Showing posts with label anna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anna. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Frozen Doll Room



The Forest of Enchantment got Frozen in my latest craft project…

The very first doll room I made was The Forest of Enchantment living room. It was inspired by a stage show I had seen at Disneyland Paris which featured Rapunzel, Merida and Pocahontas. I loved the show and made the room as a little tribute to it and as a way to display those dolls. However over time this room feel out of use and strayed away from its intended purpose. Rather than just put it in the recycling I decided to retheme it into a Frozen doll room.

First step was to strip back the room to just a paper covered box. I chose to keep the green floral wall as it reminds me a little of Frozen Fever. I recovered the other wall with a snowflake patterned scrapbook paper. I used a dark wood scrapbook paper on the floor and a lighter wood scrapbook paper as a skirting board.


I mounted a picture of the Arendelle castle onto another piece of wood print scrapbook paper for a window and then glued it into the box.


Using a hot glue gun, I glued a piece of sequin fabric to the box as a curtain and to help soften the divide between the two wall papers. I also glued a string of silver beads to the box, these were part of the old Forest of Enchantment room but I think they sort of look like lights and I felt they fit the general feel of the Frozen room. A selection of pictures has also been glued onto the wall, I initially considered adding more but decided not to so that I have the option to add more at a later date.

The basic room was compete so I could move the furniture into the room.

This mini drawer had been a part of the Forest of Enchantment room previously. I bought it cheap from The Works (I think it was meant to be a jewlery box), previously I had painted it light blue. To make it feel like a better fit for the Frozen room I used a chalk marker to add some Frozen inspired details.

This couch was from a pack of doll sized IKEA furniture. I used a piece of white fabric with a black print as a blanket thrown on the couch, I chose this fabric as it’s relatively neutral in contrast to a lot of the pattern throughout the room. I also placed some mini cushions I had made previously onto the couch. In front of the couch is a brown faux fur rug which was just cut out from a piece of faux fur that I’d used in a previous craft project.


Every room always needs just a few little extra items to help finish it off and bring the set to life. I like adding things like this to add a little more detail into a doll room. The digital clock and the box of tissues are both from the Disney Happy Places blind boxes I collected.

With the Frozen doll room now complete all that was left to do was move in some dolls. So here’s Anna and Kristoff on the couch with Sven.

Saturday, 17 February 2018

Disney Streaming Service Shows?

So as you might know Disney are going to be launching a major new online streaming service later this year. It was recently announced that they will be creating original series and original movies for this new platform. I thought I would share some of my predictions, speculation and wishes for what new content I would like to see.

Zootropolis – The Series
Zootropolis was a fantastic film. It really deserves a sequel but Disney don't seem to be developing one at the moment so a series could be a good alternative. Given Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are cops there’s pretty obvious potential to develop a crime/mystery series set in Zootropolis. A series could also be a good format to further explore the racial subtext of the film. Why do I want to see this series on the streaming service? Because it could be a really good binge watch series as you try to figure out the mystery at the same pace Judy and Nick are figuring it out.

Disney Princesses United
If you’re a Disnerd you probably know that in Wreck It Ralph 2 the Disney Princesses (from Ariel to Moana) are going to be appearing. Given all the excitement from the announcement that the princesses were going to be meeting each over for the first time (in forever!) I wonder if  Disney will want to build on that hype. One way to possibly do so would be through a series that featured the Disney Princesses united.

Princess and the Frog
Do I even need to say that I love Princess and the Frog anymore? Because I really love it! I have talked before on this blog about how Princess and the Frog deserves more and in that post I mentioned that a TV series could be interesting. The Disney streaming service could be an ideal platform for a series of adventures about Tiana dealing with running her restaurant. A series could also show more of Tiana’s close friendship with Lottie.

Disney Villains
On the complete flip side of the Disney Princesses we have the Disney Villains. The Disney Villains are an enduringly popular group of characters and yet Disney have not really done much with them in the past few years. A series could be a fan pleasing new outlet for characters like Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula.

Star Wars Live Action Series
There’s been reports that there will be a new Star Wars live action series on the Disney streaming service. I think this is a good idea and will probably be a big draw for many geeks to subscribe to the service. Personally I would like to see a series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens that explored what was happening in the time between the trilogies. I’d also like to see this Star Wars series use completely new characters and not have any appearances from existing characters in order to really expand the galaxy far far away.

So that’s just a few speculative ideas, I will be interested to find out what Disney actually decide to put on their streaming service when it launches.

Friday, 1 December 2017

My Haul – Christmas Decorations from Canada!

It’s the first of December! That means it’s the start of advent and officially (if you haven’t already) it is finally time to get the Christmas decorations out!
In the spirit of getting out the Christmas decorations I thought I would do a My Haul post to round up all the Christmas decorations that I have bought since I have been in Canada. I am going to be organizing this post in the order I bought them.

The first decoration I bought was an Adipose from Doctor Who. The Adipose are adorable blobs of fat and one of the strangest Doctor Who aliens ever. I’ve never actually seen Doctor Who Christmas decorations before but when I found this one I had to buy it!

I talked about my collection of Disney Princess Christmas decorations and how Rapunzel is my princess for 2017 in the Haul post about when I bought her in Toronto.

The Starbucks Christmas cup! Does this count as a Christmas decoration? Well it does to me! I have a collection of Christmas coffee cups which I have been gathering for the past few years, this year’s Starbucks cup is the latest addition and one of my favourites.

I love Raccoons, they are my favourite animals. I couldn’t resist this cute little raccoon skiing and wearing a Santa hat.

A Dollarama find! I got a pack of 8 mini disco balls which have ended up going in front of my doll display.

Anna in her outfit from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, I mentioned her in the haul post from the trip to Toronto when I bought her.

How perfect for me is this Flash Christmas decoration? I knew I had to get him for my Christmas tree as soon as I saw him in Walmart.

I have loved the Peanuts comic strips and the Charlie Brown cartoons for years, Woodstock is my favorite character. Technically this one isn’t for me, Woodstock is destined to go on the family Christmas tree, but he’s too sweet not to include on this haul post.  

Wonder Woman stocking! Probably one of the coolest stockings you will see this Christmas. I knew I wanted it as soon as I saw it.

Another one for the family Christmas tree. My Dad, my Mum and me all loved Zootropolis (or Zootopia as it’s known in North America) and when I spotted Judy Hopps I knew we needed her.

Finally (and appropriate for today) is my advent calendar. This year I have decided to go for the Star Wars one, mainly because it has Rey front and centre where she should be.


Well that was quite a long post! I’ve been collecting all of these for a number of weeks (since the end of September) and I am very pleased with what I have added to my collection of Christmas decorations.

Saturday, 25 November 2017

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Review



Olaf's Frozen Adventure is a short that’s the latest instalment in the Frozen franchise and is currently playing before Pixar’s Coco. If you know me you know I LOVE Frozen so I had to talk about this Christmas short.

On the one hand this is shameless marketing to sell Frozen Christmas products. Anna and Elsa have new dresses which means Disney can make more toys (which I have already bought!). And possibly the actresses playing Elsa in the theme parks can have a slightly warmer dress for winter instead of that weird looking padded version of the ice dress.

However Olaf’s Frozen Adventure was actually a really entertaining little short. As the title suggests this instalment really is all about Olaf who continues to be funny and endearing. It’s slightly longer than the previous short Frozen Fever and is set in Arendelle during the holiday season. Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is full of little jokes and references to Frozen, much like Frozen Fever.

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure also adds something to Frozen. There’s something which expands upon what Anna and Elsa were doing during all the years that lapsed during Do You Want To Build A Snowman? Honestly this thing they added made me cry and I suspect that I will see Frozen in a slightly different way because of it. I think Anna got a chance to shine more than her sister this time round, which is nice because Elsa usually takes the spot light.

I think it says a lot about Disney that what is essentially a merchandising opportunity for their two most popular characters managed to be a heart-warming story. I think Olaf’s Frozen Adventure might have become a new holiday tradition to watch at that time of year.

Sunday, 12 November 2017

My Haul – From A Day Out In Toronto

This weekend I had a day out in Toronto. As promised here’s a My Haul post about what I bought this time in Toronto.
Eaton Centre
I started out in the Eaton Centre where I got some things I like from Disney Store and Hallmark.

Disney Store
I bought the Christmas Anna plushie wearing her new dress from the upcoming short, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. As soon as I heard that a Frozen Christmas short was in production I knew it would mean new dresses for Elsa and Anna which would mean new toys of them. I was actually pretty disappointed with how the dolls look but I really like how the plushies look. I managed to get Anna for only $10 thanks to a couple of offers in store.

Hallmark
As has now become tradition I bought two more Itty Bitty’s from Hallmark. I bought Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy and the new Avengers version of Captain America. If you know me it’s probably no surprise that I wanted to add these two to my collection.

The Black Canary – Comic Coffee Shop
Of course I bought comics whilst getting a coffee. I bought the next volume of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps after I enjoyed the first one which I got over summer. I also decided to get a comic which has been on my ‘To Get List’ for a while, DC Bombshells which is an alternate universe series where Wonder Woman leads a team of female DC heroes during WWII.


So that was what I bought this time. Itty Bitty’s, something from Disney Store and comics. I’m noticing the emergence of a pattern when I go shopping in Toronto!

Monday, 25 September 2017

My Haul – Shopping In Toronto

If you read my last blog post then you will know that I went to Toronto yesterday. Of course I did some shopping, it’s me! But what did I buy there? I’m going to share that in this haul post. As I said in my main blog post I didn’t really buy too much but I still feel like I want to do a separate haul post about my day out in Toronto.


The Eaton Centre Mall

This mall is a really cool mall, as I mentioned in my main post about Toronto I started my day once I’d arrived at the Eaton Centre Mall. This is the first time since I’ve been in Canada that I’ve been to a proper big North American mall. It was great for browsing as well as shopping.

Disney Store

Did anyone expect me to stay away from the Disney Store?

I bought the brand new Mulan doll in the Disney Store. What’s special about the new Mulan doll is that this is pretty much the first time since the movie was released that Disney have brought out a Mulan doll who is not wearing that pink dress. It’s good to finally see a Mulan doll that more closely reflects who the character is.


Also, can we just appreciate the Disney Store plastic bags in Canada? There’s Tiana, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Rapunzel and Captain America on it!

Hallmark

To me, when I see a Hallmark it means only one thing. Itty Bitty’s! I managed to restrain myself a little and only bought two.


Green Lantern has very quickly become a favourite of mine. Funnily enough I was actually wearing my Green Lantern tee yesterday! His Itty Bitty has started to become increasingly rare so I was glad I could find him, especially as he was the last one in the store.


In a previous haul I mentioned how the Disney Itty Bitty’s have not really been released back in the UK. I found Anna yesterday so of course I had to get the Frozen princess!


And that is what I bought in Toronto, I said I didn’t buy that much! But I just wanted to share what I did buy.

Monday, 20 February 2017

Doll Collecting, I know it’s a bit weird.


If you’ve been following this blog you’ll probably have seen that I like to collect dolls. I’ve mentioned it in three of my haul posts, I wrote a blog post about unboxing toys and I shared how I made one of my dollcraft projects



Well, today it is one year since I bought my first doll, Tiana from Princess and the Frog and funnily enough I also bought Jasmine from Aladdin this afternoon.When I bought Tiana I was adamant that I wasn’t going to start collecting dolls. It's not really a surprise that Tiana was the one responsible for it all, she is the best Disney Princess

That resolution not to collect dolls only lasted a couple of months until I was buying a Merida off eBay. I still tried to convince myself that I wasn’t actually going to collect dolls, I was just buying my favourite Disney Princesses. At first it was just my favourite Disney Princesses that I wanted to collect (Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Merida and Rapunzel plus Elsa and Anna). 


I think it was by the time I’d started to hunt down a Megara doll on eBay that I finally accepted that I’m a doll collector. By far my best doll find so far is my Hercules doll. He’s a 1997 original doll who I found in a charity shop for just £1! And best of all is that he was in near perfect condition when I spotted him.



When the DC Superhero Girls launched in this country I had a new line of dolls that I wanted to collect. DC Superhero Girls is such a cool toy line for a feminist geek, there was no way I would have been able to resist buying them!


Doll collecting has become a hobby for me but it’s also a hobby that has reignited some of my other hobbies. I make outfits for my dolls, sometimes inspired by their signature looks and other times just whatever I feel like making. This has really restarted my love of sewing and textiles – something that I had sadly let slide. I also make rooms, furniture and props to display my dolls with, most of these are inspired by tutorials from MyFroggyStuff on YouTube (seriously that woman is amazing she made a Christmas doll room out of a gift bag!) I used to love crafting when I was younger but much like my love of sewing it was something that I just sort of let slide.

There is a somewhat surprising number of male doll collectors out there who are proudly sharing pictures of their collections on social media. I find it interesting to see just how many #DudesWithDolls there are on Instagram and I do share pictures of my collection in that hashtag.  I’ve also noticed that quite a few of these men are gay. Side note, I have a theory that gay men are more willing to try stereotypically feminine hobbies (like doll collecting) because after coming out of the closet we no longer care if people judge us for what we like. We just want to enjoy whatever makes us happy.


Basically I know it’s a bit weird and unusual for a guy my age to be collecting dolls but I don’t really mind. It makes me happy and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Why would I? There’s at least three more dolls I need to get!

Sunday, 6 November 2016

To Unbox or Not To Unbox?

As a toy collector I am very familiar with that feeling of ‘should I take this out of the box?’ whenever I add something new to my collection. Anyone who knows me probably knows that I collect toys. All sorts of toys, from plushies to action figures to dolls.

The majority of the time my response is yes, I should unbox it - this reaction is probably due to how many times I’ve seen Toy Story 2 over the years! I usually unbox, remove tags and recycle the packaging (unless the packaging could be reused in a project) as soon as I can after buying something.

I know there’s a mentality that toys must always be kept in their box because that way they’re guaranteed to be worth more. That is a valid point however the reason toys from the 60s are worth so much in their packaging is because the packaging was destroyed in most cases. Toys from today are unlikely to gain as much value if they’re kept in their packaging as so many collectors leave them in their packaging that the market will probably become over-saturated. Plus it just seems sad that someone’s whole reason for buying a toy is to resell it later on.


Every so often I’ll come across something that stumps me. I have an unmasked 2015 SDCC Flash figure who I know I should be keeping packaged and I kept him in his packaging for a few months until I just had to remove him! And on the other end of the spectrum I bought an Elsa and Anna twin pack intending to unbox them but more or less as soon as I’d unboxed them I regretted taking the Frozen sisters out of the box.

Dolls I have found to be a particularly confusing group when it comes to if I should keep them boxed or not. Sometimes in the box a doll will be posed in a certain way or have their hair or clothes in a certain way that looks great but the second you take them out of the box that look is ruined. Other times a doll will need to be ripped out of the box as soon as possible because they look a mess in their box and urgently need a little TLC.


Generally I’ve figured out that I collect toys because they make me happy and I enjoy the experience of collecting. Therefore as it’s something that makes me happy I know it also makes me happy to not leave toys boxed up.