Target Barbie Holiday Exclusive(s) 2009

I first read about the Target Exclusive Happy Holidays Barbie at Charles' Doll Diary. Cute doll and cute holiday accessories like a Barbie-sized Christmas stocking to match any doll ornaments you might get. Charles' photo showed a doll in a red-white dress. So when I checked the doll remainders yesterday (the Black Friday leavings) and saw a pink-white dressed doll as well, I thought, photograph the pair.

Does anyone know if there are other variations on this doll? And are there ever any ethnic Target Holiday dolls? Curious, I am. There are ethnic Halloween Kellys so .... Eh well.

Mattel Barbie Basics Seen in Philly Today!

Yippee! Saw the Mattel Barbie Basics in Toys R Us today!

Models 005 Lea, 007 Gia, 010 Christie, and 011 Teresa impressed me, but my favorite of all was 012 Shannon. If I could only get ONE doll in this series, that would be the one. It's not that the others I mentioned lacked anything as much as it was that I only have one other doll with the Shannon mold - the 2005 Fashion Fever Shannon wearing blue metallic pants. But this new Barbie Basic Shannon has more realistic eyes and stunning honey brown hair and complexion. While beautiful, I could point to similar dolls I already own to match the others - except Gia. And while the Barbie Basics Gia is gorgeous, I could pass on her. Couldn't I?

Because I Do Collect Other Dolls and Action Figures ....

Lately, my posts have been Barbie, Barbie, Barbie. Mattel, Mattel, Mattel,

Yes, half my collection is by Mattel. Roughly. But that doesn't mean that they need to have the lion's share of my posts. So I present this fashion doll by Jakks Pacific, Taylor Swift, modeled after the young country music singer.

And no, I do not follow Ms. Swift's music any more than I did the Cheetah Girls. I just saw a new doll series. And the outfit and guitar looked cute. And she was on sale last year ....

Happy 90th - 6 ABC - IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade

Poor Kerstie lost her shoe! She was to be on a float representing the denizens of East Philly in this mornings Thanksgiving Day Parade. Click "Thanksgiving" for highlights on the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Thanks for following my blog and for submitting inspiring, insightful, and fun comments.

Which Rebelde Doll to Buy? Schoolgirl or Concert?

Mattel issued two versions of the Rebelde or RBD female dolls: the schoolgirl one and the concert one. Is there a difference between the two? Yes, Virginia, there is.

The Schoolgirl RBD dolls are on the shortened "Hobbit" body while the Concert RBD dolls are on normal-Barbie bodies. Yay Concert dolls!

However, the hair styles on the Roberta Schoolgirl and the Roberta Concert dolls differ. I think the Schoolgirl doll has a prettier face - she has a right side part. The Concert doll has short bangs. Guess who's going to play Frankenstein and swap heads? Ah, you know me well LOL.

Here are the photos for comparison:

Mattel Barbie Bond 007 Girls - Photo Link

George of Angelic Dreamz has photos of the Black Label Barbie Bond Girls at Angelic Dreamz. These three dolls will be available this December - and for $34.95 EACH:


* Bond Girl Dr. No Honey Ryder (actress, Ursula Andress)

* Bond Girl Goldfinger Pussy Galore (actress, Honor Blackman)

* Bond Girl Die Another Day Jinx (actress, Halle Berry)

I'm not a Bond fan - the Bond movies are fun and pleasantly ridiculous, ranking as a B or a C movie choice - so I could take or leave dolls based on the Bond franchise. However, the strong resemblances of the dolls to the actresses might prove the "take" for me. Sometimes Mattel gets a good likeness.

Check this link for more information about Bond girls.

Wonder if a series of Bond Kens is in the works. Now that would be exciting. Too ;-D.

Inexpensive DAF Furniture

The Jonathan Adler Happy Chic Set couch sells for $49.95 - from the BarbieCollector.com site. I have nothing against Wintergreen Canada mint pink or Jonathan Adler or Barbie, but I prefer my doll and action figure (DAF) furniture in neutral colors. However, realistic DAF furniture tends to be pricey. Had I money enough, sure I'd happily buy it. But at this time I am scrambling for DAF funds let alone DAF accessory funds. What can I do? Shop the jewelry and gift departments of Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, A.J. Wright, and similar discount stores for soft-sided jewelry boxes in couch, love seat, chair and chaise boxes.

As you can see in these two examples, the colors are bright, vivid, but neutral. Bye bye Day Glo glare. The proportions suit playscale figures. The pieces are sounder than the flimsy pieces packaged with dolls and action figures. AND they have wood components and hardware. Moreover, the cost per piece is usually under $20, if not under $10. Half the cost of the designer couch.

Below I show two examples of jewelry box-turned-DAF-furniture I own.



Hasbro G.I. Joe on red




Momoko and Hasbro Star Wars Lando on wine