Some Belated Back-to-school Pictures

Wal-Mart's got some great new sets out now! I finally managed to snag a few, and the science and school sets lent themselves to a school setting - something I've been continually collecting stuff for. So Karol and Nanea are off to school!

Aloha, Nanea

So as you may have noticed, I recently brought Nanea home.

When I first saw pictures of Nanea I wasn’t a fan. I thought she looked too much like a Wellie Wisher. However, I actually do like the Wellie Wisher molds. Once I saw pictures of her in different lighting, she started to grow on me.

I have been keeping up with people’s discussions of current AG doll quality and I have to say, they are right. Nanea’s vinyl is soft and squishy. Not like rubber, but when I squeeze it there’s a noticeable give. By comparison, my older AGs have vinyl that’s firm as a rock. 

The whites of her eyes are also very bright and sharp. Her eyes are a little sunken and if I turn her to the side I can see through the socket to the white pegs of the eyes.

But she is a very pretty doll. I bought a couple of her sets - the swimsuit and the birthday set - and her little Brownie camera is probably in my top 10 doll purchases all year. (I was so sad when I realized I had missed Molly's travel set which included a camera - but now I have one!)

Picnic

"All right everybody, let's unpack!"

"Do you guys want soda, juice, or water?"

"I'll just play some music while I wait for the food to be ready."

"Be patient!"

"Pass me some of those condiments!"

"Grilling sure is thirsty work."

"Make sure to put on some sunscreen!"

"Guys, wait! We can't start eating yet. We're waiting for someone."

 

"Hey, everybody! Sorry I'm late!"

"NANEA!!"

DIY Ketchup and Mustard Bottles for your 18" Doll

MATERIALS

• markers
• toothpicks
• super glue
• carpet knife
• hammer and nail

For this craft, I used two markers which had dried out.

Step one: remove the end of the marker.

The plug is too long, so we used a carpet knife to cut it down.

This leaves you with the lid of your ketchup or mustard bottle. When it's glued to the marker cap, it'll look like this:

For the nozzle: hammer a nail through your bottlecap to make a small hole. Through this, slide a toothpick which will be your nozzle. Trim it down to fit inside the "bottle" and so that it'll be less sharp.

You can glue your lid to your bottle before or after adding the nozzle.

Finally, paint the toothpick or the entire cap to your preferred color.

Yum!

The Egg Hunt

Happy early Easter!

"Everybody ready? Good luck!"

"I wonder how everyone else is doing."

"ORANGES!"

Meanwhile, Karol and Elphaba follow a trail of eggs...

"Hey... this one's big."

"That would hold a lot of candy!"

They find another one, but it's open. That's strange.

Something about this place feels off. Maybe they should get going.

"VELOCIRAPTOR!"

I found the plastic eggs at Hobby Lobby in the Easter section. They came in 24-piece bags, with generic labels. 

Doll Show

So as it happens, this past week I learned that there was a doll show taking place in my city on Saturday the 10th. So I went! It was huge. I took a photo, but this doesn't even begin to encompass how much stuff there was.

A lot of it was antique doll stuff of every conceivable size and type. A lot of it was for sale, but for exorbitant prices. As it was, I spent almost all of the money in my purse. In addition to all of those antique or expensive dolls, there were several booths that had American Girl Doll items. Some of them new in box!

This was the only doll I got - a Christmas ornament of Clara and her own tiny little Nutcracker.

This doll spoke to me. Also, she was only $2.

She also works well as a doll for the AG girls.

My big splurge of the day was on Kit's produce and preserves set! Now I finally have the canning set to go with the camp stove. It includes a pot, bowl, colander, tomatoes, peaches, two cans of fruit, and an apron. The pot and colander are metal; everything else is plastic. All of the fruit is stuck together in solid pieces, and the jars are sealed shut.

This colander is all I have ever wanted in life.

Finally, I bought this punch bowl and cup set, which is real glass. I am terrified of breaking it and I love it.

It also doubles as a nice fancy fruit bowl.

I will have to go to another one of these shows the next chance I get. This was incredibly fun to explore. I'm so glad I found out just in time to go!

A Valentine's Gift

Karol is ready for his date, with some pure white lilies and the biggest box of chocolates he could carry. Seriously, those chocolates are like the size of his hand.

Larkin appears, radiant in a sparkling silver dress and pearls.

The evening goes perfectly. Afterwards, they eat all of the chocolate.

The Review

Larkin's dress is Springfield, I think - I found it at a yard sale. Karol's tux is from the My Life As line, my usual stop for cheaper doll clothing. It was the only one left on the shelf and I couldn't bear to ignore it and regret it later when they all sold out. I have done that before.

Here's the official stock photo of a doll wearing the tux:

"Look at me! Here I am! Love me."

The outfit includes a white shirt, checkered bow tie and pants, and a dark blue jacket.

It's definitely cheap for a reason. The shirt fabric is very thin. I noticed many loose threads clinging to the outfit. On the hanger, everything was anchored together with those little plastic ties, which left small holes in the fabric.

Karol looks pretty dapper. But wait, what's that?

... white Velcro. Both the shirt and the jacket fasten with Velcro. This is a trend for My Life As clothes. You can see it very clearly from most angles, and it's even worse because it's white on a dark jacket. I think they could at least have used matching Velcro.

As it is, it limits the amount you can do with the jacket.

The jacket has faux pockets, with flaps that you can lift. Underneath is white fabric, shown here:

 Here he is sans jacket and tie. The bow tie also fastens with Velcro, but in the back.