My Doll Haven

Everyone Needs Playtime

In our hectic, modern lives, many of us focus so heavily on work and family commitments that we never seem to have time for pure fun. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we stopped playing.

When we carve out some leisure time, we’re more likely to zone out in front of the TV or computer than engage in fun, rejuvenating play like we did as children. But play is not just essential for kids; it can be an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well.

There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself. By giving yourself permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, you can reap oodles of health benefits throughout life.

Monday

Thank You

To all my blogging friends:~ Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind words of condolence, it's greatly appreciated by both my hubby and myself.

I am still not ready to return to blogging at present, but hopefully I will be back in the not too distant future. However, before leaving, I thought I'd share the many faces of Coco. There were moments, even when he got older, where he somehow retained his cute puppy looks, and he would look so different when he was given a very short all over clip.

2014

2015
BATH TIME

2016
WITH LONG EARS

2017
WITH SHORT EARS

2018
IN A JUMPER WHICH HE HATED

2019
TURNING ON THE PUPPY CHARM

2020
BEFORE

2020
AFTER

2021
UNDER MY DESK

Sad News

On the 20th September we took our little Coco to our local vet, to have what we thought was a routine dental check up as he had a very bad case of halitosis. His bad breath turned out to be an oral melanoma which had developed on his upper palate. Neither I or hubby had ever heard of such a thing so it took us by complete surprise.

After visits to two different vet oncology specialists, Coco was booked in this morning for a CT scan. This was to be followed up with Radiotherapy. However, the CT scan revealed much more than we expected; it had progressed to his brain and lungs, so we decided it was best not to wake him.

He was a rescue dog who arrived to us as a "biter" but after me receiving several nips and him a lot of love from us, he settled down to be a wonderful companion to us both. He made us laugh so much with his funny peculiar antics and smoochy ways ... we are going to miss him terribly.

This is the last photo I took of him a few days ago (having cuddles with dad) and to look at him you wouldn't know he was suffering, he was such a brave little tyke.

Rest in peace my little Cocopoo.

It's All In the Eye of the Beholder

You would have no doubt heard the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" before now. We all know it also applies to how we see our dolls, some see BJD's as being beautiful, whereas other see Barbie or Paola Reina dolls as such.

However, just recently this was brought to my attention in a completely different way when I sold a couple of sets of clothes which were designed for the 16" Disney Animator dolls.

The lady (Julie) who purchased theses sets, sent me photos of the dolls she dressed with them and I was amazed by what I saw. I would never have thought to use these clothes on BJD's myself, but it just goes to show how versatile knitted clothes can be, and what one can achieve with a little imagination.

On 1/3 Fairyland Feeple 65 Chloe.

Julie said: "Some might not agree with me, but I think the outfit fits well, it was the look I was after anyhow. As she is over 60cm tall, the top & cardigan are cropped (especially as she is very well endowed) but I like how the skirt sits on her hips & shows off her belly. Not a big fan of high waisted skirts & pants. It looks a little short, but only because she has such long legs (it does cover her behind completely)."

On her Smart Doll Harmony.

Julie sent the original photos via eBay, and I asked if she would mind if I shared them on a blog post. She very kindly agreed, but I couldn't down load them, so I asked her to email them to me and here they are for you all to see!

Julie said: "Attached are the photos of your outfits on my dolls as requested. Hopefully you and your readers will find them useful. I’m very happy with them and think they fit both girls well, but I think the they fit my Smart Doll Harmony better. What do you think?"

I always enjoy photos like this, when I can view things through someone else's eyes. However, I shall let you answer Julie's question now, because I would also be interested in knowing your thoughts.

This is Rachael's Miriam, her Baby So Beautiful doll, wearing the same size outfit. Her measurements are ~ height 34cm, chest 23cm and tummy 23.5cm, so although she's a little shorter, she's about as chubby as a 40cm Animator doll.