Dolly ReRoot: Little Miss No Name
One more post for 2015! My mother asked me to work on yet another Little Miss No Name re-root. I love working on LMNN’s, so I was happy to comply. (Check out my other LMNN posts here.)
Usually, my mom likes her LMNN’s to have blonde or brunette tones. For this re-root, she went in a different direction and chose a very different sort of color! This LMNN ended up with a wicked shade of Ultraviolet nylon hair. Ultraviolet is a warm grape tone and looks super cool.
This LMNN had a cut in her foot, which is why she’s currently wearing the large orange socks.
I believe I used 4-5 hanks on this girl, but I have to admit, I totally forgot to keep track– again. Both my mom and I agree that this hair calls for a groovy, hippy sort of outfit, which we’ll find for her eventually.
One of my resolutions for the new year is to do one re-root a month. I feel like I have 5,000 dolls sitting in my room waiting for new hair, so it’s about time I worked on them. And with that, I’ll leave you until 2016! Have a safe and happy new year!
The Chicago Toy Show at the Kane County Fairgrounds- Our Loot
Barbee0913 and I went to The Chicago Toy Show again late October. It was a strange show this time around. There were very few sixties play dolls (like Little Miss No Name, Giggles and Swingy) and antique composition dolls. The room was filled with Barbie’s, more recent play dolls and, surprisingly, Sasha dolls! The doll room itself was kind of small. The showrunners decided to dedicate a large part of the space to dining with a food stand and tables, which makes me think they had less doll vendors than usual. Enough of the negative, though, here’s what I picked up at the show! To see what my mom bought, be sure to watch the show video we did.
Madame Alexander Teen Maggie Face:
This was my largest purchase of the show. I have gathered a nice sized collection of hard plastic Madame Alexander’s over the years, most of whom are Margaret faces. This is my second Maggie face Madame Alexander. She’s 14″ tall and is wearing her stock outfit. Maggie’s hair is still styled well, even though she’s over 50 years old.
Homecoming Queen Skipper:
I’ve recently talked about the AA versions of this Skipper. (If you didn’t see that post, I recommend checking it out!) This white version seems to be the second release, judging by the light pink roses on her dress. At $5.00, she was a steal!
My Little Ponies:
Twinkle Eyed Locket (year 5), Magic Message Floater (year 6) and Firefly’s Adventure VHS Firefly (year 9) were well priced at one of the booths, so they came home with me. Just prior to me finding the booth, there was a girl who purchased all the Sea Ponies, which I would have gladly taken home with me, but alas, that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes. (I don’t have any Sea Ponies.) These three, however, caught my eye and at buy 2, get one free, I was sold. (Now, if I could only find an inexpensive Mimic to join my Year 5 Twinkle Eyed Ponies.)
Skipper Outfits:
It’s not very common I buy Skipper outfits, because the prices are always insane. I was light on cash during this show, so I decided to dive into some of the outfit boxes that offered played with/not mint pieces at affordable prices. They may not be perfect, but I’m not one who needs an outfit to be 100% complete to buy it. I ended up buying these three Skipper outfits, Skinny Stripes (first photo), Wooly PJ’s (middle photo) and Red Sensation (third photo).
Also worth mentioning are some of the smaller pieces I bought. I picked up this cute little Corolle outfit. I recently received a Corolle– you’ll see her soon– and wanted a new outfit for her to wear. And last, but not least, I bought a handful of Disney pins, which I proudly display on my American Girl Grin Pin Holder.
My mother picked up a few nice items, as well, including some Kathe Kruse dolls. To see her picks, you’ll have to watch the video, linked earlier in this post. Overall, it was a fun show. I may not have had a lot of money to play with, but I like what I picked up.
Have you found anything fun at a show recently? Share your thoughts below!
The Liebster Award, Tagged by BlackKitty
I was tagged by BlackKitty of The Multicrafteral Lab for The Liebster Award. This is a fun Q and A that has been going around the internet for sometime. I was tagged for this award before. Here’s a new set of questions, written up by BlackKitty.
The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog
2. Give your readers 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers to receive this award. (I’ll let you nominate yourselves!)
5. Invent 11 questions for your nominees.
Skipper, Barbie’s Little Sister
11 Facts About Me:
1-I’ve been blogging since 2010! (Yikes)
2-Keep your eyes peeled for Disney Toy Reviews, which I’ll be reviewing for About.com!!!! (Exciting!)
3&4-I went through an anime and manga phase during high school. My favorite anime is Serial Experiments Lain. Currently, I’m creating a Makie to look similar to the title character, Lain. My favorite manga is Marmalade Boy.
5-Since blogging, my doll collection has grown so much and now encompasses many doll lines that I don’t think it would, had I not started this blog.
6-More specifically, I’ve gathered a lot more 15″ and taller dolls. Until blogging, my only ‘big’ dolls were Pleasant Company’s Samantha, Molly, Felicity and a Girl of Today. Now, I have a small army of big dolls, including A Girl for All Time and Maru and Friends. If only I had the space to really display them all properly!
7-My dolls are displayed in glass IKEA cases.
8-My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh.
9-I am hugely obsessed with television shows. My favorites are Once Upon a Time, Doctor Who, Roswell and The Amazing Race. I’m kind of a ‘tween’ at heart and can easily be sucked into shows that I’m way too old for, like Australia’s Dance Academy. (Oh, Sammy!) I’m not immune to K-drama’s, either!
10-Once upon a time, I wanted to write for TV. I still may do that one day.
11-On the same note, for one brief shining moment, I lived in Burbank, CA, studied on the CBS lot and interned on the Warner Bros. lot.
Below are the answers to BlackKitty’s 11 questions:
1. Do you collect anything besides dolls?
Answer: I wish I could say no, but the answer is, oh boy, yes I do! I collect: C3P0, cool wall art, neat Doctor Who stuff, 80’s cartoon/toy related products that tie into my childhood, cute Christmas’y things… I guess I’m just a collector at heart.
2. What is your favourite part about the doll hobby?
Answer: My favorite part at the moment is customizing them. I’ve had so much fun creating my own Pullips (either from Make It Own kits or from stock bodies). I get an equal amount of enjoyment out of photographing dolls. I’m one of those that will go out of my way to get the photos printed through Shutterfly and the like so I have hard copies of some of my doll photos. I even have some photos on mugs and pillows.
3. What was the first doll you added to your collection as an adult?
Answer: Wow. That’s hard. That was a long time ago that I actively decided to collect (I was 16– which was literally 16 year ago. That’s so scary!) That’s when I started looking for vintage Skippers. I don’t remember my first Skipper purchased after that, but the first Skipper I spent good money on was a Japanese Skipper, a few years later. That was the first time I really invested in a hard to find doll for my collection.
4. How did blogging help you with your hobby?
Answer: Blogging has introduced me to so many new doll lines, it’s both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, my collection has diversified a lot, on the other hand, my wishlist is far longer than it would be without Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter. It has also helped me make friends with bloggers and even CEO’s of doll companies.
5. Name one doll or blog-related accomplishment that you’re very proud of.
Answer: The fact that I get to inspire doll collectors around the world every day is something I am very proud of. Also, because of this blog, I was able to pen an article on the hobby for Complete Wellbeing back in January. Without a blog, the magazine would have never been able to find me.
6. What is your favourite doll blog?
Answer: I plead the fifth! Because I’m working on stuff for my blog and (now) Disney Toy page much of the time, I feel like I don’t have enough time in the day to really browse other blogs. That being said, I do follow a few! I won’t tell you which, though! Every blog I’ve visited has been great in its own unique way!
7. When you get stuck on a project, how do you get it going again?
Answer: I stop working on it completely and do something else. Sometimes, I’ll start a new project. Other times, I’ll put on the TV and relax. I’m an ‘over-thinker’ and sometimes, all I need is a break from the problem to get started fresh again.
8. What new skill would you like to learn?
Answer: I would learn to master the Italian language or play the piano. Both of those things would be top on my list of things to learn. I feel like the piano would be pretty easy. The Italian language, not so much!
9. What are your 3 favourite books or authors?
Answer: Is it strange that I don’t really have favorite authors? I have favorite books. My absolute, all time favorite book is The Grey King, by Susan Cooper. It’s the fourth book in the Dark is Rising Sequence and the reason I’m obsessed with traveling to Wales. Another favorite of mine is Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger. Everything about it is wonderful. One more… I guess, my next favorite book would be The Host, by Stephanie Meyer. The first 100 pages aren’t very good, but the rest of the novel is great. A Certain Slant of Light, by Laura Whitcomb would be a close fourth. That story is beautifully written. For all my favorites, visit here. (FYI, before this blog, I reviewed books! Visit the link to read some of my reviews.)
10. Which doll do you want the most at the moment?
Answer: So hard! A cool SD scale male BJD would be nice. Or a Maggie Made Doll. Both of those are high on my list!
11. If you had to evacuate immediately with no possibility of return, which is the one item you’d pack besides the emergency case?
Answer: Can my one item be a whole suitcase? As far as dolls are concerned, I’d grab my Madame Alexander Victoria I got when my brother was born and Stitches, a plush from my crib. And a Little Miss No Name. They’re all sort of small. I can hold them! Maybe I can stuff some of my Hujoo’s in a hat or something, then ‘wear’ them to safety?
Lagoona
11 Questions for Others to Answer:
I am choosing to not nominate anyone. If you want to answer these questions, go for it. Share the link, so I can read your answers.
1-Are you a convention goer, doll themed or otherwise? What do you like most about the convention scene?
2-If you could customize your favorite movie or TV series into a doll line, what TV/Movie would it be and what doll line would be your inspiration?
3-If life were a Choose Your Own Adventure novel and you were told you could have your dream job, what job would that be?
4-We all have had a doll line ‘sneak’ up on us. What doll line ‘snuck’ up on you?
5-If you were told you could go anywhere in the world, where would that be?
6-Stock doll or Custom doll? Which do you prefer?
7-Are you more prone to reading reviews or watching reviews when browsing the web?
8-Do you have a dolly doppelganger? If not, do you have a real life doppelganger? Who?
9-How do you display your dolls?
10-What item currently tops your ‘Grail’ list?
11-How important are dolls to learning?
Big thank you to BlackKitty for nominating me! For those without a blog, feel free to answer in the comment area. 🙂
Dolls on the Go!
Last week, I took a short vacation to Cass Lake, Minnesota. It was a family vacation with my grandfather, immediate family and a few of my cousins. While I am definitely more of a Walt Disney World kind of gal when it comes to vacationing, being ‘one with nature’ for a week wasn’t too bad. We were right next to a body of water (Cass Lake), so I decided to bring a few dolls along for the ride and see if I could get a few good photos to share here on the blog!
We brought three dolls on the trip: Tonner Toys Maudlynne Macabre, a re-rooted Little Miss No Name and Arklu’s Stargazer Lottie. Click into the pictures to view them larger.
During the trip, we rented a pontoon.
For a few more photos, check out my Flickr album. Do you have a ‘go to’ travel doll you bring with you on vacation? Are you planning on taking a doll on your next trip away? Share your thoughts below.
Chicago Doll and Toy Show and C2E2 Goodies
This past weekend was very busy for my mom and me. Friday, we attended the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2). I was looking forward to it, being the first convention of a very convention heavy summer. Overall, it was a fun day. I put together my first ‘real’ cosplay, which was exciting. (Past years, I’ve usually just tossed on a Her Universe Everyday Cosplay look.) I’m very proud of my costume, actually. A few people recognized my slightly obscure character, Daria, which made me really, really happy.
Besides that fun, we actually found some pretty nice doll related items in the vendor hall. Besides growing my C3PO collection a bit with a few affordable action figures, I picked up a fair amount of Jem and the Holograms items, too! Now, these are all fan made items, no actual dolls, but still, finding one Jem thing is usually a big deal for me and at C2E2, I walked away with a few neat pieces.
If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know I love when a doll related product can be used in real life. That is what drew me to my first Jem and the Holograms purchase– a belt. Yes. It’s a new Jem and the Holograms belt with vintage promotional graphics on it. Being a huge fan of the promotional/box art, I couldn’t not buy this Seatbelt Belt from Buckle-Down. I just noticed Kimber and Shana aren’t on the belt. Strange, right? I love the graphic with Rio, Jerrica and Jem, though. It’s always been my favorite.
The second item I picked up was the first issue of the new Jem and the Holograms comic with the subscription cover (cover art by Sara Richard). I had been searching for this at my local comic book shop since it made its debut, but hadn’t found it yet. I’m glad I didn’t, because the cover artist was able to sign this for me at C2E2.
Last, and this is totally due to my mom, I picked up this amazing Jem and Cheetara print. You might remember Cheetara from Thundercats. This is a truly outrageous print, in my opinion. I love the classic, yet updated look the artist, Catherine Saturn, gave Jem.
To see the full photo album, visit my flickr. It has pictures of the other items I bought and some of the guests I saw, including the dreamy Eoin Macken. Embedded below are two blind box videos we shot after the show. They include a cameo from my brother!
Now, onto the following Sunday, when mom and I went to the Chicago Doll and Toy Show. Usually, I leave the Kane County Fairgrounds with bags of goodies. This year was a little different. Nothing really spoke to me, like it has in the past. One whole walk around and nothing really said, “Buy me, Ashley!”. The ‘Doll Room’ seemed lighter than usual, vendor wise. We didn’t see what we usually do, either. There were a lot of porcelain and older composition dolls, but not a lot of baby boomer dolls, like Little Miss No Name, Sketchy or Giggles. There also weren’t as many fashion dolls or Madame Alexander’s for sale. It was a really strange showroom floor.
That being said, we still managed to buy some pretty awesome things and the best part? We got them for amazing prices. One of the dolls I purchased was a reproduction Terri Lee doll, Bonnie Lou. She was part of the KMart exclusive line, according to the seller. There were a few on the show floor, but the one I picked up was the cheapest to be seen at $15.00.
Another purchase, my first for the day, actually, was a 21″ R&B (Arrenbee) composition bride doll from the 40’s or early 50’s. She wears a brown mohair wig, has dark brown eyes and tan skin. This bride doll is my first R&B doll and my first composition doll. I’m currently on the hunt of finding the exact name of this doll and a more definitive year of production.
The third item I picked up was a 14″ Madame Alexander hard plastic Amy. This was the only lonely Madame Alexander doll in the dealers booth and when she saw us taking an interest in her, she came over to tell us the dolls story. It turns out one of the vendors dear friends had passed away and she was trying to get her friends doll collection into good hands. The marked price on the doll was $85.00, but by the time I got to the booth, she had been lowered to $35.00. There wasn’t a question about if she would go home with me at that price. Her face needs some work, but her hair is practically perfect, due to the previous owner being a hair dresser.
My mom picked up a number of fun dolls, too, which include a mint in box Baby First Step and Rosebud. Watch the video reveal to see everything we bought and some fun little banter, as well. Also, visit flickr for a few more images of these beautiful dolls!
Did you see anything fun at a doll show recently? Have you added something new to your collection? Do you know the name of my new R&B or have you seen an Amy in the outfit mine is in (because I haven’t yet)? Share your thoughts below!
Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter 