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

Frann and Maru Take A Winter Walk!

Hi Doll Friends!!

Happy Wednesday! Don't the weeks just fly by? One week from Valentine's Day!?! Wasn't it just Christmas five minutes ago? Right? Being that it's February, it's still the season for snow and yesterday we got a bit of snow in my neck of the woods. So, naturally, being me, despite it being 8 degrees outside (what's a bit of cold? I went to High School in South Dakota, if you didn't go out when it was cold you lived inside 9 months a year!) I went out to take some doll photos in the pretty snow. I decided I'd take Frann and Maru...

I just love doll photography! It's so much fun!

Better run!
Have a great day!
XXOO
 Heather

Tannenbaum, Oh Tannenbaum... How Lovely Are Thy Branches...

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

Can you believe it's only a week and two days until Christmas?! I sure can't. This December is going by so quickly! This past week a few of the dolls decided it was time to decorate the tree...

Armelle was so happy to get to help decorate the Christmas tree! She'd seen the fancy trees at the Tuesday Morning store from the window of her box...

Here she is with Noel-Samantha (who's wearing a new Sophia's Doll Clothes outfit I got recently on Amazon that is super cute!)

Here are Abrianna and Tanya, who are both also newcomers to the Doll House. They asked the other residents if they would mind if they helped decorate the tree and it was unanimous that they should do whatever made them feel at home. They are both also wearing new Sophia Doll Clothes fashions I got recently... I am working on that blog post but you're getting a sneak peek! 

Part way through decorating Abrianna asked if they could turn of the light in the room and decorate the rest by the light from the tree...? What a great idea! It made it feel much more magical...!

Soon enough they were all done! Isn't the tree beautiful!

I think Christmas Tree's are one of the most beautiful things... Don't you?

I also think this little sweetheart is adorable! So glad I got her. 

The girls thought it looked so pretty that they just had to stand for a moment and gaze at it. If you were a reader at Christmas last year, you may notice that this year I have a different Christmas tree.

Well, I found this modern 'blue' tree on clearance at the end of the season last year and just couldn't help myself. It was only $2.50 and was so pretty! I even got the tree skirt to match. So I've decided to alternate... Next year will be the traditional tree and the following this one again and so on. I thought about setting up both of them as you may notice this one is set up in Frann's Penthouse Apartment.  I decided that it was too big for Frann's place though and have since moved it to the living room of the doll house. The dolls are going to get busy decorating the rest of the Doll House later today because Christmas is a week from Monday!! Where has 2017 gone?!

Better run!

XXOO

Heather

Maru and Friends Tanya Comes Home To The Doll House!

Hi Doll Friends!!

So... I recently added Maru from Maru and Friends to my collection after finding her on Amazon for only $99.00 (with free shipping with Amazon Prime). I'd wanted her at the Maru and Friend Website price of $115 (with shipping) so when I saw her for so much less and I had birthday money to boot, I had to have her. When she arrived, I loved her so much that, when I got another bit of early Christmas money, well... I bought her 'sister' Tanya on Amazon for $99.00. She arrived on Thursday but I didn't get a chance to take her out for photos until yesterday afternoon. 

Isn't she gorgeous!?!?

I love how the box says "Open Happiness". They must know how doll collectors feel when they get a new doll! 

I also love how they come double boxed. So you can store their main display box in a box and keep it nice. Well done. 

Tanya came in a really pretty sweater and leggings with black boots. Much like I did with Maru, I am going to post this link to Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter's Review of Tanya. Never one to want to reinvent the wheel, I think she did a great review and is actually the source I found out about these dolls from. So shout out to Kewpie83!

 I just can't get over how beautiful these dolls are and how well made they are for the cost. I think I have at least one more Maru doll on my wish list for the future... Well, ok, maybe two. I think I'll eventually end up getting Valentina because she's lovely. I'd likely have picked her next but they didn't have her on Amazon. Then I also love Mini Pal Chad because I don't really have any 'small' boy dolls in my collection to go with all my 14inch dolls like Wellie Wishers or Heart for Hearts. So... Someday... Maybe...

I better run and get rady for church! Have a great Sunday!

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