Lots of Doll Sightings

Since there are several antique stores in Amish Country, I knew that I would see some dolls there on my trip. None of them came home with me, although one piece of furniture almost did. Would you have bought any of these three dressers? I was seriously considering the piece on the far right, but in the end I decided it was a little too banged up.

Amish Country has people who sell new doll clothes and make new doll furniture, but I haven't found anything that isn't for 18" dolls, and most of the furniture is for the little ones who play with 18" dolls. Clothes and accessories are a mix between handmade and factory made, "plain" style and modern everyday. I found the juxtaposition of plain black hats and starched bonnets, with sparkly shoes above, humorous.

There was a glass case filled with true antique dolls, but I didn't get a picture of it. There were some older dolls like Terri Lee, and a xylophone player. I presume at one time the musician used to have something looking more like mallets, on top of the springs she holds in her hands.

There were also a vintage Barbie, Alan and Skipper.

The little blond Ginny Sasson doll in this case caught my eye, but there is quite a variety of dolls inside.

And in the "Wait, how can these dolls be that old?" category are Gene Marshall, and a friend in the Alexandra Fairchild Ford 16" doll line by Madame Alexander.

I found this Knitting for Barbie canister, but since I wasn't planning on buying it, I didn't want to open and root around to see what was inside.

If you grew up playing with Fisher-Price toys, like I did, this section of vintage Fisher-Price might have enchanted you as it did me. Some of these toys pictured are older than me.

And although this large area of craft wood supplies didn't have doll crafting in mind, there were a *lot* of very nice pieces of wood that could be used to make doll items. I'm picturing only one part here

I did pick up a few things for my dolls. Two were for the 18" girls, sunglasses and a pair of faux Crocs.

Then there was this guitar, which I bought in a store that sells Christmas ornaments and decor year round. There were lots of other musical instruments, but I only felt seriously drawn to the guitar.

Last thing, big news! The Dancer is ready to move out and be on her own, so there will be lots going on here. Right now, the living room is crowded because the Dancer is working on repairing bunny chew marks in a couple of stools that she got from friends, along with a matching table. Mr. BTEG and I are of course talking about what we will do with the extra space. Stay tuned!

Making a Splash

Apparently bathtubs were the hot home-decor item at Michael's this spring. Of course, the doll collector can't help but wonder if any of the tubs will work with her dolls. I ended up buying three. 

The white tub with the black feet is just about right for 16" dolls. Sam's legs can't extend all the way out inside the tub, but she found it a nice place to soak and day dream.

There were two other sizes of this tub at Michael's. At least, I think that one next to the biggest tub, is smaller than the medium tub. I forget now, and it's hard to tell!

Teresa liked playing with a rubber ducky. This tub is just a bit on the big size for a 12" doll, maybe, but I think it looks fine when pictured from the side.

There were three colors of that bathtub at Michael's: the one above and the two below.

Marie thinks this bathtub just the right size for her and her school friends. The Eden line of Madeline dolls included a set of bathroom furniture long ago, but as with just about everything from this line, it's super expensive on the secondary market now. The soap/dish and bath brush came from a Madeline set, and I also have a Madeline freestanding towel rack which came with the towel that Marie is using.

I happened to go down a different aisle at Michael's and saw that there were also bathtubs like this one in red and green, in the "strawberry theme" section of home decor.

I tried the trick of putting clear Contact paper on the floor tiles, which is supposed to make the paper look more like shiny vinyl tile. Maybe it's just my lighting, or angles, or something, but I don't see a big difference.

Also at Micheal's was a bathtub/candle holder, in two different colors.

Someone else on Instagram bought it for dolls. I was debating getting one, but I didn't want to bother digging out the candle. These tubs were pretty small, too.

Also, there was this galvanized tub with a shower head. This would be about right for American Girl or a large doll like that.

Don't mind the prices on Michael's things. The newest stuff goes on sale practically from the minute it comes in the door. This conveniently means you can't use their coupons for the newest stuff, as most Michael's coupons are not usable with sales items. Occasionally you do get a coupon which gives you a percentage off of your entire purchase including sales. On the other hand, last month I walked out with a plastic scrapbook paper storage case, two rolls of materials for my Cricut, and a several foot long garland made up of foam-type pastel Easter eggs for less than $8. I felt like I was stealing something. The trick at Michael's is to keep your eye on sales and to be signed up in their membership program, which gets you coupons.

Also at Michael's of doll interest was this piece of artificial green grass. It was labeled as a placemat, but can you imagine crumbs and spills on this? Maybe it would be nice for a centerpiece, with an Easter tree on top. It's smaller than the other piece of fake grass that I have; I used this one for my Easter shoot.

Then there were these chairs. I thought really hard about getting the red one, but decided against it. Someone on Instagram showed one of those chairs with a Tonner doll, and it looked okay, but didn't make me regret not buying one. I feel like the yellow and white chairs had too deep of a seat. They're probably made to display something-not-a-doll on, so that makes sense.

That reminds me that Michael's did have a small group of little plants of the kind that rarely need water, like a bromeliad. They might make good plants for a doll house or display. If Michael's doesn't have any more, because it took me forever to get this post up, or if you don't have a Michael's, I'm sure they can be found other places. At least in the US, these plants are another one of the things currently in style for home-decor.

Michael's happened to have these trash and recycle cans. I've seen those for a long time in other people's pictures. I think they're supposed to be for use on an office desk.

 

Lastly were these wall-hanging shelves. Or at least, they're supposed to be shelves. I thought they would make good side tables for dolls. Jaye of Jaye's Doll Space put up a picture on Instagram where she used the shorter one as a raised cocktail table. It's fun to see other people find the same things to re-purpose for dolls that you did. The small and large are two different size options, not the same piece.

I happened to be at Hobby Lobby around the same time, but the only thing doll-adaptable that I saw, besides the dollhouse things that they sell, were these mugs and teapots. And of course the mugs and teapots aren't the same scale, unless maybe the teapot is a one cuppa size. Both items were also too big for 12" dolls, but could work with a larger crew.

How often do you find regular decor that you can use for dolls?

Merry Christmas

I didn't intend to take December off; it just sort of... happened. Heading into winter is always an adjustment for me, just more so this year, I guess. Anyway, my family celebrates Christmas until January 6th, which some of you will know is Three Kings Day, or Epiphany. Therefore, I'm not at all late in sharing my Christmas gifts with you. :)

I received two dolls for Christmas this year. The first one is an Ever After High doll, Hat-tastic Cedar Wood, daughter of Pinocchio. I appreciate the time that Mr. BTEG and the Dancer put into finding a nice EAH doll from my list that wasn't super overpriced.

As was usual for the Ever After Dolls, at least until the last dolls produced, she has some nice accessories and fun details. The teapot and cups are because her character was at a tea party in this costume in the related animated series.

The next doll is one that I knew about ahead of time. I've been saying that I want more male dolls in my collection. I started watching a NRFB Tonner 16" Sean doll on eBay, and the seller promptly sent me an offer of $100 off. I asked Mr. BTEG if he would buy it for me for Christmas, and he agreed. So a little haggling later, Sean came home, and I got to open the box on Christmas Eve, when my family opens presents now. I've posed him with a Tonner Daphne.

 The last gift is merely doll-related, but also useful for all kinds of crafts.

It's a Cricut Maker, and I'm so happy to have it. Not only can the Maker cut out things like paper or fabric, it can also cut out slightly thicker materials like balsa or chipboard. I've been eying some Etsy listings that sell patterns you can use to cut doll-related things out on a Cricut Maker, so I'm looking forward to using them. It will take me a while to get up to speed on using this, and Mr. BTEG and I have to find somewhere to put it! Should be a lot of fun once I get the hang of it.

Merry Christmas to all of you, hope you got some doll goodies under your tree, and New Year's wishes for prosperity, health, and fun doll times for all of you.

 

My Collection Part Fifteen: Doll Show Purchases

I was going to say that I "only" bought three new dolls at the recent doll show, but three new dolls at once is really not that bad, is it?

The first one is Mattel Ever After High Darling Charming. She came nude, and is now wearing Mattel's Darling Charming shoes, and a Shibajuku Girls sailor suit. Her hair has been washed and conditioned. I still have to get all of the glitter off of her face, wherever that came from.

Darling came with a Monster High Operetta doll that I didn't really want, but I think the seller wanted to get Operetta off of her hands. I was ready to just pay for Darling when the seller told me Operetta was included as part of the price. I'll find something to do with her.

Next is a mint mini American Girl Josefina in her meet outfit. She didn't come with her box, or the mini book, but she was a good price. Now I can keep mini Josefina in her Christmas outfit intact, with her veil still sewed to her hair.

Lastly, here is a doll that I bought at what I called the "Tonner table." This woman had mostly Tonner items for sale. There were some Patsy dolls and at least one Amelia Thimble. I came home with a doll  that I have been interested in for a very long time, Jane. Jane was a Tonner Club doll, so you couldn't just buy her on the open market. She's 14" tall, and has the Betsy McCall body. There are a couple of other child Jane dolls made, with bending knees, but none of them were easy to get. I wasn't sure I was going to keep her, because she doesn't really fit in with any of the dolls I own. I was thinking she might work with my 10" Ann Estelle dolls, and Rachael reminded me that Betsy McCall had a 10" younger sister, who I now think probably had the Ann Estelle body first. Here's Jane with her younger "sister," Sophie. What do you think?

Look how alike their hand sculpts are.

Rachael doesn't think Jane's jumper/pinafore makes her look her best, and I tend to agree. Fortunately, I have a couple of Betsy McCall patterns that I bought during a 99 cent sale or something. Jane also came with a Tonner Club pin, and I love the bracelet that Jane came with. It looks like jewelry a girl would cherish.

Tonner also made an adult Jane, but she uses the Tyler 16" body, so she's not in scale with child Jane at all. He also did the same thing at the last Tonner Convention, where he introduced a 10" Ann Estelle, and a 16" grown-up Ann.

Total dolls: 69