The Dolly Crazy Tag!

I was tagged by Hailey at Hailey's Joyful Dolls. Thank you so much for the tag, Hailey. It took me a while to answer it, but it was fun. 

The Logo:

The rules: 

- Use the tag photo above.

- Answer all the questions truthfully.

-Tag 1-5 people.

- Link the creator/author, Viola Smiles

- Have Fun!

  What was your most embarrassing memory of your dolls?

I can't think of any. That is not to say that it hasn't happened...but I can't remember any particular time. I suppose I don't get embarrassed easily. I've had people walk past and glance at me when I am taking photos of my dolls outside, but I don't find that embarrassing. 

What do enjoy about your dolls/doll?

I like telling stories with them and taking photos with them. I like the unique features some dolls have: Carpatina dolls have detailed historical clothes, and Monster High dolls have cat ears or snake-hair. I also love the fact that dolls are something you can hug when you're upset and they don't judge you for it. 

What is your favorite memory of your dolls?

I remember looking at an old American Girl Doll catalogue for Sarah (the only catalogue I had, which was released at the time Felicity was retiring. At the time I had asked for Sarah, Felicity was already retired...so it was pretty outdated). And then I remember finding her and asking for her as a gift. 

Sarah was my first American Girl doll. 

Is there ever a time when you don’t like your dolls?

No, I haven't had that happen. I've had times where I worried I may dislike or give up interest in my dolls. But that never happened. 

Do you have a favorite picture of your dolls?

I'm going to cheat and answer with a few photos, since I don't have one favorite. 

This is one of my favorite photos of this doll of Legolas. (It originally came from this post.) I like it for many reasons: one is that I got this doll as a gift since I'm a fan of Lord of the Rings. (The obsession did not go away and instead morphed into me writing a novel about elves.) I also like it because at one point, a child of a friend of mine looked at it and said, "That's a real person." 

I like this photo also. It came from this photo shoot that I did for Halloween. I like the atmosphere of it. I had been playing around with camera filters at the time. 

And I also like this one. It was from this spring photo shoot. I like the angle that I took in this photo, and the portrait view it has. 

Has there ever been a time when you kinda forgot about your dolls?

There have been times when I forgot about my dolls briefly (but not purposefully, more that things were going on in my life). In 2020, I had so much happening that doll blogging seemed hard to do, so I only blogged seven times that year and inconsistently. 

When blogging about your dolls do you ever feel uninspired/out of ideas for the next post?

Yes, I have felt uninspired, several times. But I usually find inspiration by taking my dolls out for a photo shoot, doing a tag post, or something else along those lines. 

Off the top of my head I can't think of any active doll bloggers to tag who haven't already done this. So, if you want to do this tag feel free to do it. I'll be looking forward to seeing your answers. 😉

The questions: 

  What was your most embarrassing memory of your dolls?

What do enjoy about your dolls/doll?

What is your favorite memory of your dolls?
Is there ever a time when you don’t like your dolls?

Do you have a favorite picture of your dolls?

Has there ever been a time when you kinda forgot bout your dolls?

When blogging about your dolls do you ever feel uninspired/out of ideas for the next post?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Do you have a favorite photo of your dolls? Do you have any favorite memories of your dolls? 

-Quinley 

4 Alternatives to American Girl

 

I have been sad about American Girl's business model in recent years. They seem to no longer care about their historical dolls, and they have lost touch with what their original market. Since moving away from the historical aspect, they have also embraced Mattel's designs for doll houses, etc. So, I found different doll brands that are worth checking out (in no particular order): 

(note: this post is not sponsored by any of the brands, these are just my opinions):                                       

                 Carpatina 

(Image from Carpatina, https://carpatina-dolls.com/) 

Carpatina has dolls (both girl and boy dolls) that are historical themed but not confined to American history. (Though there is a doll who lives in 18th century America, that is named James Williams).  

(Anna Ming (left) and Diya (Right)) 

They have dolls from European history, as well as branching out to non-European history such as having a doll that is from China (with clothes from the different dynasties of China), and a doll who is from India. And in regards to the boy dolls, in my opinion, they look better than AG's boy dolls in appearance. 

Carpatina also has a Fantasy theme with the magical moonstone that allows the dolls to travel through different time periods. If you look through their website or catalogue they have little stories included that go along with the dolls and their outfits. They even have a novel that goes along with the dolls which is called The Magic Moonstone. 

One thing about the quality of Carpatina's products is the details of the doll clothing. Diya's and Ana's in particular has very intricately embroidered details. In addition, a Tudor dress I got for Rowena has beaded details. So if you're interested in Fantasy and History, then this brand is perfect for you. 

                

A Girl For All Time 

(Image from A Girl For All Time, https://www.agirlforalltime.com/blogs/francess-blog/doll-making-how-do-our-dolls-get-from-your-basket-to-your-front-door)

A Girl for All Time focuses on British history instead of American history. Their dolls are a tiny bit shorter compared to American Girl dolls, but are a bit taller than Wellie Wishers. However, one cool thing about these dolls that American Girl dolls do not have, is that they are jointed. You can move A Girl For All Time dolls' arms around differently than you can an AG doll's. 

As well as having historical dolls, A Girl For All Time (like American Girl) has dolls from the modern day. They like American Girl Dolls have books about the history of the dolls. However, the stories differ from American Girl's in that they have more of a Gothic feel. The stories have are eerie elements-- such as atmospheric settings and suggestions of the supernatural. In particular in Amelia's story, she encounters the Spiritualist movement. 

Whether that fits with what you're interested in or not, their dolls are beautiful: 

(Amelia (left) and Eleanor (Right)) 

And they, too, like Carpatina have beautiful outfits, which you can buy separately. So, if you like dolls that come with stories that involve British history, and perhaps even enjoy Gothic or Ghost Stories, then A Girl For All Time is perfect for you. 

The Magic Attic Club

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/872617.The_Secret_of_the_Attic)

This is not a current doll brand, and has since been discontinued, but if you like looking for secondhand dolls then you may enjoy these. The premise of these dolls was that they are girls, who were able to travel through time and space through a magic attic. 

The characters themselves are from the modern era, but they travel back in time-- and to Fantasy worlds. Like American Girl they had books that accompanied them, as well as seperate outfits you could buy for your dolls. 

(Rowena wearing the ancient Greek tunic). 

One of my favorite things, given that none of the other dolls brands had this, was that the Magic Attic Club had Ancient Greek doll clothes. One of their characters (Megan) traveled to Ancient Greece. While The Magic Attic Club may not have had clothes for every time period (or culture for that matter), they did branch out more. So, if you're looking for a Snow Queen outfit or an Ancient Grecian Toga, then the Magic Attic Club likely has one of those outfits. (Though they don't have a doll from Ancient Greece, which is the only downside in my opinion). 

(Pictures of Lenore (I renamed her that isn't what Magic Attic calls her))

The dolls are pretty much the height as an American Girl doll (However, Treesa at Fashion Doll Memoirs pointed out that a Magic Attic doll and AG dolls cannot share clothes due to Magic Attic dolls having slimmer bodies-- see comment below). Though unlike an American Girl Doll they have stationary eyes that don't open and close, and completely plastic bodies. But they are beautiful dolls, and look younger in comparison to Carpatina dolls. 

So if you love shopping for dolls secondhand, and dolls with stories where they travel through time and space then the Magic Attic Club is perfect for you. 

Via E

(Image from Via E, https://via-e.com/)

And the last brand I will be recommending is Via E. The point of their dolls is to learn about different cultures. They have dolls from cultures such as Brazil and Japan. Similar to Carpatina and American Girl, they also have boy dolls that you can purchase as well. And like a Girl for All Time, their dolls are jointed. 

Via E do have books that accompany the dolls, however, they are picture books, so they are much simpler compared to other doll brands. However, the book that came with my doll, Melina, did tell me a lot about Japanese culture. (Such as different festivals, traditions, etc.). 

So, if you love learning about different cultures and like jointed dolls, then Via E is the perfect doll brand for you. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have you heard of or do you own any dolls from these doll brands? What other doll brands do you enjoy? 

-Quinley 

Rainbow (A Photo Shoot)

Hello everyone, 

I thought it was time for another photoshoot. I posted one of the photos from this photoshoot in the Doll Photography post, but I decided to post the rest of the photos now: 

I really like the angle of this photo. 

I might make this her profile photo. 

I like how it looks like she is leaning against a fence. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Which photo is your favorite? What meanings do rainbows hold for you? 

-Quinley

 

What's Happening in This Picture #11 (+ Voting)

Hello everyone, 

I had a lot of fun reading everyone's captions. :) 

Here are the captions from this round to vote on:

Caption from Treesa at Fashion Doll Memoirs: 

Ichabod: "The subject of today's physics lesson is the optical effect known as 'forced perspective'. There are two major factors at play in the creation of forced perspective, distance and scaling. Can anyone give me an example of forced perspective? Yes, Willow?"

Willow: "When I saw you in the hallway, you looked your regular height. But when you stand in front of the classroom and I'm sitting in back, you look elf height."

Caption from Ananka at Ananka's Photos: 

W: "Oh my Ichabod why are you so tiny."

Caption from Anonymous: 

At last we are together across the Space Time Continuum! My study of physics has allowed me to manipulate the fabric of time and space!

Ichabod, it's me! I was Katrina in a former life! Oh, Ichabod, Brom was not the man for....

Oh wait, why are you so small? Hmm...my calculations did not lead me to expect this outcome...what's that you are saying? I can't hear you...don't worry, it should only take me a few more years to work this out...

And here is the way you can vote for your favorite one. You can either vote on this Google form here (which is anonymous, it won't record any information about you), or you can comment down below and choose your favorite caption from this post: 

-Quinley 

Beautiful Emerald Eyes (A Photo Shoot)

 

Hello everyone, 

I thought I'd do a photo shoot with Diya today, since I haven't really done one with her before. 😊

Also a reminder, don't forget to vote for your favorite caption on this round What's Happening in This Picture? here. 

Let's begin the photo shoot: 

I like the angle of this picture, it looks like you're looking at her from above. 

I like the angle of this photo. 

I really like the close up her of her eye. 

Diya has such beautiful eyes, I love how they stand out in this photo. 

I like the angle of this photo, though the lighting is a little off. 

I love the details of her dress. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Which photo is your favorite? And do you have a doll or dolls that has/have beautiful eyes like Diya?

-Quinley