Wishing you all a wonderful Happy New Year with Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams and all the dollies you can de-box and open!
Happy New Year!
See ya next year! In 2018.....~Lisa
2017 has been a whirlwind year. So has 2016, which interfered with alot of my doll creating and collecting due to my health issues last year, as well as personal family problems. I didn't do a review last year, as it was not that bright and cheerful.
But this year, I thought it would be different kind of review. 2015 I called a year of 'challenges' which was true, and I can certainly carry that theme/meme over to 2016. I had alot of challenges recovering my health back after being in the hospital with kidney stones, and getting back to normal again.
I think 2017 has been a year of new beginnings. Re-building, of growth, and to use an outworn phrase, hope. I can finally begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it feels good.
So for 2018 , the goals are going to be simple, but hard. Don't know if I will accomplish them.
1. Health & Wellness.
Going to start a earnest effort to get my physical body's health under control, with a lifestyle change, and being more active than I am. I have really fallen down on this end, and let depression and stress take its toll.
2. Pare back on the Social media. Though I love looking at all of my friends pictures of their collections, dioramas, and work on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumbler , & Flicker, it is a time eater and I realize too late how much time I have wasted not creating the items I have wanted to work on.
3. Work on collecting my Holy Grail dolls.
Not all my 'grail' dolls or dolls I have wanted to add to my collection are Barbie or Integrity. I have already attained one early this year, a UFDC Alice Leverett Marie Terese convention 2010 doll that I haven't until now been able to afford. Other dolls are Convention Tonner Baking Prudence and Baking Lizette from the Ellowyne line that match my vintage Baking Convention Ellowyne I already have. There are other dolls I want to acquire, such as some BJD's and artist items.
4. Work more on my photography with dolls and miniatures, and perspective.
5. Take time to smell the roses, enjoy life, and its moments.
From my blog post in 2015 I went very in depth with a long list. But this year, I think I am just going to keep it short. The last goal is the most important. In 2016 I have had a few friends and more family members pass, and it really hits you how short life is. Long lists of things to do, are just that, so do them now, whether your art is a masterpiece or looks like a kindgergarden crayon fridge art! Because someday is not a day of the week and things left undone are regrets....this is something I have been thinking about more and more and how lucky I am to know so many wonderful people in the doll and dollhouse collecting world. When I have been taking photos of the dolls I remembered all the fun I have had sharing, going to shows, going to doll club meetings and I realized how much I treasure those times with those friends, when we consider how some people who do not have hobbies or things to fill their lives or days.
In my 2015 post I referred to my then coming year as 'Expansion' and that was certainly true. My life has expanded with lots of love, and friendship from my doll friendships from all the message boards, social media, Flicker, and here on my blog.
No telling what the New Year will bring! Blessings to everyone and hope your dolly dreams come true in the coming year of 2018!
~Lisa
I had forgot in the Countdown to Christmas, even though I had taken pics of some of them, to post about my lottery dolls I won in the W Club lottery after the Fashion Fairytale convention.
Every year, the W Club hosts a lottery of dolls leftover from its convention stock of dolls for its members who may not have been able to attend, as well as a sale around Christmas/Thanksgiving called Dolly Days. I had a chance at a great many of the Convention dolls and entered for four, and amazingly, won three.
I won:
Wicked Natalia
Spell of Kindness Vanessa
Sea Devil Veronique
I have not yet taken photos of Sea Devil out of the box, but I do have some lovely photos of Natalia and Vanessa out of their boxes, so I will share them here. Natalia is I believe, a doll based on the Wicked queen or the Wicked Witch and has long boots that go underneath the long black tulle gown, which I haven't put on because the zipper and boots are hard to put on the doll. My patience is limited so I usually put generic pumps on my dolls that are easier to navigate and dont' require alot of fiddling with straps and tiny things that may break and pull.
Here is Natalia in the box. The Convention boxes were made like a book of Fairytales with a ribbon bookmark, with a vellum page that said Once Upon A Time....
Quite dreamy, don't you think? That is one thing that made these dolls so wonderful.
Natalia wore simple dangle dark jeweled earrings and a large onyx ring. Her hair is very beautiful, and simply arranged, which I love. I love her styling, for me simple is what makes a doll sometimes instead of over elaborate weird avante garde.
Next up was Spell of Kindness Vanessa. I am thinking she is a spin on Glinda the Good witch from Wizard of Oz, like Natalia is supposed to be the wicked witch of the West maybe?
Her box was much larger and wider, like a very large storybook. As you can see, once again the vellum page covering the doll with Once Upon A Time...and the woods silhouettes upon it. Her dress is a froth of pink tulle ruffles with black ribbons on the waist. Her jewelry is a large bracelet, ring, and earrings.
I have Vanessa here in the music room I had set up for Annabelle and it fits her perfectly, and I added Natalia as well. It looks like they are having a musical soiree, and with those gowns, who wouldn't.
Vanessa's hair is lovely and smooth and doesn't contain that stiff gunk that Integrity is famous for putting in it. She had wonderful shoes/pumps that were easy to put on too, I really love her, she may be my favorite.
I still have to take pictures of my Rainbow Poppy from this line of dolls as well as the Sea Devil Veronique. I have had the music room set up and am reluctant to take it down to do photo ops for the other dolls as I am enjoying it too much. So I may do those photos improvised on the dining room table if I am too lazy to take this diorama down, lol.
Enjoy! Lisa
Countdown to Christmas ends with Day 25...Christmas Day!
MERRY CHRISTMAS !
This is the Reason for the Season....
~Lisa
Countdown to Christmas continues with Day 24...It's Christmas Eve!
That calls for something Christmas-y!
Pictured is 2007 Christmas Barbie in front of the Gothic mansion decked out for a White Christmas at night.
She is just waiting for Santa to come....
Merry Christmas!
Lisa
Countdown to Christmas ends out Silkstone Saga today on Day 23. I have more Silkstones, but since tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day, I have different dolls I want to showcase.
I am ending today's Silkstone showcase with the controversial articulated little number that started the unending debate- should they- shouldn't they? articulate the silkstones. Personally, I think adding articulation to the silkstones was not a good move. They should have just left the dolls as the beautiful mannequins they were and improved the makeup from the garrish Jessica Rabbit thing they had going on for a while there and fixed their god awful website and quality control, and started offering pivatol bodies on their basic look dolls. But Mattel has never listened to their adult collector base- that is why they are trailing behind Integrity toys.
Back to my Countdown to Christmas.
Classic Black Dress Silkstone Barbie Blonde Again, I had to go to Ebay for a picture link for this doll as Mattels' gallery only has the brunette up which I have not yet added to my collection. She ran about $40 which if you added your $20 coupon, was a deal.
This doll was a most basic of dolls, no purse, no jewelry, nada, zip on accessories, just boots and a dress and bazinga- articulation. She was cute, but her articulation left alot to be desired. Personally, if they were going to do this articulation bit, Ithink they should have studied the Jamie Show body that many collectors were buying for the silkstones or looked at how Integrity did their bodies before doing this point topoint bit. I am afraid to move this doll's joints, she is so tight and she cannot bend her arms easily. I redressed her for this photoshoot and it may be a while before I undress her again because she's not that much of a pleasure to dress if I'm afraid I will break her elbows or hands. The newer ones, like Camel Coat, are a better made so it seems like they are getting the hang of this articulation thing.
Enjoy the pics!
