Happy New Year Everyone!

We're all going on a summer holiday,

No more working for a week or two.

Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,

No more worries for me or you,

For a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly

We're going where the sea is blue.

We've all seen it on the movies,

Now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday

Doin' things they always wanted to

So we're going on a summer holiday,

To make our dreams come true

For me and you.

For me and you. 

Songwriters: Brian Bennett / Bruce Welch Summer Holiday lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Have a wonderful finish to 2018 . . . see you all again in 2019!

As 2018 Ends

Firstly, I'd like to thank all those who have visited my blog and have taken time out of their busy days to leave comments this year. I have enjoyed sharing the doll hobby with you and getting to know you all a little better. It's comforting to know, that no matter how crazy this world can be at times, there are still people who can enjoy a common bond through their love of dolls, teddy bears and toys.

Now it's time to see who I brought home this year ~

BJD's were way down on last year, but brought my total BJD's to 83.

1. Denise ~ Kaye Wiggs Mini Layla, Fair Skin, Arrived 22nd January 2018
2. Fifi Muffet ~ Liz Frost of Wizworx Mini Fifi, Light Tan Skin, Arrived 27th February 2018
3. Mia Mary ~ Liz Frost Of Wizworx Mini Mia, Light Tan Skin, Arrived 15th March, 2018
4. Lunette ~ Liz Frost of Wizworx Mini Lunette, Fair Skin, Arrived 11th December, 2018

So it seems, were my PLAY DOLLS, bringing them up to 43.

1. Cassandra ~ Dianna Effner Little Darling by Joyce Mathews, Arrived 10th January, 2018

2. Heidi ~ Rosemarie Muller "Wichtel " for Schildkrot-Puppen Lea, Arrived 17th May, 2018
3. Pippy ~ Australian Girl Matilda, Arrived 20th May, 2018
4. Bess ~ Robert Tonner, Tiny Betsy McCall, Arrived 28th December, 2018

FASHION DOLLS were something new for me this year, and eight came home. I think if I add any more dolls to my collection in the future, this maybe where you will see them. 

1. McKeyla ~ Project Mc² doll by MGA (1st release) McKeyla McAlister, Arrived 7th November, 2018
2. Adrienne ~ Project Mc² doll by MGA (1st release) Adrienne Attoms, Arrived 7th November, 2018
3. Bryden ~ Project Mc² doll by MGA (1st release) Bryden Bandweth, Arrived 7th November, 2018
4. Camryn ~ Project Mc² doll by MGA (1st release) Camryn Coyle, Arrived 7th November, 2018
5. Keyla ~ Project Mc² doll by MGA (2nd release) McKeyla McAlister, Arrived 7th November, 2018
6. Hatsuko ~ "Ruruko" CCSgirl 18SS doll by PetWORKs, Arrived 12th November, 2018
7. Holly Golightly ~ "50th Anniversary Commemorative Fashion Collection" (How Do I Look #5 in the series) by Integrity Toys 2011, Arrived 24th December, 2018
8. Alysa ~ Luxe Life Convention Exclusive (nude doll) by Integrity Toys 2011, Arrived 31st December, 2018

The total of sixteen, is just one and a third dolls a month, that may or may not sound like a lot to you, and to be honest it's probably more than I need, especially as space has really become difficult to find here. And so I may will have to curb my desires a little lot in 2019 . . . however, I have learnt from past experience to never say, never. :)

I did manage to complete a few projects this year, even attempted others, which sadly I did not complete, so I am hoping next year I can finish all the projects I have started and begin a few of the others floating around in my noggin.

MY WISH LIST FOR 2019 ~

2017 Industry Come Thru! Tulabelle True™ Dressed Doll ~

Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Tulabelle
Hair Colour: Light-Auburn
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: The Industry 1.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Doll Stand : Yes
Limited Edition : 600
Suggested Retail Price: $125.00 US

I fell for this gal hook, liner and sinker, as soon as I saw her gorgeous red hair and I should have bought her then and there. But I didn't, and now I'm afraid I may have missed the boat. I shall have to keep my eyes wide open if I am to own her.

2017 Poppy Parker™ Welcome to Misty Hollows Dressed Doll ~ The Swinging London Collection

W Club Exclusive IT Direct Event ~ she was not available at dealers

Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker

Hair Colour: Silver Blond
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Body: Poppy 1.5 (Body disassembles and features newly improved joint stability)
Foot Sculpt: Traditional Poppy feet with articulated ankles
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Doll Stand : Yes
Limited Edition : 1390
Suggested Retail Price: $130.00 US

Although I really love this doll, I am not prepared to pay the second hand asking price for her, so I doubt if I will ever bring this doll home . . . but I can wish, can't I? And who really knows what tomorrow may bring?

2018 Poppy Parker™ Chiller Thriller Dressed Doll ~ Integrity Toys Convention Luxe Life Collection

Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker 1.0

Hair Colour: Black
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Body: 1.0
Foot Sculpt: The Industry High Heeled Feet
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Japan
Doll Stand : Yes
Edition Size: 600 Dolls

Suggested Retail Price: $150.00 US

I was very lucky recently and spotted this one nude on eBay for a reasonable price and as her hair styling is like Misty Hollows Poppy, decided to bring her home. She should arrive sometime between the 10th and 16th January with any luck.

I'm never too fussed about not having the clothing that comes with the dolls as I really enjoy sewing my own. I'm even considering making some jewelry this year and perhaps some crowns or floral headpieces. I've made these items in the past for brides, so it will interesting and possibly quite challenging to make these items in a size which will fit these dolls.

Now, when I saw this next gorgeous gal, I felt this was one doll, where the elegant gown she is wearing, appealed to me as much as the doll herself. She actually comes with two gowns, but the second one did very little for me.

2017 Erin Salston™ Metamorphosis Dressed Doll Gift Set ~ The Heirloom Collection

W Club Exclusive IT Direct Event ~ she was not available at dealers.

Doll Tech Specs:

Head Sculpt: Erin 2.0

Hair Colour: Midnight Brown

Eyelashes:Yes, Hand-applied

Body: Nu Face 3.0
Foot Sculpt: Traditional High-Heeled Feet
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Hungarian

Doll Stand : ?

Limited Edition : ?
Suggested Retail Price: $175.00 US

Well that's about all I can foresee for now, but of course, as any doll collector knows, a wish list can change from one day to the next . . . que será, será.

Wishing you all the very best for 2019, may it be a happy and prosperous dolly year for you all!
Big hugs,
X

Tiny Betsy McCall

Betsy is wearing a discontinued Robert Tonner 2004 (No. BC8402) Summer Fields doll outfit designed for the eight inch Tiny Betsy McCall and Dru dolls. This also fits Tiny Anne Estelle and includes a lovely two shades of green striped dress with a green, lavender, yellow and white floral print pinafore. A pretty lavender ribbon bow is tied at the waist. She also wears white-lavender floral clips in her hair, white panties, white socks and white plastic shoes like late 1950's and early 1960's dolls wore.

She is coming to me after Christmas, without her box or COA, which I wouldn't have expected anyway for her bargain price, however, she is stamped with the Tonner name. I really wanted a curly red haired girl. but they are like hens teeth to get hold of, as those on offer will not ship out of the USA. I think a new wig should take care if that though.

A basic 8" Tonner Betsy cost US$39.95 and the Tonner outfits usually sell from US$24.95 for a set like this on their own, so I was really pleased to pay what I did.

Well that's it for today . . . HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Big hugs,
X

EDIT: 28th December.

Tiny Betsy arrived today and I am so pleased I purchased her. Her head moves up and down, as well as side to side, her eyes close, her arms move at the shoulders, but there is no elbow joint. However, her legs have both a hip and knee joint, which will help when posing her.

Betsy is made of hard plastic which has a nice feel in one's hands, it's smooth and not too shiny. She measures 20 cm (7+7/8") tall but her wig gives her just a little additional height making her 20.3 cm (a perfect 8 inch doll).

Her wig, unfortunately is glued on, so it might take some fiddling to replace it. I am having second thoughts about this now, as it's a really nice wig, fine, without fly-aways and combs easily. The little "clips" were not as I expected, so I shall take the flowers off and sew them onto proper clips.

The clothes she is wearing are really well made, with neat finishing, no loose threads and back closures are done with press studs (snaps) and not that yucky Velcro. To be honest, I couldn't have made them any better myself . . . so over all, it's a thumbs up to Tonner!!

Christmas Came Early at Our House

My tiny dolls have very little patience, I think they take after me! LOL! So when some of them saw the presents under the tree this morning, they thought Santa had come early and NOW was the right time for them to open all of their presents. Fortunately, I managed to stop them before they opened the lot. I told them they could each open just one present and the rest will have to stay under the tree until the proper day. :)

From left to right: 8 " porcelain Dianna Effner doll, Fairyland Puki Fee, PetWORKs Ruruko, 7" Helen Kish Riley.

I shall be back before the New Year with this year's roundup. In the meantime, have a wonderful Christmas with your families. I hope you all receive what you wished for.

Big hugs,

X

A Girl I Know Named Holly

Now don't be too surprised, but I have finally bought an Integrity Toys doll! Most of the time I find the ones I like are either out of stock or they are so ridiculously overpriced on the secondary market I simply cannot justify spending the money. However, this one was too good to pass on.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most stylish movies ever captured on film and its chic ingenue, Integrity Toys and Paramount teamed together in 2011 to bring collectors an exquisite "50th Anniversary Commemorative Doll Collection".

I have always loved the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Audrey Hepburn in particular. She played such a fabulous role in this movie, wearing costuming by Hubert de Givenchy that was to die for. So it wasn't hard for me to part with the cash to bring this one home (and fortunately for me, she was only travelling from interstate, so postage wasn't the killer it usually is).

“How Do I Look” is Holly at her most simple and charming self. A girl has to have her beauty sleep, that is until a tall and handsome gentleman writer with boyish good looks and the deepest blue eyes anyone has ever seen (played by the young Robert Redford) rings her doorbell because he forgot his keys. What follows is a beautiful friendship that reluctantly turns into unbridled passion. This wonderful look above proves that Holly is quirky and charming even when she sleeps!!

She is fifth in the series and has a Loni Lawrence (Poppy's friend) head (which was actually Holly's before it became Loni's) on a 12-inch fully articulated vinyl Poppy Parker body (without articulated ankles). She is a dressed doll with rooted hair and applied eyelashes. Included is a night shirt, bright peach satin robe, sleepy eyes night mask, ear plugs, doll stand and certificate of authenticity ~ Limited Edition of 500.

I shall look forward to making the costumes for this doll!
Hope you all have an enjoyable week ahead of you all, big hugs,
X

Lunette's Arrival

Well after a very long wait, the longest I have ever had (ordered in April), my Lunette from Liz Frost (WizWorx) has finally arrived home!

She stands like a trouper! Actually Liz's dolls stand better than any of my other dolls, possibly because they are so well strung. Here she is before her lovely soft grey blue eyes were inserted.

I am thrilled to bits with her and although I shall give her a nursery rhyme name, I cannot think which until I have decided on the wig she will wear. Though I must admit I'm leaning towards the black one, as I have a blonde and brunette in this trio of dolls already. Let me know your thoughts. 😊

Monique Gold "Roxie" Wig ~ White Blonde

Monique "Shelby" Wig ~ Black

Well not much else to tell you this week, I'll be taking a short break . . . that is, I will after I have caught up on your lovely comments and blog posts.
Hugs,
X

Fitting Ruruko

Since female Ruruko dolls are on the stock Azone PureNeemo XS doll body, Ruruko measurements agree with the figures for those bodies (which is useful when selecting clothing or sewing clothing).

Although I first intended just to look for patterns, I ended up looking at clothes for other similar sized dolls including MGA Moxie Girlz and Bratz, as I thought I may find something suitable . . . I did look, but didn't like the fit or quality of the clothes I saw.

I did find (according to online research) clothing from Barbie’s younger sister Skipper, also typically fits Ruruko dolls quite nicely, and there are many individuals reselling Skipper clothes or advertising patterns (which was more of interest to me as I'm more inclined to sew).

There are also quite a few Etsy sellers who design for Blythe rather than for Ruruko specifically, but much of the clothing works interchangeably, with perhaps adjustment for length. My favourite being HelloCoolCat, they've been around a long time and have an extensive array of products including super duper shoes/boots (all under AU$20 a pair).

Then quite by accident, I came across this site ~ TheHandFlower and she had a few clearance items which were intended for the Azone PureNeemo Small Body, but I bought a set anyway.

Not perfect by any means and there will be Velcro to deal with for sure, but for the price I paid (AU$22.20 including shipping), I figure I can make any necessary adjustments.

Well that's it for me for another week.
Big Hugs to you all,
X

---------------------------------------------------

P.S. I thought you might like to see what the knitted dress I made for the Project Mc² dolls looks like on Ruruko. I almost surprised myself, because it looks much better than I thought it would. It's actually knee length when you look straight at her. I think if I used my pattern but knitted it in a slightly lighter yarn, it would be perfect for this size doll.

Tutorial: Making a Simple Doll Stand

Supplies & tools needed:

Wooden base (I bought mine from Spotlight). You can use any shape you like and you can also find wooden coasters which are suitable for smaller/lighter dolls.

I already had 12 gauge (2mm) aluminium wire (from Over the Rainbow) however, I'm using their 1/8" (3.2mm) Armature or Modelling Wire which is a little more expensive, but will hold most dolls.

Hollow aluminium tubing (the hole should be large enough to insert the wire doubled, I bought 10 x 1mm from Bunnings).

Needle nose pliers and side cutters.

Hack saw to cut the tubing and drill to make a hole in the base (borrowed from hubby's workshop).

Glue and trims (optional) the one I am making here needs just a little batting to create the illusion of snow, but you could use faux grass or carpet depending on where you imagine your doll to be standing.

Firstly take your wire and using the pliers to help you bend it into this shape (left) and bend it over and squeeze it tight, then cut it off a little higher than the bottom of the "U".

Insert the wire you just bent into the tubing (right), which will give your stand stability.

Sit your doll in the "U" saddle (left) and mark the base level, then cut the tube a little higher. To get the exact distance measure the depth of your base.


Now take your base and drill a hole the same size as the tubing, make it slightly off center so you have enough room for your doll's feet to stand. Sorry I forgot to take a photo of this.

Next you simply push the tubing in the hole and if necessary glue the tubing in place. Allow the glue to dry and decorate your stand however you wish. Mine was a tight fit, so I didn't need the glue.

You can also make a different type (as you see in the 1st photo) using dowel, however, this doesn't have a "U" saddle for the doll to sit in, it just runs up the back underneath the dolls clothes. It works quite well with some dolls, but not for those with very loose joints.

I know sometimes dolls don't come with stands, especially if you pick one up on the secondary market, so I hope this tutorial helps in some way and you have fun making a few stands of your own.
Big hugs,
X