IKEA Dollhouse Furniture

Ever since I bought Pullip and Licca doll, I have been looking for 1:6 scale furniture.   Up to now, I only had 1:12 scale dolls, dollhouses and furniture.  I did manage to find two garden chairs and a table last week but I wanted something to furnish a living room.

After reading Melissa's post at Julia's Bookbag about IKEA dollhouse furniture (click HERE for her blogpost), I knew I had to stop by IKEA to take a look!  I was not disappointed.  The furniture set is AWESOME!  It's in 1:8 scale so it will fit Licca dolls perfectly.  Barbie dolls will be a little big for the furniture but it still works if you are not too picky! 

The set are miniature version of the Klippan sofa, Lack table, Expedit shelving unit, Vago chair, rug and heart cushion.

Unlike full-size furniture, the dollhouse furniture come already assembled.  The price tag of $12.99 makes this Living Room playset even better.  Here below is what is in the box:

• 1 pink couch
• 1 pink slipcover
• 1 yellow chair
• 1 green table
• 1 white cubicle bookcase
• 1 black & white striped rug
• 1 red cushion

A bonus to the furniture playset are cardboard pre-perforated cut-outs that you can color and add to your Living Room:

• 1 grandfather clock
• 2 windows
• 1 lamp
• 1 parrot
• 1 fruit bowl
• 2 frames
• 1 mirror
• books

The couch is very sturdy and I like how the fabric slipcover can be taken out.  I am not crazy about the pink color but it's something that can be changed easily (the plastic couch with spray paint and the slipcover with fabric dyes).

Here below is a picture of the bottom view so you can see how it's made underneath. It is very sturdy and very well made.  The slipcover is attached with a velcro closure.

I placed all the furniture (except the cardboard cut-outs) on an IKEA bookshelf and used some of my Re-ment and Sylvanian Families decorations to fill up the cubicle bookcase.  

Licca-chan made herself feel at home right away. 

I think she looks quite comfy on that couch, don't you think?

 

Licca-chan

Licca-chan dolls have been on my want list for a long time but I didn't get to buy one until recently.   She is like the Japanese Barbie.  Her face reminds me of manga heroines, which is normal since her designer is Miyako Maki, a famous shojo manga artist.  You can read more about Licca-chan HERE. 

She is quite smaller than Barbie (more like Skipper size) and is very popular in Japan.  Did you know there is also a Licca Castle and Museum! Click HERE to read the blog post about it!

My dear friend Ohana told me about that post and also sent me the adorable outfits shown below for my Licca-chan doll!  The model I got is the Licca-chan doll with school uniform.

The doll came with a dress uniform, a school bag and two books, well more like two book covers made of cardboard.  The books fit in the school bag which has a big opening and is quite roomy.  

The uniform is very well made and is soft to touch.  It has a single velcro closure on the back, as long as the dress, which makes it easy to dress the doll. She has lovely white socks with red bow ties.  She has white underwear underneath her dress.  Her brown Mary Jane shoes are plastic, fit her feet perfectly and don't fall out.  Her hair has kinks from the wrapping and I still can't brush them out but I suppose a little dip in  hot water will do the trick. 

Licca-Chan pajama

The pajama is well made with the same nice fabric as the dress uniform.  It also has a single velcro closure in the back, as long as the shirt.  The PJ shorts have no velcro closure but it's easy to put on the doll.  

My Licca-chan now has a very comfy PJ and a cute teddy bear to hold! :)

But there is more. She also has an Alice in Wonderland's costume!

The blue pinafore dress is well made just like the two other outfits and comes with black and white striped socks, black shoes, a black bunny headband and a white bunny mascot.  The white apron is sewn on the dress and I wished it was a separate piece but it's still very beautiful. 

Licca-chan looks very sweet in that outfit, don't you think?  She looks very lonely though so I am quite tempted to get her entire family so she can be reunited with them :P

There is a whole line of toys in her name, notably other dolls representing her mom, dad, grandmother (yes, there is a grandmother!!!), adorable little twin sisters (Maki and Miki), girlfriends, boyfriend, as well as sushi restaurant, dollhouse, furniture, clothes, etc.   This resembles more and more like my Christmas wish list :P 

 

I wished Takara would sell Licca dolls here so it wouldn't be so expensive to get her from Japan.  If ever I go to Japan, I will buy a suitcase full of Licca-chan dolls and toys!

I have to admit that at first, I didn't expect much from the doll because her limbs are not jointed like Pullip and Dal dolls.  They can bend better than Barbies but it's still far from what I was used to with the Pullips.  But, she looks very sweet and it's easy to dress her up!  She requires a lot less maintenance than Pullips and I could probably get the entire family without ruining myself. 

 

My niece spent the afternoon playing with Licca-chan.  She had so much fun dressing & undressing the doll!  She adores Licca-chan!  Probably more even than the Little Dal I just gave her for her birthday.  Licca-chan is a keeper and I am looking forward to get another doll from that collection.  Probably the little sisters first because they are so darn cute! 

Props : La Dee Da Garden Tea Party Playset, & Re-ment Fairy Tale Tableware (but be aware that Re-ment is a blind box so you won't know what tea set you'll get)

Mini Lalaloopsy - Wizard of Oz

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this Mini Lalaloopsy doll...  Blink, stare, and blink some more... yes that's Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz!

And guess who was next to her?  The Tin Man (I mean Tin doll...)  This is the most recent Mini Lalaloopsy doll release : Serie 11 - Golden Brick Road Collection!

Dotty Gale Winds

Tinny Tinker

Baley Sticks'N Straws

Kitty B. Brave

I really hope the next 4 dolls in Serie 11 will be Glinda the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch of the West, a Munchkin and a Flying Monkey!

 

EDIT: I found the dolls at my local Toys R Us store but I still don't see the dolls listed on Toys R US online website!  I am linking the dolls with Amazon.com in case you can't find it in your local store. 

Anne of Green Gables

When I was a little girl, my best friend and I were very much in love with the story of Anne of Green Gables, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  Just like Anne and her friend Diana, we promised ourselves to remain friends no matter what.  (And you know, after all those years, even if we now live in different countries, we still keep in touch).

The novel is about a little orphan girl who lived in the early 20th Century on Prince Edward Island in Canada.  Her character was so touching that I didn't want the novel to end!  Thank goodness that there are sequels to the first book! The Anne of Green Gables Complete Set is totally worth reading as we follow Anne into adulthood.

The book was eventually adapted into a movie starring Megan Follows.  Me and my friend adored the movie and we wished we had an Anne Shirley doll to play with back then.

Well many years later, this doll came to life as a Pullip Anne Shirley. But I found out too late and the doll was discontinued until 2012 when a Pullip Regeneration Anne was released.  I very much wished she could be mine but I have other dolls that I want even more so I decided to skip this one (for now)!

But I didn't give up entirely as I tried finding her mini version, the Little Pullip Anne, because she is much cheaper and much smaller but she was really and truly discontinued and I couldn't even find her as a second-hand model... until last month:D

I can't describe the feeling when I found out that a Mint-in-Box Little Pullip Anne was available for sale, at a cost that was even lower than her original price.  I just couldn't believe it and so to avoid getting jinxed, I waited until she was in my hands to blog about her.

Well I must have had a sixth sense about this because for a few weeks her parcel got lost.  I sent an email to the post office and waited and waited, and finally they found her again and she finally arrived at my house today.

Isn't she just darling?  Her face, hair, dress and hat are very good miniature of the full-size doll!  She didn't come with her iconic carpet bag though so I gave her one from my Playmobil collection.

My Strawberry Shortcake Village

Over the years I have accumulated a few houses and dolls from the Strawberry Shortcake Collection by Hasbro.  Most are used toys that I found on Ebay or in garage sales.  I recently got lucky and found three items that were missing from my collection.

The Strawberry Shortcake Scooter was a used item but it came almost complete.  Strawberry Shortcake can take her cat along with her in the little cart that she pulls behind her scooter. 

The trays in the back, which are collapsible, carry cakes, sandwiches and ice cream.  The set also came with a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a helmet, a flag, and a belt so the doll can stay in place on the scooter.  The belt is very efficient and does the job well.

The Strawberry Shortcake Berry Best Friends Playset was missing the dolls, butterflies and the other small accessories but it still works fine.  Raspberry Torte and Plum Pudding certainly don't seem to mind.  It will start twirling if you manually turn the center yellow flower around.   The dolls stay in place and don't fall out.

The Strawberry Shortcake Splash-n-Petal Pool with the Flower Shower still working (but hard to use for small children).  To activate the shower, you fill the pool with water and press the lower leaf from the flower stem.  The flower will sprinkle water down.  It's a great hit with the children but beware, the pool leaks and the flower shower makes a mess so don't put this on something that you don't want to get wet!  The top area features a table shaped like a flower and an umbrella.  Underneath is a little pool that I suppose can be used for the pets or Berrykin figures.  Included in the set is a towel with its own towel rack.

I do have a few new toys that I have not opened yet (the Clubhouse and Smoothie Maker) because I want to give them as presents to baby when she'll be older.  But for right now, I think I have enough to make a little village for my Mini dolls.

Ah! If only Hasbro would create houses for Strawberry Shortcake's friends!  Then the village would look even better (and less pink?).  One can dream.

Thank you!

Wow, is it already near the end of July?  A year ago I started having this silly idea about writing my own blog.  I didn't think it would be possible because I didn't know anything about that mumbo jumbo concerning blog creating/designing etc.  I got major help from dear Louise who was busy designing her own blog but who nonetheless helped me navigate the blogging tools so I could finally set up my own little web space :)

So thank you to Louise for helping me start out!  As payment for her service, she only wanted Reese's peanuts butter cups which were unavailable in her faraway Lancashire, England.  With a start like that, I knew this blog would be sweet and fun! :D :D :D

My one year anniversary is almost here and I would like to take a moment to say thank you to all my wonderful readers!  Your comments always make my day and I feel so happy to see that people read my rambling about dollies, toys and what not :P

There are two people in particular who comment on my post quite regularly and I just wanted to mention them!

Melissa from Julia's BookBag and Danzel from Silver Shoes & Rabbit Holes !

To celebrate my blog's one year anniversary, I sent them dolls or miniatures to say thank you :)  Here below are their prizes.

 

I wished I could give presents to more people but it will be for another time hopefully!

I want to thank also many other people who comment as well:

• Jennifer from Plush Pussy Cat - who creates wonderful miniature scenes for her postcards and who introduced me to the world of Miniaturist on the blogosphere!

• Wyrna from A Fairy Tale Come True - a great miniaturist who creates beautiful furniture!

• Leanne from Vintage Books for the Very Young - a book lover who finds the most incredibly vintage books you could ever imagine!

And last but not least, thank you to all my other wonderful readers!  I appreciate you taking the time to read me :)

Back from the Lake Resort

I am back after a few days at the Lake Resort.  It was a lovely spot but now my body is all sore from the swimming!  It was good to step away from the routing for a little bit but I am happy to be back home.  I missed my bed and my home :)

I wished I had this living room set for my home!

GIANT Chess and Checkers!!!  (I should have taken my Alice dolls with me...)

The children adored the Mini Golf!

The Lake

We ate at a restaurant overlooking the Pier

I could have stayed the whole day in the Infinity Pool

Re-ment Fairy Tales Tableware Collection

I remember my first box of Re-ment miniatures.  I decided to buy a blind box just to see how it is in real life instead of shiny photos and I have been hooked ever since.  Pictures actually do not do justice to this brand because it is such high quality.

A few months ago, I saw the Re-ment Fairy Tales Tableware Collection and I just about fell off my chair.  C'mon now, a miniature collection about Fairy Tales AND tea/tableware?   Re-ment creators were definitely in tune with my heart's desire!  There are 10 different sets in the collection and I loved them all so I decided to buy a full set instead of tempting my chance with a blind box.  I took a picture of each set so you can see them too!

1. Alice's Tea Party

2. Mushroom Forest

3. Fresh Kitchen Field

4. Japanese Tea Set

5. Blue Bird's Tea Party

6. Witches Dinner

7. The Tree of Fairy Tales
(3 photos for this set so you can see the details on the mug)

8. Trip to Grandma's House

9. Magic Forest Tumblers

10. Twittering in the Kitchen

As with all Re-ment miniatures, you can open the lids of each box or cup and the details are astounding!  I can't describe how happy I am that this collection was still available at minimal price.   I bought the full set on Ebay to save on shipping fee.  But if you are lucky enough to find a store that sells Re-ment, you will be able to save a buckload on the shipping cost!