March Giveaways in Blog Land

Dear Readers,

How are you doing?  Can you believe February is almost coming to an end???  The start of the year went by so fast!

There are many great things about March.  I love that month because it is definitely warmer but not too hot.  It is also a pleasure to admire the tree blossoms and the revival of nature.  I love peach and orange blossoms the most and looking at them fills my heart with so much joy.

In Blog Land, there are also many exciting things happening.   Projects are getting started, people are setting up meetings, there are many new dolls and movies...  It's like everybody has woken up from their winter slumber.

I noticed a few giveaways too and I am showing them to you so you can get a chance to win some awesome prizes :)

The first one is at PlushPussyCat!  It's Jennifer 3-year blog anniversary is she is giving a lovely  miniature cake set!  Jennifer is the first miniature blogger I followed and thanks to her, I discovered a  whole new world and many talented bloggers!  You have until March 13th to enter!

Another giveaway is from Mini Addictions!  Lisa is a very talented miniaturist and she has prepared two different Supplies Kit: you can win either a Polymer Clay Kit or a Sewing Supplies Kit!  That's a wonderful idea for a giveaway!  You have until March 7th to enter this Giveway.

The last but not least giveaway is from Meritan Nukkis!  If you like miniature, this blog shows many handmade cute items!  When she will reach 75 followers, she will give this beautiful desk set :

Good luck to everybody :)

Ideal the Majestic Dollhouse

Dear Readers,

I recently got a new dollhouse!  I still don't have a house for my 6 inches dolls.  The Fisher Price Loving Family House is cute but is really more suited for children.  The bulky furniture and house décor was not truly what I had in mind for my delicate dolls. 

So when I saw the Ideal Majestic Dollhouse in a Tuesday Morning store, I really didn't hesitate to buy it. Once completed, the house will be 3 feet tall and fit dolls under 7 inches.  I thought about my new Ai-Dolls and how I didn't have a house for them yet so I went ahead and bought it.

It has working lights, 2 story tall, 6 rooms and more than 200 pieces of furniture and accessories to customize the dollhouse. It has 6 plug-in lamps that really glow (needs 6 AAA batteries).   For only $29.99, it was a steal.

The walls and floors are made of laminated cardboard and the beams and accessories are made of plastic.  This is obviously not going to be as sturdy as my previous wooden dollhouses.

The assembly of the house took less than one hour.  It was a breezy assembly and the instructions were clear but the cardboard pieces for the roof were too big and I had to trim them to make them fit.

This is the back of the dollhouse:

Once assembled the house looks quite spectacular!  The front wall opens up for each of the six rooms.  The inside is spacious and although it may look dark, the plug-in lamps provide an exciting lighting option.   Here below you see the lamps cords before I tuck them in their position closer to the wall.

The lamp has a cord that you plug in at the base of the room and you can turn the light with the switch located on the back of the room.  There are 3 pairs of plugging hole in each room so you can potentially add more lamps.  The batteries are hidden in the walls.  The picture below shows you the tiny black switch.  There is one for each light.

The dollhouse allows a lot of customization.  The package included 6 pieces of cardboard for the floor and each piece has two designs so you can easily change the look of the floor by flipping over to the other side.

There are also paint, paintbrush, painting rolling, stamps and ribbons but I didn't try them yet.  There is also yarn to weave the laundry basket, blankets and pillows for the beds, and tons of furniture!  A nice touch is that most of the cabinets have working drawers that you can pull out!

Here below are close-up shots of each room.  Please note that I did not add anything but the furniture and pieces that came with the dollhouse.  I did not apply any of the stickers provided or paint any furniture yet.  The holes you see on the walls are pre-cut and are for you to add frames, cabinets, etc.

Although the house structure is made of hard plastic, it is not strong enough to withstand normal children play, let alone rough play.  The floor made of cardboard is also too flimsy to endure any kind of handling by children.  The house itself stands solidly but you can only move it by carrying it carefully at the base otherwise it may break.

Pros:

• Easy assembly
• Working lights
• Easy access to the rooms
• Many furniture pieces
• Great possibility of customization
• Fits 5-6 inches dolls
• Good price

Cons:

• Too fragile for young children
• Roof did not fit unless trimmed
• Cheap linen and furniture

I still like the house despite the flaws because it's an unconventional size that fits my 5-6 inches dolls like Ai-doll, Strawberry Shortcake, Little Dal and Little Pullip, LPS Blythe, etc.  Here below you see how the dolls fit inside the rooms.

This is how the house compares to the Loving Family House:

The options for customization is a truly fun bonus.  The working lamps are a wonderful addition and provide and instant WOW factor!  It sure beats the unsophisticated Fisher Price Loving Family House!  For an adult collector or older children, I would totally recommend buying this dollhouse.

Playmobil Micro Worlds

Dear Readers,

I am a huge fan of Playmobil and my son and daughter love to play with them.  They are sturdy and very well-made toys!   I recently discovered something wonderful about Playmobil and I just had to share this!

I knew already that their miniature toys destined for their children figures make great props for my dolls.  The children bedroom sets often come with toys for the children and their mini size is perfectly scale to 5-6 inches dolls like Ai-dolls, Strawberry Shortcake, Kelly, Little Dal and Little Pullip. 

For example, the Children's Room Set displayed below has a mini Noah's Ark!  How cute is that?

And this Boy and Girl Room has a miniature farm and also little guinea pigs in their pen!

And my big favorite is the Royal Children's Room with a miniature castle which is the exact replica of Playmobil Princess Fantasy Castle!

I wanted the mini castle the most so I went on a search to buy it at a good price.  That's how I discovered Playmobil Micro Worlds!

It's a collection of Playmobil toy sets destined for their children figures.  Each set comes in a magnetic case and the tiny items are all magnetized so they can stick on the case and not fall down.  

I purchased a pre-owned Playmobil Micro World Knights Castle because my son adores dragons (the set has a tiny red dragon). He absolutely loves this set and he intends on bringing it with him for the car rides.

You can see below how many pieces are included!  The castle and the miniature are all magnetized.  The children figures are not.

And this is how the set looks next to my little Phlox!

And I bought the Playmobil Micro World Castle for my daughter. 

I think Phlox really likes this castle :)

Here below are some of the other Micro Worlds:

Playmobil Micro World Harbor

Playmobil Micro World Pirate

Playmobil Micro World Modern House

Playmobil Micro World Noah's Ark

Playmobil Micro World Farm

Playmobil Micro World Airport

Which Micro World do you prefer?

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was not paid or received gifts to write this or mention any stores or website. You may find a better store in your area.

Toys Replica Keychains and Ornaments

Dear Readers,

After my husband bought me a few Ai-Dolls he saw at the Tuesday Morning store, I decided to search miniature furniture and toys for them.  The dolls look like children to me so I think it was a normal impulse to cast them as children in my dolly world.  

Also, it has always been a fantasy of mine to create a miniature playroom.  They just happened to be the perfect dolls for that type of diorama.

I already had quite a few pieces that could be used as toys (such as my Mini Lalaloopsy dolls, Re-ment miniatures, Playmobil mini toys etc.).  I also had my Fisher Price Loving Family and Little Tikes dollhouse furniture that could be used as well!

I looked for some more items online and that's when I found Fisher Price little gems!  Are you ready to see some AWESOMENESS?

These are miniature replica of Fisher Price iconic toys that were made into keychains by a company called Basic Fun.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  They are so well made and really work (well almost) like the real toy.

Fisher Price Classic Chatter Phone key chain

Fisher Price Keychain - ROCK-A-STACK

Fisher Price Corn Popper New key chain

There is also a Fisher Price Keychain - Melody Push Chime in that series but I didn't buy it.

There are many sellers out there so please shop around for the best prices!  I am linking to the Amazon shop because it has pictures for reference but I bought mine on Ebay and prices on Ebay fluctuate constantly!  I bought mine for $8 each piece including shipping.

There are also ornaments sold as Fisher-Price toy replicas and I was curious to see if they would be the same size as the keychain miniatures.   Well I bought the telephone ornament and it was the EXACT SAME SIZE as the keychain except the ornament had a small metal hoop on top of the telephone handle instead of a hoop on the back.  The ornaments are also usually more expensive than the keychains.  The Fisher Price ornaments were made by Dept. 56 and sold at Target before and during the Christmas season.  I didn't see any in store since I didn't have a Christmas tree and was not looking for ornaments.  I read that sometimes hospital gift shops are still selling keychains and ornaments but I didn't check if it was true. So in case you can't find them in stores, it could be bought on either Amazon or Ebay.

Hallmark also produced some toys replicas. I don't know if you had the Fisher Price Little People Dollhouse when you were small but my brother did receive one and here is the exact replica!  

2011 Play Family House Fisher Price Hallmark Ornament

Two Tune Tv Fsrpc 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Hallmark 2011 Music Box Teaching Clock Fisher Price

Cozy Coupe - Little Tikes 2013 Hallmark Ornament

Although they are really cute, the Hallmark toys replica other than the FP Play House, do not really stir any emotional reaction in me because I didn't have them as a kid and my own children didn't play with them.

Did you play with those toys when you were young?  Or did your children played with them?  I would love to get them for my little dolls but if the price is too high, I won't really bother.  The only one I would like to have eventually is the Playhouse.

This post contains affiliate links.

Ai Doll Phlox

Dear Readers,

How have you been?  I hope better than I have because my cold has morphed into a persistent cough and I feel quite ill.   I have been working everyday too so I did not have the time to rest.  I am also feeling a little stressed because of the looming work deadlines.

I have been wanting to show you my Ai Doll but health was not on my side.  But I think the wait is making me grumpy so I finally decided to take some photos today to show you how lovely she is. 

Phlox is my first Ai Doll which my husband gave to me as a surprise present.  She came in a fabulous white box made of cardboard.  The inside is beautifully presented and taking her out was a breeze! There was only a plastic cover on top of her and she was attached with two ribbons made of fabric.  If only all dolls were this easy to unbox!  

Unfortunately for me, my box had been previously opened and someone had "played" with Phlox .  I could tell because her hair was messy, her sleeves were partly damaged and the most obvious clue: she was wearing her shoes (the shoes are packaged in the same box but they should have been in a separate compartment and not on the doll's feet).

My husband had no idea that these subtle clues would indicate a previously owned doll so he didn't think twice before buying her.   I am not very happy with the store for selling her at full price when it was a returned item.  But since I did get her at a very good price and there are no other Phlox available, I decided to keep her anyway.

I set up a playroom for her on one of my bookshelf.  It was so much fun digging into my collection of miniature and dollhouse furniture to find the items that would suit a child's playroom of her scale.

Do you want to play with me?

She can stand on her own and is very easy to pose.  She is my first ball jointed doll (BJD) and I am just in awe at what I can do with her body compared to my other stiff dolls.  

Posing like a Pro

Here she is playing with her dollies.  The Mini Lalaloopsy are the perfect size as her rag dolls!

Would you like another cup of tea?

She has such a sweet face and her dress and shoes are adorable!

Move over Lambie! I am the new Cuddle Princess!

I am planning to improve her playroom eventually.  Add some wallpaper, a proper floor, and give her some friends :)

I will go in detail about the toys in her playroom tomorrow.   I am feeling too tired to write a longer post today.  

Do you like Phlox?

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was not paid or received gifts to write this or mention any stores or website. You may find a better store in your area.

Mini Lalaloopsy - Spring 2014

Dear Readers,

Is it still cold where you live?  Winter has been colder this year at my place.  I am talking about winter in the past tense because I want to believe Spring will be here soon.  I already saw little blossoms on the tree branches and tiny green leaves coming out. 

I am so looking forward to Spring because it is always so pleasant to feel the warmth again and to see all the flowers blooming is such a pleasure to the eyes. 

As on cue, MGM Entertainment has apparently issued four new Mini Lalaloopsy with a Flower theme!  I have not seen them in stores yet but I did see them up on Amazon.com!  The following pictures are from the Amazon website.

Look at them closely... don't they remind you of Herself the Elf?!!!

Happy Daisy Crown

Mari Golden Petals

Bluebell Dewdrop

Rosebud Longstem

They look like little flower fairies and they come with seriously beautiful dresses and shoes!  I can't gush enough about how pretty they are!  Their dresses, hairstyles and miniature pets are very well done and quite original.  I am particularly impressed by Rosebud Longstem's dress.  It looks fabulous and is beautifully in-line with her name/character.

Well, all their outfits are actually inspired by their name/character which is a good effort from MGM.  It looks like they did put thought into the dolls they have created because it's not just any other doll with random features.

After being disappointed at the accessories of the most recent Episode Mini Dolls, I have to say that I am very happy to see that these fairy dolls have awesome accessories!  Except for Mari Golden Petals because I think the cake and cake stand are a little "blah".  But maybe it was meant to complement Bluebell Dewdrop's tea pot and tea cup.  You know, gotta have a cuppa with some cake!

The boxes are also gorgeous!  They don't make them look like little dollhouse anymore and it's not really possible to take the doll out without damaging the box so I think I will be thrown away after I open the box.  But I don't mind because I have all those little dollhouses and I am running out of space!

So come quickly to stores little flower fairies so we can celebrate Spring and Easter together!  In the meantime, I hope the cold weather will go away.  I heard there will be much ice and another snow storm soon so I wish you all up there to stay safe and sound indoors!

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I was not paid or received gifts to write this or mention any stores or website. You may find a better store in your area.