Newberry 18 Inch Doll Amara Joins The Doll House!

Greetings And Salutations Doll Friends!!

Some girls like diamonds... Somes girls like flowers... This girl likes dolls and my husband knows it. So... when he wants to treat me, what does he do? He buys me a doll of course! I love that he loves me for who I am and supports that. Lucky girl, that's me and I know it. Not trying to brag here just expressing that I know him for the blessing he is. 

So... Look at the beautiful dolly he came home with yesterday! My husband has a job that requires him to be 'on-call' every few weeks and sadly he ended up working half the day. Then, what does he do? He runs into Kmart after my mentioning that there was a doll I liked there. He is so good about noticing when I mention such things. (Hmmm... Perhaps that could be why I do mention them? Who knows, I am not manner of therapist or something... Why over-analyze things here?! Heeheehee)

Isn't she beautiful!! I am so utterly stoked to have her! As I mentioned in a prior post about LOTUS dolls there was a Doll named Brooklyn  from the Newberrry Doll line  at Sears Canada. At the time, there was no way to get her in the states. Trust me, I looked and looked. Or perhaps I missed, somehow, that Kmart had her? I suppose that's possible but I can't imagine it. Because, seriously, I almost became obsessed with her and had to talk self out of buying her on eBay for three times the cost. Haha. Don't you hate it when something you like is not available for you to buy? I know I do. I suppose it's the 'sign of the times' that I think I should be able to buy anything from anywhere in the world, huh? 

Here she is in the box when she came home. Isn't she pretty! So that's how I happened to mention to my husband about her recently... I'd just happened to look at Kmart online for something else doll related and there she was!! Her name was different, she was called Amara and not Brooklyn but... She was the same doll!!

When I mentioned her to my husband I honestly wasn't fishing for him to go buy her. Really!! I was just excited that she was even available for me to buy. 

But, as he so sweetly does so often, he listened and remembered.

As seems to be the case with most of the LOTUS dolls I've gotten in the past, her box is very simple. Just a few words to describe her and that's it. 

She was only rubber-banded into the box in three spots, very easy to get out of the box. As I've come to expect from this line of dolls, the clothes are all pretty great. Basic, simple fashions that are well made and lend themselves to other looks. Just by removing the scarf on this one, for instance, gives it a different look. The jeans are unadorned in any way and so, I expect, will be used for the boy dolls in the doll house. Yes, I realize that girls wear unadorned jeans too but when you have as many boy dolls in the Doll House as I do, you have to get the clothes for them from somewhere! I've even added a boy or two since I did that group photo! So, you see my problem! 

Back to Amara... I don't think she's going to keep that name but I have to call her something! Her hair was sectioned off in clear rubberbands to keep it tidy in the box. 

She is so pretty! As soon as I got her hair loose from it's ties I had to run her over to the window and take a photo of her in the sunlight!

Gorgeous!!

My husband also knows me well enough to know I'd be curious about the other dolls they had there! He snapped a few photos for to me to see. I was surprised and delighted to see my Lisa Doll! When I bought mine, ironically enough, at Kmart back when I got her, they were marketed under the name 'My Sweet Girl'...? So, who knows when they changed over to make the name brand the same for the US dolls as for the Canadian dolls but I am so glad that they did and that, when they did, Amara/Brooklyn came to the US with the rest of the name! 

The outfits remind me a lot of the Journey Girls or Espari Dolls that, from what I understand, have their face sculpts from same place, LOTUS dolls. At least I think that's right. Speaking of Espari dolls, I suspect they are being discontinued because Barnes & Noble are going to start carrying American Girl Doll items there and, as far as I know, AG stipulates that no other doll brands can be carried where they stock their dolls. Kind of silly, I think. What's wrong with a little competition but... Not my place to say I suppose. 

The dolls are all very cute but I am super happy to have the one that my husband got me. Although, now that I know the whole line is at Kmart, I might just have to find myself in the same part of town as they are when I go in... You know... Just to peek.

Better run!
Time to get ready for church!

XXOO

Heather

**UPDATE June 29, 2017** I named this doll Radel after one of my life long friends. Just wanted to update you on her name!

Kmart My Sweet Lil Girl 18inch Doll Joins Doll House

Hi Doll Friends!!

So I am not sure if I've mentioned but I treaded back into the murky that is Facebook recently despite my having finally resolving to quit for good. The only reason is because I was a member of some pretty great doll groups there before I threw in the towel and deactivated my profile. 

There were only a small handful of things I missed about Facebook compared to bushels of things that unsettled me... Two of the things I missed most were my blogs Facebook page.. It's not like it was huge but it was established  and setting up a whole new profile just for the doll blog was too daunting! Then of course there was the feeling of being in a doll community of sorts via the groups there. So many creative people! 

Anyway... So my point in all of this is to say I love having "doll friends" but it can be dangerous too. Haha! Case in point? 

When they mention a pretty doll at a great price at Kmart... And... Well... 

Yeah... Here she is... Gorgeous!! She was $29.99 and I had Christmas money burning holes in my pockets!

The Facebook friend who told me about them mentioned that the hair wasn't all that great quality but she just scalps her dolls and wigs them... That sounds kind of fun. We shall see how I like her hair.

I was struck by how pretty she is! She reminds me of Journey Girls in the face... Her eyes don't close and, well, she is beautiful. 

She came in a pretty nice quality outfit too, considering her price point. This same caliber ensemble from the most popular doll line costs about the same as this whole doll cost. Blows my mind. 

I love the boots!!

I just couldn't stop photographing her. It's a hazard when you love dolls and write about them. My camera is chocka-block-full-up of photos of dolls... To the tune of 1,800+ since I got my new phone like a month ago. My dear husband got me a phone with 64g so I don't have to worry about running out. He knows me well. I do clear them out once I post my blog though so... That number doesn't eve reflect the ones I've DX'd already! Clearly, it's an issue.

I think she looked so much cuter without the hat!

I have to say, upon opening her, I think her hair isn't all that bad. Given that I don't play with my dolls all that roughly (Ha! Mostly they get changed and posed for photos) I think it'll probably be fine just as it is...

Good job doll makers! They put some tissue around her beck so her red scarf wouldn't leave stains on her neck.

I love the gray shirt. I am sure it's going to make it's way into the boys wardrobe... That's the hazard of being a 'gender neutral' wardrobe item in a doll house with quite a few boy dolls and not ever enough cool doll clothes for them all. 

See what I mean? I kept snapping photos.

Here she is with Brianna (My Life As Doll from Walmart)

Here she is with my latest American Girl Doll that I changed into a boy. People so often want to see what a doll looks like 'next to an AG' and he was the handiest one to grab for photo. I haven't decided on his name yet. Ideas?

**Nude Doll Photos Warning!!**

I am really impressed with her I have to say. She feels sturdy and well made. 

Her hair is a bit uneven on the bottom but not unusual really....

She stands well enough on her own although on the carpet I will admit she was using the wall to hold herself up a bit. 

Here she is with Brianna for a body size comparison... Didn't want to go get an AG to compare her to but My Lif As Dolls are pretty common and similar in size to AG's. (I know, totally different body styles... work with me here! Haha!) 

They swapped outfits. Cute!

Here is the outfit she came in. Did I mention I love the boots? The leggings are pretty cute too. All in all, I think Kmart did a top notch job for this doll in it's price range.

Thanks for dropping by!

Till Next time!

XXOO

Heather

My Lotus 18 inch Doll Colletion... So Far...

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

In my continuing series of 'My Doll Collection So Far' posts... Here is one of my favorites. Well, I suppose they are all my favorites but I do love Lotus dolls quite a lot. They are on the market under many different names... I think Newberry from Kmart is likely the most well known. I have Lotus dolls that have several different brand names though. I have a Today's Girl (Frann), a Gali Girl (Cat), My Sweet Girl (Lisa, from Kmart but not called Newberry), New York Doll Collection (Debbie), a My Fashion Doll (Sharon) and of course Newberry as well... So, here is my current Lotus doll collection. Mind you this doesn't count the Journey Girl's and Espari which have nearly identical face sculpts but totally different body types.

So... Here they are! I am just going to put their photo's here since I linked the stories of where they came from in the last paragraph. If you have any questions about any of my dolls, please ask because I forget to tell details sometimes.

Better run or I'll be late to church!
Have a great Sunday!
XXOO
Heather