Some Friends for Barbie's Sister Chelsea

I was so charmed by the cuteness of Chelsea, that I decided to buy a few of her friends.  I was especially interested in the chameleon and hamster pets, because those seem a bit more exotic than the bunny, dog and cat.  I am also one of those people who loves a surprise.  I get insanely curious when I can't see something about a toy until I open it up.  The hamster and chameleon pets can't be seen very well through the boxes, so they were kind-of irresistible to me.  By the way, I also like cereal boxes with toys in them and toy capsule vending machines.  Those kinds of things.

So, I bought Viveca with her chameleon pet:

And Tamika with her hamster:

I actually ended up with Renee and her chihuahua, too, because apparently I have a soft spot for small dogs.

My very small poodle

They have a cumulative cuteness, I think.  The more you have, the cuter they get:

It's greedy to keep all of these dolls, though, because I really just want to see the hamster and the chameleon.  One of you can have Renee and her chihuahua if you want.  See below.

Here are Tamika and Viveca removed from the plastic part of their boxes:

The chameleon is tipped on his side, so I still can't see him!

These dolls are very easy to get out of their boxes.  Right away, I like Tamika's dress better and Viveca's shoes better.

  

Very cute right out of the box!

Tamika looks you straight in the eye, while Chelsea and Viveca both have a slightly upwards slant to their heads:

Reunited friends!

Let's take a closer look at Tamika:

Tamika has a happy, serene face.  I love her expression.  Her lips don't photograph well.  They are definitely a matte purple/pink color, but they're not quite as two-dimentional as they look in this picture.

I tried different lighting, but the lips still look flat:

She has lovely long hair, but it is a bit uneven and ratty in the back.  I like the lopsided ponytail style on her.

She just needs a little haircut, I think.

Her dress has a stretch knit bodice with a heart and circle pattern.  The skirt is a different, crisper fabric and has a coordinating plaid.  I was hoping they'd all have outfits that matched their pets (like Chelsea's bubble dress), but I don't think there's a connection between this dress and a hamster.  What would a hamster-themed pattern be, anyway?  An exercise wheel geometric print?  Fake fur?  Hmm.

I don't think you're supposed to mix hearts and plaid.

Her shoes are bright pink sandals.  They are very similar to Chelsea's shoes, but they have flower decorations instead of hearts:

Time to see the hamster!  He comes in a tiny heart-shaped cage.  I guess the shape of the cage matches the hearts on her dress.  That cage is way too small for a hamster, by the way.  I worry a bit about his quality of life in there.  Maybe she is just transporting him somewhere fun?  We'll go with that.

Let's peek in...

OMG.  That doesn't look good.

Is it dead?  After a childhood filled with many small pets, the horror of finding a dead one is still among my worst nightmares.

Noooooooo!

That actually freaked me out a bit when I opened the cage.  But wait a minute...

He's smiling.  Whew.  He must be alive and well.  And of course hamsters are nocturnal, so he should probably be sleeping now anyway.  He'll cause trouble later when Tamika is trying to get some rest.

Aw.

He's absolutely adorable.  No offense to Captain Bubbles, but this hamster is much cuter than a fish.  I think I'll name him Pan, which is "nap" backwards, and also the Greek god of nature.

Chelsea's bent arm is great for holding Pan while he naps:

Maybe I'll call him Panini instead.

That was fun.  Now I'm even more excited about seeing the chameleon!  Let's look at Viveca:

This doll has real trouble standing up on her own.  Not sure if it is the shoes, or just the balance of this specific doll.  She has a calm, happy face that is very similar to Tamika's.  I don't think they're identical, but the makeup differences make it tricky to tell for sure.  She has beautiful coloring with dark brown eyes and a lovely shade of golden blonde--almost strawberry blond hair.  I like how her hair is swept to the side and tied back.  Very simple but charming.

She has smiling eyes.

Her outfit is a little strange.  It reminds me of an Easter egg, both in shape and in design:

The zig-zags are reminiscent of a lizard, I guess, but I don't much like the overall effect.

The pants are colored like jeans, but made from a very coarsely woven fabric.  They're the texture of wool or burlap.

The outfit has a sloppy velcro closure in the back:

The whole outfit is like a swimsuit top attached to wool capri pants.  Bizarro.

She has very cute blue sneakers:

I like that these shoes are different from the sandals of the other girls.  Maybe Viveca is a bit of a tomboy.  It turns out that the shoes are not what's preventing Viveca from standing well.  She doesn't stand any better in bare feet, nor in Tamika's shoes.

Time to meet the chameleon!

Oh, he looks very, very cute!

 Yep--another adorable pet!

Looking for flies...

Awesome curly tail.

You know how I love Tonner's Cami dolls, so this chameleon's name will be Chami.

If you like chameleons, check out this beautiful picture of a real chameleon from National Geographic.  I love their feet.  Very cool.

Viveca can sit and play with Chami...

But not without serious problems at the back of her outfit:

Remember at the beginning of the post when I said I like toy capsule vending machines?  Well, let me show you this:

This is a vending machine toy that is a mini vending machine.  In other words, somewhere in Japan, there's a real full-sized vending machine with these little toys inside.  Fantastic.

You actually spin that little dial and a tiny capsule comes out!

Oooh!  I got the blue one!

What could it be?

Well, ok, even after I open the capsule I'm not exactly sure what the toy is, but the point is that the capsules actually open and have miniscule toys inside.  I love it.

Chelsea loves it, too.

Before I give my final opinion, I have one more mission with Chelsea and her friends.  I told Kristi at Lemon Dolls that I would test to see if Chelsea and her crew could share clothes with the mini Pullip dolls.  Short answer: they can't.

Here's one of my mini Pullips, the Cheshire Cat:

She has a large head and a tiny body with very small hands and feet--similar to a mini Blythe body.

Poor Viveca can't even pull the outfit all of the way up!

As you might expect, Chelsea's clothes hang off of Pullip's small frame:

I decided to try the Littlest Pet Shop Blythe's clothes on Pullip while I was at it.  

Two of my LPS Blythes.

This shirt fits well, but the pants are too tight:

This dress fits, although it is a tad short:

Blythe swims in that Cheshire cat costume:

One item of clothing in my house that does seem to fit Chelsea and her friends is a shirt from the Only Hearts Club Li'l Kids:

If you don't mind the cropped style.

Unfortunately, this is the only piece of this outfit I have left in the house.  These clothes also fit Fairyland Puki Puki dolls, and so when I sold my Puki, I gave away the outfits.  There are a few Li'l Kids outfits on the Only Hearts Club website, but I haven't seen them at Target for ages. 

Here's a lineup of all of the little dolls I have been talking about, just so you can see how they compare.  It sure looks like Pullip should be able to share clothes with Chelsea, but the problem is that the puffy outfit is hiding a truly tiny body.

Tamika, Blythe, Pullip, Blythe, Chelsea, Jessica

I have already done a review of Chelsea, so for this post, I'm going to give special awards for different categories.  Like a little contest.  Please add your opinions about these categories in the Comments section!  The only qualifying dolls at the moment are Chelsea, Tamika and Viveca.

Best Facial Expression: Tamika

Best Makeup: Viveca

Best Outfit: Chelsea (bubble dress)

Worst Outfit: Viveca

Best Shoes: Viveca (blue sneakers)

Best Hair: Viveca

Most Adorable Pet: Pan (Tamika).  He's alive!

Best Overall Pet: Captain Bubbles (Chelsea).  Still can't get over the beautiful simplicity of a pet fish. 

Best Overall Doll:  Ah!  Hard decision!  I think (drum roll...) Tamika.  Everything about her is very good, even though she doesn't win the most categories. If Viveca had come in a different outfit, she would have won.

We're all winners!
Chelsea always looks like she's scratching her belly.  Give that girl a fish to hold!