Current Mood : Increasingly sleepy.
Current Image Notes : Click on it, get it good and big, and cut/paste it ! Grab the crayons and colored pencils - it's coloring time !
Beloved Hubby text-messaged me late last night from Big Event Thang. He'd just gotten in from the briefing, and was settling down to sleep. It'd been a long, big day. And the client loved the badges. Just wish I knew what happened to the first set we mailed. Ah, well, guess it doesn't matter much now. Customer's happy, job is done, we got paid. Yaaay, me !
I've had lots of unexpected fun with DracuLaura's coffin-bed. Sincerely, I didn't want it. I've seen photos of it for months, thought it was kinda cheesy, and definitely 'kiddy'. I mean, between the pink, the bows, and the frills - and the jewelry box component - it just didn't say 'I must own this !' to me in any fashion.
Yet, I loved Frankie's mirror bed. It appealed to the 'weird scientist' in me, and looked clever and unique. About the only thing that kept me from wanting (and having) it earlier was availability and space. Even rotated vertical, the mirror-bed has a big footprint. And it looked like DLaura's coffin took up more, and frankly (ha-ha), I don't really like coffins. Someone on eBay's makin' bank customizing small wooden coffins as character-specific beds for the MH crew, and while they're really neat, they're just not my style. But now that I have this one...it is AWESOME ! It took a few tries to assemble it, and it seems a bit flimsy, but it works. It collapses down for space, and is tons of fun to pose DLaura in. Part of me wants to tuck her into her Gloom Beach swimsuit, fill the coffin with water, and declare it a holiday !
One thing I noticed, especially as I was assembling it. Ya hardly ever see it with the jewelry-box lid down. Even on the box, it's almost always pictured open, which doesn't make much sense - why would that be wide and gaping when the doll's watching The Sunrise Channel beneath ? Well, I have no idea if this is the 'real' reason, but with the lid closed, it's apparent that this is a coffin. A cute as heck coffin, but if it was standing on end and silver instead of bright pink, you'd think it's a regular adult-size burying case, if a bit on the frilly side. Sure, DLaura's a vampire, and vampire = coffin sleeper, but there's no reason to antagonize the wallet-bearing adults, right ? With the lid open, it looks more like a jewelry box. Lid closed, it's a bit creepy. So, ya'll know me...right now, is the lid up or down ? (grin)
The engineering has once again impressed me, too - the little table slides down on a tiny track, but you can still use the sides for things, they're wide enough. There's a place for Count Fabulous and DLaura's parasol, and the little curtain is sewn to a track that extends nearly the whole length of the 'back' side. The curtain can be positioned anywhere on the track, and even replaced if ya don't mind employing a seam ripper and either Velcro (tm) or some hand-sewing. Everything fits well and aligns correctly. Someone really gave this a lot of thought, and I love that ! I didn't get that the pillow was bow-shaped until I saw it in the manual, it's so clever how that 'fits'. Nearly everything has bows or lace on it, and it was a nice touch that DLaura and Frankie's beds have unique sheets. It would have been so easy to give them the same thing, and no one would have quibbled much, so it means a lot that Mattel didn't go there. I spend so much time whining that Mattel's quality-cheap that I feel oddly elevated when I can say they did good. Really good.
All the pets fit in the jewelry-box section, even the wide-base Hissette, Cleo's snake. I needed to arrange her to one side or the other ofow the white rail piece under the lid, but the top closes neatly. Cool. There's even enough space for both owls. That made me happy, since I wanted to use the pets in more photos, but it was a pain to dig through the MH box to get them. I've put Watzit in his little cubby on Frankie's bed, and hung up Count Fab - but his little hanger keeps popping off its base. May have to glue it later.
I also noted for the first time that the included tiny doll-size diaries open ! These tiny little things can be 'posed' like a book. Frankie's bed came with one, too, but I didn't see the tiny clasp. DLaura's bed also comes with a useless-to-me kid-size ring - the 'ring' part doesn't go past the knuckle on my fat little finger ! - but with gentle pressure, I popped the black ring part off, and can make a pin or a sewn-on accessory with the bat-shaped part. Her pitcher, along with the heart-shaped teacup and matching round saucer, are also so in character, it made even me squeeee out loud. I'm thinking of making a black and pink draped pedestal for it...
It even made me re-think how I had Frankie's bed displayed. It was crowded on top of my computer tower, and didn't look especially good there. Thinking that I now have two beds to play with, I relocated them in our bedroom, on my nightstand. Much better ! Even without dolls, they display well, and there's space to play and have fun. Heck, if I end up -somehow !- with Lagoona's Hydration Station, I can add that, too, but then I'm about outta space. There's only one other bed out there, the not-yet-released Clawdeen bunk bed set, and I really don't want that one. They sort of look like dog beds !
Also began to imagine a bit. What would Cleo's bed look like ? That doesn't exist, even as a photo or an idea yet, that anyone knows of. Hmm. A modern communication center housed in a sarcophagus ? Maybe the lid could hold a motion-sensing light or room doorbell. And Ghoulia - I could see her with an awesome trendy loft, with a mad science lab, desk, and computer beneath. And the computer can hold MP3 speakers - tinny cheap ones like kids' electronic toys always get. Would Deuce's snake-hawk have its own pillow, and how would we engineer the dual nature of Holt Hyde / Jackson Jekyll's crash pad ? Plus, there's new students... hmm...
While I contemplated, I re-worked my doll bookcase. Beloved says he'll build me a shelf for the Jem Rockin' Roadster, so I moved it over and freed up some space so the Barbies aren't so crowded, and the not-Disney Little Prince / Princess dolls aren't falling over. Much better. I'd planned on more doll time, changing Barbie clothes specifically, but I could always do that later. Got a final count - 92 dolls total. It still sounds ridiculous, but at one point, I had over 230 Barbies, so...
The bed sounds super cute. Thanks for sharing the picture with us, I downloaded it and plan to tinker with it later. It seems Mattel is going all out with this MH line. I only have two dolls, I'm cutting myself at two dolls, but I still love the line. I kind of want to get Holt for his clothing and accessories, but I still want to cut off at two. Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts. So far so good. My obsession right now is Liv dolls. So I'll deal with them for now. :-) Hope your honey had a fun-filled weekend and got home safely. :-)
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