Reviving This Blog

So a lot has happened in my life since I last posted. I finished my nursing degree, got an apartment, got a relationship. There have been a whole lot of changes in my life. But I still love dolls, and I still want to write about them. In fact, the reason I came back to this blog is because I decided to become a reborn artist with the encouragement of my husband.

Chrisy by Pat Moulton (Painted by me)

 I'm planning to write about my own personal reborning process and other stuff about reborns as well. In fact, I posted a video of a box opening for my dream baby and you can see it here. 

Arianna by Reva Schick (The dream baby I adopted)

My 18" Doll Collection and My Thoughts on Each Doll

Hi everyone. I got interested in 18" dolls when I accidentally ordered an American Girl catalog.

Here is my collection of dolls, in the order that I got them.

The first doll to become a part of my collection was Kit Kittredge. I won her in an eBay auction, and it was close. She was 8 years old and needed some cleaning up, but I think she's a lovely doll. She's about 16 years old now. I should probably clean her up again.

She's got a nice soft body. She is a little loose when posing, but that's probably due to age. Her vinyl isn't as nice as the Madame Alexander doll.

This little sailor is a Madame Alexander Favorite Friend. I adore everything about this doll from her expression to the way she feels. She has a chest plate which makes her body a bit different from the AG dolls. I think her vinyl is nicer and softer too. If I were going to get another 18" doll, I would probably look for another Madame Alexander.

This sweetie, who I've named Mindy, is a My Life As doll. She is shown here in her original outfit. She is the least posable and least cuddly doll. I was disappointed that her arms only move up and down, not out to the side like AG and MA dolls. I  also found her to be the most difficult to dress. She's really pretty, though, and fine if your only intention for her is to sit on a shelf.

Note: The My Life As dolls replaced the Favorite Friends that Walmart used to carry. The My Life As Dolls are made by Citi Toy. 

This little cutie is actually not an 18" doll, but I wanted to include her anyway, because she is just so pretty. She is a Positively Perfect doll. They are designed to represent girls with a wide range of skin tones. Their faces are beautifully sculpted, which is what sold me on her.

She's not as posable as some of the other dolls, but she is definitely the cuddliest. She is super soft. She has no arm joints, instead her vinyl arms and legs are attached to the cloth. She is also the easiest to dress and fits nicely in 18" doll clothes. (I haven't tried the shoes on her, though.)

Here is the whole gang. Aren't they just the cutest little set of friends?

Do you like 18 inch dolls? What kinds have you collected?

Dollhouse in a Breadbox!

I've been spending a lot of time looking at DIY dollhouses on Pinterest. We're talking a couple of years. I have been wanting to get back into dollhouses ever since I gave up my Loving Family Home and Stable Dollhouse along with the poorly made wooden dollhouse I found on a neighbor's curb. (And I made my friend go ask if we could have it!)

Anyway, I need something that met a few requirements.

1. Needs to be a decent size for a small bedroom.

2. Needs to be Sasha-proof (that's my little dog who thinks everything is for her)

3. Needs to be unconventional.

4. Preferably 1:6 scale

I found a breadbox for $6 at Goodwill. I went into Goodwill with Dolly Lenses (trying to see everything as a potential dollhouse) and finally found this breadbox. It was love at first sight. My mom actually bought it for me.

The back wall is 15" and the side walls are about 9" across, making this a nice spacious studio apartment for dolls.

Sorry about the hard-to-see interior. I took this photo at night.

I got contact paper at Dollar Tree. I spent $2. I got one for the wallpaper and one for the floor. I have been eyeing this stuff for a while. I always thought it would make nice dollhouse wallpaper and flooring. I was right.

Of course, any good doll room or house must have furniture. The heart bed was a valentine's gift that my mom thought would make a perfect bed for the little room. I decided to add the gift card as a poster. Since they were gifts, both of these were free.

The easel and canvas (it's a real canvas, btw) were both 97 cents at Wal*Mart. I really couldn't pass up the chance to make my dolls artsy.

I made the window using an idea that I got from MyFroggyStuff. I cut out a piece of my 2017 calendar. The mini calendar also came out of my big calendar. I chose February for the mini calendar because it's Mom's birth month (in fact, today is her birthday.)

I added Mom's Little Kiddles and my Ddung keychain doll to make the room look a little more alive. I plan to add some handmade dolls later. They aren't quite finished yet.

What do you think? Is a doll room in a breadbox a good idea? What was the most unconventional dollhouse you have ever had or made? If you have any ideas for furniture, please share in the comments below.