New Tennis Shoes For Maru & Friends, Carpatina & Just Pretend Dolls From eBay!

Happy Friday Doll Friends!!

I probably shouldn't wish 'day specific' salutations on my blog because I never know what day ya'll are going to read posts. However, this week has been a mighty long one (albeit fast) and so I have to mark the end of it with an appropriate greeting. Right? Hope you're all looking forward to a great weekend too!

Recently, in my eBay shopping research, I ran across some cute tennis shoes for dolls that I'd somehow missed before? Probably because they aren't listed as shoes that fit any dolls that I happen to collect... But I measured some of the doll shoes around the Doll House and found that they were similar in size to a certain brand of doll shoes that are very spartan around here.

My Maru & Friends dolls, Carpatina doll and Just Pretend doll all have about the same size feet but they are the only four in the Doll House with feet that size. They can wear Journey Girl & Espari brand shoes but they are a bit big. Which can be solved by putting a bit of cotton ball or craft pompom into the toe of the shoe and then putting it on the doll... But the only shoes they had that fit correctly was the ones they arrived in. One of them arrived barefoot and the other with shoes that were so old that the soles had fallen off. (Poor dear!) So, they were for all practical purposes, shoeless. It had to be resolved, right? 

I won't lie, when I originally ordered these I did so thinking they'd also fit the Journey Girls and Espari dolls. Sadly, they are just a touch enough too small not to work at all for them. Bummer. But, given that I have four dolls that they do work for, I am not as annoyed as I would've been if they'd been to small for everyone! 

Aren't they adorable?! They come in many different colors and arrive packaged like the green shoes here in a loose plastic mailer from China. It takes a while for them to arrive... A few weeks. Well worth the wait though for such adorable doll shoes at such a great price.

They reall do seem to be pretty good quality too! I mean, for doll shoes anyway. The soles feel realistic enough that you feel like your doll will not only be stylish but also comfortable and ready to go play basketball at any moment! Score! Teehee.

I just think they are so cute! 

Don't they all look so happy in their new shoes?

Better run!
XXOO
Heather

Maru Comes Home To The Doll House!

Hi hi hi Doll Friends!!

Well, in case you haven't noticed, November is a bit of a 'windfall' month for me because it is my birthday month. This year I had my 45th birthday and I think I got just a touch more spoiling because it's not every day you get half way to 90! Teehee. So, with the birthday money I got from my parents-in-law, I bought a doll that has been on my short wish list for a while... Meet Maru!

Maru is a 20inch doll from the Maru and Friends Doll Line. I first saw and fell in love with her on a video about her from Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter and have had her on my wish list a while but she kept getting bumped when new dolls came out (Nanea! etc) So when I got the birthday money in the almost exact amount she cost on Amazon, I knew it was time. 

This is how she arrived. I was really impressed because she came in an outer shipping box with her actual box nice and protected inside. Well done Maru and Friends!!

Here's how she looked in her presentation box. 

SO PRETTY!

I love love love the way they fastened her to the box! With white grossgrain ribbon! How lovely! 

See the bow?

As the girl in the review of her said, the details are extraordinary!! She comes with all the accessories that oftentimes you have to pay extra for from other doll companies. 

I forgot to bring her cute little handbag outside when I took her outside for photos. 

I think her face sculpt is just gorgeous. Apparently the sculpt was done by Dianna Effner!

Her feet, I have discovered, are nearly identical in size to Journey Girl dolls feet. Perfect! They can share shoes!! I wanted to compare her body size shape to a doll that was similar and so I put her next to my Carpatina doll. 

They have very similar body types other than Maru being 20inches and Diya is 18inches.

 So I am so glad to have Maru in my collection at the Doll House! She is lovely! I might have to get another doll from the line someday... We shall see.

Have a fantastic week!!
XXOO
Heather

Goodwill and Walmart Clearance Finds For Doll House!

Hi Doll Friends!!

When you're out thrifting always be sure and check the stuffed animals!! They are often marked next to nothing because every child in America has about 2,329,879 of them give or take. Eh? Hahaha. I used to be sure they reproduced themselves in my own childrens rooms because I'd carry a 32gallon trash bag totally full to the Goodwill at least once a year and they never dwindled! I digress. Suffice to say stuffed animals are easy to find cheap. Sometimes those stuffed toys are wearing clothes....

And sometimes those clothes lend themselves to become doll clothes so well!! Check out the adorable and sweet blue cape I got for the dolls!

I gleaned it from this little bear. It also came with a muff which I also took for the dolls. Never you worry, I will give the clothing free bear back to Goodwill and I am sure some stuffed animal loving person will love them even without thier cape! She was marked $1.99 and that's not bad for a pretty doll cape and muff! 

As you can see in the photo, I also got that little white Ikea frame that I plan to use as a Menu board for the Sweet Shoppe in upcoming photo shoots... Then I also had a chance to run into Walmart on a work errand and walked right past their Christmas Clearance section! I got the three stockings for 25cents each (kicking myself for not buying like 10 to give as gifts next year to doll loving friends... Ugh!! Oh well... Note to self next year, right?) and got the pretty angel and star ornaments for only 50cents for the Doll House Christmas tree. I also must confess I bought another mini tree! I forgot to photo it before I stuck it away this afternoon with the other doll Christmas ornaments. I don't know what came over me but it is a 24inch teal blue metallic tree with white lights and it was just too fabulous to not get because it was only $2.50 (marked down from $9.99) I figure maybe I will use it in the Sweet Shoppe and do a Christmas scene there with it. So, that'll be fun next year. 

So always keep your eyes open for doll sized items in 'non doll' sections of the stores you visit. You never know what you might find! 

Till next time!

XXOO
 Heather

Lamps For The Doll House!

Greetings Doll Friends!! 

I've had lamps for the Doll House for a while now... But the cords were too short to reach the outlets in my doll room. Then on our Black Friday Adventure I found some at the Dollar Tree! Score!

So I came home and put my lamps in the living room of the Doll House!! Aren't they pretty?!

I played around with how to take photos with them. This one (above) is with just the lamps and so a bit dark...

But this one with other lights is a bit 'bright'...

I also played around with where in the room to put them...

I think they make the room look much more 'real' and love how they hightlight Jesus' picture on the wall above. Beautiful! What do you think? I am sure I'll get better at figuring out how to make the light work with photos but all in all I love them!

Better run!
Till next time!
XXOO
 Heather

Carpatina Heterochromia Twins Arrive At Doll House!!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

First, before we start and before anyone gets upset by the title of this blog, lets tell you what heterochromia means. It's defined as:

heterochromia het·er·o·chro·mi·a (hět'ə-rō-krō'mē-ə) 
n. 
A difference in coloration in two structures or two parts of the samestructure that are normally alike in color.

Most often it happens in eye color... With that gotten out of the way...

Look at who arrived in the mail today!  I love them! I've always wanted a heterochromatic doll and have always wanted a Carpatina doll as well!

I also love twin dolls so I have a duplicate to send to my best doll friend friend Frann! (Hi Frann!) 

So how did I happen to get two? I have always wanted a Carpatina doll but at $100ish I never had taken the plunge. Then when on Etsy the other day I saw these beauties being sold as "liquidation" because of the very thing I love them for, their heterochromatic eyes!! 

 Both of them were only $39.99! (Plus shipping) They were part of what I bought with my birthday money and I am so utterly stoked to have found them!!

After looking them over I realized two things. The first is that their body type is basically identical in every way to my Just Pretend Dolls and upon realizing that, I realized I'd never gotten back to even give a proper 'review' of the Just Pretend dolls last year after I got them! About a month after I got them we decided we were moving and I packed up 90% of my doll stuff to be put in storage (oh, that was a long six months!). We've been moved over a year now and I realize I never got a post about them done! So... It'll be one of my new blog posts coming up where I review both together, stay tuned for that! In the meantime though, back to the new girlies!

They arrived in one of the fancy Carpatina boxes... Which I thought was great given they were 'liquidation' dolls! Now I don't know how many 'sets' she has but I just checked and it appears there is at least one of these sets still there for sale. here is the link to find it. 

See, they were snuggled together like twins in a womb... Which is sweet because I consider them twins myself. 

They were perfect in every way!! Other than their eye colors being different they were in perfect pristine shape... Considering Carpatina Diya normally sells for $98, I still can't believe I got two of her for half less than half that! (Well, with shipping it was about $67 total but still a steal!!) 

I think they are so beautiful! As you can see, the degree of variance of eye color is a bit different between the two of them. The one on the left is more drastic.. The one on the right is so subtle you can almost not even notice it unless you're looking for it. I am going to keep the one with the more drastic difference and send the other to Frann. She's already said she is excited that she is coming to live with her!! One more set of twins for us to share... I love it. 

Sorry for the partially nude shots but this is how they came out of the box...

I dressed them in twin dresses and even gave them handbags alike... Frann had just told me that she wanted to give me a handbag for Christmas and it was just too perfect to give the twin dollies handbags that were the same too. Not to mention, these doll sized bags were a gift from Frann and they match a 'real sized' bag she sent along with them. So they are some of my favorite doll accessories! 

l

I've decided that, unlike how I most often re-name dollies who come to live in the doll house, in this instance, I really love the name Diya and will let her keep it as a name. It means 'light' in sanskrit and being that I love to practice yoga it seemed perfect! 

I don't know if Frann will rename her's or not... I'll have to ask her.

So before one sister got ready for the long trip to Frann's house, they decided to go to the Sweet Shoppe for one last fun outting...

"I think I'll get a sucker to take on the plane with me!" 

"This drink looks amazing!"

Rose was happy to wait on the sisters and wished them good luck after they told her their story. 

They talked excitedly about what life will be like in Korea and how they'd have to be pen pals so they could live vicariously through one another's adventures! 

All too soon it was time to get ready to go...

I carefully packed Frann's twin into the box....

They were sad to say goodbye to one another but know they'll be able to FaceTime anytime they want and so aren't really too sad. 

Have a safe trip sister!!

That's it for now Doll Friends!
Till Next Time!
XXOO
Heather