17 Inch Gooliope Jellington and Clawdeen Wolf Dolls by Monster High

I recently acquired both of these dolls from ToysRUs.

I didn't take any photos of Gooliope in her box or with her original dress on. Here's a photo from Mattel.com:

There's entirely too much going on with that dress. It gives me seizures every time I look at it. I don't like any of her accessories, either. Hence, why she isn't wearing them. 

I crocheted this summer dress for her. Hmm, I need to sew her a pair of bloomers. 

My doll's hair was a frightful mess right out of the box. I was able to tame it a little bit. 

She and I had a great time taking photos at the beach. 

Aside, from her crappy hair they were absolutely no flaws on this doll. I can't afford BJDs so I thought these Monster High 17 inch dolls were an affordable alternative. 

I made her a wig. Her hair is underneath there.

I don't have any photos of Clawdeen in her box, either. 

I'm going to paint over her fangs and cut off her ears, eventually. I don't like them. Her skin is a beautiful color. Her eyes are much better than Gooliope's. She just looks more normal to me.

Both dolls have arms that come off and can be popped back in. 

If I knew how to re-paint dolls or paint at all, I'd give her a more upbeat expression. 

I love the color of her hair. Her hair was only a little messy but not as bad as Gooliope's. 

She might need polish to make her claws more colorful. 

Her boots are fantastic. There's a zipper (not real) on the other side. She has kneecaps. Gotta love that. It's so unsightly when a girl does not have proper kneecaps. 

Only thing missing is an ankle joint. But the Monster High and Ever After High boys all have ankle joints so they can wear heels as well as flats. I really don't get that. If you can put them on the boys why can't you put them on the girls?

 

I'd like to make wigs for her. 

I wet her hair with hot water and combed it out. I think it looks better. 

This is all the hair that came out. 

She has very long legs. 

It's so much fun to pose these dolls. 

As you can see they're much bigger than the regular sized dolls. 

I made this white skirt for Gooliope but now Clawdeen has inherited it because I don't like her skirt very much. It's too short so when I pose her it reveals everything. I think this white one looks nice on her. 

I'm not going to get the 17 inch Frankie or Draculaura dolls. I already have enough Frankie dolls and I'm not crazy about Draculaura. As a matter of fact, I traded my only Draculaura and one of my Frankies for a Liv doll and Moxie Teenz doll on Instagram. I wish there was a 17 inch Liv doll. Sigh. 

I've seen the 17 inch Ever After High Madeline Hatter doll but I won't be getting her because she has painted on tights. Really, Mattel? Who wants a doll of that size with painted on tights? I would've preferred no tights at all. I would've made my own. 

But I do love these tall dolls and the price can't be beat. So maybe I will get another one. 

I've seen some amazing customizing of these dolls on Flickr and Instagram. It's wonderful how creative doll collectors are. 

I'd recommend these dolls to anyone. They're well-made play dolls which means they're hard for someone as clumsy as me to break them. I really like them. 

Robotica 

Adventures In Wig Making

I'm learning how to make wigs and wig caps by following YouTube tutorials and blog posts. I just did a search for "how to make doll wigs" in Google and YouTube. Then I got excited and ran screaming all the way to my local beauty supply store. 

I live in the 'hood so there are two hair supply stores in walking distance cause the sisters MUST keep their weaves on fleek at all times. 

This is the catastrophe I've created so far. These are the wig caps. 

I covered the Moxie Teenz wig stands with empty bread bags (it's important to recycle ;-)) so the wig cap wouldn't stick to the wig stand. I then took an old black t-shirt and put that over the plastic and used rubber bands to hold it down. I put a thick layer of Mod Podge over that, let dry overnight. 

After removing the t-shirt from the wig stand I cut it down to size to fit the dolls head. I'm demonstrating on a Liv doll. 

It's hard to see in this photo but I have to fold the cap in the back and glue down with hot glue (any kind of glue works, really, just takes longer to dry) to get a better fit. 

The wig caps don't have to look neat because none of this is going to show. 

Brace yourself for the photo of my first wigs. 

The third one from the left I call "schizophrenic auntie who escaped mental ward and now lives on the streets". It's a disaster but it's the only one that fits the doll's head perfectly so I'm reluctant to throw it away. The red & black one makes my J-Doll look like Dracula's wife or Frankenstein's daughter. It's being held on her head with Velcro that's glued to her head and then another piece of Velcro is glued inside the wig. If anyone has any suggestions on the best way to get a good fit for a J-Doll or any doll please leave them in the comments.

The first and third wigs from the left I made a long time ago by crocheting a wig cap and sewing the hair directly to the cap. I hated that method and probably won't do it again. I glued the wigs to the new wig caps. 

Since I'm a beginner I only bought cheap hair. I also don't know how long these wigs are going to last. 

This is J-Doll Piazza Cavelli. I'm shocked that I didn't destroy this doll in the process of making wigs for her. I nearly went insane. I did end up breaking her stand. 

This is her original wig. It's disgusting. The quality is abysmal. So the wig had to go. I soaked her head in water and dishwashing liquid for about an hour. Then as gently as I could (I cannot stress this enough; these dolls are fragile) I took my time lifting the wig away from the doll's scalp, starting at the forehead, with my fingers. I didn't have any problems getting the wig off and I didn't destroy the doll in the process. 

I made the doll cap directly on the doll. I made sure to cover her in plastic first. This wig cap doesn't fit her head at all. As the glue dried it kept expanding. I made two braids on both sides of the wig then pulled them around to the back. They are being held back there by a rubberband to cover the huge gaps. 

For the black and red wig, I glued the hair to the wig cap with a hot glue gun. 

This hair is a better quality but was an absolute nightmare to deal with. This hair hates glue of all kinds. I used Mod Podge and tacky glue. The hair slid all over the place and wouldn't stay where I put it. In frustration I dumped a huge amount of tacky glue all over the top just to get some hair to stick somewhere. That dark patch on the top of the wig is all that glue. There's also a huge patch in the back where the glue slid off the head and down the back and dried there. It just looks awful so I didn't bother taking a picture of it. 

I tried to cut bangs. Didn't work out too well. I don't know how to style hair at all. All of my wigs are a work in progress. 

I finished this wig last night. Still not sure how I want to style it so I just cut it. It's being held on the Liv doll's head with a sewing pin. The wig cap was painted red with acrylic craft paint to blend with the hair. I glued the hair to the cap with all purpose tacky glue and let it dry over night. I comb the wigs with a wide tooth comb to get rid of all the strays. 

I glued the hair on this one using Mod Podge. The wig is pinned to her head with two sewing pins. The colorful mini clips were bought from the hair supply store. 

You can see the dark patch of dried quick drying tacky glue on top. This is the only wig that stays on by itself. Have no idea why. 

This is Liv doll, Daniella. I made her belt from one of those necklaces that has a clip on it to hold keys or a cell phone around your neck. I got it from the dollar store. 

There's a lot of hair on this wig. I adore this color. 

 

As you can see, I didn't paint the wig cap pink like I should have. I forgot. I don't know how to fix that and I'm just too tired to care at this point. I'm still pleased at the way the wig turned out. I used tacky glue for this one, too. Which reminds me: I need to buy more tacky glue. 

I haven't decided how I want to style this one, either. 

I'm having so much fun making wigs for my dolls. These wigs fit Liv, Moxie Teenz, Bratz, Bratzillaz and Monster High dolls. 

I wish I knew how to style hair or had some kind of training. I'll definitely make more wigs. A lot more in all sorts of colors. 

Robotica 

Ever After High's Enchanted Picnic Cerise Hood Doll

I've wanted a Cerise Hood doll since the first one was released. I didn't get one before now because there are so many dolls I want to get. Unfortunately, I can't afford to get them all. 

There are only three dolls in the Enchanted Picnic line. Which is a pity because they're only $12.99 at Target. The other two are Blondie Locks and Raven Queen. I don't like either of those dolls. I really wish there was a $12.99 Cedar Wood (stupid name, BTW) and Ginger Breadhouse (really stupid. It's like they're not even trying).

These dolls are very basic. They don't come with stands, hairbrushes, bracelets or rings. Her ears aren't pierced, either. It would've been nice if they at least came with picnic baskets. 

Here is Cerise straight out of the box. She's so basic. Sigh. Her hair is a straggly mess but that's easy to fix. A far cry from the the one released at ComicCon or Legacy Day. 

Her hood is attached to her dress. I do not like this. Someday I'll figure out how to remove the hood without destroying her pretty dress. 

Here's a better look at her basic, bland bag and shoes. 

Oh, if only I weren't such a Basic Becky. Sigh. What's a girl like me to do? 

Her forearms are a slightly different shade than the rest of her body. I guess this Ever After High's budget line of dolls. 

I decided that Cerise was in dire need of a makeover. Stat! Yes, there is hope. 

Now she's as cute as her picture on the back of the box. 

I cut off the scraggly hairs, spiced up her outfit, added blush, repainted her lips, gave her fake eyelashes and contoured her face so it wouldn't look so round and her forehead wouldn't look so big (I don't think it worked).

The fingerless gloves are from a Bratzillaz. The belt from a J-Doll. I made the red leggings. The leg warmers borrowed from a Moxie Teenz doll. 

Madeline Hatter, Cerise Hood, Dexter Charming and Hunter Huntsman are my favorite EAH dolls. 

I pierced her ears. She already had a hole at the top of her ear, for some reason so I just added the jump ring. The earrings are sewing pins. 

Those shoes needed serious help. They were downright ugly. Repainted they look so much better. 

Had to do something with that mousy looking bag so it matched the outfit. 

Now Cerise is ready for a photo shoot. 

Supermodel. You better werk!

Sell the garment!

I wanted to make her look as though she were in a wooded area surrounded by some nature which is impossible to find in the city. So this will have to do. 

She's walking in the pretend woods. 

Here she is in my bag with Alberic. They make a cute couple. 

Who knew wolves like to hang out in trees. 

Ashlynn is trying to make a phone call. Where's a working cellphone when you need one? 

Maddie is wearing a hooded cape I made. She's also holding a basket. Someone is suffering from identity confusion. 

I think Madeline's face could use some help. I don't like the shape of her eyebrows at all. She looks kind of blah. 

They're still working on that phone call. 

Robotica