Franklin Mint Princess Diana - The People's Princess

She finally arrived! Franklin Mint's Princess Diana, The People's Princess

 Here she is de-boxed with her purse and bouquet of flowers in the blue Chanel suit. I always loved this simple outfit. 

She is truly stunning. I found her on Poshmark at a great price , where I also sell. You can sell more than clothing and shoes on Poshmark, I sell china, glass, dolls, toys, books. Other places I would have had to pay twice the amount of shipping, Poshmark charges flat shipping- $7.95 and sometimes when sellers make you an offer it can be less. I have been watching prices for this doll on eBay, Mercari, and Poshmark and finally got an incredible deal I just could not pass by. 

There is a story- an indirect story with this doll and why I wanted her. My mother had this doll- boxed. She loved Ashton-Drake dolls and especially Franklin Mint celebrity dolls- and saved for this doll, making payments for her. In the 80's and the 1990's Franklin Mint came out with many of the celebrity dolls such as this one and she also wanted the Jackie Kennedy doll. She always said, if something happens to me- I want you to have this doll. She was never a de-boxer of her dolls. At her death, inadvertently, my dad let one of her 'friends' and her daughter come in and take all of her dolls, who were also doll collectors. At the time, so soon after her death, which was a few months, I just did not have it in me to go through her collection so soon. We had been sorting through other items. It broke me , to say the least when this doll and another one I had given her, were taken. Though I was given one doll back, this one was never returned, nor were the others. Though I have moved on, I decided to go ahead from that point on and purchase the doll for myself. I love Princess Diana, so it is not a hard doll to add to my collection. I am now looking for her in the 'Elvis' dress, another one I thought was lovely. 

From then on, I have discovered a new collecting sphere- Franklin Mint dolls- thanks to my mother's love of them and through collecting Gene Marshall. The quality of the clothing is the equal to that of the Gene Marshall dolls and I have seen scenes with the dolls and they mesh together. 

*On a side note. I encourage people not to leave your dolls to chance. If you are not a de-boxer, put a sticky note on the bottom of the box who you wish to leave the doll to, it will not harm the integrity of the box/doll. Leave a list with your intentions/ wishes in a safe place and copy with your will/ lawyer. Also a value and price guide to how much you paid, etc. Those in your family who think dolls are of no value and 'just want to get rid of them' like my dad or have no sentimentality or before a collection can be properly sorted. *

I hope you have enjoyed the photos!

Lisa 

Below are a few photos I snapped after unpacking it- of course Queen Fluffy had to know what was going on! She loves my dolls and had to jump up into HER chair and get into the photos!

Madame Alexander Scarlett Wendykins #425

 

I had a visit recently with one of my long time friends and she was cleaning out some of the items from her mother's doll collection and one of them was this adorable Madame Alexander Scarlett Wendykins #425 with the box and the tags still attached. I removed the tag for some of the photos. She also has her stand too. I thought it would be cute to do a scene where Scarlett is about to smash that vase after Ashley walks out on her in the library. 

I received a couple of other dolls and another Madame Alexander Wendy - Mary Mary which I will take photos of later, but this one was really cute. Her bows are still intact. I have the Scarlett with the country floral dress but did not have the BBQ dress on. She looks so cute beside the Bespaq table. 

Sugar and Spice Poppy Parker Giftset

 Sugar and Spice Poppy Parker Giftset- they have arrived! and they are adorable. 

Taking you back to the 1950's, sock hops, Grease, Sandy and John Travolta, and all of the fun of the Twist, Chubby Checkers, Buddy Holly, Elvis and more. 

More dolls are coming, I will have more photos soon. I wanted to get these photos up. I am still putting their accessories on as I explore them. 

One problem I always have with Integrity's dolls are the earrings. I really wish they would prepunch the earring holes in the doll's ears, as this is extremely hard for a collector like me to do with arthritis in the hands. It takes an extremely long time or I have to get one of my more flexible doll friends to help. My hands are not as young /flexible as they used to be, so I have to wait for one of my 'good' days to do the tiny finicky work. This is what holds up sculpting tiny foods I do. 

Hope to have photos of other projects I have going on soon, before September for my other dolls, and a new book that should be arriving- Gene Marshall: Girl Star. Very excited to add this book to my collection. Purchased it from one dealer and they marked it as shipped, then told me it was not in stock, and canceled and refunded. I found it from another seller, and it took almost four to five days for them to ship. So hopefully it will be here next week. So lots of dolly things going on right now, photos to follow. 

Lisa

Nu.Fantasy Smoke and Shadows Lottery doll!

 I can now share the photos of the Nu.Fantasy Smoke and Shadows Vanessa Perrin Lottery doll! Best of all, I was one of the lucky winners!

Nu.Fantasy Coven Couture collection, is described below by the designer-

Here's an introduction about the Coven Couture Collection's inspiration directly from Mark:

"I was inspired by myths, fairy tales, and some of my favorite couture designers to create the dolls and fashions for the Coven Couture collection. It is a series of four dolls each meant to stand out on their own or fill out a shelf in your collection with drama and color. The images conjured when I think of dark castles, magic spells, and fabulous witchy women helped to define the look and mood of these dolls.  They are decadent and darkly romantic and I hope you love them as much as I do!" -Mark Tinkey, IT Designer

Item # 75029 Smoke and Shadow Vanessa Perrin™ Dressed Doll NU. Fantasy™: The Coven Couture Collection Edition Size: 1500 Expected Ship Date: Late Fall / Early Winter 2021 Price: $199.00 + Shipping & Handling *W Club Right-to-buy Lottery Offer* Head Sculpt: Vanessa 3.0 Body Type: FR 6.0 Foot Sculpt: High-heeled Skin Tone: Cream Hair Color: Ash Blonde Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied Quickswitch: No

The Story: Enter a bold new world of myths and fairy tales, where fashionable creatures meet in dark castles, wearing the most fabulous couture you can imagine to cast beautiful spells on us, mere mortals! First in a new series of four dolls exclusively created by Integrity Toys designer Mark Tinkey, guest model Vanessa Perrin emerges from the ethereal mists, ready to tell her story, leading a new, otherworldly, ultra-feminine coven of witches! Wearing a dramatic, vaporous tulle gown, intricately decorated with the mystical symbols of her elusive clan, topped by their ancestral crown, our lady exudes power and confidence; there is no spell that she cannot master! Included: 12.5-inch articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes; Black tulle and satin gown with extravagant embroidery designed by Mark Tinkey, rhinestone detail, and multi-layered skirt; Removable tulle sleeves: Ornate metal headpiece with separate tulle veil; Dangle earrings with rhinestone drop; Stud earrings for a simpler look, if desired; 3 finger rings, 2 with "stone" detail and 1 geometric "gold"; Black open lace-up platform boots with zipper in back; Small black satin clutch with attached bracelet and skull charm with rhinestone eyes; Pair of long manicured hands; Extra pair of "hand on hip" hands (also perfect for spell-casting!); Doll stand; Certificate of authenticity.

Above is the description from the email sent from Integrity. I have owned the fantasy collection by Mattel, which is some of the best they have done, both the haunted dolls, and the fantasy Elf Forest Queen collection which I thought was well done. In my opinion, Integrity has done better, since of course, these dolls are articulated and can  be posed for better positioning for photos and are not on a model muse body. 

The jewelry is stunning, and can be removed, which I really like. Most of the jewelry on the Mattel dolls could not be removed. The gown has alot of detail and finishing, which is really important, the Mattel gowns did not have finished details, some had raw edges. which shows in photos and gives  a 'playline' look . 

I am really looking forward to this haunted collection of dolls and can't wait to see what Integrity comes up with this line next!