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The LE doll has makeup and the outfit includes crystals. Plus she is wearing crystal earrings.

The doll isn’t offered in stores right now, only online. We were going to travel to Chicago to pick her out last weekend too, but called and found out the doll isn’t in stores.

I don’t think you can go wrong ordering though. We went to Chicago anyway and the quality and standardization of the dolls has really improved. I’m a very picky collector, and I didn’t see many dolls I wouldn’t have brought home!

Here’s my girl:

https://instagram.com/p/CF8VOJhMzbD

'WOAH. Look who came today! I wasn’t expecting to like this doll and thought I’d end up returning her for a regular #86, but, wow. She’s staying . Her box was supported on all sides by foam corners so it wouldn’t move in shipping. I loved that it was covered in delicate tissue paper for removal for the big reveal. Her box is solid and sturdy. The photos are un-edited right from box. I was afraid her pink lips would be garish, but they are a bit more subtle in person. I love how her dress shimmers in the light. She’s gorgeous, and I’m very happy I ordered her! I think she deserves to come out of the box but I’m still deciding. Her card was marked 43 / 5000. What do you think??"

I received mine yesterday and she is gorgeous. Her eyes are perfect! So happy about this as this was what I worried most about by ordering a doll online. I did expect perfect eyes when you pay $250 for a doll, but I'm also glad to see expectations were met. Makes me wonder why the CYO's don't always come out better considering how much you are spending over a regular AG doll. But I digress....I was also impressed by the BOX she comes in.....its really think and sturdy. They even left air holes in the corners of the plastic so that when you put the box back on it doesn't cause problems. Overall just very impressed with AG and this doll! Hope they keep doing it along with the nutcracker themed items.

I got #146!

She is beautiful and the crystals are so shiny I can't believe it. Nothing like rhinestones - totally quality.

Some questions I had but didn't see answered:

Her ears are pierced and the earrings are not just glued on (they looked like glued on in the pictures)

The toe shoes are very nicely made. Vinyl bottoms and sewn like real toe shoes. The ribbons are precisely wrapped around her legs and tied with a lovely bow at the top back (I'm funny - I don't want to untie those bows).

The tutu skirt is separate from the velvet leotard.

She has a necklace and earrings that do not come with the $65 outfit.

The wand and tiara are very heavy and they have crystals too (not just rhinestones like the $65 outfit).

The box is gorgeous and they were careful to make it so you could take out the things attaching the doll and it doesn't ruin the sky looking backdrop. I think it will be a great display box/storage box.

If someone is willing to pay $200 for a CYO then $250 doesn't seem so bad for a doll in a high quality outfit with storage box. I think you're paying extra for the crystals - they are expensive.

Mine just arrived! I’m thrilled with her. The outfit really sparkles. I didn’t like her eyes in pictures, but they’re pretty in person.

I like the packaging too - it give you the option to display her in the box if you wanted to keep her NIB. I still haven’t decided if I’ll take her out of the box or not. She’ll only be displayed at Christmas.

The only thing I wish they’d done differently is her hair. It would have been nice if her hair come styled in a ballet bun. It would have been pretty to set the tiara right in front of the bun. Perhaps if her hair gets messy in a few years I’ll try it, but for now I’ll leave it as is.

Here is my sugar plum fairy doll. I prefer her bright pink lip color to #86’s dark orange lip color. It matches her purple hair and isn’t too bright in real life.

I would say the same as the tiara and scepter; they are definitely not as pink as the bodice. They dont seem as dark at first, but that may just be because the bigger crystals look darker and may affect perception of the smaller ones. Maybe same color but slightly lighter than the tiara crystals

Yeah, I actually thought that bed looked pretty accurate. I've seen similar things, especially considering Grandmary is so old-fashioned she'd probably have some older beds in her house.

Samantha's bed was dang cute, but beware, the entire canopy part is plastic as is the white lattice work on the head and foot boards. The rest of the bed is wooden though.

So I bought Samantha's BF bed during free shipping, thinking that I would get used to the canopy, but I never did. Still, I was reluctant to completely destroy the canopy in order to remove it. I wanted to have the option to take it on and off at will.

Well, I am delighted to report that the canopy can indeed be removed with a minimum of damage! And can be re-attached when you want to! But--small hitch--it requires four approximately inch-long slits in the back of the canopy.

See, the canopy panel is attached to the headboard with screws only. The problem is that the screws are completely covered up by the fabric. Today, I decided to take the plunge and see what I could do about that.

I made a small slit over each screw, just large enough to get a screwdriver in and remove the darn thing. Here is my first incision. I marked off one inch with straight pins, and then cut a straight line with a seam ripper (the pins also keep you from accidentally going too far with the seam ripper).





All four incisions made, screws removed, and canopy removed from the headboard. You can see that the back side of the headboard is nicely finished, except for those four big thingamajigs. Guess they keep the canopy stable?

I was planning on hand-sewing buttonholes for each of these, so the fabric around the slits doesn't fray, but now I'm thinking I may just go out and get a new bottle of fray-check. Then I'll remove the straight pins.



Samantha is quite happy with her new bed. I'm pretending that her brass bed stays at Grandmary's house, and this new wooden one is her bed in her new home with Uncle Gard & Aunt Cornelia.



There was another thread, a while ago, asking to see the new bed with the old commode. My commode is definitely more yellow in color than the new BeForever bed. But, it's not too much of a clash (for me, at least).



Hope this helps all of you who wanted the bed without the canopy!

I held off on replying to this thread because I wanted to make sure I was happy with the Doll I received before posting. I am HAPPY to report I absolutely love this Doll and she does not have eye defects that I was worried about...or at least not from my perspective/opinion. I think from the reviews that bingandnelsonfan has done that the Nanea mold has less eye defects in general. If I am misquoting or I got that wrong I am very sorry! I think AG picked a good mold to have a no returns policy as from what I understand you get more eye defects with Classic mold than any others. I've attached a few photos so hopefully this might help some folks one way or the other. Yes, the eye color is subtle and I think very fitting. Overall I think she's gorgeous! My only complaint would be that once again the accessories are not easily accessible without damaging the box. This carry-over from Barbie I am not happy about. :-( But very small complaint compared to how much I love this Doll!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cilb-kLujIy

Mine just arrived! She’s quite a fantasy doll.



Her eye makeup is a bit uneven. It goes to the edge of her lashes on one side but not the other. It’s not a big enough deal for me to worry about.



Warning if there are any parents hoping to surprise their children: the box she shipped in is not subtle about the contents!

My Sapphire Splendor doll arrived today! I don’t have a way to upload pictures but wanted to share a few thoughts for anyone still on the fence/for future reference.

I ordered her during the Silver/Gold preorder, and this order put me over the threshold for Berry. I got the 4.5x points as if I had been a Berry member at the time I placed the order, which I thought was nice.

The number on her certificate is in the 13,000’s, so assuming they are shipping in numerical order, they seem to be selling at a good pace. (Incidentally, the place where the number is on the certificate appears to have been carefully rubbed off and reprinted, presumably when the run was reduced to 18,000.)

Overall she is very pretty. I had been worried about reports that her lip paint was a clashing coral color but mine looks like the rose color on the website, only less shiny. Overall her color scheme is very harmonious, although her very light eye color can give her a bit of an intense stare.

Her base hair color is turquoise with purple highlights, and you can see strands of lime green, magenta, sky blue, and royal blue that add depth to the colors. Her wig is on the thinner side, but overall looks nice and is well-styled. The texture is like the wig on my TM #92.

My doll’s biggest flaw is in her left eye where the lavender color extends past the iris into the white of the eye, so that her iris is not perfectly round. I’m still trying to figure out why this might be—I think her eyes may be made of lavender plastic with the whites painted on top, and some of that white paint chipped. It’s disappointing, but I’m probably just going to keep her as-is.

The Swarovski crystals are gorgeous. I had always planned to take this doll out of the box and play with her. The fact that she has crystals only on the front of her bodice, necklace, earrings and crown means I can sit her down places without worrying about scratching any crystals.

I also like little details like how the tiers of her skirt are cut in wavy lines, and I love her strappy sandals.

Some unfortunate aspects of her outfit are that her gloves appear to have permanent little creases where the plastic restraints held them, and her necklace, once you take off the rubber band and clasp it properly, hangs down on top of the crystals on her bodice—perhaps why it was tied up in the first place, to avoid damage in shipping.

Finally, the only annoying tags I noticed were inside one glove, and looped around the handle of her purse (where it can be easily cut off without leaving a stub.) Her box is very nice with foil stars and a sturdy viewing window—I will probably actually keep it, and I never keep boxes. It even came neatly wrapped in tissue paper to avoid scratches, which I thought was a nice touch.

Anyway, I was one of those people who really loved the promo pics for this doll, and my opinion hasn’t changed. My biggest disappointment is her chipped eye.

So sorry for the horrible pictures. There is no sunlight today and the flash from the camera is pretty harsh. .

Here is a close up picture of them. My camera glare is there but matte is a really good description. When I think of metallic I imagine Dorothy's red shoes in the Wizard of Oz

You know what's funny about Samantha's Tea Dress? The real life version was actually a brighter shade of pink!

Around the time that dress was released we speculated these 1890 boots might be the inspiration although they were made for women (possibly a more shocking woman as well):


Here's another pair in a closer color:

I saw the gazebo in person yesterday-- it's mostly plastic. The white beams are plastic, the top is plastic. The floor is the only part that seems to be wood. I was very disappointed with the beams being thin tube-like plastic, but its still a lovely piece with a decent amount of room inside. A smaller table & chair set like NOLA's can easily fit inside. A larger set would be crowded. I want it for my NOLA dolls. $200 is on the high end of "fair" for the value. $150 and I would have bought it yesterday.

It is 25" wide X 32" high X 25" deep.

I ordered Samantha's Gazebo- it was really an impulse buy. I have always thought it was beautiful, but now I am having second thoughts (of course, I am cleaning the doll room, and changing out scenes...so I just stuck a bunch of things on my closet shelf-which doesn't help) but, if you have it, does it get much use or do you have it stored most of the time? I bought it knowing it folds up for storage, which I thought would be handy. Please share pics if you have it and love it. I want to keep it, and not regret a serious impulse buy in February!

I opened my Gazebo for Christmas having purchased it months earlier on sale and free shipping. I love it so much!! It's very spacious yet easily portable, which is important because I need to take it outside for photos. I don't have a place to display scenes for long periods, but the Gazebo sits on a desk in my guest/doll room. I love walking by just to look at it. When the weather warms up. I'll take it outside for a few Spring, Summer and Fall photos shoots. That's the extent of my play time with most accessories so I think it's well worth having. My dd's will also (under my watchful eye) have a chance to enjoy sharing it with their dolls. You will love the Gazebo!!

DD and I have it! I asked for it for my birthday last year. It's light and easy to carry around or take down and folds up small. It's also a very fun piece to have! Perfect for decorating and playing out spring or winter stories...lots of scenes and play value! DD and I have draped fabric over the top and put pillows inside and the girls had a nighttime picnic. It's also wonderful for parties and get togethers.

Here's one of my threads with photos:
agplaythings.proboards.com/thread/118088/new-gazebo-painting-set

Scroll down my Inspiration board on Pinterest:

I celebrated a birthday recently and my mother gifted me Samantha's gazebo and painting set!

My favorite photo!

I love our BF Sam!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my PC collection fit right in!

Butterfly Comparison

Stunning!

Gorgeous Roses from our very own garden!

Spring Painting!


Spring Picnic!

A Little Spring Dance!

Samantha and her friends enjoy a beautiful spring day!!

I love the gazebo, but can't help but scratch my head over the Victorian scrapbook-style butterflies and flowers that are supposed to be pasted all over it. It's infinitely better without those little bits, and without the full contingent of lanterns. It's a great piece on its own, and especially nice when paired with some of the outdoor furniture they've made over the years. Since it looks so timeless, just about any of the patio sets would suit it. The NOLA Courtyard chairs would look particularly good with it.

Yes, the gazebo is plastic, but if it were not it would be crazy heavy and not as easily storable. Yes, it is big , but that is what makes it such an impact item for display. If those things are not what you want in your collection, this is not for you.

It's a beautiful piece that can be decorated and used for many displays and big enough to hold a lot of dolls as well. For those who like the visual but do not have the space, look on Ebay for the trellis swing from 2008-10 as an alternate piece with a similar look.

Rebecca's two beds as they come:




Beds switched. Becca and Izzy both like it!

Oh yes, I'm aware of that. I very much like the bedframe in white and I completely agree that it's way more accurate for Rebecca. My gripe is with the purple bedding. I don't think the purple bedding is as aesthetically pleasing as the white and it's undoubtedly not as accurate; I'm no historian, but I'm guessing that purple lace bedding was as rare for girls like Rebecca as a pink bedframe.

luciekat posted this image in another thread, the original bed was white (it says in the description) - it doesn't quite look like the bedding is white, but it is hard to tell.