A note about my doll names, featuring my My Twinns

I would estimate that 99% of my dolls came with names.  I don’t name them.  I know there are a lot of girls that change their dolls names.  I tried to change the name of one of my dolls, Australian Girl Emily, to Sheila, but it barely stuck.  Most of the time when I look at her I call her Emily.  I never thought I was the kind of girl who liked picking out names for their dolls.

But yesterday I got 3 My Twinn Adopt-a-Friend dolls.  They needed names.  Here’s what I came up with.

I got my first My Twinn a few months ago.  I named her Maria.  It was a simple, no-nonsense kind of a name, and just a little ethnic.  It seemed to fit right away.

Maria

I got my second My Twinn earlier this week.  When I thought about naming her, I wanted a name that was a little bit like Marjorie, because she looks a little bit like me.  I landed on Melanie, but it wasn’t an easy choice.

Melanie

With two M-names locked in for my My Twinn dolls, and a lot of recent viewings of 19 Kids and Counting, I decided that the rest of my My Twinn dolls were going to have M-names too.  The first name I picked is Mavis.  It’s a name I’ve been in love with since the line in Saving Mr. Banks, when they’re discussing what to name Mrs. Banks.  “It should be something warm, a bit sexy.  How about Mavis?” Decidedly unsexy+a little bit funny=perfect for a doll=something I’d never name a human.  I then assigned the name Mavis to the doll that seemed most fitting.

Mavis

The next name I chose by looks.  This doll had such a simple beauty, so she needed a simple name.  Megan came to mind, but Megan is just too common in my generation, so I decided that she is a Meg.

Meg

The last doll name I chose was a bit trickier.  Her look is very complicated, so I wanted a complicated name.  So I took to the internet looking for M-names.  I didn’t get very far down the list, and I stopped at the name Marceline.  It’s a weird word…I’ve never known anyone named Marceline.  But I know Marceline, Missouri is Walt Disney’s hometown, so I love it!  On this particular website I was searching, there was one simple description next to the name: “I could call her Marcy”.  I’ve never liked the name Marcy.  I don’t know anyone in real life named Marcy; the only person who comes to mind is Marcy Darcy from Married With Children.  I was a bit too young for Married With Children, but I remember that Marcy Darcy was a bimbo.  I think that makes Marcy a fitting name for this unnaturally blond doll.  So she will be Marceline, sometimes Marcy, depending on my mood.

Marceline, sometimes Marcy

I really love my new My Twinns.  It’s so much fun to open their boxes, because by the time they arrive I forget what they look like.  Their hair is a surprise, because those little tiny Adopt-a-Friend mugshots have no description of hair length

Gorgeous.

yikes.

But their clothes leave a lot to be desired.  I’m pretty sure my friend Sue wears this exact same look.  Sue is 64.

dressed like a reasonably active grandma

And Maria’s sweater is cute on its own, but not attractive for the shoulder structure of these dolls

  linebacker shoulders

Though their clothes are not my style, they are quality pieces.  The shoes are pretty great.  Seams are finished.  Jeans have realistic metal.

What I love most about the dolls is how many facial possibilities there are.  I will close with a family photo:

And with 18-inch Melanie:

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Another New Dolly!

I found it impossible to resist a sale at My Twinn on their 18-inch Adopt-a-Friend dolls.  I named her Melanie.  I can’t believe how long her hair is!

The adopt-a-friend dolls are a bit of a gamble because you have basically no idea what their hair is like, so I feel like I hit the jackpot with Melanie’s hair!

The outfit she came in was pretty lame (like most My Twinn outfits), so I immediately put her in an American Girl outfit.  Fits her really well–Melanie is just a tiny bit more petite than her friends from American Girl.  But her price was significantly more petite!  If you’re interested, just keep checking the My Twinn website.  It seems like some of their dolls are always on sale.  Today the larger 23-inch adopt-a-friend are $59 (I ordered 3 that should be here tomorrow).  And the custom 18-inch dolls are only $79.  Did you know that now you can choose the face mold yourself, or you can still send in a photo and let the artists choose?  Or you can get the semi-custom My BFF doll for $69.  Or you can wait–I got Melanie for $49.  As far as American Girl substitutes go, I don’t think you’ll find one of this quality for less money.

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Maplelea Monday: a new puppy!

The girls at my house got a new puppy!  Meet Cinnamon from Maplelea. 

I have decided he is a Golden Doodle, because I think he looks like this real-life puppy named Darwin (not my photo):

He’s a little bit big for Leonie–it makes her a bit nervous, but 23-inch My Twinn Maria loves him!

 

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I got 3 new dollies today!

I got 3 new dollies today!  I thought about giving each of them a separate post, but for now decided to introduce you to all of them right now.

Meet Maria, Gwen, and Marta!

Let’s start with Marta.  She’s from Spain!  A company called Paola Reina, which just opened up sales in North America.  They pride themselves on being entirely European-made.  I’ve been admiring Marta for a few months now, and all the dolls in the Las Reinas de Paola line.  Marta is my favorite because of her adorable freckles!

And she is gorgeous.  It was looking a little dicey when I got her out of the shipping box:

Yeah.  Her face is under there somewhere.  And her shoe is supposed to be on her foot.  I actually had to sew a button back on the shoe so it would stay on.  I wonder how long my sewing skills will hold up.

I got her out of the box, tidied up her hair, took off the heavy fur pieces (maybe she’ll put them back when winter rolls around), and got her outside for a lovely photo:

I didn’t buy Marta immediately because she is so big!  Check out this photo of her making Karito Kids Lulu look tiny.  Until today, Lulu was my tallest doll.

So I bought Marta a friend.  She’s a My Twinn doll and I named her Maria.  My Twinn has switched from the larger 24 inch dolls to 18 inch dolls that can wear American Girl clothes, but they have a few of the big dolls left called “Adopt a Friend”.  You have to flip through about 60 pages of dolly mugshots to choose your Friend.  I think I ended up with the one who looks the least like me.
 

She’s a bit weird, with huge shoulders:

Watch her dwarf poor Addy:

She even makes Australian Girl Sheila, who I affectionately call Fattie because of her thick arms and legs, look small:

But her face is lovely, and I can tell she and Marta will be great friends:

Last but not least, is Gwen!

Gwen is my 32nd American Girl doll, which means I now have all of them.  Every historical character.  Every Girl of the Year.  Every doll with a name.  I have them all.

Gwen is one of Chrissa’s best friends.  I didn’t buy her when she was first out because back in 2009 I only had 9 American Girl dolls, and I already had 2 with blond hair and brown eyes (Julie and Kailey).  31 dolls later, and I still only have those 2 with blond hair and brown eyes.  I now have 9 dolls with blond hair: 3 brown-eyed, 3 blue-eyed, 2 hazel-eyed, and 1 green-eyed.  Gwen is only my 5th doll with bangs (or more if you count Lanie, Lindsey, and Nellie’s wispy bangs, but I don’t).   Now is a great time for Gwen to join my dolly family.  I’m so glad she’s here!

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