Some of My Favorite Blogs

Hi all! Due to lots of snow where I live, I got done school at 11:15 and I have off tomorrow! Since I'm still working on another post right now, I decided that I would do just a quick shout out to some of my favorite blogs!

These are some of my favorite blogs that I read on a daily basis. They were what inspired me to created this blog! They are great and you should check them out!

I also wanted to add this, although my blog is going to be about all things from childhood, such as beloved toys (like Little People, Littlest Pet Shop, etc.), a lot of it will be doll-based and Disney-based. :)

But now, I'm going to share some of my favorite blogs with you! 

*Note: These are not in any specific order*

Doll Diaries
Doll Diaries is run by Char and her amazing team of bloggers. Together, they provide crafts, news, fun finds, giveaways, and more on a daily basis. If you've never visited Doll Diaries before, I encourage you to do so today! You won't be disappointed!



Living a Doll's Life
Rhonda is an awesome blogger who is constantly updating her blog with the newest information. She has many crafts, tutorials, and reviews as well! You can check Living a Doll's Life multiple times a day and almost always find a new and exciting post!


Never Grow Up Doll Guide
One thing that I really like about this blog is that Hannah (aka beastsbelle) reviews all type of toys, not just dolls! Her daughters' insights are always fun to read too. I also love hearing about all of her awesome thrift store finds!

Little House of American Girl
Jaclynn, the owner of this blog, is super nice and very creative and talented. She is also young too, so I feel that I can relate to her as well. She always posts fun photo stories, awesome reviews, and beautiful picture of her dolls. I would definitely check out her blog!

Little Miss Fluffet
Little Miss Fluffet is also run by Jaclynn, except this blog features more than American Girl dolls. She always posts about cute and adorable things that everyone adores! I'd definitely recommend checking this blog out too!

Thanks for reading everyone! I'd strongly encourage you to check out all of these blogs if you haven't yet. These are just some of my favorites, and there are many more great blogs out there too!

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Shopkins Sunday

Have you ever heard of shopkins? Shopkins are cute little characters that represent many items that you would find at the supermarket. Some shopkins include fruits, vegetables, small appliances, baked goods and treats, cleaning supplies, shoes, and baby items, in addition the limited editions. Shopkins are produced by Moose Toys. Currently, there are 2 seasons of shopkins. *Note: All of the shopkins in my collection, and the ones I will be reviewing, are from Season 2*

Shopkins can be bought with play sets, sets of 5 and 10, or in these blind bags. Each blind bag has 2 shopkins in it, and it comes packaged in a cute little shopping basket. I received one basket for Christmas, and ended up buying 2 more at Five Below last weekend. (They retailed for about $3 a pack at Five Below.) Today I will be showing you one of my blind bags. I also have a 5 pack that I intend on reviewing, but mine came with a Ma Kettle with a big streak of paint missing from the side of her face, and I am still waiting to hear back from Moose Toys about that. 

We'll start by taking a look at the packaging of the blind bag:

(Oh, and sorry the sheet I used as my background is so wrinkled. I promise it has been ironed!)

Very cute, and as I mentioned earlier, they come in a cute little shopping basket. 

The ones from Season 2 are pink with purple handles. 

Side view- 2 shopkins are depicted here

Other side view- all of the safety concerns, due to the small size of shopkins

Another side of the basket (top I guess you could say?) 

Information on Moose Toys, the company that produces shopkins

Once you take off the plastic, you can move the handles. You can see how small the basket is compared to a human! I only needed one finger to lift is up! :D

The 2 shopkins in the basket- each one is sealed in its own yellow bag. I wonder which ones I got!!!

Here's a closeup of the basket detail...super cute and looks like an actual shopping basket. 

It also has the shopkins logo on it.

Who could be in there...

...why it's Olivia Oil and Heels!

Here's Heels. Isn't she a cutie? 

She is 2-115, and she is a common shopkin.

Next is Olivia Oil.

She is translucent pink and has sparkles! She is 2-081.

She is an ultra rare shopkin! 

Here's just a quick sample of the "Collector's Guide" that comes with the blind bag (and I believe other sets too). I think it's super cute that it looks like a shopping list!

I definitely will be buying more shopkins soon, and Moose Toys did a great job with them! They are super cute and I think that they can easily steal anyone's heart!

Just for fun, I decided I would share with you all some of the shopkins that I hope to find. :)

   

    

    

  

You can check out all of the shopkins for yourself HERE

Do you have any shopkins?

An Unlikely Doll Rescue!

Hi everyone! I hope your weekend has been going great! First, I wanted to say sorry for being inactive last week. I had midterms all week and had to spend a lot of time studying.
Anyways, when we have midterms at my school, we get dismissed early. That gave my mom and I the idea to go to our local thrift store. I've read many articles and posts about people restoring and customizing the dolls they found, so I decided to test my luck and see if my store had anything. Sure enough, they did!!! :D I was super excited at all of the dolls they had! And, as a special bonus, the store we went to was having a big sale that day! Everything was 50% off!!! :) I'm sure you could imagine my excitement. I ended up coming home with 4 dolls this week...and I only paid a few dollars for all of them!

Today, I'll be showing you the doll that caught me off guard the most...A TODDLER ANNA DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It has only been a little over 1 year since Frozen came out in theaters and she was already at a thrift store! I couldn't believe my eyes! She didn't come with clothes or anything, and she does have some flaws, but for $1.70, I just could not pass her up!

This is the condition that I found her in. Her hair is a bit wild, and she has some minor marks (maybe marker?) on her body.

A closer look at the marks

Most of them were on her stomach, but I intended to make her an outfit anyways, so even if I was unable to remove them, they would not be visible.

Now this was something that did make me consider buying her- 2 of her fingers are badly scrapped. :(   However, she was still at a price that was too good to resist. I figured I'd try to do something to fix it, but if not oh well! :P

Her hair...oddly enough, her hair was super easy to tame! All I used was water and a doll brush and it ended up having a nice silky texture to it and only took about 5 minutes to de-tangle and braid!

Finally, here's a view of the top of her hair.

She also had some very small writing in what looks like sharpie on the bottom of her foot, but I forgot to take a picture of that. I don't think it will be too noticeable though because she will either be standing or have shoes on. ;)

Now...the finished product!!! :D

(Sorry for the bad lighting and shadows in these pictures)

Here she is all cleaned up! 

Her hair was super easy to deal with and is so silky!

I was able to get most of the marks of her too. There are still some blue marks throughout her. :/  

I think that might actually be from her original clothes.

...and the back of her! She does have a few "dead" ends but I'm not too concerned about that. If you look closely you can even see the white streak in her hair.  :)

I ended up searching online for toddler Anna dolls and I think I figured out which doll she is:

Thanks for reading! I hope this post inspires you to check out your local thrift stores to see what treasures they may have. ;) Stay tuned for more doll rescues coming soon! 

Have you ever found any dolls at a thrift store?

New Disney Store Merchandise

A few days ago, Disney Store added some new items to their store. Here are just a few of my favorites. Everything can be found HERE and all photos are from the Disney Store website.

101 Dalmations "Tsum Tsum" Mini Plush Collection

Too cute! This set includes Cruella De Vil, Rolly, Patch, and Lucky. Only $4.95 each too! I think I will be adding this set to my collection because there is only 4 of them and the entire collection would cost less than $20!

Gus Plush - Cinderella - Mini Bean Bag - 9"

He's so cute and chubby! 

Jaq Plush - Cinderella - Mini Bean Bag - 9"

Aww he's so cute! I like his little buck tooth too! 

Thumper Plush - Bambi - Medium - 15"

So cute and fluffy, but I would prefer a smaller version.

Miss Bunny Plush - Bambi - Medium - 15"

So cute and fluffy! I wish we saw more merchandise of her! I would rather have a smaller version though.

Duffy the Disney Bear - 2015 - 12"

I have a 17" Duffy, and I think this little fellow would make a better travel companion, due to his smaller size. His outfit is super cute too! My favorite part is Sorcerer Mickey eating the Mickey Bar! I am going to Disney this summer, and I think he would be a great souvenir.

Disney Animator's Collection Elsa Mini Doll Play Set - 5"

What a cutie! I love how she looks just like the full-size Elsa, and her accessories are really cute.

Disney Animator's Collection Anna Mini Doll Play Set - 5"

Super cute! I really like how the trolls are part of this set, and of course, Baby Sven! :D

Disney Animator's Collection Cinderella Mini Doll Play Set - 5"

She looks just like the full size DAC doll! Gus and Jaq are great accessories too!

Disney Animator's Collection Jasmine Mini Doll Play Set - 5"

She's super pretty! I wish she came with more accessories though, especially since she is $20.

Disney Animator's Collection Ariel Mini Doll Play Set - 5"

Love the accessories! However, I don't really like Ariel's hair and her face doesn't look as sweet as the rest.

What are your favorite items from the new Disney Store release?