Life Gets in the Way, Plus an Online Garage Sale

Since I didn't want to use my daughters' real names online, I christened my youngest as the Dancer. She started ballet at age six and now takes ballet, pointe, jazz, tap and contemporary, so the name is very appropriate. Her dance recital is coming up, and as usual a lot of the costumes, ordered from national dance wear manufacturers, need alterations. This year, there were six bodices that needed altering for girls in the pointe class that the Dancer takes, including the Dancer's bodice. The dance teacher found out several years ago that I sew, so I've done a lot of little things here and there for her on recital costumes. This year, since altering six strapless bodices, that are mostly lined with some kind of foam, was such a big project, I am doing it at home, and she is taking money off the Dancer's tuition fees in exchange for my work. Which is wonderful, but has taken up time I would probably use for doll sewing. I've finished the last bodice, I hope, but yesterday I found out I need to alter the arm and leg length on a small boy's jumpsuit. Another mom also asked for help with one of her daughter's costumes. The seamstress they hired for another costume, didn't want to tackle this one. So only a little more to go, and I can go back to sewing personal stuff.

My daughters are getting rid of all their Barbie dolls and related toys. Reading a lot of your blogs, I've noticed that many of you enjoy picking up doll things at thrift shops. I was considering taking pictures and making a post of all the stuff my daughters don't want, and seeing if there are any takers. I would have to put stuff up a little at a time, I think. I don't have any super great stuff, but it's not any worse than things you find in a thrift store. I would charge a buck or two for most of the things, plus shipping. Let me know if you might possibly be interested. I'm probably going to start that soon.

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.

J-Dolls and Sekiguchi Boots

While looking around online to see what kinds of shoes/clothes I could find for my J-Dolls, I found some Victorian high-button boots made by Sekiguchi that I absolutely fell in love with. Not surprising given my interest in Victorian-era clothes! But I wasn't going to pay over $20 for molded plastic shoes that are less than 2" tall. Then, while getting myself in trouble surfing eBay, I suddenly found a store that had them on sale, at a price I was willing to pay. Not only that, but the store is located right here in Cleveland (although I don't think they have a physical storefront), so I got the shoes the day after I bought them. On the downside, I did have to pay sales tax. But I managed to pick them up after all!

Sekiguchi is the company that currently makes Momoko dolls. I've put in a link to the website, although it is all in Japanese. There is a link there, however, to global shopping at the Petworks store, which is in English. The boots apparently were part of a line which is called Sekiguchi The Other Channel, or STOC. I found it interesting that the name and the acronym are in English (it's also referred to on the package as the STOC Market.) Perhaps they are called something else in Japanese. I was surprised that some Japanese doll manufacturers sell so many separates, everything from shoes to tops to tights, because in the past I've read other companies, such as Tonner, can't really make enough of a profit with outfits alone to justify adding more into the lineup. Dressed dolls have been where the money's at. Madame Alexander has also reportedly turned down consumer requests for more separates for Cissy, for example. I know people seem to go nuts for extra clothes and accessories for ball-jointed dolls too, so who knows? Maybe selling separates instead of entire outfits is the draw? Or maybe it's just a difference in collectors? While the prices at the Petworks store are much more reasonable, at least for shoes, to what I've seen at places like eBay and even other Japanese outlets, many people seem willing to pay big bucks for dolls like Momoko, Azone and Pullip, and what they wear. Hey, as long as it's not coming out of the grocery money, whatever. Still not paying over $20 for molded plastic shoes, myself. :)

The boots work pretty well with J-Doll, although the white boots were such stiff plastic that I had a hard time getting them off of Melanie, my model. The poor girl even lost her lower leg at one point! :O I don't think there was any permanent damage, although I did see little bits of flash on the table. She did stand by herself wonderfully in those, though. The black boots were much softer plastic on top, almost rubbery, and didn't support Melanie at all, plus they were frustrating to photograph. And I know you want to see the photos, so I'll finally move on to those!

They kind of make Melanie's feet look too big, but they're not horrible

My shaky hands did not help detail on these boots come out well, either.

Surprisingly, Melanie rocks the black boots even with the light outfit. I think the black polka dots and the fact that the outfit looks Victorian inspired both help.

I have to admit, the extra detailing on the back of these boots is nice.

Here's a picture of their height. Even though the metric numbers are backwards for those of you use them.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. I'll definitely be extra careful with the white boots, and the black ones, I just hope those don't stain. The Petworks site does warn that some of their shoes might do that. Maybe if I get solid tights instead of lace ones it would protect the feet and legs?

So do you like to buy different outfits for your dolls? Do you change their clothes often? Do you buy direct from manufacturers, or from individuals on places like Etsy?

Angelina Ballerina chairs

Here are two more Angelina Ballerina pieces that I received in my eBay purchase: the kitchen chairs. Considering that these were made for stuffed animals to sit on, I find they work quite well with dolls the appropriate height(s). I also don't think missing the table is a big issue. Tables are a lot easier to create than chairs, and Angelina's table doesn't seem to be as stand-out as the chairs.

First of all, however, I want to show a couple more pictures of the dresser and chest. jSarie suggested that the mirror might be throwing off how the Barbie size doll looked standing next to the dresser, so I got Snow back out and took a picture of her next to the pieces again.

Now I almost like her better next to the chest but am not so sure about the dresser! Ah well. These pieces seem to have a juvenile touch to them, with the painted on flowers, so I don't know that an adult Barbie size doll would get them anyway.

Since I had Tonner's 12" Alice in Wonderland doll out to take pictures seated on the chairs, I put her next to the dresser and chest as well. She's close to a Barbie in height, but Barbie is an adult in her world, while Alice is a tween in a world of 16" adults.

Alice is wearing a night dress from Tonner's Nutcracker Ballet line. Poor Alice is barefoot because while slippers did come with this nightdress (as well as a pretty robe), I need a dolly size shoehorn to get those shoes on her feet. Adams-Harris Patterns has a free pattern for a Marley (Alice) sized shoe that I really should try.

And now we return to the chairs. They are even more fancifully painted than the bedroom furniture, and almost have a shabby chic look since some of the paint has the appearance of wearing off.

Again, they're made of wood, and are nice and durable. They're a little broader than some other doll chairs of a similar height, but they ended up working pretty well with dolls the proportional sizes.

We'll start off with Alice and a Kripplebush Kid. (I really ought to give those poor Kids names.) Both look fine here. The Kid might have to scramble a bit to get up, but what little kid hasn't had to do that at some point?

The Kid also doesn't look badly standing next to the chair. Which makes me think that these chairs would also work for a similar doll like Kish's Riley. Some people have inserted Riley into Tonner's world to be the little girl, instead of the Kripplebush Kids.

I thought these chairs would be too broad for the Barbie sized dolls. Maybe for a Barbie in a bathing suit, they would be, but Snow with her wide skirt makes it look acceptable.

Lastly, I took a couple of pictures with Snow by herself with the chairs. I know many of you that read here have more Playscale sized dolls than Tonner sized ones.

Once again, these are two pieces which I am glad to have in my collection. I often prefer to have my dolls sit on chairs rather than be in stands, if I have the space, so the more chairs, the better!

Happy Easter

I hope that all of you who celebrate Easter had a happy and blessed one. My family and I did.

Just a quick note about the header I threw up. Since I don't really have anything doll/Easter related, I put up pictures of two of my dolls in their best Easter straw hats. On the left is Madame Alexander's 21" Cissy. On the right is Ashton Drake's 16" Gene, whom I no longer own. Her dress and hat were made by me. :)

Angelina Ballerina Dresser and Chest

My Angelina Ballerina furniture arrived today! Well, most of it did. I couldn't find the stove in the pile of newspaper that everything came wrapped up in. Still have to talk it over with the seller. But everything else is fantastic! I decided to stick to the wooden dresser and chest, because otherwise this post would be way too long. I'll highlight the other items in later posts.

The chest and dresser are very nice pieces, made of wood, with what I think is called fiberboard at the bottom of the drawers and the bottom of the chest. They also are marked on the bottom with HIT Entertainment (who owned the rights to Angelina Ballerina, at least the animated series) and American Girl, who distributed the stuffed dolls and furniture.

I forgot to take measurements! Let me know if you want a particular measurement. But you can get a pretty good feel for how big the pieces are by looking at the dolls I thought worked best with them. First up are some pictures of the dresser and chest by themselves.

A couple of the dresser drawers are very loose; the small drawer on the top right is very tight. You might be able to see how it fits a little crookedly into its slot.

There are some marks on the front of the chest. Nothing serious.

Because the chest used such thick pieces of wood, I feel like it looks a little funny on the inside, proportionally. But it's a very solid piece, which is the main thing.

First up to model is Disney's Snow White, by Mattel. As an aside, I realized while I was taking pictures that the dress Snow White is wearing is over ten years old! I got it in a dress swap, as a member of a doll board I don't even remember anymore. Actually, it might have even been an old-school bulletin board. Anyone else active on those back in the day?

She doesn't look too out of place here. The chest looks a little small proportional to her height, but the dresser isn't bad at all.

The mirror piece on top of the dresser is completely separate, giving it even more play value, as it can be moved around on top of the dresser or used by itself.

I wonder if this is a magic mirror?

 Next up is a J-Doll, Melanie.

Being more petite, I think she works better overall than Snow White. Possibly it might be a little too big for her, but I don't think so. She looks right sitting on the chest.

Lastly, we have my 8" Kripplebush Kid by Tonner. At the moment, I think she works with these pieces the best.

 

The mirror tilts (although it doesn't stay in a tilted position) so anyone could sneak a peek in it, but I like that this little girl can look right at the mirror.

I also had my Madeline and mini AG Samantha out, but the furniture completely overwhelmed them. So I think these are the ones in my collection who would work the best.

Obviously, with the flower decorations, these pieces are rather girly, so they're not for everyone's collection. Can you see GI Joe using these? :) But they're well made, real wood pieces that are going to look great in one of my doll's bedroom set. Which doll you think should get them?

Snow, Snow, Go Away

How on earth can I get inspired to take lovely spring pictures when there is snow.on.the.ground. Snow!! Okay, I will admit that it is not that much of an unusual occurrence here in NE Ohio, but I'm certainly not feeling spring at the moment.