More Ruruko Play

The perils of trying on clothes.  You end up wearing underwear that don't belong to you.  The bows are so cute, I couldn't resist snapping her pic.

I think the underwear belongs to Ambivalent Girl Momoko.  The top is from a set I got from Amazon last year for Best Friends 4 Ever dolls (I don't have  the doll, but found the clothes to be cute and the price affordable).

Before I start sewing for Ruruko, I wanted to see what clothes and shoes I had on hand that would fit her.  In the photo above, she's wearing shoes from Stacie and friends from the Pizza Party line.

These are some ballet shoes that I've had for a while.  The blue ones and the pink ones on the outer left are too small.  The cream pair on the right is too big and the pink pair, one away from the left fit perfectly because they are soft.  The ribbon is too big and too long, though.

I can't remember whose shoes these are, but they are soft and fit snugly.

**Edit: Ms. Leo has advised that these light coloured purple shoes belong to my Happy Family grandmother!  Thanks, Ms. Leo.

These are Kelly's slippers.

I think these are Stacie's also.

I found Polly Pocket Stacie and Janet outfits.  Here she's wearing Janet's all-in-one shorts outfit and Teen Skipper's jelly sandals (They are a little long in the toe area) and taking Barbie's dog for a walk.

This is an outfit for a Kid Kore doll (Stacie size).  There's an overskirt, fanny pack and cap to go with it.

Looking mature in Disney V.I.P. Chyna Parks' top and white tights.

 These boots also belong to Chyna Parks.  I removed Lorinda's feet and stuck her legs into the boots.

Trying on Jazz Baby's top and Ambivalent Momoko's shorts.  Both were too big, but the cumberbund fit.

Posing in Hottiez Asiana's top and jeans (waaaay too long!).

Simplicity 1955

In 2012, I purchased a downloadable version of this pattern from Simplicity's website. 

What I like about it is that it contains three sizes:

Small for Bratz dolls.

Medium for Barbie and Liv dolls.

Large for Moxie Teenz and other dolls in that size range (instructions are to check the fit as you sew and adjust accordingly).

As soon as I downloaded the files, I printed the size Small patterns on twenty 8.5" x 11" (letter-size) recycled pages.  The individual pages didn't make much sense to me at the time, so I just put them away.

In my search for clothes for Ruruko recently,  I read that Bratz clothes might fit, so I took out the pattern again and decided to have another look.

Each page printed with a border and has a row letter and a column number at the top left corner, which I didn't notice or didn't remember before.

The row and column references guide you in lining up the pages to match up the pattern lines.  The patterns are printed just as you would get them in the physical pattern envelope, on a huge sheet of tissue, so you have to stick the pages together. 

 

The border is a great guide for cutting the sheets to match the pages in the correct order.  In addition to the pattern lines there are marks to assist with lining up.  

I apologise for the dark photos.

I remember reading a complaint about this pattern from someone, that the pattern lines didn't match up and I found this to be true for many pieces.  It was not a very big difference and I tried as much as possible to match up the pattern lines, while adjusting the sheets so that the mismatched portions were in the blank areas.   I likened it to trying to get an air bubble out after applying a screen protector on a phone.

I didn't have a large enough tabletop so had to work on the floor.  This was not fun for my arthritic knees, so I assembled enough to put together the pieces I wanted and left the rest as loose pages.  I now have to decide whether to cut the patterns out or trace them onto separate paper.

My Second Ruruko

I collected my second Ruruko (the one from the US dealer) from my freight forwarder on the 7th of this month.  

I have had problems before with my packages being squashed and damage being done to my dolls' packaging inside.  This box was squished, but the inner box and doll box were fine, except for a dent on the left side of the doll box cover.

Notice the tear  at the top left of the box in the picture below.

There were no cute little cards.  It was just a box in a box in a postal box.

Here's the dent that corresponds with the tear in the outer box.   Sigh.. 

And here she is!

All decked out.

When I had a good look at both dolls together, I realised that they looked different.  My Petworks Ruruko's bangs, came all the way down and covers a portion of the top of her eyes  and my US Ruruko's bangs' stop a little above her eyes.

I'm glad they look different.  I don't usually name my dolls, but I am seriously considering naming them.   Lorinda on the left and Lucinda on the right.  

I also noticed that my Petworks girl's limbs are looser and she had a pin under her right arm that was popping out.  

I was able to push it in and hope that it doesn't work its way out again. 

Her left arm is fine.

So,  after inspection comes play!

Warming up.

Waiting for socks and shoes.

Ready.

"No. It's this way."

I need to get cracking on creating some Obitsu and Azone friends for them.  I already have the bodies and heads and plan to use decals for some of their eyes.   I also need to sew some clothes and see what shoes I have that will fit them.  I'm really looking forward to playing some more.  :)

My First Ruruko

For my birthday this month, I pre-ordered Tutu Ruruko in May from a US supplier for delivery end July/early August.  When she became available on the Petworks Global site mid July, I ordered another one, just in case I didn't get her from the US supplier. 

My Petworks order was shipped from Japan on the 15th July and I collected her from the Post Office on the 31st July, after paying customs duties and VAT.

She came in her doll box, wrapped in bubble wrap, in a box, in a huge, laminated, brown paper bag! 

Even though I promised myself that I wouldn't play with her before my birthday, I'm glad I unboxed her to make sure she was okay.   If you like to watch unboxing videos and have five minutes to spare, you can view my first ever published unboxing video (you'll see how much I like using annotations) below:

I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that Customs officials see and touch my dollies before I do.  I'm sure they don't know how to handle delicate dollies.  They removed the two pieces of tape that were holding Ruruko to the card at the bottom of the box.  This meant that she was no longer secured. 

Enclosed in the outer box were two notes:

1. A 'Color transfer possibility' cautionary note:

 

2.  An 'Open Packages Immediately' note:

 There were four postcards, a business card and what looks like a mini newsletter.

Newsletter Front.

Inside

Back

Business card  one side.

Business card reverse.

Postcard

Postcard - reverse

Postcard

Postcard reverse

Postcard

 Postcard reverse

She's such a cutie. 

"Would you like to see what I can do?"

 

"I can do this"

"And this."

"And this."

Isn't she adorable?