Dolls Visit Becky's Barn!!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

Recently some livestock arrived at the Doll House Village! Yes indeed, we got a calf named Patches, some sheep named Kam and Loops and a goat named Empress. They are so adorable! I also recently got this fabulous "Riding in Style" Our Generation equestrian outfit for my doll Becky... So naturally I had to put them all together and show you Becky's Barn! 

I actually posted the video Visiting Becky's Barn YouTube like a week ago... I am just getting this blog post written and out of drafts today, a week and a day later. There are many different aspects to blogging and sometimes they don't all come together in as timely manner as I'd like. *sigh* Oh well, it's that that keeps me chomping at the bit and continually doing 'just a little something' doll during nearly all my free time. Even when I am watching something (like a movie or a YouTube) I will bring a doll or five to the couch with me and change their clothes and style their hair. So I probably have about five blog posts always actively being worked on at any given moment... I am rambling. Back to Becky's Barn!

So I used a couple of different backdrops together to make the walls and stalls of the barn. I think that they worked out perfectly! With the American Girl Doll stable and the many horses and ponies I've found in the last few years, it looked pretty realistic! So much fun!

Here is Mia Sara with her beloved horse Cocoa.

Jazz, Meeka and Charlsea all loved coming to the barn!

Becky is so full of knowledge about horses and ponies!

Shara is grooming her beautiful white horse...

The rest of the story will have to be told in photos because I am out of time for now...

I hope this finds you having a fantastic Friday! Or whatever day of the week you happen to drop by!

XXOO
Heather

Equestrian Happenings At The Doll House!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

When my son Vito was little bitty, he loved ponies and horses. I mean it, he was obsessed with them... I had a good friend when he was little that owned several ponies and a couple of horses and I got him over to ride a few times. As much as I'd have liked to pursue his passion for them further by getting him a pony or horse of his own, ponies and horses are very expensive and a lot of work. So... That never made it past the 'dream' phase. 

However, since I've become so interested and started collecting American Girl sized dolls, I have found more than a few for my dolls. At first I was reticent to buy them because space is an issue and goodness knows my dolls take up their own fair share of space!! However, when I found Equus for only $2, I just couldn't help it... I had to bring her home. Same story with the Our Generation Ponies I got for a few dollars each. Just too cute to leave there. 

However, I never really pulled them out to use with the dolls for photos. I always imagined carrying the horse, ponies and some dolls outside somewhere and taking really neat photos... But that is a bit more tricky than you might imagine. Weather, timing, bugs, kids coming up and wanting to play.... All manner of things can be stacked against such photos happening. So mostly they sat and collected dust. Even when I found a sleigh and took photos of Equus pulling it, the back drop was a 'wall'. So I wasn't ever enthusiastic about taking photos with them. 

Untill..... photo backdrops. Finding them on eBay was such a gift! When I saw this one I knew it would be perfect for photos with both the horses and the other pets. I also got a Doll Tent from my husband last year that I've never really used for photos for the same reasons. I think this backdrop will work well for it as well. 

So, obviously, I pulled out the ponies and horse and my Vito and Lilly (my daughter's doppelganger) dolls out and take some photos. Vito finally got his ponies and horse!! 

As you may notice, there is also an American Girl Doll Paint Filly in the photos as well. I can't for the life of me find a post about having found it at Goodwill in my blog posts. Maybe I forgot to post about it at the time? As I recall, I found it for $3.99 and, despite already having all the others at home already, I bought it immediately when I found it. Nothing exceeds like excess, right? Teehee.

It was fun trying to make Vito look like he was actually riding the horse down the trail...

As you can see, the horse and dolls actually stand on a part of the photo backdrop. At first I thought I would hate that but I think it actually makes it look even more real. What do you think?

Off he goes! 

Speaking of which... I better run too. I have one more blog post I want to get written... So stay tuned!

Till Next Time!

XXOO
Heather

PS I nearly forgot to mention this fella.... I found him a few weeks ago, right before my Lent Fast of thrift stores.... I think he's cute and is mid sized between the horse and the ponies... He has a scratch in his 'flocking' but is other wise in great shape. Not bad for $1.50! See why I can't pass them up?!?

Our Generation Ponies Score At Goodwill

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

The only trouble I find, mostly, in my doll hobby, is the nagging 'How much is too much?' side of things... As you may have noticed, I have a bit of a knack for finding treasures for next to nothing. A noble skill until you watch the Hoarder's show and realize you are only one life tragedy away from being one of those people if you're not entirely careful. Teehee. Kidding. Sort of. I don't mean to make light of the people on those shows, they seem to be very sad and lonely most of the time. I am digressing again here but my point is, 'How much doll stuff is too much?' What do you think? I don't want to alienate my ever-so-sweet husband by surrounding him with too much doll stuff, if you know what I mean. Mostly he doesn't care and likes how much I enjoy my doll hobby but sometimes, when I bring in a big item, he looks at it like "Where are you going to put THAT?" For instance, my doll horses... I store those in the basement, not the doll room. Because they are huge. He is pretty forgiving though, my husband, and I think he thinks that, at least with doll stuff, it's all small! I don't ever buy anything for my 'real' house anymore! 

So... As I am out and about, I sometimes come across a doll item and have to fight with myself "I really like it but do I need it?" and as my doll collection grows and expands, the answer, more and more, has to be "No" unless I am going to bring said item home and 'upgrade' something and get rid of the older item. If that makes sense. Although I can't ever seem to pass up a DOLL. Especially if it's a versatile doll that I can use for a body transplant or re-wig and make new. It's a weakness. 

However, these two beauties I just couldn't pass up. Interestingly enough I found them both the same day at two different Goodwill stores. Also, the prices were different. The brown pony with blanket I found first and it was $1.99 and then the blonde pony I found at a second Goodwill and it was marked $3.99. Funny huh? So, $5.99 for both ponies isn't bad at all! The same Goodwill that had the second one also had another full sized horse that was different than the three I have a home and I left it there. I should've thought to photograph it. Don't think I haven't kicked myself more than once about not buying it but I do try to be good! It was one like these two, more 'realistic'. I have one more that is more 'realistic' that you can see here. I also have two other doll horses but they are more 'stuffed animal' looking. I don't even think I've shown them to you yet... So many blog posts I have in my 'to write' list! Just recalled perhaps I hadn't... I'd been waiting for a good weather day so I could bring all three horses out to compare. So... Something to look forward to!

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Here is Frann with the ponies! I need to clean them up a bit better but they sure are cute! I think all kids, at some point, dream of having a pony of their own. My son was actually gaga for horses and ponies when he was younger. He just loved them. So... Dollies had to have ponies too! Right?

Can't wait to take better photos!! 

Better run... More blogs to write!

Till Next time!
XXOO
 Heather