I bought too dang many dolls during May and June, and I hit July running too. July 5th. Carola (from June) poses with one of July's first newbies. The newbie's name is Ilse (pronounced "ill-seh").
Here's a full-body shot of Ilse. She is a Revalo doll from Gebruder Ohlhaver, thus another German girl like Liesel and Ethel. She's smaller than Liesel,and I suspect her wig may be original.
I think I got her for a steal because she's not one of the big-name dolls. Not a Kestner, not an Armand Marseille, y'all get the point. She's got a sweet face, with lovely gray eyes...
...but if I don't position her just so, she can look kinda vacant. She shares that problem with Queen Elfriede.
Also July 5th. This is Daisy.
Daisy is one of those ily 4EVER dolls, and she's inspired by...well, by Daisy Duck! My mom likes Daisy Duck, and Donald Duck too, for that matter. Their tempers match sometimes, LOL. I have a further incentive for liking this doll; besides the hippie dress, she's got gray eyes. Hey, just like Ilse!
Okay, Daisy's eyes are more bluish-gray, but my point stands. I love dolls with gray eyes, and I love finding a doll of color with eyes that AREN'T brown. Mind y'all, I like brown eyes, but not all Afro-American people have brown eyes. Thus I like it when I find a doll of color who doesn't have brown eyes.
Later that same day a package arrived, containing a Jesmar dress for Joyita Emilia.
I owe Candela Laura one too. I feel like any Jesmar I own should have at least one Jesmar outfit. I've since covered Joy's elastics with bows, by the way, as Kirari-chan was partially held in her package with white cotton ribbons.
Oh yes, Kirari-chan! July 8th. Kirari-chan is the orange-haired poppet, and her companion is a Famosa Expressions doll that I hadn't yet named. I was leaning towards "Angelica," per my mother's suggestion.
Oh yes, Kirari-chan! July 8th. Kirari-chan is the orange-haired poppet, and her companion is a Famosa Expressions doll that I hadn't yet named. I was leaning towards "Angelica," per my mother's suggestion.
Most Cabbage Patch enthusiasts picture Cabbies with butterfly eyes when they think of Tsukuda, but Tsukuda made other toys too. Kirari-chan is one of those. She's a hair-and-makeup doll, and she has a couple'a interesting features that make her worthy of a review. I'll get to that...someday. As for the Famosa doll, y'all may remember that I'm fond of Famosa dolls (examples here and here), and I'm also always on the lookout for dolls with "comical expressions." Famosa Expressions dolls are new critters to me, but I like 'em a lot. Squeeze their tummies and their expressions change a little.
Kinda like Tiny Cheerful Tearful, or full-sized Cheerful Tearful, take your pick. I kinda wish I could lock her mouth shut, because I like that goofy grin.
July 14th. This one is Whoopsie. I may choose a different pet name for her.
Whoopsie is an Ideal doll and a squeeze toy. Squeeze her and she makes an obnoxious squeaking sound, and her pigtails pop up. I just like her cute little face. I also like that she's semi-local; Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas is not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away from Malden, but it's closer to Malden than Fayetteville!
Another new arrival for July 14th is Georgette, a Clodrey doll.
Another new arrival for July 14th is Georgette, a Clodrey doll.
I'd heard of Clodrey from Crissy and Beth (they produced a version of Crissy and a very pretty dresser doll), but I'd only heard of them until I popped the name into Google. Georgette is a "Coucou" doll, which I think may be a named line like the Revalo dolls are. I largely bought her for her outfit, which reminds me of my favorite vintage Barbie dress, "Fancy Free." But Georgette has a pretty face too. Notice that her eyes follow the camera. Georgette trusts no one!
I must say, the French dolls are a lot more serious than the Italian dolls I own! I prefer the exuberant Italian dolls, but obviously the placid French dolls are welcome in my group too. And there are always exceptions to the "French dolls are serious" rule. Right, Praline?
Right, Sheena?
Sheena arrived on the 20th. She is also a Clodrey doll, and she belongs to a wave called "Funky." The Funky dolls were more punky than funky...or maybe they were both! Anyway, I don't know of too many punk dolls that were/are geared towards kids, but here's this one at least.
We jump back now, to July 18th. My cats (particularly Tommy and Chessie) had developed a sudden interest in knocking my dolls from hell to breakfast. That morning Carla Jennifer (Cabbage Patch Preemie, left) and Mikey (Magic Nursery baby) were my latest victims.
We jump back now, to July 18th. My cats (particularly Tommy and Chessie) had developed a sudden interest in knocking my dolls from hell to breakfast. That morning Carla Jennifer (Cabbage Patch Preemie, left) and Mikey (Magic Nursery baby) were my latest victims.
Good thing Tommy and Chessie haven't been able to reach my porcelain kids. If that were the case then war might be declared.
July 19th. I put my resident ponytail Barbies together.
The brunette is, of course, Mama's #3, and the blonde is the #4 that Treesa sent me in June. As far as I know, Barbie wasn't a redhead until the sixth wave of ponytails came out, but if I can find one of them then the color trifecta will be complete. Note, by the way, that Mama's Barbie is wearing "Fancy Free."
It's not a dead ringer for Georgette's dress, but the colors are bang-on.
July 21st. It was balls soup hot, as my sister would say. Temperature was 96 at 2:30 p.m., and the heat index was 120.
Ayla and Lady waited patiently, for a new friend of their own.
Why they are relevant will become obvious later. For now we go to July 26th, approximately 8:15 p.m. It had been ridiculously hot all day (heat index of 118), and it was still stifling by nightfall. I put Yuka in her bathing suit...
...but to quote one of my favorite library patrons, it was too damn hot.
July 27th it was STILL too damn hot! Our A/C spent much of the night flashing an Error 34 reading and thus didn't cool the house like it normally would. Mama and I slept poorly and woke up grouchy, and some of my dolls here appeared to feel the same way.
From left, they are Wendy, Chou chou, Mika, Nora, and Mali. Mali and Nora retained a bit of optimism, as they knew Wednesday would bring cooler temperatures. As for Wendy, she's ready for fall.
Wendy doesn't have her hat yet, but she's gonna be a witch this Halloween.
Hot temperatures make me think of hot, neon colors, and my new Cry Baby fits the bill there. This is Charlie, and she arrived on the 27th as well.
Sigh, every time I look up Cry Babies for the sake of reference, I find one I can't live without. Charlie pairs a deep skintone with bright, splashy colors (just like Whoopsie does), but her eyes are green. That's a nice change, as Ayla and Lady both have blue eyes.
August 26th. Yes, I spent August doing something else. Paid almost ZERO attention to my dolls, but the Cry Baby Trio did manage to get my attention.
Rub-a-dub-dub, three kids in a tub! Even though Charlie, Ayla, and Lady look a lot alike I still enjoy having 'em along for the ride of life. Or the walk of life, take your pick. Sometimes life crawls and sometimes it blitzes, so I guess both the ride and the walk are applicable terms.
August 28th. I'd just told Mika that it was gonna get hot again.
August 28th. I'd just told Mika that it was gonna get hot again.
I know, sweetie, I'm not excited either. Seriously, the first week of September is looking to be miserably hot. At that stage NWS was showing temperatures in the high nineties clean through to the following Thursday (September 3rd), and neither Ryan Hall nor Max Velocity nor our own local weatherman had any words of comfort. BUT...we'll make it through. Mama and I have weathered hot summers with ZERO A/C at all, so we can survive one with a malfunctioning A/C.
And that's the past two months in a nutshell. My promised focus on nail polish has come to pass, and I've become more obsessed with that than with my doll's, thus why August was so lean. I'll try to do better in the weeks and months ahead. The medication my neurologist prescribed is an anti-spasm med and has done wonders for my pain, so I may be able to complete some reviews soon...but no promises. I love y'all, though.
Cheers,
RagingMoon1987
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