Hermione

For those of you who used to read the Toy Box Philosopher blog, you'll know that I love the Harry Potter books and movies.  I really enjoyed reviewing several Hermione Granger dolls (this one is my favorite).  Because of this obsession, I knew from the very first moment I visited Doll Clothes by Carole that I wanted to use Carole's amazing handmade Harry Potter costumes to create a small series of My Twinn dolls from this wonderful fantasy world.

The next four dolls that I'll share here will be based on Harry Potter characters.  Two of them (Hermione and Luna) will wear full Hogwarts robes while the other two (Ginny and Cho) will have simpler costumes to keep their prices lower.  These dolls will all be posted on Etsy at the same time--once the collection is complete.

I decided not to make Harry Potter himself mostly because I was unable to find appropriate glasses or a good wig.

I'm going to start this series with my favorite character, Hermione.  There isn't a My Twinn face mold that fully captures Hermione's sassy, expressive personality, but I settled on the Denika head because it has a bit more character than the other faces I have on hand:

1999 My Twinn doll with the Denika face mold.

And the Winner is...

Thank you to everyone who joined in for a chance to win Valerie for $2.20!  Here are all of the names that were entered:

The odds were pretty good this time!  See the video with the winner after the jump.

Virus-Free Valerie

Well, these are some crazy times, aren't they?  I've spent the last two weeks moving three sad and slightly overwhelmed kids out of their colleges and back into our tiny house.  We're having fun, but we rarely go outside.  I'd love to hear how all of you are doing--please tell your story in the comments if you feel like it.

I was photographing my next doll for the Etsy shop when it occurred to me that a better idea might be to hold another giveaway!  We all need something fun (and inexpensive) to cheer us up.  So this doll will be offered for $2.20 on Etsy to whoever wins my little raffle drawing (see the rules and how to enter at the bottom of this post).

I searched my doll stash for a girl who didn't need much work, and I found this lovely Rosemary.  I saw her on eBay and thought she was one of the most interesting versions of this face mold that I'd ever seen.  I named her Valerie because it means "strong and healthy," and that's what I'm wishing for all of us right now:

1997 My Twinn doll with the Rosemary face.

Snap Decision Safiya

I feel very fortunate to have been able to work on this lovely doll.  She is extremely rare.  I found her on eBay (with her sister, Orla the autumn fairy) at a $200 Buy it Now price.  By some lucky chance, I saw the auction shortly after it opened.  I knew, looking at those two beautiful black dolls, that they would sell in mere minutes, but $200 is a lot to invest at one time.  So I had to make a tough, split-second decision on whether or not to buy them.  My main concerns were if they'd be restorable (they were in pretty bad shape), and if I'd be able to find materials that would do them justice.

Needless to say, I clicked that tantalizing Buy it Now button, and it was definitely a good choice.  Orla is currently off ruling the fairy realm in another state, and this girl was able to reach her potential with the help of a custom-ordered ZaZou wig.

Meet Safiya (sah-fee-ah), whose name has African and Arabic roots and means pure and wise:

1997 My Twinn doll with the Catherine face.