Mini Pals by Maru and Friends

Happy New Year!  I hope 2017 has gotten off to a promising start for all of you.  It's been a mixed bag around here...but I'll get to that in a sec.  Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments on the Christmas post!  I was thrilled that many of you enjoyed hearing about Santa Mouse and his magic.  That's a pretty special memory for me.

I want to start this year off right by reviewing two new dolls from one of my very favorite companies: Maru and Friends.  As you might recall, the redheaded Savannah character from Maru's 18-inch line is one of my most treasured, beautiful play dolls.

Maru and Friends recently introduced a collection of mini dolls (the Mini Pals) who are 13-inch versions of the larger characters.  So far Maru, Tanya, Savannah and a little boy (Chad) have been added to the website.  I'm embarrassed to say that I've been pre-ordering these adorable Mini Pals as fast as Maru and Friends announces them.  As advertised, the first two dolls in the series--Maru and Tanya--arrived at my house just in time for Christmas.  Mini Maru arrived outfitted perfectly for the holiday, too, in a beautiful miniature of the Dazzling Holidays red taffeta dress:

Maru Mini Pal from Maru and Friends ($89).

Little Darling Custom Doll by Dianna Effner

Happy New Year!  I took an indulgent couple of weeks off to spend some time with my friends and family.  It was a relatively doll-free holiday, dominated instead by lots of music, some new Legos, and a crowdfunded board game called Zombicide that has taken over my house.  I highly recommend this game to zombie fans in the 13-and-up age range.  It's one of the best games I've ever played.

Anyway, I thought I'd start 2015 by showing you a special doll that I bought for myself about a year ago.  She is a "Little Darling" 13-inch vinyl doll made by Dianna Effner and painted by Geri Uribe.  Ms. Effner sculpts a variety of art dolls that are cast in vinyl and porcelain.  She sells a few completed Little Darling dolls through her studio website and a variety of her sculptures are also available in kit form on the Expressions website.  Ms. Effner is well known for her realistic face painting style, a technique that she has taught to several other artists over the years.  Little Darling dolls hand-painted by Dianna Effner herself are highly sought after and quite valuable.  They tend to sell on the secondary market for over $1,000.  It is theoretically possible to get on a wait list to order a custom-painted doll directly from Ms Effner (for just under $400), but this list opens only sporadically and tends to close quickly.

Geri Uribe is a doll artist who has been working with Dianna Effner for over 20 years.  Little Darling dolls painted by Ms. Uribe are gorgeous, and they're easier to come by than those painted by Ms. Effner.  Geri's wait list tends to be open, with a wait time of around 12-15 months.  I emailed my custom order request last January, thinking that my doll might be completed in time for Christmas of 2014.  As it turned out, the doll was ready way before I expected, and my beautiful girl arrived in late September:

Dianna Effner Little Darling doll painted by Geri Uribe, $350.