Happy Birthday to me!

Today, May 1st is my birthday....so the dolls and my best doll friend, Agnes, threw me a birthday party at the Manor. It was fun! I got to wear my new red dress, I got CAKE...balloons, and loads of fun. What more  could a doll want??? Well.........DOLLS.
Today I decided to de-box the hoard of dolls I have purchased but just never got around to deboxing for Barbietown and dioramas I want to do. So today I did.
I started with that extrodinary find Barbie and Chrissy bedtime/babysitting set I found at an antique store a couple of weeks ago.
I love this doll! Her hair is gorgeous!

I have shown her here with Holland Barbie, because I thought they looked a little similar, but I don't think so. Holland Barbie uses the teen Skipper sculpt. (I have decided to rebody Holland Barbie for teenage Mary Ingalls) But back to the set- Her outfit is cute! and the crib is adorable. I did not know the crib can move teh Chrissy doll back and forth and play music. It also comes with a moveable mobile, canopy and  the baby bottles and accessories.

Then I moved on to the Great Oz doll. I picked him up at Walmart one day before they were completely gone.

In spite of the 'big head' he has going on, I think he can work in my Victorian scenes. I took comparison pics of him with Pa Ingalls and Victorian Lady Barbie and his head is just way too big. I love his suit though and China Doll is adorable. However, his valise does not open. 

Onto Teacher Barbie playset. This was on sale for $9? I think or $11. The Chelsea has jointed knees and can raise her hand.

Teacher Barbie has adorable shoes and outfit. I may keep her as a worker doll in the school on the shelves I'm working on. The chalkboard is cute and the set comes with glue bottle, scissors and lunchbos as well as Chelsea's desk and a large piece of chalk. I think however, the Barbie has hollow legs because her left leg wants to turn inward.....but the props are worth the money and she was on sale for half off. can't beat that deal with two dolls in there!

And last but not least is Out Sass Vanessa. I haven't yet de-boxed her or Carlisle from the Twilight dolls. Trying to save me some doll time and deboxing these three dolls was fun! 

I am hoping to spend the rest of the day with my hubby and maybe the weekend with my parents since work is crazy busy. 

More on the blog later, now I have to get back to my party or Agnes is going to be upset!!!

~Lisa

New on My ETSY STORE- COUPON CODE!

I am having a sale in my Etsy Store, click on the box above the slideshow on my blog here. Coupon code lasts until May 3rd, 5% off $6 purchase or more if you type in lisasbirthdaysale 

There is also a THANKYOUSOMUCH coupon- $2 off $10 purchase or more until May 5th.

Blueberries, Blueberries....

I have some items I created here, and some have sold, some are just listed in my Etsy store. Link to my Etsy is above the blog post. 
As the title says, the dolls were all into Blueberries today. This is some of the items I created. (The Blueberry pie preparation board has already sold, hopefully I will be able to do another one of these if there is an interest.)

All of the blueberries in the pie, tarts and prep board were individually handsculpted. I was really pleased with the effect of the broken egg on the board- reminds me what a careless cook I sometimes am myself! I was thinking of blueberry pie today so decided the dolls needed one or two. 

The prep board I can probably do again; it comes with 2 whole eggs, 1 broken egg with yolk on the board, punnet basket of blueberries and a pastry crust in the pie pan- all of it glued onto the wood board. The tarts and pie are still in my Etsy store.

On another note, I decided to go through my unboxed dolls I have about the house who have not yet been deboxed. I was quite astounded at the number so far.

So far, I have the washer and dryer set, I can be a Teacher set, Out Sass Vanessa club doll from the W club that just arrived, The Great Oz (had to pick him up before he couldn't be found!) and Chrissy and Barbie bedtime set. 

That is a total of four unboxed dolls and one unboxed playset. I have decided to give myself a de-boxing day on my birthday, May 1st which falls on a Wednesday. I may not be able to resist de-boxing Chrissy bedtime set. I also have a Johnny Depp Pirate doll I have been meaning to de-box but haven't had the time since I bought him last year. Johnny Depp is one of my favorites, so have been saving him.  I don't know if I will debox the playset of the washer and dryer yet as I have nowhere right now to put these, unless I work on Poppy and Ryan's home. Hubby has asked me what I want to do for my birthday- celebrate the weekend before or after? Part of me wants to stay home and do nothing but play! Another part of me just wants to take off and go shopping for more doll stuff!lol...

More pictures up as I finish things I am still working on!~Lisa

Projects and building...

Projects, projects! It seems as soon as I start one diorama another mushrooms off of that!
While working on the Laura Ingalls dugout- still working on that one, weather has held me up yet again, I came up with the idea to build a boulangerie/patisserie in the french style to display my miniature foods I am selling on Etsy. (to view my Etsy offerings, click on the viewbar at the top of this blog) Hubby has said he will build it if I decide what dimensions, etc. to make it. 
Shopping for supplies also has its drawbacks- I went to Michael's a day or two ago - and foamboard was .88 cents each!!! I bought 5 sheets even though I had more at home, you can never have enough white foamboard. So my boulangerie can be mocked up until the wood roombox can be built. 

In my purchase of supplies, I was able to get the items to make the signs. I want a shabby chic french look to the shop. I think this works. Here are the pics of the signs.

Oops, I forgot to take pics of the Boulangerie sign- will do that again. I played with placement and figuring out what I would like the boulangerie to have - should it be all shop showcase and nothing else? Perhaps a small restuarant/bakery kitchen in the back?? Sketching to figure out what it should look like as well as googling pics of French boulangeries in France. 
On another note, I finished a chocolate cake. Sorry to say the cake itself looked like someone opened the oven door and it fell on one side. however the cake slice came out nicely and Pa Ingalls was certainly enjoying it! Back to the drawing board on creating a cake with a slice out of it, I will use this in my dioramas for fun scenes when Ryan and Poppy cook together. 
~Lisa

Barbie/Krissy bedtime score- new Etsy food items

My hubby and I were out antiquing or rummaging at some local antique stores and flea markets, and I scored big at one nearby in Tappahanock, near where I live. It was an antique store I had not been in, and it had this wonderful never removed from box Barbie/Krissy bedtime-- with the original crib and canopy! SQUEE! The best of all- only $12!!!!!!! I had been wanting this crib for a while, but wasn't willing to pay what some ebay sellers had it going for. I still have her in the box, but am going to wait until I have a moment and a clear idea what diorama this doll will go into.
On another note, the pot belly stove I got from Ebay arrived for the dugout and the one room schoolhouse project i have planned. It's great.

I have been creating more miniature food items for my Etsy shop . Be sure to check back as some items sell out, are relisted or I have new more intricate items. The new items are a little more complicated to create and  cost a little more, but I think will be a stunning addition to your dolls' diorama dining room, tea, or shop.
Here are the new three items-
5 tarts of 'Chocolate Delights'- come in tiny little tart pans. Chocolate tea cake 'tart' with fudge wedge, whipped cream, and chocolate sprays
fruit, bread, and cheddar  cheese board. All these items are glued on the board. Great for a dolls' wine tasting- comes with 2 french breads, bunch of green grapes and cheddar cheese slices and wedge.

Croissant and cheese board- this board has the ittems so you can move them about. Cheddar cheese wedge, cheddar cheese slices- sculpted together, 3 croissants, 1 round loaf.

All of these items are now in my Etsy store, and I am making and creating more! Hopefully I will have a photostory around soon with the foods, so stay tuned. 

Baking Bread in the Little House kitchen...

Once again I have been baking, or rather, baking for Ma Ingalls. It bothered me there was no goodies or food since Laura talks of baking bread, fishing, many activities which centered around food. So I finished some loaves and biscuits. Who didn't eat biscuits? Being from the South, I remember my grandmother telling me about going to school and taking large homemade biscuits with ham on them, and that was their lunch--however the town kids made fun of her and her sisters because the bread wasn't sliced loaf bread purchased for a nickel at the store! It shows how times have changed. 

There is more bread up in my Etsy store but it's going fast. I never thought in a million years I would create something for a project and then have other collectors admire it and buy it! It is fun. Still planning my boulangerie with sketches and specific dimensions with hubby. I am thinking of making a mockup of foamcore board with the components to get a feel for the dimensions before I start with wood. 

I hope to have the breads I finished last night up in the store by tomorrow or Tuesday!

~Lisa