Vanessa and Veronique

I never seem to play with my 12" dolls these days. I've redressed so many of them and haven't photographed these changes yet. That's a big difference for me. Tonight I grabbed these two dolls and gave them a little camera time.
First up is a totally redone Veronique. It doesn't even matter who she was originally because she's been repainted twice, rerooted and rebodied. I still want to apply eyelashes again. She did have them once. Vin Trapani repainted and Susan Korba rerooted. Vero is wearing Blue Blood Tatyana's outfit.

The last (real) Vanessa release was the surprise doll at the W Club luncheon during the Wu convention. She originally had a hairstyle that looked like a collapsed tornado about to fall off the front of her forehead. I did not like her look.

I took out all the pins and I was not surprised to find a mess of different lengths and density of rooted hair. I cut it all one length and it still looked crappy. She needs to be re-rooted or wigged. In the meanwhile I played around and created a silly upward swirl. The product called "Got 2 B Glued" was what I used to stiffen her hair. It's great stuff.

Her dress is a shortened version of Most Wanted Elise's gown.  It's very easy (but tedious) to remove the lower tier. I also removed the two dorky bows from the front of the bodice. She is wearing Elise's shoes, jewelry by Joy and carrying the purse from Sheer Bliss. I'm having a talented collector/designer make a jacket from the removed fabric and will show it once I get it.

Toxica and Royale #82

Let's have a little fun. Enter as many times as you wish. I will have my husband choose the winner. In case of a tie, Rudy will choose.

Caption this!

Royale #82, FDA Marcella, Sybarite Toxica

Royale #82 has arrived after a long delay. Her gown is stunning with it's fine pleating detail. It's a lovely miniature work of couture. This is the second new TDLM doll I have received whose hair looks quite different from the promotional photos.
Here's the promo:

Here's the actual:

The color is totally different. The curls on mine are rather haphazard - but I can fix that. I like the way the sculpt looks in my picture but it just looks different because of the lighting. I shot my picture outside with an iPhone in the cold winter sun just a few minutes ago.

Marcella got a hair makeover. I cut off all of her awful hair, which is something I should have done a long time ago, and styled a Monique wig to suit her. Much improved in my opinion.

Finally, my new beauty, Toxica, hasn't had any face time in front of a real camera yet. She waits patiently. It's not easy when one's doll room and photo studio are not on the same floor of a house.

More Monster High

This great picture was posted by George Gonzales on Prego.

Funny Stuff Re: Kardashian Barbie Dolls

The not-so-newsworthy info is out. Mattel is really going to make Kardashian Barbie dolls. They will be Barbie pals. According to a Mattel source, "The dolls will reflect the girls' measurements and may even come in Kardashian-designed outfits."
Does that mean they will be short, have big thighs, huge chests and dress inappropriately? Gawd. These girls are not role models; they are a greedy bunch of media whores. I would rather look at anorexic runway models and I can't stand them either.

Can it get any worse?

Some comments from readers on one news site are interesting to read:

-Not-so-ironically, the Mattel toys will have higher IQs than the K sisters.

-Disgusting!!! I am a barbie collector and Barbie's name should not be mixed with trash. Barbie is a doll that every girl has the last thing we need is young girls buying these dolls specially with the Kardashian's trashy history, Kim's sex tape etc, we don't need that kind of trash feeding young girls, I am very disappointed in Mattel for even considering this. Everyone against this should write an email to the Mattel Head Quarters to voice their opinion. I will surely be doing so shortly. The Kardashian's need to vanish from this planet they are as low as anyone can get. Disgusting...

-Well POOR Barbie. So much for her reputation. What does this say to young girls growing up.. Start your career with a SEX Tape & you can be just like me. Just watch me scam people.

-this is why the world is going to hell.

-Plastic - Marked by artificiality or superficiality; synthetic: a plastic world of fad, hype, and sensation!

-Mattel is hurting that much in sales that it needs to take the low road? Shame on them!

-Another company for the boycott list. I will never ever buy anything Kardashian

-Ok. It said Barbies, but what about that transgender in the middle? They should make a Ken for that man in heels. And why make dolls after a person who got peed on?

 _________________________________

 Seriously, think about this: Mattel decides to make dolls from this unholy trio yet cancels the Silkstone Palm Beach Ken doll. Yes, I'm still pissed over that one.


This is a riot:

http://youtu.be/lq0FxwAlP_c

Monster High Cheap Thrills

I swear I was going to get rid of the five I still had when another shipment arrived. They just sneaked in when I wasn't paying attention.

I really just wanted Cupid because she was hard to get. Such a sickness.

Someone should tell the people at Mattel that Cupid was not a monster. Cupid was a god.

Monster cum God High?

Tonner Doll Company New Website

Click on the image above to visit the new Tonner Doll Company website. It will be well worth your time.

Image of Robert and the reproduction of his signature are the property of TDC.

Sales on Integrity Dolls

I've asked this question about IT products previously: "Is it the dolls or the economy?" The reason for the question is that I collected Fashion Royalty during the years when there was never a sale. And for the past two years, there are always IT dolls on sale somewhere.

At Susan's Shop of Dolls alone, the following are on sale: (some of these links may no longer be active)
Cosmic Love Amelie
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/cosmic_love_amelie.shtml
FR2 Impossibly Beautiful Dominique Dressed Doll for $149.00 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/impossibly_beautiful_dominque.shtml
Bemused Monogram Dressed Doll for $106.25 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/bemused.shtml
Envied Monogram Dressed Doll for $106.25 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/envied.shtml
Fascination Monogram Dressed Doll for $127.50 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/fascination.shtml
Illumination Monogram Dressed Doll for $127.50 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/illumination.shtml
Jubilation Monogram Dressed Doll for $127.50 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/jubilation.shtml
Passionate Monogram Dressed Doll for $106.25 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/candi/fashionroyalty/2011/passionate.shtml
Brides of Dracula Dressed Dolls for $106.00 each at
http://www.susansdolls.com/integrity_toys.shtml#dracula.
A Girl I know Named Holly Basic Dressed Doll for $75.00 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/integrity_toys/holly_golightly_a_girl_i_know_named_holly.shtml
5th Avenue at 6 A.M. Holly Golightly Dressed Doll for $106.00 at
http://www.susansdolls.com/integrity_toys/holly_golightly_5th_avenue_6am.shtml

These are not dolls that have been out a long time except maybe for the Brides of Dracula. There are other doll shops that have IT dolls on sale as well. Is there a doll you wanted but didn't get last year? Do a Google search and get your best price or check out the link to Intergrity Toy's Dealer List:  http://integritytoys.com/page/dealers

Don't forget to take into consideration the cost of shipping! And if you were a member of the W Club, you may still have a coupon to use towards shipping or something off. I never used any of my club perks. 

The Year in Dolls - A 2011 Montage

So many dolls; so little time.
I just spent a few fun hours going through the doll stuff  that passed through my doors this past year. A fair amount of what is pictured went back out the same doors after I got bored, traded, or decided to 'reinvest' the funds. Some of what arrived isn't pictured probably because it hasn't even been photographed yet.
The original image is 5000 pixels square at 300dpi. This one is very reduced but if you click on it a larger version will open. Can you identify everything? Can you find Waldo?

Let's Start 2012 by Featuring Glorious Repaints seen on Prego

There is a lot of glorious eye candy in the form of repainted dolls being posted today on Prego. Here are a few just from the first page.
First up by Nigel Chia:
Freeze Frame Avantguard and Spring Kissed respectively. Amazing, right?

Next, a Monster High repaint/redress by Freddy Tan:
Do you see her nails?

By Laurie Lenz:
"Always Playing Solitaire" Ellowyne Repaint.

By France Briere:
Silkstone Barbie.

From (the amazing) James in Florida:
Repainted Sybarite Geometry.

Vintage New Year Postcards

Wishing all my readers a wonderful 2012. May the world experience an economic recovery and may all who are hungry, sick and lonely find help.

Geometry - All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

Is that all there is?

 Geometry is dressed in Ficon's "Tree of Joy" dress and "black gold" shoes.

Reinterpreted Runway Fashion - Everybody's Doing It

Christian Dior Spring 2011 Couture

2011 Tonner Convention "Joyeux" Tyler BJD

New Basic Devon

My new Devon had some time in front of the camera yesterday. She's dressed in a little fashion from Emilia Nieminen's "Torn" collection. The platinum wig is by Cheryl Wood.

Here she is in her original wig which, by the way, is way too large for her head. Even with a wig cap, it doesn't stay on.

The Numina have amazinly beautiful bodies; however, their stability needs to be improved. The joints at the hips are loose and the knee joints bend from side to side making posing quite a task. In the full image above, I had to put her on a stand and Photoshop the stand out of the picture.
I don't know how to wire a BJD to control this type of problem. Perhaps a reader can offer information because I want to keep her. I have many gorgeous fashions for her to model.

2011 10th Anniversary Veronique FR2 Doll

 This is a very pretty Veronique. She is the original Vero sculpt. I had two others here which were on their way to other people and each one had her hair done with very noticeable differences. They are all done by hand after all.

I think the real reason I ordered this doll was for the FR2 body. I have to reevaluate my reasons for purchasing IT products even more this coming year. I am not into the teenager-type looking dolls and that is a big portion of their product. Buck-toothed (defanged) looks will never make it here. I don't collect any of the new sculpts except Elise and Dasha. I have plenty of Monogram dolls already and I don't see a big future for the original Vanessa sculpt in the hands of the current designers.
How many fishtail, lace covered gowns can one collection support? If the creativity comes forth with less repetitive designs, I may be interested. But with a season of trending hair bumps and trench coats behind us, there's little hope.

Tonner's Theatre de la Mode Midnight #63

This is one of the three new TDLM releases from Robert Tonner. I did not purchase the dressed doll as I did  Noir #99. I thought they looked too much alike.
Here is the promotional image.

My model is Scintillating Ashleigh.

I'm sure you know how it is when you buy something because it's part of a collection even when you don't want it? That's what happened with Midnight. It's a pretty dress but it would be most suitable for an afternoon funeral. It has some nice shirring detail on the bodice and the fabric is lovely but beyond that it's blah. I couldn't get the feather headpiece to stay on Ashleigh's hair - I didn't try very hard. My dress has a construction defect in that the closure at the neck causes the bow to be off center. That actually creates some interest. Perhaps it's not a defect. I would LOVE to see the original TDLM dress from which this design was taken.

Do you remember Purely Platinum?

I still have this TDLM Tyler doll - but not the dress. I think Midnight and Platinum would look beautiful displayed next to each other.  I wonder why Royale #82 is taking so long. It should have been released in early December.

Devon and Talc

I was having fun taking pictures with my iPhone yesterday. Once I got them into my computer, I played around in Photoshop. This image pleased me.

Miniature Mac Laptop

Isn't this the cutest prop?  It is a miniature Macintosh Laptop.  No, it doesn't work silly! It cost all of $5.60,  came all the way from China and took just under 3 weeks to get here.

With dimensions of : 3.66" x 2.56" x 0.35", it would be too large for a 12" doll but it's perfect for 16" - 19" dolls.  They have miniature iPhones, too, but they are out of scale for these dolls.

Link to the seller: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/apple-macbook-shaped-cosmetic-mirror-silver-91010

Fashion Doll Agency Marcella Gets A New Outfit

I had to unpack Marcella in order for her to check out the new outfit I purchased for her. This was made by Michael Scott and included everything but the boots. This gal is the oddest size and pretty much nothing that exists for 16" dolls fits her.