2021 Asian Lantern Festival - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

I still have a couple of short doll show related posts to write up, but until I get everything set for those, here are some pictures of the Asian Lantern Festival this year. If you want to see my pics from 2019, go here.

This beautiful butterfly display was near the front entrance. The colors on the bigger butterflies were constantly changing, and the small butterflies' wings were moving.

There was a lot of color changes and movement going on this year.

That was at the entrance. After you came in, you could go through this beautiful tunnel of wisteria.

There were some lights shaped like different animals. They were pretty, but I didn't find them as interesting as other displays.

Ju-Ting came along to be my doll model. Since we only went through the zoo in the dark this year, it was hard to get pictures without her being too backlit. Here she is underneath a morning glory lantern.

Here she is in a walkway lit up on each side by red and white lanterns. The breeze was blowing her hair in the first picture, and I like the effect.

This year there were moving light effects on the ground.

And this peacock display was magnificent.

It was another enjoyable trip!

Doll Show Buys - Furniture

I picked up three pieces of furniture at the doll show, all at good prices. Let's start with the least interesting. It's an miniature old-fashioned icebox, a predecessor to the refrigerator. I got it for $5, but it's in worse shape than I thought when I first looked at it at the show. I might just use it as a sort of model for making my own icebox. I'd like one that could work with other scales, like 1/6, or mini Samantha's scale. She is in the photo because the icebox is from her era, but I think it's a little on the small size even for Madeline, judging by a real icebox that I saw at an antique store back in June.

Next is a chair. It's a bit large for most of the dolls in my collection, but I bought it because it was only $3! Samantha can sit on it, or it looks okay for posing one of my Pullip dolls.

Lastly, the best find of all, Samantha's Pleasant Company washstand, which I bought for only $25. I discovered that it is missing the drawer pulls for the drawer, but otherwise it is in fine condition. In my Pleasant Company catalogs from the 90s, the washstand would have cost you $38. There was also a "nighttime necessities" set for sale, which included a towel, a mini version of the book The Wizard of Oz, and a washbowl and pitcher. I bought the washbowl and pitcher secondhand years ago. The towel and book would be very easy to make myself. The drawer and doors of the washstand open.

Now I want to get another dust-free storage cabinet, so I can display Samantha with her furniture. I also have her bed new in box, although not original Pleasant Company, and a knock-off version of her school desk. It would be nice to have her out with her bed and washstand.

Doll Show Buys - Vintage Items

If you looked at the pictures that I took at the doll show I attended, you'll notice that there were lots of antique dolls, from the 1860s into the early 1900s. If you want to sew them new clothes, there's nothing better to use as a reference than antique items like the Delineator magazine.

The Delineator was a publication created by the Butterick Publishing Co., to highlight its sewing patterns. Unlike the magazines or catalogs that you see in stores that carry sewing patterns today, however, The Delineator gave detailed descriptions of fabrics and trims that you could use to make up the patterns, which are a boon to the sewer of today who wants to learn about authentic historic sewing. There was also a serial story, articles on subjects of interest to the women of the time, and some patterns for needle arts items.

Dresses for ladies:

For misses and girls:

Among the crafting patterns were these for a crocheted wheel and "mould-crochet" edging.

The magazine that I found at the doll show was the October 1894 edition. I was afraid I already owned it, but I didn't want to take a chance of missing out if I didn't, so I bought it. Turns out that I do own the Thanksgiving 1894 edition, but I'm fine with that. I did get the seller to take $5 off the price, and I'm glad that I did. I don't know if he didn't know better or what, but he implied that there were doll patterns in the book. There aren't, which I already knew, fortunately for me. There are drawings of people wearing items you could make up with their sewing patterns, but no actual pattern pieces are pictured. I couldn't even find anything about dolls in the magazine, in the quick glance that I gave through the index. Maybe the seller was confused by the images of patterns for girls. I'm interested in fashion in this era for its own sake, so I do own some antique fashion magazines and photos. I'm going to have to make up a list of which issues I do own, so I don't take a chance on double buying again.

While this Delineator is in great shape (considering it's over 125 years old!) I am wondering if I should carefully take the magazine apart so it can be scanned. The binding is already worn out around the bottom of the magazine, and any looks I take throughout will just loosen the binding more. On the other hand, is it okay to take apart a genuine antique piece of ephemera (something made of paper that was meant to be discarded but is now a collectible)?

Butterick is still a sewing pattern company today, although it and the other "big 4" sewing pattern companies, Simplicity, Vogue and McCall's, have been owned as a group for a while, and were sold together last year to a company in the UK, according to my research. 

There were also a lot of antique photos. Many of them were of little girls with their dolls, which was not surprising, but again, there were ones as well simply of people wearing the fashions of the times. Most of the antique photographs (or tintypes, daguerreotypes, or whatever) were too expensive for me, but I did get the collage photo below for $5, framed.

Although this could be two sisters, I get the sense it was two friends at the photography studio together. When I took it out of the frame to scan it, I was irked to see that the cardboard backing had been cut up so the photo could be put into a smaller frame. I'm putting this print at about 1902-1903, and I'm guessing the girl standing on the right is a year or so older, judging by the length of their skirts.

Is there another era in time that you think your dolls should represent? Did you or have you thought about collecting books, paintings, photos or other vintage and antique items to learn more about your chosen time period?

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

Doll Show - Strongsville, Ohio - August 15th 2021

I've once again gone through one of those phases where I'm either too busy or don't have the energy to create a new post. However, yesterday I finally got to attend a real, live, in-person doll show after a very long dry spell! I took all of you with me too, at least in spirit. I found reminders of many doll bloggers yesterday; I'll be sharing them with the pictures. Pictures will be in order by time taken. I was attracted to this Snow White doll, and the Lenci doll reminded me of Tam.

So did this Lenci. I think the doll in the blue dress behind her is darling, but my budget did not run to antique dolls that day.

I've seen this Kestner Gibson Girl doll before, but I don't think I've ever seen one in person. She's in a book I have about sewing Victorian doll clothes, which I am proud to own. 

 

I thought of Linda and Serenata when I saw this Sasha doll. There ended up being a lot more Sashas that I didn't get a photo of, as well as some Gregors. The Nancy Ann doll made me think of Tam. A lot of dolls made me think of her, perhaps because she has such a broad collection and doll interests. The little Betsy McCall is also cute.

I needn't have worried about getting that Nancy Ann doll into the picture. There were lots of them as I went on.

I took this picture because I liked the outfits that the two little dolls were wearing, but the Madame Alexander doll in a case is nice also. Madame Alexander dolls will now always bring to mind Dorothy in PA.

Many doll bloggers I know are into the vintage Barbies. You can see some Tammy dolls too. I thought of Teresa because of the many vintage Barbie clothes she has. There was quite an assortment of vintage Barbie, friends and family clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories at the show. I bought one vintage piece, but that won't get shown until a later post.

While we're on the subject of Barbie dolls, there were some more modern Barbies, but nothing that thrilled me. I saw an unboxed Swan Queen doll that made me think of coffeeanddollspl. 

I have no interest in owning one, but I find the vintage Buffy and Mrs. Beasley doll set cute. I remember one of my sisters or I owned a cloth Mrs. Beasley doll. You can see some loose Mrs. Beasley dolls in the vintage Barbies picture, but here is one in box. I vaguely remember watching the show that this doll was based on.

This Shirley Temple doll complete with pin reminded me of Rachael's collection. There were many Shirley Temple dolls in different sizes and outfits.

I wonder if this little Japanese doll would have gone home with RagingMoon1987 if she had been there with me. The doll would surely receive lots of love from her!

Here's another Shirley Temple with clothes and a case.

 

Here's yet another Shirley Temple, a dark-skinned Patsy that brought to mind Dorothy in PA yet again, and an All-American version of the Schoenhut doll like Serenata's world-famous Peggy Sue (and friends.)

And last but not least, this Cissy bride who stood regally near the front entrance, welcoming us to this dolly wonderland. There were a few modern Cissy dolls too, but the vintage ones have their own quiet majesty. I'm sure Sandi would agree.

Although there weren't a lot of modern dolls, don't worry, MC, you are not being left out. I bought a stack of doll magazines and in one there was an article on Spanish cloth dolls produced in the 1920s-1930s, bringing Spain doll companies into competition with other European countries at the time. 

I think next time will be a review of my doll show haul, because boy, did I bring home a haul. Having all those dolls right in front of me and just being able to pick one up and hand over cash to make it your own was absolutely intoxicating. Well, my purchases were mostly clothes and accessories, because there were lots of those too. I hope you got some enjoyment out of virtually attending a doll show with me.

On the Art and Science of Color

I've been working on increasing my drawing skill, as well as learning about fabric design. It's doll related, because I would like to design both my own doll clothes, and fabric to suit. It's a huge undertaking, and will probably take me ages to get there, if I ever get there, but I'm working on it! Partially, this post is for Xanadu as well, since she likes to talk about the color wheel and color tones and shades in relation to dressing your dolls, as well as setting up rooms and backdrops for them. I had these books on my Amazon wishlist, saw them recommended somewhere, and Mr. BTEG and the Dancer bought them for my birthday last week.

The first book is called Palette Perfect - Color Combinations Inspired by Fashion, Art & Style. It talks at the beginning about the color wheel and how to use colors to create attractive looks. It then has pages and pages and pages of color groupings, with both their CMYK and RGB color graph numbers given, to help you get the correct shade you're looking for. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by this book!

I also received The Fabric Design Book - Understanding and creating patterns using texture, shape, and color.

I think this book will help me increase my "feel" for good fabric design. As I said above, this whole process is a bit overwhelming right now, because I'm such a beginner at design, as well as using design software. I feel that I owe it to myself, though, to at least try to get better at these things that I want to learn.

I know several of you who have skills that you use in service to your doll collection. Has anyone learned or tried to learn something purely for making things for your dolls? I know MC and RagingMoon1987 have talked about learning sewing to make doll clothes, which I totally support!