MERRY CHRISTMAS

Yes, I know I've been neglecting this blog, but I decided to drop by and say Merry Christmas!  I just don't spend as much time online these days.  I had hoped I'd do better, but there's only so much time in a day.

I told some doll friends that I was trying to find time to work on a doll scene for Christmas.  Sometimes I just have to find time to play.

Did you know that it snows in Houston?  Mostly in my imagination although we actually had a few flurries a few weeks ago, but nothing like the snow I grew up with in New Jersey.  So, I have to use my imagination and let my dolls have snow.  

This is one of my modern Vogue Ginny Dolls.  Some of you know her as GinnyFaith.  I've been neglecting her and decided she should appear in some photos again.  I used to include her in just about all of the photos I took of my dolls.  Then the Vogue Doll Company came out with vintage reproduction Ginnys and I kind of lost interest in the modern dolls.  I'm sorry GinnyFaith!

Here's a close up so you can see her spiffy outfit.  My friend Sherelyn gave this to GinnyFaith last year.  Her doll has the same outfit and so does SHE!   I always meant to ask her where she found them.  It's not often that you see a grown woman and her doll dressed alike.

Some of them tried ice skating for the first time and fell on the imaginary ice.  The Madame Alexander Doll on the left is skiing.  She's wearing one of the Ginny outfits that I still have from my childhood by Vogue (Fun Time #49 from 1954).  The Madame Alexander skater in the gray and peach outfit is also wearing an outfit from my childhood by Vogue (Fun Time #47 from 1955 - It's actually suppose to be a roller skating outfit.)  The vintage reproduction Ginny in the white skating outfit I got at a Fire Flies Convention.  The 1954 Ginny Painted Lash Walker is wearing a vintage ski outfit by Vogue (Fun Time #49 from 1955).  I added the red mittens because her hands looked cold.  They didn't come with the outfit originally.  The AA Modern Ginny that took a fall is wearing an outfit that my friend Karen Mowery made for a Ginny Doll list event.

I stood her up so you could see the outfit.  Karen sewed outfits for our dolls for the month of January.  She chose to make ice skating outfits.  Ginny's name is embroidered on the hat but it doesn't show in the photo.  Karen loved to sew and especially loved to quilt.  Sadly, she passed away way too soon.  I'm fortunate enough to have several outfits that she made.  My doll is also wearing a sweater my mom knitted using a kit that Vogue sold (#7869 Knit Kit in  1957).  I also have the matching hat she made.  This sweater was actually made for a Ginnette doll, but it's the only one I still have.  The sleeves are a little bit long for Ginny.  I feel very fortunate to still have it.  The kit had directions and wool to make sweater sets for the Jill, Ginny and Ginnette dolls.

This is a close up of the terrible fall they took.  (I would have had them standing and skating if I could have figured out how to balance them on ice skates!)

They worked hard building this igloo and making all the snow balls in case any stupid boys came by.  That's a modern Hispanic Ginny on top of the igloo in her snowsuit. On the right is a vintage reproduction Ginny wearing a pink and gray ski outfit that Vogue made (Fun Time #6049 from 1956).

On the right is a vintage Nancy Ann Muffie doll wearing her Santa suit minus the correct hat.  I put a more traditional Santa hat on her but the reds were different and it had white trim that was whiter than the fur on her suit.  I settled on the red and white striped hat but I'd sure like to find the original hat that came with this outfit.  I added the red glasses because I thought she looked cute in them.  I have maybe four or five Muffie dolls in my collection, but the Vogue Ginny doll is really my first love.

We all with you a Merry Christmas!

On more thing...

This is one of my Chatty Cathy dolls.  She's still dressed in her Houston Astros uniform that she wore for the World Series.  I bought her Christmas apron down at MD Anderson Cancer Center.  It was designed by a child with cancer.  I left the tag on because it gives the child's name and age.  I wasn't sure if it would fit Chatty Cathy when I bought it.  I probably would have gotten another one if I had known for sure.  It was made for the American Girl Doll.  There's a matching child's apron and a matching one for adults.  I thought it was really cute.

Merry Christmas once more and I'll be back again some day...

ABC Wednesday..."D" as in Crazy Doll Lady??

Welcome to ABC Wednesday and "D" as in Crazy Doll Lady???

Yes, I know I asked you last week if I was perhaps a Crazy Cat Lady.  Now I'd like to know if I'm a Crazy Doll Lady too?  Anyone that's ever stumbled upon my blog know that doll collecting and "playing" is another passion of mine.

I mostly collect the dolls I grew up playing with in the 1950's...the Vogue Company Dolls that were originally made in Medford, MA.  This is my childhood Vogue Ginny doll.  She's the only one that survived my childhood and she's a 1954 painted lash walker.  She's wearing one of the outfits from my childhood too.  She originally had a flip style hairdo which I cut as a child.  I was able to find a replacement wig on eBay and now she has braids.

There are all kinds of collectors.  Many collect what's called the "mint in box" dolls and they can run anywhere from the hundreds to the thousands.  That's not me.  I don't want a doll that has to stay in a box and sit on a shelf.  I'm glad that there are collectors that preserve these dolls, but I want to "play" with my dolls and not be afraid to touch them.

I buy what a friend calls "the previously loved" dolls.  Over the years I've learned to restring them...

and wash and set their hair.

I also collect other Vogue Dolls and some of their friends.  I have quite a few reproduction Vogue Company Dolls that were made up until 2011 or so.

What I really enjoy is setting them up in scenes.  It's fun finding or creating all the accessories for the scenes.  I recently worked on a couple of school scenes.

Recently I was asked how many dolls I owned.  I had never counted and assumed around 100.  I started counting and stopped at 260.  I'm now assuming I have around 300 dolls.  I was a little shocked and probably won't be buying many more.  I do try and keep my dolls set up permanently in scenes or on shelves.  I'm fortunate to have a room just for my dolls.

If you do a google search for "doll hoarding" you'll find this...

I do think there's a fine line between collecting something and hoarding it.  I like to think I haven't crossed that line yet.  This is probably true of most hobbies whether it's baseball cards, comics, etc.

Besides, my love of dolls goes back many years.  I started at a very young age.

That love grew throughout my childhood.

I'm 71 now.  What do you think?  Have I crossed the line yet?

Thanks for visiting.  Please go to ABC Wednesday to visit more alphabet posts.

Doll Day...Making doll drinks with polymer resin

I decided to spend my Saturday working on a couple of doll projects.  I really need to be outside trimming the bushes in the front of the house, but it's so HOT!

I decided to work on some lemonade for my doll's lemonade stand.  I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I was having trouble finding the supplies I needed.  I make drinks with polymer resin and I couldn't find the correct color dye.  I spent some time researching on the Internet and people were talking about using alcohol ink for dye, so I headed to Michael's and picked some up.

I took a picture of the pitcher and a few of the glasses of lemonade that I made.  The rest were in a safe cat proof place drying.

I used clear beads and some chunks of clear plastic that are sold for decorating tables for ice.  I think the chunks might be called scatters?  Anyway, they worked well.  The lemon slices are actually erasers that I bought at Dollar Tree many years ago.  They came in a bag with lots of other little eraser things that I threw out.  I bought the bags for the lemon slices!  I haven't seen them in Dollar Tree for years and I'm almost out now.  I probably put too many in the pitcher.  I wanted some to float on top but I put them in too soon and they sunk.  It needed to set up a little longer.  Oh well, I don't think my dolls will notice.

In case you're interested I found directions for making doll food and drinks about 14 years ago on a site called Pannikins.  This was before You Tube videos and other online directions.  I still find this site to be my favorite.  There are great directions and pictures and although they're for doll house scale (1:12) most are easily converted to 1:6 scale.  Sadly, the lady died but her son has kept the website up.  Her name was Mary Eccher and she was a very creative and talented person.  Take a look at all the food and drinks she made!

After the lemonade I worked on my dolls' game room.  This has been a work in progress for years. Reid had someone save the games at Toys R Us because he knew they were the correct scale for my dolls.  They were models of larger game tables that they sold.  So, my dolls had to have a game room...right?  In recent years there isn't a very good selection of sticky Contact Paper and that's what I use in my cabinets for wallpaper.  I had originally used this paper for a doll bedroom, but it just didn't work.  Then I decided to put the doll bedroom in the space where I had the game tables and move the game room to the old doll bedroom.  Did you follow that?  Anyway, this paper works better for a game room. I'm still not crazy about it, but it will have to work.  Today I covered the floor with another roll of contact paper that I thought went OK with the paper on the walls.  Now I'll have to decorate the walls with the kind of signs you'd find in a game room.  I took a quick picture of how it looks today.  Eventually it will get finished.

Of course, this is just a preliminary picture.  They would never be in the game room without adult supervision in a "real" picture.

So that all kept me busy today.  Tomorrow afternoon I have to go up to Spring, Texas which is about an hour from here to pick up some chairs that I bought at an antique mall.  I never liked the dining room chairs that we had and have often thought about replacing them.  Then last weekend I saw six chairs that I thought were perfect, but I could only fit three in my car.  So, tomorrow Reid will go with me and we'll pick up the rest.  Then I'll try and sell the original chairs.  Wish me luck.

I'd better run...

Happy World Doll Day!

I couldn't miss an opportunity to celebrate World Doll Day.  You can read the history of World Doll Day here.

I've noticed that the hobby of doll collecting seems to be diminishing.  Here in Houston there will no longer be a doll show.  (There used to be two a year.)  Brick and mortar doll stores are becoming a thing of the past.  When was the last time I saw a child holding a doll in the grocery store or mall?  Now they all hold phones or some other kind of mobile device.  For the most part my fellow collectors seem to have gray hair.  Is our hobby fading away?

We have to save our passion for dolls!  I love my dolls.  They're a wonderful escape.  I enjoy sharing photos of my dolls with other people.  I guess I'm not the traditional collector.  I collect mostly the Vogue Ginny dolls that I grew up playing with in the 1950's.  I don't collect mint dolls mainly because I want to "play" with them.  I enjoy saving the "previously loved" dolls.  I love setting them up in scenes and telling a story.  I've always had a very active imagination and I guess my dolls fuel that imagination even today.

My dolls back then...

(Some were my sister's dolls too!)

Some of my dolls today...

I still have my one childhood Ginny.  (She's been re-wigged.)  She still holds a special place in my heart.

Some miscellaneous pictures of my dolls...

My sister and I had the above tin kitchen back in 1952...

That's my aunt and me on Christmas Day.

My mom with her dolls...

Circa 1920

I guess a love for dolls ran in the family!

On World Doll Day 2017 I invite everyone to come out and play!

Disappearing...

Oh dear, I told myself I'd try and post at least once a month.  Time just slips away.  I also spend way less time online these days.  Some days I barely have enough time to quickly take a glimpse at E-mails.  If I skip a couple of days my box is full and it takes forever to weed through it all.  I've tried to unsubscribe to a bunch of things, but still can't resist getting updates on eBay auctions.

I joined a local genealogy group this past year.  I was hoping it would inspire me to work on that more, but it hasn't.  However, I've done a little research and learned some interesting things about family members.  (You would think that would motivate me!)   I have one female relative that graduated from NYU Law School in 1925.  At that time none of the all male law firms in New York City would hire women as lawyers.  Women weren't considered smart enough.  In fact, they weren't even allowed to take the bar exam until after women were given the right to vote in 1920.  I can't help but wonder what motivated her to even try this career path.  I also discovered that my mother-in-law was a key witness against the New York City gangster Dutch Schultz in 1935.  I found lots of old newspaper articles.  I do enjoy learning more about family members than just their date of birth and date of death.  I like to learn their story too.

I've worked on a few projects lately.  Our oldest son will be 48 on May 31st.  I've had his Wonder Horse out in the garage for many, many years.  I finally decided to restore it.  I sanded and spray painted the base and then did some touch ups on the horse's body.  I plan to use it with my Patti Playpal size dolls in the doll room.  Now I need a Western outfit and a cowgirl hat.

I'm the Queen of unfinished projects.  I can now scratch this one off my list.

Of course, I always enjoy "playing" with my Vogue dolls.  I recently subscribed to a Papermini's Eloise Wilkins book club monthly kit in 1:6 scale for Ginny.  I put together the first book and had Ginny pose.  She fell asleep while reading.  Can you tell?

My doll friend Sharon made that adorable Sunbonnet Sue quilt for Ginny's bed.  I love it!

I almost forgot.  I've been looking for a Renwal Super Big stove for my Ginny's kitchen.  A while back I found the refrigerator and sink at an antique mall.  I finally found the stove on Etsy for $32 plus $4 shipping.  I was thrilled.  That was just about my limit as far as how much I was willing to spend.  Recently one sold on eBay for over $100 when a couple of people started bidding against each other.  I thought it was crazy.  Even $32 is a bit much for a piece of plastic.  I love my new doll kitchen.  I raised the appliances with a black baseboard so they'd be a little higher.

The kitchen reminds me of my mother's kitchen in the house my parents built in 1947.


Until the next time...

Easter In the 1950's

I have been spending very little time online lately.  We have a small window of opportunity when it comes to the weather and the occasional lower humidity/lower temperature days.  One of my favorite places to go is Brazos Bend State Park and I've probably been there six times in the last month or so.  It's an hour from here, but well worth the ride.  Lots of walking trails and I really love it, but not when it gets real hot!  Then I walk inside at the mall.

No time for an Easter scene with my dolls this year.  I know I've shared some of these before, but I thought I'd stick a few up here anyway.

And I thought I'd share a little Easter in 1957.  Yes, this is how we dressed.  I remember when there was no mall and we had to go to Newark, New Jersey for our Easter outfits.  It was always a big deal to go shopping for our complete outfits...dresses, hats, gloves, shoes, etc.

I hated to have my picture taken.  Can you tell?  Do you like the hat I chose?  It looks like a plate turned upside down.

This is my sister in her Easter finery.  She was two years older so she got to wear stockings.  There were no panty hose back then.  She had to wear a girdle so there would be those funny clip things to hold up the stockings.  Does anyone else remember?  I guess she picked out her hat too.  I think her hat is a little more attractive than mine.

That's us with our neighbors...Johnny and Diana Ingemi.  Gosh, I had forgotten that even some of the boys wore hats.

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down Memory Lane.