Win a Doll!

  Today's the day! The competition starts today for the latest give away! Here's the prize:

It's a Snapstar doll.

Her name is Aspen.

Snapstar dolls have 15 point of articulation,inset eyes,and a changeable wig.

 

They come with a stand for posing the doll in all sorts of realistic poses,and a ;green screen' and downloadable app so you can do cool photos.
 

Extra wigs and fashions are available (not from me though!) for these dolls.
  The contest is open to entrants in the continental United States only,due to postal costs. (Don't worry. There will be a competition open to everyone later this year.) Now the question becomes,"How do I win this doll?" Well there's a quiz! Dorothy, here's where your studying comes in! There are five questions,and all the answers can be found somewhere over the almost 7 years of this blog. You're going to have to do some reading. You can use the headings in the side bar to help you search for the answers. Here are the questions:
1. Name the post which shows the Barbie's New Dreamhouse I kept for myself,and tell me, how did I manage to afford it?
2. I've mentioned my top three most longed for dolls as a kid. One was Drowsy. What were the other two?
3. Name at least one thing,(besides dolls) that I have mentioned as one of my obsessions.
4. What did Barbie expert Joe Blitman say is 'very likely the rarest vintage Barbie item period".
5. What is the name of Tammy World's youngest brother, and who is he named after?
  The competition will run for about two weeks, so you have plenty of time to read up on back posts and figure these out. The final day for entering is February 15th. (I'm giving you an extra day because I'll be busy on Valentine's Day.) The winner will be announced on February 16th. Let's see a good turn out this time! Good luck!

What's up With that Competition?

 Recently I mentioned an upcoming competition. Well tomorrow is when you get the 'skinny'.(I don't know why I'm turning gangster today.) Check in tomorrow for all the details!

Play Sets: Moxie Girlz Magic Snow Cabin

  This is the first of our Play Sets posts. Today,since it's still winter and cold outside, we're looking at the Moxie Girls Magic Snow Cabin.

This is a stock photo of the box.

It's exactly like the Bratz Winter Dream Cabin, (except the Moxie's cabin is more blue than pink.). This makes sense because both lines were made by MGA.

Keep in mind that mine is second hand and I'm missing the smaller accessories to this play set.

 The set consists of two wall pieces, and two roof pieces. There's no floor piece. It originally came with a bar...

I agree with the review I read that said the bar parts don't join together very well.

 ...a stool...

 The stool is very tiny for dolls any bigger though. In fact, the seat is so tiny that even Moxie Girlz should have a hard time keeping their butts on it.
 

Amazingly,she stayed on really well.

The stool didn't turn over either.
 ...a chair...

The chair is very low,although I've seen Barbie furniture try to get by with things the same height.

It looks short,even with the dolls intended for it.

... and a snow shovel. I'm sure I had both roof pieces and the snow shovel,but of course,when I need to use them they have wandered off.
 I'm missing the icicles for the roof edges.

The roofing snaps on---not very well---and the icicles would fit into the channel on the edge.

I'm also missing the outside lantern,which attaches to the wall to the left of the left hand window, and the pink window sill for the left window.

Also missing is the radio,the fondue pot, skewers,a tray, a croissant and a muffin,two cups of cocoa,two glasses of hot chocolate,and a carton of milk.

This is the stock MGA picture.

  I'm also missing the fire for the fire place, which would have been nice to have. The fire and the fireplace are usable from the inside or the outside. Why you would want to have a fireplace that goes straight through to the outside,I don't know.

The inside.

The outside.

The fireplace is a pass-through. this is the outside.

 The idea of the Magic Snow Cabin was that it was a snowy lodge for the Magic Snow Moxie Girlz dolls. 

The dolls modeling the set are Magic Snow dolls Owen, Avery,and Kellan. (You can see my post on Kellan HERE,and on Avery and Owen HERE.) As  for the set,it is sized for Moxie Girlz,so don't get the idea you're going to use it for Barbie sized dolls. The walls are way too low for Barbie,Monster High,Ever After High, or other dolls of that scale. It's ok for anybody 10 inches tall, and a bit below.
  The dolls each came with a snowflake Christmas ornament looking thing filled with 'magic snow'. When water was added to the 'magic snow' it increased in volume. It was supposed to resemble real snow. I can see it being a sloshy mess,but then, I haven't tried it. The Magic Snow Cabin had a 'fun' feature of it's own. Well,you can call it fun. I wouldn't think it was fun if I had to clean up after it. In fact, I might not have thought it was very fun if I were a kid playing with it. The gimmick is that you can 'make it snow' by placing the fake snow, that came with the set, in the chimney and turning on the switch in back. Then the snow,which was made of tiny styrofoam balls,came shooting out of the chimney.
 

 Out of this tiny hole they have instead of a normal chimney opening. What does Moxie Santa do?

Ok. To me, that would look less like snow and more like the Moxie Girlz put too much popcorn on the fire. (Especially after I told you last week that when we had the Doll Fair I made the popcorn out of crumbled styrofoam.) For one thing, why is the snow shooting out of the chimney? If there was fake 'smoke' coming out of the chimney,that might make sense. I watched a Daily Motion video of the cabin spewing snow and the motor makes an annoyingly loud noise too. (You can watch that HERE.) They'll be no relaxing by the fire as the snow flies in this cabin. Also,I can tell you from experience that whoever used this set must have had styrofoam bits to deal with for the next six months. Maybe years. It collects static electricity and sticks to everything. It resists being cleaned up. How were kids ever supposed to 'make it snow more than once? There would be no way to collect all that snow back up and stuff it back into the chimney. The cabin is made of plastic. The styrofoam snow would stick to every inch of the cabin---inside and out---and the fingers of anybody who tried to cram it into the chimney. Maybe I'm just being a party pooper,but I would prefer my snow fall from the sky...and then not stick to the walls and my face. That being said,my kids might have enjoyed this set, and I would probably have enjoyed it with them.

   You can see all the Magic Snow dolls and the cabin playset on YouTube HERE,and you can watch the commercial for the Magic Snow Cabin HERE.
There's a full review of the cabin at Growing Up is for Quitters. You can see that HERE.

My Latest Project: A Gift for Mr. Skellie

  Well I'm up early in the morning to take Ivy back to college. I'm sad to see her go. I'll miss her,and it also means I'll have to get back to work on her room! I'm still tired from before! But it will be nice to get it all finished and she can enjoy it properly when she comes back in the Spring.
  I don't know if I mentioned waaaaaay back last year when I got a gift from Debra at Dollhouselady's Blog. Debra's sidekick is a little skeleton named Mr. Skellie. I always enjoy Mr. Skellie's contributions to the blog,so Debra and Mr. Skellie sent a little 'skellie' my way. You can see Debra's post on what she was sending me HERE.
  I can't believe it, but that's been nearly a year ago! Not long after the gift arrived Debra sold her house and moved so she could be near her daughter, and take care of her mother. (Debra's mother that is,not her daughter's mother,although I hope she's taking care of her too!) She hasn't posted on her blog since last June. I was hoping she'd post something about having settled.
  I had such a crazy year last year too. I was sick for months,helped Lori house hunt in Georgia and then move,Ken and I took our anniversary vacation trip,and then I started in on Ivy's room. I was so busy I kept forgetting about the gift I meant to send Debra! (I know. I'm a horrible person! I feel terrible.) About a week ago I emailed Debra to see if she had an actual address now where I could send her...I mean Mr. Skellie's gift. She emailed back with her address and to say that she's doing well. Now I can send the gift along,but I wanted to show it to you first. (Debra, if you're reading,beware of spoilers,ye who enter here!)
 *****************************************************************************
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 So here's Mr. Skellie's cousin,(who was part of Debra's gift),to model the latest in Skelliewear.

Sewing isn't my thing, and I know Debra can sew better than I can. I just thought Mr. Skellie needed a work apron for when he helps around the shop. So I made him this little work apron with a divided pocket. What are the divisions for, you may ask?

A guy's gotta have his tools! This work apron can fit all Mr. Skellie's tools,so they're always handy.

But what if Mr. Skellie doesn't have any tools,I hear you ask? Well, that's why I'm sending the tools too.

There's a wrench. a pair of pliers,a hammer,a screwdriver, and a tiny keyhole saw. Hopefully Debra will have a chance soon to do some of the dollhouse work she enjoys so much,and Mr. Skellie will find use for his new tools.
  Keep watching for news of the competition. I'll be announcing the details soon. I wanted to spend time with Ivy before she goes back to school,and got cheated out of a whole day by this bug I caught from Ken. And yes, I still feel really lousy. Talk to you soon.

Feeling Sick and Feeling Sad: Saying Goodbye to Terry Jones

  I was going to post last night,but I was too sick. Ken got sick and now I have whatever it is that he has. It feels a lot like what I had early least year. Some of you may remember me being sick for MONTHS last year. I have a fever,which was up past 103 last night.but is now down to 101.5. I feel like throwing up when I get up,so I've been in bed all day. In fact,this attempt at sitting up for a while isn't going well. Hopefully I'll be well enough to drive Ivy back to college on Sunday.
  From previous posts you'll know that I'm a huge Monty Python fan. I was very sad to learn yesterday that one of the Pythons,Terry Jones, has died.

  Terry was born in February,1942,in Colwyn Bay, Wales. He attended Oxford University,where he met fellow future Python and life long friend Michael Palin. The two worked together regularly before and after Monty Python. Before, they worked as writers on "The Frost Report", and as writers and performers on "Do Not Adjust Your Set", a children's show that had as many, or more,adult fans,including fellow Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman. The two asked Palin, Jones,Eric Idle, and Terry Gilliam,who all worked on the show,to do a show with them, and Monty Python was  born.

   Terry Jones became known for his portrayals of screeching women, like the waitress in the Spam sketch...
 

Terry as the waitress in the Spam sketch.

...and the game show contestant who chooses 'the blow on the head' as her prize. He also co-directed the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" with Terry Gilliam,and directed the other two Python films,"The Life of Brain" and "The Meaning of Life" on his own. During the 1970's he wrote the TV series "Ripping Yarns" with Palin. He was a medieval scholar,writing two books on Chaucer, and writing and hosting multiple TV shows on the subject. He authored several children's books,and wrote,directed, and starred in "The Wind in the Willows",(retitled "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" when released in the U.S. by Disney).
   In 2014 the Pythons reunited for a series of live stage shows. At the time Terry was having trouble remembering his lines. This was clear in the film made from the shows when John Cleese takes Terry's cheat sheet from him. The following year Terry was diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia, a rare form of frontotemporal dementia. The symptoms include memory problems that worsen over time, along with "slowly losing the ability to speak, write, read, and generally comprehend language". This was tragic for someone whose life had been all about language,as a writer and scholar. Most suffering from PPA also eventually lose their motor skills,but at least close to the end Terry was still able to enjoy walks. Michael Palin visited Terry regularly.
 

Terry and Michael last  May.

In September of  2019 he said of Terry,“The last time I saw him I don’t think he recognized me. We knew each other well. It feels like a part of yourself isn’t there any more.”
  Terry passed away on January 21,surrounded by family and friends.

Watch This Space...For an Upcoming Competition!

  A few days ago I mentioned that I was thinking about having a competition soon. Well, I have made up my mind and decided yes. So keep tuned to this blog channel! Any day now I'll be announcing the details.

Making Mini Souvenirs in 1/6 Scale, Part Three

  This is part three of the posts on 1/6 scale souvenirs. If you haven't read the other two, now's the time to catch up. And everybody but Dorothy can check out the Facebook page, where I posted a thingy about a doll artist who makes gorgeous realistic dolls.
  The kids' dolls 'went' to various places on vacation. In my previous post on the vacations,which you can see HERE,I showed you some of the photos Ken and I did for the doll emails home. Like this one of Fuzzy the Doll heading up the mountain in Tibet with his guide.

  Or this picture of Fuzzy's best friend, Little Purple, petting a yak.

Both of these pictures were done by putting the dolls in front of a photo in a book. The lighting had to match the lighting in the photo. These days all you'd have to do is photo shop the doll in a photo.
  When he 'went' to Tibet to track the Yeti,he brought back a hat, which you may have seen in my post on Fuzzy the Doll for Fuzzy's (the kid) birthday one year.

I made the hat out of felt, and painted the design with acrylic paint. It was based on the hats in this photo.

I loved how the lady looked like she was looking at Fuzzy with confusion,but I'm not sure I used this photo because it looked too fake.

  I told you about the emails the dolls sent home, and Fuzzy the Doll's personality in Part One. If you read that you'll understand when I tell you that Fuzzy the Doll sent an email saying he had met 'the Dolly Llama'. He then sent a follow up email saying he really liked the Dolly Llama and was thinking of bringing him home. "I think I can fit him in my suitcase." When he got home it became more understandable how he could fit 'the Dolly Llama' in his suitcase and why he spelled it that way.

I made this tiny llama out of wire and some very furry thread. I don't know if you'd call it yarn or thread really. I couldn't find the appropriate fake fur, so I had to wrap the wire with the thread. It worked pretty well. It looked more like a llama than this picture suggests. He looks like a horse in the picture. We couldn't find the Dolly Llama,so I had to resort to this picture that was taken when the dolls got off the plane after their trip. As you can see, they also went to England during the trip,because Fuzzy also brought home a pub sign. The sign is actually a button I found at Hobby Lobby.
  Fuzzy was tracking a Yeti,so one of the things he brought home was a 'plaster' cast of a yeti footprint. I made it out of spackle. Luckily the casts they make of footprints are a positive,because that was much easier to make out of spackle,(and without a doll sized yeti foot.) than a negative.
  When the dolls went to England they visited London,which I showed you some of their souvenirs from the other day. In addition to those things they also visited the BBC gift shop and brought back little Doctor Who magnets. They were real magnets. I used very thin,almost paper thin,magnets from a free tiny calendar or business card magnet. I used that same magnet type when I made the Beatles magnets Blue brought back from the dolls' trip to Liverpool.

Blue brought home a set of magnets and a pack of postcards.

The magnets are very thin, but they really stick to metal.

Ringo was Ivy's favourite when she was little. The pictures were cut out of an old Beatlefest catalog.

I also used them for Blue's souvenirs from Italy.

These magnets sets were made from pictures of real magnet sets from an old PBS Signals catalog. I cut the pictures out of the catalog,glued them to the magnet, and then cut them out all over again.They really work just like the real ones,and you can stick the clothes on the statues.

  Ivy wanted Blue to go to Italy because she loved Topo Gigio. (See my post on Topo Gigio HERE.) One year Ivy sent her Topo doll along. On another trip her dolls just visited Topo's mother,Mama Gigio.

I don't know what the wooden  thing behind Mam's head is, but I like it, and it came in handy as part of Mama's house.'Mama' is a Topo doll,wearing glasses,a vintage embroidered antimacassar as a shawl, and a piece of lace crochet on 'her' head. Blue's sister Rose has 'red sauce' on her face because she loved Mama's red sauce and kept eating it. She liked it so much she brought a jar of it home with her.

The label says 'Mama Gigio's'. This was in Ivy's doll stuff.

This time I used paint instead of the real thing,after Ivy ate that tea Blue brought back from England! The jar came from Hobby Lobby,or maybe The Dollar Tree. The Dollar Tree sold nail art do dads in jars like that. For a pack of 6 or 8 it was only $1, much cheaper than Hobby Lobby.
  I didn't find it, so I can't show you, but Blue also brought back a little biscotti in a paper bag. I made the biscotti out of  polymer clay,and the bag out of one of those very thin paper bags they give you at Hallmark or other gift shops.
  While they were in Italy Blue also visited Pompeii,because as a kid Ivy shared my fascination with the place.

Blue with a mural 'in' Pompeii.

Blue and Ivy's other doll,'Swingy Legs'(Yes, that is what Ivy named her.),somewhere above Pompeii.

  From Pompeii Blue brought back a couple of pieces of lava. I scoured the parking lot at Walmart where they had the bags of lava rocks they were selling for use in grills. There are always little pieces of lava scattered around, that have fallen out of the bags. I found a couple of really tiny doll sized pieces,one light coloured, and one black,for Blue.
  There was one trip where Fuzzy the Doll went to Hollywood. He brought back some autographed pictures of the stars. True to form though, his emails said someone was going to sell him the Hollywood sign,and he was going to bring it home. Obviously the Hollywood sign is not for sale, and you can't fit a 45 feet tall sign in your suitcase. After a couple of days he decided not to buy the Hollywood sign, and to, instead, buy The Hollywood Bowl. I had forgotten about this, until Fuzzy and I were sorting through his doll stuff for me to do these posts,and Fuzz picked something out of the stuff and said,"Here's the Hollywood Bowl."

Fuzzy's Hollwood balloon,which is part of a floral thingy,his autographed pictures,cut from a catalog Lori gave me, and...The Hollywood Bowl.

Well, the kids found it amusing.
  Blue also brought back some 'signs' from Italy. They are below,right. They are scrapbooking stickers,but they are thick plastic,and since they have been cut out for a while they are curling up,which makes them look like ashtrays.On the left is a packet of French Baker Recipe Cards Blue brought back from France.

I think I must have cut them from a catalog. The tiny plastic packets were cut down from some kind of packets,and sealed with tape cut into a thin strip.

Emma's doll went to France too. You may have seen this picture of Emma the Doll and her best friend Susan in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Regular reader Dorothy made a comment about the dolls not having to worry about taking too much on the plane. I'm not sure if she meant they didn't have to pack anything,or if there was no weight restriction. But to clear up any confusion about the dolls' luggage,let me tell you that the kids did pack luggage for the dolls. They sent clothes for while they were away. I actually went to the trouble of changing the dolls' clothes for the different pictures they sent home. Every detail was thought of!

Emma the Doll,ever the fashionable Diva, brought back an original Paris dress, with matching hat and clutch purse.

This type of hat is called a 'picture hat'.

I found the fabric at Joann's, It has French places and things printed on it. Since Emma's birth I had gone from someone who never sewed,to someone who still sewed badly,but could sew and design a dress and accessories. I think I may also have provided the sunglasses.

Emma had the peace sign necklace on her already,and she's been wearing the clear bead necklace ever since it was sewn on her when she was "Anastasia" with Emma for Halloween.

  As I have mentioned before,Fuzzy the Doll went to various places in Africa, including Egypt,and a diamond mining region. Here's his map,which he brought back with him.

I think he may also have brought back some tiny 'gold' nuggets. I'm sure he brought money back with him too. When we started these vacations,we printed one sided doll sized money,but eventually we got good enough at it that we were able to do two sided things.
  Fuzzy brought back these necklaces for everybody. This one is Blue's.

He also brought back some African masks. They were buttons made to look like African masks, that I found somewhere,probably Hobby Lobby.
  He brought back the necklace below left for Blue too,I think. 

The green bead necklace is Blue's 'jade' necklace from China. I know there is a wrong bead on the metal bead necklace. It was missing a few beads when I found it. I miraculously found two of the beads it was missing...and lost them...and found them again!...and lost them...Every time I tried to put them back on,I'd drop them and lose them again. When I thought I had found the right ones and gotten them back on,I noticed in this picture that one of them was wrong! Amazingly enough I found the third missing bead and replaced the wrong one!
  Until I go through Emma's things at some point,that seems to be the end of the doll souvenirs that I have  to photograph. There are a lot more things I made for the dolls,but for now,I'll gave you a break!