Suggested Reading: The Toy Box Philosopher

The Toy Box Philosopher blog

If you're interested in the latest reviews of dolls, subscribing to The Toy Box Philosopher is an absolute must! Emily's blog is an honest, down-to-earth and extremely detailed account of reviews of all sorts of dolls and collector items--ranging from Monster High dolls to Tonner Dolls to Sybarite--with a lot of detailed photos and humor thrown in as well.

I love her photography--it's really fun to look at, and she considers all sorts of things collectors consider (and things I often wouldn't even think to consider) when purchasing dolls. She purchases the items and reviews them, but I bet if we can get her some additional readers, and doll companies start discovering her site, manufacturers would be wise to start sending her free goodies to review!

You can follow Em's blog directly and also on Facebook.

Seriously, people, I know I get a lot of readers here looking for photos and reviews of Monster High dolls--you must go check out some of her reviews of these products. Here's another courtesy screen shot and a link to one of my favorite reviews--Howleen and Clawdeen Sister set:

Also--did you know she did a giveaway in May? Of Cupid?

Stop wasting your time reading my drivel and go start reading the Toy Box Philosopher. And as always--don't forget to support your local bloggers by leaving thoughtful comments, clicking on their ads and buying their previously loved items.

Plus, I have to say--if you ever do business with Em on Prego--she is just totally 100% awesome, too.

Taking my Liv dolls camping

My husband and I went camping a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to bring a couple of Liv dolls with me and try doing a photo shoot with them. Why Liv dolls? Their multiple joints give them many posing options, including double-jointed knees that allow them to sit. Plus, they're inexpensive, so I didn't mind getting them dirty and smokey, which everything that comes camping becomes.

The story in my head while I was shooting these photos was that a boy and girl get lost in the woods. The girl is concerned that they won't find their way back to civilization before they run out of daylight, while the boy is a "jokester" who takes nothing seriously and sees the situation as more of an adventure than a problem. Sadly, I ran out of daylight (and needed to cook some supper on the campstove), so they never did find their way home. Maybe in the next episode.

I think I enjoyed this way too much.

Items for sale at the DollPage Show & Sell site

If you aren't familiar with the DollPage, it's a great place to sale your dolls--for free!

I've started with my NRFB items, including some recent additions to my Steffie collection, due to a lack of space. I've also got a never-removed-from-box Monster High 5-doll set, which includes an exclusive Gloom Beach Ghoulia Yelps (in addition to Cleo, Draculaura, Clawdeen and Frankie) listed, as well as a Target exclusive Barbie Basic Model 03 from this year's Collection red.

For the eclectic collector in all of us, check out Birthday Party Barbie from 1998. She's also NRFB, and I swear, you won't find another doll like her. (In our house, we call her Blow Up Barbie.) She's kind of everything I love about dolls, all rolled into one.

But I realized recently that I don't really do well with NRFB items. And I'm in the process of rearranging my display space. I'll have more items listed later on. Thanks for looking!

New items for sale at The Fashion Doll Review on Ebay plus 10% off sale

Disco Nikki, deboxed and restyled

Check out the Fashion Doll Review eBay sale... and out 10% off sale, which closes on Sunday.

Thanks for looking, and thanks for your support!

Miss Revlon in Liv outfit

Miss Revlon in Liv outfit, originally uploaded by alington.

Next, we're trying Miss Revlon in a Liv doll outfit. It's a bit snug, to say the least. She's wearing what is meant to be a dress, and it barely covers as a tunic and won't velcro in the back.

But with the cute shrug over the top, you can't see the lack of closure in the back. She's also wearing ill-fitting 1980s superstar Barbie hose (which are still too big on her, as they were on Barbie), for some extra sparkle.

I have her in her original bracelet and necklace, but the bag is by Liv. Liv shoes are too small for her feet, so she's wearing her own.

I think she's cute, but she needs a bigger size. You can still see more photos of this outfit on Flickr.

Finds at Toys 'R Us

We started some Christmas and birthday shopping today at Toys 'R Us, and I found a couple items of interest:

• Vintage sculpt Bewitched Pink Label Barbie for $34.99
• Vintage sculpt I Dream of Jeannie Pink Label Barbie for $39.99
• Brand new Barbie Fashionistas (probably four different (caucasian only dolls, $11.99 each) with swappable heads, and some rather strange looking heads ($4.99 each).

Liv Dolls were marked $14.99 with lots of new accessory sets, wigs and outfits.

I checked and asked the staff, but the only Monster High dolls in stock was the original Cleo De Nile and Deuce two-pack.

New Liv Dolls, finally!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I wanted to wait until I got some new Liv dolls, but I didn't know it would be this long. I'll try to post about other dolls, too. I recently got some dolls from one of our writers. So watch for that one!

The first one shown here is Daniela in her Moonlight Dance costume. The label says they are only at Target, but they are really hard to find. When I got Daniela they only had her, Katie, and Alexis. No Sophie, even though they are Target exclusives. I tried searching them on Amazon but nothing was found.

She has a short layer of dark hair and a long layer of blonde hair. Her dress looks like a sleeveless dress with a one shoulder blouse underneath. I don't know for sure, because I still haven't opened her. You may or may not be able to see her earrings. They are sideways on the right side and gold.

Another Liv doll I finally got (to complete my collection of one of each sculpt) was Hayden. She came with a plaid jacket, butterfly net, a magnifying glass, a bunny, and a butterfly journal. She has little tiny braids in the front of her hair. But now that I've got her, I want to get the rest of the Back To Nature dolls.    

But this time, no cat went up to sniff either of these dolls. I guess that good because I don't want cat fur all over them! I saw the back to school Hayden but I liked this one better.

Sales at Target

Crappy iPhone photo of the new Target exclusive Happy Holidays Barbie. Despite my photo, she really is cute.

I stopped at Target today for household shopping, and of course I had to check out the dolls. They had the Halloween Barbie for $10, and also a new Target exclusive playline Happy Holidays Barbie for $14.99. Fashionista dolls (several new ones) were listed for just $7 each--their lowest price of the season, the sign claimed.

As for other dolls, amazingly, the Monster High dolls were both in stock and listed for $15 each. I picked up Ghoulia Yelps. She's got blue hair and gray skin, and a red outfit, and the most fabulous glasses. Photos to come!

My daughters picked up two Liv dolls that they've been wanting--and Kate bought a third with her allowance. At this month's Barbie club meet, I saw Barbie can wear these fashions, too, which is fun. They are a nice quality!

If you're in the San Diego area, this was at the Target in Santee, by the way.

My Liv Dolls

Hi everyone. As for my second post, I will show you a few pictures of my Liv dolls, who I have just recently collected. You may not recognize them because they are wearing each other's wigs.

I know who they are by their skin and eyes, and in which order I got them. I got Alexis, Daniela and Katie from Target, and Sophie from Las Vegas (but she didn't come with any clothes). Although a month after I collected them all, the back to school Liv dolls came out!