Let's talk about my newest obession... I mean collection!

Hello Dear Readers, another post so soon, can you believe it?

I got a request to show of the newest thing I am collecting and I honestly I really wanted to show it off. Ironically, the item I was talking about, still hasn't arrived. It was supposed to get here on Friday, but it went from New Mexico to Florida. So it's a little south of me right now. The tracking has updated to acknowledge it's going to be late, but hasn't updated to let me know when it'll be coming. So that's is something I am still waiting for. I was going to show it off, but can't since I don't have it. However, I've bought other things and one of them arrived!

 

I won't keep you waiting for too long, this is what I bought:

 

 

Aren't they cute? They are 1930 bisque Mickey Mouse figurines. These are the military "Doughboy" styles. One of them has a saber and one has a musket. There's a third one in the set holding a flag, but the seller just had these two. I don't think these are reproductions, but I won't lie, I am such a novice in collecting these types of figurines I might have bought reproductions. I am pretty sure they didn't do reproductions of these figures, but I am still in the learning phase. That being said, I only paid 28 dollars including shipping, for these two so even if they're newer, I'm not out much. 

I'm not really sure what brought on this new focus within the collection. I've always liked these vintage Mickey Mouse figurines. Growing up my Grandfather still had some of his from his childhood. He had two bisque figurines from a music set  and two celluloid figurines that I recently learned came off a wind up toy. Eventually I would like to own his Mickey Mouse stuff, but currently it lives with my Grandmother. I believe the post about it is still up, but he passed away in February of 2019 and I miss him. It's funny, he was never much of a big talker, but knowing he's not here, just makes things seem a lot less empty. So I am collecting these things as a bit of an homage to him. 

My focus is going to be 1930's era Mickey Mouse. That's the era of his childhood and I just think it's more of a cohesive collection. Also, Mickey Mouse has been on EVERYTHING, so if I'm not picky, I will end up with so much stuff. I have a plan for what I want to collect. I've actually drawn out a layout of how I want my collection to look like at the end. I have done some purchasing and I do have a wish list of stuff. Ironically these two figurines double my in hand Mickey Mouse collection. I also have a pretty worn toothbrush holder that I found locally and a figurine of Mickey riding Pluto. I have three things coming in the mail right now. I've been doing a LOT of online window shopping, but trying to only buy what I love. I have a pretty long (and kinda expensive wish list), it's not as expensive as Barbie, but it's not cheap. 

 

It's interesting taking a break from Barbie. She's been the main focus for so long. I like being able to take somewhat of a break. I'm not sure if people are interested in hearing about my new collection, but if people want to see more as things come in, let me know. Might be fun to share some non-Barbie stuff. And I can always do a post about my wish list! Just let me know and I will share if there's interest! 

Time for another update! (Really More of the Same)

Hello Dear Readers,

Checking in with another update, although there isn't too much to really update with. I'm still working from home. I am enjoying working from home, I just wish it was for better reasons. I did get moved into a different aspect of the job, which is actually a lot less stressful (most of the time). It was a little tricky at first, but after getting more familiar with my new duties, and I really like it a lot. Not enough to think it's what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I dislike things less.

Still plugging away at eBay. A month or so ago I went through and counted my boxed dolls, I have around 150 boxed dolls that I'm planning on selling. Usually after stealing the shoes or some other accessories. I'm nowhere close to being finished, but I've made some good strides and feel like it's a more obtainable goal. I've even been listing some vintage dolls. Including one that was part of the collection for several years. It's a very TLC vintage Ken doll. I feel a little guilty getting rid of him, but I need to train myself that I don't have time for for every doll and I should focus on really makes me happy. I know I keep saying this, but there's several dolls in the collection that I'm ready to let go of that I wasn't before. I have been having some success with eBay lately, one week I had over 20 sales. Won't lie, was a bit stressful trying to get everything packed up within eBay's time frame. I like having a lot of sales, but I am a one man operation on top of working a full job. There's only so much I can do!

My purchasing has picked up. Not as bad as before in terms of the amount of dolls coming in, but I did buy my second most expensive doll of all time last week. I mostly paid for it with eBay profits, but I'm still 200 in the red. I did get one of those new Rainbow High dolls from MGA, but we didn't click, so she's been listed on eBay as a nude doll and her outfits separately. I did keep the shoes because that's what I do. :D Right now I have the strongest urge to buy a display case for the dolls. I have them on a bookcase that I've had forever, but I want a nice wooden one with glass doors. The problem is they're expensive, especially when you have to factor I'd have to rent a truck or van. Also, would need a big one, and most of the ones I see would hold less then the bookcase I currently am using. I'm hoping that I will get over it without buying something, but if I love something I will have to get it. So far I haven't found anything close to love. I did buy a piece for a non-doll collection I've started recently. It's still within the realm of toys, so if people are curious as to what that is, let me know in the comments and when it arrives I'll share it with you all.

I did do a little sewing this month, but I think I'm back into the "I don't sew any more" mindset. Even with the 2020 Barbie Convention cancelled I am in peak "I wannnnna goooooooo to convention" feelings. Part of the reasons why I don't want to go is because it's so expensive. I thought that if I could sell clothing I made, I could recoup some of my expenses. And since it wouldn't be until 2021 at the earliest, if I tried to do two dresses per week, I could have a decent amount before then. I got two done. I attempted to make 8 dresses, but only two got finished. I was having a lot of issues with the fit in the bodice, some weird rippling issues, and the *worst* time with pleats being super uneven on skirts. I wasn't having fun, nothing was working, so I gave up. I also thought about convention a lot. It's just so expensive and I don't really do trips, so if I was going to do one, it might be worth it to go somewhere else (in better conditions) and not do a Barbie convention. It looks fun, but you don't get a whole lot for how expensive it is. I'm sure I will flip flop a million more times, but right now I am back into the "it's not worth it for me at this time". Hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe!

Until the next update!

2020 Update

Hello Dear Readers,

How is everyone? I hope everyone is safe. I've been doing quite a bit of isolation and wanted to check in with everyone. I'm not sure if anyone will read this since I haven't updated in ... forever, and you all might have moved on.

I'm not even sure how possible it is to read the blog with pretty much all of the blog posts in draft form. I promise to go back and restore them, eventually, but there's a lot of them so that's a pretty big undertaking.I would like to edit some of them and I know a couple projects got dropped along the way, so I would like to finish those, but I don't know when I will find the time.

I am still working. Since March I have been working from home and I really like it. The long commute to and from work was really wearing on me so I've been a lot happier working from home. I was taking strides to work from home before this all happened, but I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it. There's some things I prefer about going into the office, but overall my life is a lot better when I don't have an hour commute to and from work each day. I recently got asked if I would like to step up in another aspect of the job that I am hoping it will make the job more enjoyable. I am actually training this week, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

I have also been working on eBay. Oh boy, have I been working on eBay. I've been trying to get 12 new listings done each week. I have been doing a lot of listing and a lot of selling. I spent a huge chunk of today packing up eBay sales. Still pretty low end in terms of price point, but I am making a profit and the most important thing is I am having things move out. I am really focused on selling what doesn't spark joy and keeping what does spark joy. I am still working on clearing out the things I bought to take pieces from (usually shoes), but I have sold some vintage dolls. There's still a long way to go and quite honestly once eBay stops giving me free listings for every week, things will slow down, but I have really upped my selling game. It really is becoming a part time job again. Here's hoping I can keep working from home full time and I can keep giving it the attention it deserves. I'm not going to lie and say it's fun, but I need to keep it it so I can get space and get my money back. It's a long term project, but each sale gets me a little bit closer to my goal.

Normally I follow this with if I could keep shopping, but I have been incredibly good when it comes to shopping lately. Since I have been working from home, my spending has dropped considerably. I think this is for two reasons, I am doing less retail therapy and when I home I can see how much stuff I already have. My shopping hasn't stopped completely, and I have bought a couple dolls including some expensive ones, but things have really changed. This month, I have bought two dolls for myself (I have to add that disclaimer since I am being a shipping liaison for an international friend). And my spending has not picked up elsewhere. I bought a fat quarter of fabric, and I think two doll outfits from Walmart and that's it. I spent less than 50 dollars this month on doll stuff. Which frankly, is absolutely unheard of.

I have even been doing some sewing. It all started with the fabric I bought. I found at Walmart some fabric with little cars and trucks on it. I thought it would be super cute for Joe since he now collects cars and trucks. I wanted to make a button up short sleeve shirt for him. I was working with a pattern, but I am not sure what I want to do with the collar. I am not sure if I want a button up or an open collar. So that project is on hold for now while I think about it. However, instead of stop sewing altogether, I just shifted gears. Several months back I bought a doll. I found her locally at an antique mall. I pretty much know nothing about her. I believe she's from the early to mid 1950's and is totally unmarked. I think she's a no-brand doll. She is made from hard plastic and has what I think is nylon hair (wigged). All that mattered is that she was cute and only five dollars. Ironically, this is the same store (and even floor) where I found Chatty Cathy. She was also 5 dollars I think and that was the doll that started my sewing journey. Anyway, I bought the doll. She still hasn't been cleaned up. I did a little work on her wig, but when a chunk of hair came out, I stopped. However, she's not nude anymore. Let me show you the doll and the dress:

No shoes, because if you're not Barbie, you don't get shoes around here.

The dress pattern is from Cherylwood. I did change the neckline slightly and lower the hem, but other than that it's her original pattern. The fabric and trim were things I had on hand. There are a few things I would change if I made it again, but I made something! It's been like a year since I sewed anything. Not sure if it will lead to a new boon of sewing, but I at least showed myself I can still sew. And I think she looks pretty cute.

A 6 Month Update

Hello Dear Readers,

How is everybody? Sorry for being so MIA for the past several months. I would like to say it's because I was off doing something fun, but it's really just the general drudgery of life. I would like to check in more, but I'm so overwhelmed with life I don't really have a lot of time to update the blog. I know the blog is a total mess and part of me wants to restore it, but part of me just thinks it may need to stay in draft form.

I'm still working. Back in July I got hired by the company I was under contract for. It was kind of a surprise since they extended my contract back in March until the end of September, but they offered me a permanent position. I was the only person from my class that was hired (although, out of the 14 people we started with in October of 2018, only three were still working there in July including myself). They did hire some other contract people from other departments. I know that I was there the shortest out of everyone that were hired. It did come with a pay raise so that was nice. Still don't like the job. There's a lot of stress and not a lot of support for it. They don't really give you the tools to do the job well, they just tell you to do it and do it well. Figuring out how is your problem. Despite their worst efforts, I guess I'm doing well. Last month in September (which I found out on October 24th), I was the top rated employee in my department. Out of a possible 10, I got 9.9. I got an email from a much higher up congratulating me, which how I found out. My bosses also sent out an email to everyone on the floor telling them, so I guess it's a pretty big deal. I've been working there for almost a full year and I haven't seen that happen before.

I'm also still working off and on on eBay. I took some time off in July from my full time job and got everything practically filled up, but luckily they don't stay filled. I've been working when I can on keeping things filled, but I am so tired after working a full work week it's hard also having a small business on the side so I don't always work on it. However, I really do need to keep working on it. I have way too much stuff that I need to get rid of. I keep buying things on sale or things to keep parts of and I really need to get it listed. Things just come in faster then they are going out! I have quite a backlog of stuff to list.

I'm not all just buying things for resale, I have added several new dolls to the collection. I've been pretty lucky getting some less common dolls for good prices, but I really need to work on being better. I still have long term plans to go through the vintage collection and scale that back. That's on the back burner while I work on clearing out the dolls I know I don't want, but I have listed a couple vintage dolls recently. Right now I am really thinking about spending a LOT of money on a vintage doll (Like, a *lot* of money), but before I do that I would like to have things more organized around here. I say that, but I most likely won't ever buy that doll. I think about it, but whenever I think about spending that much money I just can't. It's just too much and honestly, I worry about getting ripped off. The doll I want has been faked and I'm afraid that I will get ripped off.

I've also been working on generally getting my life together for my future plans. That stuff is slow since there's a lot to do and I'm doing it all on my own (and there's some ... situations working against me), but I am working on it. I am even working on a creative project that's possibly part of my long term plans. I can't talk much about it, but I'm enjoying working on it. I have a lot of coals in the fire, but not a lot of time or motivation to work on everything. Hopefully I can make process.

That's everything I can think of to update. Can't say you'll hear from me any time soon, but at least you all know what's going on.

~Aubrey