There's a new girl in town ...

There have been very few dolls that elicited the reaction I've gotten from the Integrity Toys Carol Roth Doll.  I've become cynical as a doll collector.  I've seen too many promotional photos of dolls gone bad.  When I get a package, I hold my breath as I open it, expecting wonky eyes, bad haircuts, stains, or even mold.  I was delighted by this doll.  ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER.  Tore her out of that package.  Haven't felt this strongly about a doll since Going Public Eugenia.

Here is her promotional photo from Integrity Toys.  There was "something" about her.  I thought her hair was a little "too poofy on the crown", her skin maybe a little too pale, her price a little too high for a doll in a basic dress.  But I trusted my instincts.  Something told me this was going to be a stellar doll.

When I got her out of the box, I had to wipe her dress with a wet cloth because there were "white" stains from the product they used on her hair.  The hair needed washing as well.  When I was finished, I took my first close up of that beautiful face.  I love a brunette with big brown eyes.

Anyone who knows me would be surprised by how much I like this doll.  I dislike dolls with side-glancing eyes.  Being a teacher, it drives me crazy when pre-pubescent girls roll their eyes at me.  I just want to walk away screaming.  BUT ... it works on this doll.   Adds to her sex-appeal.  I knew this doll could not stay on the body that she arrived wearing.  She is on a Dynamite Girl torso with NuFace arms and legs.   She is now sporting a "full-figure" body donated by Spring Forward Eugenia.  I think it suits her.  She is now a real sex kitten.

 Someone posted that she looked "fierce".  I agree.  I think she is awesome.  As I have posted before, one of my New Year's Resolutions was that a doll would not stay in a box this year.  This one didn't.  I had recently purchased a Mattel Winter in Montreal outfit from The Doll Page for $15.  I wondered how she would look wearing it.   ... Well she got the spotlight photo on Pink Parlor/Vinyl Lounge. 

 This brings me to a question I received recently about how I store all of my doll's clothes.  I am a real clothes horse when it comes to my girls.  I have asked Chaundra and some of her friends to aid me in showing you what I have done.  Here is Chaundra on a product called "The Clip It Up" carousel.  It can be purchased on e-bay or at scrapbook supply stores.  This is the base unit.  It generally retails for $45 up. 

Chaundra tells us "It twirls, girl! You can invite friends over and go for a ride! Speaking of friends, here is Toni.  She is holding one of the alligator clips to show you."

"Now when you clip this on the dress, make sure you clip it on the back ... otherwise it will leave one ugly mark on the front.  You can't even STEAM it out.  Very unsightly in photos.  But clipped on the back, no one knows!"

 "... And becase these little clips cost money, and we like to watch that stuff around here, you can clip two dresses back to back.  The carousel comes with a package of clips"

 "Let's welcome my friend Steffie ...  She is showing us that you can use the clip it with a plastic dress form.  That way you don't have to worry about damaging your clothing at all.   Hmmm... I didn't know we even had this dress.  Spring's coming!" 

" .. And if you run out of clips, you can buy some more (they are about $7 for a package of 40).  Or you can even use some of the coat hangers you already have.  Most of them work too!"

"If you want to keep complete outfits together, like with their shoes, purses, jewelry, etc., you can put everything in a sandwich bag and clip it!  That's the blue suit I wore in the last blog!"

 "Again, you can use two bags to one clip!  I had to have one of my Amazon neighbors from upstairs come down and hold these.  It was too heavy for us petite girls!"

 "You can get an awful lot of clothing on one of these; however, they take a lot of room.  (I really like this Carol Roth doll and am glad that she got a new body.  This dress fits like a glove.  I love adding it to my collection!"

"If you happen to have been lucky enough to get one of those Integrity rolling racks, the clip-its fit on it too.  See how nice they look?  I keep finding dresses I forgot I owned!"

 "One of the coolest ideas I've found is that you can use those thick plastic clothes hangers for humans.  The clip-its fit, but you have to "snap" them on.  You can put several of these side by side in a closet."

"So that ends our demonstration of how we keep our clothing organized.  Does anyone else have ideas to share?  We'd love to hear.  Next time, we'll look at shoes, props, and other clothing items.  See you later, alligator clip!  Ha!  Ha!  Sometimes I crack myself up."

While We Are Waiting ...

The 2011 lines of Barbie and Integrity Toys are just being released.  We got a preview of the Mattel line-up when the Barbie Club opened for 2011 membership.  Tomorrow, members of the W Club will get to preview the new Integrity Lines.  So what do we do while we wait?  Of course, the W Club kept members hopping with the introduction of 2 Monograms and an accessory set, an exclusive Poppy (I Love How You Love Me), the early introduction of the FR2 line went live for preorders, Veronique made a comeback, the upgrade dolls to the club were offered, and we got "up close and personal" with Carol Roth.  Lots of dolly dollar damage here.

But these were offered through the W Club and many non-members weren't able to secure the dolls.  So what exactly does one do while they are waiting?  First we shop!  That's right.  I spent some money on clothing.  I got this great blue, velveteen mini skirt and matching jacket from The Doll Page for Chaundra.  She is seen wearing the outfit here as she inspects a big box of rement that just arrived from Hong Kong.

She was surprised to find eight boxes in this big box.  Each of the eight boxes held a wonderful surprise for my girls ... something to help them wait. 



The first box was exciting to open.  Chaundra decides to take a load off her feet and enjoy the contents. 

A bottle of wine, cheesecake, and a little vase of flowers.  How thoughtful!  A fork was included and a wine glass.  This is just too good to enjoy alone.

Chaundra decides to make a "booty call".

To her delight, her boyfriend brings along a companion!

They decide to open box #2.  How wonderful!  Two more glasses, another bottle of wine.  A cork screw (she was afraid she was going to have to chew the other one off!).  By the way, all of the items remove from the box.

Ken #2 insists on inviting another friend.  To Chaundra's chagrin, Sooki arrives.  She is wearing a red pair of pants purchased from someone who posts on Doll Divas (Matthew Sutton).  These were from the DG workshop at the 2010 Convention.   I was excited to find these.  The unfortunate thing about Integrity Toys is they keep changing the length of doll's legs.  We have the short FR's and the tall FR's.  Then we have the short DG's, and now the taller DG's.  The taller DG's are shorter than the tall FR's.  I guess that means we have 3 sizes of leg length now.  Naturally, it is hard to keep pants for all of these different lengths.

Oh no!  The doorbell rings.  It is Chaundra's next door neighbor Poppy.  "I saw all of the wonderful boxes and figured you could use some ice for your drinks!"  (The ice bucket, bottle, and items on the coffee table were in box #3.)  Poppy is wearing a Barbie Denim Basics outfit.

Things begin to get rowdy as the party and drinking progresses.  Naturally, the neighbors from across the street ... "The TALL girls" show up.  Not only do we purchase clothes and accessories while we wait for the unveiling of the new doll lines, we add to our collection.  These are three new dolls bought in 2011 and all represent grails I've been waiting to collect for many years.  I got each of them for retail or less.  The Gene is wearing the shorts/sweater outfit from the the Ask Any Girl Poppy Parker Giftset.  I purchased this in 2011 also.

"It took THREE of us to carry the keg!"  (Box #4)

"Don't forget me!"  Blue chip was the fourth, and only other doll, purchased in 2011 thus far.  She is carrying what came in Box #5.

 Also in Box #5 is the following accessories.  They are wonderful.

"I'll just find a comfortable seat here on the sofa with my new friends."  Sooki and Ken need more wine!

What was in Box #6.

The landlady crashes the party. It is Agnes in her dress that was purchased this year.  "I think I will allow myself to indulge a little!"  (This dress by Wandy, as well as the velveteen suit from the 2009 DG workshop, was purchased from Matty P. @ My Navy Blue: Dolls on the show and sell)

It's hard to see, but Box #7 had a wine rack, another bottle of wine, some pate, another wine glass.  Box #8 had cigars, an ashtray and another bottle of wine (all items on the coffee table).  Ayumi is wearing another dress purchased this year (from Judi in NC) and Dania is wearing a skirt I got off The Doll Page.  Fun was had by all ... maybe a little too much fun by Agnes.  She fell off her stand as I was taking the photo.  Also notice that Chaundra has TWO bottles of wine on her lap.  This was supposed to be a relaxing evening, afterall.

This box of wine items was a steal for $15 and $15 shipping.  It took about two weeks to get here.  It was full of fabulous accessories for a party.   Here is the link to the seller.  http://cgi.ebay.com/Miniatures-Orcara-Art-Red-Wine-Set-8-/200574029202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb324cd92  As this blog was posted, there were 9 sets available in this auction.  He has now sold out.  I have contacted the seller and asked them to list more if they are available.  There is still two sellers on e-bay with these in stock.  One seller has 5 sets and they are $18.00 plus $15 shipping.   The link is   http://cgi.ebay.com/Orcara-International-Red-Wine-Culture-Re-ment-size-FL-/290474255155?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a19d6333  There is another seller who has the same sets for $19.99 BIN with $15 shipping (10 sets available).  Their link is  http://cgi.ebay.com/Orcara-Miniature-Red-Wine-Culture-Set-8-pcs-/150492744870?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230a110ca6 

Of course tomorrow, there will be no $30 deals.  With the preorders for Integrity Lines and the exclusive doll from the on-line event, I am sure that I will be experiencing a "cashectomy".    Wish me luck!