American Girl

A WONDERful Surprise

~ writergal42 ~ 1 Comment

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It’s not my intention to turn my blog into a doll sales notification service, but I gotta share the love with this one. Tonner Direct sent out an email to its subscribers this afternoon alerting them to a liquidation sale on its Diana Prince (aka “Wonder Woman”) line. This line re-imagines Wonder Woman’s alter-ego, Diana Prince, as a fashionable woman about town. Robert Tonner incorporates into each ensemble subtle references to Diana’s true identity, such as elements of red, white, and blue, and star charms on earrings, bracelets, and belts. I think it is a brilliant re-imagining of a female archetype that strikes a chord particularly for my generation, which delighted in Lynda Carter’s adventures fighting bad guys every Friday evening.

Originally intending to purchase just two outfits, I somehow ended up with three outfits and two dressed dolls in my cart before I checked out. The one drawback fore me is the fear that such an awesome sale is an indication that Tonner Doll is falling on hard times. It’s difficult to believe that the company is making any profit by selling those ensembles for just $29 each. It seems to me that these emails about generous sales from Tonner Direct are coming into my mailbox more and more frequently. Collector dolls are a tough business, and Tonner Doll has been around for a long time.  I appreciate the sales, but I would prefer to pass on them if it means that a company that has brought so much joy into my life is living on borrowed time.

My haul:

Happy Dolly Fourth of July!

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This is just a quick post to wish my American readers a festive July 4th. I am currently in Colorado visiting with my husband’s family. My in-laws live in a mountain community of less than 1,000 residents. No more than a dozen businesses line its main street, and there is no stop light. It is a quirky town, and breathtakingly beautiful.

When we visited last summer, I took a doll with me and photographed her against the mountains, valleys, and lakes we came across. This year I am doing the same, with the added bonus of sharing my doll photography time with my 7-year-old niece, who brought along her American Girl doll. It’s been so much fun getting to share my love of dolls with a little girl who is just starting to become enchanted with them. As soon as I arrived, my niece unpacked her backpack of American Girl clothes and accessories, and we both began redressing our respective dolls. I adore my son, but it is so magical to be able to relate to a child through doll play. Playing cars and trains with my son just isn’t the same.

Today my niece and I took our dolls outdoors to photograph them for the Fourth of July holiday. A holiday craft project created by my mother-in-law provided a festive backdrop.

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Even Barbie joined us for a while.
Even Barbie joined us for a while.

This year, my travel doll is “Sage,” a platinum Cinderella Tonner doll repainted by “K.” Sage wore some older Tonner separates for her photo shoot. I love the pieces that Tonner created for Tyler and friends when that line was in its heyday. They remain the basic staples of my dolls’ closet, and I return to my favorites (like Sage’s top) again and again.

Last year, Blush and Bashful Tyler accompanied us to Colorado. I was able to get some terrific photos during several day trips we took.

After our photo session was done, my niece and I headed for a playground, where our dolls joined us on the swings. It will be difficult to leave the crisp mountain air for Florida’s heat and humidity when we return home in a couple days.

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Wanna spend some money this weekend?

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My in-box has been filling up with new doll announcements and some super sales, so I thought I’d share as we count the minutes down ’till the weekend.

Integrity released photos this week of its new batch of Color Infusion girls. The CI line is supposed to be a more affordable line of fashion dolls with fashions and accessories that are a grade below Integrity’s top-line girls. But CI girls generally hold their own quality-wise, and they can be a very good buy.

That said, the latest girls will cost you $100 each–no small amount. And here they are:

Nyasha Lauder™
The Color Infusion Collection
Limited Edition Size of 450 Dolls
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately Late May/Early June 2015
Suggested Retail Price: $100.00 US
Jacqueline O’Rion™
The Color Infusion Collection
Limited Edition Size of 500 Dolls
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately Late May/Early June 2015
 
Zara Wade™
The Color Infusion Collection
Limited Edition Size of 500 Dolls
Estimated Ship Date: Approximately Late May/Early June 2015
Suggested Retail Price: $100.00 US
You can pre-order these dolls at any Integrity retailer. None of them tempt me very much, so I am passing. If I had to choose one, it would probably be Nyasha for her groovy hair and outfit. The sausage-curl bangs on Jacqueline spell disaster, and I don’t know what Integrity is thinking with that boxer’s robe she is wearing. I like Zara’s dress and high ponytail, but her sculpt doesn’t appeal to me.
In other notable doll news, a few sales popped up today that caught my attention. The first is from Happily Ever After, which is offering two Victoire Roux dolls (Depart Pour L Orient and Victoire Roux) for $149 for BOTH. This is a terrific deal on two gorgeous and unique dolls. I am particularly fond of Depart L Orient.
Victoire Roux – Depart Pour L Orient
Victoire Roux – A La Maison

Samantha’s Dolls is offering its customers 20% off all in-stock dolls produced up to 2014, and their inventory is huge. Many of its doll lines are very expensive, so if you are a collector of any of them (from Kish to Tonner to Zwergnase to Plusckok and more), this can be a good deal. Use the coupon “MAR20.”

And finally, American Girl is offering free shipping on orders over $100 and 20% off select items. This is of particular interest to 16″ fashion doll collectors, as many of American Girl’s high-quality but pricey accessories and diorama pieces are perfectly scaled for 16″ dolls. Most notably, this sale can get you a great deal on “Caroline’s Parlor.” This diorama piece is huge, heavy, and high-quality. I saw it in person last week when I was able to visit an AG shop. If you’ve got the room and you like to photograph your girls, it’s a terrific piece. Originally $300, it is on sale for $135. No shipping with the sale, but you will be charged $20 for this “extra bulky” item and the applicable sales tax. For me, that came to $165.85. I haven’t pressed the “buy” button just yet. I’m sitting here trying to talk myself out of it.

So enjoy your weekend, and don’t burn up that credit card too much!