I won the Monster High Student Lounge set from Brini's Doll Domain. My Monster High dolls love it, and so do I!
When the package arrived in the mail last week, I had a huge grin on my face (like Clawdia)!
Things have been a bit hectic around here, so I wasn't able to open the package right away. The dolls took matters into their only claws.
What's this? A little something unexpected in the box, and it's just for me. THANK YOU SO MUCH BRINI! It's beautiful, and I love it!
Here's a couple of shots of the front and back of the boxed Student Lounge set.
The playset includes "vending" machine, working oozeball table with two brain balls, sofa, miniature laptop, iTomb and ghoulish snacks
The sisters relax on the sofa, while Clawd tries out the game table.
Howleen decides to have a snack while checking out the laptop. Clawdia is not having much luck finding snacks in the vending machine (I did not stock it with all of the little goodies that came with the set). Clawdeen takes a turn on the game table, but it's not much fun playing alone. Clawd pretends to be interested in the books on the shelf.
Clawd invites his ghoulfriend Sashabella Paws to join him in a game of oozeball.
They all love the student lounge so much that they use it for other forms of recreation, like playing music together.
They can't wait to share the student lounge with my other teens. They, of course, had to try it out first. :)
Thanks again, Brini! This came at such a perfect time. I have been stressing over work issues that I have little control over, so it felt good to give myself an enjoyable diversion. I appreciate you so much!
Well, the Werewolf was very prolific. Another Wolf sibling has joined the pack. Frights Camera Action Clawdia Wolf joins her siblings Clawdeen, Clawd, and Howleen.
She comes with a stand, brush, diary, iCoffin, and pen. The box has a cute insert of the Black Carpet. She wears a gold and black accented outfit, red and black jacket, red knee socks, golden Mary Jane heels, golden necklace, black earrings, black glasses, and a black bracelet.
Clawdia has arrived on the Black Carpet and the photographers are going nuts! She strikes a pose. She can stand without assistance in her shoes.
As much as she is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, she'd much rather share the moment with her siblings. She checks her iCoffin to see if she can get an ETA from her siblings.
Meanwhile, Clawdia poses for a close-up. Unlike her siblings, Clawdia has a toothy grin, and her fangs are molded instead of simply painted on. My Clawdia has a little bit of lipstick on her teeth. Click the photo below to enlarge.
Clawdia's siblings would not keep their big sister waiting long! Pictured below are Howleen, Clawdeen, Clawdia, and Clawd. Howleen is the youngest, then Clawdeen, Clawd, and Clawdia is the oldest at 19 years of age. Wait, isn't she kind of old to be in Monster High? She seems like a smart girl, so I couldn't imagine that she would still be in high school at her age. I had to read her journal to find out all about her adventures in Londoom as she sits through lectures at school, writes screamplays, and navigates through life on her own for the first time with the support of her family.
Clawdia is taller than her sisters. She has a slightly longer torso, longer legs, and she is more developed.
Clawdia is slightly shorter than Clawd, even in her heels. He will always be Little Brother to her, though.
Clawdia takes a moment to strike one last pose on the Black Carpet without her jacket. She finds that she is able to pose much better without it. I wish that her necklace and shoes were more of a metallic gold color, like her dress. But her necklace and shoes match her golden hair, so I won't complain (much). I really like her dress.
Later on, the family relaxes together and they talk about all of the things that are happening in their lives. Clawdia is able to sit quite naturally and cross her legs. The way that Clawdia's and Howleen's legs attach differs from how Clawdeen's legs attach. Clawdia's and Howleen's legs have plastic attachments, while Clawdeen's legs are attached with elastic bands. One of Clawdeen's legs fell off, and it was difficult to re-attach it. Clawdeen does not pose as well as her sister, so I am glad that they have made this improvement.
The Wolf sisters can not share shoes. Pictured below from left to right are Howleen's, Clawdeen's, and Clawdia's feet. Clawdia's feet are longer and wider than her sisters' feet.
They can share clothes, but the fit will vary from one to another. Below, Howleen wears Clawdia's dress, while Clawdia is barely able to squeeze into Draculaura's dress that Howleen had previously been wearing. Clawdia can put on Sashabella Paws' boots and stand in them, but her heels hang out in the back.
Like her sisters, Clawdia has articulation at the elbows, wrists, and knees. A comparison post with Clawdia as one of the featured dolls is coming soon.
My overall impression is that I think this doll is adorable. Some of you may remember that I never did bond with Clawdeen, and in fact had another doll's head on her body for years until Clawd and Howleen joined the family. But I bonded instantly with Clawdia. Maybe it's because I can see myself in her. I was once a bespectacled teen girl who kept a diary and dreamed of becoming a writer. Hey, maybe I should feature her diary entries on this blog.... wait, been there, done that. :)
Clawdia's hair is well-rooted, she has cool accessories, her clothing is well made, and she poses really well. The only quality issues that I can see are with some of the stitching on her jacket and the lipstick on her teeth. Clawdia is a nice addition to my Wolf family, and to my doll collection as a whole.
Check out my video review of Clawdia and her siblings.
Judging by the empty shelves, it probably would have been best if I had waited a while longer before making my trip to Toys r Us. The week after Christmas is probably not the best time to find a huge selection. But, I did find a few items that caught my eye.
This Nikki doll will make a lovely body donor to another doll in the near future. Can anyone guess which doll will receive this body? She has 2 different outfits, which is a plus!
My male dolls are always in need of more fashion options.
I don't have Operetta and I have no plans to get her, but I thought that some of my dolls would enjoy items from this fashion pack.
Nikki remains in her box for now, but I have opened the other items. I opened the Ken fashion first and tried it on several of my male figures. The shorts are too small for most of them. Also, the shirt has Ken's name written on it (sneaky how they covered the name with a sleeve in the packaging), so none of my action figures want to wear it. Below, my Texas A&M Male Cheerleader models the fashion.
Some of my other guys also wanted to model their Ken attire. From left to right, they are: Marlon, Denzel, Texas A&M Male Cheerleader (I'm going to have to give him a name one of these days), Terrence, and Terry. Ok, the only Ken attire that Terry is wearing is his undershirt because that's all he can fit, but it still counts right?
Next, I opened the Operetta items and the ladies below are modeling them. They are from left to right: Jenna, Clawdeen Wolf, and Howleen Wolf. The dress and necklace that Howleen wears is from Clawd Wolf's box and I had not previously removed these items. The box states that the dress and necklace are intended for Clawd's ghoul-friend Draculaura, but she will not be joining him here. Clawd has a new girl-fiend Sashabella Paws.
Jenna models a 2-piece outfit that includes a blouse and a skirt. The skirt is a good fit for her Juku Couture body, but the blouse is a very tight fit. She is wearing Barbie shoes. The dresses that Clawdeen and Howleen wear have extremely small sleeves and none of my other dolls can wear them. It is necessary to remove their hands in order to get the dresses on them. Clawdeen's purse opens and closes. Howleen is carrying Clawdeen's original purse and she is wearing Sashabella Paws' boots.
I was tempted to purchase the following items as well, but ultimately resisted the temptation.
I don't have any Moxie Girls, but this one was so cute to me with her Martial Arts attire and inexpensive price. But because of her large head and body lacking in articulation, I had to pass.
This Bratzillaz Illiana Honesty doll appealed to me because of her articulation and because she appears to have a different skin tone than Sashabella Paws. Her large head does not appeal to me, though. I thought about my Sashabella Paws that I have yet to do anything with, and I decided to leave the doll below at the store.
Happy Easter, Everyone! This is not an Easter themed post, but feel free to check out my Easter Parade video from last year.
Here is my next group of fashion dolls for comparison. They are posed similarly to my previous comparisons. They are from left to right: Winx Club Layla, Howleen Wolf, Isla head on Clawdeen Wolf body, V.I.P. A.N.T. Farm Chyna, Fashion Royalty Monsieur Z. Wild, and Dance 'N Flex Christie.
None of them can stand on their own. Layla has bendy arms and legs, and Christie is entirely bendy. The rest are articulated.
They can all cross their arms somewhat. They all have high-heeled feet. Monsieur Z. Wild and Christie can share shoes.
Here they are doing a side stretch. Layla, Howleen, and the Clawdeen Wolf body do not have torso articulation. Chyna and Monsieur Z. Wild have upper torso articulation and do a decent job of stretching to the side. Christie with her bendy torso does this better than all of them.
Here they are "walking like an Egyptian". Chyna has no wrist articulation and Layla can not bend at the wrist.
Here they are doing kneeling back bends. Christie can arch her back quite a bit.
Here they are showing off their hands. All of them have weird hands that are not useful for holding objects.
Here they are attempting to sit cross-legged. Christie comes the closest, but it looks like I tried to tie her legs in a knot.
Here they are attempting to do middle splits. None of them are successful at this, least of all Layla.
Here they are doing front splits. The Wolf sisters do this the best.
Here they are doing a leg lift. The Wolf sisters and Monsieur Z. Wild do this the best.
Here they are seated. Layla can cross her legs, but she has issues with sitting straight up. I think that Christie does the best job of crossing her legs.
Do you prefer bendy dolls or articulated dolls? Do you have a favorite among these dolls? Which ones look the best in their poses?
Dance Class Howleen Wolf was the first new doll to arrive at my house in months. There was another doll that I tried to buy first, but I had some difficulties (more on that in a future blog post).
I had wanted Howleen since she came out in a Target exclusive sister pack with her sister Clawdeen earlier this year. All of my local Target stores sold out, and that set was selling for outrageous (for me) prices on eBay. I just waited and hoped that Howleen would be popular enough to be released on her own. I'm glad that I waited.
I think that she's cute with her pink hair and attitude. Okay granted, I did have a failure to bond with Clawdeen, and it will probably be the same with this one, but I'm hoping to find a use for her. I had something specific in mind when I bought her, but I don't know if that's going to work out.
And the ears on this one... I had a puppy once that was a German Shepherd mix. She had floppy ears when she was very young, but gradually over time, her ears began to straighten out. Around the time of her first heat, she had one straight ear and one ear that was still a little floppy, just like Howleen. I'm a little grossed out that this doll with her human characteristics reminds me of my puppy. I'm kind of amused by it, also.
Awwwww, the happy family together at last. Clawd Wolf was freed from his cardboard prison the same day as Howleen, and Clawdeen's head was reunited with her body long enough to take a few family photos.
Howleen's body is shorter than Clawdeen's, and shaped a little differently.
Check out this video review of Howleen and her siblings.
