Barbie Babies!

Hey Gang!

One of my last doll purchases in 2012 was a guy I had wanted for quite some time.  He is the AA Happy Family toddler, Nick.  Kelly and Kelly-sized dolls have been used as Barbie's children from time to time, too.  In the Happy Family doll series, they used three different-sized dolls as children.

I had seen him charged at such high prices that when I finally saw one at a reasonable price, I jumped on it.  I might not have gotten outbid on this doll because it came up for sale during the holidays.  He came nude, but I did have a Baby Nick overall for sale that I took down for him.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the shirt he came with, so I'll have to make him or find him something.  Mattel also did an AA baby girl, Nikki, too!  Of the Happy Family toddlers, she is the rarest doll to find.  She is on the list, but she isn't as high on it as this guy was.  There were also blonde and redheaded girls, Happy family toddlers, too.  So here he is.

I love that cute patch of hair at the top of his head.  Because babies turn their heads a lot while lying down, the hair at the top grows the most. So, the hair seems like a real baby.

Verona showed me how to do a speech bubble!  It is good to learn new things. Thanks, Verona!

He is wearing a onesie I found in the scrapbooking section of Michael's!  I learned this little trick from Vanessa at Van's Doll Treasures!

I like that he can stand on his own.  This will make him very photogenic!   I am calling him Mekhi, after my nephew.  As I admired my new purchase, I thought about all my other babies and little ones, and decided to give them some blog time to compare them.

Also in my toddler collection is the Asian Nikki doll.  I lucked up and was able to purchase her at a reasonable price, too.  I needed an Asian baby, and she suits the bill.  Her name is Cheri.  She has her complete outfit.  I just love her little shoes.

I have purchased a pink onesie for her. You will see her in it at another time.  If you are interested, I have another doll like this one for sale on my dollpage site.  She needs some help with her mouth paint and hair, but she is still cute!

There are two smaller babies in the happy family line.  The first is Krissy.  I have her in three different complexions.  You saw one in the outfit that I crocheted for her.

Unfortunately, my three dolls didn't come with clothing, so they will need a sewing day.

The last of the more miniature dolls is the newborn baby.  I don’t know if it had a name. This is the doll that was in the mother's belly if you purchased the pregnant doll.  I bought the AA midge, and this is her baby.

There were Kelly-sized dolls used to, and I will show them when I show my Kelly-sized dolls and their friends.
So, moving on….

You have seen Mattie.  She is joined by the other doll that came with the Nursery School Play set.  The blonde doll is also for sale on my dollpage site.

I realized I need to change the spelling of her name.  I have now changed it on my blog.  She was one of the toddlers who came with the Barbie Nursery set.  She is the AA doll. She can’t stand on her own without shoes.  This little minx was the star of my holiday photo.  She is the youngest of the Readings.

Heart Family babies

One of the first baby sets for Barbie-size dolls by Mattel was the Heart family.  The Heart Family was the precursor to the Happy Family doll series.   There was a mother, father, children, grandmother, and grandfather. All kinds of playsets and accessories came with them, too.  You can still find many of their items online.  Mattel did AA versions of the parents and children, but never did AA grandparents like the Happy Family dolls.  There were two babies used.  The first were… I guess… toddlers.  These dolls can't stand on their own, even with shoes.  Their legs are curved like those of younger babies, but they are the same size as Kelly's (4 ½”).  Their head and bodies are the Rosebud dolls of 1976/77.  These kids didn't initially have names. Later, they got the names Honey, Kenny, Kevin,   Melody, Nellie, Darrin, Wendy, Tawny, Daria, Pleasance (the first Hispanic), and Janet.

Here are their babies I have left.  I recently sold 8 of them.

 The hair on the AA girls is quite a problem!  I will have to work on them before they get a family!

 This one too!

 They were so popular that there were even clones of these dolls.  Below are my clones!

 A real sign of how successful a doll is is when the clones come out!

There was also a smaller baby.  I have a few of them too.  If you look on eBay, they referred to her as Krissy, too, but the Heart family doll didn't have a name.  Some of these doll was dressed in yellow.  So it could be a girl or a boy.  It was also used as a Native American baby, too!

I recently saw this knock of one too.

I have a few odds and ends, babies, too. 

 The twins!

 This guy!

I found this boy on the subway steps.  He needs so many paint touch-ups, but I liked his complexion.
If you know who these odds and ends are,  please let me know.

Pictures For Comparison!

 Size order!

I will be back with part two…Kelly and friends soon.

Thanks For Looking.

I'm The Winner! The One Sixth Scale Dollhouse Blog Giveaway!

Hey Gang!

My giveaway prize arrived!  I was the winner of the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse Blog Giveaway!  Take a look over at the blog.  There is good stuff there to be seen and Lisa is a wonderful person! Thanks Lisa!

Katniss' new purse plus a tiny key with hand-braided tassel ring!  I am showing you the bag today!  The special key ring will be featured in the Laurent Department Store opening.  I am working on that now and hope it will be sometime soon!  Here is the purse!

 It looked as good as it did on her blog!  I really love the color!

Dominique agreed to model and then claim this handbag!
Dominique:  When I look for a handbag, I look at the hardware!  This bag has it all!  Really nice gold hardware on the strap, hoop and closure!  This is what make a bag stand out!

Dominique:  It is just the right size for all the things you need to carry!  I love breaking up my black and white with this color handbag.  It is soo my style!

 She say it is a classic and a "Must Have" in every women wardrobe!  It was for her.  My other doll never even saw the purse!

Thanks For Looking!

At Target! Part 1!

Hi Gang!

I was at Target and they seem to have their shelves restocked with more items since they were depleted after the Holidays.  I don't know if these items are new or just new to me but I thought I would post them for you guys to see!

First up are these fashion packs for Barbie and Ken!  There were three of them there.  I think they are date packs.

 I liked the Ken pants on this one.  I hope they are separate and not a one piece thing.  The shirt and the vest on this one seem to be one piece.

 I am not a fan or this set and so it will stay in the store.

This one, I only like the black Barbie print pants.

There were two Barbie pack that I haven't seen before.  One was a "Only At Target" pack and the other...

 Was a Fashionista pack. I could see myself purchasing both of these for my girls!  They are very cute!

 There were both the new Fashionista guys there.  This is the one with the new hair cut and outfit...and the knees that don't bend!!!!

 Here they are both together. I they they look sad like they are saying I don't have legs that bend..me either.

 The Blonde ...I'm not sure if I'm ready for tie die.

 Close up!

 This guy was on sale!  I guess he didn't go over well.  I would buy another just for the clothing!

 Not a bad price!

 I just love this outfit but I can't see myself purchasing it just for that.  Maybe someone will have this dress for sale on the net.

 Stacie has a new hairdo!  She has bangs!  She looks like Cindy Brady with this hairstyle.

 Have you notice that Stacie has lost her freckles!  The newer Stacie doll don't have them.

 Not this one or...

 This one either!

 Close up on their faces!

 Stacie has such a sweet face!

 You got to love the bangs!  I might have to purchase this one even with the bent arm!

I know this is not the best picture but here is a picture of my old Stacie from an older post!  She is the Sisters Skate and she has the freckles!

There were the two Ariels there so I wanted to let you see them side by side too!

Thanks For Looking!

Nanuk/Nanook!

Nanuk/Nanook

In northern Canada and Alaska there is small culture of Native peoples who told legends and myths about creatures of the North. These are the Inuit people, and they have many legends about bears, Nanuk in particular. In Inuit mythology, Nanuk/Nanook (the Polar Bear) was the master of bears, meaning he decided if hunters deserved success in finding and hunting bears and punished violations of taboos. The word was popularized by Nanook of the North, the first feature-length documentary.

Nanuk was known as the Bear God, He was a great Polar Bear, and the Inuit hunters would worship this great bear because they believed that he decided if the Hunters would be successful or not that day. “In the past, the Inuit ate polar bear meat and used the fur to make warm trousers for men and kamiks (soft boots) for women. Respect was given to Nanuk when a Bear was killed by the hunter hanging the bear’s hide in a special section of his igloo and it would stay there for a few days. They would also offer the bear’s spirit weapons and other hunting tools to the bear if it was a male. If the bear was female however, it would be offered needle cases, scrapers used to scrape the fat off of the hides, and knives. “Native people believed that polar bears allowed themselves to be killed in order to obtain the souls of the tools (tatkoit), which they would take with them into the hereafter. Legend says that if a dead polar bear was treated properly by the hunter, it would share the good news with other bears so they would be eager to be killed by him. Bears would stay away from hunters who failed to pay respect.

Nanuck was found undernourished and sick at a traveling circus.  He was rescued by Dr. Weeks and the Johnston Zoo.  He is now happy and healthy and a great attraction to the zoo.

Facts about Polar Bears:

The polar bear or the sea/ice bear are the world's largest land predators.  They can be found in the Arctic, the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), and Norway.  Each of these countries either banned hunting or established rules for how many polar bears could be hunted within its own boundaries. These rules help keep polar bear populations stable. Today, 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the Arctic

Despite what we think, a polar bear's fur is not white.  Each hair is clear hollow tube.  Polar bears look white because each hollow hair reflects the light. On sunny days, it traps the sun's infrared heat and keeps the bear warm at 98 degrees F (when they're resting).
Polar bear fur is oily and water repellent. The hairs don't mat when wet, allowing the polar bears to easily shake free of water and any ice that may form after swimming.

Male polar bears may grow 10 feet tall and weigh over 1400 pounds.  Females reach seven feet and weigh 650 pounds.  In the wild polar bears live up to age 25.

Polar bears have wide front paws with slightly webbed toes that help them swim.  They paddle with their front feet and steer with their hind feet.  Paw pads with rough surfaces help prevent polar bears from slipping up on the ice.
Polar bears have been known to swim 100 miles (161 kilometers) at a stretch.

Polar bears primarily eat seals. They often rest silently at a seal’s breathing hole in the ice, waiting for a seal in the water to surface. Once the seal comes up, the bear will spring and sink its jagged teeth into the seal’s head.
Sometimes the polar bear stalks its prey. It may see a seal lying near its breathing hole and slowly move toward it, then charge it, biting its head or grabbing it with its massive claws. A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice.

Around the age of four or five the female polar bear can start having babies. They usually only have two cubs and they have these babies in a cave they've dug in a large snow drift.  They stay there over winter and come out in spring with the babies.
The babies are much smaller than human babies when they're born.  They are the size of a rat and weigh little more than a pound.  They can grow to full man size in a year if they have lots of food.

Humans are the polar bears only predator.  Baby polar bears often starve.  In fact, 70 percent do not live to their third birthday.  Sometimes seals are hard to find, especially in the summer when the ice has melted.  All across the Arctic, man is moving in to mine oil and coal and there is less space for the polar bear to live.  Oil spills can be very dangerous.  A bear with oil on its coat cannot regulate its body temperature properly.  If the bear eats the oil while grooming it could die.
Man made pollution is also a cause of death.  At each stage of the food chain, pollutants get more concentrated.  By the end when the polar bear eats the seal and it could be lethal.

Joey:  WOW!  I didn't know that!

So that is something to think about!

Thanks For Looking!