New Zelf forum news, plus pics of Series 2 Zelfs

Left to right:  Lochlan, Snap Jack, Flitter and Birchy.

OK, so Zelfs happened today. 

I was motivated to photograph a few of mine when I discovered that the very first ever Zelf forum was started just a few weeks ago.  You can find it here.  It's a surprisingly lively forum already, considering it's brand spankin' new. 

These are Series 2 Zelfs.   There is a Series 3 coming out starting next month.  Apparently they've been popular enough that Moose Toys, the Australian company that makes these, has jumped with gusto into doing a third wave.   I haven't heard any news of a fourth wave yet, but I fully expect there will be one.

You can find my original review of these little guys here, plus another post about them here.  :)

These two have dragonfly and Loch Ness Monster themes.

Flitter and Lochlan from the back.  Lochlan's tail moves in a circular motion.

My daughter insisted they should be drinking tea.  LOL.

Birchy is tree-themed, like a little goblin dryad.

Later, alligator.

A Little More Patience

Was taking pictures of my two Patience dolls yesterday.  These are "Ahoy" Patience (re-wigged) and "Perfect" Patience by Wilde Imagination.  Their eyes are hilarious.  As most of you know already, their eyes move back and forth, which makes them look so delightfully alive in photographs. 

LOL.

Hugs.

The Atlanta Gone With The Wind event, June 2014

Over The Top Ellowyne Wilde

I was lucky enough to have been able to attend the Tonner Gone With The Wind Event in Atlanta, Georgia on June 7.  It was only three hour's drive from my house, so no $$$ airplane tickets!!!  Yay!  It was quite literally my first doll company-sponsored event.  I found the whole event very charming!  Robert Tonner was there, and I got to see him in person for the first time.  (And then promptly was too shy to actually speak to him. ... LOL.)

Unfortunately, the mini camera I decided to bring was not my usual camera (which is big and heavy).  My mini camera took absolutely terrible photos.  They all came out dark and grainy, so I won't even bother to post them here.  So disappointing!   Instead, I'll post some pictures of some of the dolls from the event, taken with my better camera once I was home again. 

The jewel of the event (in my opinion) was "Over The Top" Ellowyne, a convention exclusive.  What a beauty!  The dress is very detailed, and made from the same gorgeous embroidered silk(?) as the gown from "Love Is Blue" Sydney.  I must really love this fabric, because "Love Is Blue" was actually the second Tonner doll I ever bought, way back in 2003, I believe.  (Brenda Starr was my first.) 

"Over The Top" has a full hoop skirt on under the gown!  Her shoes are exquisite, too, and made from the same material as her lovely 19th-century dress. 

 

I didn't get the table centerpiece doll, which was a pretty Scarlett O'Hara in a white and black gown called "Lost Honeymoon."  The table gift was a wonderful Scarlett called "Shame."  She wears an alternate color version (emerald green) of the dress Scarlett wears to Ashley's birthday party.  This was the original color for the dress, as written in the book. The movie studio decided they wanted the dress to be red instead, so they asked Margaret Mitchell if she minded if they changed the color for the movie. She gave them her permission. 

"Shame" Scarlett.

There is actually an original costume sketch of this dress in green, done by the costume designer for the movie.  He later re-did the sketch in red. 

The dress on the doll seems to be velvet, and each of the rhinestone accents are hand-sewn on individually.  I haven't deboxed her because I'm not a huge fan of the Scarlett O'Hara dolls, although I adore the movie.  If I can't sell her, I'll be really tempted to put that gown on my Wonder Woman 52.  I'm sure she'd rock that look.  Wonder Woman in emerald green velvet, with feathers?  Sure, why not.

Another table gift was a small porcelain Scarlett.  She is literally a Southern bell.  LOL.  That is, there is a bell clapper under her skirt, so you can use her as a bell and ring her.   My 6-year-old thought this was wonderful, and promptly went around the house ringing the Scarlett O'Hara bell.  Hee hee!

They also held an unexpected factory sale right there at the event, where they piled bagged dolls on a table for cheap wholesale prices.  I only got one from that sale ... "All Good" Lizette.  I figured she'd go nicely with my "Raindrops and Roses" Lizette that I got recently.  Sisters!  The two are sitting together on my computer desk right now, looking adorable together.  Their eyes are actually different shades of brown.

All Good Lizette, left, with a re-dressed Raindrops And Roses Lizette.

Anyway, thanks for looking at my pictures!  As always, you can click on the photos to see them larger.

Dolls I'm looking forward to

I wanted to talk about some of the dolls I'm currently excited about.  These are all dolls slated to come out later this year, but are only pre-orders at the moment (some are already sold out on pre-order).  No, I don't get any compensation for promoting these dolls.  I never do.  I don't get free dolls, or even a discount on anything.  (I wish!)  Never have.  Heck, none of the doll companies have ever even acknowledged I do this blog.  I just like talking about dolls. 

Anyway, there are several upcoming releases I can't wait to see in person!  Here are a few. ...

Patsyette by the Tonner Doll Company

The original Patsyette debuted in 1931.  When Robert Tonner bought the Effanbee Doll Company in 2002, he reimagined the original Patsyette and created an extremely cute new version that looked like this.

That "new" Patsyette was discontinued eventually, and for a few years, no more were being made.  Now Tonner has brought Patsyette back yet again, in a newer, equally-cute 8" form.  Now she looks like this.

 

The new line has two dolls (top row) and two outfit-only sets (bottom row).  I have to admit, my maternal instinct went into overdrive when I saw that face.  I ended up getting the two dolls and one of the outfits.  The dolls' only negative is they don't have bending elbows.  I'm still really excited to see them in person!  I mean, how cute is that?!?  They have bending knees, at least, so they'll be able to sit nicely, and let their cute ooze all over my computer desk.


Poppy Parker 12" line by Integrity Toys

I'm a huge Poppy Parker fan, and the new line looks great.  The outfits are based on 1960s spy movies and TV shows.  Integrity ended up throwing a lot of new characters into the line this year, re-using some older Fashion Royalty face sculpts.  I wasn't thrilled they'd re-used FR sculpts, but the dolls DO look good, though.  I couldn't get the entire line, so I just focused on the ones with the Poppy Parker face.  I love the eye screenings on these girlies.  I think they'll be fabulous in person. 

My two favorites are Agent Lotta Danger and Mistress of Disguise.  Mistress of Disguise actually comes with two heads!  One head with the Poppy Parker sculpt (with silver hair and eyes!) and one with the Loni sculpt.  I'm stoked.


Poppy Parker Fashion Teen 16", also by Integrity Toys

No pictures, because the line hasn't been shown yet.  Integrity will be announcing the new 16" Poppys later in the year.  Can't wait!  I hope there will be some brown-eyed dolls, because of the nine dolls already released, only one has brown eyes.  (Yes, I've whined about this before in a previous post.  LOL.)  Anyway, I'm guessing they'll be as fabulous as the 12" dolls.  Maybe even more so, since I don't think they're doing the spy theme for the taller girls. (Not totally a fan of the spy outfits.)  We'll see. 


2014 Kidz 'n' Cats line by Sonja Hartmann

Another series of dolls that haven't made it to the online stores yet, but are available for pre-order.  So cute!  The only reason I don't have a thousand Kidz 'n' Cats is their size.  (American Girl-sized at 18" tall.)  I haven't pre-ordered any of these, but I was looking at their listings on some of the online doll stores and noticed that a couple stores have them on their web site, but don't bother to mention they're pre-orders!  Ack!  I'd be really upset if I bought a doll online not knowing I was getting a pre-order!  If a doll is a pre-order, the online stores need to say so. 

Anyway, the faces are beautiful and the dolls are high quality and personable.  My favorite is the 2014 version of Princess in Pink (below).  Her hair color is so pretty with those blue eyes.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Review of Raindrops and Roses Lizette

Raindrops and Roses Lizette finally came home to me!  She's part of the Ellowyne Wilde line of dolls, and is marketed as Ellowyne's friend.  I think she manages to steal the spotlight from Ellowyne sometimes, though! 

I love both the doll and the dress.  She looks like a girl dressed for a wedding, or a fairy princess, or maybe just a girl playing dress-up in her froufiest getup.  (Is "froufiest" a word?  I've decided it should be.) 

This girl uses the "honey" skintone.  Wilde Imagination also offers another Lizette with a darker skintone they call "spice."  Raindrops and Roses has inset acrylic eyes that are beautifully detailed, with applied eyelashes.  Her hair is rooted, and is a very dark brown ... not quite black, but almost.  In real life, it's a shade darker than it appears in the promo pics on the Wilde Imagination web site.

The hair is soft to the touch, not stiff with styling product.  I don't know what would happen to this hair if you brushed it.  It'd either survive the brushing just fine, or turn into a frizzy mess.  I have no idea, and don't plan on finding out. 

Raindrops and Roses Lizette with Disquietude Amber.

I mention that she has rooted hair because two of the other Lizettes Wilde Imagination currently offers have removable wigged hair.  That is, they are bald, but each come with two wigs you can use interchangeably.  Very fun, but I prefer rooted hair, myself.

 

Anyway, the dress!  I never used to like pink, but having a 6-year-old daughter has given me a new appreciation for pink.  The outer portion of the bodice ... more of a lace vest, really ... is removable and separate from the rest of the dress.  I wasn't expecting that!  Underneath, the dress itself fastens in back with snaps.  There is a separate tulle petticoat under the skirt, which is layered in both lace and fine tulle.  She does not have panties, but her lace tights cover her adequately under the skirt.  (Well, mostly ... LOL.  They are lace, after all.)  The tights looked white next to her skin, but after I took them off I realized they're actually cream.

 

The rose headdress is on an elastic band, so you can slip it around her head or take it off as desired. 

She came with a simple necklace, which was the only part of the doll I found underwhelming.  The necklace is some cheap plastic beads threaded onto a thin ribbon.  Maybe they thought it looked like a necklace a little girl would wear?  Don't know.  It just seems a little odd placed with an otherwise high-quality doll. 

The necklace.  Meh.

Angelic face.

The awkward picture below was meant to show off Lizette's wonderfully-articulated arms and legs.  They hold poses beautifully.  She can touch her forehead, and sit nicely without falling over.  She shares a body with the Ellowyne Wilde and Amber Stanhope dolls, so can share clothing with them.  R&R doesn't come with this undergarments set; I just put it on her so I could show off her jointing. 

She looks so unhappy that I was trying her in goofy poses!  Hee hee.

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Later,