Introducing Francis! My Most Recent Custom Doll

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

Well... I've done it again. It's not my fault!! Beautifully Custom had a sale on their doll wigs! Their doll wigs often cost upwards of $30-40 and they had some on sale for $17.00 shipped! 

I couldn't help myself. I had to buy one. (It's a good thing I have a budget or I might've bought three or four! Hahaha!) The one I chose was called "Cupcake". Like the other Beautifully Custom doll wig I have, it was even more beautiful in person than it was on the website. 

Here it is in it's fancy fabric drawstring bag. So posh! They always come with a little hair bow too. Such a great product! 

Inside the fabric bag there there is also a plastic bag with pretty designs on it and a fancy Beautifully Custom sticker. Awesomeness. So... I ordered the wig but with no doll in mind as to who might end up getting customized with it. 

This Heidi Ott Doll that I customized last year was one that, while I liked her better that I did when I started with her  after her body transplant and wig change, I still wasn't totally satisified with her. So I'd never glued on her wig... You know, just in case. Teehee. 

I am so glad I did! Because the minute I put this wig on this doll I knew it was practically made for her. Isn't it she cute??

I named her Francis because I've always loved that name. 

She just looked so pretty out in the natural light that I had to keep taking her photo. 

So I am sure she will become a favorite doll of mine in the Doll House. 

See? I kept taking her photo!

So pretty! Well.... Then.... This past weekend... When my Doll Mad Money Budget was replenished for July Beautifully custom sent me another email about another sale!! Uh oh. 

This one wasn't quite as inexpensive, it was $27 shipped... It's on it's way here. 

Then, low and behold, another one of my favorite wig companies, Exquisite Doll Designs,  had a sale. Uh oh.

This gorgeous wig was only $17.77!! So... I ordered it too. I have an idea of who's going to get this one and she's going to be gorgeous in it! 

Gotta run!

Till Next Time!

XXOO
Heather

Meet Melania!! New Custom Doll In The Doll House!

Hi Doll Friends,

This is a re-post from a blog post in 2017 that somehow got reverted to a draft? 

Enjoy.

XXOO

Heather 

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

Happy Friday! As I mentioned in a a recent post I bought another Beautifully Custom wig called Apple Crisp. I've wanted to get an ombre wig for a while now to make a custom doll of someone I really admire. So when I saw that one go on sale for $27.00 shipped, I knew the time was right! 

Meet Melania Trump! I already have Barron Trump doll and since I had him I thought it would be fun to have a Melania as well. I think she is so gorgeous and very ladylike and she's also as sharp as a tack. I wish I could speak five languages!! Heck, I wish I could speak two! 

I decided a while ago that I was going to use this doll to make Melania. She was actually originally named Lauren Southern but I've since decided that a different doll would suit her better as her doppelganger doll. I actually just ordered her replacement yesterday when I got a ToysRUs gift certificate from my husband as a suprise. He sure does know the way to my heart! I think Meredith from Journey Girls actually looks a lot more like Lauren. So... Perfect! 

Here is the doll prior to her hair being shorn off. It was the slightest bit painful cutting off that pretty hair but... Sacrifices must be made when you love to customize! Am I right?

Here is the wig as it arrived in the mail. Beautifully Custom does such an awesome job. They ship very quickly and with the packaging they make it feel very 'special' every time you get a wig from them, even when they are on sale. 

See? It comes in that pretty fabric drawstring bag, and a pretty designed bag and another bag and a zip log bag and a hair net. So, very safe and sound! 

I think she looks perfect! Melania has very deep blue eyes and amazing hair and I think the wig is just like her hair. 

So pretty!

See how amazing the wig is?

So, another doppelganger doll to live in the Doll House! How fun.

I love our First Lady! 

Better run! 

XXOO

Heather

Another Doll Body Transplant and Makeover! Part One

Hi Doll Friends,

So this happened a few weeks ago... I keep meaning to get back to finish up the photos for it of the 'after' but I have decided it will just have to be a two parter... I have decided to re-wig the doll body recipient with a wig that is on the way and so I'll just post her 'after' photo in that one. Sound good? In the meantime...

I found another Our Generation Doll at a thrift store...

I've basically decided to always buy dolls I find if they are in decent shape... I love doing 'custom' doll so much that having a donor body on hand will never be a bad idea. As it is, I have so many dolls on the 'body donor list' that I won't have one 'on hand' for a while... Haha.

For the price of a fast food burger, how can I not buy them? Right?

You may recall when I got four Engel Puppe German Dolls for an amazing price on eBay last year... I love love love their adorable face sculpts! Their bodies, however, not so much... I mean I love the sculpts on the hands and feet but as you can see, they are soft bodied dolls. This manner of dolls never see's much 'play' in the doll house because they look awkward in clothes and can't pose well at all. So... I determined around the time I did my first doll body transplant that I would switch them all out as I found second hand doll bodies to do so. This is the third one I've transplanted, I only have the boy doll left now to go and he will be the recipient of the next doll body I find. 

As you can see, the donor doll's hair was a total mess... Naturally I didn't waste any time trying to fix it because I wasn't going to keep her once I gave her the other body. I donate all the donor body dolls (the head with the other doll body attached) to Goodwill. I figure maybe someone out there could use them for something? Right? Maybe they like more 'snuggly' dolls? 

So here they are 'post-op'! In case you missed the prior posts on this procedure you here is a link to one that has, if I recall correctly, links to most of the others. I've kind of lost track at this point how many I've done body transplants on... I'll have to gather them all together and take a group photo of all my custom dolls soon. I mentioned I have a wig on the way for this one... I bought a few wigs recently with thoughts of custom dolls. I really don't care fot the wig on this doll because 1) it has come 'loose' on the scalp where it's come unglued and so it's wibbly and weird when you try and brus her hair and 2) it's a very dated style, like a 1980s mullet or something? So she is getting a cute chin length bob with bangs as soon as it arrives. So stay tuned for that soon. She is gonna look so adorable!

On that note, I am super excited about another few wigs coming and am sure I'll go into full on 'doll makeover mode' when they arrive. I have decided to make a doll doppelganger of one of my favorite movie characters from when I was a girl and her wig is on the way... I hope she turns out the way I want her to!! I'll give you a hint as to who she will be: She has red hair has had a 'hard knock life'. Who do you suppose that is? 

Gotta run!
Till next time!
XXOO
Heather

Two Paola Reina Dolls Move Into The Doll House! A Gift From Frann!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

If you've read this blog a while, you may know the story of how I met my dear sister friend Frann via this very blog... In case you don't know our friendship story, long-story-short; two years ago or so sweet Frann wrote me an email all the way from her distant land of Korea telling me she liked my blog. We got to talking and became instant friends!! She has, over the course of our friendship, sent me dolls and doll related gifts that have become of my most treasured doll items. I've sent her twinsy dolls as well so we have the same of many different dolls in each of our respective doll houses. It makes it so much more fun to have one in each place because it's kind of like virtually 'playing dolls' when either of us photograph those certain dolls and share the photos. If that makes sense? In any case, if it were not for Frann and our friendship I am absolutely certain I wouldn't have had the enthusiasm I've likely had in writing this blog. So I kind of consider her an author of this blog too in that she supports me and encourages me so much! 

So recently one of Frann's favorite doll types have become Paola Reina dolls. She loves to have doll faces customized by her amazing artist friend Reein. She also has a friend named Goofy who creates amazing custom doll clothes. I know they are amazing because Frann has shared some of them in the past that Goofy created for our 18inch dolls the very first time she sent me an amazing doll care package! She's sent more of them in the meantime and each piece will always be some of my favorite doll clothes in my whole collection! Given that Frann loves the Paola Reina dolls, she decided to collaborate with Reein and Goofy to make fabulous customized Paola Reina doll creations!! Then, to my utter delight, she decided to share two of these amazing little dolls with me!! Thanks Frann!! 

I love love love them! They arrived mid-week last week and I got photos taken but... Am only now getting here to tell you about them. Here they are with Leone Doll, Frann Doll and Saila Doll the day they arrived! Aren't they adorable and beautiful? Such cute little sisters for the 18inch dolls!! 

As is her way, Frann shares great doll items with me when she finds them and the amazing black Mary Jane shoes you see in the top of this box are one that I am so glad she found and shared!! She bought some for her own dollies and was sweet enough to make a double order and send me some for my dollies too. More on them later because they deserve their own post after I get a chance to have some of the dolls model them... 

Here are the two dollies!! One is customized by Reein and one is 'factory direct' in package. I love them both! Such adorable face sculpts and such a nice weight to them. You can tell they are top notch dolls just by picking them up. 

Being the sweet sister friend that she is, she also shared more amazing clothes by Goofy for them to wear!! So. Many. Cute. Things!!

She also sent some shoes for the girls... Two pairs of Mary Janes and two pairs of awesome sneakers! So they are totally set for clothes even! Such an amazing gift. 

Here is the Carla Doll that Reein painted so beautifully... I call her Carla Doll because that is, from what I understand, what this face sculpt is called in the Paola Reina Doll world. It is also what Frann named her doll which is a twinsy doll to this one and so naturally I am naming my doll the same. 

So, meet Carla! Isn't she stunning?

This type of doll is 12 1/2 inches tall and are all vinyl and are called Las Amigas. There is a review of three different Paola Reina dolls here on Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter's Blog. There is a video review posted in that link too... I love her blog and videos. So much fun. Her mom is fantastic too. I digress... 

She also sent a Las Amigas Liu Rapunzel. I've named her Hekele Liu and I think she's instantly popped into my top 10 favorite dolls! She's so sweet!!

She came in a plastic bag with just undies on... Which is fine because I couldn't ask for a better 'meet outfit' than the ones that Frann sent for her to wear... The only problem I had was which of the adorable ensembles should she wear first? 

Here is the packaging. Simple but honestly I almost wish all dolls were packaged so simply. No annoying bits to untie them from and to kink up their hair etc. 

Here she is holding her tag. 

And here they both are out on their first photo shoot!

Hekele looks amazing in the blue dress!! It makes her eyes pop!

And Carla looks gorgeous in the dress that Frann herself made!! Isn't it fabulous!??! Instant favorite in the doll house!

Here they are by the garden gate on a walk....

Hekele out in the lush green forest...

Isn't she beautiful?!

I also took her with me the day I took some dolls to the lake last week... Still working on a video from that one... Here is LaQuela, Leoni and Hekele on the dock. 

And on a walk...

Carla, being customized with beautiful make-up, is likely not going to go on too many outside adventures... I would worry she'd fall into the dirt and when I went to clean her up accidentally mess up her beautiful face. No matter, with backdrops and grass panels, I can bring the outdoors to her. Here she is in a little Girl Scout Uniform I had on hand that I thought was adorable on her. 

Then I decided she would be a key character in my newest YouTube Video about the dolls being at the beach and taking a Hula Lesson from Cat Doll like we had last year. 

Isn't she totes adorbs in her hula outfit?? I got it at the mall a few weeks ago and it's designed for Wellie Wishers but I thought it worked perfectly for little Miss Carla Doll too! I love it!

Here's the whole class! Left to right: Cat (Lotus), Charlsea, Leoni, Saila (all Maplelea), Nanea (AG), Star (Starpath Dolls), Amy (OG) and Prism (Custom JG).

Better run! Where does the time go?

Thanks again Frann!  

XXOO
Heather