Kenmore vs My Modern Kitchen

This post is mostly going to be about the Kenmore kitchen set, but I wanted to add some comparison photos with the My Modern Kitchen, since that is a very popular 1/6 kitchen for collector dioramas. Kenmore is a brand name for appliances, which belongs to the department store Sears. The Kenmore kitchen isn't sold anymore, so it is very high-priced on eBay, for the most part. I bought this set for an incredible deal, even out of box, so I consider myself lucky to have it. You will sometimes see this as the Mammoth kitchen on eBay, since it was made by Mammoth Toys. Summer is our model for today's shoot.

Even the Kenmore kitchen is a bit short for Barbie, compared to a human-sized kitchen to a human. Many collectors put their kitchen pieces up on blocks.

 

 

The Kenmore kitchen has some pretty realistic features. I guess those dark blue circles at the back of the dishwasher are supposed to be sprayers of some kind? Our home dishwasher only has the sprayers underneath each "basket," that spin. The sticker with the controls for the stove was a little bit white at the front edge from peeling, so I fixed that with a black marker. Oddly enough, the dishwasher we just bought last year, looks a lot like the Kenmore dishwasher, from the outside.

 

As you can see, the Kenmore kitchen is taller and sticks out a bit more.  It also looks more realistic. Both kitchens were made as children's toys, but I guess Sears didn't want their own appliances looking cheap, even as toys. The microwave over the stove is more realistic to modern American kitchens, where the microwave also has a steam exhaust fan. The blue tile over the dishwasher and sink below were added by me. I was going to peel them off here, like I did for the stove, but they had stickers underneath that I thought would be more distracting. Plus, the tiles over the sink are currently helping hold the towel bar up. It screws on from the back, but somehow the towel bar came loose.

Neither refrigerator is much to look at on the inside. I pulled out and threw away all the cardboard from the back of the Kenmore pieces, because I washed all of them first, since I got them out of box. This is why the backs of those match the kitchen wall.

Speaking of kitchen walls, this is the first "permanent" room that I have made. I crafted it out of foamcore; the blue walls came in that color. You can see at the base that I wasn't really as neat with the hot glue as I wanted to be. I should be able to cover that with baseboard. I also followed a tip from someone on YouTube, and put sewing pins into the foamcore at the base and the corner on the back, at intervals, to help hold this together. Permanent rooms take up a lot of space, but I want to make the Kenmore kitchen, at least, look more like it has solid walls behind it, instead of four individual plastic units. That will require a long piece of tile to visually join at least two, or all three of the pieces, instead of individual cuts, like I did with the My Modern Kitchen. If I'm joining these pieces together, they should be somewhere they won't get moved around, which means a permanent room. I can also create a corner counter, so the Kenmore stuff doesn't just have to stand there all in a row, and they should all be raised a bit. I might paint the Kenmore cupboards? I've also seen somone separate the cupboards from the tops of the My Modern Kitchen set, and set them further back in a wall, since real life cupboards don't come all the way forward over what's underneath. Modern American kitchen sinks don't usually have cupboards over the sink anyway, because of the humidity, and dishwashers don't always, either. But some of the latter changes would require a lot of work; for now I may just get the Kenmore kitchen a basic set-up, for diorama use.

Do you have a favorite doll room you like to use for pictures, even if it's not permanent?

Two Kitchens

About a month ago, I acquired the 1/6th scale Kenmore kitchen, and I got it out to photograph for a theme on Instagram. I want to take more pictures for this blog, but I have some other things that are taking up some of my time at the moment, so I'm just going to put this picture up that I also used on Instagram. The theme was "Kitchen," and I thought it would be cute to include my Little Tikes kitchen, which is small enough to be a toy kitchen for the 1/6 scale little ones. It's kind of special to me because it's exactly the same as the play kitchen that my daughters had when they were little.

October Instagram Challenge Day 7: Baking

I was thinking about getting out a bunch of my doll-sized baking supplies, but then I realized that I really wanted an end result that looked Halloween-y, so I just went with this pumpkin pie. It's easy to find mini cookie cutters and so on that look like Christmas baked goods; finding stuff for other holidays, not so easy. The other advantage to this photo was that I didn't have to worry about the lighting overly much. I think this has the look of overhead kitchen lighting.

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.

Back at Last: Angelina Ballerina Kitchen Sink and Stove, Plus Magnetic Room Backdrop

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted last! But between Mr. BTEG's gall bladder surgery, and a special human-size sewing project, I guess time went by faster than I thought. I'm so glad to be back to the world of doll blogging.

Way back in April of last year, I got a super deal on an eBay lot that included several pieces from the American Girl Angelina Ballerina line. For those of you who don't have girls who were/are the appropriate age, Angelina Ballerina is a small girl mouse in England who wants to grow up to become a ballerina. There were several books published about her adventures in her ballet classes, and with friends and family. Later a number of videos were created of her stories. I'm putting a link here to the other furniture pieces that I bought in that auction, and reviewed.

As of my latest posting about the set, I hadn't received the stove that was part of the auction, and so I wasn't enthused about taking pictures of the sink that I did get. At least a month after I received the first box, I got an email from the seller. Apparently her grandchildren had made off with the stove to play with it in the family room or something, and she had just found it! By the time I actually got the stove, I was on to posting about other things. However, I just recently bought the magnetic room set that was also part of Angelina Ballerina's line at AG, so here it all is.

Ann is ready to turn on the taps and do the washing up. (I picked up an English vibe during this.)

Posy brings her tea cup from the table for Ann to wash.

I forgot to take a picture of the two top doors open. Right side has shelves for cooking; left side shows a roaring fire.

The walls are magnetic, and there were over a dozen magnetic pieces with this set to decorate Angelina's house. I'll show a few.

I don't know why some of these pictures are crooked. I think I was trying to avoid glare here.

Ann stands at the window and looks out on the beautiful English countryside.

Here's a picture of Angelina and her parents celebrating the birth of her sister Polly.

As you may have noticed, there are two sides to the wall, with two different wallpapers. There are simple tabs in the floor that the walls go into, so it's easy to pull out the wall and change sides. The walls and the floor also fold up so they can take up less space put away. And lastly, there is a brick floor on the other side of the wooden floor. Once I took a picture of the kitchen with the brick, I thought it looked so much better.

 

Do you like using pre-made backdrops for dioramas, or do you like using your own? Do you even use dioramas?

Modern Kitchen Out of the Box

So here it is, finally. I wasn't pleased with the first round of pictures that I took, so I sat down and tried again today. I have to accept that these pictures are about as good as I'm going to get, at least with my set-up the way it is now. The kitchen is a little far away from the real windows, so sunlight only helps a little, and I don't have a portable light or lights at the moment. Also, the shelf the kitchen is displayed on is right by the side of my bed, so I was sitting awkwardly on my bed taking these and trying to stay out of the direct sun. The use of a tripod was a help today. But I realized that if I wait for perfect pictures, I'd never get these up!

One note, the light turquoise backsplash in the kitchen was added by me. There was a sticker of a coffeepot on a shelf, that was stuck above the sink. The sticker didn't want to come off, so I covered all the white plastic below the cupboards. I don't think this will be my final arrangement, but it works for now.

With most of the doors open, so you can see what I've acquired to go inside. A combination of Re-Ment, ORCARA, Mattel, Sindy and odds and ends.

The shiny plastic kitchen floor reflects quite a bit too much.

The kitchen with the doors all closed.

Adelheid, a J-Doll, for scale purposes. Kitty looks hungry.

Adelheid is just about to cut some French bread and spread it with tasty jam. Would you like a slice?

jSarie of Revenge of the Toy Box has kindly given me a Daisy Chain Award, and that will be the subject of my next post. She asked me to answer 8 questions concerning what I would like people to ask me about my blogging or about my doll collection. I have a list of questions made up, but if there is anything *you* would like to ask, please leave it in the comments!

Miniature Store

While thinking about buying some sort of floor tiling to go with my new kitchen set, I remembered that there is a miniature store about a 25 minute drive from my house. The store also carries Calico Critters; this is where I bought Britney's Ballet Recital for my younger daughter. And apparently there is a basement area full of clothes and furniture for 18" dolls. I haven't even checked that out yet!

Not only did I find something for my dolls' kitchen floor, I got more time to look around the shop and realize how much it's going to get me into shopping trouble! Yes, the shop mostly caters to 1/4" scale miniatures. But those of us who create spaces for Playscale size dolls can't always be picky. I've since bought another sheet of plastic that looks like tile, for a backsplash for my kitchen, and two pieces of dollhouse carpeting. She also carries wallpaper, so I can get that too. She did have a few rolls that were in 1/6 scale, but they were too obviously made to go into a Barbie dollhouse for a little girl.

Plus, she carries miniature scaled fabric! They are sold in very small cuts, but then you probably don't need a full yard for a doll project very often. I bought myself some China silk. I've heard it's great for lining doll clothes, but I've never tried it. Seeing a small piece at a good price right in front of my eyes made it irresistible. I also bought a few more colors of mini scale rick-rack. She carries these in small bundles, and I bought a few different colors when I bought Britney the bunny. I picked up a few lighter summer colors this last trip.

According to this article, there are only 64 brick-and-mortar miniature stores nationwide! I feel very blessed to have one so close to where I live, and the area around the store is charming. As it's literally right by an active railroad track, as well as the home of the antique Grand Pacific Hotel, the shopping area is called Grand Pacific Junction, and there are some railway themed pieces here and there among this small group of stores, a couple of eateries, and a wedding chapel. It's mostly all connected by small paths, and all the buildings are rather quaint. There's a quilt store which carries fabric and also my current sewing machine and serger brand, so I could spend a lot more money there! I think now I'm going to have to take a trip this summer and take a bunch of pictures to show how delightful Grand Pacific Junction is.

And very soon I will put up pictures of my kitchen!

Doll Kitchen

I think this kitchen first caught my eye at Sue's place. Then I started seeing it in more than one doll diorama on Flickr, particularly with Blythe dolls. I was interested, but a little hesitant because it did not have a dishwasher or microwave, and I couldn't live without either of those in my own kitchen. But then I saw someone's photos on Flickr who did have a unit with those as part of his kitchen! My interest quickly rose, so I did some looking around. I discovered one seller on eBay was selling all four pieces, plus they came in different color sets! You could get a red, blue or pink kitchen. The set of four was not substantially more than Sue said the three piece kitchen cost her in the UK, so I blew through my doll budget for a month and bought one. Honestly, the shipping was almost as big a part of the cost as the kitchen itself, but it doesn't seem that this set is sold in stores anywhere in North or South America, so I figured shipping was going to be a bear in any case.

Here are some pictures of it still in the box. They're dark and blurry because, as usual, I didn't want to wait before pulling my new stuff out, so these pictures were taken by night with one lamp.

My research shows that this kitchen set is made by Goldlok, but the logo on this says Qun Feng Toys. Google claims this means "peaks." Goldlok's office is in Hong Kong, and its factory in China. Also, this package seems meant for the European market, since the descriptions and restrictions are written in European languages, with European flags: German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and the UK. However, the set was made in China and I bought it from a seller in Thailand. Small world. :)

Although other sets seem to have different interactive attributes, this set has two: a toaster with bread that goes up and down, and a stove that makes noise and lights up. The stove makes a "sizzling" sort of noise, but unfortunately the sizzling noise starts and ends with a siren like sound that sounds almost like a smoke detector going off. I don't think my dolls will be setting off the smoke detector when they cook. Plus the siren sound is very annoying. Too bad, because the light up stove and oven are cool.

I'm still trying to decide where I'm going to put this, get some flooring for underneath it, and get it set up with dolls and props. I'll post some more pictures when I do!

Update: Mr. BTEG checked with his Chinese coworker. "Qun Feng" means "range of mountains," and is used poetically, not conversationally.