Hey again!
I wanted to pop in and wish you all a Happy New Year! I'm hoping to do a 2017 collection round up as well as my goals for collecting in 2018 soon, but I wanted to make sure I wished you all a wonderful closing of 2017 and opening of 2018.
I love being able to press the "reset" button in January. I don't know why we think it's the only time it happens, but I really do like that feeling. ;)
I just finished writing another post on my other blog "Sitting by the Creek" of my trip to NYC with my mom and sister and if anyone is interested in reading that, it's here!
I'd love to hear how you all are spending your New Year's Eve this year, if that is something you celebrate. To be honest, we will be home and I'll be surprised if I make it until midnight!
I'm sorry I haven't be actively blogging lately...just so busy with work and the kids! I am hoping to be back after the new year once the craziness of the holidays is over. :)
In the meantime, I wanted to with you all a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!
Here's a few photos of some Christmas decorations and some winter/holiday doll photos I've taken in the past.
Unfortunately my good camera lens broke while we were on vacation a couple months ago so I haven't really been taking any photos during this holiday season. (I'm in serious withdrawl!)
Little Button (age 5) absolutely loves this little Playmobil Nativity set. She set it up herself (and then I tidied it up a little, haha) and she was quite proud of herself!
Here are some cute Ever After High dolls I've had for a while. It appears this line has pretty much ended so eventually I have to get mine out of storage and do some fun photo shoots!
I did a photo shoot of my 18inch Ariel singing doll in our vintage silver pom-pom tree one year and love the contract of the red against the silver!
Here are some more cute Playmobil figures from our Winter Christmas Market set (which I keep wanting to review)!
And lastly, here's last year's Auburn hair Holiday Barbie (Kmart exclusive). It doesn't appear that Kmart came out with another exclusive Barbie this year. (Did I miss it??) I haven't gotten any of the new ones yet, as they usually go down drastically in price after Christmas, so hoping to snag them then!
From our house to yours, we are wishing you a beautiful and blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanza! Happy Holidays to all. "See you next year!" (Never gets old.) :)
As most of you know, one of the challenges I was facing (that pretty much all collectors seem to face) is that feeling you get when you realize your collecting has turned a bit into "hoarding". In some of my previous posts/videos, you would've seen some of that hoarding, lol.
This summer I set out to start un-boxing all of these dolls that I had been saving up to do reviews and photo shoots on because the reality is, I had gotten so far behind that I needed to just let go and open them because the reviews were never going to happen!
Birthday Ball line
The first large group I decided to tackle was my Ever After High collection. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this doll line as they were quite popular and I've already reviewed 1 or 2 of my EAH dolls here on the blog. In reality, I have many more and we really just needed to open them!
First, I thought I would open of a group of dolls from the same line.
The first group I started with were these pastel beauties from the Birthday Ball line. Two of these (the 2 on the left) were Target exclusives, I believe, and came with the extra bonus of being pleasantly scented. The smaller three were found at both Target and Amazon (and probably other places as well, but those were the only places I bought mine from.)
Next, I wanted to try opening a bunch of different lines of the same character. I chose Apple White (naturally) and here are those lovely gals below.
I decided to keep the signature wave one doll (2nd from the right) in her box as I already had a double of her opened and I wanted to preserve her, at least for now.
Hat-tastic Tea Party, Mirror Beach, Fairest of them All and Throne-coming.
Next I opened some single characters from the more recent releases. These were some of the last "quality" dolls that were released in my opinion. These are all fully articulated and nicely detailed, but changes can be noticed, such as the smaller head size and lack of earrings or extra jewelry.
I also opened the last of my signatures which were Cedar and Ginger.
One evening, I also felt motivated to put together my white bookshelf that had been leaning against the wall for the past few months and I'm so glad I did. It was so fun to actually put some dolls on a shelf. :)
As I was moving along towards the earlier releases, it was getting a little harder for me to make myself open them. I really like the design of the older dolls and their packaging is so pleasing to the eye. They would look great displayed like books on a shelf, but I knew that I needed to get them open. No more hoarding!
Beautiful Thronecoming packaging.
Beautiful Legacy Day packaging.
Here they are on display. They're a bit crammed in there so I haven't quite figured out how I want to display them yet. (In reality, if you watch my video, you will see that I can't display them at all at this time because Little Button likes to tear up the doll room!)
Here's more dolls up on the shelves. I think I prefer a "less is more" approach to displays, to be honest.
While I was unboxing, I happened to notice that a few dolls were more rare than others and were selling for a nice price on eBay. I let go of this Ashlynn Ella (she must've been a Walmart exclusive), but still have this Kitty in her box. I'm still torn as to whether to sell her or not. I already had a double of Ashlynn, so I was happy to send her off to a new home, but Kitty (even used) is pretty expensive on eBay!
Here's a look at the signature dolls I decided to keep in their boxes for now. I know I said I wanted to unbox EVERYTHING, but I just can't do these ones yet. They look so pretty like this! :)
Here's a look at my freshly un-boxed EAH dolls.
Since these photos were taken, they have found a tidy little home in a lovely turquoise bin, safe from tiny hands. I kept a few of the less detailed ones for Little Button to play with, but the fancy girls are hiding until LB is a little older. :)
In this video, I talked my way through what I was doing and did a quick updated doll room tour in the end.
After filming this, I also ended up un-boxing my Disney dolls so that will be coming soon!
Overall, I had such a great time opening these dolls! I was impressed with one after another in respect to the lovely fabrics and details each one had. These dolls really used to be little works of art.
I have since stopped collecting this line as the newer releases don't interest me anymore. They seem to be geared more towards kids, which is great, but they don't have an appeal to me like they once did.
I feel very happy with the dolls that I do have and am excited to revisit this particular collection again for one-on-one photo shoots and hair fixes, but for now, they will stay tucked away until the rest of the dolls are opened. :)
Thanks for visiting, as always and hope you are all enjoying your collections as well!
I can't believe I didn't post anything for the whole month of October! That's the first time I skipped a month since I started blogging in 2014. :(
Ah well, it is what it is and I'm back now. :)
I just wanted to pop in and say hi and share a few updates.
As always I have tons of doll stuff to share, but I'm at the point where I'm not sure where to start, so I'm hoping to dive in soon with some new dolls I got.
Also, I started a new blog! It's called Sitting By the Creek and it's going to be focused more on non-doll related stuff like photos around the farm, the kids, any little travels we do and any non-doll crafts like my crochet and cross stitch projects.
I have one post up about my sister's wedding that I've been meaning to share since last year. It was an Autumn themed wedding and so gorgeous so I figured it'd be fine to still share it, haha. We can pretend it was just a few weeks ago!
Additionally, I wanted to share a tiny secret. My name "in real life" is Abby (short for Abigail), but I go by Farrah in blogland. When I started blogging, I had all intentions of remaining totally anonymous, but now that I'm further along, I don't mind being "the real me" once in a while.
I will still go by Farrah over there (and here), but if I slip up and you see me leave a comment under the name "Abby" that's me! :)
Also, my instagram account that's focused on nature photography here in the Northeast is under this name @abigailmqc if you're interested in following that as well.
I'm going to keep this blog for all of my doll related stuff so it's better for readers that don't care about the personal side of things and are just here for the dolls!
Lastly, we just returned home from a week at Disney World in Orlando so I will have more posts on my new blog up soon to share those photos from our trip. (It was so fun!)
I'm definitely focused on growing my Disney collection at the moment so I have a few dolls to share as well as TONS of doll makeovers that I want to try to get done. The un-boxing project is almost complete, but still struggling with the organization aspect.
I hope you're all doing well. I need to take a day off from work so I can catch up with all of your blogs and see what you've all been up to!
So way back (years ago, lol) I wrote a post telling you guys that I had embarked on a crochet mission to complete two "throws" for my daughters.
Well, I actually finished them LAST fall, but never got around to posting the photos of them so here they are!
I had a lot of fun doing these blankets and they traveled with me on car rides, vacation, the couch, on the beach and I also worked on them during work when I was on hold or in between stressful tasks (I work from home)! Even though these blankets took me AGES to complete, I was a tiny bit sad to see such a long and relaxing project come to an end.
But I was also really happy to have finally finished them!
Sometimes the fun is in the "making" of things and not the actual finished result. :)
I didn't really know about "blocking" at the time (in order to get more even motiffs) so some of the snowflakes came out a little wonky, but overall, not too bad for a beginner!
I spent so many sunny mornings on the porch with my coffee making these little snowflakes.
This one was for Pumpkin Pie.
The Elsa fan.
This one was for Little Button.
The Anna fan.
If anyone is interested in trying this project, I used this snowflake pattern and chose variegated blue/green, white and purple/blue Red Heart acrylic yarn from Walmart.
Some of the strands are unraveling a little and it's not holding up quite as well as I thought it would, but I love seeing them being used to keep warm or build a fort.
Little Button likes to poke her toes through the holes. :)
I hope you guys enjoyed my crafty post even though it didn't involve any dolls. I had considered trying to make a doll sized mini blanket in this style, but never got around to it. It would've been cute, though!
As of now, I'm finishing up a cross-stitch project and then will probably start on a new crochet blanket. I really want to try to make a granny square one for the couch sort of like Amy Farrah Flower's blanket on the Big Bang Theory!
I know a lot of you guys sew, but was curious if any of you crochet as well?? It is so relaxing.
I hope you all have a good week and as always, thanks for reading and see you next time!
Trying to do better and I miss reading all of your doll news and updates.
Life has been even busier again now that school has started (both girls are in school now..wow), but blah blah blah, you know my "I'm so busy" schbeel already, so lets just move on to the doll, lol.
In today's review, I wanted to share a new doll that I recently bought from the Journey Girl's line at Toys'R'Us.
So far, I only have one JG doll in my collection and that's Meredith, which I did a review here a while back. I've always loved the Journey Girl line, but they sort of fell off my radar a little for a while until I happened to see the new Australia line that was just recently released.
For those that prefer a video review, here's the one I did for my You Tube channel, but otherwise see below:
When I saw that they released a Kelsey doll with freckles and lighter red hair, I knew I had to get her. Her box is very pretty and colorfully designed to illustrate an Australian theme.
(Can't go wrong with kangaroos hopping through the Outback.)
The side of her box has clear plastic so you can see more of her outfit.
The back of her box shows the other dolls that were released in this line. I also picked up Callie and Ilee because something wild came over me and I wanted to get all three.
Chavonne is the other doll I would like to get, but first I have to wait until my doll budget is open again. :)
I love Australia and I love kangaroos!
Out of the box, I was really impressed by Kelsey's gorgeous face. I don't think this is the original Kelsey mold, but I'm not 100% sure as this is my first Kelsey. She has a very soft and peaceful expression and I love her light freckle pattern. Her hair color, eye color and skin tone combination is strikingly pretty. (I wish I looked like that!)
Her outfit is modern, colorful and trendy and I love the gray and pink color combo. The gray fringy shawl velcros up at each shoulder and stays on very well.
The pants are made of a thicker fabric than traditional stretchy leggings and are very nice quality.
The back of the shawl is shorter as you can see.
Underneath Kelsey's sweater is a simple gray and white stripped top that velcros in the back.
Her UGG style boots are adorable! Each have two pink bows and velcro in the back. They are very easy to get on and off and my 5 year old could do it easily.
A treat for the feet.
The hair accessory she comes with is a purple bobby pin with a crocheted coral colored flower.
Her other accessory is this little fuchsia handbag made from a fake leather and canvas material.
It opens!
Perfect place to put that bobby pin. ;)
Here are all the pieces laid out together.
So cute.
Here's a closer look at her face. Her eyes are a gorgeous grayish, green and are fixed in the open position. She has feathery brows, rooted eyelashes, and painted lashes. Her freckles are light and asymmetrical. She has a faint rosiness to her cheeks and her lips are well painted in a matte reddish-brown. (Perfect for fall.)
Here's her hair right out of the box after taking the rubber bands out. It's thick and rooted.
This photo doesn't really do justice to how beautiful and soft it is!
Here is is after brushing it. It was hard to capture because it was so smooth and shiny!
Here's Kelsey next to my Meredith doll and I THINK they have very similar faces (if not the same mold), but Kelsey's vinyl is a bit lighter lighter. Meredith seems to have slightly larger eyes, but they essentially look the same to me.
I think this mold and Chavonne's mold are my favorites in the JG line.
One thing I love about JG bodies is that the vinyl extends down lower leaving the chest to match the neck, which is nice if you want to dress them in summer dresses or shirts with a lower neckline. In other words, dolls that have a completely cloth torso like American Girl can sometimes be distracting due to the "frankenstein" effect between the head and neck (or a dramatic thyroidectomy scar.)
Overall, I'm really excited and happy to add this doll to our 18 inch doll collection. The girls love her and I love her and I definitely thing she's worth the $39.99 price point. If you can grab her when they have a sale, even better!
Tonight we also opened Callie and Ilee who are just as cute.
Both of these girls were reviewd on JG Kelsey's blog, so if you're interested, check them out! Her photos are so gorgeous. She is very knowledgeable abou this line of dolls.
Callie's review is here. Ilee's review is here.
I'm so happy to be posting another doll review as it's been ages. Thanks for sticking with me even though I haven't been posting as much. I have so much I want to share with you all and hopefully I can find the time to blog. I love it so much when I can!
Anyway, I hope this week finds you all well and of course, I am curious to know if you guys have gotten any goodies lately? I need to catch up on my blog reading!
I know some of you collect a few Journey Girls...did any of you get any of these new ones?
As always, thanks for reading and see you next time. :)
