Traveling With Licca in 2017

As we look back on 2017... It turns out Licca did some more traveling.

She visited: Switzerland, Germany, France, Amsterdam, Orlando, and New York.

I wonder where she will travel to in 2018.

Do you have a doll you travel with?

Christmas With Leneda

This year I joined a Leeann and friends gift exchange for the holidays, as if I didn't have enough to do already. But, I had Chistmas fabric already, and I was up for the challenge. I decided to design an outfit from scratch. 

I think it came out pretty well, even if the arm holes aren't hemmed. Next time I decide to sew doll clothes, I find a pattern.

I also dug through my doll prop stash and found a hat, camera, autograph book, photos, porcelain doll, and Ferris wheel, all in appropriate scale.

I thought I had done really well. Simple, but well.

That is, until I opened the gift that my secret gifter sent me. The workmanship is amazing and detailed. I really need to up my sewing game.

Leneda looks so cute in her new Christmas outfit. She told me she feels like a rich little girl in an old black and white movie.

Did you do any holiday doll crafting?

The Hunt is On

When I discovered Ebay around 1996, I started searching for a doll to replace my long gone Christmas doll, Suzy, who I talked about in the previous post.

Ebay, back in the beginning was a bit harder to navigate. Not everyone posted accurate and clear photos. Therefore, what I thought I was getting, sometimes ended up being completely different from what actually arrived.

Here are 4 of the 5 dolls I ordered from Ebay, hoping they would be my Suzy. The 5th I gave away not long after receiving it.

 

This one, while the right size, 18 inches, is Rub-a-Dub Baby.

This Horsman cutie is smaller, at 15 inches, and cries tears.

This Horsman Baby Denton is really close, but the body is of a different material and it was from the 80s.

Last, but not least, we have this sweet girl who I named Not Suzy in a previous post.

While none of them are my true Suzy, they have all found a home with me.

Hopefully I will find the real Suzy one day.

Memories of Christmas, 1975

Christmas 1975

That summer, we had moved into a new house, and we had a new baby brother. On Christmas morning my dad held me on the stairs so I could see the Christmas tree from above.

We had a real tree that we had decorated together. But under the tree!

There she was! The most beautiful baby doll I had ever seen. I had gazed at her hopefully for what felt like weeks, when ever we were at the store. And here she was, magically, under the tree. And not even in her box, but in a doll crib that had a slide down side, just like the real crib upstairs. 

She drank and wet, and was big, like a real baby.

Mom had made our stockings, and Santa has stuffed them well.

My brother also got a great present. The G.I. Joe Adventure team headquarters. It had an elevator chair! So cool.

This was one of the best Christmases ever.

A Very Roberts Family Christmas

It is December and the Roberts Sisters have completely different ideas about what is appropriate holiday party attire.

Barbie has decided on a formal gown, Skipper is wearing leggings and a sweater, and Kelly is in the cutest Santa Clause party dress.

She really is too cute in those little black boots.

Happy Holidays!

Stormy the Mewnicorn

Stormy the Mewnicorn has joined my plush family.

Stormy is the dark sibling of Ash Evans' original Mewnicorn. 

My Kickstarter package included the stuffed animal, a sticker, and a pin.

I love this new pin. I like to wear it together with my Mewnicorn pin.

They have slightly different postures, Stormy likes to slouch.

I think I have enough Mewnicorns now. If you are interested in getting one, click on this link to Ash Evans' on-line store.

A Look Back at UFDC Convention Dolls

As I was cleaning the doll room, decided it was time to look back on UFDC convention souvenir dolls.

In this top photo are 2016, 2017, and 2012. They are all similar in size and are little girls.

2016 is Emily by Heather Maciak, 2017 is Ma Petite by Helen Kish, and 2012 is Just Me by Alice Leverett and Vogue Doll Company.

2013 is Tiny Kitty "A Capital Affair" by Robert Tonner.

She was dressed as Mrs Taft.

2015 is Stella by Susan Fosnot.

2014 is Ana by Dianna Effner.

Out of 6 dolls, 1 is cloth (Stella), 1 is porcelain (Just Me), and 4 are vinyl/plastic. Only Stella and Tiny Kitty are adults, the rest are children.

A Busy Autumn

October and November have been very busy, so busy that I have not gotten around to making any dolly posts.

But dolly things have happened:

I went to a doll luncheon in October, this gorgeous Tonner doll was the souvenir;

Took Licca to see/hear Puddles Pity Party in concert in New York;

And gave a program on Japanese dolls to another doll club in the area.

How was your Fall?

Happy Halloween, 2017

I've been busy this month, so here are a couple of Halloween doll pictures from this October.

Feeling Shy

I decided to participate in Inktober this year. The idea is to do a drawing in ink every day of the month. For Shy, I decided to set up a doll scene and then sketch it.

I went with Ma Petite (by Helen Kish) hiding behind Gothic Romance (by Robert Tonner).

I love that they look like they could be parent and child.

I think the quick sketch turned out pretty well.

Germany and Holland

At the end of August, we took a Rhine River cruise. We started in Basel, Switzerland, and then had stops in  France, Germany, and finished up in Amsterdam (in Holland).

As a doll collector, I hunted for and found some local costume dolls as my souvenirs.

This little German boy is adorable and of really good quality. He was also more expensive than usual souvenir dolls. (But worth it.)

Look at that little face.

In Amsterdam, these cheap cuties were the best I could find. 

They are cute, but not on the level of the German doll.

They make nice additions to my souvenir doll collection.