Happywonders - Happy Wonders

Hi! your harper is so cute! where did you get her outfit from?

Hello and thank you ♡ If you mean the latest post, her pinafore is from Aliexpress, hat, tshirt and stockings made by me, bracelets modded from an old pair of earrings and her shoes are from a random doll I got many years ago from a garage sale. :)

I got one of the mini verse lifestyle :D i got a cactus plant and its all so cute im dying!!!

Imma give most of the stuff to my Sylvanian Families since the scale is almost perfect for them.

I love how most of the packaging is reuseble too. The faux newspaper, the paper bag that can be used as a poster and even parts of the checklist can be used as posters or artworks for a pet shop, florist or candle shop :D

Doll of the Day: Legends of Ireland: The Bard Barbie.

Our doll today is The Bard Barbie doll. She was released in 2004 as part of the Legends of Ireland Collection, one of Mattel’s most beautiful Fantasy inspired collections to this day. She is a Limited Edition doll, and one of my favorite dolls in this specific collection. Considering we have a Ireland for our history theme tomorrow (spoiler), I thought she’d fit perfectly.

Her dress is one of the loveliest creations that came from Mattel. It’s inspired by Medieval attire (Cotehardie over kirtle), but closer to 19th Century Pre-Raphaelite and Celtic Revivalist art than to actual Medieval clothing. Although it’s not completely historically accurate, it is no doubt gorgeous. As I mentioned before, my favorite kind of Fantasy outfits have some history as inspiration, so she’s just my kind of doll. The make up though… MAC Ireland rather than Medieval Ireland.

Well, now’s the part where I start spiiling the IRL pictures, right? But, I’ve had a minor problem. I was a child when I got this doll, and as a child I was a bit of an iconoclast…

So, I might have left this doll a little too much exposed to sunlight (not to mention pool water and all that a child can think of as an adventure) my poor Bard doll’s head has yellowed way too much and there’s no retouching I can do.

Soooo, I did the next best thing: I picked up another doll, dressed her in The Bard’s dress, and voilà! The doll chosen to represent her is a modern fashion doll by Integrity Toys. Her hair has been rerooted (a doll world word for taking the doll’s head off and changing all her hair) in a blonde color that is the closest I have to the original Barbie’s tone. The make up is modern, but it’s softer than some of my other dolls’ makeups. Loose hair isn’t period either, but it works both for Pre-Raphaelite art and for Fantasy, so again, I’ll let it slide.

The harp used in the photoshoot came with the original doll. I was very happy to discover it wasn’t just a prop for the stock photo, and I’m even happier it survived my childhood!

Blythe a Day September 2023 - Around the World in 30 Days for the theme: “Road Trip”

“Every day is a winding road”

Ginger (Blythe) and her Sylvanian, Woodzeez, and Honeybee Acres friends on a road trip.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

Finally finished working on the 1980s Barbie haul I got from Goodwill a couple of weeks ago (didn’t really have to do much work all but one were in really great shape). I had to use a flash for these pictures since the weather has been so gloomy lately so these pics aren’t optimal but the dolls still look beautiful I think.

First up, Beauty Secrets Barbie from 1979 ( I consider this an honorary 80s Barbie):

Then the fabulous Golden Dream Barbie from 1980. This doll has all her jewelry but the ring was missing its crystal so I replaced that - tried to get a good picture of that but only partially succeeded. I’m looking for the arm sleeve things right now but will probably end up making replacements for those:

1981 gave us gorgeous Pink & Pretty Barbie and Sunsational Barbie and Ken:

From 1982, which was a great Barbie year for me personally as I got all three of these dolls over the course of the year for Easter/birthday/Christmas - Twirly Curls Barbie, Dream Date Barbie, and Angel Face Barbie (poor Angel Face had a classic broken neck/knob stuck in head/head shoved down neck situation so I made a replacement neck section out of Sculpey and fished the knob out and stuck it back in the neck and glued the replacement part in place. It actually worked out great, and since the replacement piece is in the back of the neck I didn’t bother to paint it for now):

Everybody knows these two released in 1983, Crystal Barbie and Great Shape Barbie (who I personally think is so so pretty). Crystal Barbie was missing a jewel from her earrings so I replaced that, again not a great pick couldn’t get the focus on the earrings really well:

1984 gave us one of the most iconic of the 1980s Barbies, Peaches ‘N Cream. This doll had her beautiful gown and boa but was missing the belt/sash. I made a quick replacement from some chiffon I had on hand. It doesn’t look like the original belt but I think it works for now and has the same general spirit:

And finally, the other doll that really defines Barbie in the 1980s - Day to Night Barbie. The scarf was missing from this dolls outfit so I made a quick replacement from some ribbon I had on hand until I can get the real thing:

Today's project: a MCM esque sideboard based on a couple of pictures I've seen

My version:

I think I got the spirit of what I had in my head. I wanted to have wooden doors but the needles kept going through the sides rather than straight down. I will neaten the edges with thin craft sticks. But I like the white with the natural look, but I don't feel like it matches with the other furniture because the wood is black.

Example:

A 1913 love letter that unfolds into a little art gallery.

Caricaturist Alfred Frueh (1880-1968) sent his fiancee Giuliette this letter, so that she could train for the "Gallery Marathon" she would experience when she arrived in Paris. It came complete with original works of art and a coat check.

1990’s McDonald’s Decor

I'm a bit late in sharing this, but Kenleigh's house is ready for Halloween! :D