My 4th Blogaversary and a Giveaway

  Today is the fourth anniversary of this blog.

I have been thinking about celebrating with a giveaway. I haven't yet decided what to giveaway,so if you have any ideas or suggestions of something you'd like to see given away here, (And let's not get carried away here. I'm not made of money.),maybe even a doll you've seen on the blog,leave a comment. I'll consider and announce the giveaway item in the first week of June. (I'll save you some time. Don't ask me to give away any of my childhood dolls!)

It's My Third Blogaversary! I'm Celebrating With A 'New" J Doll, Old Church Street! Plus My Top Ten Posts Ever

  Three years ago today I started this blog.

Happy Blogaversary to me!

I wasn't sure of everything I would do with it. So far it has served as a place to share some photography, some fun finds, and some interesting facts. It's given me the chance to voice a few opinions, get some writing out of my system,and hopefully educate and occasionally amuse.
  I was thinking of doing a giveaway for the blogaversary, but there has been such a low interest in previous giveaways I gave the idea up. Maybe I'll do a Christmas giveaway.
  So what have been the most popular posts I've done so far? You might think the oldest ones would have had the most views, accumulating them over time. Not really true. The most popular posts are scattered throughout the three years. Some of them are surprising. Counting down, here are my Top Ten Most Popular Posts (So far.)
10. Topo Gigio, from Living Dolls Week. Topo was Doll-A-Day 181. You can see the post HERE.
9. Little Miss No Name. My childhood LMNN was Doll-A-Day 33. You can see her HERE.
8. Newborn Thumbelina. Another of my favourite childhood dolls was Doll-A-Day 26. Check that post out HERE.
7. That Kid. The most sought after doll of my life was part of Talkin' 'Bout Boys Week and was Doll-A-Day 218. I had wanted him since I was 5. Find out what all the fuss was about HERE.
6. Ratti girl.This Ratti Tjorven doll with the somewhat unsettling grin was Doll-A-Day 9. See her in all her glory HERE.
5.  Midge and Tressy and the second Barbie Dreamhouse. This post about a yard sale haul of Tressys,Midges,Allan, and Ken, and my online purchase of a Barbie Dreamhouse full of mystery goodies ranks at number 5. To solve the mystery click HERE.
4. Ivy Cottage dolls Violet Pickles and Ruby Buttons were a joint Doll-A-Day 320. These seemingly little known children's play dolls were the creation of  famous doll artist E.J. Taylor. Succumb to their cuteness HERE.
3. The second part of my 2 parter on Beatles dolls and ornaments comes in at number 3. To 'Come Together' with them click HERE.
2. Ai doll Bee Balm was Doll-A-Day 21, and my second most popular post so far by way more than a nose.See why HERE.
And our number 1 post of all time is, (Drum roll please!)
Mrs. Beasley! This extra long post about Mrs, Beasley dolls and how I found the Beasley of my dreams, (which I had been dreaming since childhood!), was Doll-A-Day 27, and can be found HERE.
  Anyway, to celebrate I gave myself a blogaversary present today by deboxing a doll I've had for a while, this J-Doll,'Old Church Street'.

I got her at Tuesday Morning a while back, but I didn't open her because I thought I might have to sell her. (I bought a lot of dolls there that day!) But I really like her, and she was only $20, and after three years of hard blogging, I think I've earned her!

 I love J Dolls. They have great faces, so delicate.

 Unlike a lot of ball jointed dolls, J Dolls don't have changeable eyes.

They have the same bodies as Pullips, the Number 3 and Number 4.

The J Dolls I have have at least 2 different body types.Old Church Street has the number 3 body. She has an extra waist joint the number 4 doesn't have, but a less pose-able head, and those breakable, weird looking wrists.

Her head can only turn left and right. She can't look up or down.

Fortunately she doesn't seem to share a common weakness with the other dolls I have with this body: highly breakable wrists. I've had a couple whose hands broke off nearly straight out of the boxes. (You can see my other J Doll posts HERE, HERE, HERE,and HERE.

This one has a less attractive wrist joint too.

 I seem to either love or hate these J Doll clothes. Most of them I love, including this one.

The clothes are generally well made, at least on the J Dolls I have bought.

There are also a lot of pieces to the outfits, which is good value and gives you lots of options for looks.

The shoes are often a let down though. Some are plain and ugly, and a lot of them don't stay on very well. I lost one of this girls shoes a couple of times during her photoshoot. Luckily I found it both times.

Where has my shoe gone?!

The hair on my other J Dolls is very smooth and soft. This doll has courser hair that is harder to keep looking nice.

I just washed my hair and I can't do a thing with it!

  So, Happy Blogaversary to me! I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am. And here's a little more of Old Church Street.

Happy Blogaversary to Us! And Some News About a Give Away

  Hey! Today is the second anniversary of Planet of the Dolls! I am still enjoying the blog. I wish I had more time to devote to doing some of the things I did last year, like theme weeks and the histories of particular dolls. I spent quite a bit of time doing a doll every day last year, so I know my family was glad when the year ended! I really liked doing it though, even though some times it was hard work, involving a lot of research and writing. So expect to see some of those things occasionally once our trip to England is over and things have settled down a little. At the moment we are getting ourselves ready for the trip, doing some of the things we need to do before we go, and making sure everything will be taken care of while we are gone.
   I have been pondering for a long time about doing a give away. Last year I did a give away and it received a grand total of ONE entry. I would really like to do another one, and hopefully, with readership up a lot since last year, there will be more entries. So, details about the give away will be revealed this Saturday. Make sure you come back then and don't forget to enter!

The winner of our blogiversary giveaway is...

Just a quick post to announce the winner of the blogiversary giveaway. Since there was only one entry,of course the winner is London Peony. Leave a comment here with your address,London, and the checker board set will be sent out to you. Thanks for entering.
  I will try to get back to blogging soon. I may not return to doll a day right away though. I'm still having trouble getting motivated to do that. My father's funeral was yesterday,and I don't feel normal yet.

Happy Blogiversary To Me! Planet of the Dolls is One Year Old Today!

  Hurray! Today is my one year blogiversary! Hard to believe it's been a whole year. Time flies when you're having fun! When I began this blog it was to have 'someone' to share my excitement with over my doll finds and acquisitions, who would appreciate them more than my family and friends who have no interest! I'm still at it,so I'm still having fun. I've particularly enjoyed doing the themed posts, and the research it took to do them. I learned some things I never knew,and I hope you did too!
  To celebrate the one year blogiversary of Planet of the Dolls, I'm going to do a little give-away. Anybody anywhere can enter. There will be a choice of three different prizes, since my blog is not specific to any one size doll. We're going small and sweet with the prizes, but if all goes well the next giveaway may have bigger prizes. Here are your choices:

For dollhouse 1/12 scale, Kelly/ Chelsea, Ai, Puki, Amelia Thimble, and other tiny dolls, there is this hand made (by me.)checkers game.

The board measures 1 and a half inches wide. It's made of wood with paper overlay, and glossed for durability. (You know how those dolls scoot those checkers around!) The checkers are plastic and hand coloured.(I have little elves come in and do that at night.)And yes, there are the right number of checkers, so you could really play. (If you have the eyesight of an eagle and the patience of a saint!) Here are a couple of pictures of the board in use for you to be able to see the scale.Ai doll Leptospurmum and Kelly doll Betsy World are playing, but the prize is only the checkers set.

For 18" doll scale, like American Girl etc., there is this party dress. I don't know the maker.It's being modelled by American Girl Samantha, but the prize is only the dress.

The third prize choice, for fashion dolls, 1/6 scale, Pullip, etc. is this cozy fleece blanket. It measures approximately 9 and 1/2" wide, and just over 12" long, (so it can be tucked in at the foot of the bed.) Fashionista Ken, a J Doll, and Barbie's 'friend' Raquelle are showing it to you so you can see the scale. Once again, the blanket is the only prize choice in this size. The dolls are not included.

 

To enter:

 You must first choose which prize you want to try for.

Next, if you are not already a follower who shows up on my side bar, you must become one. YOU MUST SHOW UP ON MY SIDEBAR TO BE ELIGIBLE. If you are following invisibly it will not count.

Finally, leave a comment on this post, with your name, the name you're following as,your email address,(I won't publish that.)and the prize you want to win.

All names will be put into a hat (so to speak. I may not actually use a hat...)and one week from today the winner will be drawn at random. (Well, at my house...) I won't draw the winner until evening my time zone, so you can still enter early on next Monday(May 26th, 2014.). I will announce the winner Tuesday, May 27th, 2014.
  I have to thank Ken, the money maker, for sponsoring this giveaway, since he's going to have to ship the prize out.
  That's it for the giveaway.Good luck! And don't forget to check out my regular Doll-A-Day post today too.