La Dee Da Garden Tea Party

ToysRUs is having a store wide clearance sale. Not everything's on sale though. The things that are on sale are often up to 70% off or more. So I got this set for $5. And trust me, it wasn't worth a penny more. 

Off Topic Rant:

I can't believe La Dee Da are made by the same company that made Liv dolls, Spinmaster. Liv Dolls and accessories are so superior in every way. Why couldn't they keep producing dolls on that level? The lightweight crap they produce now is embarrassing. In my opinion, the quality has gone down. 

Rant Over.

On the box it says that it comes with over 40 pieces made out of paper, plastic and felt. And most of those are kind of flimsy. 

It was so hard for me to get this scene set up. The table, chairs, lamppost and dolls easily fall over. I was getting frustrated with the thing. 

Sitting at the table are Dee and Sloane. They're having a good time at their garden tea party in Central Park. Finally. 

I like the backdrop and lamppost the most. Those are going to come in real handy when I'm taking photos of my other dolls. It does make a nice backdrop. The thin cardboard tree and shrubbery in the shape of a dog look awkward. Don't know how much use I'm going to get out of those. 

It has a teapot, plates, spoons, forks and two cake stands. I can use all of that in my other dioramas. 

It also came with a lot of different colored, felt shapes, stickers and small cardboard decals. I had no use for any of them so I chucked them. If I'd added all of those things it would have looked like a very busy and colorful scene and kind of tacky, too. I didn't want to overdo it. I think it looks nice just the way it is here. 

It also came with purple and pink markers. They got tossed also. I'm sure all that stuff would come in handy for little girls because then they could have fun decorating the whole scene. That would keep it interesting for them so they don't get bored. 

There were so many things on sale at ToysRUs. I had trouble making up my mind about what I wanted to get. I couldn't afford everything I wanted. But I did get some great stuff that I'm having fun with. 

I want to paint the chairs and table in this set a different color. Someday, I'll get around to that. I know this will look fantastic painted. And I can't wait to use this set in my doll photos. 

I would definitely buy this for a little girl while it was on sale because the set isn't that sturdy. I'll bet a child could destroy this entire thing in one summer. 

But for me it's perfect and the price was right. 

Robotica

So In Style Grace and Courtney

So In Style Hair Fun Grace and Courtney were also on clearance at Target. I thought this was an excellent deal. They are sisters. 

Their only accessories are  two clip in, colored hair extensions, barrettes and a brush. I don't have any use for these. Neither of them have earrings. 

The back of their box. 

Grace's outfit is very interesting and unusual. The green belt around her waist is plastic and clips on. It doesn't go all away around. 

I don't think her shoes are anything special. Typical Barbie shoes. She isn't wearing any jewelry. I think she would've looked better with a pair of pants or capris. 

Her hair is stick straight. No texture at all. 

Here she is without her clip-on belt. 

She's wearing a stretchy, short jumpsuit. There isn't any opening in the back. She's articulated just like the Barbie fashionistas. 

This is little Courtney. She is super cute. Her eyes are hazel. Her outfit is adorable but I don't like the boots. I would've preferred a different type of shoes. Maybe sneakers. Her clothes and shoes are easy to remove. 

She has the same hair that Grace does. Someday I'll give these girls more texture in their hair. Or maybe some curls. 

Courtney and Chelsea. 

Here is an old Barbie Fashionista body with a Liv doll and Grace, who has the new body. As you can see, the old body is much better. Her torso can bend. 

There's much more movement in the first two dolls. The Liv doll can wear flat or high heel shoes unlike Barbie dolls who are always on tippy toes. Liv's knee caps give them more flexibility in their legs.

Barbie Fashionista Nikki and Grace. Both dolls are very beautiful. For some reason, Nikki's head is much bigger than Grace's head. Grace's eyes are green. 

Robotica 

Barbie Fashionista Nikki and Easter Chelsea

There's a clearance sale going on right now at Target so I finally got Nikki. I've wanted this doll for awhile. 

Here's the back of the box. Apparently, there are four Fashionista dolls made by Mattel. Barbie, of course, and two others. I don't know their names. 

She's stunning and pretty. Her accessories are stylish and unique. I do like this doll's hair a lot. It's very soft and better quality than some dolls. 

She didn't come with a stand. Her only accessory was her purse. I'm not too crazy about the long, plastic, purple earrings. 

Her gold armband and bracelet look like works of art to me. These are going to look nice on all of my dolls, too. 

Not nearly as much thought and effort seems to go into the design of these shoes as Monster High and Ever After High, which are often the same price. Barbies feet are much smaller than those dolls so they can't share shoes, which is a shame. 

The articulation isn't as good as Liv dolls bit it's better than nothing. 

Her mobility is very good. Her head bends up and down and turns from side to side. Elbows and wrists bend easily. She doesn't turn or bend at the waist. Knees bend easily. Very sturdy. Not as delicate as Pullips. Good, sturdy play dolls. 

Also made by Mattel is Easter Chelsea. I found her at a thrift store. She is Barbie's little sister. These dolls are so adorable and cute. Excellent quality hair and pretty brown eyes. There isn't much mobility with these dolls. They will make excellent little sisters for my dolls. 

She's 5 1/2 inches tall. Her shoes and clothes are easily removable. I think her headband is supposed to be a rabbit or a sheep. The same animal is on her basket. 

Here are some of my smaller dolls. LPS Blythe, Chelsea, a Lil' One, Courtney, AG Isabelle happy meal toys, mini Lalaloospies. 

Hope you enjoyed my reviews and photos of my growing doll collection.

Robotica

Bratz girlfriend Nite Out Dance Disco

I paid $5 for this at the thrift store. I bought it because I've never seen it before. I wanted to check it out. 

This is why I like thrift stores. Well, besides the price. I can find things there that are longer carried in the regular stores. There have been lots of stuff that I've missed. 

I've made a couple of electric guitars for my dolls. At some point, I'm going to make or buy a drum set for them. They're going to need a stage to perform on and a dressing room. I wanted to see if I could use this. 

It's a combination dance floor/nightclub setup. It also has dressing rooms on both sides of the nightclub. 

These are photos of the box it came in. It's huge. 

This is going to be a short post because I have no idea what to do with this thing. 

Here's the stage. 

This is the runway or something. It has lights that flash. It doesn't really do anything interesting like play music. 

This is the backstage/nightclub part. You can see the dressing rooms on the sides. 

It came with a few accessories like a compact, chair, cocktail glass, hair dryer, hangers and that's it. Originally, there were a lot more. 

My apartment is very small so I don't think I'll keep this. It's huge and cumbersome. Takes up a lot of room. And doesn't seem useful. It's too small for any of my dolls besides the regular Bratz. 

I'll salvage anything I can and get rid of the rest. 

Robotica

Calico Critters Townhouse

I got a Capico Critters Townhouse from the thrift store for $4. It came with some kitchen furniture and a complete bathroom set. There are battery powered lights in two rooms of the house. The house is also in two pieces but I just place them next to each other.

Calico Critters toys are outrageously expensive so it's nice when I find them at the thrift store much cheaper.

Here are some photos.

This house is quite small. 

This is where I put the kitchen furniture but I actually think it's the living room. 

A very small bedroom above the kitchen. I took some of the furniture from my Lalaloopsie dollhouse and put in here. 

I made this room the play room because it's so tiny. It's right next to the bathroom. 

I like the bedroom that leads out to the balcony. This didn't come with any rails so I took them from the Calico Critters Market I got and put them on the house. Some day I'll get around to making rails for the balcony. 

This is the very crowded and small bathroom, the playroom and the living room. There aren't any lights in these rooms. Some day I'll get around to putting lights in these rooms. 

Closer look at the bathroom. 

Closer look at the kitchen. Mrs. Raccoon likes to cook. 

Closer look at the one bedroom. 

As you can see, it's very small. It's also missing some crucial pieces like the stairs and the balcony rails but I don't mind. I still think it's cute. 

No way would I pay full price for this because of the size and the fact it doesn't come with any furniture, fixtures (except the two lights), wallpaper, curtains, or Critters.   

I read on the internet that you can download wallpaper from www.calicocritters.com but the website doesn't seem to be working. 

It's still a nice addition to my growing dollhouse collection. 

Robotica