Let's talk about March .... in May ..... oops!

Hello Dear Readers,

Per usual I must apologize for the delay in my posting. You'd think setting myself such a low bar of two per month would be doable, yet here I am several months behind that quite small goal and I have no excuses.

March was not the greatest month for me.
The start of the month was fine, the doll meeting was fun. I was a little worried how things would go based on the guest list, but it really wasn't that bad. I didn't really do much. I continued to work on eBay (sometimes forcing myself to do so since it's not fun) and had a decent amount of sales. I bought several doll (more than I should have). It was pretty much business as usual.

However the end of the month things turned a lot worse. A situation happened that left me with the worst anxiety I've ever had. It was so bad I couldn't even sleep. There was just a lot going on in my mind. Things have gotten better now, but they're not back to normal completely. It's one of those things where you have to make a *grown up* decision and it's rough since it shouldn't be your situation to deal with, but you need to suck it up for the greater good. *Sigh*

I don't want to go into detail, but it means something big might happen. I just hate having to be the catalyst for big stuff like that since it means I have to be in charge and make sure it gets done, including doing most of the work.

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiigh* 

DC Super Hero Girl Hands on Made to Move Arms

Hello Everyone, 

Barb commented in the last post about wanting to see some DC Super Hero Girl Doll hands on Made to Move arms so I took some pictures to share. 

I only have two dolls with this style of setup, my Betty Boop doll and another project doll. I'm actually a little surprised I hadn't shown you that yet since out of all the dolls I bought last year, Betty Boop is one of my favorites. She's actually moved onto Charlotte's shelf, and not in a I'mrunningoutofroomjustputthedollanywhere kind of way. 

I changed her into a form fitting dress to give a greater idea of the proportions of the doll with the hands: 

I also cropped her head out of this picture to give a greater idea of the proportions with just the body.

For anyone interested, she's using the Purple Top Made to Move body with Poison Ivy's hands.

The next set of pictures are a bit of a weird one, it's a project I'm working on. It's a Belly Button torso that I cracked open that I put Made to Move arms on with DC Super Hero Girl hands. I love the level of articulation in the Made to Move arms, but dislike how boxy the torso is compared to the Belly Button torso. I'm cobbling together my own since Mattel has retired the Belly Button torso.

 The arms aren't a perfect fit, I had to widen the doll's opening at the shoulder to put the arms in.

 I haven't glued her together yet, so she's literally held together by clear rubber bands.

I call this picture "Modesty".
I believe the arms were from the Martial Artist Made to move Barbie and the hands are from Supergirl. (I know it's Supergirl since I've only bought a few of those doll)

Swapping out the hands are super easy. You can use either boiling water or a heating pad. Basically you heat the doll up until her vinyl arm is soft and then firmly but gently pull the hand out. You should also reheat the new arm before putting the hand in. I've rushed it and just put the hand in a not warmed up arm and got some stress marks at the wrist from it. Some of the later Fashionistas (when they were still jointed) also have hands that come out the same way. I've swapped out several Fashionista hands on my Made to Move dolls.

Just a word of warning for people buying the dolls just to swap,  the Gymnastic line from DC Superhero Girl dolls do not have wrist joints. Their hands appear to be just on pegs that are glued into the wrist. I couldn't even get mine to turn, but I didn't try too hard since I knew I wasn't keeping her.

Let's Talk Wish List, Mattel!

Hello Everyone,

I'm trying to not spend any money today, so let's talk about spending money!

I've shared wish lists in the past and sometimes I get the urge to talk about them so today I decided to make one. I've been dealing with a nasty sinus infection and today is one of the first days where I feel like doing something, but not something super productive so I decided to cobble one together and share it with you all.

There's other dolly stuff I want, but I decided to stick to Mattel products in this one since they're like 99 percent of what I buy. Also I'm lazy and didn't want to cobble together a bunch of random online pictures.

Here's my wish list: 

Sheesh that's blurry.

Starting in the upper right corner we have the made to move curvy Dancer doll. I know she's showing up in stores, but I have yet to find her despite visiting a ton of Walmarts lately. I'm mostly interested in this doll because of her body. I don't love her face or her outfit (even though I think curvy pants will fit Joe) and I'm not sure if I have a doll head I'd use on that body. So I'm not sure how much of her would stay, I might keep the shoes but I have so many curvy/tall shoes and nobody to use them on! To the right we have the made to move Gymnast doll. I just like the doll's outfit and shoes. I'd probably keep the body despite my efforts to stop hoarding bodies like I do. This ones also been showing up in stores but I have yet to find it. To the right we have a Pink Passport doll. This one I only sort of like, and just for her outfit. For someone who doesn't like rompers, I've kind of fallen in love with them for my dolls. I also like her sunglasses. Her body is a weird mix of articulation and I assume she has the "original" torso which I'm not a fan of. Since this doll is a Toys R Us exclusive and they're closing I assume I won't be getting her, which I'm fine with. I'd only get her at a decent sale price. To the right of that we have a Fashionista. Can't remember her name, but I really like her. I also like her outfit, and already have an articulated body she can upgrade to. She's close enough to release for stock images, but I'm pretty sure she's not out officially. 

On the second row on the far left we have another Fashionista. That one's a close mouth Millie sculpt, so I'm not interested in the doll itself. I just want her shoes, and maybe her sunglasses but I think I already have a pair just like those so those might not stay. I'm not sure if her shoes will fit Charlotte (first wave Fashionista) since the doll with the flocked hair from the last wave her shoes which look very similar to these were too slim to fit Charlotte's feet. That doll's also a stand in for several other fashionistas who I couldn't find stock images for. I don't know all of them, but I know there's a half dozen or so I want for bits and pieces. I know I want the doll with the unicorn shirt, the rocker doll, and the one with the cat dress. Luckily Fashionistas are cheap and I have decent luck breaking even on them on eBay when I sell what I don't want. To the right of her we have the newest career doll, whose name I can't remember. I just want that little robot she comes with and her laptop. I know it'll just be a tiny piece of molded plastic but my Generation Girl Mari doll *needs* it. The doll to the right and down is another Made to Move, this one's the baseball player. I just want her for her costume. Again, probably will keep the body, but I think her outfit would make a nice Halloween costume. Not that I need another Halloween costume, but I want it! To her left we have one of the new yoga made to move dolls. There's rumor that this doll will be the "tall" body, but I'm not sure if it is. I just like the doll's face so I'm planning on getting her. To the right of that we have the Chris Pratt as Owen from Jurassic World II doll. I like Chris Pratt, so I want a doll of him. The stock images, like usual, look a lot better than the real doll so I'm prepared to be disappointed by the actual doll. He'll be getting a new body since I don't like the pivotal Ken body (too boxy) and have already purchased a Batman body for him. His clothes will most likely not fit the new body, but I'm not too upset. The stock outfit looks so basic. The jeans look just as simple as what Mattel was selling as basic Ken clothes back in the 90's. 

The next row is just the Mario shirt. This is a stand in for pretty much all of the licensed clothing sets from Mattel. So far I've bought all of the Hello Kitty sets, all of the Care Bear sets, and most of the Minion sets (except for the sold out ones) and I don't even like the Minions! I don't even like some of the outfits but feel compelled to buy them all since I'm worried about them getting super expensive on the second hand market. Luckily, they're pretty cheap, but even as inexpensive as they are, they do add up. I know I'll be getting all of the Mario sets, and plan on getting a couple duplicates of the single pieces. I'm really looking forward to finding these in stores. I also planning on getting the rest of the Minions, the DC Superheros, the second Hello Kitty set, and the Spongebob set. There's also one or two regular clothing sets I want too. I've spent more on Barbie clothes in the past three months than I usually do all year.

The next and final row start off with the curvy doll from the new made to move yoga line. I actually want this doll to try her body with my Betty Boop timeless treasures doll. I already have Betty on a made to move body, but would love if she was a bit curvier, even if it meant I had to remake her outfit for her (one of the few dolls I dressed last year). This doll isn't out yet, but if I found her before the Dancer doll, I'm not sure if I'd still get the Dancer. To the left of that we have a DC Super Hero High doll, I just want her for her body. I have a blue doll from childhood I'd like to get articulated, but I'm not sure if I'd like those proportions with her. Truth be told, I waffle on getting the doll any articulation so this most likely won't happen, but if I found the doll on sale I'd get her. To her right we have a WWE Diva doll. I just want this doll (and similar dolls like her) for her shoes and spare casual dress. I don't know who can wear her shoes (or dress), but my shoe addiction isn't limited just to Barbie and her friends. I really shouldn't want to buy a doll just to get her shoes without knowing if I have anyone who can wear them, but here we are. This is kind of a low priority though, so I might not ever do it. And to the right of her we have a DC Super Hero High Roller Derby doll. She's also a stand in for all of the dolls in this line. I just want them for their hands. I love the articulation in the made to move dolls, but hate their paddle hands. I've swapped several doll's hands for the Fashionista hands, but I really like the flared finger DC Super Hero hands. Traditionally with the DC Super Hero Dolls only one hand has that mold and the other one gets a grabby hand designed to hold things. The Roller Derby dolls have both hands flared with wrist joint (unlike the gymnast dolls whose hands are on posts that are glued into the arm without an actual wrist joint) so I'd want these dolls for hand replacements. I'm not sure how many I'd want since the hands are a bit short (and I love long fingers). I have a pair on my Betty Boop doll, but she's a cartoon so she can get away with more stylized hands. I think they're way overpriced at 15.99, but if I got them super cheap I'd pick up a couple. I can sell what I don't want, but so far have not had luck reselling the pieces from these dolls. 

Also not shown, but also on the list are some of the collector dolls that have been announced but not yet have pictures of. I know I want the Wicked dolls, but I'm holding out judgement on the Unicorn doll since I (apparently) collect any piece of Barbie clothes with unicorns on them, but don't really do fantasy dolls. 

So that's what I want from Mattel right now. My non-Mattel list is pretty short. There's a very expensive doll body I want, I'd like some replacement bodies for Mimi dolls, there's a couple of Mimi dolls I still want, (but I've stopped looking since I have enough for now and the ones I still want, I have still yet to see for sale), and a couple other Korean dolls. There's still some vintage dolls on the want list for this year, but only like 5. I'm not going to bother making a list for any other the other stuff since it's all kind of random and all kind of iffy. 

If I had to pick a doll that I'm most looking forward to out of my entire list, I'd say it's a three way tie between the Chris Pratt doll, the curvy yoga doll, and the Mario clothes. What's on top of everyone's want list currently?

February's Update, and so soon?

February was another up and down month just like January, but I think I at least broke even, if not came out slightly ahead.

I failed my goal of avoiding dolls just for their bodies way back on the 1st when I bought some Disney Descendant dolls at Walmart that were on clearance. I don't know why I bought them since the last ones I bought for their bodies over a year ago are still in the closet and I don't really even like those bodies. I'm just addicted to articulation. I'm trying to not beat myself up over it since there will be stumbles along the way in any goals to better oneself. I did get all the things I didn't want from the dolls listed on eBay so at least they're not sitting around while I get around to listing them. I want them gone! (And I want my money back!)

My vintage doll spending was also pretty bad for the month. I made it pretty far into the month without buying a single vintage doll, then the universe offered me a lovely swirl ponytail with nasty great ear, even green face for just 21 dollars including shipping and you just can't ignore a lovely swirl ponytail with nasty great ear, even green face for just 21 dollars including shipping. I'm still waiting for that doll to come in the mail, it takes time when you get the cheap shipping from Japan. If that had been my only vintage purchase I'd have been doing pretty good, but at the end of the month I went a little wild and won on auction one of the grail dolls I've been wanting for this year. She also hasn't arrived, but she was a pretty expensive buy. I had some money saved up for her, but 2/3 of her purchase price came out of my bank account and I need to repay it. I also did a big purchase at the start of the month of some more Mimi dolls. They're still on their way too (they were supposed to be here yesterday, but the post office never delivered *harumph*). This will be the last Mimi dolls for a long time, I still want some from a different line of Korean fashion dolls, but I should be done with Mimi for a while. I also bought a few dolls and doll clothes at the start of the month when I went to my doll meeting. I was on the hunt for the Care Bear outfits, which I did find. I also found a doll on clearance I wanted for her dress and some two dollar fashionistas. I bought 4 of the same doll because I needed her shoes (the Emoji Fun doll's pink heels are one of the only shoes I've found that fit Mimi doll's feet). I also went back at the middle of the month and bought more two dollar dolls, because they were two dollars.

I know it sounds like a lot of spending, and it was, but I've also been really good about working on eBay. I got a lot of things listed this month. I got everything that I bought this month for resale listed, except for doubles, one doll I need to clean up, and a dress I don't have room for. I also worked on a lot of other stuff. There's still plenty to go, but I've spent a lot of time working on eBay and getting stuff listed. And I had a pretty good sales month. There were some issues and problems (some my fault, some from other reasons), but I had one of my better eBay months. I was able to keep some of my expenses down with the profits from sales, not all of them but a decent amount. And I've even paid my bill for the month with what I've sold. There's still plenty to go, but day by day when I work on it, I get a little more done. I would say, for the first time in a while, I had more things leave than come in. I got lucky since eBay gave me several weeks of free listings so hopefully they keep doing that since I want to keep selling!

I still have plenty to list. I have tons of stuff that I bought for pieces or just one thing, but I've decided to also sell parts of my collection. I've realized that I just have too much things to really enjoy what I have. I'm nowhere near that point but I've been giving it a lot of thought as to what makes me happy and what I just have. Right now I know some things are safe; Charlotte, Joe, other named dolls, Japanese exclusives, the Hommes, Silkstones, but there's a lot of things I can trim down. Like the Tammy dolls, I don't have very many but I don't really love them, so they're going to move out in time. Same with Jem, I'm going to keep my first issue Jem, but Kimber, that Starlight Girl, and that other TLC doll can go. Vintage is also going to get trimmed down. Every vintage doll is different, but I have a lot of similar dolls so I think it's time to pick my favorites and let some of the others go. I also have a lot of  "well loved" beauties and it might be time to refine the collection. I know way back when I said I'd never run out of room for dolls, but I have and I want to cut back. It's going to be a lot of work, but I feel happy with that decision. The collection has been getting a bit unmanageable and I haven't been enjoying it. I like buying and getting stuff, but once I have it, I haven't been giving it the attention it deserves. It's time for someone else to enjoy them. But like I said, that's a long term goal since there's only so many hours in the day and there's still so many other things to sell first, but now that I've come around to that idea, it's going to happen.

I also did some sewing this month. Not much, but I did make a couple dresses for the raffle for my doll club's birthday meeting. I usually made two and donate them together, but I decided to package them separately and made a necklace to go with each them. I also made a dress for an event my friend is hosting, but haven't finished it yet. I also plan on making another dress for that, but haven't found the right thing yet. The theme is mod, which is not my strong suit. The deadline is quickly approaching, so I better get into gear.

The next doll meeting is the 10th, the birthday meeting. I'm hoping it's better than the last meeting. The February meeting was not my favorite, basically it was sitting around listening to the woman in charge and another woman talk about all the behind the scenes stuff that's been going on with convention. I could have skipped it and sent one of those bobbling bird things in my place and no one would have been the wiser. For a club who only has about half of their members having gone to convention we spend a lot of time focused on it. We also spent a lot of time at that meeting talking about that event the woman who runs it wants to do in 2019 where nobody is willing to say they don't want to do it and she wants to do it so much she's willing to overlook the lukewarm at best reception she's been getting. I still like the club and most of the people in it, but it's so different than when I started and I do feel my interest waning in it more and more. It just feels so stagnant and can't see it getting any better. I'll just have to see how things go during the rest of the year and see if I want to continue. I know there's other clubs in the general area, this one is the most convenient, but I'll have to see how I feel. It's not like I'm planning on being here forever.

For March, I am hoping to keep making progress on eBay and moving stuff out. It would also be nice if I could spend less. I am planning on skipping popping into all the Walmart locations on my way to the meeting (I'm on the hunt for the Minion outfits, even though I don't like Minions), but I am planning on stopping into a Toys R Us since I have a 5 dollar voucher to use, if I can find one that's not closing. I do know that I will have to place an order on Barbie Collector this month otherwise I loose my quarterly reward, but hopefully the dolls I do want (Chris Pratt from Jurassic World and the Women of Achievement line) will go on sale and I can use my voucher on those. I'm also hoping there will be a sale, but I don't remember if they do a sale in March any more and if you can even bundle the credit and a sale. There's also several new playline dolls I want, but I don't they're coming out for a couple months so I don't have to worry about those until later. Hopefully I can keep the eBay momentum going forward and keep slowing down my spending.

And hopefully getting my stuff from the mail in a reasonable time!

(I am working on the reviews and stuff for the past two months, but work is slow since my photo taking energy and typing energy has been laser focused on eBay, but I promise I have been working on it.)