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.

Friday

Two Weeks in Singapore

Whilst I was there I went to Magma Heritage, the most wonderful doll store where you can find an amazing array of dolls for adult collectors. If you are ever travelling to Singapore, I recommend you add this to your list of places to visit.

Super Star and Adonis dolls

Blythe and to the left Sindy dolls

Dolls on the top shelf belong to Margaret

Barbie, Momoko and J Dolls

The owners of the store Madison and his mother Margaret, made me very welcome and helped me find exactly what I was looking for. They are both avid doll collectors themselves and are happy for you to have a good look around and are interested in what dolls you collect yourself.

Sweet Poodle Momoko: (Code: SGC21700 released 31st January, 2006)

Dressed up in what the Japanese like to call "Gothic Lolita", this Momoko doll has a pink poodle on her hand bag and comes with a doll stand to keep her safely on display!

Good Night Cherry: (Code: SGC21693 released 11th October, 2005)

Ready for bed, this sweet Momoko doll is dressed in a light nightgown, white bathrobe, cute nightcap and even white slippers trimmed in pink. And of course she carries her "cherry" pillow and comes with a doll stand.

These were both NRFB and as they both pose so well they really don't need their stands. They came in a hot pink (almost red) box with a clear see through panel with the Sekiguchi - PetWorks logo on the box.

The dolls were a little more expensive than their original release price, however, at 300SGD for both dolls (AU$330), they were much less than the prices asked for them on eBay and there was no postage to pay!

I'll share some more photos once I'm back in a routine at home and have caught up with all your blog posts.

The Settee

I began tackling the settee just after I finished breakfast on Tuesday. Pulling it apart was hard on my hands and more difficult than the chair, it was glued so tightly together.

However, after prying and tugging for about an hour it finally began to come apart, but the residue left by the hard glue still had to be removed.

It became really messy when the remaining velvet had to be dealt with. The scraping began on the back, first one way, then the other until it was all gone. I continued scraping the seat and then the sides until I had a large pile of pink fluff sitting on my table!

It was lunchtime before I reached this stage and I was glad to take a break.

After lunch I began re-upholstering each piece, but I only got this far before it was time to begin thinking about cooking dinner.

Didn't achieve much on Wednesday or Thursday as I had some personal things to attend to. However, I did begin upholstering the settee.

I finally completed the upholstering and assembled the settee this morning.

The photos are not the best, as I quickly took them with my phone, but I'm afraid they will have to do for now.

That's all for today my lovelies.

Monday

Furniture Makeover

Firstly thank you to those who commented on my previous post, I've been so busy enjoying myself lately, it's been difficult to find the time to answer everyone.

When I placed my last order from Fairy Meadow Miniatures, I also bought a pre-loved, slightly dishevelled pink velvet settee, chair and footstool which was close to, but not quite, 1:6 scale.

I took this photo of my two little hybrid Monst dolls, to give you an idea of the size.

BTW they finally have clothes to wear and have had their hair re-styled slightly, at least it looks tidy now.

I wanted to cover the set in the green Mid Century fabric I purchased from Spoonflower, but unfortunately the print was too large. I tackled the chair first and used fabric and trimmings from my stash. Next I added some painted beads to make new feet, which provided additional height. Then to give it a little more "personality" I made some cushions and knitted a throw with tassels.

It wasn't the easiest makeover I have done, pulling the chair apart was a challenging to say the least, but aside from the feet looking a bit chunky on the footstool, I'm reasonably happy with the new look.

What do you think? Does it look okay to you?

Now to deal with the settee, wish me luck. :)