saw last year has actually been produced for this year, it would seem. The face mold looks different from the Travel Friends in the promo website pics, except for the Starry Princess, who really looks a lot like the Italy doll, except with a new eye color and a princess outfit. I might pick up a couple; I might not. I'm glad I was wrong about these, anyway.

Thoughts on 2016 Toy Fair

First, let me say that this Toy Fair brought home to me how bad the economy is now. I think that's a big reason why some of my favorite doll manufacturers had very weak offerings. It may also explain why toy lines are focusing on old, proven stuff like Marvel, DC, Disney and Star Wars.

I'm also wondering why I got the best, and fastest, coverage of Jakks Pacific, Mattel, Hasbro and Tonner, from sites that generally focus on comic books and action figures the rest of the year. I definitely appreciated their coverage.

So, Ever After High was apparently not represented at Toy Fair at all. I've seen some pictures elsewhere of new dolls that are supposed to come out in 2016, including some with a new, "friendlier" face mold like Monster High is getting. But if the dolls weren't in the Mattel booth at Toy Fair, there's no guarantees. I can be happy with the Ever After High dolls I have, although there are a few more dolls I want to get, that have already been produced. I'm just sad that the line is not doing well. I don't really like monsters.

Tonner is driving me crazy. I'm interested in a new doll named Miette. There is even an exclusive Miette doll for sale on the Tonner/Wilde Imagination website. But I can't find out any information about her, like how tall she is, or what body type she has. What little I've found out came from eBay auctions selling off the exclusive doll after the Wilde Imagination event in January where she debuted. And I don't trust an eBay auction to be accurate. I feel like her size and body type should at least be included on the page where the one Miette doll is for sale. And it's not. See for yourself. Also, since Miette is in the Wilde Imagination line, I'm thinking the doll won't be at the Tonner convention. Maybe I'll be wrong.

I guess the Madame Alexander Travel Friend doll line is officially dead. I wish MA could have tried to deal with some of the issues, like the strange elbow joint, but that might not have been worth it in the long run.

Lastly, and this is not directly related to Toy Fair, I'm wondering when I'm going to get my Petite Barbie from Mattel. The ordering website still says the doll is slated to be released on 02/01/16. Obviously that hasn't happened, so could I have a more accurate date, Mattel?

100th Post!

I'm terrible at remembering blogiversaries, but since Blogger shows you what number post you're about to write, it's easy to keep track of numbers. Since this is my 100th post, I decided to create collages of pictures from previous posts. I also have a small list of things I'd like to do as the blog moves forward.

1. Be creative! I want to sew doll clothes more often, but I also also want to try painting furniture, and even building a few kits that I have. (They're a secret!) Some disappointing results in the past, and fear of trying new things, have put me off painting and building. I'm ready to try again.

2. Get outside! Now that I have a travel doll, I'd like to get more outdoor shots, and also take her along to places that I visit.

3. Better pictures! I'm almost done clearing out my sewing area/doll display space (they're in the same room.) I still won't have a dedicated space to pose dolls for pictures, but I'm hoping I'll be able to set up backdrops without so much shuffling things around. I could also use some lights specifically for picture taking, but I don't see those in the budget anytime soon.

I'm thankful to all my readers/commenters for reading my posts! I hope that you will all stick around for the next 100!

Our Generation Mini-Dollapalooza at Target

Mini versions of established doll lines have been increasing in popularity, manufacturer after manufacturer getting in on the wave. Madame Alexander Travel Friends are not a mini version of a larger doll, but still a small play doll. There are mini Lalaloopsy dolls, Moxie Girlz, American Girls, Corolle dolls, Kidz and Cats, and Our Generation dolls. They're a great choice for economical doll play, which is probably driving some of the popularity. Now Our Generation has stepped up the mini doll game with a new line, Lori by OG. There are new dolls, new outfit sets, a camper, a home with a loft bedroom, and more!

Let me start with pictures of the new dolls first. A couple of the pictures are blurry; I was in a bit of a hurry. I spend too much time at Target as it is! There are a couple of dolls in dance clothes; there was a space on the shelf for a ballet studio, but it wasn't out on the shelf yet. Dolls with extra accessories seem to cost slightly more, but they're still a good price.

Here's the two outfits that were out. Lovely lace! is a cute outfit, but the white "fur" around the top of the boots is plastic and to me it throws the outfit off. I spot you! is, um, interesting. A spotted fake fur jacket and buffalo check pants? No. Just no. I still have hope for future releases. Individual outfit sets certainly are a nice thing to have, although they don't always sell well.

Let's move on to the camper, or as it says on the tag, a glamper. Glamorous camper, maybe? Ugh. Anyway, the camper looks full of play value, with two beds, a table with booth style seating, and a small kitchen area, with some cooking pieces included. There's also a small camping lantern, and it appears there are parts of the camper that light up. Probably above the kitchen, or maybe above the beds for a little reading before bed. I didn't take the time to study the interior too hard.

The crown jewel of this line is the house. It's got a built-in kitchen, with a bar and a few stools. As you can see in a picture above, there's also a separate bed and dresser set for the loft bedroom, and I think the last flight of stairs goes up to a rooftop patio. The herringbone fabric for the blanket is an interesting choice, but it does kind of fit in with the diamond pattern on the pillows and the dresser, I guess. I would have gone with flowers. :)

Not only do small dolls offer play value for a much lower price than their bigger counterparts, the extra benefit of play sets for the smaller dolls, like this camper and house, is that they take up far less space than the OG camper for the 18" set, or a house for the larger doll. It's interesting to me how the 18" doll grew to be so ubiquitous in the doll world, and now manufacturers are taking that 18" paradigm, and turning it on its head. I'm interested to see where this goes.

New Dress for Madame Alexander Travel Friends, Plus a Furry Life-Size Companion

With the more relaxed pace of summer, and only having one daughter at home, I've been trying to work hard at sewing, in the hopes of opening up an Etsy store for doll clothes soon. Today, I completed a dress that fits the Madame Alexander Travel Friends. I'm not happy with the bunchiness around the sleeves, but I think that was partially from trying to loosen the armseye up a little, because last time I thought it was too tight. I'm such an awful perfectionist, and I need to work through that if I'm going to sell my work. I'll never get anything up for sale if I'm never happy with what I sew.

I really love the dress on Russia. The blue just seems to suit her hair and eyes. I think next I am going to work on making a dress for the Mini AG size. I should be able to tweak this pattern a bit. Believe it or not, the Mini AG has a bigger chest circumference than the Travel Friends, at least the stuffed Minis.

My daughter has been gone all week at a youth conference, so her cat has been following me around for company since her girl was gone. I was taking some pictures on the floor today for an eBay auction, and Agatha decided to insert herself into the photography, as cats do. So here's a picture of one of our beloved kitties.

Madeline's Horse and Carriage by Learning Curve

Between them, Eden and Learning Curve turned out some very nice dolls, pets, clothes, furniture and accessories for the 8" Madeline doll, based on the character who first came to life in a series of books by Ludwig Bemelmans. One of those was a horse and carriage for Madeline and a companion to go driving around the streets of Paris. I love carriages, and Madeline's seemed very nicely made, so after quite a while of looking on and off, I found one. Since Madeline is only 8" (20.3cm), I expected the carriage to be nice, but not exactly very large. Imagine my surprise when I found a box this size at my front door.

It was quite a handful to carry up to my bedroom. I was glad it was easy to get out of the box--four twist ties around the horse's legs, two around the carriage wheel, and a zip tie that can be seen where the dolls' feet would rest.

Madame Alexander Travel Friends Dolls Kenya, Italy and Russia

Remember when I said I would buy more Madame Alexander Travel Friend dolls if they were a good price? They appeared on zulily again, and I bought three more. They ended up being about $10 each including shipping, definitely a nice price for these girls. I'm tired and don't feel up to doing name research right now, so these girls will appear as Kenya, Italy and Russia throughout. There will also not be information about the bodies. I covered those in my previous post on Travel Friends dolls.

Here are the backs of the boxes, with the information about each country. Some of the words are a little bit blurry. If you want to see anything closer up, let me know.

I don't know too much about any of these countries. Mr. BTEG's grandparents came from Italy, and I have studied some Russian history. There are only a couple of curious things on these boxes, as opposed to the litany of errors from last time.

Ciao is only spelled correctly three times in this circle! The rest of the time, it is Caio!

Do you say Hujambo or Habari as Hello in Kenyan? Or could you use either?

Also, I didn't remember to get a closeup picture, but in the word Siberia on the back of Russia's box, the b in Siberia is kind of a strangely shaped lower case b that almost looks like an upper case G. The other letters are upper case. That's not really a mistake, exactly, just strange. So many of these boxes have errors, though! It looks so careless and sloppy. I can overlook some manufacturing imperfections in a $10 doll a lot easier than I can simple writing mistakes that I spotted in about a minute. Who threw these together?

Other bloggers have mentioned the plastic piece around the back of the dolls neck, with the plastic tie around the neck. Italy also had two of those awful little plastic tag thingys in the back of her head. And I figured out why the interior cardboard liner holding the dolls so often sticks to the box, so that you have to rip both apart to get to the back where the ties and threads and so forth are. You know that sort of glue strip that comes on the back of a credit card when you get it in the mail, to hold it on the paper mailer? There is a strip of that on the back of each liner, by the doll's head. On Italy, it covered up the little plastic tags, so I'm guessing the glue strip was to hold those in place. On Russia and Italy, the glue was not really sticky anymore, so their interior boxes slid out easily.

Out of the box

Can I say here that Italian skin fascinates me? My husband and my eldest daughter both have olive skin, and it really can have a faint greenish cast in the right light, especially during winter. Hard to replicate in a doll, however. When Mr. BTEG saw Italy, his comment was, "She looks just like my cousin Molly."

I took a picture of the three doll's arms, so you can see what the skin colors look like next to each other.

1-2-3 Let's Win!

Is it weird to say Kenya's hair felt sleek touching from one direction and rough when I touched it another way? It's beautiful in the sunlight, in any case.

Russia has a LOT of hair. It doesn't all lay straight from how it was tied in the box.

Italy's curls are very coarse.

Russia's outfit was the most ambitious as far as sewing, and it has the most issues. In pictures above, you can see that Russia's blouse is pulled over to the left. I wondered if that was a sewing issue. Instead, it was how the outfit was put on the doll.

This is how she arrived.

The neckline neatened up for the most part once I took the jumper off and redid the Velcro.

Russia's jumper goes on very tightly over her blouse. It could have been a bit looser.

The soles of Russia's shoes were painted white. To me, it makes them look like tennis shoes. Also, the paint was not done neatly.

Germany's shirt was unraveling in quite a few places on the inside. The only unraveling in Russia's so far is in the armscyes. The elastic around the neck is also not sewn on perfectly. The gathered effect at the neckline is nice, but it would probably have been easier to have a plain round neck.

Kenya's shirt and leggings are knit, so no unraveling problems there. Her skirt has been stiffened with what is probably sizing, kind of like starch. The seam at the back of the skirt is not finished, but may not have issues because of the sizing. The tag sticks out on the back of her shirt. I hate clothing tags. I hate them on my own clothes; I hate them on my dolls' clothes. And why did they have to be so big?

Kenya's outfit doesn't really seem to all come together. And I have no idea if the tribal print on her skirt is accurate. Also, the skirt is so narrow that it makes a little difficult for Kenya to sit.

Italy's simple sundress is the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green. The bodice is lined. The waistline seam and the one on the back of the skirt are not finished, but are cleanly cut.

I bought Russia because I thought she was cute, but I was also afraid that Russia would look just like Germany, only with straight hair. Fortunately, their coloring is quite different. The face paint is different, and Russia's hair is strawberry blonde. I generally don't think of Russians as blonde, but it's a very big, diverse country, so it's possible. Although her hair is down like my Irish girl Nora, Russia's bangs are not as thick. You can even faintly make out her eyebrows through her bangs, looking at her the right way.

Germany on the left, Russia on the right

And last, a group shot of the whole crew. Germany is not wearing her original outfit, because I don't like the way it fits her. She is wearing Mini AG Felicity's outfit instead. Germany is also not wearing her shoes, because they are too big and fall off too easily.

Goodbye!