One of my favorite doll designers is Maggie Iacono (Maggie Made Dolls).  Her dolls are literally works of art.  Maggie specializes in crafting “collectible, pressed wool felt dolls that [are] completely poseable using her own unique ball jointing system”.  I’ve loved Maggie’s dolls since I first saw them online years ago.  For me, they’re dream dolls, beautiful works of art that I know I’ll never be able to afford.  However, I always look forward to seeing what Maggie designs year after year.

Recently, Maggie posted images of her new 2013 doll line and I thought I’d share them with you!!!

Mademoiselle Peacock by Maggie Made Dolls

Above is Mademoiselle Peacock.  She has a limited run of 40.  ”Mademoiselle Peacock is crowned with a unique fascinator comprising of styled peacock feathers and black tulle. Her long blonde human hair wig falls just above her waistline, contrasting beautifully with her peacock blue Edwardian inspired jacket and silk brocade underbodice.”  I love the colors on Mademoiselle Peacock and the headpiece is fantastic.

Marcy and her New Toy by Maggie Made Dolls

Isn’t Marcy and her New Toy cute?  She has a limited run of 5.  Yes, you read that right, 5.  Judging by the dolls description, a ton of work went into designing Marcy.  “Marcy is inspired from so many of Maggie’s talents. The jacket she is wearing is made of fabric that Maggie has nano felted herself taking fibers of the just the right shades of green and combining silk threads for accents and texture.”  Her skirt is artfully designed and her marionette?  Love it!

Nick by Maggie Made Dolls

This is Nick.  Limited to 40, “Nick is dressed warmly in 1920’s style attire ready to play ball… Most notable of Nick’s attire is his one-of-a-kind hand felted vest created from colorful soft merino wool fibers and finished with brown ribbing.”  How can you not adore Nick?  I love the 1920′s vibe.  And all the different textures on him work together so well!

Margaret by Maggie Made Dolls

Margaret is my favorite of Maggie’s new releases, hands down.  Also limited to 40 pieces, “Margaret elegantly wears a navy blue felt cloche hat adorned with a silk band and a hand cut silk flower accented by felt leaves. Her blonde curly mohair wig is styled in a youthful bob. Her sherbet pink 1920‘s flapper style “over-dress” is made of silk organza, embellished with delicate lace trim and exquisite embroidery over a felt under-dress”.

There are many reasons why I love Margaret.  First, the mohair bob paired with the blue hat is adorable.  Second, I love the 20′s flapper style dress.  The coloring of it works so well with Margaret’s skin, hair, and other accessories.

While no longer available,  I recommend you check out my other favorites:  Caroline, Lauren, Helen, Virginia, Bonnie, and Once Upon a Time (my all time favorite!).  Click ‘View by Date’ to see many, many more of Maggie’s hand crafted dolls. Also, why not ‘like’ Maggie’s new Facebook page?

What do you think of Maggie’s newest pieces?  Do you own one? Do you want to own one?  What is your favorite Maggie Made Doll?  Share your thoughts below!

I didn’t do much re-rooting these past few months.  It wasn’t so much from lack of supplies, but from lack of time!  I personally prefer to have an entire day free for a re-root, which with the holidays and hecticness that is January, I didn’t get many of those!

Why do I like an entire day?  Well, I don’t have a doll room or office I can re-root in.  If I did, I could easily just put my tools down and not have to worry about moving/storing the half done doll head.  Since I don’t have any sort of room like that, I alway worry about the hair accidentally getting pulled out as I move the doll here to there  (b/c the tool holds doll hair in with tension, not knots, until it’s glued in).

We picked this Little Miss No Name up a while back at the Kane County Doll and Toy Show.  While her body and face were in great shape, her hair was a mess! The prized ‘tear’ that is usually lost to vacuum cleaners or couch cushions was included.  My mom isn’t quite sure if this is the real tear or not.  There are many imitation tears out there, believe it or not!  But this tear looks much better than some I have seen on Little Miss No Name, so even if it isn’t 100% real (which it still could be!), I think it looks great on her!

Before Her Re-Root

My mom requested a color that was similar to the pale blonde Little Miss No Name was manufactured with, yet different.  We settled on Nylon Butterscotch from Dollyhair.  Little Miss No Name took a total of four large Barbie hanks.  And in line with my other re-roots, required two orders of hair!  (One day, I’ll figure out how to order enough hair the first time!)

Almost There!

Here’s Little Miss No Name after the re-rooting was done and before the final come out and styling.

After the Re-Root

After the Re-Root, Close Up

After the Re-Root- Medium

I really love how Little Miss No Name turned out!  The hair color works really well with her skin tone and lightens up her face a bit.  (We’ll be seeing more dolls with this, as I over ordered the color by 2 whole hanks!) The outfit was originally created for the BFC dolls, but fits Little Miss No Name very well!

Feel free to leave comments below!  I’d love to hear what you think of Little Miss No Name or this newest re-root!

This Christmas, I received a gift card for Denver Doll Emporium.  I held off on spending it until I found an affordable, in stock BJD.  Finally, a few weeks ago, I found the doll and ordered.  I’d like to introduce you to Island Doll Artemis. (Facebook fans, you’ve already seen some of these photos!)

This post is VERY picture heavy!  You’ve been warned!

Island Doll Artemis Promo Shot

My Artemis arrived only with eyes, not all the bells and whistles you see above.  She’s my first Yo-SD sized doll.  Her eye lashes were falling off when she arrived, hence the one on/one off state you see in this picture.  I’m not a huge fan of eye lashes on BJD’s to begin with, so it was no big deal!

Artemis- Front

Artemis- Side

Artemis- With lashes

Artemis- headcap

Artemis‘s eyes were held in with tons of putty!  Also, it seems that one of the magnets unglued in transit.  Like the eye lashes, not a huge deal.  I can just glue it back in!  To save money, I decided to not buy an outfit or wig for her until convention season (this summer).  In the following pictures, she’s wearing the only dress I have that fits Yo-SD’s and the only wig I found that fits!  I hope to pick up more for her during ACEN 2013 this summer.

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up!

Artemis- All Dolled Up! (Alongside the 11th Doctor)

I plan on doing a full review on her when I get more accessories for her, but here’s a quick rundown on my thoughts.  I love her size!  I didn’t really know what ‘Yo-SD’ meant when I ordered her, but I really, really love it!  Artemis has weight to her, which I like.  She seems like a great value for her price! Artemis holds poses and stands very well. I’m very happy with her.

As I mentioned before,  I’ll do a full blown review once I get more for her (outfits, wigs, shoes, etc!  Maybe even a new name?).  Until then, why not watch the video I did for her box opening?

Have questions? Comments?  Don’t be shy!  Leave a comment below!

Have you heard of Kurhn dolls?  Well, up until a year or so ago, I hadn’t.  Kurhn is manufactured in China and I’m assuming sold in Chinese toy stores. I first came across Kurhn on eBay.  I don’t remember how exactly, because I know I definitely didn’t type in Kurhn, but I’m glad to have stumbled upon them!

Kurhn dolls are supposedly made in the same factories Mattel employs to work on Barbie.  They typically have large anime like eyes, rooted hair, and have been released on articulated and non-articulated vinyl bodies.  They’re fashion dolls and measure about 10″ tall.  Proportion wise, they are similar to Barbie’s size and weight. All legitimate Kurhn‘s have  Kurhn etched on the back of the dolls head mold (like you see with ball jointed dolls).

I’m always a bit skeptical about ordering items shipped from outside North America on eBay.  I know, I shouldn’t worry, but I do.  This past Christmas, I ordered my mom a fake Francie from the Netherlands and since that arrived without a hitch, I thought I would take a leap of faith and order a Kurhn doll from their ‘authorized eBay dealer’.

Choosing my Kurhn was very hard!  From the plethora of Kurhn‘s available, I chose my top three.

2 in 1 Styles look

Disney Themed doll

Kurhn with Living Room

After much debate, I decided on Kurhn with her Living Room set.  The main draw of this one was Kurhn‘s adorable face and hair style  and the fact that with this set, I could test out both the doll quality and the furniture quality!  Kurhn took roughly a week and half to two weeks to arrive from her original home in China to the States. I was actually pretty surprised at how fast she arrived!

Special delivery!

Packaged nicely in a sturdy hand cut cardboard box, she arrived safe and sound.  There was no damage whatsoever, even though she had traveled quite a ways to get to me.  One small hitch in the packaging was that I believe a tiny multi-legged stowaway traveled with Kurhn.  (Somehow I don’t think the dogs dragged in a teeny, tiny centipede like thing in the dead of winter!)  After dealing with that minor setback, I got back to enjoying the thrill of opening Kurhn!

Kurhn/Living Room set in Space themed box

Kuhrn’s box

Kuhrn’s box

Kuhrn’s box

Kuhrn’s box

There was one other, er, quirk about the doll’s packaging.  This time, it came from the actual doll box.  As I mentioned, I ordered the Kurhn/Living room set.  There is also a space themed set available.  My Kurhn seemed to be packaged in the wrong box!  To be honest, that still strikes me as weird. But, it was a small thing and, thankfully, they had the proper doll in he box!

Kurhn on her card

I own a few fashion dolls from Asia.  Not many, but a few! My small collection includes one basic Takara Jenny, three Marmalade Boy (manga/anime) themed dolls, and two Licca-chans.  Most of them have pretty basic, somewhat cheap bodies.  Granted, they’re not ‘new’ by any means, so the manufacturers may have changed the bodies now.  In comparison to what I currently own, Kurhn has a very nice body!  While not jointed at the elbows or knees, her arms move up, down and around pretty freely.  She’s made of similar vinyl to Barbie.  Her limbs don’t feel hollow or look cheap or stiff.

Kurhn with a Licca-Chan

Kurhn with furniture

First impressions?  Adorable and solidly made.   As I mentioned, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this doll.  I ordered her hoping she was a quality fashion doll and that is what arrived at my doorstep!

Let me start off by giving you an idea of her overall quality.  She has well rooted and, in this case, well styled hair.    Her body is solid, has a good weight to it, and her limited joints move freely.  Her head mold isn’t too hard or too soft.  It’s evenly matched with Mattel’s Barbie, which leads me to believe the eBays sellers claim that she is manufactured in a company authorized to work on Barbie.  Amazing and very unlike Barbie, Kurhn has the ability to stand pretty well!  She’s not balanced by any means, but if you pose her well enough, she’ll stand long enough to snatch a quick picture.  This is not something I could say about most other fashion dolls!

‘The Doctor Dances’ with Kurhn

Some Kurhn‘s are jointed at the elbows and knees.  This one is not, as you can see.  If you look closely at the picture of the Disney themed Kurhn, you’ll notice the joints.

Kuhrn’s Body

Her face paint is fantastic.  It was one of the main reasons I gave this doll a second look!  The large brown eyes are unique compared to dolls in the States and are a bit ‘anime’ in style.  I’ve always been a fan of the large eyes found on Asian made fashion dolls.  Compared to my Takara Jenny‘s and Licca-Chan‘s, I actually prefer Kurhn‘s look.  While the characteristics are embellished in Kurhn‘s face paint, she still looks like a real girl.  There’s very minimal make up, too, which I like.  It gives Kurhn a nice, natural look.

Kurhn’s Pretty Face

Kurhn (WS)

Her hairstyling is super cool.  It’s done up in two twisty buns.  The only thing that isn’t perfect is that her bangs do stick up a bit.  However, if I had a choice between this or having them stuck down with too much hairspray, I’d take this!  It looks much more natural than when dolls have their hair plastered down to their head!

Another shot of Kurhn’s face

Buns

Onwards to the clothing…  In a perfect world, the quality of the clothing would be a smidgen higher.  The outfits are made well enough, but they could be improved.  The pink jacket, for example, has a lot of threads lining the inside that always catch on Kurhn‘s hands when I put it on her.  On the other hand, everything fits well and the outfits are cute, not to mention, they photograph well.

Kurhn without her pink jacket

A closer look at her pants and top

Kuhrn’s pink jacket

The nice thing about this Kurhn is that she comes with furniture!  Kurhn came with a chair, table, and sofa.  There are small food pieces and pillows, as well.  It’s hollow, plastic furniture and a bit smaller than Kurhn‘s proportions call for, but it’s not bad furniture.

Food pieces on yellow plastic table

Overall, I really like this Kurhn doll.  I totally see myself buying more of these guys in the future.  Here are a few more shots from my photo shoot with Kurhn.  Special guest?  The 11th Doctor!

Photo Fun with Kurhn

Photo Fun with Kurhn

Photo Fun with Kurhn

Photo Fun with Kurhn

Photo Fun with Kurhn

For those who follow me on Youtube, a video review will be posted soon!

What do you think of Kurhn?  Do you have any questions about her?  Do you have a favorite Kurhn?  Share your thoughts below!

March 9 was Barbie’s 54th Birthday!  Time sure does fly!

My Restored Number 4 Barbie

I don’t have many of the original Barbie’s.  My total count is a whopping two.  One  was given to me from my mothers collection and was restored by Krista’s Doll Restoration.   She’s a number 4 Barbie head on either a 3 or a 5 body.  I think we decided she was transitional or the past owner (not my mom) had switched the bodies.  The other was just recently given to me by my boss.  That number 5 Barbie is waiting to be restored.   I think I might hit Arnaldo’s Restorations up for that one eventually.

My Restored Number 4 Barbie

Upon taking photos for this article, I realized something.  Original Barbie dolls are hard to photograph!  I tried various angles in hopes of getting that ‘looking into the camera’ look, but it took a lot of guess and check!  For nostalgia’s sake, I thought I’d share some Barbie commercials with you!  These will give you a glimpse of how Barbie has changed over the years!  Below is Barbie’s first TV commercial!

Here’s a few more Barbie commercials circa 1959 through the 1970′s!

Quick Curl Barbie and Mod Hair Ken:

Barbie and the Rockers are some of my favorites!

90′s Camp Barbie line is another favorite of mine, though I only own Skipper and Ken!

And remember 1999′s Generation Girls?  They were great!

And the newest Barbie line, Barbie and the Pink Shoes:

This is just a sampling of commercials I found on YouTube.  Here’s wishing Barbie a very merry Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday!

Do you have any special Barbie memories you’d like to share?  Feel free to comment below!

A few months back, I reviewed Meygana, a Bratzillaz doll. There was much debate between the similarities between the  Bratzillaz line and Monster High.  Now, I still believe that there really is no such thing as a ‘new’ idea.  Everything is a take on something else.  Bratzillaz might share some common elements, but they’re not an exact rip-off of Monster High.  They have a much different ‘vibe’ for me than Monster High and I think that is what really separates the two!

Bratzillaz Switch a Witch Packaging

Bratzillaz Switch a Witch Packaging

That being said I’m going to compare the Bratzillaz Switch a Witch set to the Monster High Create a Monster set a lot because they’re both very similar in look, feel, and concept.  There are various Switch a Witch sets available.  I picked up a single pack (ie: one doll) for $12.95 at my local Walmart, but there are also two packs that let you create two witches.

The packaging from the front looks a lot like a Monster High Create a Monster.  The limbs are place together in various pockets so right from the get go you can enjoy putting the doll together piece by piece.  It was easy to open and none of the pieces gave me too much trouble getting out. This single set came with 21 pieces, which can create one complete Bratzilla.   The pieces count  includes a brush. No stand is included in this set.  One staple of the doll so far is that it seems they all will be released with two toned skin.  For example, my set’s doll is half yellow, half white.

Switch a Witch pieces

Manufacturers have created ‘create your own doll’ sets for years, Mattel, however has done it most recently. There is no denying that the art of building your Switch a Witch is very similar to building a Create a Monster (referred to as CAM through the end of article).  Pieces fit into the body with pegs, which are slightly larger and rounder than CAM sets.  They’re solidly made limbs and the pegs look like they should withstand active play well.

Once together, the body is, for the most part, stable. My Switch a Witch‘s arms are tight and hold poses well.  Her torso has a separate waist joint, which is pre-assembled.  It allows for more added mobility than I remember getting in my Meygana.  The only parts that are less stable than I’d like are her lower legs and how they connect with her thighs.    My Switch a Witch’s body likes hyper extending forward or if tilted too far back, likes bending quickly at the knees and dive bombing to the floor.

Switch a Witch- Together

As far as her fashions go, I’ve finally decided what I think of them.  While the top limits her shoulder mobility, I like it.  It is a cute little top.  It’s made from a shiny vinyl short of material and fits her well.    Her pants fit her fine and they go with the whole two-tone concept.  I’m not super excited about them, but they match the top and might work nicely with outfits from other Switch a Witch sets.

Switch a Witch- Splits

One thing I like about the Bratzillaz line in general are their inset eyes.  This doll has shiny, silver sparkles in her eyes, which look really cool.  Her make up is really nicely done.  I love the dark lips with the silver eyes.  And strangely, is all works quite well with her two toned face.

Switch a Witch- Cute face!

And the make it or break it element for me?  The wig.  By now, you probably know that if I buy a CAM like toy, I expect the wig to look good.  It shouldn’t be that hard to be able to create a well fitting wig.  How did the Switch a Witch wig turn out?  Surprisingly, it fits well.  It isn’t perfect, mind you, but it isn’t as horrible as some of the wigs CAM‘s have had in the past.

Switch a Witch and Meygana

The Switch a Witch wigs are one of the most versatile to borrow for other doll lines because it wasn’t made with any sort of peg inside. It’s literally just a plastic wig cap that you squeeze onto a round head.

Monster High CAM with Switch a Witch wig

The main issue I have with her stock wig is the fact that it sits really high on her head.  I would have preferred if her ‘hairline’ was more natural.  I’m not crazy about the styling of this wig, either.

How do other wigs fit?  Recently, my mom and I picked up a good number of Liv wigs from Saver’s.  To make them fit our CAM‘s, we chopped off the peg from the inside of the wig, leaving a round wig cap.  They fit really well on the Switch a Witch head.  They look so much better on her, too, than her stock wig!  Below are some quick photos we shot of our Switch a Witch wearing Liv wigs.

Liv Wig

Liv Wig

Liv Wig

Liv Wig

Liv Wig  (She has a bit of Synergy meets Flash Dance going on here!)

Liv Wig

Liv Wig

I haven’t tried any CAM wigs on my Switch a Witch because I haven’t had any need to cut out the pegs in those wigs (and quite honestly, if I don’t like them enough to put on my CAM‘s, I’m not going to put them on these).

Overall, I think people will have lots of fun with these.  They have good limbs and they are kind of cute when you get to dress them up however you’d like!  A huge positive for me is that so far, even with the single sets, you can create a complete doll (as opposed to needing to buy a starter set of two and reusing upper arms and thighs.

I put together a video review for those who care to watch!  I foresee the comments getting a little heated, if it’s at all like my other Bratzillaz review, so any comments you make on that video will have to be approved by me before they go live!

These Switch a Witch‘s are worth taking a second glance at.  For those who like to customize their collection, you may really enjoy these!

Switch a Witch, in purple Liv wig

I love comments! If you have any questions, thoughts, etc, leave a comment below!

A few months ago, I asked for all you awesome Monster High collectors to answer a few questions for a spec article I was writing about (you guessed it!) Monster High. It’s about time for an update on that article!

Write, write, write!!!

I officially finished it late last month and have since submitted it to the two doll magazines I could find.  You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find editor information on some websites.  It’s like they try to hide it!  The article ended up being 1,898 words and, I think, freakishly fabulous!  1,800 words comes out to about 4 full typed pages.

Now, the wait begins!

I couldn’t have written the article without everyone who was awesome enough to answer my questions.  I haven’t heard back from either magazine yet, but I plan on following up this week.  Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t get lost or ignored!!!

Believe it or not, I don’t think I’ve reviewed any Novi Stars for this blog yet.  We own some, but they just never made their way here.  Well, that’s about to change right now.  For here is a review on the new Novi Stars Stellar Skinz Cici Thru.

Novi Star Stellar Skinz

Novi Star Stellar Skinz

Cici Thru‘s unique characteristic is, as you’d expect, see through, hollow limbs.  What’s neat about this set is that not only do you get the doll, but you also get two skins and multiple accesories to dress her in.  The Stellar Skinz set is, essentially, Novi Stars answer to all those ‘create a doll’ sets out there at the moment.  While they could have just tossed in two fabric outfits and an extra wig, they went the extra mile and tried making it ‘theirs’, which I applaude them for.

Cici Thru

Let’s start of with Cici.  Her see through body seems to be more posable than other Novi Stars.  For example, her legs move up, down, left, right.  She can do the fantastic splits in both directions.  Her knees still don’t bend, but I love that the thigh joints allow for more movement than other Novi Stars!  Cici’s arms are a bit more traditional.  They still don’t bend at the elbow, but they do move up, down, left, and right.

Cici posing in basic outfit

Cici posing in basic outfit

An important thing to note is that this Novi Star is much taller than her original counterpart!  In general, her limbs are longer than the traditional Novi Star.  Her head mold, however, seems the same.

Cici against an original Novi Star

I love her make up. She has Neapolitan colored eye shadow which looks good on her see through pink face.  Her lips are placed well, too.  One thing I think MGA got right on these dolls is the proportions of their faces.  I’ve always liked dolls with alien like eyes (think Hujoo!), but it’s easy to do it wrong.  Novi Stars always have faces that just look ‘right’.

Cici’s face paint

Onto her hair…  Surprise!  It’s a wig!  Novi Stars of the past have all been rooted, but this one has a removable wig!  I was surprised, because I didn’t remember reading that tidbit on the packaging.  About her wig– it is really big.  It fits this doll, but it won’t fit a Monster High Create a Monster of a Bratzillaz Switch a Witch or vise versa.  I’m not sure what size Monique wig she would be, but nothing I have fits, which makes me believe you’ll need something meant for a doll larger than 1/6 scale.  The wig itself is made with a plastic wig cap.  No pesky pegs.

Skins

Skins

accessories

The meat and potatoes of this set has to be the skins.  We have a skin that transforms Cici into a rock star and a zombie.  The skin itself is super easy to slide on and off the doll.  It’s made of a material that has a gel like feeling to it.  I’m not sure how exactly to describe it, actually.  The skin left a bit of an oily feeling on my skin, but overall, they look really cool on the doll.

Rock Star Look

Zombie Skin

The con of the skins is that once you put them on the doll, her posing is far more limited.  Her arms are pretty much stuck in a neutral position and her legs don’t move half as much as they did in the fabric outfit.

Gail Lexi

Also available is Gail Lexi.  I haven’t seen this one in person yet, but the Skeleton skin intrigues me!

For those who like video reviews, check out the video below!

Cici

Overall, I really like Cici!  I love that this ‘create a doll’ concept isn’t an exact copy of any other ‘create a doll’ on the shelves right now.  On top of that, her skins are really cute.  I recommend checking this Novi Star out when you get a chance!

Feel free to leave a comment below with comments, questions, thoughts, etc!

It’s that time again!  The season where chocolate bunnies fear to leave their chocolate homes.  The season where toy stores shelves are (yet again) void of everything under $15.00.  The season where we all willingly let a bunny traipse around our homes late at night.  Yes. Easter is finally upon us.  Easter is about much more than just tasty Cadbury Eggs and egg hunts. It’s about being with family, celebrating life.

Pinoccio visits with the Easter Bunny

My mom and I were walking through Tuesday Morning last week.  It’s a store that gets a hodge podge of stock.  You never know what you’ll see.  I was shocked when I walked down the toy aisle and saw a Pullip box!  I b-lined to it and saw it was this Dal  Pinoccio priced at $40.00!!!!  Needless to say, I was not leaving home without Pinoccio!!!

The Doctor Investigates

Seeing as how Doctor Who, Series 7, Part 2 premiere’s tonight, I had to put the Doctor in a picture!  It’s been too long, Doctor, please don’t leave my TV for so long again!

Caterine and her Easter Eggs

I wasn’t sure if she’d hold an Easter Egg, but our little Scaris friend is quite strong!  From all of us here to all of you,  have a safe and happy Easter!

If you’ve watched any of my YouTube videos, you’ll notice that our walls are lined with doll cases. Those dolls belong to my mother, Patty, the original doll collector.  She’s been collecting since she received her first doll at 5.

Unlike my own childhood, my mother was told to clean out her doll collection every few years, so many of her treasures were sold off at various table sales or given to charity.  It wasn’t until she was a young teenager that her mother, my grandmother, decided that maybe doll collecting wasn’t something you had to give up as you grew up.

My mother is also the reason I am a doll collector.  Growing up in a house with doll cases along most walls creates one of two kinds of people– one type shy’s away from all things doll related and the other, which I’m included in, embraces it and continues on with their own collection.  Would I have a doll collection if my mother had collected China?  Or Scissors?  Who knows, but I love it now!  (For the record, I’m glad that my mom doesn’t collect either of those things, though they would probably take up less space!)

This post is the first in something I hope to do a lot more of– a collector’s spotlight.  Learning about other collectors is, to me, very interesting!  I love knowing what they collect, why they collect, what they get out of collecting.  (I’m betting that you like that sort of thing, too!)  The first collector spotlight subject is my mom, Patty, because she is the reason I’m here a) on the earth and b) writing this blog!

This collector’s spotlight is a two part post– one part of this is on YouTube in video format. (To see the video, click the hyperlink.  I’ve disabled embedding for this video!) The other part, this post right here, will include images so you can gaze at them to your hearts content. I encourage you to check out both portions!

Barbie’s Dream House– No More Occupancy!

My mom collects lots of different kinds of dolls, but her collection mainly focus’s on Barbie’s.  Most of the dolls in the collection are from the 80′s, 90′s, and My Scene era, though her Monster High collection seems to be growing month after month!  As you can see from the picture above, they’ve taken over the Dreamhouse.

My Scene, Monster High and Kelly’s

Ikea Cases

Ikea Case

Ikea Case

Ikea case

Besides Barbie’s, our house has many other kinds of dolls.

Doll Case

doll case

Some of my mom’s favorite dolls are Sasha’s, Little Miss No Name’s, and 60′s dolls like Giggles, Kissy, or walking dolls.  Also in the collection are Wizard of Oz dolls, mostly Dorothy’s, Magic Nursery, Thumbelina’s, and Little Kiddles.

Wizard of Oz and Kiddles

Magic Nursery

Thumbelina’s

Monster High Gang on Dreamhouse

For more photos of dolls in my mom’s collection, why not check out her Flickr?  And don’t forget to watch the video Collector Spotlight!  I’d like to say thank you to my mom, Patty, for allowing me to videotape her and her collection.  (I love you lots, Mom, and don’t worry, you can get me back when it’s my turn in front of the camera!)

As a reminder, please do not repost these pictures anywhere.  :)

I love comments!  Why not leave one below?  I’d love to hear what you think of this Collector’s Spotlight!

As you may remember, I wasn’t a fan of Integrity‘s re-imagined of Jem and the Holograms.  Yesterday, however, they blew me away with their promo pictures of rival rock band, The Misfits!

Winning is Everything!

When Jem’s promo pictures hit the web, myself and other surmised that the face mold might work better on The Misfits and we were right.  These guys look spot on in my book!

Phyllis “Pizzazz” Gabor

Here’s Pizzazz, leader of The Misfits.  Her hair color and overall look are perfect!

Phyllis “Pizzazz” Gabor

Roxanne “Roxy” Pellegrini

Roxy is also pretty spot on.  Of the three Misfits released, she is probably the least like her cartoon persona.  However, I really like what they did in her eye area.  I only hope they don’t deviate from their promo photos too much for the final release!

Roxanne “Roxy” Pellegrini

Mary “Stormer” Phillips

My favorite Misfit was and is still Stormer.  You don’t know how many times I wanted her to just quit the Misfits and join Jem and the Holograms.  Integrity’s re-imagination of her is perfect.  Fashion designers always talk about mixing ‘hard’ and ‘soft’.  Integrity did a great job of that here.  Stormer still looks strong and Misfit like, but has a softness to her.  Also, I love the hair!

Mary “Stormer” Phillips

All three of these fall under the now normal ‘ultra limited’ release, meaning you’ll probably see a lot of them on eBay for three times the original price.  Most retailers have these listed as $119.00 each.  They are a pre-order for May, but I recommend putting your order in soon because I’m sure they’ll sell out before then!  Each have a run of 1200.

Now that the original Holograms and Misfits are out, I wonder who they’ll release next.  Craig, Stormer’s brother and temporary drummer for Jem and the Holograms?  Or will we get Raya or Jetta?  I hope they go to some of the secondary characters next.  I am interested in seeing what they’d do with Video or Danse.  Course, we just have to wait and see, I guess!

What do you think of these Misfits?  Love them?  Hate them?  Who do you want to see next in the line?  Share your thoughts below!

I talk about Hujoo‘s a lot on this blog and why not?  They’re affordable, crafted well, and easily customizable.  Back in September, I added two new Hujoo’s in to my BJD family, Tegan and Rose-Marie, both of whom are The Junky Spot exclusive Hujoo Freya.  My Hujoo family has just grown a bit larger with the arrival of the new male anthro BJD from Hujoo, Freyr!  Sold again exclusively at The Junky Spot, Freyr has a different cat like head mold and male body.  He comes in two colors- white and light grey.  Freyr retails for $44.99 and is 23cm tall.

Here are some pictures of a few Hujoo Freyr‘s that arrived at my doorstep this week!

The Goodies!

Head and Tail Pieces

Freyr in both colors

Freyr right out of the box

Light Grey Freyr

White Freyr

Freyr in both colors

For those that like video’s, I recorded the box opening for these guys!

I’m working on getting these guys proper face ups, eyes, and clothing.  Once I do, I’ll be doing a full out video review on Freyr!

Until then, what do you think of Freyr?  Did you order one?  What kind of face up would you give him?  Share your thoughts in the comment area!

Hujoo‘s are triple threats– they’re adorable, affordable, and easy to customize.  And here for you today is a review of the newest Hujoo to hit the market, Freyr!  Freyr is exclusive to one of my favorite online shops The Junky Spot and is the male counterpart to last years Freya (also exclusive).

The Gang

If you missed my Freyr box opening, you can check it out here.  Here’s a little back story on this little guy.  Freyr is 23 cm tall, is strung (like other Hujoo’s and BJD’s), made of ABS,  and has the same ‘clickable’ posing ability that traditional Hujoo‘s have.  He is an anthro BJD, meaning he’s made to look like an animal.

Hujoo Freyr

In this case, Freyr was created to look like a cat.  18mm eyes are recommended and if you were to wig him, he’d be a 6.5-7. Keep in mind, you’d have to OOAK the wig a bit to make room for his ears.   Freyr comes in two colors– white and light grey.  I received both for this review.

Freyr’s Pre Face Up

A very important thing to note is that Freyr, like his female companion Freya, arrives at your door without any sort of face up.  It’s up to you to create Freyr‘s character with a custom face up.  I decided not to jinx myself by doing both face up’s myself, so I asked my mom to do the white Freyr‘s look.  In the end, both Freyr’s turned out very different and, if I may say so, very adorable!  (As a side note, my light grey Freyr has a dark grey face up, so you’ll notice he’s a bit two-toned at the moment.  I plan on blushing his body later to make the difference in tones less harsh.)

Freyr’s Post Face Up (with a Freya on the far left)

Let’s go top to bottom, shall we?  As many of you Freya owners are probably wondering, how’s the head cap?  Is it a pain in the neck like Freya‘s?  Do you need sharp objects to take it off or put it on?  Do you need to remodel the pegs that connect the front to the back?  Nope.  None of the above.  The head cap goes on ten times better than Freya‘s.  No knives or sharp objects required!  I still used an icing knife to get the head cap started, but once I separated it the front from the back, it was off in under 4 minutes.  Putting it on was much easier, too.

Notice the difference in placement of the head cap. Freya (left) Freyr (right)

You’ll notice the difference in the head cap design here.  The mold itself has thicker sides and is designed to encompass less of the back of the head, as opposed to Freya, who has a head cap that nearly cuts her head in half.

Notice the new head cap design. It’s thicker and works ten times better!

A big thank you to Emory at The Junky Spot for listening to his customers concerns about the original Freya head cap.  This is much, much better!

Freyr In White

Freyr‘s face is adorable.  I’m not usually crazy about dolls with narrow eyes, but Freyr has won me over.  His eyes are slightly more narrow and slanted than Freya‘s open eyes. He has a more ‘cat like’ look to him, actually.  You can see clear differences between him and his female counter part.

Two of Kind– Freyr (left), Freya (right)

As far as his body goes, he has he same amount of joints you’d find on other Hujoo‘s, along with his special claw like hands and feet.

Claws

His arms and legs are essentially the same as Freya‘s.  Freyr holds poses well, as I have come to expect with well strung Hujoo‘s.

Notice the large knob at his neck

The one downside is the knob at the base of his neck.  I never noticed it on my Freya, because her head cap never fit well enough to notice, but you can see it plainly with Freyr.  There is a knob where his head cap meets his neck that you can see when you tilt his head at various angles.  Sometimes it makes his neck area look really strange for photo’s.  It would be great if they could make it slightly more ‘fluid’ looking.

Freyr posing, dressed in My Scene clothing

Exploring

As far as clothing goes, just like Freya, he can wear Barbie clothing with a little tweaking.  Our Freyr‘s are wearing some of the few Ken clothes we own.  The white Freyr is sporting some My Scene surfer shorts that have been fitted for him with a few stitches.  The light grey Freyr is wearing some of Ken’s wardrobe.  The waist is big in both cases.  I hope to pick up some cooler Ken clothes for him next shopping trip.

Cat Napping

Hi- Ya!

Hanging Out

Overall, I like Freyr just as much as I did Freya!  They really are adorable.  And even better, they’re an affordable BJD for those of us who don’t like spending hundreds of dollars on one doll.  I think The Junky Spot and Hujoo should look into possibly seeing if they can make the neck knob a little less noticeable, but that is my only real issue with Freyr.  They did fantastic things with the head cap (yay!) and I look forward to seeing their future releases? I, personally, would like to see a new kind of animal.  A dog? Bunny?  I’m sure they’d make it super cute!  I highly recommend Freyr.  He’s a great BJD!

To see the video review, look below!

Do you have a Freyr? What do you think of him?  Have any questions?  Let me know with a comment below!

Besides the new Skipper releases that have come out sporadically for the last few years, I haven’t really looked forward to or hunted for many traditional play line Barbie’s.  However, there are a few releases expected out in 2013 that I am looking forward to.

Last year, Mattel launched a fantastic little web series called ‘Life in the Dreamhouse’.  It features Barbie, her sisters Skipper, Stacie and Chelsea (formally Kelly), friends Nikki, Raquelle, and Teresa, and boyfriends Ken and Ryan.  I highly recommend checking out the web series because it’s full of tongue and cheek sort of references and really fun to watch.  You can watch all three ‘seasons’ on YouTube.

At Toy Fair 2013, Mattel announced a doll line themed around the series.  Due out around August of this year and priced around $16.00-$22.00, I’m really looking forward to this new line!

Life in the Dreamhouse Talking Barbie

These special edition Barbie and Raquelle dolls say key phrases from the web series.  They’ll also record your own phrases and play them back in Barbie or Raquelle’s voice.  It looks like these talking dolls aren’t jointed and may have the model arms (ie: arms that are permanently bent in positions).  Of course, promo shots can be deceiving, so we won’t know for sure until August.

Life in the Dreamhouse Talking Raquelle

The basic dolls are super cute, as well!  Just like the talking dolls, these have rooted eyelashes and a fun, animated faces.  The friend assortment has Summer, Teresa, Midge, and Raquelle.  Unlike the talking dolls, it looks like these dolls are jointed at their elbows, wrists, and knees.

Life in the Dreamhouse Basic Teresa

Life in the Dreamhouse Basic Midge

Life in the Dreamhouse Basic Raquelle

‘Life in the Dreamhouse’ Summer confuses me a bit.  Summer isn’t in the web series.  Nikki is and I see no mention of any Nikki doll on any information that came out of Toy Fair.  I would have preferred a Nikki doll, personally, to a character that hasn’t appeared in the web series.

Life in the Dreamhouse Basic Summer

I find it interesting that there is no Ryan in the line.  I understand not putting in the sisters or Ken because most of the dolls currently out do look like the cartoon character’s. Ryan, however, was introduced in the web series as Raquelle’s brother and really should have a doll.

Another thing I would love to see is a black and white Midge that looks like how we first met her in ‘Life in the Dreamhouse’.

Skipper and Horse

The other doll I’m excited about is a Skipper set.  Many of the Skipper dolls as of late have been a bit repetitive.  This new Skipper is part of the ‘Barbie and her Sisters: A Pony Tale’ line.  Barbie’s horse is supposed to move on its own, but it looks like Skipper, Chelsea, and Stacie’s horses are stationary.  You can see pictures of the other ‘Barbie and Sisters: A Pony Tale’ dolls here.

So, that’s what I’m excited about in the Barbie world.  What are you excited about? What do you think of these dolls?  Share your thoughts below!

Dollygirl’s Treasures created a virtual game of Dolly Tag! Here’s how it works.  Dollygirl’s Treasures has set up a set of questions and those who are tagged are supposed to answer them.  I was tagged by The Adventures of Steampunk Addie.  Thanks for the tag!  

Q1: If you could create any American Girl doll, what would she look like, and what would her name be?

Back in the day, I ordered myself a ‘Girl of Today’.  The ‘Girl of Today’ dolls are what they currently call ‘Just Like Me’.  I decided to make my ‘Girl of Today’ look like me. She has straight, long brown hair with bangs, brown eyes, and tan skin.  My skin is far more fair now, but I was a little more olive as a kid.  Her name was, of course, Ashley, just like me!

Q2. What American Girl dolls do you have? 

I own a good number of American Girl dolls.  Unlike many girls today, I saved all my pennies for each and every AG doll I own and I did it on a $4 a month allowance   It took some serious patience and dedication.  The first doll I bought was Molly, followed by Samantha, my Girl of Today and finally, the last doll I purchased, Felicity.  All of my dolls are Pleasant Company.  Do I want to add to my collection?  If I could go back in time, I would add Kirstin.  I always wanted her.  I still look for her second hand.  Of course, the prices are way higher than the $82.00 I paid for my dolls!  I also wouldn’t mind adding a Kit to my collection. She’s very cute.  The other dolls, however, I’m fine leaving for others to grab and snatch.  They are cute, but I don’t feel I need to own them.

Q3. Do you have any non-AG 18 inch dolls?

Tons!  Just check out my blog entries!  I have Barbie’s, BJD’s, Ponies, etc!  Pretty much ‘all of the above’!

Q4. What is your absolute favorite brand of dolls?

At the moment, I’d have to say Monster High.  They keep coming out with dolls that are unique and interesting!  As far as 18″ dolls, A Girl for All Time is my favorite brand.  Those dolls have a long future ahead of them, I think!

Q5. What is the next doll (AG or non-AG) that you want to get? 

That’s a tough question!  I actually went to a doll fair this past weekend and picked up a doll I was looking for– a Pullip Roman Holiday!  I’ve wanted her ever since I got this silly idea to try to buy the cast of Once Upon a Time in doll form.  She’s an adorable doll and looks surprisingly like Mary Margaret from Once Upon a Time!

Q6. What is your favorite thing to do with your dolls? 

Take pictures!  I didn’t do much over the winter b/c the lighting in our house isn’t very good. I’m happy that summer is coming b/c that means natural light!

Q7. Do you have a place for your dolls, like a corner of a room? Where’s their beds and stuff? 

My dolls surround my bedroom.  Seriously, it scares people sometimes!

Q8. Would you rather use the computer/watch TV/play on your phone of electronical device/play video games or play with your dolls? 

I must admit, I do love television, but if I had to choose, I would rather be doing something doll related with my day.  (Though Once Upon a Time, The Amazing Race, Supernatural, Doctor Who and The Vampire Diaries are exempt from this!)

Q9. If your parents told you that you could only have one doll, what would you do? 

Thankfully, my parents would never say that!  (It helps that I’m not exactly a kid, anymore!)

Q10. Have you ever found an American Girl brand item (can be anything) at a second-hand store? 

No, but I’m always looking!  If a well priced Pleasant Company Kirstin came my way, I would probably pick her up.  Or any of the historical doll’s beds. I love those, too!

Q11. Do your friends share your love for dolls? 

Until recently none of my friends collected.  Now, however, one has caught the Monster High bug and is usually more up to date than me!  My mom collects and she is probably my best friend, so I guess the answer should be yes, in some cases!

Q12. What is your favorite non-AG doll brand? 

I’ll have to stick with Monster High.  :)

Q13. Where do you get your inspiration? 

I get inspiration from everywhere.  This weekend, it came from hearing people my own age talk about not waiting for their dreams, but instead making them happen.  I want to be more like that!

Q14. Does anyone in your family share your love for dolls? 

Yep!  You can see my mom’s collection here.

Q15. Where did you get the idea to start a blog? 

I started this blog because I love talking dolls with pretty much anyone and everyone. The other reason I started this little blog was because I wanted to improve my writing skills and not be lying (as much, that is) by calling myself a freelance writer!  :)  I’m super excited that so many people decided to follow this blog and journey of mine!
Tag 10 blogs:

To be honest, I don’t follow many AG blogs!  These blogs below are blogs that I love to visit!  To the blogs below, you don’t have to answer these, as the questions are mostly AG themed, but I thought you all deserved some well deserved pats on the back!

Barbie Beauties

The Doll Diaries

The Barbie Blog

The Toy Box Philosopher

The Lalaloopsy Doll House

After many, many dry months with no new Monster High dolls in sight, I’m looking forward to the next few months.  We have a ton of releases due out during the summer, including the The Headless Headmistress, 13 Wishes (July 2013), Music Festival (July 2013), and new Picture Day (July 2013).

While we continue the wait for the new releases, I thought I’d take you back in time a bit and let you in on my favorite Monster High dolls (in no particular order).

My Top Ten Favorite Monster High Dolls

SDCC Black and White Frankie:

Black and White Frankie

I love this doll.  Frankie looks great in black and white and I love the throwback to old school movie monsters.  The best part is I didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg to get her back in 2010!

Sister Set Howleen:

Sister Set Howleen

For a doll with ‘complicated’ hair, it looks great out of the box.  Also, I love the orange hair on this Howleen release.  Her overall look is just fantastic.

Basic 1st Edition Lagoona:

Lagoona

Lagoona was my first Monster High doll.  Monster High was new and exciting and hasn’t hit store shelves yet.  Until it did and my mom and I stumbled upon the line at Toys R Us.  We had a few choices on which dolls we could get.  I chose Lagoona.  My mom chose Frankie.  I still love Lagoona’s big, round eyes.

Scary Tales Clawdeen and Draculaura:

Scary Tales Clawdeen

The Scary Tales line is adorable.  And even more importantly, it brought back some of the ‘life’ that was missing from the previous lines.  Scary Tales Clawdeen and Draculaura are both on my top ten list.

Scary Tales Draculaura

Basic 1st Edition Holt:

Basic 1st edition Holt

Holt, hands down, is my favorite Monster High male doll.  He’s just sooo awesome looking from the top of his molded hair down to his shoes.  He looks good with all the other female dolls, too.  I wish they’d make more Holt’s!

Basic 1st Edition Ghoulia:

Basic 1st Edition Ghoulia

Ghoulia was one of my favorites since the beginning. Do you remember the craziness that was ‘The Ghoulia Hunt’?  Ghoulia didn’t come out until after Frankie, Lagoona and the rest so it seemed like everybody wanted her.  But why wouldn’t they?  Ghoulia is such a neat doll!

Dot Dead Gorgeous Spectra:

Dot Dead Gorgeous Spectra

Spectra is one of my favorite Monster High characters and this version of her is adorable.  She has character, pizzazz and a great look!

Home Ick Frankie:

Home Ick Frankie

I love Frankie with bangs.  And this outfit?  Adorable!

Basic 1st Edition Venus:

Basic 1st Edition Venus

Seriously, how cool is Venus?  I love her hair style and color pallet.

I’ve compiled my Top 10 Favorites into a YouTube video below.

Now that I’ve shared my favorites, why not share your favorites. Who are your top three all time favorite Monster High dolls?  Share your thoughts below!

San Diego Comic Con is one of the biggest pop culture events in the world. It is filled with celebrities, star studded panel discussions and phenomenal exclusive merchandise.  Since 2010, Mattel has released a SDCC exclusive Monster High doll.  These dolls are almost always hard to find and very expensive on the second hard market post convention.

Matty Collector has recently posted a sneak peak of this years SDCC exclusive.  The official picture will be posted on May 15th.  However, this sneak peak gives a lot away!

SDCC 2013 Teaser Image of Exclusive

The exclusive looks a lot like Wydowna, Daughter of Arachne.  Wydowna actually made her debut at SDCC 2011, where she was one of three dolls displayed at the Mattel booth.  The two dolls that accompanied her, Scarah Screams and The Headless Headmistress, have been or will be released, so it makes sense that we’d be seeing Wydowna.

Wydona at SDCC ’11

Will we see the Wydowna above that was displayed years back at SDCC or will we see a more comic/super hero themed version of this doll?  My bet is that this doll will follow the ‘Power Ghouls’ line.  The coloring in the promo image definitely has a ‘Spider-Man’ type of feeling to it.

As far as SDCC exclusives go, I own two of the three released, black and white Frankie (2010) and Deadfast Ghoulia (2011).  The exclusive is available for pre-order on Matty Collector for those who are attending SDCC only.  After the convention, if they have stock left over, they usually sell it on Matty Collector.

Now onto a few non exclusive Monster High reveals…

Catty Noir, Ghouls Night Out

While we still don’t know much about her, promo shots of Catty Noir have hit the internet. She’s a werecat, as you can see here, and looks to be part of the ‘Ghouls Night Out’ line (though that isn’t confirmed).

Heath and Abbey 2 Set Promo

The new classroom 2 pack featuring Heath and Abbey is something I’m really looking forward to.  Mattel posted this and other pictures on the Monster High facebook page.  Do I wish they’d released Heath as a single basic?  Yeah, but the Abbey looks kind of cute this time around.

So, that’s the scoop for now.  When the final pictures of this years SDCC exclusive go live, I’ll be sure to let you know!  Until then, what do you think of Mattel’s choice of character for this years SDCC? Do you plan on getting one?  Have thoughts on the other MH dolls featured here?  Share your thoughts!

Another month, another Collector Spotlight post!  It was always my plan for the second Collector Spotlight to give you a little more insight into myself and my collection.

I’ve been collecting in some way or another my entire life.  It is second nature to collect when you are raised by a collector!  I grew up in a home where the walls were lined with doll cases and honestly, it never bothered me in the least.  You can learn more about that collection in the premiere Collector Spotlight posted last month.  In fact, I grew up in a house that many people had dubbed the ‘creepy’ house because the large windows gave people a good view of the cases.

My collection really developed when I turned 16 and decided that of all the dolls around, I wanted to mainly collect Barbie’s Little Sister Skipper.  I chose Skipper for for a few reasons. First, I had received many Skippers for birthdays and christmas’.  Second, I identified with Skipper and loved the styles they’d put her in.  Looking back at the anime eye style Skipper’s, I still see aspects of my life and style in the 80′s!  Last, I just really loved her design.  And if you’re going to collect something, you should love it, not just like it!  That’s not to say that I don’t collect other dolls.  I do.  I have a lot of other kinds of dolls.  But my ‘showcase’ collection is Skipper’s.

My collection also includes ball jointed dolls, Monster High, Gene, Tonner, Madame Alexander, anime themed items, all things Doctor Who, wall art, My Little Ponies, etc.  When people ask me who I am, I always mention that I’m a collector.  It’s part of my identity now.  It’s who I am.

If I had to instill one thing to other collectors, it is this.  It doesn’t matter what others think of your collection.  If someone puts you down because of your doll collection, or any collection for that matter, don’t let it get you down.  You don’t collect for others, you collect for yourself.   Because it makes you happy.  Because you find joy in it.  That’s all that counts.

For a more in-depth look at my collection, I invite you to look at the gallery of pictures in this post.  I have many more pictures in the video portion of this Collector Spotlight, too!

My Walls of Dolls

My Skipper Case, Shelf 1

My Skipper Case, shelf 2

My Skipper Case, shelf 3

My Skipper Case, shelf 4

Video Shoot Display

Just Above my Skipper Case

My Madame Alexanders

More Dolls

High Shelves

My ‘Museum’ of Wall Art

Doctor Who

My ‘Victoria’

A selection of print material in my collection

Plush

Just like last month’s post, this has a video element, too!  (I was a video major in school, so just go with it!)

Because this spotlight is on myself, feel free to post any questions you may have for me in the comment area and I’ll be sure to answer them!!!  I hope enjoyed this month’s Collector Spotlight!

Skipper, my favorite sister of Barbie‘s, turns 50 in 2014.  She debuted in 1964 in response to complaints that Barbie was too mature for their children to play with.  With a wardrobe that matched her older sister, Skipper was a great success for Mattel.

Now, nearly 50 years later, Skipper is back on the shelves and a bit of a YouTube sensation, starring with her sisters in the web series, ‘Life in the Dreamhouse’!  Turning 50 is a big thing, especially for a doll or toy, so I expect great things for Skipper in 2014.  What, pray-tell, do I want to see?  Read and find out!

Skipper by Mattel

Collector Dolls:

Mattel has released a few Skipper exclusives in the past, including a porcelain Skipper to celebrate her 30th anniversary in 1994 and a Gold Box Barbie and Skipper set, Knitting Pretty, in 2007.  For Skipper‘s big 5-0, it would be great to see a new collector’s doll.  A reproduction 1964 Skipper with a never before released outfit (or variant on a popular outfit) or a ‘re-imagining’ of a foreign exclusive like the Japanese Skipper are top on my list!

Vintage Skipper

Japanese Skipper

The collector in me would also like to see a three set–three Skipper’s from three unique years together in one package with new birthday themed fashions that are reminiscent of their ‘decade’.  Think about it– how awesome would it be to have a reproduction 1964 doll packaged with a big ‘anime’ eye Skipper and new modern Skipper all in one?  On the same note, it would be a great to see a friends or boyfriends set, where we see reproductions of various of those dolls, as well.

Skipper Line Up

The one thing I don’t want to see with any collector exclusives is for them to be sold only to Barbie Collectors Club members.  I’m not a member and don’t plan on becoming one solely because I don’t see much benefit in becoming a member. While you can almost always find exclusive pieces on eBay, it would be a lot easier if these were available to the general public right off the bat.

National Barbie Convention 2014:

It would be an awful shame if the National Barbie Convention for 2014 decided to ignore Skipper during her 50th.  If I were in charge of the convention, I would definitely amp up the Skipper presence with one of the dinners being a ‘birthday party’ of sorts for her and a lot of souvenirs themed towards Barbie’s little sister.

Basic Dolls:

With the popularity of the ‘Life in the Dreamhouse’ web series and the new, yet to be released ‘Dreamhouse’ doll line, I would love, love, love to see a set themed around Skipper‘s birthday. For Skipper, I’d love to see her in a dress that has body to it.  Instead of the sporty, tight dresses and skirts we have seen her in repeatably, I want to see her glam’d up a bit with her hair and clothing styled differently!

The current Skipper mode

Those are just a few things I want Mattel to think about for Skipper‘s golden birthday.  At the very least, I want them to acknowledge it with a doll of some sort!

What would you like to see Mattel do to celebrate Barbie‘s little sister Skipper?  Why not leave a comment or two and  tell us what you’d like to see!

In late 1987, toy company Galoob released an interactive talking toy called Dozzzy.  Dozzzy came in two versions– one was a brown bear and one was a boy.  My brother received the boy version as a baby and cherished him through his youth.  My mom recently uncovered Dozzzy.  We were pretty sure he wasn’t going to work when we placed batteries in him, but to our surprise, Dozzzy started rambling on!  He’s not 100% functional, but he seems to work most of the time!

Dozzzy used a cassette deck to talk. When you pressed his hand, it would communicate with the cassette tape and Dozzzy would start talking.  Multiple tapes were available (at least 4), but I can’t find any evidence as to how many exactly where released.  This tapes ran 40 minutes and included stories and general chatter.  The thing that made Dozzzy stand apart from the rest was how he talked.  Unlike the Worlds of Wonder talking toys, Dozzzy‘s mouth would light up and make talking motions with the words on the tape.  His eyes would also light up.  This made for a great affect for night time because the child could interact with Dozzzy easily in the dark by pressing his hand and still see Dozzzy talking due to the light up elements in his face.

Dozzzy Talking

As far as hard facts about Dozzzy, there are very little to be found.  What we do know is this: Both versions of Dozzzy were only out for a year, at the most.  The reason is forever lost with the decision makers at Galoob, because no reason could be found on the internet when I searched.  Another mystery is the number of tapes available for Dozzzy.  We own 4 tapes for Dozzzy.  However, upon searching, I could find no ‘ultimate list’ of tapes produced.  We do know from catalogs that Dozzzy retailed for $49.99 when he came out in late 1987.  Kind of expensive for a kids toy, but think about if he were released now! I have a feeling he’d be much more expensive!

Dozzzy

Because Dozzzy was only out for a year, he is considered ultra rare and from what I can tell from the number of people looking for him online, highly sought after.  It seems many people have fond memories of this talking toy.  And why not?  It is a great, solid toy.  The tapes, too, are engaging.  And better yet, Dozzzy was mostly stuffed, so a child could literally hug him or go to sleep with Dozzzy next to him with very little worry.  (Think of trying to sleep next to a Teddy Ruxpin… Yikes!)  Dozzzy’s trademark expired in 1994.  Galoob ended up being purchased by Hasbro in 1998 after 44 years of toy making.

For those that would like to watch my Dolly Flashback, the video is below!

If you’d like to see Dozzzy in action, I’ve put together three videos. The first video is essentially an introduction to Dozzzy. ‘Storytime with Dozzzy’ is all about Dozzzy!  He recounts ‘The Princess and the Pea’ and ‘The Emperors New Clothes’.

Do you remember Dozzzy?  Why do you think the now 20 somethings have such fond memories of Dozzzy?  Why do you think Dozzzy had such a short run? Share your thoughts below!