Two Consuelos

 Here's a comparison of my two Hearts for Hearts Consuelo dolls.

The one on the left with the purple eyes was a recent thrift store find. The one on the right I bought new in box from Toys R Us when the line was being discontinued for the first time.

The thrift store one cleaned up nicely. Her hair brushed out and is gorgeous. Her eyes, obviously, are still purple. I was not able to get all the scuffs off her face with Magic Eraser. If I ever buy fine-grain sandpaper, I will try that.

It's really interesting because they were both made by the same company that first produced these dolls. The thrift store doll would have been one of the first ones made by this company, and the Toys R Us doll one of the last.

I feel like there are subtle differences in the face paint. Combined with the difference in eye color, it gives them different personalities in their faces. 

I am not ruling out that I may customize thrift store Consuelo, but right now I enjoy both of the dolls as they are.

Hearts for Hearts Consuelo

 I am having the most insane good luck at the thrift store lately.

This time I found a Hearts for Hearts doll Consuelo.

Yes, she in pretty rough shape. Her hair just needs to be brushed out, I think.

Her face is marked up, and her elastic is loose.

Since these dolls have just been discontinued for the second time, there's no way she wasn't coming home with me.

I don't have any other Hearts for Hearts that have had eyes that turned purple, so she is unique in my collection.

I also don't own the outfit that she is wearing, so that's a plus as well.

I also found a porcelain doll's tea set decorated with a Christmas theme.

The Christmas theme is what sold me on it, since after all, I take doll Christmas pictures ever year and can use some new props for that.

Kermit Hoodie

I made a Kermit Hoodie using the Requiem Art Designs pattern.

I feel like I could have done  better job with his eyes and his collar, but that is probably because I am a picky Muppet super fan.

Also, I am not an artist at all.

My model is Hearts for Hearts doll Consuelo.

Hearts for Hearts Doll Mosi

I bought Hearts for Hearts doll Mosi.

I think she is really cute.

However, respect needs to be used when portraying Native Americans, and I feel that the company made some iffy choices here.

Straight out of the box, I took that stupid plastic blue feather off. There is no reason for it, and it just plays into the who Native American stereotype thing.

Next I took off her Thunderbird danglies, because the Thunderbird is a sacred animal.

I also replaced her tunic with a long sleeved T-shirt that I made from the free Liberty Jane T-shirt pattern.

There she is!

I think the pale blue shirt matches the grey striped leggings better than the red tunic that she came with.

I like her much better this way.

Here is Mosi in the box. It showed the prototype, not the actual doll. I wish they had changed this with the re-release.

The side of the box said something that really bothered me.

It says, "Like all Hearts for Hearts Girls, Mosi's fashions are authentic to her culture."

This is so stupid! Native Americans wear normal people clothes. Apart from her feather and Thunderbird earrings, Mosi is not wearing anything that is special to her culture, and I think she is better off not wearing those for sensitivity reasons.

I always thought of Hearts for Hearts outfits, like Consuelo's and Lillian's, to be creative reimagionings that combine the traditional wit the modern. I don't think anyone is real life wears exactly the clothes that they were, and this is a very stupid claim to make, especially on a Native American doll.

Some people have complained that Mosi is marketed as a generic Native American, instead of a particular tribe.

It is true that there are many different tribe with different traditions, and that they should not all be lumped together.

However, there is a reason behind this.

There is a law that says tribe names cannot be used without the permission of the tribe on items for sale. This protects the tribe and allows it to control its image to some extent.

Hearts for Hearts did not have permission from a specific tribe to use their name, so Mosi HAD to be marketed as a generic Native American..

Mosi has the same face mold as Consuelo.

She has a different hair style, slightly darker hair and eyes and different eyebrows, lip color and face up.

I think they are different enough to justify owning both. Consuelo has a more serene facial expression, and Mosi looks slightly worried. It is very cute.

I was surprised that Mosi's hair is curly and comes in a ponytail. It is cute and I like it, but you would never guess from her stock images.

You can read another review of Mosi by Nethilia on the Toybox Philosopher.

I like Mosi a lot, but I think her Native American heritage should be handled with care.

Pattern Review: Forever 18 Inches Faux Button Jumper

Forever 18 Inches Faux Button Jumper for 14 inch dolls was  a Freebie Friday a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted to try it out, but the pattern is JUST for the jumper. It does not include a shirt to wear under it.

So first I made the free Liberty Jane T-shirt pattern for Hearts for Hearts dolls. I lengthened the sleeves so that it would be warmer for autumn weather.

Then I made the jumper.

It's really cute! Here is Hearts for Hearts Consuelo modelling it.

You can choose whether to make the jumper lined and whether to add pockets.

I made both of those options. It would be faster if you skip them.

The jumper turned out really cute! I am happy to have more clothes that my Hearts for Hearts dolls can wear.

Doll clothes rarely use a combination of dark colors like this- at least not the ones made by doll companies- but I think it looks great.

Consuelo can put her thumbs in her pockets!

I did make several mistakes in this pattern, but none of them were unfixable. Next time I will know better what I am doing.

Overall, this is a relatively easy pattern and a good addition to a doll wardrobe.

Pattern Review: Requiem Art Designs Wa-Loli 14 Inch Doll Dress

This pattern is from a designer I had not heard of before. That designer is Requiem Art Designs.

The designer has lots of really cool patterns. I think I had not heard of her because most of her patterns are for sizes that I do not sew for often.

However, the patterns are cool enough to tempt me to sew for these sizes!
There are so many lovely designs. Her etsy shop is serious eye candy. I want to sew them all.

She just started designing patterns for 14 inch dolls. I made her Wa-Loli dress for 14 inch dolls.

 I had not hear of Wa-Loli style before, although I was familiar with the Lolita style.

Wa-Loli combines traditional Japanese clothing with the ruffle-y Lolita style.
It's so cute!

This pattern should fit most 14 inch dolls, including Wellie Wishers and Maru and Friends Mini Pals. I don't own any Wellie Wishers, and Consuelo was happy to model something new!

I learned about this pattern from Nethilia of American Girl Outsider. You can see the stunning dress that she made for her Wellie Wisher on her blog.

The pattern includes written instructions on how to sew the dress. It does not include any illustrations.
You do need a certain level of experience to sew this.

This is a really cute dress, and a great pattern, and I am very happy with it!

Hearts for Hearts Hanging Out

Here is some eye candy of  three of my Hearts for Hearts dolls. They are so pretty!

 Consuelo

Shola 

Rahel

Group picture!

Hearts for Hearts Dolls Return!

Hopefully you have noticed if you are interested that the Hearts for Hearts dolls are back!

They were discontinued for a while, but now they are being made by a new company.

Consuelo, Nahji, Shola and Tipi