Re-ment and Orcara Miniatures

I am so excited about today's post!!!  I had been waiting for my shipment of miniatures to arrive so I can show them to you!

I love Japanese RE-MENT miniatures but the high price tags dissuade me from buying them most of the time.  Even when an item is cheap, the shipping fee is very steep.  Enters ORCARA.  It's a Chinese brand of miniatures very similar to Re-ment.  It's actually extremely similar down to the accessories and design but with slight differences.  It's also much more affordable and not as rare as Re-ment items.

I wasn't sure of the quality of their products so I bought a few items to try first and I was very pleased with how nice they are.   Below are some pictures I took of the cooking collection.  They are displayed on a second-hand Barbie kitchen set.

If you want to see more photos of these extraordinary miniatures, there are groups on Flickr that are devoted specifically to Re-ment and Orcara:

Orcara (diorama galore)

The Re-Ment Addicts Pool (+ Orcara, Megahouse and other miniature brands)

Re-Ment ( リーメント ) (probably the 2nd largest Re-ment pool after Addicts)

Re-Ment Kitchens (if you love miniature kitchen items, this is the place)

Re-ment Multiplicity (when one set is not enough)

People are so creative and make such amazing dioramas! 

Both Re-ment and Orcara are to scale with most full size dolls like Blythe, Pullip, Dal, Barbie, and they can sometimes fit nicely with the smaller dolls like Little Dal and Sylvanian Families/Calico Critters.  I think the best fit is for Licca dolls though.

But the scale does vary.  Sometimes in one single collection you can find miniatures scaled 1:6, 1:8 or 1:12.  So research first before buying something because the scale might be off with your doll.  Or you can just use them as stand alone miniatures without dolls because they look so awesome displayed on a shelf or in a diorama. 

I like the Orcara miniatures so much that I purchased the full complete set of many collections.  I will show them to you in the next few days!  And ... I am planning an Orcara giveaway next month so stay tuned :D :D :D

Mini Lalaloopsy - New Release!!!

Guess what I found this weekend at Toys R Us?  Four new Mini Lalaloopsy dolls!!!

They are the miniature version of full size Lalaloopsy dolls.  I don't see them on the Toys R US online store yet though.  I wonder why since they are already available in store.

EDIT: I just checked again this morning and they are now available at Toys R US online store!

Cloud E Sky

She comes with the following accessories:

• Pet poodle
• Cotton Candy
• Harp
• Angel wings

Kat Jungle Roar

She comes with the following accessories:

• Pet lion
• Luggage
• Globe
• Binoculars

Pickles BLT

Her accessories are:

• Pet hot dog on roller skates 
• Jar of pickle
• Pickle hamburger
• Mustard and ketchup bottles

April Sunsplash

She comes with :

• Pet toucan
• Umbrella
• Pinwheel

I love how creative they got with the accessories this time.   Especially the ones of Kat Jungle Roar and Pickles BLT.  I could totally use them as dollhouse miniatures ^_^

The dolls are super cute just like their full size version, especially Cloud E. Sky!  I love her dress and wings!  She is very beautiful as a full size doll but I like her mini version better.  And Pickles BLT is probably the only full size Lalaloopsy I really wanted to get so I am over the moon that she made it into the Mini world.   I always tell myself that I have enough Mini Lalaloopsy dolls but I couldn't resist this new release.  They were really too darn adorable!
 

Cobble Street Cousins Book Series

I first learned about author Cynthia Rylant's while browsing Julia's Bookshop, which is a great place to explore the world of children's literature.   It then stumbled  upon the Cobble Street Cousins Book Series which I found enchanting!  I decided to buy them all, for myself and for my daughter to read in the future.

The series consists of 6 books about three 9 year-old girls (Lily, Rosie and Tess) who live in the attic of their aunt Lucy's house.  Their parents are ballet dancers and are busy touring the world so they decided to stay together in one house instead of going to boarding school or living in hotel rooms.  Each has her own personality and dreams.  Lily wants to be a poet.  Tess wants to be a Broadway start and Rosie wants a little cottage with flowers by the door.  Together they live many happy adventures with their aunt and neighbors.

 

The books are written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin.   Ms. Rylant is a prolific author of juvenile literature, recipient of many awards, and I look forward to read her other books!  The drawings by Ms. Halperin complement beautifully the books!  I wished the illustrations were bigger and she could release coloring books in the future!  The cover pages are in color but the illustrations inside the books are in black and white.  There are drawings on every page and very often, it would fill a whole page.

 

This book series aims for a target audience starting at 7 years-old.  The prints are big and the chapters short, which make this series a great introduction to Chapter Books for 1st and 2nd graders.

Here is the list of the books in chronological order:

1. In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen 
2. A Little Shopping 
3. Special Gifts
4. Some Good News 
5. Summer Party
6. Wedding Flowers 

What I love about the series is how friendship and love are portrayed via sweet and attaching characters.  There is no bad surprise here.  It's a light-hearted, happy and optimistic story from beginning to end.  Sometimes, it's good to read a Feel-Good book instead of a tense drama or riveting thriller.  Especially for children who should be happy souls and not worry-warts after reading dark materials.  Let children be children.  Let them enjoy the magic of childhood and imagination that books can offer :) 

 

 

Licca's new friends

Licca's friends have arrived! 

Sakura-chan has long brown hair and she is every bit as lovely as I expected her to be. Her face is beautifully painted and her hair is shiny and soft.  Her outfit is an elegant poufy dress with a fur mantel.  She also wears a pair of dark pink shoes and white underwear.

It was a breeze to take her out of her box, especially compared to the overtly complicated Pullip box with its abundance of tapes and wires.  Licca dolls only take a few minutes to unbox.

Another friend of Licca-chan is Hina-chan.

She is blond with blue eyes.  Her face is painted differently from what I had imagined from her official picture.  She is still lovely but her eyes are a little strange. 

And while her dress is amazing (both design and fabric are awesome!), I was disappointed by the pink fringe peeking under the dress.  It looks and feels so cheap.   Her hat doesn't took too good either.  It's not hollow like I thought it would be but filled with the same exterior felt fabric.  She has light pink shoes matching the color of her dress.   They are kitten heels like Sakura's shoes.


Hina's haircut was a surprise! The back is layered all over and looks very weird.  Maybe it would look better if I curl them?  I have no idea why she has such a haircut.

The three friends look very similar but their face painting is definitely different.  They have a sturdy and heavy body.  Their limbs can all bend but only to a certain degree at it's not ball-jointed like Pullip dolls.  

They can however do the front split perfectly. Hina-chan will demonstrate for you!

But she can't do a side split.  This is how far her limbs will extend sideways.

 

So she compensates by showing you a back flip :P

They fit beautifully in the Play Wonder dollhouse!  They are not as big as Barbie dolls so each floor looks roomy for them.

Every since they came, my nieces and I have been busy changing them into different outfits and arranging and re-arranging the furniture so they can all fit in the dollhouse. I am very excited about having Sakura and Hina among my doll collection.  I sure would love to get more of Licca's friends but it may have to wait because the house is starting to get a little crowded ^_^ 

My very sweet Dal Dotori

I realized I never blogged about Dal Dotori when I took pictures of her in the dollhouse yesterday.  Remember when I posted here about whether or not I should get Dal Dotori?  Well I couldn't resist this cutie pie much longer and so she is now part of my collection :) 

She is beyond ♥ ADORABLE ♥ Her face is so pretty and sweet.  And her outfit is quite amazing!  She has so many garments!  Here below is the list of items which came in her box :

- Bonnet
- Earmuffs
- Long-Sleeved shirt
- Vest
- Skirt
- Apron with lace tie
- Underpants
- Socks
- Shoes
- Bag
- Doll stand
- Card

Her clothes are very good quality and I love how it reminds me of Mori-girl fashion (Mori means Forest in Japanese and it's a look inspired by nature).   She seems to belong in the forest, talking to birds and reindeers.  After all, her name Dotori means "acorn" in Korean.

It's easy to put on and take off  her clothes but her shoes are a little tricky.  They tend to fall off quite often (maybe she wants to walk barefoot in the forest?).  I like that she came with white underpants!  It may be a detail only but I think it is a nice addition to the outfit.  But my favorite accessories are her earmuffs. So cute!!!

She has lovely blond hair braided on both sides of her head.  It gives her an innocent little girl look.  Her bangs are very short but it suits her perfectly.  I don't have a single bad thing to say about her hair except that it will probably get messy and I'll have to undo her braids at some point.

 

I named her Gerda after the tale "The Snow Queen" from Christian Hans Anderson because her dress reminds me of Scandinavian prints.  And I like how my Isul Lir is named Kai because it reminds me of the same Tale :P

She is much smaller than the Pullip dolls and I think I like Dal better than Pullip.  Her pouting face is too adorable and her body is easier to handle because it's just the right size for my hands.  Pullips are a little bit more tricky to handle.

So Gerda will now join my Pullip dolls Lola (Pullip Merl) and Tiffany (Pullip Paja).   Here she is below flanked by her two "older sisters".  I am sorry for such a terrible picture >.< !  Apart from Lola and Tiffany having a bad hair day, I ran out of time giving them a decent outfit!  I really must take a better picture for their next photoshoot!
 

 

Play Wonder Dollhouse Review

The dollhouse arrived today!  Once assembled, the dollhouse looks stunning! And huge!  And very colorful (but in a good way).

 

 

 

Assembly: It took Hubby 45 minutes to open the box and assemble the house by himself without my help.  He used only the tools provided in the box.  He said the instructions were good and everything was well aligned so there was no problem.

Durability: The house is very sturdy.  I am impressed by the house structure.  It's made of solid wood.  The walls and floors are made out of pressed wood and it's thinner than the beams of the outer structure but still very hard and hold the furniture well without sinking.

Furniture: There are 10 pieces as I described in this post.  They come already assembled except for the bed for which you have to screw in the foot and head board.   They are all made of wood except for the bathtub which is plastic but it's thick plastic and not the flimsy kind.  Maybe they did this because they expect children to fill the bathtub with water? The furniture pieces are big and bulky but that's great for young children because they won't break!  The bed is however too big for this dollhouse while the coffee table is ridiculously too low.

Design: I love the pretty colors and the height of the floors, especially the third floor which often is dwarfed to only 1/2 of the other floors in many dollhouse design.  I would have preferred wallpaper without all the drawings of furniture but I don't mind so much for this house because it has a beautiful effect when you look at it.  The pastel color palette is just what I wanted.  The spiral staircases are made of plastic and very well designed.  Each step can rotate independently on the pole to which they are attached so you can therefore twist them to whatever position you want.  However, they take a tremendous amount of space in the dollhouse so I took them off to allow more play space.

 

Compatibility: The dollhouse is to scale with dolls 11 inches and taller. 

Barbie: I don't know how it would look like for Barbie because I don't own any Barbie dolls.  My guess is that it would fit her nicely but I am not sure for the furniture because she has longer legs than Licca dolls.

Licca:  They are 9 inches tall but they fit perfectly in the house.   They are slighty too small for the kitchen chairs and table but the other furniture are fine. 

Dal: They fit very nicely because their body is about the same size as Licca dolls although their big head make them look quite big when in a room.

Pullip: They are slighty too tall for the house.  Although they can stand in the room without hitting their head on the ceiling, they just look awkwardly big.  The furniture are much too small for their long body.  Put two Pullips in a room and you'll feel claustrophobic for them :P

 

 

 

 

The open doors give the possibility to add more rooms to this house but it's already so big I can't really add more!  The dollhouse is placed on a table for now, away from baby's little hands but when she will be old enough, I'll put the house down on the floor where she can play all her heart's content.   In the meantime, mommy will fill the house with her dolls and play instead ^_^