Saturday, January 23, 2016

GOTY Lea Clark Opinions

Lea Clark, the new GOTY has came out. And as American Girl puts on their website, 
"Lea Clark™, the 2016 Girl of the Year, dives in to new adventures and explores what’s in her heart."

Overall her collection is very fun and colorful.



Lea Clark Doll & Book
Price: $120
Leah Clark has light brown hair with highlights, hazel eyes, and a new eyebrow design. Her beachy waves are so adorable and really go great with her hazel eyes which makes her even more amazing. I feel like Lea is a mix between Kanani and Rebecca, but she does not look completely identical to them because she has many other unique qualities. I have seen so many stunning pictures of Lea and I love her, but because I already have Kanani I will probably not get her. (but if I didn't have Kanani I would most certainly buy her!)



Lea Clark's Meet Outfit (I am reviewing this outfit separate from the doll itself)
Price: $120 (comes with Lea doll)
Lea's meet outfit includes: a bright and colorful dress that has a braided belt and straps, baby blue sandals with rope laces, a compass necklace, and a canvas messenger back with embroidery. This meet outfit has much detail to it unlike Grace's, and is very colorful and fun. Although at first I wasn't totally in love with the outfit, I think that it gives Lea a nice summer look. The one thing that most surprised me with this set was the fact that it came with a compass necklace and bag. Usually AG puts those types of items in the accessory sets, so including them with the doll gives a much better value for what you pay.


Lea's Accessories
Price: $32
Lea's accessories are made up of many parts that allow for a ton of imaginative play. With a braided headband, a camera, animal photos, bracelets, a passport, and a book about sea turtles; there are many possibilities for adventures that girls can have with their dolls. I especially adore the braided headband. But the only problem that I can see with that is if someone buys the accessory set who doesn't have Lea or a doll with Lea's hair color. This would be an issue since the headband would not match that doll's hair color since it only goes with any doll that has the same color hair as Lea. So be careful!


Lea's Rainforest Dreams Pajamas
Price: $24
The only word that I can use to describe this outfit is... darling. This outfit is so darling. Honestly this is my favorite thing out of her whole collection. I love how her pajamas are a romper and I also love how they have such a fun tropical bird print on them. The color scheme is just so cute. These pajamas would look great on my Kanani, so I am definitely going to buy them soon. I love them so much!


Leah's Bahia Outfit
Price: $28
Leah's Bahia Outfit is a nice and casual outfit. It comes with a dip-dyed shirt, what seems like denim shorts, and sandals similar to the ones in the meet outfit. This outfit is very simple, so I personally believe that it should be a bit cheaper considering how it wasn't one of those outfits that is makes you say "WOW. I LOVE THIS!" Not a huge fan of it, so I will most likely pass on adding it to my collection.


Leah's Rainforest Hike Outfit
Price: $34
This hiking outfit holds many mix and match opportunities due to its many fun pieces that are extremely versatile. This outfits includes a shirt with a butterfly watercolor design, cargo pants with a green belt, hiking boots, a yellow headband, and a pink watch. I really like the colorful boots and butterfly shirt, but the watch is a plain old no. If you look at the close up of the watch on the AG website, you'll see how it is made of plastic and seems bulky and unrealistic. So while many parts of this set are cute, I will pass on the watch since it is yuck.


Lea's Mix & Match Swim Set
Price: $34
Lea's Mix & Match Swim Set was such a fantastic idea for girls. With two different bathing suit styles along with a headband, this set not only allows for mixing and matching, but also for sharing. If a girl perhaps had a sister, they could both buy this set and each get a bathing suit. AG, this was a great idea! Love it!

American Girl - Lea Clark - Lea's Rainforest Hike Accessories for Dolls - American Girl of 2016
Lea's Rainforest Hike Accessories
Price: $28
When I first looked at this set, I automatically thought of the brand Our Generation. The pieces just reminded me of the types of items that are typically in OG sets. And since last year OG made a bunch of items that looked like things in Grace's collection; so I think that I can pretty much guarantee that this will come up in their collection somewhere. Personally, I don't think that this set is anything special, and I think that if someone wanted to, they could recreate it pretty easily. So I will not be buying it.


Lea's Beach Accessories
Price: $34
Ok. I know that I said this about the "Rainforest Hike Accessories", but this this set seems as though it could be made by Our Generation. It just isn't anything too special. I feel as though AG has had so many beach sets throughout the years that they are all beginning to look the same. New
ideas please!




Lea's Ocean Kayak Set
Price: $85
I have many things to say about this set. To start off this is just another repetitive boat set that AG makes (I know that boats, canoes, and kayaks are different but AG has had a ton of them all!). Since it seems so repetitive it reminds me of the paddle board set that Kanani had. In addition, this set is $85. Since AG dolls shouldn't go in water, the boat shouldn't either if it is carrying a doll. So what is the point? Why have a boat that cannot be used! In my opinion buying this boat is not a wise decision since you cannot actually use it.


Lea's Fruit Stand
Price: $150
Lea's Fruit Stand is pretty cute. With the beachy colors that decorate the stand as well as the other embellishments such as the toucan, the stand is very nice to the eye. I also really think that it has a ton of play value. Kids can "make" smoothies for their dolls, purchase some fruit from the front, or even take a sip from some soda that can be seen in the ice bin. I think that although this is a bit pricey, it is sort of like Grace's Pastry Cart which was more affordable than the huge collection item, while presenting the opportunity to girls to have fun and "sell/prepare" food.


Lea's Rainforest House
Price: $395
Here it is. Last year we had Grace's Patisserie, but now we have another huge item with a whopping price. Lea's Rainforest House. Although this item is something that I would never buy due to the huge price, there are some good aspects to this piece. I can tell that there was a lot of detail put into this which gives it many cute pieces such as the table set and shower, but still it comes with the almost $400 pricetag. Honestly, although this is a fun piece that is pretty cute, $395 is just too much in my opinion. I feel like one would have a lot more time creating this themselves with family. So, I say NO to buying this, but YES to DIY.

Sea Turtle
Price: $18
Alright. So this turtle is really cute and looks realistic to the actual turtle that it was based on. But, I think that one could easily buy a similar item from Webkinz since it is only a stuffed animal. Save the money and buy a small stuffed animal turtle. I'm telling you, there is probably one just like it somewhere with a smaller price.


Margay Cat
Price: $20
To tell you all the truth, previous to this item being released in Lea's collection, I had zero clue about what a Margay Cat was. I did not know that they existed. If I saw this item, I would probably have  thought that it was a mix between a raccoon and leopard. But after doing a bit of research on it, I now know what it is, but I still do not want this product. Sure, it would be cute for Lea's collection, but what else could it be used for? I would not want to make it a pet of my dolls since it seems to exotic, so it would probably just lay around somewhere.



Three-Toed Sloth
Price: $20
I know that I said how the Margay Cat was not practical for my dolls, and I know that a sloth may not be either; but still it is really adorable. For starters, it looks super soft and cozy, not to mention has the ability to hang on to things. So maybe since I already knew what a sloth is I like it better in comparison to the Margay Cat.

Out of all the items, here are the ones that I may buy...

  • Lea's Rainforest Dreams Pajamas
  • Lea's Rainforest Hike Outfit


Saturday, January 16, 2016

Fishing For Deals 1/16/16

                               

Here is the weekly post in the segment "Fishing For Deals." In each post I list 4 items that are fun finds from both online shops, or regular shops I visit. These items are not from AG or any 18 inch doll companies, but are regular objects that double as something for your dolly at a good price.
JOINNEW@ Mini Macbook Air Style Portable Mirror Apple Notebook Creative Make up Mirror

Amazon Mini Macbook Air Makeup Mirror
Price: $2.99 each (Note: Sometimes Amazon Prices Change)
I cannot credit myself with this idea since I wouldn't be telling the truth, but this is an item that you may have seen somewhere in the AG community because it is extremely popular. This item is meant to be a compact mirror that looks like a Macbook Air, when really to doll fans it is a doll computer. This computer is the perfect size for dolls; not to mention looks realistic, so it definitely a great item to buy for a cheap price.


Mini Paint and Crayon Set Sized for 18 Inch American Girl Dolls. By Trendy Dolls.

Amazon Mini Watercolor Set & Crayon Set
Price: $3.99 for both
If you have a doll who loves to paint like Samantha or Saige but you do not want to buy their expensive art sets, than there is a great substitute for you to buy. This paint and crayon set is small enough for dolls while actually being functional for humans to use when creating real artwork.


Amazon Fashion Angels Tapeffiti 30 Pack
Price: $6.99 for 30
Here is another arts and crafts item that doubles as something for your doll. These mini rolls of tape are great for decorating notebooks or for using with other fun artistic projects. But they also can be used with dolls since they are small enough to pass as doll tape. 


Amazon Flute Ornament
Price: $13.21
If your doll loves music, than they may enjoy having the opportunity to play an instrument. This doll sized flute ornament can be used as a flute for dolls since it is the perfect size for doll arms and also since it is an accurate representation of a flute.