Cherry Blossoms are Coming

March is here. And while the days have been getting longer and the sun is shining today, the temperatures have been frigid - in the 30s and below.

My 18" dolls have gotten tired of Winter and long for the warmth of Spring. So they decided to do a Spring weather shoot inside the house, covered with cherry blossoms that I crocheted.

Harmony is back in the pink, white, and blue outfit she came in - it is covered in flowers.

Julie, Melody, and Sadie decided to wear cherry blossoms in their hair.

Sadie chose a Springfield dolls outfit (purple top and tan pants) and American Girl clogs.

Julie is wearing her birthday dress.

And Melody is in a cute My Life As... pink pastel dress with bunnies on it. 

Later in the day, a new friend joined them on the credenza, Blue Bunny. 

I think Blue Bunny blends well into the scene.

I think I feel warmer already.

Rio De Janeiro

In the United States, February is Black History Month. So today I am sharing my first black doll.

When I was 6 or 7 years old (1977 or 1978) my father traveled to Re De Janeiro, Brazil on a business trip. Being a kind father, he brought me home a souvenir doll.

She is made of a thin, hollow plastic, and her dress is mainly made of thick ribbons.

Her face painting is exquisite and glamorous.

Over the years, her fabrics have faded and her paint has cracked and chipped, but she is still beautiful and has a place of honor in my home.

Even Dolls Have Jobs

Yesterday was Chesapeake Doll Clubs annual MLK Jr. Day luncheon. This year's theme was "Even Dolls Have Jobs".

Licca, as usual, was my travel doll. She wore her Sushi Go-Round uniform in honor of the theme.

The program and club display was on nurse dolls and the history of nurse uniforms.

There was an impressive amount of dolls in the competition. 

 Antique Dolls with Jobs

Modern Dolls with Jobs

Female Fashion Dolls with Jobs

A Licca doll of mine wearing a "Burger Kitchen" uniform won first place.

Dolls with Military Jobs

Artist Dolls with Jobs

 

Paper Dolls with Jobs

Dolls from Movies or TV with Jobs

My Edward Scissorhands won a second place ribbon.

Fictional Characters from Books with Jobs

And Dolls Dressed by Owner

I even won two Helper drawings.

First a Kestner Baby Hilda (not a reproduction),

And then a Marsha M. Clark doll, whose name is Jonathan. I tried looking up information on Marsha Clark dolls, but couldn't find any information on-line last night. Her face is very interesting.

It was a very enjoyable day.

Chelsea the Cat

The only doll gift I received this Christmas, is a cute and cuddly knit cat doll by Cuddle + Kind.

Meet Chelsea the Cat, 13" of cuddly adorableness.

The dolls are hand knit by Fair Trade workers in Peru, and each purchase provides 10 meals for the hungry around the world.

The dolls come in two sizes, 13" and 20", and in 35 different styles (animals, mermaids, etc.).

It was an extremely thoughtful gift and I cherish it.

New Year's with the 18 Inch Dolls

The holiday break is almost over and today is New Year's Eve. Some of the members of the "We are 18 Inches and Love Dolls" Doll Club have gathered together for a New Year's party and club meeting.

Julie, new member Melody, and Sadie show off their holiday outfits and dolls. Harmony couldn't make the meeting, since she is on vacation with her family.

Melody has her My Life as a School Girl doll, while Sadie poses with Cecile. It looks like the girls tried to wear outfits that coordinate with their dolls.

Julie poses with her look-a-like and a UFDC Miss Unity doll also has snuck into the photo.

Looks like they are trying to become an official UFDC club. They would need 6 more members. 

They spent the afternoon talking about their dolls, and how to bring new members into the club. Melody had the idea of reaching out to other 18 inch Vinyl-Americans through a blog. "After-all", she said, "We can't be the only 18 inch dolls that collect dolls."

Sadie chimed in, "And I bet some of them live in Maryland, too! That would make meeting in person a lot easier."

(Julie thought these were groovy ideas, but was a little confused about the whole Internet thing.)

Happy New Year!