Lalaloopsy Pet Pal Palooza!

It feels wonderful to be able to showcase a few final guest reviewers here on the blog.  I have two more guest posts after this one, and all of these reviewers have put so much thought and enthusiasm into their work--it's inspiring.  Today's lovely guest, Carissa, emailed last September to suggest a Hello Kitty figure review.  She thought it would make a nice expansion for my brief Jada and Blip Hello Kitty toy comparison, and I totally agreed.  However, a few months later the Lalaloopsy Pet Pals animals were released and both Carissa and I were completely charmed.  So, Carissa offered to write a review of the new animal minis instead, and proposed some excellent ideas for comparisons.  But there are so many fun Lalaloopsy products these days, I got carried away and kept suggesting additions to Carissa's post: How about one of the large Pet Pals for comparison?  Are they the same size as the Littles?  Ooh--and maybe you could also compare a Mooshka mini?  Hey, and you know those cute little playsets?  I bet those would look sooo adorable with the minis...you get the idea.  By the middle of the summer, Carissa had cheerfully agreed to review half of the Lalaloopsy lineup.  She's pretty amazing.

So, today Carissa will feature the Lalaloopsy mini Pet Pal pig (Belly Curly Tail) and will compare her to the full size Belly Curly Tail figure.  She will also compare the full-sized Belly to a Lalaloopsy Little.  As an extra bonus, Carissa took the time to compare the Belly mini to two other Lalaloopsy Pet Pal minis (Wooly Fuzzy Fleece and Tickles B. Nana) and to the Mooshka Fairy Tales mini fox!  There's even a playset included at the end of the review...along with a couple of other fun surprises.  In order to keep the post from being too long, Carissa uploaded many of her extra photographs into a gorgeous Flickr album.  I highly recommend taking a peek at these bright, detailed shots.  They really add a lot to the review.

I hope that this post will be a treat for Lalaloopsy fans and a great overview for those who are not yet familiar with this whimsical brand.  Welcome to Carissa's incredible Lalaloopsy Pet Pals extravaganza!

Lalaloopsy Pet Pals "Toothy Yawns-a-lot" hippo (and friends!).

Mooshka "Fairy Tales" Mini Doll by MGA Entertainment

I have admired the Mooshka cloth dolls ever since I first saw them at Target last summer.  They have a wholesome, sweet appearance that sets them apart from most of the other dolls found at big-box stores.  Mooshka dolls would fit nicely in a smaller, locally owned toy shop.  Surprisingly, these cloth girls are credited to the toy goliath, MGA Entertainment--through their partnership with Zapf Creation.

I always stop to check in on the Mooshka dolls when I am at Target, and during my last visit I was delighted to see a few newcomers to the collection.  The new wave of dolls is called Fairy Tales (a common theme these days...) and features four of the larger cloth girls (Ina, Casia, Sonia and Palia) dressed up in princess, fairy, or mermaid outfits.  The Fairy Tales collection also includes six mini figures, and these are the dolls that I found the most tempting.  The mini dolls have a lot of features in common with Lalaloopsy minis, but they are not made out of bright plastic.  In fact, at first glance, I assumed they were made out of wood.  Also, each mini Mooshka doll has a piece of her wardrobe that is made out of fabric.  At $7.99 each, I couldn't resist buying a few of these newcomers to see what they look like up close.

Here's Fairy Tales Ina and her owl companion:

Mooshka Fairy Tales mini doll, "Ina."

Rubens Barn Linné "Moss" Doll

It is back-to-school week here in Maine, so I am getting my kids ready for their first day and, of course, I am thinking about science and learning.  This doll fits right in with my current state of mind.

Rubens Barn is a brand of handmade Swedish cloth dolls that have recently made their way to the United States.  At first, I thought that the name of the brand was Ruben's Barn--meaning a guy named Ruben had a barn, and the dolls were in it.  Actually, barn means "children" in Swedish, and "Rubens" is possessive without the apostrophe, so the dolls are "Ruben's Children."  These dolls can be found at Magic Cabin, and also on Amazon.  They cost $25.

I could look at the cutes faces on the Rubens Barn website for a long time.  The larger babies are fantastic, but my favorite dolls are in the Linné collection, a new group of babies that are dressed in outfits that represent something from nature.  There's a bluebird, a bumblebee, a butterfly and even a pinecone.  I almost bought the pinecone doll, because a pinecone is Maine's state flower--even though pinecones aren't flowers.  I think we're the only state in the nation that has a seed as its state flower.

After looking closely at all of the dolls, it was Moss who I couldn't resist.  This fellow is not only lovable, but he might be the only doll ever in the history of the world that is made to look like moss:

Rubens Barn Linné doll, "Moss."