New Mini-Sectional and 10% Holiday Coupon

In between setting up new doll scenes and producing stories, I still find time to make furniture.  This is my latest.  It is a light green mini-sectional.  It is currently listed for sale at my Etsy site.  Everyone who is signed up for the newsletter received an email with a coupon today.  If you are interested in receiving this coupon, and you are not signed up for the newsletter, there's still time to get it done.  You can sign up right from this blog.

Light Green Mini Sectional For Sale

Bedtime at the Harpers

Danielle and the boys are getting ready for bed.  Let's take a peek and see how things are going.

 

Bedtime at the Harpers

Introduction to the Lee Family - One of my Asian Families

The Lee Family

Meet the Lee family. Chang, the husband is an architect, who works for OTJ Architects in Washington, D.C.  Sunni, his wife, is a realtor with Coldwell Banker.  Amaya (13mos) and Ming (3yrs) are their two daughters.  Chang and Sunni have only been married for 4 years.  They are both heavily involved with the community.  Chang teaches Tae Kwon Do at the neighborhood gym (which David Anderson happens to own).  Sunni volunteers every chance she gets.  She has a pretty flexible schedule as a realtor.  She loves her job, but since getting married and having kids, she has had to strike a better balance between work and home.  Working 13 hrs days, 6 days a week is not conducive to fostering a happy home.  Chang has given her the option not to work outside the home, but she loves having a little independence.  Amaya and Ming have been a great addition to the family.  They have both softened up their dad, somewhat.  Prior to their arrival, Chang was a very serious, no-nonsense fellow.  Since becoming a dad, he has done a 180 degree shift, smiling more often and not taking everything so serious.

New Workout outfit for Leslie

Leslie decided she needed some new workout gear.  With her husband owning his own gym, there's no excuse not to workout.  She will be starting again next week.  So she bought her first new outfit.  She already has her eye on a couple more.  Stay tuned to see those!

My Family Introduction - Our Christmas Photo is ready for cards!

I'm not sure why I didn't start with my own family, when I started introducing my doll families. Better late than never.  Well as you know, my name is Vanessa.  Wife, mother of 2, Interior Designer, and avid racquetball player.  My husband, Keith is a softward programmer for Google.  He and I have been together since college and married for the past 10 years.  We are still very good friends and we still enjoy each other's company.  Tyler is my 8 year old son and Alicia is my 2 year old daughter.  Tyler is a sports fanatic of just about every sport; basketball, football, baseball, soccer, etc.  Occassionally he will play racquetball with me.  Alicia is DLG (daddy's little girl). She plays my husband like a fiddle.  Of course, I try to keep it balanced, because there's nothing like a bratty spoiled child.  She's not so bad, yet, but if I leave it to my husband, she will be unbearable in the next couple of years.

This is our Christmas photo that we recently took.  Soon you will receive our Christmas card.  Of course you are on our list!
 

Want to see Danielle Harper's Fashion Doll Home?

I introduced you to Danielle and her two boys a couple of weeks ago.  Well here she is again teaming up with Leslie Anderson.  They are working on some fundraising ideas for their community.  Here you can get a glimpse of Danielle's home.  If you missed seeing Leslie's home,  check it out here http://tinyurl.com/27s6lhc. 
Be sure to follow this blog as I continue to introduce the families and let you see how they live in Fashion Doll World.

Click here to see Danielle's home

New Baby Crib is Complete

The last crib that I shared with you has found a wonderful home in Australia.  So it was time to do another crib.  This one is white, like the last one, but the bedding is softer and I think more soothing. 

To see sales information click to go to http://www.vansdolltreasures.etsy.com/.

New Loveseat for Barbie and Friends

I bought this fabric combination about 3 weeks ago.  I absolutely loved it when I saw it in the store.  I wanted to make a really unique chair for Barbie.  Well, that idea fell through when my first chair was a flop.  I decided to do a loveseat, which I haven't done in years.  I'm a sofa and chair kind of gal.  Even in real life, I always thought "Get the sofa, you can fit more people".  Well, the loveseat is actually perfect for fashion doll life.  It's a nice size to fit in most doll scenes and it's perfect for cuddling with your fashion doll man!

Leslis and David Anderson are doing just that.  Remember the Andersons?  If not, they are featured in a couple of previous blog entries.  Check it out.

For more detailed pictures and information on how to obtain this sofa, go to http://www.vansdolltreasures.etsy.com/.

  

Leslie and Antoinette get new work outfits

If you have been following my blog, you know that I am introducing the families and telling you about their life.  Well the ladies (the dolls) decided they needed a new wardrobe if they were going to be videoed regularly.  I must say I agreed with them.  So I decided to create each doll their own wardrobe, based on their personality, occupation, etc.  This could keep me busy for years! Well, I started this process 2 days ago. In between making furniture, I was making outfits.  Here are two.  They aren't completely done, but here is the progress thus far.  They are in desperate need of some accessories and some ironing!  And Antoinette needs to schedule a trip to the salon. When you see these outfits again, they will be nicely accessorized, and with any luck hair will be nicely styled.

Doll Show Goodies to Redo

This Saturday, I attended a local doll show in Marietta, GA.  I had no intention on buying anything, since I had already spent my doll budget for the month.  I just wanted to go and see my doll friends. There's something about being around doll people that can be inspiring.  You get all these ideas and enough energy to work on new projects.  Well you know it never fails.  When you see a bargain, you start spending money that was pegged for something else....like a bill!  I came across this one booth, where this lady had a ton of old Barbie stuff for really cheap prices.  Being a diorama person, I am always looking for inexpensive props.  I couldn't pass that up, right?  I rarely regret buying something I can really use.  I only regret not buying it.  So I spent some bill money.  Actually, it was my grocery money.  Nothing like being forced to eat less!

 

New Family: The Harper Family

Meet Danielle and her 2 boys Julian, 6, and Jacob, 2.  Danielle works full-time as an editor at the magazine, Working Woman.  Tragically, her husband was killed in a car accident over a year ago.  Danielle mourned for 6 months.  Then she realized that she had to pull herself together for her boys.  She attended a few counseling sessions to get back on her feet.  She has done very well and the boys seem to be adjusting, day by day.  Julian has bad moments, occasionally, but overall he is a happy kid.  He just recently entered the 1st grade and his teacher, Ms. Wilson, says he's a joy to have in class. Now Jacob is another story all together. He is quite the handful. He keeps Danielle more than busy.  He's too young to really remember his dad, but Danielle thinks that those 6 months when she mentally checked out, allowed Jacob to become a little terror.  Danielle is slowly getting him under control.

Danielle recently started a support group for single mothers. She knows there are other single mothers out there that can use some support.

Stay tuned to learn more about Danielle Harper and sons!

The Anderson Family: Get a glimpse of their home

Video of the Anderson Family home

Here is a video featuring the Anderson Family you were introduced to a few blogs ago.  They have recently moved into a new condo.  They've done a good job getting it livable, but it is in need of some repairs and updating.  For now it will suffice.

Is your Doll Investment properly inventoried?

Yesterday I attended an all day class "Using Google for Realtors". I primarily went to gain Google knowledge that I can use with my current doll business, too.  I have one word to describe the day.  AMAZING!  That was probably the best class I've ever attended, and I've been to quite a few.  I didn't realize the power I had right at my fingertips.  If you have a business, or you use your computer quite a bit, find a Google class in your area to take.  I highly recommend it, and they are not even paying me to say this!

One thing the teacher talked about, that brought me back to my doll collection, was "cloud computing".  Simply put, it allows you to not only store items on your computer, but also on a piece of the cloud, carved out for you. I can already hear some of you saying, "I don't want my stuff anywhere except on my own personal computer."  I used to say the same thing!  However, imagine this, you have all your doll images on your computer.  Occassionally, you will post a few to Flickr, etc.  But the majority of them are just on your computer.  One day your computer crashes and you have to get a new one.  Where are all those pictures?  If you don't have a backup, they are gone for good!  My computer actually crashed 2 weeks ago and I had to take it back to factory settings.  Everything was gone.  Luckily, I had never erased my digital camera drive, so I had about 50% of the photos I had taken over the years. And I had backed up my old computer from 2 years ago, so I had those files on a CD.  All the videos I had created, were all posted to YouTube, so they weren't lost to me.  But you always see the stories on the news, where there's a house fire or other natural disaster, and the people talk about all the family photos (especially the baby photos) that can never be replaced.  If they had scanned those images and placed them on the cloud (which is free), then they would be able to pull them back down to their computer. 

What about the insurance companies?  If I told my insurance company that I had a doll collection of over 200 dolls, he might not actually believe me.  But if I had pictures and video of my dolls and everything else in the house, sitting out on the cloud, and not ruined in the fire or other natural disaster, I would be able to provide actual photos of all my stuff.  You would probably get your claim settled much quicker and more accurately than someone who didn't have that.

These are just thoughts that were going through my mind as I sat in awe about the power of Google.  

Something special for the baby

Where does the time go?  I can't believe it is Thursday already.  I will be spending my day in a class, that I hope will help me with my business.  I will miss my studio today.

As you may have figured out, I love the idea of the fashion doll family.  Particularly because I love the infants and the toddlers. Case in point, my YouTube video, Barbie Daycare.  Even in miniature form they seem to have so much character.  Everytime I go to a superstore, I walk through the baby section to see what's new and to see what my Barbie babies may need me to make in miniature form.

Well I just created my first baby diaper and bunting set!  Actually it is my 2nd one, because my dolls had to have the first one.  This one is actually cooler than the first one.  I will be adding more baby accessories in the upcoming months.  Friday I will be making my next baby crib.  The first one sold very quickly and she absolutely loved it!

For more information on obtaining this item go to http://www.vansdolltreasures.etsy.com/

Realistic customized fashion doll to look like you or someone you know!

Why do adults play with and collect fashion dolls?  There are many reasons, but one of the main reasons is because by playing with our dolls we can fantasize what life could be like.  Our dolls have wonderful homes, perfect families with loving parents and the well behaved child, perfect jobs, and nice vacations..  Can you imagine creating that fantasy world and having your doll ACTUALLY look like YOU!

A couple of days ago I received an interesting email from Mary, one of my blog readers. She sent me a link to a company (www.thatsmyface.com) that customizes fashion dolls to look like you.  Can you imagine! I was not aware of this company, and I can't vouch for their work, but I wanted to share it with you. Seems like it could be a dream come true.  Have you ever thought what would it be like to shrink to Barbie size, play in her world, then return to the real world whenever you wanted?  Sort of like a mini escape.  Maybe I am the only one! Well maybe your fashion doll replica is the next best thing.  With the holidays right around the corner, it could be the perfect gift.  If you have additional information about this company, please post a comment.  THANKS!

Disclaimer:  I have no affiliations to this company.  They don't even know I exist, yet.  I have never used their service, so I don't have a testimony.

I love this mini sectional!

Where does the time go?  I could have sworn that I blogged a couple of days ago, but I guess it has been over a week now.  I've been busy completing a commission and making new items.  I finished this modified sectional a couple of days ago. I absolutely love it.  I always enjoy making and selling my items because I don't get attached to them.  Not the case for this sofa. I think from the moment I bought the fabric and immediately knew that I wanted to make a sectional, I was in love.  Once I completed it, the love only grew stronger.  I will be quite envious of the fashion doll family that will get to relax and enjoy this sofa.

To see more pictures and details, click here.