Bratzillaz - I Couldn't Resist

I psyched myself into buying the two I really wanted because I was worried they would be gone before my next buying period or that Mattel would cause a stink and make them get recalled. Were they worth $19.99?  Probably not.  Am I happy I got them?  Curse word yeah!

Because my photos are always their maximum size I usually post 10 images or less so I wont slow down anyone's browser.  This entry has double the photos I usually post.  I enabled the lightbox feature if you want to just click the first photo and scroll through the rest of the pics.

You've already seen the front of the boxes so here's the back of the two I purchased:

Just gorgeous

Fully designed clothing and not half prints.

Body Height:  Monster, Bratzillaz, Fashionista

Difference between articulated Bratzs.  Last one is a Talking Cloe on clearance at Walmart for $10.  She has the worst articulation ever.  Even worse than a Ken Fashionista.  Her knees barely bend and she cant sit upright at all.  At least she had a nice outfit though.  The Rock Bratz (1st one) has the best articulation of them all.  The Zillaz bottom legs are rubber, not solid plastic so they wobble around.  They should have been hard plastic like the thighs and then they would stand on their own better.  However, their knees do bend back further than the 1st Bratz.

I'm not dealing with these Zillaz's unfortunate fiber optic like hair issues, and I don't like anything about Sasha's hair, so it's off to the salon:

Because Bratz hair is hard glued, after I cut the hair close to the scalp, I pulled out what strands I could with needle nose pliers.  Next I used acetone to remove the white paint.  For safety reasons I'm not recommending this next step, but it is what I did.  Since the front hairline and crown are hard as a rock, I took a utility knife and shaved these areas down.  Doing so removed the hairs I couldn't pull out and gave the head a better shape.

On Flickr people were complaining about what a mess Meygana's hair is and I agree.  However, a treatment of African Royale Braid spray will make it more manageable.  I used the spray as a detangler instead of water, followed by a wide tooth comb and then a Moxie brush.  I left the spray in over night (almost 24 hours) and you'll see the results after the makeover fashion photos!

Here are wigs (all Liv) and fashions that they are able to wear:

Zillaz boots, Moxie Girlz skirt, Talking Bratz top

Harumika boots, Talking Bratz leggings and skirt, Barbie top

Moxie Teenz boots, Liv dress (fastened with a safety pin)

Ken shoes and socks, Bratz dress, Talking Bratz hat

Liv boots (don't really fit) and umbrella, Barbie skirt and top

Meygana's hair is still covered in spray for these next set of photos, so it wont look like this when I'm done.

Moxie Teenz boots, Liv pants, Moxie Girlz top

Harumika boots, Barbie Basic jeans, Liv top

Zillaz boots, Barbie pants, Liv top

Moxie Teenz boots, Liv skirt/top/jacket, lace socks by my Mom ^_^

Makeovers are done!

This will probably be Sashabella's everyday wig. After trying them all on, this is the one I like the most on her.  She looks like she stepped straight out of an anime.

I ran COLD water through Meygana's hair.  Just a quick rinse, not enough to take all of the braid spray out.  I cut it waist lenth because hair past the butt bothers me.  Her hair is now much softer, tangle free and easy to comb.  I like how poofy it is.  If you want a sleeker look then leave the braid product in.  However, it does have a residue to it, not unlike a jheri curl.  A light amount of spray will get rid of frizz and give hair a nice sheen, but a lot will weigh the hair down and give it a wet look.

My final thoughts are that these dolls could have been better articulated, the hair is a disaster and the accessories aren't all that.  Nonetheless, the fashions are really cute and their faces are stunning.  The eyes alone sell the dolls for me.  I mean, seriously, just gorgeous.

Halftone screen printing in the eyes - genius.

Glitter snowflake design - Now this is where glitter belongs.

I will leave you with these awesome instructions from the pamphlet insert:

• Do not wash dolls hair with water and/or soap as doing so my cause irreparable damage.
• Do not use any form of heat such as a blow dryer, curling iron, crimper, etc., on the doll's hair as it may cause irreparable damage to the hair.

You have been warned.

Bratzillaz's at Toys R Us

I'm not a Bratz follower so I didn't know there was a new line coming out.  But ever since I bought that articulated one on clearance, I make it a point to glance over in their direction, just in case I see an articulated Black version.  Success!

I think this line is awesome!  Not $19.99 worth of awesome, but pretty darn close.  I'm hoping that Target and Walmart will get these so that the cost will drop.  If I did end up paying full price for one, it would be for Meygana.  She is just perfection.  I know these wont be to every one's taste, but the freaky deaky in me loves them.

Big Lots Clip-Lite

The last time I actually purchased anything from Big Lots was in March.  As it's been so long since I've checked their stock, everyone else may already know about these cuties:

The Clip-Lite comes three in a pack for $3.00 so they are comparable to buying the singular clip lights at the Dollar Tree.  These, of course, are smaller, both in clip grip and ability to expand. Nonetheless, I think they are super stylish and the small design makes it easier to add to your 1:6 world.

A simple pull and the light detaches from the clip with no damage.  Because of this, I can envision many ways to utilize the Clip-Lite with or without its clip.  If you want to turn it into another object, like say an espresso machine, wall sconce, tea pot, etc., it's made from lightweight plastic so cutting it shouldn't be a complicated process.

One thing to note: there is a plastic sleeve around the batteries.  When I turned on one of the lights, its beam was extremely weak.  After I opened it up, I could see that the plastic sleeve was preventing a full connection.  If you take that off and the beam is still weak, you got some dud batteries.

Enough with the technicalities, let's see it in use!

Sure you can clip it to things, but add a little HandiTak (also at Big Lots) and you can stick it almost anywhere.  Here I've stuck it to my desk lamp.  Surround it by an appropriate diorama, photograph it from the front and it would look like a street lamp.

Even though this and the Dollar Tree light use the same number of batteries, the Clip-Lite has a much brighter emanation and its batteries are replaceable (the DTree ones aren't).  However, replaceable batteries aren't so important because it would be cheaper to buy another pack of lights than to buy batteries.

Due to my living in a hurricane State, I have quite a varied collection of lights.  Since these little babies are clipable, compact and give off such a bright glow, not only will I use them for my dolls, I'll be adding several packs to my hurricane kit.

Friends Boutique Bedroom Set with Aquarium

There's a Walmart store that I don't frequent that often because there's never anything on clearance.  Because this location never had any clearance tables near the toy isles I have been wrongly accusing them of being "too fancy."  However, after getting lost looking for oscillating fans, I found out on Friday that they have two entire isles dedicated to clearance items over by the linens and housewares.  Who knew?!

OMG, they had so much stuff on sale.  Some old Bratz, all the Twilight dolls for $17 each, Lego sets, etc.  All this stuff and here I am on budget lock down for two more weeks.  In the face of all that temptation I held strong... until I saw this thing:

I don't know what my fascination with it was.  It's not even 1:6 scale and I don't own any 18 inch dolls because I don't want any doll around that's big enough to choke me in my sleep.  Regardless, it was the only one there and it was just $15 bucks.  I reasoned away my weakness by saying it might not be there in two weeks so I better get it now.  For shame.

And yet I love it, lol.  Here's everything unassembled.  The aquarium was inside the purple box in the back.  It's meant to be discarded, but I'm sure I'll find some use for it.  I would say that the telephone is the only thing totally out of proportion for 1:6 scale use.

My new My Scene trade from Chynadoll is making her scale model debut.  She is so awesome and look at that super cool hair!  From this set, the only thing I wouldn't use is the "rug." Even though the phone is huge, I could see it as a decor novelty item.

The aquarium is very sturdy and has a nice thickness to it.  Too bad the light switch doesn't toggle on and off because it would have made a sweet nightlight.  Unfortunately, it wont stay on unless you press it... or tape it down.

The table assembles easily and is made from dense plastic.  I plan to use it as a template to produce more tables just like it in the future - made out of cardboard, of course.  I tested chairs to see what a good height would be.  Barbie chairs are too low, but Dora stools are just right.

You can also use the aquarium base as a table base!  It's a little lower than the actual table base so it gives you some options to work with.

You can also use it as a drafting table base!  I added some clips to the Dora Explorer canvas and voila.  Take the clips off and you'll have a nice little student desk.  Also from the Dora set, I put the vase stand underneath the aquarium and it held it up just fine.

Now the original colors are not to my tastes so I've already made some changes.  I used a red marker on the lamp base and I will do the same to the table legs, but not until after I use it as a template.  The aquarium top and its base will probably be black at some point.

I covered the chair with a red handkerchief and stitched in a few tufts.  I was going to add a platform and legs, but then I wouldn't be able to squish it flat and store it away easily.  Besides, I like how big and comfy it looks, like something you would find in a kid's room or student's dorm.  Clawdeen likes it and she is VERY particular, so I guess I'll leave it alone.

Although this is truly a forbidden purchase, gotta say that I have no regrets.

Articulated Bratz!

No offense to those that love them, but I was never much interested in Bratz dolls.  The feet as shoes business and their collagen like lips just didn't do it for me.  However, when I was in Ross last month I saw this:

I liked her outfit well enough, but even at $8.49 I was going to put it back until I noticed her arms and wrists were articulated.  I had never seen an articulated Bratz before!  Didn't even know they made such a thing.  I'm always interested in seeing different articulations so in the basket she went.

Even with that huge head she can stand on her own, but just barely.  Her lower legs extend forward a bit when she's upright to help with balance. The outfit is actually 4 pieces because with a snip of 2 stitches the vest can be detached.

She comes with a useless but stylishly formed hair brush, 2 silly bands (the boot band was broken), a pageboy cap and an electric guitar.  She has the worst hair quality of any doll I have ever had, and the glowing blue streaks do not help.  The glowing aspects of her hair and accessories are not as strong as they appear in the photo because my camera is boosting the effect.

Two things that I do love though, are her earrings and boots.  Even if they are peg boots they are well made, detailed and have a supple latex feel.  With a little careful effort and my dremel I could hollow them out for regular feet to slip into.  But they are just so darn cute that I'll probably leave them alone.

This Bratz has the largest head, but smallest body of any of the dolls that get chucked into my spare parts box.  The Moxie Girlz looks smaller because of her rooted hair, but is actually bigger than the Liv.

Bratz versus Monster versus Moxie Girlz.  If she had feet, the Bratz would be my preferred body.  I like how full it looks and the pivotal torso, but the knees don't pivot and again... no feet.  The Moxie body is just a rubbery mess.  It flip flops around like it has no skeletal structure.  Its knees are bendable but they pop right back out as though to mock you.

Monster towers above the other two with its unnatural proportions and tippy toe feet.  Still there is something rather appealing about the Bratz body.  I don't have a head for it as the neck would require something the size of a Barbie teen (Skipper/Stacie?) to fit and I don't collect those.  If I find one thrifting then I'll snatch it up and plop it on.

Meanwhile, Clawdeen gets the Bratz outfit.  She HATES the pants.  We did not realize the belt was made of glitter until I saw there was freakin' glitter all over the place, ugh.  She too is not a fan of glitter or acid wash jeans, apparently.  She likes the hat, but not with that outfit.  The shirt, jacket and vest are perfect for her though and she says the earrings are, "alright."

If I find any more of those articulated Bratz for the same price, I just might get them.

Easy Cutter Conclusion

To review, one of the best things to use an Easy Cutter for is to make your own books.

Clawdeen making a book tree. More books you can make from the Spring, 2012 Barbie Collector issue.

Another thing to use it for is to cut up unarticulated dolls.  Now some of you may say, "OMG, Muff, you need to settle down with cutting stuff!"  However, you can create custom displays to use in your boutiques and dioramas.

The rubber arms are super easy to cut.  Thighs and calves take a little effort and a steadier hand.  Making a torso is easy if you pull off the legs first and then snip around the undies.  I like to stagger the sizes and sometimes color them using markers.  The black hand has had matte varnish applied to it but the torso has no varnish.  Add some accessories and...

BOOM! Fashion Display.  Holla! \\(^__^)//

Now, the Easy Cutter was not meant for cutting through glue, paper, dolls or hard materials.  Since I'm probably messing up the blade by doing all that, I bought a second one to use strictly as intended, which is cutting wood.  The packaging says, "Cuts Stripwood up to 1/2" thick."

Although I have wood that thick, my first attempts have been with seeing what I could fashion out of craft sticks, tooth picks and Shish Kabob skewers.  I just enjoy trying to make things out of the simplest (and cheapest) materials.

The pile of rejects have already been discarded and these are the few surviving pieces that I have deemed acceptable.  Alright, I know they are not all that, but I made them all by myself and I think they are awesome!  It's amazing to me what you can create with some Popsicle sticks and glue.  They may not look like much, but throw in some props and they've got diorama potential.

My newer window is pretty fancy compared to the first versions I made.  The little flower pots are from Michaels.

The Lara Croft set isn't 1:6 scale, but whatever, 'cause my bench is adorable.  Two dolls can fit on it and it's actually rather sturdy.

At first this slanted display shelf was going to be a shoe rack, and then a book rack, but it's really too small for that.  However, it holds electronics just fine!

And thus concludes my spiel about the Easy Cutter.  If you get one, open it immediately and make sure your blade is straight and properly set in its groove.  If not, take it right back.  I cannot stress how sharp this thing is.  I have cut myself many times.  This is more owing to the fact that I'm fairly accident prone.  Nonetheless, be careful, good luck and cut some stuff!