Dollar Tree Dolls

5-inch dolls from Dollar Tree purchased 2/22/22

Last year these dolls were $1 like everything else you could purchase at Dollar Tree until the store increased the prices of some items to $1.25.

Book News

In late February/early March, one of my group members informed me of the doll journals she has created which are sold on Amazon. During our chat, I also discovered that she is a romance novelist. Shea Swain has written several romance novels that are also available on Amazon (through Kindle Direct Publishing) and other sites. Before I share the links to Shea's publications, I want to share some exciting news. 

During my chat with Shea, I asked several questions about Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for the possibility of having my third book, The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen, reprinted as a paperback. Shea kindly walked me through the process and within a week, I revised my book, updated the back cover, and submitted it to KDP where it is now available to order! 

The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen was offered as the first electronic book that features dolls that blog and shortly afterward as an ultra-limited paperback which sold out (as most printed books about Black dolls do) immediately! It has remained as an electronic book on Google Play and in the Kindle store. The ebook version has sold well, but it is the general consensus of most book lovers that they prefer to hold books in their hands. For those readers, The Doll Blogs can now be held (again or for the first time as a paperback or hardcover book as the stories told by each doll about their timeless experiences with their human, me, over a two-year period are enjoyed. 

Book Details

Written for entertainment and pleasure, The Doll Blogs can also encourage junior collectors to appreciate dolls beyond play, and it offers tips on doll documentation.  I hope you will support and enjoy the second-edition printed versions of The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen. 

Depending on your browser, on Amazon, the Kindle, the paperback, and hardcover versions of The Doll Blogs might be listed on the same page. You'll have to choose the desired version. 

>Buy the softcover here.

>Buy the hardcover here.

The hardcover and softcover second editions of The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen are shown above.

I will have a few hardcover copies to autograph and sell directly. If you would like to purchase an autographed copy directly from me, please send me an email to place your order with your name and mailing address so actual postage can be calculated. 

IMPORTANT: When purchasing the softcover or hardcover books directly from Amazon, check the option, "This order contains a gift." This might ensure that the book is shipped in a box to avoid any cover creases that might occur if the book is shipped in a padded envelope. 

The spines of the softcover and hardcover of The Doll Blogs When Dolls Speak I Listen are illustrated above.

Below are links to Shea Swain's journals, romance novels, and her website. I read and enjoyed Absolve. Please support her, too. Thank you in advance.

Shea Swain's Bias Journals

Shea Swain's Romance Novels

Shea Swain's website

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Chloe Van Buren

This photo of a circa 1896 Kammer & Reinhardt doll was provided by the daughter of one of its previous owners.

Chloe Van Buren (named by a former owner's grandmother) was donated to DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum in April 2022.

HarperIman Dolls

HarperIman dolls sold at Target are manufactured by MerchSource, LLC.

In July 2021, I shared a link to a list of Black Businesses to Support that someone shared with me. On that list was only one doll company, HarperIman. In the same post, I shared a link to their website. At the time of that post, the company was taking preorders for their one-of-a-kind linen dolls. A several-month waitlist followed. Not a cloth doll collector, per se, their dolls did not need to become part of my private collection, but I was happy to share information about this mother-daughter doll company.

Changed Settings Updated

At the time I am drafting this post, I have not received a reply from abuse@heg.com (the company that hosts the domain, Toynewz.com) in response to my complaint about Toynewz.com's bot scraping my blog posts. 

I Have Been Bot Scraped Updated

Thank you, Ms. Leo, for informing me that my blog, yours, and several other Blogspot blogs that we follow are being bot scraped by the website, ToyNewz.com.

I tried to contact them to request that they cease scraping my copyrighted content, but their contact form appears to be an image (intentionally) that will not allow me to enter anything in the designated fields.

On the Privacy Policy page (they actually have one of these), I found an email address to contact the administrator of the site.

admin@ToyNewz.com

Beatriz's Eyes

My Twinn Beatriz' eyes used to be hazel green.

Near the end of 2016, My Twinn Beatriz arrived as an unpainted "head" only with hazel-green eyes and upper and lower eyelashes. I painted the head to match a My Twinn body that I found some time later (years later, actually), and I attached the head to the body with a zip tie.

Beatriz's wig was removed before this photo was taken.

By 2020, Beatriz's hazel-green eyes had turned a milky color as illustrated in the first photo and in the photo immediately above this paragraph and below the next paragraph. 

I contacted the person who inserted the original eyes to see what I/she could do. She offered to replace the eyes and directed me to an eBay seller who sells eyes that fit My Twinn dolls. I only had to pay for the eyes and the roundtrip postage to send the head for the eye replacement.

In preparation for shipping, Beatriz's head was removed from the body. The wig, which had never been permanently attached, was also removed.

In this photograph, the eyes have been replaced.

Beatriz returned with replaced eyes. The upper and lower eyelashes were removed during the eye replacement but not reattached before Beatriz was returned. They were returned enclosed in an organza pouch. 

The rims of the eyelashes were encrusted with glue residue. To remove the glue residue, I soaked them for a few minutes in boiled water. The boiled water dissolved most of the glue. Any remaining glue was scraped off with a toothpick. I allowed the eyelashes to dry before reattachment.

The lower eyelashes were glued on first.

Next, the upper eyelashes were glued on.

The head was zip-tied to the body and the wig put in place.

What a difference the new eyes make.

Beatriz looks as good as she did before the original eye color faded.

I am pleased with Beatriz's new eyes and the speed at which the replacement was done. Here's hoping that these eyes maintain their original color.

Thank you, Holly!

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!