Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!

  Happy Halloween!

Ivy is 17 next week, so she helped me hand out candy tonight. it was the first time we have done it, since we either forgot we had to buy candy, or weren't home the last 2 years when Ivy was 'retired' from Trick or Treating.


Last year I ran out of time, but I was going to do a new Halloween picture this year.In the end I spent Saturday with my friend Lori, eating out and painting a stone lighthouse. Sunday it rained all day, so I figured I'd just do it today. Then I got a message from Emma asking me to do something for her. Then it was Trick or Treat time! The day and the day light was gone. I did leave Ivy to hold the fort for a few minutes while I ran inside to make the 'crescent dogs', (crecent rolls with Linkettes vegetarian hot dogs and cheese inside. Ivy just has cheese in hers.), which has been our Halloween tradition since the kids were little and I needed extra last minute time to finish their costumes before Trick or Treating.So, with no time left I am forced to steal Halloween pictures from myself. These are from my 'Worlds at the Pumpkin Patch' story from three years ago. You can see the whole thing HERE. Happy Halloween!Maybe I'll be up on things next year!

Friday, October 28, 2016

Mini Review: Pullip Nostalgia Isul Lir

   I have been so busy lately that I'm getting way behind in posts I wanted to do. I've been meaning to do this post for ages.
  A couple of months ago (or has it been longer?!) I had heard that Tuesday morning had gotten more Pullip dolls. Shortly after I heard we went to the Big City, where I planned to hit two Tuesday Mornings. I only had time for one, but it's the biggest one in Ohio, and supposedly one of the top 10 in the country. It did indeed have some Pullips: two minis, (Two of the same one.), and two larger ones, both Isul Lir. I really liked Isul  Lir, but I do have a Pullip. I have an  Erenfreid.
Erenfried is from an anime series called Neo Angelique... I think?

I really like his coat and glasses, but I could do without the pink hair and alien head.
This is the illustration from the back of the box.


When I saw Lir I was very tempted, but he was $40, and it wasn't my birthday or anything. When I got home I kept thinking how much I liked Lir, and wondering what I could do to afford him. Finally it occurred to me that I could sell Erenfried in exchange for buying Lir. I hadn't opened Erenfried because I still felt guilty about spending the money and thought I should keep him NRFB in case I might need to give in and sell him. Of course, I figured in the intervening week or two that had elapsed since I saw Lir, that both would be sold. But when we went to the Big City to go to dinner, (Olive Garden), and the movies (Captain America Civil War.Yes, we were a little late on this one.),I made a very quick stop at Tuesday Morning. All the Pullips were gone except one Lir!So  was dancing a jig. I had sold my idea to Ken before we got to the store, so I snatched Lir up.

See how much cuter Lir is?!

This doll is actually  the Nostalgia version Isul Lir.
This is the card that comes with the doll.
I learned that from looking up Pullip Isul, because it doesn't actually say that on the box,not in English anyway!
The back of the box.

And the back of the card.


  There's also a sister, with a matching outfit to Lir's. There was also some special edition or such with the exact same outfits, only in blue.
I like Erenfreid's uniform type coat, but Lir is wearing a sailor suit!

 And if you read the blog you'll know I love sailor suits, in all sorts of forms.

Actually. I wasn't sure at first if Lir was a boy or a girl. He does have ruffly bloomers and sort of a camisole thing on under his coat.

He has red hair and brown eyes,a combination that is kind of uncommon,but which both I, and my son Fuzz have.
You can't tell how red his hair is in this picture.
  His complexion looks very pale, but it's actually quite peachy. (That's where my son and I differ from Lir and most red haired people. We're definitely pinkish instead of peachy.)

Lir also has super long eye lashes.





 His sailor suit comes with  a huge hat (To fit his huge head....

 ...decorated with four different bows.


  This picture really shows a flaw in my Lir's jacket. The front and the sleeves look faded compared to the rest of the jacket.It's not sun fading, or the back of the sleeves wouldn't be faded and the front flap with the buttons would be.
   He also has a sash, which is decorated with bows and metals.

Unfortunately his metals only want to hang backwards.

 I kept trying to twist them around, but they wouldn't stay.

He also has a belt with a key hanging from it. Gotta love keys.


His sash kept slipping down.


I love the striped socks and boots.

They really lace and tie. If you read my review of Tonner/Wilde Imagination's Bashful Burt you'll know how his real lacing/tying boots impressed me.

  Lir has another cool feature: His eyes can move side to side and close, thanks to three switches in the back of his head. 



The switches are very well hidden under his hair. They're actually hard to find even when you know they're there. I had to dig through his hair. I was beginning to think he didn't have any switches.


His hair isn't especially thickly rooted, but it's very puffy, which helps to hide the switches. I like the colour of the hair. It's not super silky: sort of course really. But at least I can't mess up this style!


He also comes with a stand.

The stand has some pretty decoration on it.

So does the box.

  It took a while for Lir to loosen up and get posing. I had a terrible time trying to get his elbows to turn around and bend.His wrists didn't want to bend at first either. (By the way, Lir had the usual plastic on his hands and up his arms. And as usual, it was hard to cut off. It was so tight I could hardly cut it off without digging scrapes in Lir's hands.) Eventually his wrists bent enough for him to be able to salute and look out to 'sea',which I wanted him to do since he's wearing a sailor suit.
Looking out to 'sea'.

And trying to salute. His elbows were still not cooperating at this point.
   Lir doesn't have the type 4 Pullip body with the really unattractive wrists that break very easily. He also doesn't have the type 3 body either, with the upper body joint and huge clavicle. I didn't think there was a more recent Pullip body, but Lir's is different from either of those. He has an upper arm joint,elbow joint, jointed wrists and ankles,and  a waist joint that allows him to lean from side to side at the waist, but not turn on the joint.His head only turns from side to side, and can't tilt at all.Does anybody know what body this is?

Of course his boots keep his ankles from staying bent, even though the boots are soft enough to flex his ankle somewhat. I haven't taken them off to see how easily they go on and off.




  A little more looking out to sea.

.

I 'm really pleased with Lir. He's mostly what I would have chosen if given a list of features for a Pullip: red hair, brown eyes, and a sailor suit. And I love boy dolls. They're few and far between. I would have preferred his head tilt and his body twist a bit, but at least he has the wrists that don't break when you look at them. The opening and closing eyes that can also look to either side or straight ahead are a bonus I might not even have thought of.I'm happy with him.I don't think I'll miss Erenfried at all.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Dolls For Sale! Pre Bitty Baby Gotz Doll and Magic Attic Megan Porcelain

  Sometimes you have to let go of things! Here are a couple of things I'm letting go of.
Gotz Bitty Baby look alike doll.
UPDATE: The Gotz doll is sold.











This doll is marked Gotz Puppe. Bitty Baby were  molds used. (Goetz used the original American Girl molds before they were bought by Pleasant Company.) Rooted dark, curly hair and brown sleep eyes. White cloth body. Clean, no odors. Initials written in marker on the back of her head, right under her hair line, and name written on the side of her body.She'll come with her candy striped dress. I have no idea if it's an original Gotz dress. $30 plus shipping, which depends on your location.

Magic Attic Club Exclusive Megan Porcelain Doll











  This is a really pretty porcelain version of Magic Attic's red head, Megan. She's wearing a cute outfit with a plaid skirt and red twin set, tights and black velveteen shoes.She has a porcelain head, lower arms, and legs. Her arms are wired for posing. She comes with her stand. She has never been removed from her original box, and still has all her restraints on, as well as her hair net. Her purse is in plastic. Her hang tag is on her. I got very excited when I found this doll, until I realized she's porcelain, not vinyl. I really don't like porcelain dolls, so since I need to thin things out, she's going to go. $30 plus shipping,which will depend on where you live.
  That's all for this time. Hopefully these guys will find new homes and I will post some new ones soon.