Taking Time Off For The Flower Show!!

I will be taking time off from blogging and surfing the net to spend time with my first love.....PLANTS! The plants and the doll use to compete for room at my house. I love plants and my husband loves some kinds of plants. It is kinda how we met. Anyway, a year ago I go greenhouse space for my plants and now have more doll space.

Oh back to the topic, I will be at the Philadelphia International Flower Show for the next ten days! I like to think of it as a ten day birthday party for Ms. Leo! I will be giving out info on cacti and succulent growing, doing a workshop on community gardening, introducing lecturers and authors of books on gardening, attending a few cocktail parties and luncheons and generally getting my "plant on"!

Now it is not to say that some doll thing won't slip in. There are some great vendors at the show that sell dollhouse miniatures. I bought a few last year and I will be look for their both again. There are several great classes in the Flower Show on miniatures. They are inspiring for those of us who like dioramas.

For those of you who like plant too, I will post my pictures of the show on Flickr.

So, ta until I return.

Kenyan Barbie

Kenyan Barbie Doll Of The World

I have many doll and action figures but I have a few that I like to see on a regular basis. These are the dolls that are always out and the ones that try on the new outfits first. My Kenyan Barbie is one of them. I love all the Shani face mold and she has the Nichelle face mold. I love her large brown eyes, her short frocked hair and her pleasant smile on her red lips. Her red and white plaid with yellow boarder dress and red and white print cape drew me to her.

I really love the back of the box. This might have been the first time I noticed what was said on the back of the back box of any doll. It tells the capital and the landscape of the county, its' languages and ethnic groups. The box says that there are 40 ethnic groups in Kenya. It tells about site to see and gives words in their native language. It takes you from the city to the countryside. It gives info on Kenyan that may have put some young girl on the road to world affairs. The only things missing are a map of the county and a flag. The doll and the box does what toys are suppose to do ... teach and inspire!

Kenyan Barbie is one of the only doll that I purchasesd when I first saw it without it being on sale! I have one doll just for play. I liked it so much I bought one for my niece to start her on the collecting road.

Ms. Leo Takes A Road Trip! Pt1

Back in December I did a post on things that you could order for your doll diorama. Well, I took a little road trip to the store/museum of Byers’ Choice Ltd. Someone told me it wasn't very far. And well... far is relative. I am not a driver so it was a little trip for me... but... oh was it worth it!! I can't begin to put all the pictures I took on this blog. So, I have added the link to my flicker site!

So here is part one of ......Ms. Leo Takes A Road Trip! I hope you enjoy!

The Eyes Have It!

The most under used face mold for a Barbie, I think it
has only been used once, and the most stunning face
is the 1991 Sleeping Beauty. The doll was done in both a
white and a black version. I have the AA Sleeping Beauty.
I didn't buy her new in the box. She was a thrift store find!















Her face has a very Serene self confident smile. Her eye
aren't the hypnotizing eye you see on some dolls. They
mirror the self confidence and serenity of her smile. There
is a blue undertone to the pupil of her brown eyes. I
dressed her in this blue dress to bring that out. Her
eyelid have a blueish look to them also.















She has a switch on her back that allow you to close her
eyes when her arm is moved up or down to make her
look as if she were sleeping.















Her body is the same as other 1966 dolls except for the
switch. You can not tell from my photos but her hair is
a really pretty blend of black and brown strands. It is
not chucks but a real blend. It gives her hair a really
nice appearance. Here is her close up!

Bratz Wild Life Tent

My New Purchase!

I don't care for Bratz but they do have nice accessories. I purchase the tent because it wasn't a bad price. It was on sale. I have not figured out what I am going to do with it. I had seen some small tent samples in stores and thought about buying them but didn't know how to acquire them. When I say the tent on sale I figured I could do something. With the leopard print you know GI Joe can't go camping with it. "It is not standard issue madam". I do like all the pieces that come with it!

Back of box with picture of dolls in the tent.

There is a sleeping bag, campfire, pots, soda, snack, camping stove with fuel for the, lantern walkie talkies. compass and camera. The tent is big enough for Barbie to camp in.

Webpage for Re-ment Food Photos

After I purchase my re-ment food from Paper Ally I found these webpages with pictures of food and doll. I only hope to be able to take pictures this well one day! The first site The Doll Party is photos of food and the second site My doll pictures is of dolls! Enjoy!

More Re-ments from Paper Ally!

My latest purchase also came super quick!

Here they are in their boxes. What I purchased. Sorry one box is missing. The names and numbers of what I purchased are:Mary Jane's fruit Pie and Tart No. 8,Two Brothers Italian Bakery No. 9, 2 Elegant Sweets N0. 10, and one No. 12 no name.

Here they are as set up. This is an nice continental breakfast for my dolls

Fashion Trends!

So, it is snowing and I'm staying in. I thought I would start my photo catalog of my dolls today. You really don't know what you have until you start to do something like that. Anyway, while taking photos I saw something.

Have you ever notice that the fashion world will do a new spin on an old fashion trend? The sixties, seventies or eighties fashion will be trotted out and given a "new spin!" Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is not. Our fashion model for today is Stephanie Laurent(Nikki). She is a retro girl who loves sixties "Hippie and Flower Child" fashions. In her mind there is a difference between this type of fashion and "Mod Fashion". She will on occasion combine Hippie/Flower Child fashions with newer fashion accessories.


Here she is looking fantastic wearing her vintage sixties dress with hip boot she found. It is a talking PG dress from 1969.




















Vintage pieces don't always stand the test of time or the stress of time but this dress does. If you are unable to find a vintage dress consider this modern alternative.




















Here is Stephanie in the Barbie Fashion Fever Fashionista Artsy dress. Notice the similar cut and color palette of the dress. It goes perfectly will with her boots. This dress give our Stephanie modern alternative and increases her wardrobe. Here are the dresses side-by-side.
Stephanie is a talented shopper! That is it for my snow day report!

Repaint

Hey Gang!

When I first saw the Rocawear Chandra I loved the outfit. I thought her face and  complexion were great but I didn't like the eyes. I hate the side glancing eyes.  I think they make the doll look sneaky or like she thinks that there is someone  behind her. Those eye have put me off from purchasing many dolls. After several  years of trying to slightly alter eyes on dolls, I decided to repaint the eyes on this doll.  I wanted her to look ahead. This is one of my first real repaint of eyes. So please be  kind! I thought that black eye were better with her complexion too. I am not very  good a photographing the darker complexion dolls. I am not sure if it is the light  I need to work on or the backroung or maybe it is both! I have seen others do a  better job than me. I have had trouble with Princess of South Africa and Model  of the Moment Nichelle too! Truthfully, I wasn't good at taken pictures before  the digital camera. I have gotten better with the digital camera but I am still  working on my photos.

OK, Thanks For Looking!

Help with ID

Hey Gang,

I received this item in a mixed lot but I don't know what it is. I know it is a vintage item. If you know what it is let me know.

Thanks,

Ms. Leo

The Ultra Corps!

Hey Gang!

I purchased these two action figures when they first came out. As you can see, I
have left one in the box and the other I have de-boxed for play. Although the face
molds are the same they are two different dolls.

One is Flashfire- Jungle Beret and the other is Junkyard-Mountain Recon.

Junkyard-Mountain Recon.

In the box

 Flashfire- Jungle Beret 

Back of box

Why I keep one in the box? I do not know. I can't remember what I was thinking
at the time but he is still in the box. Their complexions are different and the face
paint is slightly different. Ultra corps did a full line of action figures when the first
came out. They still to action figures now but not as many and they are hard to find.
They haven't done a new African American doll since this line. They are about the
height of Ken but a little taller than GI Joe. The body is more bulky than GI Joe.
The feet are different, They are wider the Ken with out the length of GI Joe. They
can't wear all of the Ken shoe but they can wear all GI Joe boots. The hands are bigger
than both Ken and GI Joe. They are not able to wear shirts that don't have sleeves that
snap closed and the sleeve is a tighter fit because their arms are bigger too.
Their facial expressions are very serious.

OK, Thanks For Looking!