Illustration Friday picture "Primitive"

A picture for Illustration Friday which I didn't get chance to finish in time :(

Holly xoxo

ABC News Story: Mom: Talking Doll Called My Daughter 'a Slut'

I was browsing the net... like you do... looking for interesting doll related news stories.
This isn't very recent news I'll admit (December 2006) but I thought it was quite funny and worth sharing (click on the headline for the full story):

Mom: Talking Doll Called My Daughter 'a Slut'
'I Was in Absolute Shock,' Woman Tells ABC News, 'Especially After My Daughter Repeated It'

Holly xoxo

Cool New Blythe Flickr Groups

Well,

I've had two invites to cool new Blythe related Flickr groups over the weekend, if you're a Blythe fan then you should totally check them out! Oh my gosh... "totally check them out"!? I think I'm turning into an American mall rat! O.o

Anyway, essentially what I just said but less lame...

See ya' later!

Holly et le Dinky Divas...

My list of top casual dress-up doll games for PC

Here they are in descending order:

1. Fashion Cents Deluxe from My Games Company
2. Fashion Fable from Creatrix Games
3. Fashion Solitaire from Large Animal Games
4. Jojo's Fashion Show from the ever reliable Gamelab
5. Fashion Story from Gambana
6. Dress Shop Hop from Pronto Games
7. Fashion Fits from Fugazo, Inc
8. Fashion Craze from Five B-N
9. Fashion Rush from Ovogame

Other related games of merit that shouldn't be missed are:

• Sally's Salon from Games Cafe
• Belle's Beauty Boutique from Grab Games
• Diner Dash Hometown Hero from Gamelab

1. Fashion Cents

I have been playing this game for years and still totally love it. It is completely addictive and simple enough that my 6 year old daughter also enjoys it. Fashion Cents is basically solitaire but with paper dolls. Random garments appear which have to be placed on the ten models available on the screen.

Each models will only where garments of matching colours, so you have to juggle carefully to complete the "suits" (pun intended) to get onto the next level.

Recently My Game Company have released a pack making it possible to submit your own designs, which is available from their forums.

Not only, in my opinion, is this the game with the greatest longevity value, but it was also the first trailblazing dress-up game I came across and deserves much kudos for that reason alone.

To download the game click on the Fashion Cents picture above.

2. Fashion Fable

Again, a fairly early exponent of the genre, this game is interesting in that it has a compelling (and fairly surreal) linear fantasy story.

To progress through the game you must complete various levels of a good old match-3-colours puzzler. The puzzle element, though nothing staggeringly original in itself, is well implemented and fun.

On the left of the puzzle screen is a paper doll model, the heroine of the story, and as you progress through the puzzles you are able to unlock various clothes, accessories and hairstyles enabling you to dress her as you wish.

The artwork is original, imaginative and striking, and all from a small indie company.

Quality, love and imagination have gone into this game and it shows!

You can download the game by clicking on the picture above :)

3. Fashion Solitaire

At first glance I thought that Large Animal Games were trying to out-fashioncents Fashion Cents. But as I progressed through it had many differences as well as similarities.

Here the garments are represented as collector cards, stacked, solitaire style.

The dolls to dress are modelled in 3D and rather than requiring all garments to be of matching colours, they simply have general demands such as one item of a particular colour, print or type. Once that request is fulfilled the rest of the outfit is entirely up to you, giving you more creative freedom when it comes to the ensembles you put together.

The actual range of garment prints, styles and colours at your disposal is, franky, enormous. You do have to wrk for them however and they must be unlocked gradually as the game progresses.

The game even features a design workshop where you can create your very own designs by mixing and matching styles, print and colours in endless variation. This interface is extremely easy to use and allows the player to completely customize their own deck for all 8 stages of the game which is quite astonishing!

If you panic at the mere thought of anything artistic however, don't panic! there are plenty of extra stock items which can be bought in the "shop" section of the game using points earned through the game.

If all of this wasn't enough, each of the 8 stages or "collections", each representing a different style, consists of six solitaire levels. At the end of each of these levels you are asked to select your favourite creation. Once the stage is completed all your favourite choices are paraded on the catwalk by the posing 3D models whilst you snap away with a virtual camera to document your own genius! You can even show off to your friends by emailing the pictures to them from within the game!

Super slick, and choc full of content and detail, this game is wonderful value for money and sooo polished. The only minor complaint I have is that the actual puzzle aspect of the game was not challenging enough for my tastes (although I have just completed the almost impossibly hard fairway solitaire which might be shading my judgement!) but there are so many other features to enjoy in this title I can easily overlook that :)

Click on the picture above to download the game :)

4. JoJos Fashion Show

A very fun game, I also appreciated the fact the main character was an older lady.

Not a huge amount of actual gameplay is involved but this game was still very enjoyable for the story, the playing pretty, and enjoyment of all the bright colours, whistles and bells though :)

Definitely worth playing through the demo :) (By clicking on the picture above)...

5. Fashion Story

Fashion Story is basically fairly similar to Fashion Fable but with a more mundane story and less imaginative concepts and artwork.

It is still quite fun if you are a fan of fashion and match-3-puzzles, an added bonus is that you can try it free online in a browser window here:

Or alternatively you can download it here:

6. Dress Shop Hop

Dress Shop Hop is probably the best of 4 fairly ordinary time management based fashion games that see you supplying customers with bespoke outfits.

This is the cutest and best in my opinion of the ones to follow but not very inspiring either as a fashion game or a time management title as it's just too slow...

Don't let me put you off though, if you'd like to try it you can get it by clicking on the appropriate pic.

7. Fashion Fits

I prefer this one as far as the time management element goes, but still nothing to write home about. You can always try it for yourself though in the usual way.

8. Fashion Craze

Another uninspiring game in my opinion, but not actually awful, lol!
A couple of annoyances include the poor artwork which includes all the girls wearing clashing make-up, and more annoyingly still, the sexist way that male customers become more content when seated next to the supermodel characters, where as the female characters get less contented when seated next to them because they are jealous of their looks... I kid you not!

9. Fashion Rush

Fashion Rush is actually very similar to the other titles just mentioned, though it is more professionally presented than some. The artwork is nicely executed but the main character dresses like a hussy and is LITERALLY so skinny that, with a wig, she would bear more than a passing resemblance to Cruella DeVille!

* * * * * * * *

So, that's my pic of the casual dress up games for PC - basically the top 5 are all definitely worth a look, but probably only bother with the rest of you're quite bored or killing time until the postman arrives with your new dolly.

Since starting this list I have discovered a new fashion game named Vogue Tales so I will test it out (purely in the name of science of course!) and let you know how I get on :)

* * * * * * *

I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage you to try three other related casual games, these are:

1. Sally's Salon

While not an actual fashion game, this is a makeover game and great fun!
Everything you could want is here, Sally's Salon is very cute and has LOADS of levels!

A wonderful time management game with a really well paced difficulty curve.

2. Belle's Beauty Boutique

While it is slightly less slick than Sally's Salon I still thoroughly enjoyed Belle's Beauty Boutique and found it quite charming and quirky.

The game gets really challenging towards the end but is still very enjoyable and rewarding at the same time :)

I particularly enjoyed the Halloween level which was an inspired idea!

3. Diner Dash: Hometown Hero

The Diner Dash series are absolute classics in the time management genre and I love them all. Hometown Hero is also relevant her though because it allows you to collect outfits for Flo, our heroine, and dress her as you wish paper-doll style.

Heartily reccomended (although it does tend to make me quite hungry!)

Happy gaming,

Holly & the Dinky Divas xoxo

Free Petite Blythe or Dollcena dress sewing pattern

It's me again... oh of course, you knew that you came to my blog *tsk*!

Well.... you know that cute petite Blythe dress that I showed you yesterday? Well, just for you lovely people I have drawn up the pattern... all proper like, and put it as a PDF on my website.
It comes with full instructions that should allow you to make a similar dress for yourself!
(Well, it might be a bit small for you yourself, but it should fit your petite Blythe or Dollcena perfectly!).

If you want to try it out (or a simply very nosey) then you can check it out at the following link:

THIS PATTERN HAS NOW MOVED TO MY NEW SITE!!!

http://www.thethinkingdoll.com/freepatterns.htm

I hope you'll let me know how you get on or feel free to give me feedback on how I can improve things!

See you later,

Holly and all the dollies :)

Comissioned petite Blythe Dress

Hi peeps,

I have been comissioned by a lovely lady to make a white petite Blythe dress. On my third attempt I finally got it right, here's what I came up with :)

Actually Coco (short for Coconut Ice) my own petite was quite reluctant to part with it, lol!

Holly xxx

Cute papier Mache doll tutorial

Sooo...

I was thinking last night about wanting to try a new doll related craft, and I was also thinking about recycling in some way. I actually couldn't get to sleep last night because my brain was in one of those 'overdrive' modes where it refuses to switch off.

Anyway, as I was laying there it occurred to me that papier mache might be an interesting root to explore. So I typed "papier mache doll" into Google and stumbled upon a very cool, very cute Papier Mache doll tutorial!

It looks pretty simple, but I guess we'll have to see how things develop! Seems like something Little Miss P and Etta could have fun with too :)

Check it out for yourself by clicking on the picture...

Kokeshi Gifts :)

Well, Little Miss P recently took a trip to York with her grandmother. While she was there they visited a really cool Japanese shop and bought me this super cute Kokeshi pen :)

You can visit the shop's website here: www.thejapaneseshop.co.uk

I hope to be able to visit it in person soon :)

Etta loved the pen too, as you can see (although of course she's no idea what it is actually for!)

Holly & Etta

Etta has arrived!

Once on her way from Singapore I had begun to worry, to whittle, to check the Royal Mail website every 3.5 seconds.

I knew she had left Singapore safely... but since that had happened 5 days ago no trace, nor hide, nor hair of her had been seen...

I was in an extra panic today, because 6 year old Little Miss P was not there to distract me with play and demands, safely ensconced as she was with her grandmother today.

Just as I entered the tracking number for the 3,567th time sound of the dog's paws frantically scrabbling for traction on the slippery laminate floor caught my attention.
Such Scooby-esque running style could be evidence of only one thing... the postman!

* * * * *

I tried to beat the determined Jack Russel to the door and failed, as I always do.

But yes, it was definitely the postie and he was definitely carrying a suspiciously Moof sized package!

I stashed the yapping terror... scratch that... terrier, and flung open the door to be casually handed a jiffy bag containing lumpy silence.

* * * * * *

Pausing only to take a quick snapshot to commemorate the moment (a picture I cannot share as my camera batteries predictably chose that moment to give up) I ripped open the package.

Here is what I found...

Apparently she was hibernating...

After a little encouragement her eyelids fluttered open and her gaze met mine...

An unspoken understanding passed between us and we both knew that everything was going to be okay.

Then... she made a hat... from bubble wrap.

She is Etta...