Dollcraft

China Sprout sells a number of Chinese dolls on their website .  This company is in America, and promotes learning the Chinese language and culture with many books, crafts, toys and other resources. (I got a free catalog with my doll- very interesting variety for a single company.) Yue-Sai Wa Wa varies in price from $20 to a $350 Chinese Bride doll that comes with a display case. I'm not sure what differences in quality the more expensive dolls have. There are also some discontinued dolls on Amazon.  I purchased two more affordable dolls that came with great outfits and lots of kitchen accessories, my favorite! I love their beautiful boxes and display. Yue-Sai Wa Wa Chef and Style Yue-Sai is the name of the designer; Wa Wa is "doll" in Chinese. I think the dolls were originally sold in China, then given a new story as an Asian-American girl. Similar to the Queens of Africa story, Yue-Sai was sad to realize all the Barbie dolls in China were blond-haired a...

Articulated (jointed) dolls are more fun. They walk better, sit better, and are simply interesting and fun to pose. Pocahontus can't get comfortable on the couch. Re-bodying dolls is a way to combine an interesting or attractive head with a body that has better articulation. I found helpful guidelines from "How to Play with Barbies" in the post How We Re-body Dolls . Re-bodying is generally my first step with a new doll, before hair or re-painting. Re-bodying supplies Basic summary: protect doll hair by wrapping with paper towels and a rubber band warm neck joint with hair dryer slowly pull head off pry with tiny screwdriver if necessary Optional first step: cut a slit in the back of reject head to remove easier. I do this with Liv doll heads. I frequently purchase old Liv dolls and articulated Barbie dolls, like old Fashionistas. Posing with my favorite bodies I've been disappointed with most of the athlete Barbies, like gymnasts, because...

The best thing to happen to Barbie recently isn't made by Mattel- it's Sparkle Girlz clothes, by Funville. They can be found at Walmart, generally $2 per outfit. They usually come with a purse and shoes that are unremarkable. These outfits fit Barbie-sized dolls well. They are too large for Monster High sized dolls.  Hmm, this is the first time I've noticed that the feet are sized in the opposite way- Barbie's feet are tiny! At first, I was hesitant about these clothes. Many of them have a 2-dimensional design- very flat front and back. Mulan's skirt is extra shapeless in this picture, but I like the outfit for rock 'n roll potential. I wish the outfit on the right was in two parts for mix and match potential, but nope. However, many outfits have more depth and design. Several didn't interest me. Like Mattel, Sparkle Girlz thinks that single shoulder outfits are trendy. I can't figure out why. Seems like 80s to me. I als...

  Cleo is so photogenic. She looks good anywhere, but I liked this tree as a background texture that is detailed but not distracting. Cleo is a fancy girl and not fully comfortable in the outdoors. But my Lammily doll, Margot, loves nature! Margot is not as posable as the Monster High ghouls, but some height shows her adventurous personality.   Best friends Birdie and Hester watch the sun set over the lake. They enjoy their new Liv bodies and dancing freedom. (Check out my post on re-bodying dolls.) Sometimes you don't notice a mistake until looking at the photos later, like Hester's unnaturally bent foot.    Duchess is going to model some lighting problems while she dances in the flowers. Purple everywhere This set of photos was taken in the middle of the day, not the ideal time. Photographers prefer morning or evening, when the light is dispersed and golden. Noon photos risk getting raccoon eyes, or in the case of Duchess, a shadow beard...