Bobeck's back!

Here's something surprising I discovered last week: apparently Mimi Bobeck dolls have become popular! Not because a new generation discovered The Drew Carey Show, but because doll collectors use her as body donor for Blythe. I'm not really into Blythe so this was all news to me, but from what I understand the trend started about a year ago. If you google or search on flickr you can find lots of blog posts and photos, and laments that the prices on Ebay have gone up (although I checked and most listings weren't all that outrageous, so maybe that was temporary). I have to agree it's a good idea: the result looks a lot like a regular old-fashioned fat babydoll, and the huge Blythe head looks a lot more proportional on Mimi's body than on a regular skinnier doll.

It seems people have encountered the same problem as I did when I bought my NRFB Mimi a few years ago, which is staining. She has a row of purple spots on her thighs from the elastic in her pants. Personally I've just decided they're varicose veins. The bright green staining from her shoes is more difficult to explain away (smelly feet?). Luckily, she didn't have stains around her neck like Drew himself (he wore a black suit jacket which gave him a big black mark on his neck - hmm, street brawl?).

As usual, shoes are the big problem. Mimi has tiny, absolutely flat feet, and most doll shoes have at least a little bit of a heel. That may not be a problem as long as she's sitting down, although she doesn't do that very well either so I prefer to try and make her balance. So far I've only found a few pairs that sort-of work: a pair of Liv sneakers that look pretty oversized on her, a pair of vintage Barbie shoes that I had to carve out the inside of because they were made for high-heel feet, and the black slippers from the new cat themed Barbie accessory set I bought recently. They have a bit of heel, so she can't stand in them, but they're close enough to fitting that I'm counting them anyway.

Barbie 2015 slippers on Mimi Bobeck doll

There's also the single red vintage ballet flat that is almost perfect for her, but I'm not sure what doll it belonged to: it could be Skipper, but her shoes are usually too long and narrow for Mimi, or it could be Francie, but doesn't her shoes usually have a bit of a heel? Anyway, I only have the one, but at least I know they're out there...

Of course, if you prefer the typical Blythe style with big shoes it's easier: you can just fill them out with socks!

Random sewing and wig buying

And now for something completely different: 

After I put that headband that came with the mini BabyBorn clothes on Lottie, I realized she needed a white dress to go with it. Super simple model, made from a cheap white t-shirt. I quite like how it came out, although I still need to close it in the back. 

Currently looking at shoes for her (she came with gumboots/wellies). The accessory packs get a bit expensive with shipping, but there is a set with a little robot (to go with Robot Girl Lottie) that comes with two pairs of shoes that I think are supposed to fit the dolls too, but I haven't been able to unambiguously confirm it.

ETA re Lottie shoes: 

The robot set comes with the robot wearing a pair of pink shoes, but the promo pics shows it wearing the second green pair as well. This reviewer apparently managed to change the robot's shoes: http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.se/2013/11/lottie-dolls-review-and-giveaway.html 

This reviewer on the other hand says she couldn't get the first pair off the robot's feet, although she mentions the second pair fits Lottie: https://rebeccahains.wordpress.com/tag/lottie/