Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Junk In The Trunk

Well it's not actually junk, but it was in the trunk of my car.  I don't like getting too many doll things at one time.  It's too overwhelming.  I try to space out my purchases, but sometimes it can't be helped if the sales/finds are too good.  Often times I will leave items in the trunk of my car, sometmes for months at a time, until I am ready for them to be in the house.  I have been known to forget having quite a few items.  Looked in the car one day and there was an Artsy doll, that I didn't even remember buying.  I guess the car is like my basement sometimes.  Just full of treasures.  Last week I ended up at a number of stores, that I didn't intend on visiting.  Found some incredible buys, that made it out of the trunk today.


I really thought I was safe when I went to JoAnn Fabric store last week for needles. In all my years of shopping there, I have never run across fashion dolls of any kind.  Surprise, surprise.  Look what I found.

I decided to get this one. because I don't have this doll, and Zahara was begging me to buy her the baby carriage.  With my 40% off coupon, it would run me $12.  Not bad.  Since you can't find these locally any more, buying it on-line would have run me so much more.

Well, when I got to the counter, they rang up 50% off, or $9.99.  Zahara was jumping up and down asking me to get her the baby crib, too.  I really have to stop taking those kids with me shopping.


I went to several thrift stores last week, too.  I was really just looking for (NOTHING) odds and ends for my dios.  Saw this doll.  $7.99.  Who can say no!  Apparently, not me.

I have been dying for a 1/6 scale horse the past couple of months.  Probably because I am now a Western fanatic and most of the TV shows I watch involve men slinging themselves on a horse and galloping off.  Talk about sexy!  Back in the late 90s, I had the pleasure of meeting some Black cowboys when I went to Dallas for business.  I was winding down, in the hotel lounge for the day, and there, not too far from me, was Tony Dorsett, my football idol at the time, and three of his cowboy friends.  I introduced myself to Tony, and he introduced me to them.   Tony and I talked for what seemed like hours, as he caught me up on what everyone from the 1978 team was doing.  He was quite impressed that I knew all the important players. 

I got the tan horse, which is the new walking, talking, Tawny horse, for $3 from one thrift store, and the other two for $1 each at a Goodwill.  The two in the back will probably be painted black and brown.  So when Nicole mentioned she got a horse.  She actually got use of a horse when Melanie signed her up for riding lessons.  One more horse from Target will be added.  It is the smaller Generation horse, that would be perfect for one of my men.  I see stable building in my future.  I drew out a set of plans, but at the time I only had the Tawny horse.  Back to the drawing board.

Wonderfully cheap dio finds at the thrift store.

These will be spray painted white or silver and used at the wedding ceremony.  $1 ea at the Goodwill.

Found this painting for $2 at the thrift store.  It will be used in The Den as a wall mural.

Not only did I go to the Goodwill and the Thrift store, I went to an Antique store.  These were the doll items I found for really good prices.  The silver picture frame may show up at the wedding reception with pictures of Rod and Danielle and the kids.  The white cabinet is very shallow and perfect for a diorama.  I haven't decided what the dio will be, but I am excited about the possibilites. 
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31 comments:

  1. You found some nice goodies :O) I remember those lil ones with the sets. You got a great price.

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  2. You found some really good things! Those doll sets are so cute! Great prices. Love that most of all:)

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  3. Dollz4Moi and Chynadoll - Aren't those little sets cute! I used to see them when they were sold in Target and never bought them at that $20 price. At the time I didn't realize how much I would like using those toddlers with the Barbies. I think the red head will get a little boy makeover.

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  4. Great buys Vanessa! I like the silver pic frame. Thanks for stopping by... he smiled ~too~ big after I gave him your message! Love ya!

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  5. Loretta - Thanks! I knew he would enjoy my message. LOL!

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  6. Isn't it funny how once your into mini's you see everything as potential "doll house stuff" lol

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  7. Cheryl - Thanks for commenting. Yes, it is funny. 99% of the time, I only see in 1/6 scale. It's amazing what we can come up with.

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  8. Great finds Vanessa, love the Mari doll. Great prices! Aren't Thrift Stores great for finding unique things.

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  9. Frannie - Thrift stores are the best. I find great things every time I go. That's why I don't go too often. Those little dollars add up. I'm really excited about that Mari doll. She is so unique. She is going to fit in nicely here.

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  10. I used to have that tan horse! Mine's motor ran SO LOUD and in the middle of the night while I was sleeping, something dropped and turned it on. I didn't notice until when I woke up, which was SO creepy!

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  11. You found some great itema and I can just imagine the possibilites. I think we all do that at one time or another. TGet things and forget about them. I'm guilty.

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  12. Great finds, Vanessa. I'm guilty of purchasing things and leaving them in the trunk for a while, too.

    dbg

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  13. Zahara is funny. :) My doll kids also like small baby cribs, strollers and other things, which are suitable for their own dollies. I have some, but they always want me to buy more. lol.
    Generation Girl Mari is wonderful. I have been going to buy her for several years, because she can be the oldest daughter in one of my Asian families and Asian kids and teens are so rare... But each time I begin to look for dolls I want to buy on eBay, I usually find some AA ones and buy them, not Asian or Caucasian dolls... :)
    As for the doll horses, I have many of them, but my dream is to collect several really big horses of different colors - some of those, which are sold with action figures, not Barbie dolls. Well, I have two of them now, because some Power Team sets with horses were available in Russia recently, but I also want to get the white Power Team horse. I see the set on eBay from time to time, but nobody wants to ship such a big box to Russia...

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  14. The first two sets are super adorable!! No wonder Zahara was jumping up and down! I love going to antique stores too! I wish they had more here in So Cal. When I used to live in OK, there were tons! I got some pretty good finds too!

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  15. Kaye - Thanks for commenting. That is creepy. That just might keep me from putting in a new battery.

    Brini - That's why I have gotten really organized in the house with the doll stuff. I also now take pics of everything once it gets in the house. Nothing for me to be perusing pics and see something that I forgot I bought. Luckily I now just where to go to put my hands on it.

    DBG - Thanks. Sometimes it's easier not to deal with new purchases right away.

    Dukasha - You are right Mari would make a great Asian teen. It's funny that you get distracted from buying her. I guess when it's meant to be, she will make her way to you. Wow! I didn't know the Power Team guys had horses. I will have to take a look. I have never seen their horses available here in person. Have you seen the Generation doll horses? They are 18" dolls, but just recently the line included much smaller horses, than their 18" sized ones. They feel like real horses. They have beautiful realistic colors. I may buy one next month.

    Dolly's World - Zahara figured these were the belated Christmas gifts Santa forgot to deliver on time. We have so many thrift stores and antique stores here. I keep saying one month I am going to spend my whole dolly budget at the thrift stores.

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  16. Great finds Vanessa! You make me miss thrift store shopping. I have not gone in a few months and it's killing me lol! I am on a mission and I have to stay focused. The reward will be great if I make it through this month.

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  17. Georgia Girl - I hadn't been thrifting in a long time. Hang in there. You are doing great! I can see you running to the store soon as Feb hits. LOL!

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  18. Vanessa, I hope I'll buy Mari one day. :) I have many AA doll kids and teens now, so it's time to buy some other, not AA. Though I still don't have AA OHC dolls, AA Mikey dolls, AA Chelsea/Tamika dolls, AA Isla and Hadley dolls, Totally Yo-Yo Nikki doll, Stacie, Jazzie's friend, some of little AA Stacie/Janet dolls, some of Flavas Kiyoni dolls... The list is endless. lol. But all those dolls are hard to find or I just don't like something about them, so I'm not going to buy them in the nearest future, though I still can buy some of them if I get a chance. I also think about several more AA Tommy dolls and SiS kids. I have many of them already, but they are so cute. :)
    Yes, Power Team guys have horses and they are huge in comparison with Barbie ones. I have a dark brown PT horse and a light brown one and there is also a white or light gray one, which I can't get. The set with a horse and a guy is named "In pursuit", it is available on eBay sometimes.
    No, I don't know anything about Generation doll horses. It would be interesting to see such a horse with a 1:6 doll...

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  19. Dukasha - Thanks for the info. I was able to find one with a black horse at Amazon for $15.99 + 4.99 shipping. Amazing price. I'm anxious to see what the guy looks like. I think the Generation horses are about the same size. I will probably get one of those in a lighter color. This stable is getting bigger and bigger.

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  20. Dukasha - Oops, that was the smaller scale horse that I ordered. I just canceled it. I did see the In Pursuit horse on Ebay. I will just get a couple of the Generation horses instead. They are $20. Much cheaper than what they want on ebay for the In Pursuit sets.

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  21. Yes, those sets are expensive. I was lucky to buy two of them in Moscow when there was something like a sale for Power Team figures in "Detskiy Mir", so I got them much cheaper, than ever expected. But I'm ready to pay the full price for the big horses, because I love doll horses and they were always an important part of my doll stories and my dolls' life. We used usual Barbie sized flocked horses, when we played with my friends many years ago, but they looked good only with doll kids and I want to have horses for adult dolls. The problem is that it's almost impossible to find any other big horses in Russia and it's always a problem to find an eBay seller, who is ready to ship a huge box overseas. Though I know that big flocked non-movable horses also exist, and I even have one. You can see some photos of it in my Flickr Photostream. I know that other Russian collectors have such horses of other colors, but it's very-very hard to find them in Russia.
    It will be very interesting to see the Generation horses, when you get them. I found some of them on eBay, but I'm not sure that any of them are of that new small size.

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  22. Your eye for miniatures always amazes me. Great thrift store finds. I never got any of the Power Team guys that had horses but I got one that had a donkey. Toys R Us Jessica is currently sold in some sets with a horse. The doll is wearing a riding habit that might also be useful.

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  23. limbe dolls - Sometimes I think I only see in 1/6 scale. Thanks for the info on Jessica I will take a look. I really think there are only 2 more Generation horses in my future. Finding a pasture in Morristown could prove to be difficult.

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  24. Those sets are adorable! I have the Mari doll but sadly she sits in a storage bin waiting to come out! :(

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  25. william - Maybe you will let her out to enjoy your new sushi bar. Pretty soon I will have enough Asian dolls to fill a whole restaurant. I will need to build Asia town soon.

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  26. I have never seen dolls in JoAnn's! You are soo lucky! I haven't see this set either. You scored!

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  27. Ms. Leo - In all my years of going to JoAnn's I have never seen dolls there. I swear they are following me around and begging to be bought.

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  28. Hello from Spain, i love as shelly with the cradle and the baby carriage. She is ideal. What a laugh that let some shopping in the boot. I am not wait to get home and open everything but then not use it in moths. I have some small vases type your. I see very cheap shopping in your country. I have several horses too. The city od Dallas in Spain sounds like the American serie os J.R. Ewing, 'Dallas TV'. It was a total success on TV in my country. Do you know that city?... Keep in touch

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  29. Marta - The Dallas with J.R. Ewing is the same Dallas I was visiting. That used to be one of my favorite TV shows. There are a lot of thrift stores that sell items really cheap. It's a great place to find items for the doll rooms.

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  30. Great stuff. I love the little red head girl. She is too cute!

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  31. April - Thanks. The little red haired girl is already a character in my story. She is quite the character, too. She is one of three kids by Stephanie and Ethan Hart. I plan to transform the new one into a little red haired boy. I will paint his body with blue fabric paint.

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