Mattel 2013 Halloween Barbie - Bewitched and Bejeweled

So a couple of days ago I was blog hopping, in my attempt to get back into the doll community and reconnect with people I loved to watch, and I popped into "A Bit of Aubrey's Mind". The recent blog post at that time was about the Mattel 2015 Halloween Barbie - Moonlight Halloween. I'd been considering picking this one up for myself, but knowing how Mattel doesn't like to continue fabric designs around the back of the outfits, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get her any more. The blog post helped me make up my mind, I won't get her unless I can get her on super discount like I did the 2013 Halloween Barbie. However, the 2015 Barbie is super cute and if you are considering getting her, be sure to check out the blog post here to read a really informative review on her. She's a cute doll, but I just want the design front and back...yeah...I'm spoiled. ;-)

ETA: So this post has been written for a while, but I hadn't published it yet for some reason. Perhaps this was the reason why. I saw that The Dude With Dolls posted a video about the Target exclusive 2015 Halloween Barbie doll. Her dress is a orange color instead of purple. The box has a different look that focuses more on pumpkins and there is no maze on the back for Blissa to romp through. Also, this girl has orange streaks instead of purple. She also doesn't have a broom with her, I know, upsetting. The design still doesn't go around the back, so she is a nope for me too, but it was fun see a different look for her. I so have to design some cat fabric like that one day. :-) Take a look at the video below to see this pretty girl.


So this made me think of the pictures I took about two years ago of the 2013 doll that I got for around 5

dollars at the time. I thought the dress and color combos were pretty and thought it would make for a cute Halloween outfit for my 27cm Bobobie doll, so I ordered her and waited for her to show up.

When she showed up, I was first excited by the box art, so magical. This doll really made me think of the show Bewitched, especially the theme song. The little witch riding on her broom leaving a sparkly trail in her wake especially brought that tingly jingle to mind. Don't believe me? Here, have a looksie.


See what I mean now? I so love Bewitched, and after searching for the theme song, it lead me to Amazon,

and now I so want the complete series on dvd along with "I Dream of Jeanie", but I digress. Back on track, this doll seems to be highly based on Samantha's version of a witch, which (see what I did there? ah? ah? anyone?) I'm not really seeing besides the box art. On the back of the box you can see they kept up with the sparkly theme, and even that cat gives me a feel of Bewitched because Samantha turns into one during the theme song. Yes, I know, it's reaching, but hey, is it really that far off? There's a little game for you to play, helping Blissa through the maze. And this just donned on me, I just not noticed that Blissa's name has one cursive "S" and one print "S", just like it was on 2015 doll's box. Also, it seems Blissa likes to get lost around Halloween time, because she went through a maze in 2013 and 2015. Interesting. Feel free to try to get Blissa home.

Couldn't figure it out? I've helped you out with that. You're welcome. ;-)

Opening the box and taking her out, you can see the awesome background behind her. I almost didn't want

to take her out because I liked the background so much. It's very Bewitched meets It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, but alas, she had to come out. I wanted that dress. As you can see here, the only thing "extra" you get with this doll is a cardboard broom. How nice of Mattel to give her that. ;-) What can you expect with a pretty basic doll?

I took her out of the box with her broom and ummm, that broom is not really in scale here. I mean, granted, she is suppose to ride on that sucker, and I'd rather have a lot of sitting room rather than just barely enough room to sit, especially flying high in the sky. So, on to the outfit, I love the pattern on the skirt part of the dress, but I really wish that the trademark Barbie head had been left out. I know, it's the logo, but still. There are also cute bats in the pattern, so I guess that makes up for it. The glitter top part of the dress is a pretty purple-pink, with a small black ribbon in the center of the dress to act as a belt. A black boa/wrap that easily slides up and down her arms is a nice addition to the outfit. To complete the outfit you get black thigh high boots that were also a thing in 2012 and 2014 but lost out for the 2015 doll, a black necklace, and black hat all made from the same shiney plastic it seems. And that's it when it comes to the outfit.

Barbie's face is pretty generic with her smiley face, blue eyes, and

blonde hair. The nice thing about her hair are the purple streaks in them that go great with the purple in her outfit. It's only in the front of her head, but it's still a nice touch to give her a different look from just your average Barbie doll. It's interesting to note that the 2015 doll also has a generic smiley face, blue eyes, and purple streaks in her hair, though it seems to be of a slightly darker tone. So it looks like 2013 and 2015 were a slight rinse and repeat design, much like 2012 and 2014 were a rinse and repeat on the pink theme. You can also see that her buckle on her hat has an expected Barbie "B" on it. The necklace is in kind of a spiderweb shape which helps add on to the Halloween theme, I thought that was creative.

Here's some picspam of this lovely girl.

 

Like I said, I wanted this doll to steal the dress for my 27cm for my Bobobie girl Leia. I thought it would be perfect for her for Halloween. The dress is really cute on her, but it doesn't fit her perfectly because she's a flat bust doll, however the rest of the fit is nice on her.

I think this will look really cute as a Halloween outfit, but I am

wondering if i will have to unpick the breast area and resew it to be a little less defined for breasts. Or do I try to sew something up to stuff the chest area? I'm not sure. It just is a little off for me.

As you can see here, there is a bit of gap in between her body and the fabric. So I am thinking on how to adjust that. I really think just unpicking the thread and resewing it a little less defined would work for me, but it might leave more of  gap, which I might be able to live with. Not sure. I'll try to make it happen before Halloween this year so I can share my results with you all.

But there you have it, 2013's Halloween Barbie doll. She's a cutie if you want her for the doll. She truly is, in my eyes, a basic doll. I don't have her here with me right now, but if my mind serves me right, she has hard legs with no joints, so she's limited on positions and poses. I think this doll was mostly made for her dress really. They tried to make her look less generic with the purple streaks in her hair, but she truly is just more of a display for the outfit. If you want to collect Halloween Barbies to display in their boxes, then I highly recommend her. If you want to get her for a child to play with, she's perfect for that too, kids will work around the lack of bendy knees. If you want her for photostories and or any kind of cool posing, I'd give her a pass. She's just not really made for that.

She's currently around 13 bucks on Amazon, but keep watching or surf around and you might be able to find her cheaper. I know this will sound snobby, but when you can get an articulated doll for the same or cheaper, I'm very picky when it comes to a doll with generic articulation and will only purchase if they are nicely priced and have a cute outfit and accessories. I got this girl at an awesome price, but I don't know if I would have if she were higher priced. My collecting habits have changed over the years and now I prefer a certain body before I will consider bringing a doll home. I only buy display dolls if they have the "complete package" for me, awesome doll with awesome box art. I have a lot of dolls like that and I plan to get some more in the future but not many because I feel I can't truly enjoy them behind their plastic windows, but that's just me.

If you like the less articulation for a more pleasing look, then go for this girl. I like dolls like that too, and if I was more into keeping them mint in box for displaying, I would have more of them, but I'm now to the point that I want to play and tinker, so it'll be a special doll or outfit that gets past my pickiness and makes it home with less articulation. It's funny how our likes and dislikes change over time. Guess that's how we grow as people and collectors. :-)

And on that weird and derpy note, I will talk to you lovelies later. I hope all is well with you, and that you find that treasured doll, no matter how much articulation they have, on your next shopping trip. ;-) Talk to you all in the next post. Be good until then. Bye for now.

Love always,
Michelle

Still Catching Up

I'm still reading blogs, and being entertained by all you have been up to. I took a few hour break to play some Guild Wars 2. Anyone else playing that? Let me know. Today was an ok day. Still not 100% after last night's attack but feeling better, so that is something. I had planned on introducing my new doll that I plan to use kind of as a mascot, but I just wasn't feeling up to do her head swap, so I decided to just take a mystery picture with my phone and tinker with it so you just make out something but not the full effect. It wasn't the bright before, I just wanted to leave you questioning for a bit. ;-) I'll hopefully get her swapped tomorrow or this weekend and show you her in her Halloween costume. She is wearing it in the picture, but umm yeah. Once agian, better late than never, right? And now I am going to focus on my mid grade novel for the next 2 hours because Nanowrimo starts at midnight. If you are doing Nanowrimo look me up and friend me on the Nano site. I'm mouse1996 on there. Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween. Talk to you either tomorrow or this weekend. Bye for now.

Reading to start writing,
Michelle

Omg guys, you've been busy!

I'm picking out some blogs to read and I now realize I'll be reading for a long time. You've all been busy! I so have to stop taking breaks from the hobby. *sigh* Ok, just has to come say that. Back to reading. If you need me, I'll be several months deep in a doll blog somewhere. :-)

Michelle

Better Late Than Never?

Hey guys, I have been meaning to post this story since last year and just never got to it. It's a little something silly I put together, but I think since it was Halloween and the character in the story is ready for it in a way, I figured I'd share this with you guys today. So I hope you enjoy my latest photostory "Clothes For Disco", please pay no attention to the actual title on the page. I had a mind fart while I was doing the html for the website and didn't change the title and I'm honestly too exhausted to change it now. LOL! It doesn't affect the story so please do enjoy. I still have the haul video to show you, but I need to edit it first. I will work on that soon, its kind of long now and I need to cut it down big time. So that's coming too. Ok peeps, I'm off again. Take care and bye for now.

Back to catching up on blogs,
Michelle

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope all off you are having a spooktacular time today. First let me say if you have been affected or know someone who has been affected by Sandy, you are in my thoughts. Please stay safe. I'm in so much shock the upper east coast got his so hard. It's usually Florida up to roughly Virginia that gets hit, so it was surprising we didn't get hit hard. I know it seems weird, but I kind of wish it was us that get hit instead because we are so used to it, perhaps it wouldn't have been so damaging. Like I said, seems weird for me to say that, but I hope it's also understandable.


So, where have I been? I've been writing articles while also dealing with my health issues. I really hate being in the place that I'm at. It takes away from my life so much. I had my worse panic attack today and was so sure I was going to die, so it just irritates me how bad my health is right now. So tonight I am going to spend some time relaxing and trying to catch up on some doll blogs. I haven't been able to read any in a couple of months, so I am picking one or two and catching up to help me relax. If there's one thing I know that can get my mind off things its the words of my lovely doll peeps. And on that note I'm off. Please be safe today if you plan on going out for trick-or-treating or Halloween parties. And if you plan on staying home today, that's great too, I hope you have something fun planned. And I will talk to you lovely people later. Bye for now.


Off to escape into the world of dolls,
Michelle


Image of Doll Eating Pumpkin (By Craiglea) From Flickr

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to all of your freaks and ghouls out there!    I hope you are all playing it safe and having a fun time tonight.  I’m doing my usual Halloween thing of spending the night in.  It’s raining something horrible out there so I don’t think there were any trick-or-treaters out tonight.  My friend even took her kids to the mall because we got hit with one of the coldest and wettest Halloweens in a long time. I remember Halloweens just a few years back where you had to wear short sleeve shirts because it was hot an muggy.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the cold, but the wind and rain make it extra brrrrrrr.  So I hope you are staying warm tonight if your neck of the woods is unseasonably cold too tonight.

Right now I am currently counting down the hours to the start of Nanorwrimo.  I am being a Nano Rebel this year by not writing a novel.  I’m going to be finishing up a script for the photostory I’ve been trying to finish for a long time now.  I think my time of Nanowrimo is coming to an end.  I don’t know if I’ll be doing it next year.  I do cherish the crazed writing during November, I just think I want to start making that an everyday thing than just a one month thing, so I don’t know about future Nanos.  But this year is my first as a Rebel and I’m kind of excited about it.  I don’t want to write a novel just to write a novel and waste time on something I’ll hate, so I will write the script which will hopefully help me write my story and get it done so I can start taking pictures in December and start putting it up next year.  Fingers crossed.

As for other things I am doing right now, I’m focusing on my health right now.  There are a lot of things I need to get done by the end of the year.  I have something I am dreading coming up in 28 days, and I don’t really want to talk about it right now because I’m that nervous about it.  It’s really silly to be nervous about it, but when I explain it…on the 28th or 29th of next month, then I’m sure it will be clearer why I dreaded it.  I’m working on inventory for my shop.  I finally found a place to put my shop.  I think that was another problem for me, where to put my shop, but I found a nice place for it to be that a lot of other doll sellers are on so it works.  And well, I guess that’s about it right now.  So the goals for the end of the month is to work on the immediate health issues at hand, get through that situation I’m dreading at the end of next month, and get the shop open.  I know I won’t make the Christmas rush with my shop, but that’s ok, as long as I get it open.  Oh, and yes I am still working on emails, comments, etc., etc. etc., you get the point.  I’m working on all that.  Now that some stress has been taken off of me with my parents health either doing better or being looked at, my mom still worries me some with her heart issues, I’m getting a little more calmer and I can focus better.  I’m hoping this next month will be busy and productive for me.  I’m ending this year on a good note, no matter what.  And NO Michelle, that isn’t jinxing it for you by saying it aloud.   

And on that crazy note, I will bring this post to a close.  I will talk to you lovelies soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Loves ya,
Mouse

This Is Halloween

As the creepy  and cool holiday of Halloween nears, a lot of people are letting their creepy and cool sides hang out.  From cool decorations and costumes to awesome…Halloween lights?  Humm, I understand lights for Christmas, but Halloween?  I’d never seen a big Halloween light display, until today that is.  Seems this family Riverside, CA really likes Halloween.  On their Youtube channel they have videos dating back to 2008 of their Halloween extravaganzas.  Here’s their light show for this year.  It’s pretty awesome.

Pretty cool, right?  But if Halloween just isn’t your thing, never fear, they’ve got a little something for you too.

And here I thought nothing could top all those awesome Christmas light displays people go all out for.  My favorite part has to be the singing Jack-o-Lantern faces.  Love them.  And they can carry quite a tune, don’t you think? 

So, what are you plans for Halloween?  Me?  Not much.  I will have a friend over on Friday or Saturday and then on actual Halloween just maybe watch a creepy movie with family at home.  Not many kids trick-or-treat around here any more, which is sad, the neighborhood is getting old.    Oh well, such is life.  But we’ll still find a way to have fun.  I am planning on making homemade Butterfingers.  I have enough to make two batches, one for practice, and one for when my friend comes over.  I guess I’d better try to make my practice batch soon, like today.  LOL!

Other than that, not much going on really.  Stomach is still causing me issues.  Had a weird choking episode that woke me from my sleep yesterday and had me swearing I was going to literally die yesterday.  Trust me, that wasn’t fun.  That must have been my “trick” for Halloween, so now I should only get “treats”…right?  Fingers crossed on that.  Well I am off.  I am super tired, didn’t sleep last night, and I have to get dressed to go out for a bit.  My sleep pattern is off again, sucks, and I don’t see myself sleeping anytime before 12 today, which also sucks.  Meh, I’ll survive.  Talk to you guys soon.  Oh, and if I don’t get back here before then, have a happy and safe Halloween.    I’ll talk to you all soon.  Be good until then.  Bye for now.

Loves ya ,
Mouse

Hey guys! Guess what?!

Halloween Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

Halloween will be here soon!  Just a little PSA from your friendly mousey gal.  Are you excited yet?!  I know I am. 

Loves ya ,
Mouse

My Little Pony Cosplay???

Have you ever heard of My Little Pony Cosplay?  Because until a couple of weeks ago I hadn’t.  And now I have been informed thanks to Weeaboo Stories.  Take a look at these little fillies.

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So if you didn’t notice these are all ponies from the My Little Pony:Friendship Is Magic.  My favorite has to be the Pinkie Pie with Gummy on her head and the Fluttershy with her bunny.  And well Bronies rock, period.  LOL!

So, scared yet?  No?  Well then how about this gem I found while watching MLP:FIM.  You don’t notice it at first but if your eye is quick you will catch this about a minute and 35 seconds into the last episode of the season…speaking of which the new season comes on in Fall, fyi.  Now on to the freakiness.

Are you checking out freak boy on the right?  This is not photoshopped.  This really happens in the cartoon.  It’s just for a split second, and then he’s back to normal.  But ever since I have seen this I can’t help but see him as the “derp” pony now.  Just saying.

So why am I posting about ponies?  Well I was thinking about Halloween and how I’d like to try doing something this year.  Not sure what since not many kids come around for trick-or-treating, and I am not really into the club scene.  I don’t know, maybe have some peeps over and dress up for fun.  I was thinking of being some form of super hero and I wanted rainbow hair which in turn made me think of Rainbow Dash and made me think of the cosplay picture I saw, which was the very first one of this post.  It got me to thinking if this was a one-off kind of thing or if people actually cosplay as My Little Pony.  They do, and they have been for years.  Go figure.  The things you learn.  I wish I was brave enough to try cosplay just once.  It looks like fun and I’d love to be someone else for a couple of hours…even a pony. 

But I just had to share that fun stuff with you guys.  I’m off to bed now.  I have to get up early and I might do some shopping tomorrow if my stomach let’s me.  Feeling sick after eating some bread today.  I have been eating gluten as of late and I just don’t feel good.  So I don’t know if the tests are right that I’m not gluten intolerant and I just have a sensitive stomach or that I’m actually making myself sick with the gluten.  I don’t know, but I do need to stop with the gluten again at least for a while and see if I can make my stomach feel better.  I’m back on track as of right now.  Ok, talk to you all later.  Be good until then.  Bye for now. 

Loves ya ,
Mouse

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween guys and ghouls!  I know I’m a little early, but we had our trick-or-treat today due to making the church folks happy.  Do you know they don’t have Halloween parties in school anymore?  They call them Fall/Autumn festival.  The kids can dress up, they crave pumpkins, there’s candy, but it’s not Halloween.  Umm, wha???  Oh well, whatever makes them happy I suppose.

Here is my layout for Halloween.  I figured put it up now to be festive.  I haven’t worked on the one for Thanksgiving yet.    I’ve been either busy sewing, gaming, or being sick.  Meh.  So now I have to work on that tomorrow.  Tonight I am going to work on my novel outline that I didn’t finish either.  The Sims have kept most of my attention.  It’s addictive, what can I say?  LOL!  But yeah that’s what has been keeping me busy as of late.  I hope I can finish the Thanksgiving layout before tomorrow night.  Fingers crossed.

I had a fun night tonight.  I had my friends over to celebrate, even though it didn’t go according to plan.  We missed out on some thing but we are so having a do-over.  I got to see my friend Robin’s kids all together for the first time.  It was so much fun seeing her oldest that I knew back when I was a teenager and telling her how me and her mom were back in the day.  She was picking on her baby sister likes to rip her clothes off whenever Robin dresses her, and I surprised her letting her know she was a little stripper herself back in the day.  LOL!  It was fun.  Did some karaoke, had WAYYYY to much sugar, and now I am crashing hard, but I wanted to make a quick post to say hi to everyone and wish you all a happy and safe Halloween.  And save some candy for me!    Ok peeps, I’m off.  I’m tired, I need to set a tape for a movie I wanted to watch tonight, and then maybe crash the rest of the night.   I’ll be playing catch up later on blogs, comments, and email.  Yep let it slip some again, but I will be catching up on those tomorrow.  Bye for now peeps and peepettes. 

Loves ya,
Mouse

Where I’ll be.

Hey ladies and gents, I thought I’d pop on here real quick to let you know I’m still here, still working behind the scenes on something, and while doing that I am also back to playing video games.  LOL!  I was a big gamer when I was a little younger, and well I guess it’s still there but I try to repress it…says the girl who’s own mother is a bigger gamer than her.   Geez.  So I am play Saboteur while I wait for my sister to finish her shift at work.  She just left for a 2 hour shift at work.  She’s working the midnight release of a game I always get on console.  I know I mentioned it, but just in case you forget, watch the ad. 

Heck yeah!!!  The Sims 3 for Console.  I’ll be playing on PS3.  My sister got a sweet discount at work and I get some perks for my preordering.  Eeeeee!!!  I paid it off on Friday so I now I must wait for roughly 2 and a half hours to get my little hands on my new precious.  So I may not be around for a few days.  BUT I will be around on Halloween.  I have a post already set for that day, so look forward to that.  Also, anyone doing Nanowrimo this year?  If so let me know so I can add your as a writing buddy on there.  I can’t wait…omg…I never finished my novel outline!!!  Omg!!!  I was going to work on that today!!!  But I was playing Saboteur and…omg!!!  Ok, gotta jet.  So much to do so little time.  I’m planning a get together for Saturday.  Not sure about other places, but they’ve recently started having trick-or-treating on Saturday if Halloween falls on a Sunday.  So we want to watch scary movies and give out candy.  Do I plan to dress up?  Yep.  As what?  Myself…dressed up.  Lame I know, but I’m looking forward to it.  Ok, jetting, now, bye kids. 

Loves ya,
Mouse