2010 doll review

2010 is nearly over. I am OK with that. It hasn't been the absolute worst year ever, but it has had plenty of ups and downs and I am ready for a fresh start. One of the ups I have had this year is the making of more dolls this year than any other year since I started making dolls. I made about 90 total which is pretty impressive to me.
I've made western dolls... English dolls...

as well as some unusual dolls.

I got to be a part of the WEG diorama project as well. It was a good year for doll making.

So here are my totals. They are not totally accurate because it seems some of the dolls I made as random sales dolls and some of the dolls I made for myself didn't get into the order book (because they were not orders...) so my numbers for each type are off a little. But it's still fun. So here we go:

20 Western Pleasure dolls, 13 Hunt seat dolls, 12 "other" dolls (the ones that don't fit into another category), 8 cowboys, 8 cross country dolls, 5 showmanship dolls, 5 "other" youth dolls, 5 judges, 4 casual English dolls, 3 hunt seat youth dolls, 3 casual western dolls and 3 saddle seat dolls. When you break it down like that it doesn't seem like that much. One thing is clear though, people like western pleasure dolls. Happy New Year!

My Strapless obsession

Now THAT is a deceptive subject line. Most people would probably think I really love Strapless dresses or tops. In reality the Strapless I am referring to is the Breyer model horse, Strapless. The only strapless article of clothing I have ever worn is my wedding dress.

Anyway, I really like the Strapless mold and have has the sidesaddle one since it came out, the JAH special run, Party Girl also as soon as she could be ordered and last week I set up a trade for Valvella and the Pottery Barn Strapless. So now I went from just my 2 to 4 in a hurry. Then over the Thanksgiving weekend I saw a post on facebook saying that the Breyer store had the WEG horses for CHEAP. So I went to look and sure enough, Headley Brittania was only $30! At the games she was $100, in Breyer's store she is normally $75. So I was very glad to get that bargain price.

So "Brit" came in the mail today and I noticed something funny about her. She has a western mane and an english tail with the braid part shaved off. It's really strange. And I realize a loose mane doesn't necissarily mean western, but I have always called them the english and the western versions so I will continue to do that now. Because of have other things I should be doing but have now decided I want to play on my blog, here is a side by side comparison of the western and english manes on the Strapless model.And then the side by side comparison of the western and english tails. I like the western tail a bit better actually.This is the Pottery Barn Strapless. She has a nice, loose western mane and tail (as well as a pretty color.Valvella is a completely English horse with her braided mane and braided tail. She is a special run for Walkabout Farms.And then this is the WEG Strapless model, Headley Brittania. Notice her loose mane and braided style tail? I tried to get a picture of the lack of braid but my camera didn't want to pick up that (lack of?) detail. Anyway, I noticed this when I was putting her up on the shelf and I thought it was interesting.

You know what else I find interesting about my Strapless collection? Every one of them is a special run or limited edition, lol. And to top off that silliness, I use them for performance ☺. The side saddle strapless is of course a limited edition. The Party Girl is a JAH special run. Valvella is a special run for Walkabout Farm (as I mentioned above), The Pottery barn Strapless is of course a special run and then Brit is the WEG special run. And really, what is the difference between a special run and a limited edition? Serious OF collectors must know the answer. I really only collect OF horses that I show in performance and those little turning stablemates. I won't do a post on those, I have 31 of those little horses and it could be all photos ☺

Thanks for reading my random thoughts!

The joys of trading

I love tack. And I love trading. And this new little gal I made is part of a tack trade with my friend, Jennifer. She is a youth doll but with slightly longer thighs so she doesn't have mismatched legs (long calf and almost no thigh like the original youth dolls). She was also made in a similar outfit to a doll I made this past summer. Here are some more views of her...

And here she is standing next to an adult Breyer doll. She's still small enough to be a child but she's certainly not a little little girl. Probably almost a teen (though my 12 year old is almost as tall as I am and is already taller than my mother, lol). I hope you like her Jenn!