Monat: Mai 2023

Have you ever looked carefully at the things in the forest or have you payed attention to the sounds, because if you have, you might have noticed that the forest is full of magical creatures.

A few days ago my husband and I went on a little trip to a nearby forest and we noticed that there were quite a few things going on there. We suddenly saw an Elf dressed in a grey outfit with a wizard hat on and a wandering stick with a gem on top. She looked like she was in a great hurry and didn’t notice us. Where was she going?

Before we could follow her she disappeared. Then we heard movements in different parts of the forest – so we looked more closely and there were other elves. They were hiding, but if you looked carefully you could make them out between the leaves and branches.

We saw a little shy elf – she had some sort of crown made of flowers and a big gemstone on her belt- a princess maybe?

One of the elves had a bow and arrow and another one a sword. They looked like guards. They were scanning the surroundings carefully to see if there was any danger. They didn’t take any notice of us – so we didn’t seem to be the danger.

Later we saw what they were guarding. It was a hollow tree trunk – it looked magical and mysterious.

It was the home of the High Priestess – the protector of the forest.

But the priestess seemed worried. Winter had been too warm with too little snow. Spring had been late to come. It had been cold and rainy for too long and that was not good for the life in the forest. What will summer be like? The seasons were all in confusion. So the priestess had sent out news to the Elf Queen and the Elf wizards. They should come to her home in the forest to talk about the weather and what had happened to it.

The Queen could not come, she was too busy, but she sent her daughter – the elf princess.

The Queen was also very worried about the things going on in the different parts of her kingdom.

The Elf wizards had also noticed the changes in the weather.

As the three elves had no solution how to make the weather better, they decided to walk about the country and find other elves, who could help them. Protected by the guards they went on a long and dangerous journey. Let’s hope they will find help and the weather will get better and the seasons will get back to the way they were in the past.

I already mentioned that my husband and I are huge superhero fans, mostly DC, but there are a few other superheroes we like. Disney gave us some great superhero dolls.

We enjoyed the Incredibles movies . I only bought the two female dolls – Elastigirl and her daughter Violet. I was not happy with the black hands and wanted to rebody them first, but then I decided to keep them the way they are only out of their superhero costumes. The inset eyeas are great.

I bought the Marinette doll in the USA before I even knew the Cartoon series. I still like her more than the new dolls. Although the newer dolls are more poseable, I don’t like the faces with molded on masks.

Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel are also part of my collection. Of course in their free time they also donÄt wear superhero outfits.

The Scarlet Witch is an action doll – which means she cannot take off some parts her outfit. My husband wanted her after seeing all the movies and the Wandavision series.

Here are two other Disney dolls I quite like – not princesses and not superheroes, but cute girls.

Athena from the movie Tomorrowland was hard to get I had to buy her on eBay. I didn’t like the movie, but wanted the doll because she has a very realistic face.

I bought Fei from The Coloured side of the Moon on sale. The movie was also not one of my favourites, but the dolls were beautiful. Fei is articulated and has a sweet face.

I thought I didn’t have many Disney dolls, but when I starting taking pictures of them I realized that there were quite a few. So here they are.

Merida is one of my favourite movies, so of course I had to buy the doll. She was one of my first Disney princess dolls.

Then more Disney Princesses entered my collection. I ordered them online from the Disney store because unfortunatelly there is no store in my area.

I am not a big fan of the Beauty and the Beast story, but I loved the doll, although the lack of articulation in the legs is sth. I don’t like very much. But the face is great.

I am a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, although I prefer the book to any of the movies ever made. The doll from the Disney store is one of my favourites in the Disney collection.

I loved Ralph breaks the Internet – so I was very excited when the Comfy Squad dolls came out, but in the end I only bough one – again it’s the lack of articulation. But at least she can bend her arms and wrists.

I quite liked the Disney Descendants dolls – they have great articulation. So here they are. Lack of space made me stick only to three dolls.

And last but not least – the Disney fan dolls Ily 4ever. I only bought two of the series – it’s a question of space again. They have everything I like in a doll – articulation and inset eyes.

I love curvy dolls, so I was very excited when the first curvy Barbies were released and when they became articulated I was in heaven.

Over the years articulation became more and more important for me. I love the diversity and the beautiful faces of Fashionista Barbies, but if I buy one of them I always rebody her on a more articulated body. So I’m always looking for suitable bodies on eBay or at flea markets. Here are some examples of rebodied girls.

Barbie bodies are wonderful for other dolls, too. Here is my Sparkle Girl on a Barbie body.

… or my Mermaze Mermaid. I loved the faces in this doll line, but permanent fish tails are not something I like in a doll .

Here is another example of an experiment. A Barbie Stardoll (right)got a MTM body. Her totally stiff body got a DC Superhero Girls head and is used a s a mannequin in a shop window (middle). And the Barbie head was put on an Obitsu body (left).

I do not have many Barbie sisters, but sometimes you need smaller dollsfor stories or in dioramas. I love the Chelsea dolls dressed up for Halloween.

I enjoyed all the Toy Story movies – so here is Barbie and some Toy Story action figures.

And of course Bo Peep is also part of the collection.

Some of the newest additions to my Barbie collection are the two Cutie Reveal dolls. A very nice doll line – I chose the Panda and Polar Bear dolls – somehow I liked their faces most.

One of my favourite doll lines is the DC Super Hero Girls by Mattel. They are poseable and sturdy. I got all the dolls I could lie hands on – unfortunatelly Blackfire is missing. Some of the dolls I had to rebody because they had coloured body parts and I really do not like that. Here are the girls in my collection.

My favourite is Harley Quinn – she is one of the few dolls that really look good with a laughing face. Her best friends are Poison Ivy (Red) and Wonder Woman (Wondy). Because they often go with me on holiday I bought some back up dolls just in case… Of course I hope nothing bad happens to my girls and I can just keep the back up doll in their original outfits.

Harley and her friends live in Coney Island – like in the Harley Quinn comics I have read. Here are their rooms.

Mostly they spend time in the DC Superheroes Headquarters – but they like eating and drinking mor than saving the world.

Harley has got her own room with a little bathroom.

And Red has got a little patio for her plants.

Then there was a second cartoon series which I though quite funny and a second series of dolls – I was not sure about them, so I bought only Harley Quinn. They were not available in the stores so I had to order her online in the USA. I rebodied her on an Ever After High body because of coloured body parts and lack of poseability – she can still wear her original outfit but not her shoes.

Both my husband and I are huge DC Comic fans, so over the years we have collected quite a few items related to Batman, Harley Quinn and so on. There are dolls, action figures and Lego items. Our favourite character is Harley Quinn, so we have lots of figures of her in different sizes.

We have also collected a few DC Barbie dolls – they all stay in their original outfits.

First there are Batman ( the original series) and Batgirl.

Harley Quinn and Catwoman are also in our collection.

We have also got a Harley Quinn doll by Hasbro – so here are the two dolls side by side.

Some of the dolls I made my self using Barbies. We have the modern Harley Quinn.

…. and Zatanna.

We also like Wonder Woman a lot. So we bought two collector dolls – one to keep in her original outfit and the other one to redress, because she is very poseable and has an amazing face.

Meet Raquelle. She has a Model Muse body which I find quite hard to pose. but she has got articulated arms, which is wonderful. And she has also got lashes.

And then Barbie Made to Move came out. I was in heaven… the most poseable dolls I had so far. And soon they also came out in different sizes.

I also loved Barbie BMR 1959 with their MTM bodies and their colourful outfits. I’m not a huge Ken fan, but these boys look great.

I am a great Jurassic Park and Jurassic World fan, so when the dolls came out I really wanted them. I didn’t keep them in their original outfits like the X-files dolls . I also loved their articulation. They are not completely MTM dolls, some points of articulation are missing, but they are stil poseable enough.

Here are my two Barbie Extra dolls. Not MTM, but also poseable and I love the hair colours and their outfits. Of yourse, like most of my dolls, they also got redressed.

I still haven’t got any Barbie Looks because you don’t get them in stores in my area, so I will have to order them. They are so beautiful that I still can’t decide which I want. Unfortunately it’s always a question of space, so I can’t get all of them.

I unbox all my dolls and most of them I also take out of their original outfit to redress in mostly modern outfits. But there are exceptions… Some collector Barbies I keep in their original outfit. Here ist the first part of that collection.

Now let me introduce them one by one from left to right.

First there is the Ferrari Barbie – I got her from a flea market for little money. She was missing her original boots and her cap, but still had her helmet.

You cannot see much of Mary Poppins in the group picture so here she comes. I liked both the old and the new Mary Poppins films. But the new doll is much more realistic and more poseable.

At the back you can see Mulder and Scully. After rewatching the X-files I really wanted the dolls. I think they look very much like the actors – especially Mulder.

I have discovered a great online store that really makes your Barbie dreams come true. The three Victorian ladies were bought from this store. They are my Carol Singers because they always make me think of Victorian Christmas. ( Barbies – Victorian Elegance, Holiday Traditions and Yuletide Romance)

At the back you can see Frida Kahlo. I didn’t know if I wanted her at first, but when I heard that the family of Frida Kahlo were not happy that she was turned into a Barbie, I decided I should buy her , because I think it’s a great idea to honour the painter like this and she is a great doll.

The next girl was bought from the same online store. I thought of rebodying her first, but I decided on keeping her like she is. She can always bake cookies in a TV Show before Christmas – Barbie sweet treats.

I found the Octoberfest Barbie at my mother in law’s house and very quickly adopted her. She fits my older Barbies Collection wonderfully.

Lilly didn’t stay alone for long. Very soon other Barbies joined my collection. At first I stuck to the five points of articulation – I didn’t know better and I also didn’t want to spend too much money on dolls. It was just that I didn’t want Lilly to feel lonely – she needed friends… Many of the dolls in this picture I got as a present from my sister-in-law.

I also realised that there was a difference between the older Barbies and those made from the late 90’s on. The older Barbies have quite different bodies, so finding suitable clothes is a challenge. I keep searching for outfits at flea markets and in the Internet. But they have such sweet faces that I still fall in love with one older doll or the other now and then, although they have so little articulation.

First birthday doll from my husband in 2014. I love this Spanish girl .

Barbie My Scene … I found these girls in a thrift store. I love their faces.

And then I realized that Barbie could have articulation. The posing posibilities were wonderful -they could play instruments. I still buy the Barbies with the old fashionista body if I find them at flea markets. The two girls at the back are flea market finds.