Summer Project Part VII - The End

This project wraps up with 3 gorgeous dolls.

July 6, 2019

Adele "Frosted Glamour" 2017
Dressed in her original fashion. 

It was difficult for me to get a really good photo of her outside so here is an indoor one that shows the shadows and highlights the way they should be.

Agnes Von Weiss "Devotion" W Club Exclusive 2018

Wearing original fashion.

I'm not a fan of the Agnes sculpt. I've had many and always wound up selling them and I wasn't sure if I'd keep this doll when she arrived. Well, she is staying! The jewelry and the henna are beautiful. The black dress doesn't do anything for me but it makes a decent backdrop for the rest. 

Isha "Divinity" 2018

Wearing original fashion.

The line of dolls called "Sacred Lotus Collection" by Integrity Toys is inspired and beautiful. I'm still expecting the Elise "Divinely Luminous,"  which is a W Club exclusive.

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That does it for my 12" Integrity Toys collection. I have managed to halve it in the last three years. The process of photographing each doll this season has pointed out to me that I can still eliminate a few here and there but there are still many that I just love. They bring me joy. 

Summer Project Continued Part V

July 1, 2019

Vanessa "True Royalty" 2006.  Rerooted
Wearing Antonio Realli dress. I don't recall the origin of her hat.

I've always thought True Royalty was one of the least attractive of all the 1.0 Vanessa dolls. There is something weird about her face - it's as if it is pushed in at the upper part of the nose.
But her clothing was beautiful and so different that she was irresistible.
There was a big controversy before her actual release. First of all, one had to buy a Magma Heritage calendar. It was filled with beautiful FR photography. If you bought a calendar, you became eligible to be in a lottery to be able to purchase her. There were a few pissed off collectors. Then she was listed at one price and shortly after, Integrity tried to raise the price. Collectors rebelled and IT backed down. Magma Heritage, who owned the exclusive, stopped being an IT dealer after that.
I had a lot of fun photographing her in her original form. Some of those photos are located in posts on this blog.

Here is her original presentation.  This was a very large padded box and it was fabulous. It was one of three "Atelier" products ever offered by IT. They did not call it a gift set if I remember correctly.

Vanessa "Aerodynamic" 2009.  Repainted by Vin Trapani
Wearing "Illustrious Luxury Wear Costume" Available at Gloss Convention 2014  as an outfit only. I've always thought it was unattractive to show the under-bust joint on a doll wearing a low cut gown. In this photo, I have edited the joint out.

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June 30, 2019

Vanessa "High Tide" 2007
Wearing Elise Jolie "Flawless"

Vanessa "Sheer Sensuality" 2014
Wearing a OOAK by unknown (at this stage) artist.

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Part III Summer Project

And I continue with my outdoor Fashion Royalty iPhone photos.

June 21, 2019
Dark and rainy. These are indoor photos.

Vanessa "Poesie sans Couleur 2005
Wearing Eugenia's "A Touch of Frost" dress.

Vanessa "Miami Glow" 2006
Wearing Ayumi's "Luminous" dress.

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June 19, 2019

Elise "Sedisuante" 2017
Wearing a gown created by a Thai doll couturier many years ago.

Kyori "A Brighter Side" 2007
Wearing Vanessa "Spell of Kindness." (I removed all but one black tie.)

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Part II Summer Project, Continued

June 18, 2019

Elise "J'Adore La Fete" 2015
Wearing original gown from gift set.

Elise "On The Rise" 2014
Wearing "Sheer Bliss"

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June 17, 2019

Elise "Midnight Star" 2013
Wearing Anika Luxottica's dress.

Elise "Hair Workshop" 2013
This doll was available at the 2013 convention to those who signed up for the workshop.
She is wearing a blue jumpsuit that came with Lana Turner "Portrait of an Era." Handbag is from another IT fashion.

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June 16, 2019

Elise "Escapism" 2012
Wearing OOAK Cholo Ayuyao. Cholo won first place in a design contest for this creation. I was lucky to be able to buy it from him. This doll has been wearing it ever since.

Elise "Engaging" 2011
Wearing Antonio Realli

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June 13, 2019
I cheated a bit because it was raining outside. These photos were taken indoors using natural light.


Left: Elise "Most Wanted" 2011
Gown by K
Jewelry by IT

Right: Elise "Dark Swan" Reroot  2010
Gown by K
Jewelry by IT

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June 11, 2019

Elise "Escapism" 2012  W Club Centerpiece
Original Fashion

Elise "Flawless" 2011
Gown by Antonio Realli.
Jewelry from Vanessa "Poesie Sans Coleur"

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The Best and The Rest: My Collection 2018

It goes without saying that life has a way with our hobby for which we don't always plan. I started out the year recovering from bilateral knee replacement surgery. Going up and down the staircases in my house was not my favorite activity. Then, somewhere around July, we were going to move. The first thing I packed was my dolls. Needless to say, we did not move so I had to unpack and I'm not quite done. I made the difficult decision to sell off my large Tiny Kitty collection. Tiny Kitty dolls were the ones that brought me to the 16" Tonner dolls and from there...well, you know how it goes. I must admit that this is not the first time I have begun to sell my TKs. This time I'm determined as there is no room and I don't keep dolls in boxes.
It's time to review what I've added to my doll collection during 2018.

The Best

An interesting turn of events was my buying several of Integrity Toy's 12" dolls.  I had cut back almost entirely for quite a while but IT really brought it to Fashion Royalty this past year.

Eugenia Modernist was a 2018 W Club Membership Registration Upgrade Doll. This doll is stunning with her dark skin tone and sleek light blue mini dress with matching round handbag. Her open-toed silver thigh-high boots and silver accessories made her a perfect doll to add to the tribe.

I wasn't going to go for her but every time I looked at her picture, I loved her more and more: 

Elise Jolie "Perfume Blond" W Club 10th Anniversary by Jason Wu Doll.  She was quite pricey as she came with a full-sized bottle of Jason Wu perfume which I don't particularly care for. I tried it at a department store. She also comes with a miniature of the perfume bottle which I love. Her pastel peach, sparkle-embellished gown is one of Jason's creations as well. I was able to sell the real perfume and so brought the total down somewhat.

Isha Kalpana Narayan "Divinity" W Club Doll was irresistible to me because of all her jewelry accessories and the pretty style of her lace and tulle dress. I think the henna designs on her forearms and hands are a beautiful accent.

"Hot To The Touch" Bellamy Blue is an Industry Line doll. I don't collect guy dolls any longer (or so I say) but when I saw this one's fashions, I caved.  I'm still on the fence about keeping him and that's why I don't have a free-standing photo of him.

Victoire Roux's "Divine Evening" fashion was added. It fits my Monogram dolls perfectly and it's not black.

It's close to impossible for me to choose the best of Kingdom Doll 2018. I love all of them.  I can't choose a favorite. The Seren giftset, The Eden Atelier doll and Vanbrugh are all gorgeous.  Seren came with several outfits and many accessories and props. Eden's gown and wig are truly miniature works of art. Vanbrugh is a classic stunner. She looks amazing in every wig and every style I put on her.

Seren

Eden

Vanbrugh

The Kingdom Doll Convention Dolls all had the newly redesigned body. Like most conventions, there is a souvenir doll and often an optional companion doll. In Scotland, our souvenir doll was Rosalind "The Red Queen." She has dimples and is so cute.

There were two companion dolls. Attendees had to decide in advance, without seeing her,  if they wanted the white or the black. We were told that their outfits were the same but their effect would be very different. Normally I'd go with black but I decided to let fate decide for me as I knew both would be fabulous. The black sold out and I am happy to say that I was thrilled with Raphaella, The White Queen. This gal has freckles and a very youthful vibe. That was unexpected.

This gorgeous doll was a surprise gift from Kingdom Doll to the attendees. Her name is Realm.

Another Kingdom Doll I added to my collection prior to the convention last year was Electra. In this photo, my skeleton is playing with her. She is about to lose her patience. Electra was the first doll released with the new body.

Kingdom Dolls are my favorite dolls.

Fashions from other sources deserve special mention in my "Best of" category.  I purchased 7 outfits from Aquatalis, a company in Vietnam you can find on Etsy. Two haven't arrived yet. of the other 5, one stands out. They call it Chandos. It is embroidered all over with flowers and leaves. Nimue models.

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This one hurts to write about because she was not an inexpensive doll and I had very high expectations of this company. The doll is Dominion Doll's new 12" creation, Aura.  Before I buy another, I will make sure the following has been taken care of.
First of all, her earring holes are too small for any of my earrings (and I have hundreds of pairs) to fit. It's a fairly minor issue if I wanted to get out my jeweler's drill and fix it but do I? I'm not about to send her back to Russia for such a minor issue.
The major issue is that her ankles do not support the weight of her upper body. I recall having this issue with the early Numina dolls. The joints are always going their own way when I try posing her standing normally and this is unacceptable. I'm going to have to wire them.

However, she is gorgeous but she does need better engineering. Ease of posing a doll is very, very important to me.

I have spoken with a collector friend and apparently, her Dominion doll does not have this issue. Hmmm.

I'm going to try her in a lighter-weight fashion such as slacks or simple sheaths. That could make a difference. But still...

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The Rest

I have already written about how disappointed I was with the Outlander Dolls, Jamie and Claire Fraser. Claire was one of the most unattractive dolls that Tonner has ever produced IMO.  I gave that doll a lot of chances and nothing made her look good. She did not look at all like the actress who plays the role of Claire. Not a wee bit. The face and body of this doll are huge. Her clothes and shoes are way too large for Tyler or for any other doll I own. Both had to go.   

 

As far as Jamie, he has an attractive sculpt. The jury is out on whether or not he looks like the TV Jamie. His hair came in a dorky style. I washed and restyled it, sold his outfit and redressed him. Not great but he's staying.

 

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All in all, it was a very good year. I love my collection and enjoy gazing at each doll. My dolls live a great fantasy life with the finest fashions, jewelry, hairdos and accessories. They don't get wrinkles, gain weight or get sick. They always look wonderful and they get to have things like tiny liquor bottles filled with real Scottish whisky!