Retail Therapy

    It's been a rough several months. I've definitely had to do some dressmaking

And I've possibly brought home more Disney Princess dolls than was strictly necessary...

they were on clearance?

...but when even the packaging is fun to play with, who can blame me?

   But of course, when you buy more dolls, they demand more accessories! Thank goodness TinyFrockShop was there for me in my hour of need.

I made the skirt, TinyFrockShop provided the rest of the ensemble

I've had my eye on this necklace for months!

A few impulse buys of course

It's metal! It's about time my dolls had a smartphone

I couldn't resist this jewelry set

But I was going on vacation, and that meant that Regina wanted a swimsuit of her own. Out came the fabric and sewing kit again!

I had never made a doll swimsuit (or any swimsuit!) before! It is made from the fabric of an old swimsuit that is far too small for anyone living here, so I found it fitting to turn it into a doll suit. Super stylish and perfect for her!

But then while I was on the trip, I made the mistake of going to a bulk goodwill. Those places are so horrifying, but I found a few treasures, including a couple of dolls. One was a GI Joe that is a double for one I already have. Another was a blonde lady with frizzy hair who just needed to come home with me! Into my bag she went and for only a few pennies! She has now been washed and had her hair styled back to perfection.

When I returned home, there was a package waiting for me. I had forgotten that I had ordered a few more dolls...and one was eager to be out and about!

The new ladies seem to be making friends. There is one more new lady who is nowhere to be seen. Hmm, who could it be?

I really think it is going to be a slow doll year for me, but I would love to get one of the new yoga curvies! Eeee! If only! (but there are also some really cute fashionistas too...hmm but I need to save for a doll shelf...this hobby is dangerous!)

The Ladies

Along with the GI Joes, I inherited a pile of lady dolls. Most of them were Barbie, but there were a few not name brand tossed in among them (and even a lady GI Joe!). The first order of business was getting them undressed and bathed, and getting their hair done.

There were some dramatic transformations in the hair.

Some not as dramatic.

I bought this lady to do some light restoration as a gift for someone.

After they had all dried off, I started the monumental task of getting them all dressed in street clothes. This effort was only made more difficult by my limited collection of garments. Some outfits turned out much better than others did. In the end, I did manage to get them all clothed! (my two guys hopped in this group photo for the fun of it)

 So many new faces! I love them all!

She was dressed as a helicopter pilot

Brown eyes!

She's not Barbie brand, but she looks adorable in that jumpsuit

She was dressed as Baywatch Barbie

I really don't know her story. Her stethoscope is surgically attached to her like the Dr. Barbie doll. It looks like Nakoma's face (from the Disney Pocahontas doll) but she's somehow a doctor? Head swap?

Looks like Dr. Barbie's face, but she's jointed, and has much lighter skin! MYSTERY AT LIGHTWAVES DOLLS.

Undressing The Men (and a lady)

Oh no! Doll nudity! Today, I went through the GI Joes and other assorted dolls to sort of take inventory and figure out who/what all I had. I spent most of the afternoon undressing soldiers, doctors, surgeons, and firemen! As many as there were, I was pleased to find that they were all unique and in mostly good shape.

Also, they were not quite as creepy as I had initially thought. Although...

Glowing eyes?

I'm not sure why that guy's eyes look like that, but the second I took off his goggles, I had inspiration. Lightwaves LA may take a decidedly darker, more twisted route than I had anticipated!

There are 17 GI Joes in all (and two very cheap hollow dudes).


.

This guy is missing an arm and both his feet. He's the worst off, though.

Each one of them has a different face and a different story to tell, I think.

I've started calling this one "Jarod"

It's embarrassing to admit how confused I was by this guy until I realized he's a lifeguard.

I have plans for this one. Oh yes. Look at those wonky eyes!

This one looks bored. Ho, hum.

There were also several lady dolls (only one was GI Joe though, the rest were Barbie or off-brand). They all want to get their hair done before they are presentable! However, this one I thought was very interesting...

I did a little research on her and found out that she is an American Girl Barbie. I don't know enough about them to be able to tell if she is original or repro, however (there were some made in 2010 apparently?) To me, she does not strike me as a repro, she has the "feel" of having been around much more than 6 years. Also, I'm pretty sure that my uncle stopped buying dolls at least 10 years ago. So...could she actually be a real vintage AG? Here's where I wish I had some doll-savvy  followers to help me out a bit. I'd love to restore her, but I don't want to ruin her if she really is old and needs special handling. 

Additional photos:

No markings on the back of her head aside from this.

Her butt mark says 1958. All indented aside from Made in Japan.

Painted fingernails

Legs click fairly well, joints are a bit loose and swingy though.

She's not in mint condition, and to be honest, I'd be just as happy if she is a really cool repro. Either way, I think she's awesome and I'm glad that she's a part of my collection now! I'd just really love to make her pretty again, without damaging her.

The Boiled Dolls Update and More

Update on Celeste and Ariel, the dolls destined for the boiling pot:

Celeste's before and after turned out pretty well. The haircut is still horrible in the back, but maybe I can salvage it further with some careful trimming if I get brave. At least it all sits on her head like hair is supposed to now.

I'm really getting some attitude from her. I think she'll be a fun character to play with and develop. I've always thought of the doll as a character from a story I wrote back in college, so I'm thinking I'll stick with that. With some little alternate-universe twists.

Update on Ariel:

Her hair came out so nice! For an older doll who spent more than her fair share of time in the bathtub, I think she looks great!

I've decided that she won't be a part of the Lightwaves LA photostories, at least not as a main character. As fond as I am of that doll, her eyes are a bit...scary. It's difficult to photograph her at an angle where she doesn't look like she's a zombie out for brains.

And now for the "more"...here's the first "cast photo" for Lightwaves LA!

(wow Erin actually photoshopped something!)

These are, of course, just the first six ladies. From left to right, Celeste, Andrea, Jennifer, Carina, Melody, and Barbara. I feel a little silly making up a fancy picture with them all in their random "whatever is in the barbie tub" outfits, but I wanted to dust off Photoshop and play around with fonts.

The idea so far is that these people all live in Los Angeles, and the story is centered around a nightclub called Lightwaves LA. It's going to have a much more adult tone to it than most of the other stuff I've done, and some probably mildly controversial stuff. I feel a muse to create and these dolls seem to be telling me their characters and what they want to do. I need to do it and not worry about what other people will think! Granted, at the time of this post, I have 0 followers to worry about...but I'm a worrier sometimes.

Anyway, the shopping news right now is that due to a seller error, I had to cancel my big M2M order and re-purchase them (more expensively! grrrr). I can't wait for them to get here!