Toy Review: Fluffables by Orb Factory
Fluffables by Orb Factory are adorable! While finishing up Christmas shopping, I went to Michaels. You never know what sort of crafty activities you’ll find there. In the activity kit aisle, I saw the most adorable DIY craft creation: Fluffables. Flufflables are furry friends that you design and create! Inside the small box, you get a foam body mold, strips of yarn in various colors, a pair of plastic eyes and a nose/mouth, the rooting tool and, finally, a mystery accessory.
Creating your Flufflables pet is a lot like re-rooting a doll head. The tool is designed with two prongs, one longer than the other. You loop the string around your finger, slide it between the prongs and push it into the foam body. You do this repeatedly until you have covered your Fluffables head to toe. Use the included hair pick to fluff your creation and finally, scissors to give your fluffy friend’s new hair a trim. The hair is held in with tension, so if you were to pull on it, it would come out of the foam body, just like if you were to use the re-rooting tool on a doll and not finish it up with glue.
Pay attention to the picture on the box, as it will show you what kind of ears your animal will have: round (like a bear), triangular (like a kitty) or long (like a bunny). The box will also show you what colors are included. Do you want a natural looking creature or one made up of fantasy colors? Theoretically, you could even use your own yarn, with a little work to get it to the right consistency for your fluffy creation to look perfect.
Creating my Fluffables friend, Peanut, took about 3 hours. Just like re-rooting, the longest part was placing the yarn in just the right spot. Unlike rerooting, there were no pre-made plugs, so you get to choose where to place the yarn. You have to be careful to not join your holes together. Make sure you have enough space between the holes so they don’t touch, but not too much that you can see the original foam body. I made a rookie mistake on mine by placing too many pieces of yarn around the eye. The holes broke into one another and eventually made the foam around the plastic eye weak. I thought about trying to glue it back in, but later decided my pet would just have one eye.
I had so much fun making my Fluffables friend. I can’t wait to make another one! (Taffy, perhaps?) See more examples of Fluffables here. Have you seen Fluffables at your local craft store? Have you created a Fluffables friend? Share your thoughts in the comment area! And enjoy the video review above on OrbMolecules, also by Orb Factory!
Dolly Review: Silvi Timberwolf
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve reviewed a Monster High doll here on the blog. Last week, my mom and I visited the Mattel outlet. They had quite a few Monster High dolls deeply discounted. I picked up Silvi Timberwolf from the Electrified: Hair Raising Ghouls line. As one of the few dolls of quality produced this year (in my opinion), she was on my wish list. Silvi does not light up or have any of the gimmicks seen with some of the more deluxe Electrified dolls.
While her multicolored dress is lackluster, I like everything else about Silvi. First off, she comes on an articulated body, which can’t be said about most of the 2017 Monster High releases. She even has some molded fur around her wrists, ankles and ears! On top of that, her wolf shaped ears are pierced, a detail that used to be pretty standard, but has gone by the wayside over the years.
Silvi’s coloring reminds me a lot of Ghoulia. She has grey skin and light blue hair with highlights of green, pink and white. The 90’s kid in me loves, loves, loves the crimped hair Mattel chose for Silvi (and the other girls in this series). I’m not ashamed to say that I rocked my fair share of crimped hair as a kid/teenager! I think they styled Silvi’s hair really well. The pony tail and side part make an impact and fit with the Electrified theme well.
Unlike the other reboot dolls, Electrified features Silvi’s debut doll. This works in her favor, as we have no pre-reboot doll to compare her to. I think Silvi has a pretty face that is reminiscent of Rochelle. Her large eyes are filled with pastel blue/pink tones. Around her heavy black painted lashes, there are deeper shades of blue and pink.
Her lips are done with a pretty pastel pink and, of course, she has painted fangs! While not dark and gothic, like the early Monster High faces, this one has a cutesy element to it that I, personally, like!
One of my favorite things about Silvi’s face, though, has to be her nose! I love how delicate it is! I also like the textured ears. It’s a feature that’s easy to miss and could probably have been done a little better, but overall, they look good!
Silvi wears neon jelly-esc yellow ankle high heels. They may not be as detailed as they would have been years ago, but the neon heels work well with the grey skin and light hair color. They look pretty neat and remind me of the ‘good old days’ of Monster High.
Overall, I’m happy to have Silvi in my Monster High collection. She’s one of the cuter dolls to hit the market since the reboot of the Monster High line. What do you think of Silvi? Share your thoughts in the comment area!
Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter 