Yes I am 33 and play with dolls.

May 19, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 2 Comments

Yes I am 33 and I play with dolls.

I’ll be 34 in a little over a week and I will still play with dolls then!

I loved Barbies and American Girl dolls when I was growing up, and I played with them even into middle school (but I didn’t really let anyone know that). Even in to college I bought limited edition collectible outfits for the four AG dolls I have (Samantha, Kirsten, Molly, and Felicity!)

It was about a year ago that I started back up with dolls. Amethyst started it. She is the one to blame 😉 (I mean, thank!)! She had gotten in to Monster High dolls–they’re so much more weird and wonderful than anything I had when I was growing up! It wasn’t hard to fall in love with dolls all over again.

I’d like to introduce you to my favorite dolls.

This is Mini Morgan.

Can’t you tell from the hair and nose rings and fun earrings?!?!

Last year for my birthday, my 3 generations of friends (Grumpy Skittles, Mod Mom, and JJRWS) made this perfect doll for me. All three of them worked on the project. Later in the fall I made her little sweater. Isn’t her hair perfect?!?! They also made a little tiny crocheted Patti Smith cat and a knitting basket to go with her. Quite possibly one of my favorite gifts ever.

Here are my two favorite Monster High girls:

Wydowna Spider is on the left. Aren’t her arms marvelous?! She reminds me a little of the Hindu goddess Durga. The version I have came with a few extra outfits that were sort of comic book/graphic novel themed which makes her even more fun! Ghoulia is on the right. This is a flea market find that Amethyst gave me. She was missing parts of her arms, but since she’s a zombie I think she’s kinda neat this way. I knitted the little dress she has on as well as her scarf. It’s supposed to look like the scarf is made of guts XD ! The chair she is sitting in was made by one of the ladies that comes to my knit & crochet club.

This is MaryAnn.

MaryAnn is a knock off Blythe that I adopted from a lady in Hawaii last summer. I gave her a face-up, changed her eye chips, and finished her whole body with a matte spray. I also have her “sleepy eyes”. (If any of that jargon is weird to you non-doll peeps, I can explain further!) MaryAnn has on a little set of knitted overalls that I made, and the pink cowboy boots came from a Barbie I had as a kid! I think she’s pretty dang dreamy!

Here’s Sindy!

Sindy came to live at the doll house just last night! Amethyst, Mod Mom, and Grumpy Skittles came over for a long overdue doll party (as you can see from the snacks!). We sampled a bunch of weird soft drinks that you’ll get to read about come next Thirsty Thursday. Sindy got put in the Trade Pot and I snatched her right up. I’d never heard of this kind of doll before–you can read more about her here. I like her because I think she looks a little like the Licca-chan dolls from Japan! Welcome to the crew, Sindy!

Do you miss playing with dolls just because you’re a “grown-up”? Do you live in the greater Charlotte/Hickory area and like dolls and kawaii and Asian pop culture? If so, you gotta join The Doll Club! We meet about once a month and nerd out about cute things. You’re so totally welcome to join us!

Tiny Tuesday #3

March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / Leave a comment

OMG IT’S TUESDAY! THAT MEANS IT’S tiny TIME!!!!!

Check out these first two piles of TINY delight!

http://babyccinokids.com/blog/2010/08/16/think-ets/#more-15813

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shopatmoxie/with/8951745333/

As far as I can tell this game is a collection of tiny weird things in an Altoid sort of tin, and is played with as physical story prompts. Although the ones available for purchase look really fun, it would probably be just as fun to make one of these yourself with found objects. Then, put it in your bag and if you have bored kids (or bored friends & lovers) you can retrieve it for some improv entertainment. Now I want to go on eBay and buy lots of vintage CrackerJack toys and make some little kits like this!

It ain’t tiny Tuesday without ERASER FOODS!

http://www.blippo.com/stationery/pens-erasers/korean-eraser-set-chinese-food.html

WHAT?! Blythe erasers?!

via Blippo!

Okay, Blippo is blowing my mind right now! Prepare to squeee. There are so many TINY kawaii things to love and buy! A lot of the stationary products are currently out of stock, but most of the candy and phone accessories are available. I’m sure those ‘in the know’ are already obsessed with this site but I am a n00b and totally okay telling you so. Now YOU know, too! ❤

Peach-pit and other stone fruit carvings. Have you heard of them?

via BigBangZero

I was born in south Georgia and lived there until I was about six years old. My mom was a super-thrifty-magical-stay-at-home-ma and she took me on so many wonderful adventures. Whenever there was a craft fair nearby we were there. Very occasionally she bought me little souvenirs. I still have one of the teeny-tiny hair barrettes that I got my name painted on–as a girl with a sort of boy/ gender neutral name this was a BIG DEAL (there was never anything store bought for girls with my name on it). Another treat I got once was a little peach pit basket, reminiscent of these pictures. They were pretty popular down in peach country. I wish I still had that dang thing! How cute would that have been with my dolls?!

via Profits from Nature

via Americana and Antiques

❤ KNITTED TINIES! ❤

via mochimochiland

http://mochimochiland.com/shop/tiny-zombie-kit/

http://mochimochiland.com/shop/tiny-clown-kit/

Speaking of homemade fun, you gotta check out mochimochiland. Not only do they have the best amigurumi patterns around, they also make stop animation movies!

via Meeker’s Mechanical Nature Antiques

After this post, you know I love cast iron stoves. How adorable is this one for dolls?! Most of these doll stoves actually work. That is to say, you can put a little tea light under the burners and bring a tiny pot up to temperature. Playing with dolls is so much more fun when you’re a “grown-up” and can play with fire, right?! This video is a must watch-it’s of tiny donuts getting made for real on a little doll stove! I love that I’ve had no less than five friends send this video to me. Y’all know me so well!

SOME MOARRRR tiny FOOD!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/234201120/watermelon-cake-earrings-cake-earrings?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=miniature%20food&ref=sr_gallery_32

https://www.etsy.com/listing/257414184/bakery-products-bread-baguette-miniature?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=miniature%20food&ref=sr_gallery_27

From the Kawaii K iosk and Irina Miniatures are my latest Etsy miniature food crushes!

And speaking of kawaii, I couldn’t resist this ring set at Torrid. I’ve always wanted a little animal critter ring and this cat one was purrrrfect! ❤

Stay tuned for another Tuesday full of tiny fun!

Tiny Tuesday #2

March 8, 2016March 16, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / Leave a comment

Welcome back for MOARRRR TINY!!!!

TINY FAKE FOOD!

Just look at these little sandwich sets! Tuna salad and hamburgers! The only thing that could make this better is if the mayonnaise jars were Duke’s instead! Too bad this etsy shop is pretty much empty right now. I hope Cute in Miniature restocks soon!

via https://www.etsy.com/shop/CuteinMiniature

TINY ICE CUBES!

I want this ice tray to be a real thing so bad, but it is just an advertisement for small cans of Pepsi.

photo via:

http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/outdoor/pepsi-mini-mini-ice-cubes-7335505/

photo via Amazon

TINY VACUUM!

According to the Amazon reviews this little USB vacuum is not worth a darn. I still say it would be worth having for the cute factor! I wonder if it could vacuum up glitter? Because really, that’s the important thing, right? This little vac is perfect doll height! I totally want one.

photo via Shop Sweet Things

TINY PERSON IN A TINY CROWN!

I love crowns. They are so fun. Of course TINY crown are double fun! And, I am pretty sure that my 30ish birthday number will look just as cute as this lil beebee’s #1 does. There is even a tutorial over at Shop Sweet Things. Bonus points for the use of a 2 dollar bill ❤

TINY STARS!!!

photo via coonsmithsutlery.com

These tiny stars are cute and so stinking easy to make. Fill up a jar and give as a little gift!

TINY REAL FOOD! KOALA YUMMIES!

photo via grape-stock.deviantart.com

If you were a kid in the 1990s and if you were VERY LUCKY then you might have gotten Koala Yummies as a treat. I used to get them when I went on Girl Scout camping trips (our first night out we had to pack a supper and mine was always Beanie-Weenies in a pop top can, a can of potato sticks, and a box of Koala Yummies!) You can’t get the exact same thing anymore but you can get close: Hello Panda and Koala’s March. So weird! So wonderful! So kawaii!

via tofucute.com

via tofucute.com

One last cute tiny thing for this round:

TINY ROBOT!

photo via coonsmithsutlery.com

This is a “bristle-‘bot” we made at Maker’s Club. It’s a homemade version of the very fun Hex Bug. Check out how tiny it is! Here is a tutorial I wrote on how to make them:

Yay for tiny fun!

Dollhouse Renovations Are Underway!

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 / The Particular Overall Collection / 2 Comments

Remember when I scored the best dollhouse recently? (read about it here and here)

After I let the cats play all over it for about two weeks I decided to see if the GINORMOUS thing would even fit in the spot I had in mind for it.

HOLY MOLY, IT FIT!…with like 3 inches to spare.

Also, it is SO.VERY.PINK.

The first floor that I decided to tackle was the first floor where the kitchen and bathroom are. I mostly picked this floor because I have such fun stuff to put in the kitchen. I took out the non-structural wall between the kitchen and bathroom because I’m not going to have a bathroom. Dollies don’t pee! Dollies don’t need baths! If they do, they can use a dang washtub. On second thought, that would be pretty cool. I need to look for a doll sized washtub. Here are some “before” pictures of the rooms.

Don’t mind the weird sewing machine that is peeking through the window in that first pic! It’s an old school toy sewing machine that is all rusted but so sweet. I need to find it another place to hang out so it doesn’t seem like a sewing machine peeper, haha.

My idea for the style of the doll house it first and foremost to remove all the pink. After that, I want it to have sort of a log cabin feel. I know that seems far fetched, but I’ve got some ideas to make it seem cozy like that. Full disclosure, I have never redone anything of a dollhouse and am totally learning as I go!

The other night, I had a light bulb of inspiration while folding laundry. I have this great little tea towel thing that I made out of a remnant of fabric that I bought from a destash that The Dainty Squid did a few years back. It dawned on me that the fabric would make great kitchen wall paper. Too bad I didn’t have any more of it. But I could maybe photo copy it? Oh heck yes.

Once I got the fabric printed off on to paper I realized that it wasn’t quite long enough to cover the whole wall. My first thought was to get some fancy molding to close the gap. Then I remembered that I had some pretty sweet duct tape…and then came the macaroni and cheese border. Oh heck yes, again.

I added the strips of zig-zag washi tape to sort of clean up the look and tie it all together. I covered the floor of the previously gray and pink bathroom floor with gummy bear duct tape because, well because I wanted to. A little more Willy Wonka than log cabin, but that’s just a teeny detail.

Here are some pics once I moved all the fun stuff in.

Check out the tiny copper pots! This is the strange little ceramic stove that I bought in Daytona. I have no idea what it’s original purpose was…there is a hole in the bottom almost like a coin bank would have but the only other opening is the top…and as you can see, it surely won’t allow for coins. Maybe it was just for being cute.

KEWPIE IN THE SINK! Because what sink is complete without a little nekkid baby? I scored the Great Smokey Mountains coaster (along with the perler bead coaster-turned rug) at the by-the-pound Goodwill. Perfect for carrying an eclectic array of Iwako eraser treats like sushi and curry, supplemented with a plate of baked goods made by my friend GS. Yum!

This fancy pants pantry shelf started out as a shoe display for Ever After High. It got passed to me by Amethyst, along with the pink tea set on the top shelf. I don’t mind pink so much and it means I get gifted lots of pink stuff from my doll friends 🙂 I may eventually spray paint the tea set gold. The various Shopkins baskets fit perfectly to hold the other foods.

The only thing I have left to do is to print off a copy of the picture below to put in a little frame and hang over the sink area. It’s a Barbie kitchen set from the 1960s that is very similar to this one. About a week before I met Mr. Smith, his family had an estate sale for his grandmother’s belongings. The set below (along with tons of other drool worthy vintage doll stuff) got sold. ONE. DANG. WEEK. BEFORE. WE. MET. It’s something his mom and I regularly joke about. I really like the kitchen stuff I have, but man, this one would have been fun. I think the picture will make a fun addition to the kitchen I have.