Why Can't All Men Be Like Ken?

If you are of the mind, you can go to BC.Com and purchase this t-shirt for $18.

 And if you are really looking for the answers to the question I have a few suggestions.

He's plastic.

He's always silent.

He's already got a girlfriend.

He's on the small side.

He doesn't age.

He often looks dorky.

He's very limited in his movements.

He doesn't have the usual body parts men have.

He doesn't seem to have an income.

He's fond of living in boxes. 

He never eats. 

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Or...you can purchase this set for $5. today and celebrate that Barbie and Ken are back together (at last.)

Now we'll never get a Palm Beach Sugar Daddy.

Tonner 2011 Toy Fair Release

 Today Tonner released the images and information on their 2011 Toy Fair products. I applaud the Tonner Doll Company for their extensive line-up which introduces new lines and enhances existing ones.
Everything underlined is a link.
Antoinette 
There's no shortage of fabric here. Lots of layers, ruffles, more layers and mermaid hems.

 Sweeping LE150 $249.99;       Bold LE150 $199.99;         Luxurious LE150 $219.99;        Picturesque LE150 $209.99

Freedom for Fashion.
New Japanese sculpts. Female dolls have the 16 inch Antoinette body with Cameo skintone and males have the 17 inch Matt O'Neill body and Cameo Skintone. All dolls have brown eyes and black hair.
There are two basic dolls, two dressed dolls and three separate outfits. I am just showing the dressed dolls here.
Wonderful and inspired new line. I love the dressed dolls - both of them.

Sori Aiko LE500 $189.99

Hogyo Yoshio LE500 $199.99

Theatre de la Mode
I am thrilled to bits that this line is back. One dressed doll whose fashion inspiration is waiting to be discovered opens today.  She has a new "Fashion" head sculpt on the Antoinette body blue eyes, blonde  hair and Cameo skintone.  I am going to have to order her although the price is quite high. Sigh.

 

 

Noir #99   LE300   $249.99

Twilight
Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen's boyfriend...he's the one who tried to 'eat' Bella when she visited their home.
Excellent resemblance. Jackson Rathbone/Jasper Hale Head Sculpt and 17" Matt O'Neill™ Body; Umber Eyes w/ Blended Hair and Cameo Skintone.

Jasper Hale  LE1000  $1149.99

Tyler Wentworth
Two dressed Tylers with the original Tyler head sculpt and one dressed Sydney. All are on the 16" Tyler BW body. Signature Statement is a name and color take off on the Signature Style Tylers of the past who wore white blouses and black pants or skirts. This one is beautiful! Fire Opal is a knockout with that fabulous wig and eye candy gown. Sydney's makeup seems to be a blast from the past with the eyeliner top and bottom and lighter lips - 1970's style.

Signature Statement Tyler Wentworth LE300 $199.99

Fire Opal Tyler Wentworth LE300 $224.99

So Sleek Sydney Chase LE300 $199.99

The other lines that have new additions are American Models, DC Stars, Disney Princess Collection, Harry Potter, It's A Small World and The Vampire Diaries.  This is a link to the index.

Happy Valentine's Day Sale from Maddie's Dolls

Maddie's Dolls & More of Canada is offering this Barbie-Ken set for free with a purchase of $50 Cdn or more. There are other items on sale as well.

...I don't know. I think I'd rather have Ken's balls.

Seriously! When will Mattel pull this item?

Making Tonner Full Body Hangers Function Properly

This article and it's accompanying images was written by Miriam Shepard of Chevy Chase, MD who has granted permission for it's reprint.

Why in the world did Tonner design hangers for his wardrobe trunks that do not function for 90% of the clothing he makes? I love the look of the plexiglass body hangers but the shoulders won't hold the clothing in place so I figured out a way to make clear plastic shoulders for the hangers that make them work and aren't an eyesore. I wish Tonner would take up my idea and make these himself with cute little TW insignias to fit his hangers. Dream on Miriam.

You will need:
Strong scissors
An Exacto knife or cutting blade
Paper to make a pattern.
One clear plastic boxes that UB Tylers come in or similar flexible plastic. Cut it up along the fold lines.

Here are pics of the pattern and of the clear plastic shoulders

From paper cut a rectangle that is 2 inches wide by 3-5/8 inches tall. Fold it in half lengthwise. Trim the corners on two sides as shown in the picture above.

Use your paper pattern as a guide to cut your plastic. I find it is easiest to first cut the plastic box into panels and then cut them into 3- 5/8 inch sections and then fold the sections lengthwise and trim to 1 inch folded.

Finally, trim the "shoulders".

After folding and trimming the plastic, use the Xacto knife to cut through the fold so that the body hanger will slip through and the plastic shoulders slide down in place on the "shoulders of the hanger.

This is a dress falling off the Tonner hanger. Boo!

Finally, the dress is hanging on the new shoulders which look good with the plexiglass hanger.

Mattel Barbie at NY Toyfair 2011 by Michael Williams

Here is a link to Michael William's fabulous photos from 2011 NY Toyfair's Mattel Displays.

Photo By Michael Williams/mawphoto.com

Click here for more.

New Ellowyne and Evangeline Items at Wilde Imagination & Free Shipping

Some very pretty new items went up on the Wilde Imagination sites today. For Ellowyne there are two new dressed dolls, one new basic and three new outfits. The new dolls have inset eyes. The dolls look more alive to me with inset eyes. Both dolls are LE 1,000

Tears of Endearment $149.00        Wit's End    $155.00

 Wit's End must be channeling Daniel Boone era. Perhaps she's a dancehall girl from old western movies.

The new outfits below, seem to be toned down compared to prior releases. All are LE 1,000.

Stolen Moments $74.00        Fur Real $74.00        Ties That Bind $79.00

 For Evangeline there are 10 new outfit items that have been added since I looked last week. They are blouses, skirts, jackets a cape and a bustier ranging in price from $58. to $72. One can buy the "Attic Collection Three" for the tidy sum of $520. It includes all ten items. There are definitely four must haves in that group - maybe 5....

 

The items are gorgeous!
There is a period of free shipping until the end of February in the continental US with a purchase of at least $75. Add the promo code SPRING11 to your order form.
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I'm not thrilled with the articulation/engineering of Evangeline. I like to play with my dolls and pose them and photograph them. These girls are awkward and difficult to pose. Their joints are kicky. Their heads do not move properly. They can't sit up. I may not buy any more dolls in the line until they improve the poseability. It's definitely not out of the range of the company's abilities. I have less expensive dolls with better articulation. I know that people were influenced by my first reviews and bought dolls. The market definitely has room to grow. The quality of the product needs to grow to meet the demands of a discerning collector. I'm sad to say that Evangeline has the least posing ability of any other fully articulated doll in my collection.