Charice is here!!!

When I was a teenage doll collector, I had my dolls and a couple of magazine subscriptions.  That was it.  No friends or contacts or groups, no connection to the outside world, no nothing.  Fast-forward to the present day, and now I've got my dolls plus some friends to bounce ideas off of, to trade, buy, and sell with, and to just chew the fat with.  One of my online dolly friends was a lady from British Columbia named Elizabeth Brookman.  You may be familiar with her; she is the owner of Dolls4Emma, a store on eBay that sells a wide array of doll clothes.  Her sizes range from 6-inch Topper Dawn dolls all the way up to Ideal Crissy and Madame Alexander Cissy (and plenty of others in between).  I absolutely love the items she makes, and I recommend her store to anyone who collects dolls.  Anyway, I really flipped over a mutual friend's redheaded MiKelman Charice doll and long story short, Elizabeth just happened to have an extra one.  On September 16th, after some exchange of info, shipping and handling, and pleasantries, Elizabeth told me that she'd sent me the doll, with the added warning that it could take anywhere from one to three weeks to get here.  "No biggie," I thought, "that'll give me something to look forward to."  Imagine my surprise then, when a box showed up yesterday, on September 21st.  Inside was my Charice...and a couple of friends!

From left, Charice (MiKelmen), Ariel (Disney), and Candi (Hamilton)

Okay, first and foremost, this is not going to be a review.  Reviewing these dolls would be looking a gift horse in the mouth, and I'm not a big fan of doing that.  I WILL be sharing pics, however.  Secondly, these aren't Integrity dolls,.  That's not a complaint; I just want to get my facts as straight as I possibly can.  As I said a few posts ago I'm not the most learned about all dolls in this world.  Now I know better!  LOL, blabbing over, time to share pictures.

Charice (MiKelman)

Charice is the one that started this whole experience.  She has ice blue eyes, frosty red lips, and cinnamon red hair styled in a bob.  She is wearing a Dolls4Emma dress (Elizabeth sent several outfits along with the dolls) made out of black stretch knit fabric.  The dress came with a belt, a necklace, and a bracelet, all of which have skulls on them.  I love the skulls.  I think the earrings are original to the doll, but I'm not sure.  Charice's original outfit, a black lace teddy, was also in the box.  When I get in the mood I'll put her in that.

Ariel (Disney)

Ariel is your run-of-the-mill Disney princess.  I'm not a hardcore Disney fan, but I've always been fond of Ariel because of her bright red hair.  Unfortunately the Ariel dolls that were available during my childhood looked ridiculous.  They had ENORMOUS eyes and looked like they had been poked in the rear with a stick.  They were not pretty at all, so I said "forget it."  Some years later the Ariel dolls have improved, and now I have one of the nicer ones (though to be frank, I would've taken an older one too and not complained).  The dress is not a Dolls4Emma dress, but Elizabeth liked it and put it on Ariel anyway.  I'm certainly glad she did, because I like it too!

Candi (Hamilton)

Candi is blonde and blue-eyed with coral lips.  She has a beauty mark on her left cheek, something that I don't see too often on my dolls.  One of my friends thinks she has the Danish face, and I think she is correct.  She is dressed in a green brocade lingerie set, lace stockings, and purple high-heeled shoes.  The lingerie set didn't photograph very well, but it is very beautiful in real life.  The lace overlay is dyed shades of brown, yellow, green, and lavender, and the stockings are light purple.  The stockings and camisole are trimmed with yellow satin ribbons, which I think is a cute touch (I love yellow).  Candi's hair is a bit unruly since I tried to use a plastic brush on it, so I may tie it back.  

When Elizabeth offered me her Charice doll I was pleased, but I definitely wasn't expecting what I got!  In addition to Charice I got Ariel and Candi, and several very nice outfits which I haven't photographed yet, plus a very cute card with a kitty cat on it.  And I got all this for a very small shipping and handling fee.  I'm deeply grateful to Elizabeth and to our mutual friend Georgia for getting this all set up.  These girls are absolutely stunning and the outfits are delightful.  Thank you, Elizabeth and Georgia, for your kindness and your generosity.  I owe you both one.

Happy First Day of Fall,

RagingMoon1987

Just a quick heads-up

I can't name a time when I've had four posts in draft form at once.  Yeah, I've had one or two at the same time, but never more than that.  So what prompted the sudden wave of activity?  Well, I've obtained a couple of dolls that have been on my wish list; in the past three weeks I've purchased both a Skelita Calaveras (Monster High) and a Sila Clops (Novi Stars).  They're both fun, original dolls and I deem them both worthy of a review.  That probably won't be the order that the posts are released in, but that's what I've got for you.  In addition I've got a "just for the heck of it" post that I'm not going to reveal much about (gotta keep y'all in suspense!), and another which concerns my review on Midori and and a subsequent discussion.  I should have at least three of those up before October rolls around, but first...I have some news.  I'm getting my first Integrity doll!  Well...I think she's an Integrity doll. (UPDATE:  she's not, but I'm not crying).  Her name is Charice, and I'm receiving her secondhand from a friend.  She should look something like this:

Okay, so that's a MiKelmen doll...I'm not too learned when it comes to the higher-end fashion dolls, so I don't know who made what.  Barbie is my forte.  But my Charice will look similar to that.  She will be wearing something different, and her hair is in a different style.  But it will be the same color.  The doll's red hair is the whole reason why my friend offered her to me (long story).  My friend said that the doll could arrive anywhere from one to three weeks from now; at the very latest she'll be here in time for my birthday (October 6th).  Bottom line, I'm very excited for my lovely coppertop to arrive!  I'll share some pics when she gets here.  In the meantime, I need to get those other reviews posted!

Very truly yours,
RagingMoon1987