Review of the Battat / Our Generation Baking Set

Okay, this one is only, like, eight months over-due in being blogged about, LOL! But, without further ado or delay, here is the "Baking Set."



There is a LOT of stuff in this set!



First off, everything you need to mix up something good, right?



Of course, it's non-functioning, but I like the fact that they put nice little decals and such on it that make it feel real.



And that they didn't cheese and just make the whole thing out of one hunk of blue plastic or something.



Look, your doll can make various cakes, or roll out and cut some sugar cookies!



And, for decorating, here are some shakers (maybe for pretend sugar/sprinkles?) and a frosting tube which I was surprised to find is actually cloth, with a plastic tip. Again, I'm impressed with the detail going in to these sets!



And, when the baking is done, it's time to feast on your creations! Included is a cupcake stand to display your cupcakes, cupcakes, plates, cups, and a pitcher.



There are a few paper/cardboard items that go along with the theme. . .



And, even a chef's coat and hat!



I felt it was pretty nicely made. Here is the inside of the coat:



Topstitching detail on the cuffs:



I haven't measured the Our Generation doll (I actually don't even have one!) but to my eye, they look thinner than American Girl. . . However, the coat fits!



And, the hat as well!



So. . . Adorable stuff, right? Totally! I do have a little complaint though, and here it is: You give me cake pans galore, and cookie cutters. . . But no cakes or cookies. . . And you give me cupcakes. . . But no cupcake tin. . . I just think that it might have been better if they'd had everything for making one (or maybe two) item(s), instead of random things. It's all super cute, but as a little girl playing with this, I'd have had more fun if I could pretend I was making the thing, from start to finish.

And to add to the confusion, here are two more items included with the set:



These sort of fall under cooking more than baking for me. . . Although, I suppose you could be using the spatula to lift the cookies off the cookie sheet. . . But oh wait, there are no cookies or a cookie sheet, LOL!

Now, if you've got some cash to plunk down, you can resolve most of these issues with the set. The Our Generation "Jenny" doll comes with a cupcake tin (and more cupcakes), so you could play-make cupcakes from start to finish. And if you REALLY have money to burn, the Our Generation "Gourmet Kitchen Set" also comes with cupcake tin and cupcakes. . . As well as baking sheet and cookies. (And so much other stuff and it looks so fun and OMG I WANT IT SO MUCH EVEN IF I'M "ALL GROWN UP"!!!)

*ahem*

The final verdict: Battat, you've done it again! The "Baking Set" is full of fun things to play with, and the quality is great. I still find it annoying that nobody really thought of the fact that you can't play-make one thing from start to finish, but, I guess I can overlook that because it's just all so cute. As a kid, I would have freaked out if I got this for Christmas, etc.! I imagine there's an awful lot of playtime with this one. So, this set gets an A- from me!

Review of the Battat / Our Generation Blue Camping Set

Well, I am not going to doll class tonight, because my car is all like "here are some red flashy lights on your dashboard for you to spend your money on!" *rolls eyes* I'm afraid to drive it without having my husband take a look at it. I am clueless when it comes to cars. I can not sew it, therefore, I don't know what to do with it! But one thing I do know about cars is that sometimes if you ignore a problem, you can seize an engine and that costs thousands of dollars to replace, but when you're like nineteen and have no money, that turns in to your Dad selling what's left of the car for parts, and then you have no car, and then your boyfriend has to do all the driving back and forth to hang out, which is like 45 minutes to an hour each way, and then you feel super guilty and hate yourself. Not that I would know from experience, of course. *ahem* (On a brighter note, it didn't scare the boyfriend away, because he's now the husband! And car care-taker of the household cars, which is probably a good idea, in light of my proven lack of ability to look after them!) Anyhow. . .

If this were a normal Monday, and I was missing doll class, I would make an effort to make some sort of doll-related progress - like maybe finishing those underpinnings for Marie Louise! But this is not a normal Monday; rather, it's the Monday that is only a week and a half prior to Dress U, aka my hugest costume event this year. . . And all three of my ensembles for Dress U are in bits and pieces around my sewing room. A bottom for this outfit is done, a top for that one partially done, and patterning for a third is my current adventure. Plus I have half a bonnet and a pattern made for a second. So, I somehow can't spend time in my sewing room and have it be on anything but Dress U stuff without feeling very stressed out! So I'll use my unexpected sewing room time tonight dealing with some of that. . .

But, in the spirit of keeping up with weekly doll babbling, even though I have no progress to report, I present. . .

A review of the "Our Generation" Camping Set! (Yes, I know, I said I was going to post reviews of three OG sets, one per day, for three days. And that was almost a month ago. Oops! Better late than never though, right?) Okay, here we go. . .



As you can see, I went with the blue version. I know this is bananas since I am, like, the queen of pink! But what sold me on the blue over the pink were the accessories. The pink tent looked like it was mostly cooking stuff, where the blue one has a little of that, but also a lantern that really lights up! Plus, my own tent in "real life" is blue. ;)

So first, the accessories. . .



The lid can come off the pitcher, and the marshmallow and hot dog can both be removed from the stick, which is fun. (As I've said before, I always love doll accessories that seem to function or move somehow!) The stick with the hot dog and marshmallow is just too cute! And the lantern - how cute is it that it really lights up?!?



The sleeping bag is just about the right fit for an AG:



It's perhaps a tiny bit short, but if you stuck a pillow under her head, you'd never know it. It feels like sleeping bag material, but is pretty thin. I don't think Mia should rely on it for warmth, should she decide to go on any cold-weather camp-outs. However, she should be just fine posing for silly photo shoots for me in it. ;)

And now, the tent. . .

It folds up for easy storage, and the ties that can be used to hold open the doors also act to hold it tied together when collapsed, which is neat (if you can remember how to refold it properly):



I had heard horror stories about the poles not being flexible enough to be used for the tent, and when I checked them out in person, I thought I was going to have that problem as well, because they seemed seriously not bendy! But, with a little help from my husband, we got it assembled. It doesn't look exactly like the stock photo on the OG web site, but, it's functional.



Taffy would like you to know that it is kitty-sized, and very fun to sit in and peek out of the doors and windows at your humans. ;)

Anyhow. . .

The doors velcro shut, and can be tied back if you wish to keep them open.



Mia got right in to try it out, and make sure she would fit length-wise. . . She does - but only just. And I'm sure one could fit a second doll in beside her, but not with much space left over. I feel this is authentic, since every tent I've ever owned has only just barely fit the number of people it claims to! ;)



The final verdict: Adult help is definitely required for assembly, and indeed even as an adult myself, it was easier with two of us working it. Assembly aside. . . The set is adorable, and I would have LOVED IT as a kid, to take with me on the family camping trips. What fun would that have been?!? I give this set an A!

Review of the Battat / Our Generation Sewing and Dressmaking Set

It's official: I'm in love with the Battat "Our Generation" accessory sets! I think I need them ALL! Ha ha ha, okay maybe not all of them. . . I have limited space, after all, and some of them would be SO much fun if I was still a little girl, or if I had a little girl of my own. . . But since neither is true, I really am only interested in the sets that I can have fun making silly photo shoots with, or just displaying the dolls like they're doing stuff. (Okay, and sometimes because they are just SO CUTE that I can not resist them!) ;) I'm currently trying to remind myself that I do not, in fact, need the OG kitchen set, or the bath tub, or the laundry day set. . . Can you imagine how fun these would be to play with? I'd have had a ball! And the grocery shopping set - I used to LOVE playing store, and I can only imagine the ball I'd have had making pretend products to add to my doll's store. I feel like there's just so much to do with these OG sets. I can imagine them being able to occupy little girls for hours of fun. It makes me wish I had a little girl so that I could buy all this stuff, and have a ball playing with her with them - or at least get the kick out of seeing her enjoy them!

Anyhow. So I actually ended up buying three accessory sets! (Hey, like I said, I haven't bought anything for the AG crew in a loooong time!) I'm going to review one set a day for the next three days, so that I don't overwhelm you with a bajillion pictures at once, starting with the dressmaking set - of course!

Mia will be assisting me with the opening and reviewing. . .



"OMG, can it be?!?"



"A SEWING MACHINE! Finally!!!"



Contents of the set:



The sewing machine is adorable! Of course it's not functional, but the presser foot can be lifted, and the "needle" moves up and down a bit, allowing one to slip some fabric in so it looks like your doll is hard at work crafting a new dress for herself. ;)



My particular machine did have a slightly wrinkled decal, and some tiny bits of pink paint that look like maybe they dripped at the factory.



The decal I was able to carefully peel up and fix, no problem, and it looks perfect now. The paint I can probably scrape off, but haven't attempted yet. (Let's recall that this entire set was only $14.99 - I can be okay with a little imperfection here and there for that price!)

The iron and board are so cute!



The sewing box can hold all the small, easy-to-lose things, which is handy!





Here are the smaller accessories:



The spools of thread are just plastic, and the "chalk pencil" is also just pretend. The buttons could probably really be used, if you felt so inclined. Here are some details of a few of the smaller items. . .

The thimble can actually fit on an AG finger, which is cool!



The scissors are also of pretty good scale, and they open and shut (though can't really cut).



Here is the "pin cushion," which is just plastic, and looks like it could come close to fitting, but I saw a review where someone put it on the doll, and it scratched the wrist, so I'm not even going to try it. I'm just going to make a cute fabric one that can really be used. ;)



The sliding bit on the hem gauge can really slide!



Tape measure: too cute!



Also included are a garment bag, three "rolls of fabric", a pattern envelope (no contents), spray bottle (for use with the iron, of course!), and several coat hangers.

The complete set, plus a curious cat:



The final verdict? This is a super cute, fun accessory set that is totally worth every penny of the $14.99. Maybe there are some minor quality issues, but I really only noticed this with the machine, and again, they didn't decrease enjoyment of it. I think it's such fun that many of the pieces "move," and I think they really put thought in to what someone would need for their dressmaking adventures. A great set! A+!