Maryland, A Merry Land : UFDC Region 11 Conference - Day 1

Last week the UFDC Region 11 Conference was held in Towson, Maryland.

On Wednesday I checked into the conference hotel, and checked in with the conference. All attendees were given a Maryland crab tote bag. Inside the tote bag were Maryland coloring books designed especially for the conference and colored pencils.

Needless to say, I spent Wednesday evening coloring the first picture in the book - Black-Eyed Susans.

Each attendee also was given a black conference badge holder with a charm holder pin and a handmade spool doll.

The next day is when everything really go going. In the morning I entered my dolls in competition and volunteer clerked in the competition room. Clerking meant helping attendees check their dolls into competition, and then in the afternoon assisting the judges as they judged the dolls. It was interesting hearing why some of the dolls were ranked.

In the afternoon, the Helper Room, Special Exhibits, and Competition Room were open to the attendees.

I also found time to attend two programs: Elsie Clark Krug Opens Baltimore's Doors to Dolls by Sue Nile, and Japan Comes to Maryland by Alan Scot Pate.

That evening there was a Welcome Cocktail Reception, complete with special guests from Maryland:

Edgar Allan Poe,

Harriet Tubman,

And Babe Ruth. They did their best to entertain the attendees while we all waited for the Sales Room to open.

Then it was off to the sales room to see what there was to see. Then I had a hilarious late dinner with friends and turned in for the night. After all, there would be a lot to do and see the next day.

Vintage Flair Fashions Outfit

A few months ago I got this cute vintage outfit.

Today it was decided that Melissa, my mystery Barbie clone from my early childhood, wanted to wear it.

This is big, because for the last 8 or so years she has been in a Barbie outfit from the 90s. It is nice to see her in something from the early 70s, the era she is from.

I think the outfit really suits her.

Tonner DC Stars

I have been a huge fan of DC comics most of my life and the DC super heroes have invaded my doll collection over the years, including some Tonner DC Stars dolls: Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. (Hey, that's 3/5 of the members of the Justice League in the recent movie.)

I feel that it is weird that I haven't shared these guys with you before. 

Aquaman was my first DC Stars doll. There are two different Aquaman face molds and costumes. This is the second one, and in my opinion, the prettier one, "King of Atlantis" from 2008. 

Superman is from 2009. Both gentlemen are 17" tall.

Wonder Woman is my newest addition. She is Diana Prince - Princess of Paradise, 2014, and she is wearing the Wonder Woman 52 outfit. She is 16" tall.

Looks like Diana has a lot to talk to Clark about.

BUtiful Dolls

After sitting in my closet for almost an year, it was time to finally release my BUtiful doll from her extended confinement.

The BUtiful doll I have is Maya, who loves to play sports.

I chose her because of her sweet face and lovely hair. Her cute outfit also helped. What is there not to love about the slogan on her outfit, Self confidence is the best outfit". I had been wanting to add an African-American doll to my 18" doll collection for a while, and I look forward to dressing her in 70s style to blend in with my other girls.

Made by Fibrecraft, the same company that makes the Springfield Dolls, the BUtiful dolls have a vinyl torso, so that outfits look a little nicer on their bodies. Unfortunately, I think the dolls are already discontinued.

I redressed her in a another Springfield outfit that is a little more Summery.

And put a red ribbon in her hair.

I will be changing her name from Maya to Crystal, the name of a friend I had when I was in 4th grade.

She looks forward to meeting the other dolls in the house.

Patty Jo

Going into convention this year, I told myself that I was ready to buy a nice Teri Lee doll to add to my collection. But, I didn't see any that I liked enough in the Sales Room.

But I did like the Reproduction Patty Jo in the Helper Room. So I deposited a decent amount of my Helper tickets into the drawing for her. 

And as fate would have it, I won her. Yay! I am still on the hunt for a vintage Terri Lee, but I am very happy to have a little part of the Terri Lee history with this reproduction Patty Jo. 

The blog, Black Doll Collecting, has an informative page on Patty Jo dolls that gives their history.

Patty Jo is 15 inches tall and was made in 2004 by Knickerbocker. LikeTerri Lee dolls, she comes with a daisy to wear on her wrist. What a great touch.

Patty Jo got to meet some of the similar sized dolls in the house (Sasha, Patty Jo, Tiana, and Mandy), and they took a group photo.

UFDC 69th Annual Convention, 2018 - Phoenix, AZ: Part 8

Before heading to bed on Friday night, I took a last walk through the Helper room and took photos of the amazing Special Regional Directors' Challenge Helpers. 

Each region showcased this year did an awesome job.

The next morning I was up at the crack of dawn in order to volunteer for the Helper Drawing. We moved all the ticket buckets to the main ballroom, and prepped them. Then... the magic happened! Lucky winners had their names called for wonderful prizes. This year I won three: 

Madame Alexander's Baby Sweet Tears and Lucinda,

Chef Bunny by Connie Tognoli,

And Patty Jo by Knickerbocker. I'm glad I brought an extra suitcase with me.

After putting my new treasure up in my room, I looked at the Publishers' Preview and Artist Showcase.

There were only two artists this year, Linda Mountain,

And Pat Moulton.

Then it was time for lunch, suitcase packing, and a nap.

That evening we all gathered in the main ballroom for the Banquet. The table centerpieces were 3-D puzzles of famous landmarks from around the world.

Licca joined me in her pretty lavender ballgown.

After dinner, everyone received the convention souvenir doll by Ruby Red Galleria, Lia, Journey to Adventure.

Here she is all dressed in the hotel room.

 That's it. Convention was over. Maybe next year you will join us for convention in Nashville, TN.