Happywonders - Happy Wonders

How to take care of a doll (as written by a doll)

let's talk about doll houses for a sec! You might think any old dollhouse would work for a doll, but you'd be wrong. Depending on the size of the doll, you'd need a house to accommodate their size. DO NOT USE AN OPEN PLAYSET DOLLHOUSE FOR A DOLL!!

Dolls love their privacy, due to how they often feel shy. (Not every doll is shy, but it is a common trait.) This is why even though Barbie Dreamhouses are an adequate size for smaller dolls, they are not recommended for them. You can modify the houses of course, but it's better to just find a better dollhouse.

For palm/12 inch dolls, a regular hinged dollhouse should work. Typically, you'd want those semi realistic wooden dollhouses. If you get one bare with no finish, as the doll what color they'd like it to be! After that, open up the dollhouse and make sure there's no splinters or harsh points on the wooden floors. Sand them down if there are.

After this, your doll is going to want to decorate the inside. Let them paint the walls (with supervision) by giving them a paint brush and small cap of paint. If it looks like they need help, ask them first. If they want carpet, you can use fake fur and a glue gun. Help them lay the carpet though, and be sure to was the glue from their hands afterwards.

Now comes a fun project: making furniture! That's right. Making the furniture. After all, most dollhouse furniture is made of plastic, and that's not very comfortable to sit on, now is it? Calico Critter furniture would be a good idea…but only if the doll is small enough to fit it, which is very rare.

Therefore, it's arts and crafts time! You can follow most blueprints you'd follow for diy furniture, just miniaturize it. Use wood for a sturdy base, and foam to cushion it. But do not forget to add some fabric to it! Something soft and inviting for the doll. Like fleece. Once the furniture is ready, place it inside.

Now, let's move on to dolls 2'/4'.

What can you use for their house? Those house play sets you see on playgrounds could work! Now, you can use two play houses to enlarge the space (about four or five feet overall should work.), combining them together. Or you can use wooden planks to build one from scratch.

For furniture, you can use those silly tiny recliners and tiny tables that seem to only be decoration. Or, like previously discussed, you can build it from scratch. Same tip applies here, you can use regular diy blueprints for it.

for now, that's everything about dollhouses! Next time, I'll discuss beds for the doll and their typical diet!

Elfmates are back at DollarGeneral! I repeat; Elfmates are back at DollarGeneral!!

And it’s a new set! I did not get the full set (nor a picture whoops lol) but in addition to these there’s a Santa suit sleeping bag, and 2 ski vets with a snow shovel in Baker and Toymaker colors.

Fashion show time!!

The Polar Pullover is just a printed long sleeve; it has no closure in the back, just a V slit that you can close manually or leave open. All these dolls were dressed by pulling it on over the head. Left to right:

Curvy: fits great in the torso, sleeves a little short

Tall: good length in the torso, sleeves a little short, looks good as an off the shoulder wide neck

Standard: little large in the torso but not badly, sleeves a little short, also looks good as an off the shoulder

Petite: oversized sweatshirt, sleeves aren’t short though

Signature Ken: very tight fit to pull on (wide shoulders/biceps stretched the bottom hem to the max), but once on was okish, sleeves very short. I will not be using this on my Signature/MtM Kens

Superhero Ken: I didn’t even bother trying the pullover. That’s last year’s vest, but it’s probably similar to thus year’s, and it’s a very nice fit

I realized I didn’t try a Slim Ken/Hunter, but since it fits all the girls fine, and *technically* fits the Signature Ken, it probably works on them too.

These give very big sleep shirt vibes to me, so I’m thrilled. Looking forward to cutting up the sleeping bags for leggings, and I might pick up a vest since the Superhero Ken is the same size as the Fresh Boys. We’ll see.

Hope this helps you in your holiday doll hunting!

Doll of the Day: Faraway Forest Fairy Kingdom Wedding Giftset

On April 30th Mattel released the last dolls in it’s very nice Faraway Forest Collection. They are a bride and groom on a wedding themed giftset. IDK if you guys follow the Faraway Forest Collection, but IMO it’s one of the nicest things Mattel has produced in recent years. All photos in this post are by Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

From Left To Right: Lady Of The White Woods (2015), King of the Crystal Cave (2017) The Wedding Giftset (2018), Queen of the Dark Forest (2015), Water Sprite (2016) and Elf (2014).  The whole collection is very beautiful, with marked exceptions - giving Water Sprite’s iridescent plastic skirt the side-eye as I write - and I’d gladly have almost all of them. As it is, I own Lady of the White Woods, King of the Crystal Cave and now the Wedding Giftset.

Wedding giftsets are nothing new to Mattel, and I’m bored out of my wits by them selling the idea that a wedding is the highest point in a woman’s life through their dolls. Non-binary that I am, I also wish for a non-binary wedding couple as well. C’mon, these dolls are directed to the adult collectors, and I’m pretty sure we’re all big enough to handle the fact that the world is a diverse place. Still, with all my pet peeves, I like the dolls and I’m really sorry to see this collection end.

On to the couple itself. I really like the fabric on their matching outfits, and since matching couples is a period thing, I really like it. Her outer dress is also a bit reminiscent of a Giornea, a Italian Renaissance style which I love to bits. The big golden bough is blown out of proportion IMO. It would be prettier if it was a bit smaller.

See what I mean? Still, it’s not ugly per se. Her sheer chemise is probably attached to the upper gown, which is a pity, but that’s usually the way Mattel does these dresses.

Her make up is ok. The blue shadow bothers me a bit, but I’ve seen much much worse from Mattel and other doll companies. I love her fiery hair and her crown is gorgeous!

Her groom is very nice! He’s wearing a mix of  a male Houppelande and a Courtepy. But it’s a Fantasy doll, so everything is possible.

The trim down the front of the tunic is not too shabby. The velvet undersleeves are nice. Some lining on the outer-sleeves would have made the tunic look so much better. His belt is very nice and the buckle is downright gorgeous!

His boots though… They are well into “The Realm of WTFery” ™. Why-the- fake-dirt-oh-Valar-why… I can’t even… Agh.

His crown is very nice too, and his shoulder piece is cool. It’s a pity he doesn’t come with a floor-sweeping cape like King of the Crystal Cave. But still, he is no doubt a very nice doll. For now that’s all I have to say. I promise another Doll of the Day about them with real life photos as soon as they arrive!

Almost autumn, babe. Enjoy the last of these long summer days, then it's harvest season with pumpkin everything. We can't wait.

Tardigrade space adventure!

🎃 Kirby’s Guide to Enjoying Fall 🍂

Barbie is not the only character in the Barbie line to have received collectors edition dolls themed after other media. (I mean, Ken too, but this post isn't about Ken.)

Kelly and Tommy (before Kelly became Chelsea) featured in a variety of tie-ins, including in collections that also featured Barbie and Ken such as the Grease line-up, as well as in collections of their own.

Storybook Favorites, for example, was a line-up featuring Kelly and Tommy as classic children's book and fairy tale characters. I never grew up on Raggedy Ann and Andy and always thought they were just names for a line of dolls themselves, so it was only upon looking it up that I discovered the books came first.

I find the Hansel & Gretel way cuter, personally, but that's just my bias showing.

But besides the four in the Storybook Favorites Collection, there have been others. Some of these actually turn up on the secondary market bundled with Storybook Favorites, and I can see why, because they do look broadly similar in style and theme. For example, Kelly and Tommy as Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

I don't know how I feel about this one, whether it's cute or creepy or somewhere in between.

Or as the cast of Wizard of Oz. This one i am completely unreserved about in my praise. I think these are adorable. 10/10 design aesthetic. I mean, just look at Tommy as the Scarecrow above compared to Ken as the Scarecrow in the Barbie and Ken Wizard of Oz lineups.

Tommy does it better!