My Haul – A Good Start to March

In the first few days of this month I have found some interesting items, so I thought I would do a Haul of them.

Snoopy is at McDonalds! I have collected Snoopy figures for years and years and years. So I was excited to see McDonalds in North America are doing a Snoopy Happy Meal whilst I am here in Canada. So far I have Snoopy as a baseball player, an astronaut, and a detective, none of which I have seen versions of in the UK! I really want to get the pirate Snoopy.

I’ve mentioned before I collect Pez dispensers. In Dollarama I tracked down Jasmine who is one of the most elusive Disney Princess Pez.

Disney Happy Places series 2 hit the shelves of Walmart and I bought the Rapunzel starter pack. For the amount you get (not all items are shown) the starter pack is good value compared the blind boxes, it also includes larger items like cabinets. My favourite items in the pack are the lamp, sewing machine and mechanical pencil sharpener.

Another Dollarama find was a TsumTsum blind bag. I got a Toy Story alien! It comes with a little rocket to display it in and the rocket has the claw attached.

In my February Haul I mentioned I had found Young Justice comics in Dollarama for $3 each. In a different branch of Dollarama I found another three volumes. I love the cover art of Kid Flash on the volume in the middle.

Finally, in my Black Panther review I talked about how I thought Shuri was awesome. In Walmart I found the Shuri action figure and I knew I had to get. I think this is a good figure of her and I particularly like how her gauntlets are removable.

All of these items have been found in the first few days of this months and so I think it has been a good start to March.

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.

My Haul – Heroes and My Favourite Villain in Toronto

At the weekend I went to Toronto. If you know me than you know that I cannot go to a big city without buying something so here’s a haul post detailing what I bought.

Last time I went to Toronto I bought Itty Bitty’s from the Hallmark in the Eaton Centre. I did the same this time. Maleficent is my favourite Disney villain, I just had to get her Itty Bitty given how fabulous she looks.

I didn’t like the Rey Itty Bitty that was released for The Force Awakens, however now the collection for this years The Last Jedi has been released and I think that the new Rey looks a lot better than the previous one. There wasn’t much question about adding the second best Star Wars character to my collection (we all know Leia is the best).

In my last haul post I mentioned that Tsum Tsum lip balms are now a thing. In Toronto I was able to track down Maleficent’s!

In my post about my day in Toronto I mentioned that I visited a comic café. From there I bought Volume 3 of the ongoing DC Rebirth Flash series. So far this series has been really good so I’m glad to add the latest instalment to my collection, especially as it was from somewhere so cool!

Every year Disney Store releases a collection of Disney Princess Christmas Ornaments and every year I buy one princess. I limit myself to only one of the princess decorations because otherwise I’d end up with hundreds of Disney Christmas decorations. I was really torn about who I wanted to buy this year but when I noticed that Belle and Tiana had already sold out I decided to take the plunge and buy Rapunzel. I really like how detailed she is and I love how they made her usual dress look a little more winter ready. Now in years to come when I get out my Disney Princess Christmas Ornament Collection I will look at Rapunzel and think of how I bought her in Toronto during my year abroad.

That’s what I bought this time during my visit to Toronto.

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.

Disney Princesses as Doctor Who Companions

I’ve mentioned before that I like to sew outfits for my doll collection. My latest project has been making outfits inspired by Doctor Who companions for some of the Disney Princesses. Normally I don’t feel like sharing the doll outfits I make on my blog, however I am really pleased with how these ones have turned out so I thought they were worth sharing.

Merida as Amy Pond

Merida is wearing an outfit that is inspired by the one Amy Pond wore in Victory of the Daleks, to me it feels like a very natural fit to have Merida as Amy Pond. It was a relatively simple outfit to make however I think the end result is very effective. The boots (borrowed from Hasbro’s Pocahontas) finish off this one perfectly.

Belle as Clara Oswald

Belle is Clara Oswald, or more specifically Oswin Oswald from Asylum of the Daleks. The sleeves were quite fiddly to make but I think that ultimately this dress came out well.  I love the little detail of giving Belle a set of measuring spoons attached to her belt, this echoes the whisk in Oswin’s belt.

Rapunzel as Rose Tyler

Finally (for now!) we have Rapunzel dressed as Rose Tyler. This outfit is based on the one worn by Rose in The Idiots Lantern, it might not be the first outfit you think of Rose wearing but it’s certainly one of the most memorable ones she wore. I think this is the best cardigan/jacket I have made so far. I’m very pleased with how the sleeves sit on her shoulders.

I think these three princesses look ready to have adventures in time and space. They’re the only ones I plan on doing at the moment however I may well make more outfits inspired by Doctor Who companions in the future.

My Doll Rooms So Far…

So for a while I’ve wanted to do a post where I show off all 7 doll rooms that I’ve made so far. Some of these rooms I have written making of posts for previously but others I have never before shared on my blog. The idea for making a doll room in a cereal box came from My Froggy Stuff on YouTube, I have adapted her ideas to great rooms which suit my dolls.

The Forest of Enchantment Living Room

This one was the first one, the one that started it all. This room was partially inspired by the stage show The Forest of Enchantment from Disneyland Paris. That show features Rapunzel, Merida and Pocahontas who are usually displayed in this room. After I bought him Flynn Rider also hangs out in this room. The furniture in this room often varies and gets changed around to create different arrangements for the dolls to be displayed with.

Tiana’s Café

Given how much I love her I was obviously going to make a room of some sort to display Tiana in! I decided a Café would be more economical than a restaurant in terms of space. Later on I considered making Tiana a bakery inspired by The Great British Bake Off, I ultimately decided not to make this but as I’d already made and bought things for the bakery I created a combined café/bakery. The café is a great set for displaying various dolls in, at the moment Anna, Jasmine, Supergirl and the Winter Soldier are having afternoon tea in Tiana’s Café!

Megara’s Greek Villa

I came across a picture of a Greek island from an old calendar of my mum's and realised I could use it as a large window in a doll room. Megara’s Greek Villa was the result. This is one of the more simple rooms I have made but it’s an effective one for displaying Megara. Later on Hercules joined Megara after I found him for a pound in a charity shop.

The Art Gallery

Out of all the rooms I’ve made this is the one which follows a My Froggy Stuff tutorial the closest. The bench means this is a great set for displaying dolls who have unarticulated legs and can’t stand. One of my favourite things about this one is that it can be rearranged to create different spaces. Also the postcards that are on the wall as paintings in the gallery are just blu-tacked on so they can be removed to create different exhibits.

The Disneyland Paris Room

I wrote about how I made this one here and little has changed since I made it. The seating in this room gets changed relatively frequently depending on what is in use. This room has been a good one for displaying various Disney dolls in.

The Bookshop

I wrote about how I made this one here, since I made it I have added another bookcase which was previously in The Forest of Enchantment Living Room. One of my favourite things about the bookshop is that it has a lot of detail without looking cluttered. As you might expect, since I bought Belle the other week she has been in the book shop a lot.

Batgirl’s Batcave

I wrote about how I made this one here a few weeks ago. I’m still very pleased with how this set came out, this has been a great set for just displaying Batgirl.

So that’s it for now. I have plans to make more doll rooms in the future however for now there’s nothing definite in the works. Possible upcoming rooms include a beach hut, a space station based on the Star Tours Ride, a new Avengers HQ, a room for Mulan, a room for Jasmine base on Agrabah Café at Disneyland Paris or some sort of Frozen room. Mostly it depends on what dolls I feel could have their own room and what supplies I have available.

My Disneyland Paris Doll Room

I’ve been busy crafting today and this time I made a Disneyland Paris doll room, I thought I’d do a brief post about how I made it. As with the Superhero Hang Out I made back in October this craft was inspired by tutorials from My Froggy Stuff on YouTube combined with my own creativity.

First off I took a cereal box, cut it down the centre and covered the edges and base with paper. This part is a little tedious so I had a cup of tea whilst doing it. The wonderful thing about using cereal boxes to make doll rooms is that they can be folded up for easy storage.

I next covered the main section of the box with a floral scrapbook paper. I chose a floral print as I have mainly been to Disneyland Paris during spring. The roses in this pattern also suggest a small reference to Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty.  I cut out the Disneyland Park map (I picked up a spare when I was there a few weeks back) and glued that into the box.

The side walls got covered in a snowflake patterned paper. I chose a snowflake pattern as a little visual reference to Frozen, appropriate given Elsa and Anna are regulars at Disneyland Paris these days.

With the main wallpapering done it was time to add the details. I mounted a picture of Olaf in a Disneyland Paris firework show to look like a window. I trimmed the bottom of the box with a gold tape to act as a shiny skirting board.

The room needed a piece of furniture. I made a little side table to go in this room by hot gluing an empty cotton reel, the lid from a coffee jar and an old candle stick together. I used left over images from the park map to make doll sized park maps to go on the table.

Some small finishing details were then needed to complete the room. I stuck a cut out from the back of my Frozen calendar from last year on to the wall to create a doll sized calendar. I used a length of netting with green stars to look like a curtain and secured it behind the box. I also placed a Vinylmation figure - which I bought from my first visit to Disneyland Paris – in front of either side wall.

And that’s it! Not my most advanced project ever but certainly an effective one. This space feels to me like it could be a room in Main Street or Fantasyland where people can pop into for a break whilst exploring Disneyland Paris. It’s certainly a good backdrop from characters who are often found at Disneyland Paris – as Elsa, Flynn, Rapunzel and Tiana are proving there!