Fame Awaits You!

ABC’S WIFE SWAP CASTING FAMILIES OF COLLECTORS FOR PRIMETIME!

Wife Swap is currently casting for our fifth season and we are looking for families who are collectors! If you think you have the best collection around, then I want to hear from you! The premise of Wife Swap is simple: for seven days, two wives from two different families with very different values exchange husbands, children and lives (but not bedrooms) to discover what it's like to live a different family's life.

It's an interesting social experiment and a great way to see your family in a whole new light. It is shot as a documentary series, so NO scripts and no set. It's just a small camera crew that is documenting your life.Families that appear on the show will receive a generous financial honorarium and if you refer a family that appears on the show you would receive $1000.

Here at 'Wife Swap' we look for a two-parent home with at least one child between the ages of 7 and 17 living at home full time..If you are interested, please email me your contact information and tell me a little about your family. Or if you would like to refer a family, please email me their contact information and I will be in touch.

Thank you!-- Gaby WilsonCasting ProducerWife Swap gaby.wifeswap@gmail.com

THis is What I'll Be Seeing Tonight

I will be seeing July 4th fireworks tonight at Penns Landing here in Philly. Hooray!!

At the time of recording, this was the last 24 inch Firework aerial shell that was allowed to be launched in the in the U.S. Filmed at Casino Morongo, Cabazon, CA July 3, 2007.

Blabla

Raggedy Ann in, "The Enchanted Square" (1947)

I haven't seen this since I was a wee lad. I'm getting misty!!

Ed's Two Loves

Ed (owner of Happily Ever After) loves ham. He also LOVES cupcakes.
Looky what I found!

As far as I know, this is the first honey baked ham cupcake ever made. It may also be the last honey baked ham cupcake ever made, but I sure hope not.What makes this a honey baked ham cupcake is not that it used honey baked ham ( actually used Black Forest ham), it's that there's a honey cake baked inside a piece of ham. Yum!

Michael Jackson Doll commercial

We'll miss him!

Salute To Summer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer

Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies

Then lock the house up, now youre set

And on the beach youll see the girls in their bikinis

As cute as ever but they never get em wet

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Youll wish that summer could always be here

Don't hafta tell a girl and fella about a drive-in
Or some romantic moon it seems
Right from the moment that those lovers start arrivin
Youll see more kissin in the cars than on the screen

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Those days of soda and pretzels and beer

Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Youll wish that summer could always be here

Youll wish that summer could always be here

Youll wish that summer could always be here!

Edgar Allan Poe Doll Crafting

If You've been haunted by nightmares of ravens tapping at your window since eighth-grade poetry class, steer clear of this week's Edgar Allan Poe doll-crafting workshop at the Latvian Society.

This is a two-hour long workshop in which participants can craft dolls related to the women in Poe's life and stories, such as Sarah Elmira Royster, Virginia Clemm and Lenore.

1pm and 9pm $5 - $25

Thursday June 25th

Call 215-627-2577 for more info.

Tim Burton in Wonderland

Coming to theatres March 5, 2010 . . . .

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen

Helena Boham Carter (with a digitally enlarged head) as the Red Queen

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

Himstedt Abschied

As Annette Himstedt closes her studio, we here at HEA would like to pay homage to a luminary of the Doll World. I chose 2 dolls from each year that are my faves.

Lihle 2007

Mika 2007

Mera 2006

Jinka & Kinja 2008

Namor 2006

Timo 2003

Mithi 2005

Matoka 2005

Paul 2004

Annalisa 2004

Theodor 2002

Akki 2001

Wei Minzhi 2003

Krinchen 2002

Princess Moonstar 2001

Walt Disney - Noah's Ark (1/2) - 1959

This is for everyone in the Northeast who haven't seen the sun in weeks. If you're fixin' on building an ark . . . here's alittle humor.

Tonner Convention Dolls!

Tiny Betsy McCall as Snow White from the Tonner Convention in Chicago.

Tinseltown - Ava Gardner above.

Wonder Woman Tiny Betsy McCall


I Take thee Matt - Tyler as the blushing bride.

New From Kish

Gilded Spirit Electra
Gilded Spirit is a 16" fashion doll featuring the Electra sculpt. This doll debuted at the May 2009 Kish Convention and is now being offered to retailers. She is limited to 200 pieces (100 of each hair color).

Gilded Spirit wears a ruched brown satin cocktail dress accented with a gold bodice and hood. Her shoes are a matching brown with long straps that crisscross up to her knees. This doll is available with black hair and blue eyes (not pictured) and blond hair with brown eyes (as shown).

Retail Price: $200

Wizard World In Philly!!

http://www.wizardworld.com/

MEET ROBERT TONNER!FRIDAY 4pm – 5pm

Panel Room 201CA Look Ahead with Robert TonnerJoin the makers of the incredible Tonner Character Figures™ as Robert Tonner shares the latest news on their exciting lines, from the DC Stars collection to Doctor Who and Torchwood, and beyond!FRIDAY 5pm – 7pmSIGNING!

Right here at our booth, #700!Robert Tonner will be mingling with his fans and signing items!

SATURDAY 11am – 12pmPanel Room 201C Sculpting with Robert TonnerJoin world-renowned sculptor Robert Tonner, CEO of Tonner Inc., for his "Sculpting from Clay to the Finished Product" panel. Learn how the process works from beginning to end, get sculpting tips and tricks, and learn about the artistry he puts into each Tonner Character Figure. Participate in a Q&A with the sculptor himself and, of course, there will be giveaways at the end!For more information on Wizard World Philadelphia click here!

A Minnie Pearl Moment

The Little Girl Giant

You will be amazed!

Amazing Amanda

Judy Shackelford, who has been in the toy industry for more than 40 years, has seen a lot of dolls. But none, she says, like her latest creation, a marvel of digital technologies, including speech-recognition and memory chips, radio frequency tags and scanners, and facial robotics. She and her team have christened it Amazing Amanda.

Workers test the motor that controls the doll's facial expressions.

Radio frequency tags in Amanda's accessories - including toy food, potty and clothing - wirelessly inform the doll of what it is interacting with. For instance, if the doll asks for a spoon of peas and it is given its plastic cookie, it will gently admonish its caregiver, telling her that a cookie is not peas.

While $99 is a premium price for a doll, it is only about $10 more than the price of the popular American Girl dolls. And, Ms. Shackelford said, Amanda may prove that girls as well as boys can embrace technology in their toys.

"I think girls have more active imaginations than boys do when it comes to play," Mr. Riley noted. "If girls have a button on their doll and can feel an engine inside it, that takes away from their ability to imagine."

Ms. Shackelford has been testing limits since she joined Mattel in 1976 as manager of preschool marketing. Three years later she became the highest-ranking woman in the American toy industry when she was named a Mattel vice president, the first woman to reach that rank. Credited with reviving the Barbie line of dolls and toys in the late 1970's, she left Mattel in 1986 to establish her own company.

Can you say, "Chucky?"

One prerelease model of Amazing Amanda, once it was activated (by flipping the toy's only visible switch hidden high on its back and beneath its clothing), woke with a yawn, slowly opened its eyes and started asking questions in a cutesy, almost cartoonlike girl's voice.

What the doll is actually doing, Ms. Shackelford said, is "voice printing" the primary user's voice pattern. By asking a child to repeat "Amanda" several times, the doll quickly comes to recognize and store in its electronic memory that child's voice, and only that child's voice, as its "mommy." Other voices are greeted with Amanda's cautionary proclamation, "You don't sound like Mommy."

In all, Ms. Shackelford said, the doll is equipped for almost an hour of speech that includes various questions, programmed responses, requests, songs and games. And as Amanda speaks, the doll's soft-plastic lips move and its face, using Disney-like animatronics, help to suggest expressions.

For instance, when Amazing Amanda plays a game called funny face, she asks if you would like to see a happy face or a sad one. If you answer "funny face," the doll's eyes brighten and she looks as if she is smiling. If Amanda is asked to make a sad one, her lower lip protrudes as her lids lower. She might even ask if you would like to see her cry, responding to "yes" or "no."

Images of Tonner's Comic Wizard World Dolls

TONNER reveals its Wizard World Philly show special releases, "CIRCETM" and WONDER WOMANTM is Athena's Champion available in TONNER booth number 700.


CIRCETM, is 17" tall, limited to only 300 pieces (certificate of authenticity included) and will sell for $175.00 in TONNER booth number 700.

WONDER WOMANTM is Athena's Champion, is 17" tall, limited to only 100 pieces (certificate of authenticity included) and will sell for $175.00 in TONNER booth number 700.

More of Chris Rago's Work

Here we have repaints by Christopher Rago. Not only is his work stunning, but the photography is so period I want to scream!!!

Miley Cyrus News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Major retailer Wal-Mart unveiled plans on Wednesday to launch a fashion line with Miley Cyrus, linking itself to a top teenage pop star at about the time back-to-school shopping begins.

Cyrus, the star of the hit Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana," will team with designer Max Azria, of BCBGMAXAZRIA, to create a line of budget-friendly items: graphic tees, tops, pants, shoes and accessories, all under $20.
In a statement, Wal-Mart said the line will reflect the rock-n-roll roots of 16-year-old Cyrus, who has scored musical hits with her Hannah Montana albums and enjoyed strong success at film box offices with her "Hannah Montana: The Movie."

Fashion designer now becomes the latest title for the teen star, who has singer, actress and author already under her belt. "I love creating looks that are all about personal expression and individuality," Cyrus said in a statement.

The line is expected to hit Wal-Mart stores in August, just in time for back-to-school shopping, and Wal-Mart also is sponsoring Cyrus' North America concert tour that starts in September.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Steve Orlofsky)

Vera Wang News

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Dancing With the Stars is getting a little more fashionable.
A source tells E! News that designer Vera Wang has signed on to compete for next season's disco ball trophy...
Wang, who will be 60 by the time the next round of waltzing kicks off in the fall, rose from Vogue editor to one of the world's most famous wedding dress designers. She not only dresses celebs on the red carpet now, but she has her own home collection, plus a lower-priced clothing collection at Kohl's.

As a young girl, Wang trained as a professional figure skater. She later designed costumes for Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Kwan. Another famous figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi, won season six of DWTS.

A rep for Wang did not immediately comment. As is usually the case, an ABC rep declined to comment on casting.

ABC just announced today that season nine will premiere with a three-night, five-hour extravaganza on Sept. 21.

Vintage Madame Alexander Cissy Dolls

Here is a lovely collection of vintage Cissy dolls. Tell us if any you see are in your collections!!

Miss Garland!

This is a repaint by one of our cherished customers: Christopher Rago.
"I styled her circa mid 1940's, She looks as if she'd been photgraphed by Hurrell himself!"

Not only a swell guy, but such a talent!

Blythe Dolls

How many of our readers own Blythe?

1972 Lite Brite Toy Commercial

I made all of these images on my Lite Brite!

Mego 12" Superhero's Vintage Toy Commercial

Father's Day Tribute

Tonner Comic-Con Exclusives

Look what's comin' to Philly!! Well, you can't really see, but you get the idea.



WONDER WOMAN™ is Athena's Champion
Wizard World Philadelphia 2009 Exclusive!
TONNER CHARACTER FIGURE™

Amongst her many patrons on Mount Olympus, WONDER WOMAN™ is Athena’s Champion. The regal princess of the Amazons comes swathed in a graceful flowing chiffon gown with opulent gold trim and a gleaming faux leather gold corset with eagle embroidery. Across her shoulders is draped a sinuous chiffon cape with gold “brooch” and on her arms she wears her signature silver bracers. “Coin” earrings and necklace, tiara, pantyhose, and faux leather high-heeled sandals also included.

LE100

CIRCE
Wizard World Philadelphia 2009 Exclusive!
TONNER CHARACTER FIGURE™

WONDER WOMAN™’s most alluring adversary is preparing some nefarious sorcery against her mortal enemies, the Amazons. CIRCE™ comes clad in a sparkling faux leather bodysuit under a lustrous faux leather corset with serpent embroidery and chiffon drapes. Richly-colored chiffon drapes and sleeves cascade from her shoulders. Hooped earrings, multi-strand necklace, beaded bracelets, pantyhose, and glimmering faux leather lace-up boots also included.

LE300

I Know I should be supportive of Philadelphia . . . but THIS is what I am most excited about:

Hungry, Edward from Twilght™
San Diego Comic-Con 2009 Exclusive!
TONNER CHARACTER FIGURE™

EDWARD must fight his insatiable thirst for BELLA, no matter how Hungry he gets. This latest incarnation of EDWARD CULLEN comes dressed in a soft knit long-sleeved t-shirt and dark wash jeans. Socks, faux leather lace-up shoes, and faux leather bracelet with the Cullen Family crest also included.

LE200

We Need a Hero!

To coincide with the new film "GI JOE: The Rise of Cobra, Hasbro is coming out with new Action Figures. Hoorah! http://wt.dlisys.com/Hasbro/H0112897.asp?q=nz9jj5pH0112897273399&src=GIJEMHT10066