Friday, February 28, 2014

Knight's Doll & Bear Show

Last weekend I attended the Knight's Doll & Bear Show in Jacksonville, Florida. Admission was $6, but only $5 if you filled out a card with your address and email on it. I don't like people knowing my business, so I paid the $6. The venue, located in the meeting rooms of a Ramada, was relatively small and was strictly vendor driven. There were no classes, demonstrations, exhibits or the like. It was a straight up doll and bear sale... and I loved it!









This was my first time seeing a Tonner and a Fashion Royalty doll in person. I had no idea that Tonner dolls were so enormous. While I admired them both, I certainly didn't have $110 - $225 to spend on a single doll. I did manage to find quite a few items that were more in the Muff price range.



Paid $20. The box had seen better times, but the set is fully stocked with not a single thing missing and it even came with the instructions.


Paid $10. I really only wanted her for the kimono and to me it was worth the price just for that alone.


Paid $5. I couldn't believe that's all the lady wanted. Yes the dress is stained underneath, but I still think she's great. A new body and some hair conditioner - good as new!


Paid $3. I don't know why I wanted this tiny little Bratz, but I did. Maybe she can be a doll for one of my bigger dolls.



Paid $10 for the chaise. So here's the story on these two dolls. My niece was with me and while I was busy buying stuff she comes up to me and says, "Look what I got!" It was a $20 NRFB catwoman doll. I asked her where she got it because I wanted one too, but of course, she had bought the only one. Naturally, I was all, "That's my doll! You stole that out from under me!" and she was all, "Ya snooze, ya lose!" Anyway, she offered me her old catwoman doll that was missing half an arm, no whip, one shoe and had wobbly knees which is why she was replacing her anyway. I said fine and she threw in a Moxie doll (which I already have but now I don't have to take mine out of the box) and I gave her $3 bucks for them both. Long story short (too late, lol), once she gives me the catwoman, I realize it doesn't look like Halle Berry AT ALL! I just assumed it would be the same mold as the 007 Barbie but it's not. So basically, my niece saved me $20 on a doll that looks nothing like Ms. Berry and I got the cat outfit anyway! So there, in her face!


$1 each and the box contains 12 more. There was a bear guy selling these and first I just bought the black ones, then came back and got some white ones, went to breakfast and then came back and got a whole box of them. Shoot, $1 is a good deal.


Paid $3 for each dish set, $1 for the vase and my sister bought me the ukulele for only $3. There was a miniatures lady there with thousands upon thousands of items, many as little as $1.


Paid $10. This will probably be the only Tonner item that I will ever, ever have and it was the only Tonner accessary there that I could afford.

These last photos are of the marvelous clothing sets one lady was selling. I could not believe the prices she was asking and I bought every single one she had:










I had so much fun at this show. Often times it felt like I was in a wonderful museum and I wish I could have stayed there for hours. The vendors were really great and so many of them were willing to haggle their prices but I actually paid full asking prices because having been a vendor myself, you really need all that money to cover your expenses. Although, this one guy was willing to sell me a FR at $75 off and I was tempted. However, even at a steep discount, it still would have cost more than everything I bought combined.

There will be one more Knight's show in my state later on this year that is a couple hours away and I hope to attend. Except this time I know not to take my niece - she's a doll poacher!

EDITED TO ADD:

Here's the address of the doll show website in case you want to see if it's coming to your state:

Knight Doll Shows Website

79 comments:

  1. Hi Muff! Petite purchases! I really liked that site, there are beautiful and very old things at an amazing price! You did very good shopping, the dresses I liked a lot, and the leopard couch is more! You had to have a great time with your niece! A kiss!

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    1. Hi, Karmen and thanks! Yes, there were tons of antiques and it was nice seeing such older dolls.

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  2. uauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu¡¡¡¡ que felicidad¡¡¡¡ como me gusta TODO¡¡¡¡ me encanta'
    un saludo y un beso
    sarai

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    1. Hola, Sarai y gracias por pasar y comentar!

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  3. I'm Sooooo jealous! Isn't the girl in the black laced dress a high society Barbie? Ugh...I love her face! Awesome clothing haul, ice cream parlor and Catwoman outfit! I can so without the doll but those leather pants...live them! Congrats on great finds.

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    1. Tracy based on your comment I did an image search and found the AA doll in her original packaging. She was called Society Girl Barbie. The one I got is only missing her little purse but I just happen to have a lace black clutch that my mom made that will go with her dress perfectly!

      Yeah, the Catwoman face was a disappointment, but I guess since she's wearing a mask they figured why bother making her look like the actress.

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  4. Hello from Spain: I see that the Tonner dolls are very high. Too expensive for me. Your purchases are great. The chair is fabulous. Great bag Tonner. The clothing collection 'Barbie Millicent' is all great and very cheap. I envy you! I need to go shopping with you for my dolls. Keep in touch

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    1. Hello from Florida, Marta! Tonner dolls are very expensive but I'm not knowledgeable enough about them to know if they are worth that price, clothed or unclothed. I like the look of them, but I don't think I want to buy one and have it be the only huge doll that I have. It's not like she can hang out with my other ladies without making them feel intimidated.

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  5. awww the tea sets..... sigh, I wish there were shows like these in my area...

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    1. Shasha, the miniatures lady had TONS of tea sets. She was the last vendor I went to because I was running low on money and she had the cheapest items. I would have liked to haven gotten more stuff from her booth.

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  6. I'm so jealous, but I'm happy you found such great deals!

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    1. Thanks, Doll Crazy! I don't know what I was expecting when I went there but I was very happily surprised at all the bargains I was able to pick up.

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  7. You scored awesome stuff!!! What happened with your head shrink of the Ever After High doll?

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    1. Thanks, Nikia! That Ever After head is on her 3rd and final soaking before I finally just give up on her. It will probably be 4 more weeks before I post about her to give her as much time to shrink as possible to see how small she gets.

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  8. Great finds!

    I'm so envious of the stands - I have the hardest time finding the sizes I want at prices I'm willing to pay!

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    1. jSarie, it was actually my sister that first noticed those stands and pointed them out to me. The guy who sells them was a bear vendor and I didn't even go over to his booth because I don't collect those. I had never seen stands that small waisted before because the ones at my crafts stores are much bigger. The guy that sold them to me gave me his card. At shows he charges $1 for each stand but if you have them shipped he charges $1.50 plus shipping. Here's his contact info if you want to see about purchasing some:

      The Toy Store
      4030 West Bancroft Street
      Toledo, Ohio 43606
      419-531-2839
      info@toystorenet.com

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    2. Brilliant - thanks for the info!

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  9. Those miniatures are FABULOUS!!! I'm so jealous, I didn't even know that was going on...I never know what's going on, haha. Somewhere some HARDCORE Barbie collector is stumbling on your finds and going "HOW COULD YOU PUT YOUR FINGERS ON THAT IRREPLACEABLE (X) FROM (WHENEVER)?!!?!" and the devil in me has to laugh. >.>

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    1. Tina, I'm going to start saving my money right now so that if I make it to the next show I can buy as many miniatures as I want! Based on the website a lot of the same vendors keeping following this show, so I hope she will be there.

      Knight Doll Shows Website

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    2. Thanks for 411. The closest show coming up is Birmingham, which means the chances of my being able to go is somehwere in the 0% range. I'll have to continue attending vicariously through your blog. :D PS, I didn't mention it earlier but I love your opening. I'd've paid the six bucks too, people don't need to know about my bubble in the woods.

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  10. Great bargains Muff!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Millicent Roberts sets (you will not believe me but I've seen them sold at 75 USD on e-bay!) and the chaise. The story about catwoman craked me up!!!
    Besides you had a lot of fun!!!
    They don't shows like this where I live....sniff sniff....

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    1. Hi, Billa! You are not kidding about the Millicent Roberts collection prices. Even on Amazon they are 2-4 times more than I paid for them. I lucked out and bogarted them all so my niece didn't get a single one of them! Hehe.

      I added a link to the show website in case it's coming to a state you want to visit.

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  11. That particular Catwoman looks nothing like Halle Berry. I had her but eventually sold it for that reason.

    Those Barbie fashions were a steal! I can tell by the "feeble"-looking handwritten prices that the seller must have been elderly and wanted to get rid of them. I would have purchased them all, too.

    $1 per stand was a great price. I would have purchased all they had.

    I have a similar chaise that was a gift from a friend.

    Was this your first doll?

    dbg

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    1. Debbie, it was my first time at a doll show as a customer and not a vendor, which was 23 years ago. I don't know how old the seller was but she had a large variety of things including a huge collection of Barbie Magazines from the 90's. I thought she priced them the way she did because they were cut out from their packaging.

      I saw on the bottom of the chaise that it was purchased from Walmart for $11.95. I sure don't remember ever seeing those, but I never go into the jewelry section and I should probably rethink that.

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    2. It looked like a wonderful show. I'm stopping back by to inform you that I nominated your blog for the Liebster Blog Award. Read about it here.

      dbg

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  12. Last may I went to my first doll convention and it was GREAT! I had a great time, met new friends, cute guys, Robert Best, spent A LOT of money. Ws a big emotion. Maybe one day we will go to a doll convention together, I promise I won't steal the dolls you like as your nephew

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    1. Sergio, this show has wetted my appetite and I kind of want to attend a doll convention, versus just a doll sale. Conventions supposedly have stuff to do and see, not just buy. However, I also know that the admission is $350 and above so that's quite a deterrent, especially since hotel accommodations are a separate costs. I'm holding you to not stealing the dolls I like!

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  13. Do you realize how lucky you are? All these amazing finds for great prices! I feel you on the Tonner matter - too much money to drop at once on a single doll. But the stuff you did get is perfection. I would have picked all those myself. Unfortunately, such shows don't happen in Europe. Boo-hoo :'(

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    1. Thanks, BlackKitty! Every time I saw something at a very low price, I felt sneaky about buying it. I was thinking to myself, "Do they not realize how awesome this stuff is?!" So yes, I felt very lucky.

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  14. Im so glad i found out about these shows I've been wanting to go to one of these and it just so happens there's one coming near me!!! Im getting to a little excited I see at the Birmngham, Al they will be offering Gi Joe's also. BTW the barbie in the kimono is her skin pale or normal i've been wanting more asian barbies but no luck!!

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    1. Jay, the Alabama show has a lot of vendors signed up - looks like it's going to be a huge show! Too bad it's 8 hours away from me. I saw a few GI's at my show and some Tuskegee Airmen in good condition too.

      The 1984 Japanese Barbie is not pale at all. She just looks Kabuki in my photo because of my kitchen lights. She's very peachy/pink, although, her face is lighter than her twist and turn body. Raquelle from Life in the Dreamhouse would be a pretty decent skin tone match. In fact, she would make a great "mom" for Raquelle.

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  15. Woooooooow!!!!! You were so lucky, I love every single piece you bought, but especially the millicent roberts sets, and those prices... OMG, I would have jumped once and once again in front of that lady... Enjoy everything!

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    1. LOL, Rossetti! I must have circled that venue 3 to 4 times and kept going back to the same vendors again and again. I'm sure they were all thinking, "What is wrong with this fool?"

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  16. Wow! The clothing and tea sets are such amazing deals! I'm super jealous!

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    1. Thanks, Presto! It was great to find them at such super prices.

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  17. Can you fit in one more jealous person? LOL I absolutely love everything you got! I went to a doll show in Charlotte a couple of years ago. I was so busy looking for 1:12 stuff I didn't really get into the Barbie stuff. That will change!

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    1. LOL, Grandmommy. I think we've all been jealous at one point or another so join us. I saw this 1:12 doll in the distance and said, "OMG is that an obitsu?!!" I rushed over and the dude wanted $125 for it. I said, "Nope. Not today." If the prices would have been right I could have been talked into some 1:12 dolls.

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  18. Hola, los conjuntos de ropa es lo que mas me han gustado, excelentes compras, hasta pronto.

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    1. Gracias, Lindaivette! Los trajes son realmente bastante fría.

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  19. Oh.. I wished I could went to this area. At Germany we have always problems to find nice things for Barbie...in this case I would think I am at paradies :) You are a lucky penny :) ... ähm... sorry for my english ... it isn't my first language :)

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    1. No worries about your English, Michaela. I understood you perfectly. ^__^ I guess that we do have an abundance of doll stuff to find in this country. My focus though is usually on finding something at an excellent price.

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  20. Muff, you REALLY came up with this fashions!! That was the deal of the century! Wow! Also, Society Girl is a very nice doll to own. Check out her prices on eBay...very high. Congratulations on your haul! I'm very happy for you!!

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    1. Thanks, Georgia Girl, and you are not kidding about those fashions. Even though they are 17 years old, they still look stylin' to me. Yes, I saw those ridiculous prices on Society Girl when I was trying to find out who she was. I definitely got a deal!

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  21. Muff hits the jackpot again... Why you keep forgetting we're suppose to be shopping together Lol. All the items look great and in such good condition!

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    1. LOL, Tinisha. After dealing with my niece I'm not too sure I want anyone shopping with me. That way, at least I won't know what the other person purchased and wont be eyeballing them for getting something I wanted.

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  22. Muff you hit the jack pot!!!! I have been eyeing the Society Girl AA for a while she usually sells for a pretty penny on eBay. All those fashions......lucky you. I looked up the Knight's Doll & Bear Show and they actually come to my area. I am so excited. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hey, AG, I'm so glad the show will be coming to your area! If you go I think you are going to have a grand time. I keep looking at their schedule to try and see if I can travel to one of the sooner shows, but I'll probably have to wait until they swing closer my way in November.

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  23. You made so great deals! Hard to believe in those prices, you are so lucky !
    Barbie Millicent Roberts sets are simply gorgeous!
    75usd for FR doll? Not bad, but still, it's expensive. Unfortunately, recently only Integrity Toys is making normal looking male dolls, can't even look at all those Kens and Ryans, pity that Mattel can't do anything more interesting for adult collectors.

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    1. Hi Jewel Snake! That guy was actually selling his FR for $225 but was going to give me $75 off the price. Heck, if he was selling her for just $75 then I probably would have been like, "OMG! Hey, everybody in my family - give me some money right now!"

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  24. OMG! how amazing are these deals just amazing i adore the candy and ice cream shop you got its very awesome and the tiger couch you got was simply cool the cat women story is really nice too your cousin was really nice to do this the the suits you got for 5$ and less are AWESOME!!! great buys, oh but why are these tonner and a fashion royalty dolls so expensive a 110$ for just a single doll in the box?!

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    1. Hey there, Jassica Joe! I'll admit to not being at all familiar with Tonner dolls so I didn't know they were so very expensive... or huge. They certainly looked nice in person but I think a Moxie Teenz body is about as big as I want to go. I can only assume that Tonner and FR dolls have high quality articulation and their clothing is exquisitely made. Otherwise, I don't understand their pricing. But, you know I'm cheap, so...

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  25. I read this post last night, but I came back to savor it again. Wow, you got some great deals - clothes alone. I can imagine how fun that must have been. How exciting. I don't think vendors always appreciate the older Barbie fashions that are non-vintage. Like the BMR and Fashion Avenue stuff. That Knight's Doll & Bear Show looks better and better. Pity they don't come up this far. Sigh. I should investigate the doll shows up this way. They seem to be in NJ though or way out past SEPTA, lol.

    Thanks for your gorgeous photos - so well lit and clear. It's like I can enjoy the highlights of your adventure without having to walk about. Although walking around such exciting finds would be a delight. The Tonner stuff is beautiful, but I find them cold. I much prefer Mattel stuff and other playscale manufacturers.

    That leopard print chaise is cool. You can also find pieces like that - "jewelry boxes" at discount stores like Ross, etc. and for less than at Walmart. Sometimes ;-)

    Your luck with your niece - her finding the NRFB Catwoman Barbie that she found - had me chuckling. She caught that price but she probably didn't care that the doll didn't look like Halle Berry. You got the outfit so that was win-win. Oh and the reason there's no resemblance - the Catwoman Barbie doll was created after that awful (I've been told; never saw it myself, lol) Catwoman movie that featured/starred Halle Berry. Mattel just used the outfit from the movie and a basic Barbie head mold. The Bond Halle Berry came years after, when Ms. Berry was being touted for "better performances."

    Thanks for giving me more respect for my doll stands. I have a bunch of them. Instead of piling them up, I should be using them.

    I had a great time through your retelling of this trip. Gonna go back to scroll through the photos again ;-D

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    1. D7ana, I was like kid a kid in a candy store at this show. My eyes were bigger than my pocket book unfortunately, otherwise I would have come back with way more stuff.

      The Tonner dolls reminded me of beautiful little mannequins. Like they would be something to admire and display, but not actually play with. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I think I just like my dolls a little bit more rough and tumbly. So, you know, if I break one I wont cry about it. If I broke a Tonner or FR I would freak the eff out. Even when I broke my J-Doll, I freaked out a little bit, not gonna lie, but in the end I was, "Oh well."

      I never look at jewelry stuff and the toy sections at my Ross stores have been dismal lately so I haven't even been going over there any more. Now that you say that though, I think I might wander over and see what's happening in their jewelry department. I'm always going to Joanns to see if they have those pin cushions that look like fat chairs and they never do.

      See, I'm not a Halle follower so I didn't know that Bond came out after Catwoman. I have seen her Catwoman movie several times though and it is awful, but it's also campy, ridiculous fun - even though it wasn't intended to be. So, I am quite pleased to have just the outfit since the doll looks nothing like her.

      Glad you enjoyed the doll show with me! ^___^

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  26. Great post! Congratulations with your superb finds (The Barbie Millicent Roberts outfits! The candy & ice cream parlour! The miniatures!). Looking at your photos it feels like walking around in a candy store (but with dolls, much healthier!).

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    1. LOL, Nymphaea, I just made an analogy about being a kid in a candy store before I read your comment - great minds think alike. Thanks for stopping by!

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  27. You really got some great items!, Especially with the doll stands I need a few dozen of those. I brought a shelf and my dolls have to come out of the box that I store them in! The Barbie clothes were a good deal too, I would of brought them all up too. Like you I pretty much don't haggle over the prices either, I respect all my independent "suppliers". Thanks for the link too!

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    1. Hiya, Brini! Those doll stands were a hot item as far as I'm concerned. If I wasn't already feeling like a greedy glutton I would have gotten a second box. Heck, if he had had more of the black stands then I definitely would have purchased all of them. All of my book cases are black and the black stands just blend right in and are barely noticeable.

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  28. Wow! You got some amazing deals! I remember that Japan Barbie. I got her when I was little and lost one of her shoes.

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    1. Tiffany, I'm loving my Japanese Barbie. She's got some huge, super 80's hair hidden in that delicate hairstyle. She's a hot momma.

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  29. Welcome to the wonderful world of scoring great deals at local dolls shows! You scored big time on those BMC fashions. Also that Society Girl was a fabulous deal. Congrats!

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    1. Vanessa, even though most of the dolls were out of my price range, there was still so much there that was. It was lovely seeing even the things I couldn't afford.

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  30. Sigh.. I really wish there's something like this here in my area... But nothing can stop us from looking for those gems, right?

    By the way, I have nominated your blog to the Liebster Blog Award.. I hope you could join in the fun :) Please check out my post about it below..

    atelierniSHASHA

    Thanks!

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    1. I checked out your post, Shasha and again, thanks for nominating me.

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  31. awesome haul,Muff!!! have fun w/all your goodies*,*

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    1. Thanks, nykole! I certainly had a great time and am enjoying my goodies.

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  32. Hi, I nominated your blog for the Versatile blog award: http://billina71.blogspot.it/2014/03/versatile-blogger-award-nomination.html

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    1. Thank you for the nomination, Billa! ^__^

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  33. Hi Muff, I nominated you for the Liebster Award (I bent the rules a little bit :-), details are on my Liebster Award post).

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    1. Hi, Nymphaea and thanks for nominating me!

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  34. Hey Muff, nominated you for the versatile blogger award!
    http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/vba-rules/

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    1. Hi, Lisa! Thanks so much for nominating me.

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  35. Wow I Love doll shows - You did a great job of showing us all the fun sights and finds - Thank YoU!

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    1. Hiya, Tiggy and thanks to you for stopping by and commenting!

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  36. OMG, I can´t believe it!! Your buy was fabulous! I love all clothes, they´re so cute and realistic, you were really lucky, congratulations! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Ana! The doll show was the most fun I'd had in a long time.

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    1. Hi, Adrian and thanks! It was a grand haul.

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  38. WOW! What a haul! Great outfits too! They don't make them like that anymore....REALLY! Mattle doesn't make quality clothes for playline dolls anymore! You scored on the palor too! I am hoping if our doll club gets big, we can talk the Black Doll Museum into having another show.

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    1. Ms. Leo, it was the best haul ever and I'm so looking forward to attending the doll show again. I've been wondering if I want to be a vendor myself, but I think that's a bit ambitious of me at this point.

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