Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Happy Halloween!

   No book post yet, but here are some flashback's! The World's at the Pumpkin Patch, and The World's Halloween Party. Can these really have been so long ago?! And Tammy World hasn't aged a day!

  If you just can't get enough of Tammy World, she shows off her Halloween costumes in these other posts:

HERE, HERE . I know theres' one more, but I can't find it!

-Doll-A-Day 2023 #294: Chelsea Can Be...Rock Star

   Today we're looking at another doll I found for $1 at the bin store. There were loads of these, and nobody seemed to want them. At one point I had loads of them in my bag, but I gave all but one to another lady. She's going to be donated to a toy drive too. She's Chelsea  Can Be....


  There was a whole line of the Chelsea Can Be... dolls, which included a scientist, a teach, and Olympic ice skater, a pizza chef, a business woman/boss, a builder, and a pilot. Nice to see that since her big sister was relegated to 'airline hostess', that Chelsea has advanced to pilot.
  But this Chelsea is a Rock Star. And she has the blue hair to prove it.


She comes with some rock star sunglasses, shaped like stars, a microphone and stand, a pair of headphones,(with cat ears!), and a couple of VIP tickets to give out to those who grovel enough.


Those headphones have some nice detail.


And, of course, she ha a guitar.


  The task is now finding somewhere to donate these toys I've been picking up. 

  See you again tomorrow. 

Doll-A Day 2023 #293: Twisty Girlz

   Okay. I did it again. We had a very long day yesterday, and I came back late and very tired. I skipped a post again. So today there are two more posts, and a book post if I'm very good. We'll see how that goes.

  Today's dolls are more I got at the overloaded bin store for $1. There were lots of these too, but most of the packages were torn up. They're more I'd never heard of too. They are also going to be donated to a toy drive. They're Twisty Girlz.

They're about6 inches tall. And of course, it has to be spelled 'GirlZ', They aren't even made by MGA.

  The characters are 'Battalie'...


...and Swishella.


  They're made by Spinmaster, who made Liv dolls, amongst other things.

  They're unusual looking things. They remind me a lot of these dolls I showed you a while back.


  They are made of wire and beads too.








But they also have another gimmick. They transform into bracelets.





They also come with a secret pet, which transforms into a ring.





  There were eight other dolls in the series.


  They are described online like this: 

  • TRANSFORM FROM DOLL TO BRACELET: Twisty Girlz transform from stylish doll to bracelet and back again! Simply pull apart the torso and skirt and connect the ends. She’s the perfect trendy accessory!
  • SECRET TWISTY PETZ: Every Twisty Girlz doll comes with a super cute mystery pet – unicorn, terrier pup, pony and more! Use the leash to connect your doll and pet or twist the pet into a blingy ring!
  • COLLECT THEM ALL: Add all of the Series 2 Twisty Girlz to your collection (each sold separately), including rare and super rare! With glam outfits and hairstyles, join your girlz for a Girlz Night Out!
  • Twisty Girlz are fashion dolls that transform into cute collectible bracelets for kids aged 4 and up. Collect them all and take them with you on the go!

  The package mentions twistypetz.com, but I tried it, and the page doesn't come up.

  Those are today's...well, yesterday's dolls. Check out the other post today for today's doll. See you tomorrow.

Sunday, October 29, 2023

Doll-A-Day 2023 #292: Minnie's Ballet Studio

   Today we're looking at some more $1 buys I got at the bin store. This one is a Sweet Seams set, Minnie's Ballet Studio, made by Moose Toys.



  There were loads of these sets in the millions of bins at that store. Nobody 'seamed', (ha), to want them. I decided to buy one, and do a post and then donate it to a Christmas toy drive.  It includes cute little dolls of Minnie Mouse and a little dog. 


  Minnie is about 6 inches tall. Both dolls are pretty flat, with only their heads and Minnie's skirt being puffy.


Minnie has a very 'anime' appearance, and a ribbon and a rosette on her ear.



Each of the dolls has one hand that's a loop, and one hand that's a knot. That's so they can 'hold hands'. The knot goes through the loop. No Velcro required.


Inside the right side of the package is the ballet studio. 





The box proclaims that there are three play areas: the dressing room, the stage, and the studio.


This is with just the two halves opened up.


This is with the flap on the right folded open.


  As you can see above the set comes with stickers, and a tissue paper wrapped 'surprise. It's not really a surprise, because they tell you on the back of the box that there is a 'mannequin' included. More of a dress dummy really. There's also a tissue paper bundle in the drawer in the bottom of the  middle section.

  It contains Minnie's ballet slippers.


  Not wanting to mess up the packaging, so I can donate it, I didn't want to unwrap the dress dummy. I don't think I could replicate that twist on the top of the paper. But the dummy opens to reveal another pair of ballet slippers.



  The slogan on the front of the box is 'Friends stitched with love'. There's a whole series of Disney characters, mostly the princesses. but also some other characters, like Jessie, from Toy Story. Here's the online description of the set I found:

Small "Rag Doll" style collectable Dolls of your favorite Disney Characters! Six inch soft Dolls with a handmade look and feel with simple yarn details and hand-like painted features. Slide open the Matchbox style box to reveal 2 Dolls, accessories, and Playset to create your own stories! Discover Minnie Mouse and her dog Fifi in this feature filled Deluxe Ballet Studio Pack! Minnie's Playset has 3 play areas and 2 pairs of Ballet Shoes, Mannequin and Stickers!

And then there was this description:

Each story in a box playset embodies a specialty look and feel with homemade, unique handcrafted-inspired details of your favorite Disney characters you know and love.These whimsical "rag doll" style 6-inch soft Dolls are truly special with homespun elements woven throughout! From their hand painted-inspired features, classic yarn hairstyle, elongated dangling arms and legs with knotted limbs and iconic Disney character outfits. 

T I think they're pushing that 'homemade look' a bit too much. They don't look home made at all. And what's with 'hand painted inspired'?! What does that even mean?! They don't look hand painted at all, and stop trying to make them sound hand made. THEY ARE MASS PRODUCED! There must have been more than one series of toys too, because I also found this:

  • Discover 12 of your favorite Disney Characters over Series 2 including Rare, Ultra Rare and Limited Edition Dolls to find.

Minnie wasn't amongst the 12 they were referring to either.

  That's today's doll. See you again tomorrow with another $1 bin store find.

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Doll-A-Day 2023 #291: LOL Surprise O.M.G. Queens Runway Diva

   Today's doll is one I bought recently because she was such a good price, and I thought I could do a post on her and maybe pass her on to one of you who might want her. That's why I'm not removing her from her box or opening her 'surprises. But I think we'll still be able to find out quite a bit this way. She's a, (This is a long one!): LOL Surprise O.M.G. Queens Runway Diva. Shew! That was a mouthful! Her actual name is 'Runway Diva. That's a name? She also comes with "20 Surprises". 


  As you can see form the back of her box, there were three other dolls in the series.


  After removing four pieces of tape, I was able to slide the cover off the box.


  She has blue and purple braided hair, and it's a LONG braid. She also has jointed elbows, but not knees.

She's 10 inches tall.

Her eyes are huge and her nose is tiny. Notice the little painted curls along her hairline.

She has sparkly lips. Also, there's something that looks like glue by her mouth. It was there when I opened the box, so it's a factory thing.

  Look at that outfit. I'm getting some outer space stuff from it.


She has fishnet sleeves. Or are those gloves? They do have a thumb hole.


Her outfit isn't a dress. It's a top and a bubble skirt. 


  And she has matching fishnet tights to go with her gloves.

See how long her braid is? She has legs like Pinkie Cooper! But Runway Diva is made by MGA, and Pinkie was Bridge Direct. However, Pinkie was designed by Carter Bryant, who designed Bratz dolls. Maybe he designed these dolls too.

  She also has jointed wrists. That's nice, but I think elbows and knees would have allowed for more play potential that jointed elbows and wrists.







Here's a better shot at her painted curls and those huge painted eyes. And she has freckles.


  But what about those surprises, eh? The box says she has 'over 20' surprises. I'm thinking that's an exaggeration. There are three 'surprise' bags.



There's a paper bag printed with diamonds that has a 'surprise'.


She comes with a pink hair brush.


And waaayyy back under all that stuff you can see a purple stand.


  Well this surprise isn't very surprising. It's a pair of shoes.


The bag on the left was transparent enough when titled toward the light, to see that it contains a purse. The other bag seemed to contain a pair of glasses. 


The diamond printed bag felt like it contained a tiara or crown. What a 'surprise'. 

  I'm getting really aggravated by all these dolls that teach kids that all that matters is looking hot and having a bunch of jewelry', and proclaim 'bling is my thing' and 'runways all day'. Maybe people should be more concerned with what example the doll is really showing kids, and less about the doll's figure. These dolls may have bigger butts than Barbie, and smaller boobs, but they are so superficial and shallow. And I just have to say, this whole 'surprise' thing is a con too. None of this stuff is anything special. It's basic clothing items like shoes, and fairly basic accessories like sunglasses and purses. Dolls generally come with that stuff anyway. You aren't getting anything extra. I think the doll has a cute face, but it's buried in make-up. There's all this stuff about fat shaming and inclusion for all types of bodies and natural hair, but the dolls I'm seeing most are about the most unnatural looking things ever. They have unnatural coloured hair, and too much make-up. Why isn't anybody campaigning for natural faces? Why is it still okay to expect all women to have faces covered in make-up? To be taken seriously as a professional, women usually have to wear make-up, (and high heels). Men aren't expected to do those things. Why can't someone be considered to be beautiful if they are natural? After people threw so many fits about Barbie having an unnatural figure, (and to be fair, there are some real people who are made that way), the dolls that came after that have been the most unnatural, over made-up, over sexualized, shallow dolls ever. And the celebrities people follow are generally the most fake. At least Taylor Swift looks like a human being. She hasn't had fake butts or boobs put in, and her make-up and hair and fairly normal. But a lot of celebrities and 'influencers' are very artificial. It's common now for young women, who have beautiful young skin, to wear inch thick foundation on their faces. That used to be for older people who were trying to disguise wrinkles and dark circles under their eyes. Now, people don't take advantage of the young skin they have, and pile on loads of make-up when they don't really need it. When they get old they have nowhere to go with the make-up! I've also always felt like, what about someone who thinks someone is beautiful, only to find that when that person wakes up in the morning, they look nothing like they usually do! At least when Ken married me, he knew what he was getting, and he married my face, and not one I drew on. (Sorry Ken. Maybe I should have drawn on a better one..) 

  Okay! Sorry about the rant! Remember, these are just my opinions, and everybody is entitled to their opinions.

  If anybody wants this girl, she is $6 plus postage. I paid $5 and tax for her. I got her at a bin store that's on an Amish farm! She was in the section with stuff that's actual tagged prices. I guess if you're Amish, the only way you know how much something like that costs is you go to a store and find it. (No searching the internet, after all.) Maybe they couldn't find one. They're usually anywhere from $10 to $40. So I will pass my Amish savings on to you. I slid the slip case back on the box, so she's just as you see her here. If you're interested, leave a comment with your contact information.

  That's the doll for today. See you tomorrow!