Dolls and Doll-related Items for Sale

Thursday, January 28, 2021

My Collection Part Twelve: Tonner/Effanbee Ann Estelle, Patsy and Mimi

I thought all of these dolls were made by Effanbee while owned by the Robert Tonner company, but I didn't see Effanbee on my new Dottie Delight doll's box. But in any case, here's my group of 10" dolls, often referred to as "tenners" among collectors. :)


This is Basic Ann Estelle, who I believe was my first Ann Estelle purchase. She and the other dolls from the Ann Estelle line are based on illustrations from artist Mary Engelbreit. Originally she came with a short blond bob, but I recently replaced it with a Monique wig, as the wig she came with is pretty dry. If the braids are on her back, they curl up at the back; the ends could be tied to the tops and would look something like AG Kirsten's. She's wearing a Patsy dress that I bought loose at the Robert Tonner convention that I attended.

Sophie was purchased next in line. I bought either her or Ann nude, as this is a basic Sophie, but I only have one basic romper. She had a red bow sewn into her hair, which I removed. Her face is really endearing to me. She may get a new wig, as hers is pretty dry as well. She's wearing a dress made by me.

I think Ann's baby sister Lilah came next. Lilah dolls are pretty rare. There was another Lilah produced as a centerpiece doll for a convention, riding a seahorse. I don't remember off the top of my head if there were any other productions. Lilah is wearing her original outfit, minus her tights, which are a bright red net, with large bright red dots woven in. Her sweater is removable, but the bodice of her dress has a loose piece of thread floating inside. She rattles when moved, like she has something loose inside of her. You might not be able to tell, but her legs are a little curved, so she's meant to be seated.

I bought Mimi around the same time as Lilah. Mimi was part of a line by Effanbee called Petite Filles. The other doll in this line was a brunette named Babette. I ought to buy one of those just because of her name. :) Truly, though, I did like the clothes these dolls were dressed in. This is Strawberry Cupcake Mimi, wearing everything original to her. Her body has bending knees, like the Patsy dolls, but straight arms like the original Ann Estelle dolls.

Patsy was a line produced by Effanbee, that hearkened back to the composition Patsy dolls produced by Effanbee in the 1920s-1940s. Patsy's body is pretty similar to Ann Estelle's, except that Patsy dolls have bending knees, elbows and wrists, as well as the standard shoulder and hip movement. I bought this Patsy with new eyes and a new wig. I ended up not being fond of the wig. It was a very shaggy short style, that kept falling in her eyes. I just got this Monique one, but I don't know that it suits her. It was up in two high pigtails, but it looked too happy and bouncy a style, to me, for the wistful look on her face. I tried to tie the hair in two bunches, low, but the hair keeps wanting to ride up, since that's how it was styled. I might get something new at some point, even more so since this one is a bit small on her. Her head and body are slightly smaller than the Ann line, though. The dress she is wearing is one that I made using the same pattern as the ones that Georgia and Sophie are wearing, but it swims on Patsy.

I bought Georgia wigless. She only came wearing a pair of corduroy pants with an elastic waist, made for her by the woman who was selling the doll, and had used Georgia as a clothing model. I like her new wig on her, although it's funny to see her with a full head of hair after being bald for so long. She looks so sweet in it, though! I also made her dress.

The next Ann Estelle is named A Bit Younger. She was made for the 25th Robert Tonner doll convention, along with a teen or young adult version of Ann Estelle on a 16" body, called Breit Nights. Both dolls wear age appropriate versions of the velvet dress with embroidered flowers, a petticoat with lace, white tights, and matching shoes and hair bows. This Ann's hair is soft, but extremely flyaway. I had to keep her away from my backdrop, or her hair looked she was touching a plasma ball. For fun, I'll include here a shot from the convention, of Robert Tonner and Mary Engelbreit signing after the Cheery Cherry Mary Engelbreit luncheon. I got A Bit Younger's certificate signed by both.



 

And lastly, I recently posted on how I was able to receive Dottie Delight Ann NRFB as a gift for Christmas 2020. I'm so thrilled to have her back in my collection.

You never know what you'll find when you're searching around on eBay. One day, I saw a small wooden cabinet with drawers, painted by an individual to resemble Mary Engelbreit's style. I posed Ann next to it, wearing the basic romper, so you can see what a good job the artist did. You can also see the size. I store things like the Ann dolls' glasses in there, along with a couple of cardigans I bought from eBay as well.

I think these "tenners" are all cute as a button. :) From basic to convention, I love all of them.

Total dolls: 53

Sunday, January 24, 2021

Bunny Update, and Tonner Marie/Clara

Some pictures of my Ann Estelle dolls are next on my to-do list, but that will take me at least a couple of days more. In the meantime, I know that some of you were interested in my daughter's two bunnies and if they were going to bond. Well, it's taken about eight months, but they seem to be pretty comfortable around each other now.

Tallahassee is much more comfortable dealing with Kip, but she has been around other bunnies. Kip had a weird past, and it still seems like he just doesn't know all of the ways a bunny "recognizes" another one as a friend. But they can be trusted to be around each other now, even if Tallahassee will always be the more outgoing bunny.

When I was talking about my Tonner 12" dolls, I mentioned my daughter's Nutcracker Marie doll. Said daughter has started making her bedroom more for an adult, instead of the child that she used to be. She's keeping her Wonder Woman and ballerina dolls, but she gave Marie to me.

I'm officially adding her to the My Collection list here.

Total dolls: 45


Monday, January 11, 2021

A Paint Booth

I've been very frustrated with how few days there are where I live that are suitable for spray painting outdoors. Even when I paint things by hand, plastic items seem easier to paint if I've put on a simple coat of Mr. SuperClear or something similar first. I finally decided to buy a paint booth, and was pleased to find out that they are not as expensive as I had thought they would be. Here is mine, folded up, and open, with the LED lights that came with it on. The items on the turntable are parts of a 1/6 scale baby stroller for scale. I'm hoping that I can make some progress this month on all the things that I want to paint.


ETA:

I should have realized that not everyone would know what a paint booth was. :) Just to further clarify, there is a filter at the back of the booth, with an exhaust fan on the back side. I also bought a connecting tube set, that hooks up at the back of the unit. It is meant to be set up with one end in an open window, and sucks the fumes from the spray paint out the window, so you're not dealing with them indoors. The end of the tubing is narrow, so you only have to open your window a tiny bit. I am adding a picture of the back of the booth, and part of the tubing.

It is also used by airbrush artists, and a family friend uses his to paint miniature figures for his tabletop gaming adventures.

EATA:

Here is the link for the model that I bought. I purchased it on Amazon US. I hope anybody that is interested can find one! Also, let me know if this link doesn't work for you, since I'm looking at it through our Amazon account. It is the Master Airbrush Lighted Portable Hobby Airbrush Spraybooth with LED Lighting. Also, I'm pretty sure that I didn't pay as much for it as the price it is listed at now. I think must have bought it when it was on Prime.

Monday, January 4, 2021

A Grail Doll for Christmas

For Christmas 2020, Mr. BTEG gave me the Effanbee Ann Estelle Dottie Delight doll. I'd sold her during a dark time in our lives, thinking I wouldn't regret it, but I ended up doing so. This 10" Ann Estelle has been on my wish list for at least five or six years, and finally this Christmas, I was fortunate enough that there was an Ann Estelle NRFB on the market, and Mr. BTEG had the wherewithal to buy her for me! I'm putting up a group of pictures of her here, so you can all see what she looks like. I'm not counting her in my My Collection series yet, though. I'll do that when I introduce you to my entire Ann Estelle crew.




Did any of you get some nice dolly surprises for Christmas?