Another Day in Paradise

Villain Dolls

2009-08-22T17:13:08Z

Just as if I don't have enough collections, I seem to have started a modest Villain doll collection. dollsahoy has recently added this crown jewel to this nefarious group. She's mean and minty! She's Strawberry Shortcake's nemesis!

She's Sour Grapes! I can thank you enough for this wonderful doll Andrea. She even inspired an LJ post which I don't get out that often.

If you're wondering, I don't have any Strawberry Shortcake dolls, just these two baddies. As collections go, this kind of thing is a little more reasonable. Villain dolls are something you just happen across. Unless you count Madra Lord, no company is cranking out villain dolls monthly and tempting you with them. By the way, I do count Madra.

Sour Grapes and the Purple Pieman are enemies of Strawberry Shortcake and her friends. Is "enemy" too strong a word? Dolls that were, at some point, featured in cartoons or books; were protagonists in a story. There really is no story without some kind of problem to overcome. Both these dolls are really beautiful sculpts and were very well made. Look at Grapes' graceful hands. She is so stylish in her green opera length gloves. She has a wonderful color palette of green, hot pink and, of course, grape purple.

I Tweet

2009-06-12T06:09:21Z

The first time I checked out Twitter I thought, "What a dumb idea!" Who wants to know every little piece of nonsense someone is doing? Even if they are my friends!"
Took me a long time to get a cellphone too. Young person's at my work:"Why don't you guys have cellphones?" Us: "Because we don't want anybody to call us."
Well, you know I really don't have much to say, so I'm sure my LJ friends will be anxious to join my light duty Twitter. The thing that finally sold me was that you can add pictures. It's impossible to write very much. You can't even write as much as this. Join me today, so you can thrill to a doll picture you may have already seen on Flickr and delight in my inane remarks!

Edit: I had not joined but 15 minutes when I got a follower! HornyHotty. You can block them easy enough. Plus watch out for gross nakkid pictures of your ordinary folks on there too.

Ragazzazzura

2009-06-06T17:20:42Z

Hello everybody after my long absence!
Received a surprise box in the mail yesterday. After I admired this doll on Flickr, DollsAhoy sent her to me. What a wonderful gift, Andrea. I love her sooo much. Maybe my fav doll ever that you have sent me. This was so nice. I can't thank you enough. Thank you!

Ragazzazzura is her name which is munched Italian for blue and bear. I'll call her Zura for short. She came with a DollsAhoy dress and other goodies. Thanks for those too. She exercised the new doll's prerogative of grabbing all clothes that suit her. This is a Groovy 60's Barbie outfit. Thank God I got it, because it is so her!

More pics after the cut. Thanks again, super big thanks, Andrea!

Above: Zura ready for a night out wearing Barbie Repo, "Gay Parisienne"

WellerMade news

2009-03-22T18:51:05Z

I sometimes wonder if I should keep this blog, I post so little. If LiveJournal didn't charge me automatically, behind my back (pretty smart) I would probably be gone by now. Today I felt like writing a little something though.

Here's a thought: as much as I would like to vent here about a perceived medical condition I might have, I can't. Why, because in future I could have a health insurance provider deny my claim because of a preexisting condition I didn't mention. I could never get my own insurance if I mention all the things I think I might get someday. Health insurance companies stink and have done their part to destroy the economy.

On the doll front: I've been crocheting Momoko clothes. I've always thought I might start an etsy store and sell 'em although it seems like a money losing proposition. They take soooo long to make! I'm trying to get one dress a weekend done. There's what I have so far:

Other news: DollsAhoy is starting to sew again after taking a break to become a mother. She has taken my advice / nagging and make a few dresses with longer hems that (IMO) look better on Momoko. Please prove me right and buy these dresses. DollsAhoy on etsy

Drop Dead Red

2008-12-26T06:14:34Z

What nice Christmas gift did I give myself? My first Misaki! Yes! Red Rabbit Misaki! She's pretty intense. She's the first Misaki I ever thought I really did want. A little sophisticated for me, but I love her. Spendthrift behavior on my part.

It's been one year-long doll christmas for me this last year. It's all gotta come under control now. Make that a doll, re-ment and sylvanian cute critters christmas. So let us enjoy the novelty of this my last...that is, next to last (Ha Ha Riley) doll purchase for at least until March. I may not be accountable when those new J-Doll bodies come out.

Read more about Red and see more pictures behind the cut!

Wow! She's pretty! Know you that I have never bought any Fashion Royalty doll, although I have seen them. Red has the same matte, porcelain-like finish that FR's do. Her clothes are very nicely made with beautiful, fine details. Like all of Integrity's high end dolls, she has tiny, real shoes, as opposed to molded plastic. Misaki's have relativity big, flat feet! Red is wearing the same shoes the late Dick Tracy used to wear. I guess she wants to be comfortable. She arrived with her shoes in a separate plastic bag. I had to stuff her into them. Yes, I know! I defy you to tie those tiny shoe strings! I'm going to try some black, size 10 crochet cotton in her shoes. I can tie them more easily and then cut off the excess shoe string. Every time!

What time is it? 10:30pm. Time for Red to head out to go clubbin'. My bedtime. She's 12 inches, but a big girl somehow, compared to Momokos. She's one of the popular girls. Most definitely. She'd cut me dead. She reminds me of Becky's big sister. When I was 12, my best friend Becky had a 17 year old sister. When we entered a room she was in, she would curl her upper lip in a way that would forever after define the term, "sneer" for me.

Does she look like she swallowed a bolt? Well, it didn't disagree with her, slender, graceful thing that she is.

Rock, Paper, Dynamite

2008-11-25T01:18:39Z

How many people do you know, who cheat at Rock, Paper, Scissors? My friend, Steve and I were trying to solve a disagreement in this time honored way. It was to be two out of three.

First round:
S: Fist (rock) Me: Open hand (paper). Paper covers Rock. Round goes to me.

Second round:
S: Two fingers (scissor) Me: Open hand (paper). Scissor cuts Paper. Round goes to S.

Third round:
S: Two fingers (scissor) Me: Fist (rock). Rock breaks Scissor. Round and decision to me.

Steve: "No, I win." Me: "How's that?"
Steve: "Dynamite blows up Rock." Me: "Dynamite?!"
Steve: "Yes, my fingers were held together. That's Dynamite. Dynamite blows up Rock." Me: "There's no Dynamite in Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
Steve: "Yes there is. Fingers held together are dynamite." Me: "What defeats Dynamite?"
Steve: "Nothing defeats Dynamite." Me: "If that were true, wouldn't everyone be constantly throwing down Dynamite and nothing would get decided?"
Steve: "You didn't." Me: "That's because there IS no Dynamite!"

You may wonder why I was arguing this ridiculous premise. Steve's demeanor was so calm and assured that this was the truth, that I wondered if he didn't really believe all this. To solve the impasse, we consulted the official governing body of Rock, Paper, Scissors; the World RPS Society. Here are the Rules. This is serious stuff! The world championship of RPS (as they call it) carries a purse of $10,000 Canadian dollars! Throwing down Dynamite will get you disqualified in a Toronto minute!

You may also note I'm not writing about dolls. Since I have not been posting at all, I decided to re-design my blog and just write about whatever. My goal now is to post more exciting essays like the one above on at least a weekly basis. And I'll still write about my dolls too.

How to Spell It

2008-09-14T20:36:02Z

I post to my blog so infrequently because I clearly have nothing to say. Today, however, I thought it was important for everyone to know how to spell this correctly.

Petite Blythes for Sale

2008-08-30T20:01:22Z

Postage 5.00 USD in the continuous states. All others, including countries other than USA, contact me for postage. Can combine postage for more than one doll.

No stands available for any doll. Original stock included. All dolls in good, displayed only condition. PayPal preferred.

Piyo Piyo Messenger: 45.00 USD SOLD

This is the highest priced. Cheaper Petites behind the cut.

Bear Hug: 30 USD. Dog not included.

Cinnamon Girl: 20 USD

Perfect Hollywood: 20 USD

Skate Date: 25 USD

LJ Message me if interested. Thanks for looking.

Toystore Debacle

2008-06-22T15:07:16Z

I'm rather disgusted with myself for blowing $50.00 bucks in a toystore this weekend. Stupidest thing was buying Calico Critters (Marmalade Bears) I don't want just for the clothes. That was a big part of it. Other thing was an action figure I probably won't want after I take enough pictures of her.

This is my dream: That somebody would just send me dolls I could take pictures of and post on Flickr. Then, I would send 'em back. Then that shelf would not continue populating.

If anyone wants to send a doll for a visit, let me know. Promise to send her back.

Anyone want naked Marmalade Bears (two adults, two kids) $10.00 postage paid.

My first action figure. She is Circe, nemesis of Wonder Woman. Presumably, she is the same Circe who menaced Odysseus. Her solid, yet windswept, hair convinced me. She also has a rubbery purple cape that is permanently rippling gracefully in the non-wind.

Barbie

2008-06-16T01:19:35Z

Shut-up! I won this repo Barbie "Picnic Set" in a raffle at my doll club yesterday. This really takes me back. I had this outfit as a kid. I still have the jeans and the fishing tackle box. And the hat but it's squashed flat. This ponytail Barbie was my doll too. I still have her, but her head came off, she turned white (which I like) and she's pretty dirty.

This repo is the highest quality ponytail I've seen. She looks just like the real deal.

All kinds of dolls show up at the doll club, but they were originally a Barbie club and are still heavily into Barbie. Exposure to them has re-Barbiefied me to some extent. It's the Alameda County Fashion Doll Club, to be exact. If you live in the California Bay Area and would like to go to a meeting, comment here.

She's managed to hook that exact same giant Angelfish so common in American rivers. It's good to know Barbie can live off the land if necessary. I'm thrilled to have these wedgies. You'll be seeing these clothes on other dolls, which is sort of what happens to Barbies around here.

Twilight Fiancée

2008-06-13T02:50:24Z

She's here and she's so worth it. Read on...

She's really pretty cool for someone who dresses like your grandma. I'm so glad I sprang for her. People have said she's styled after Audrey Hepburn and that's true, but she looks a lot like young Judy Garland. I haven't though of a name. Maybe just, "Audrey". Suggestions?

The belt and sunglasses aren't part of her stock. The skirt and blouse are separate pieces. The blouse is a satin one piece, like a bathing suit. She has the nicest super pointy toe high heels. Growing up, I was always afraid I would have to wear suits and shoes like these. I never did in the end. Better her than me!

She has subtle areas of blush that don't really show on these pictures. On her elbows and knees, fingers and toes, and collar bones. She also has a tiny watch, but there are no hands or numerals on the face. Purely a style thing.

The Cornfield

2008-05-08T04:29:24Z

The Cornfield
Originally uploaded by WellerMade

Wish List Review - What did WellerMade get?

2008-04-20T22:31:25Z

Have I been buying my wishlist? Not really. New dolls appear that are wanted more and if I wait, sometimes I don't want a doll so much. In preparation for posting a new wishlist, I'm going to review my old wishlist.

1. Butterfly Wings Petite Blythe. Didn't get. Wow, she's really cute, but costs about $50.00 bucks USD. That's a lot for a tiny doll. Plus, hard to photograph mouth.

2. Green haired Kurhn. Didn't get. I dunno. She's hard to find, but I could find her if I really tried. Would have gotten her in a New York minute if she were at my local ToysRUs. Might find one someday. I think I'm getting enough fantasy haired dolls.

3. Punkaa Street J Doll. You know I did get her! Didn't disappoint. I'm ready to get a bunch of J-dolls. Have another on my new list.
Her name is Twilight Dew.

4. Cloud 9 Ball Blythe. Didn't get. Expensive, not that that stops me for some dolls. I've seen her in real life now. She's nice. Dare I say it? I only have one Blythe in all this time. Not so into big headed dolls.

5. AeYin from Korea. Did get and I'm glad because she's getting harder and harder to find in the USA. Loves her. Name: Sparkle Plenty.

6. Asakusa Ichimaru by Madame Alexander. Number 6 was really the top of the list, you may recall. I went in backward order like Letterman's top 10. Didn't get. Cissette's & Mdm Alex aren't an actual interest of mine. I just liked this one. She rose to the top while I was writing that wishlist, but when I waited, I really was never that convinced.

The reason I got the two that I did get is that they disappeared from the website where I was watching them and planning to get them when I had extra money. And I freaked thinking I would never get them. Punkka reappeared on Valley of the Dolls site and I emailed the woman who imported the Aeyin's and asked about them (she still had them but had taken them off eBay). So I grabbed them even though I didn't think I had extra money.

I'm a impulse doll shopper, I now see. I step into toy stores (or wander around online) and buy crap, then I don't have extra money for my list. We'll have to see what we can do about that. I really should be on a doll-buying moratorium again, but that's not happening. As you will see next time, when I post my NEW WISHLIST! Have one expenseivo Momoko preordered already on HLJ. Watching her price go up as the dollar goes down! Noooo! Must have!!!

The Sprit of Truth

2008-04-18T16:28:26Z

As part of a trade with dollsahoy, I received the wackiest Gene costume ever made! Here it is, "The Sprit of Truth". Thanks, A!

Gene made a propaganda short for the government during world war II. It goes like this, true story: A bunch of reefer smoking, commie kids are trashing the good, ole US of A's efforts to sell war bonds. Gene appears, suddenly, in their midst as the Sprit of Truth. She carries the "Shield of Peace" emblazoned with a olive branch carrying dove. If you don't want to be nice, she also has the "Sword of Justice". Made of solid, unidentified metal, it is heavy! Gene gives those hoodlums a poke with the Sword of Justice. That gets them in line.

Punkaa Street

2008-04-05T18:12:52Z

Here's another doll off my wish list and onto my doll shelf. Punkaa Street is a J-doll by Jun Planning. She has the same body as Pullip (I'm told.. I don't have any Pullips). With a smaller head, she is only about 10" tall. Many people have told me that the Pullip body was not that good, but she's not that bad. I like a funky body with a certain plastic-y charm and she has that. I love her excessively tiny feet!

Although her stock clothes look great in her promos and, hopefully, pretty good in my snaps; they really aren't that nice. It's too bad because somebody put a lot of care into those turquoise seed beads on the bodice. The tutu skirt would have been fine, except she draped a big wad of cloth around the waist and off to one side. It makes no sense and looks bad. I snipped most of it off for my pics.

None of that should keep anybody from buying this doll, though. She is beautiful! I can't stop taking pictures of her and I just love her. This is a doll I thought I had lost. I was waiting for money to get her. One day I went to the Valley of the Dolls website and she was gone! I freaked out! I almost bought her right away from an Asian supplier for much more money and postage. "There won't be anymore left!" I calmed myself down though. "Come on. You don't have to have every beautiful doll in existence. " Then, she reappeared on Valley's site; so I grabbed her.

She's the best J-doll made so far, I think. I was ready to buy a bunch more. That's how I always get when I buy a doll I like really well. But when I looked at the others promo pics, I didn't see another I was sold on. I'm making a valiant effort to only buy dolls I think absolute must-haves. But the thrill of the new doll..."Why did I buy that?" Planning is coming out with another must have J-doll in June-July. Mariya Luiza. Here are more pictures. A couple of these dresses are by DollsAhoy and fit perfectly! As if this is the body she truely designs for.

Certifiably Adorable

2008-04-01T05:11:05Z

My Melody® Barbie® doll is boxed with an official Certificate, "This certifies that you adorable My Melody® Barbie® doll was created....etc." And so she is.

Not the kind of doll I might ordinarily buy; but as a member of the official Barbie Collector's Club, I had a dilemma. You pay $20.00 a year to join. Not bad. For this you get a $20.00 break on a purchase from Barbie Collector four times a year. Wow, what a deal.

So I get an email from them, "Your first member incentive (or whatever they call it) will soon expire, please buy something now." I went online and they didn't really have anything I wanted. Do I buy something I don't really want or do I lose my $20.00 of theoretical money?

So I bought this doll. She is really cute and a good deal with $20.00 off. I was going to leave her in her box and give her as a gift, but I can't leave ANY doll in her box. So she's all, "Oh, we're gonna be BFF's everybody!" And the other doll's are going, "We're gonna mug you for your clothes!" Well... I'll make her something nice to wear. Give her to somebody who will appreciate her. She takes a great picture. A really nice Barbie.

Friends With You -Wish Come True

2008-03-25T02:47:53Z

Here's another money spending habit. Urban Vinyl toys! These figures from Friends with You are actually plastic. Released in the diabolical blind box format that I am beginning to hate so much. Why? I'm trying to collect another set (not these, Kiiro). Having ordered five boxes, I got a duplicate in that set of five! Something you're supposed to have a 2 in 25 chance of getting.

Anyway, see below the LJ Cut to see the other two and a special offer!

And the special offer...

This map is part of a contest: "Each Wish Come True toy comes packaged with an original sticker, which is your first piece of the puzzle towards winning the Wish Come True secret game. There are 9 stickers total. The goal is to collect all 9 stickers. When you've completely filled your map will all of the magical stickers, send it in to the location below for your chance to win a giant prize of galactic proportions! " I lost the address, but if you buy these it'll be in the box.

I don't want to get anymore of these, so my offer is: I'll give my three stickers on the map, free, to the first person who asks me for it. If you want to go for this contest, you'll be three stickers ahead. And one of them is a chase (the red one, hard to find). Flickrmail me if you want it. Please be serious about the contest. I'll trust you on that score. Include an address to send the map to.

Aeyin doll, Sparkle Plenty

2008-03-24T02:15:28Z

I thought I'd take this opportunity to report on my yearly post Christmas doll buying moratorium. It's in the toilet! Yep, it's been doll and toy bingeing and I have the slightly reduced financial circumstances this month to prove it. Especially, because of the doll show of last post.

On the bright side, I have been getting some of the dolls on my wish list, which was posted quite a while ago I see. I have a few reasons for having to buy a doll right away! One is that she's gonna disappear if I don't. Or rather that she DID disappear. That's what happened to this Korean Aeyin doll.

There is a woman living in the Los Angeles area who has been importing and selling these on eBay: store Garden of Dolls. After seeing eskaline's Aeyin doll, I had to have one. So I was trying to wait 'till I had disposable income. I kept waiting. The doll just stayed there, Buy It Now. Nobody likes 'em but me and Ri. No problem. Then, one day, They aren't there anymore! Yahhh! I missed 'em. I emailed her and she still had some. Sold me this one. Her name is Sparkle Plenty. But then I had to buy her right away.

I also totally copied eskaline by dressing her in this Lovely Folklore Momoko dress. She just looks too, too good in it. Here are pics:

What's WellerMade been doing - The Doll Show

2008-03-17T02:15:48Z

"Pissst...Hey, Buddy! What's WellerMade been doing?"

Going to a The Northern California Doll & Teddy Bear Show. I took a bunch of pictures. My apologies to bear lovers, but there are only doll pics here. I got some great dolls and some kinda dumb dolls. Needless to say, I am still doll binging although I was supposed to stop. A bunch of new dolls to take pictures of and post.

See the doll show pictures

Handmade Doll

2008-03-16T03:35:19Z

Handmade doll on Flickr
Originally uploaded by WellerMade

Sometime, somewhere, someone made this doll for their child. Are they still alive? I'm sure they didn't mean to give her this expression of resigned dumbfoundedness, but they couldn't stop it.

I got this today at a doll show and probably paid too much. I like thinking about how much this doll has survived to come all the way though time and space. How her maker's desperate heart survives in her face; perhaps even outliving her maker, and reaches out to break my heart.

Dolls in Snow

2008-01-10T06:23:38Z

Whoa! I have not posted since Thanksgiving. Well, at least I have a partial excuse of being at my Mom’s in Earlham, Iowa for a two week Christmas holiday. A white Christmas for the first time since 2000. The natives didn’t seem to be that crazy about snow and ice, but I thought it was a lark.

I was gifted with a Dynamite Girlz, Gavin doll by my Mom and I brought my Momoko, Brett along to get some doll-in-snow photos. Mom also got me a vintage doll ($5.00) during an antique mart shopping trip.

About LJ photos: I have noticed that I really don’t have all that much to say for myself. I mostly blog in order to put up photos of dolls. Trouble is, Many (most or all) of my LJ friends also see those same photos on Flickr. So, starting with this post, all my LJ posts will contain all exclusive photos seen nowhere else! For at least 24 hours. Yes, see them here first. All new, all doll photos!

Today, seen nowhere else, scenes from Pat’s snow covered Christmas vacation, featuring dolls in real snow!
Momoko, Brett. For cross country skiing, she is wearing a vintage Barbie outfit, circa 1963.
Mom's neighbors came out to watch me shoot these skiing photos. All senior ladies living in her senior apt complex. They had never seen a Momoko before, but all had dolls at some time. They thought she was cute.

Here's Gavin wearing the fluffy jacket and bellbottoms I crocheted. Her hands were cold.
Vintage Barbie clone Mom got me at a antique mart in West Des Moines.

More snow. It was a great trip. I was lucky and flew on the only days there were no weather delays. I was glad to go and, after two weeks, was equally glad to come back. My Mom turned out to be a secret doll lover who never indulged herself, except for a bubblecut Barbie. She also made me a doll house and got pretty involved shopping with me for furniture back in the day (Mice lived there).

Next up, more Barbie clone (I think).

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T17:05:01Z

Have a good one!

Doll Buying Moratorium - An Update

2007-11-17T06:41:05Z

And some self praise! =P I have been strong and, as of tonight, I am entirely free of credit card debt!
Thanks to everybody who sent me doll stuff. You made it possible to resist the siren call of buying cute dolls by providing the oh-so-desirable stream of boxes-in-the-mail.

Thanks to eskaline who sent me a gift of this olive dress.

Thanks to dollsahoy, who sent me dresses as part of a trade.

And thanks to okiedoll who sent me a gift of this cool Veronica doll.

Blair, the Yukata Licca - Post created with Windows Live Writer

2007-11-11T00:57:07Z

Here is Blair. I've shown pictures of her before, but never these. I took them last summer and never got around to uploading them. I've had her quite a while now and have never tired of her. Every time I take pictures of her, I am newly amazed by her cuteness.

Another big reason for writing this post is to try out my new copy of Windows Live Writer. In my never ending quest for an easy way to post to LJ, I have downloaded this free blog poster app from Windows Live. It's designed to work with many different Blog spaces, including LJ. So far it's a lot nicer than any other offline blog formatter I have tried.

Features: Auto upload of pics to LJs picture space or, in this case, to my own web site provider. On the fly spell checking, red underlining of misspelled words then you can right click for a list of possible corrections. If this uploads OK, I'd say it was much easier to write and format this post than doing it online. If you use windows, you can download and use this program for free. Windows Live Writer. Sorry about the ad. No affiliation. Here are more pics of Blair. Seen nowhere else! LJ Exclusive!

Licca Blair on a Hike

2007-11-05T01:38:04Z

Licca Blair on a Hike
Originally uploaded by WellerMade

This fashion with it's cute little backpack is from a Only Hearts dolls ready to wear set. Everything except the hat fit Licca perfectly (and, consequently, Blythe, Moof etc.)