Tressy by American Character

My mother was an outdoor
girl.  Her doll was a baby doll
with a composition head, arms
and legs.  As big as some
two year olds, with open and
Shut brown eyes and real teeth,
she was a beautiful baby.

I liked to sit inside and read.
When I wanted dolls they
were fashion dolls.  Mom did
not understand, but she saved
her can labels and sent for
 Tressy.

Eventually, there were three Tressies
at our house.
The offer was no longer available
when my youngest sister came to that point.

My Tressy went through a harrowing
experience in 1972.  The truck
carrying our things during a move
burned up.  She came through,
but she was scarred for life.

The mixture of soot and chemicals
used to put the fire out left her
blackened, but she retains
her shape and her appendages.  :)

Eggstravagant?

I'm dabbling, again.

Nothing like the Faberge eggs that inspired them,

but I'm enjoying the extravagant amount of time

I'm putting in on these.

Having finished several,

with more in progress,

I thought I would share

these two.  :)

Basket Case

I'm a dabbler.
Lately I've been making
little baskets.

It's been fun;
frustrating, sometimes,
but fun.

Some of these may be too tiny.
I'm not sure.

I have made a few.  :)

Hearts for Pretty Dolls

I've sold a few little
 hearts on eBay.
  These are a little larger.
My Dollikin holds the
biggest size I made.

Vita has the smaller large
little box, if you understand
that. :)

Little Gifts

I've been crafting little gifts

to use as doll props.

Today, I took some pictures

to check out the proportion.

Looks to me like they work
with both these scales.
Don't you think so?

Tiny Presents!

I have been playing!

This is such fun.

Every little project
leads me to thinking of
another I could make.  :)

You Never Know, Francie!

Another thrift store find!
I bought her because I liked her.

When I got home I looked her
up online.
Turns out she is Hair Happenins Francie.
Well, I knew she was Francie.
She was dirty and
her left knee no longer held a pose.
It seemed if I could double my money
plus half again, I probably should let her go.

So, I listed her on eBay.

She sold for 12 times my purchase price.

What?  With a broken knee?

Well, I'll miss her for a little,
but she was quite a find, after all! :)

Asian Heroine

Another doll that interested me
from the thrift store.
I decided she would be better
appreciated elsewhere.
She should ship out tomorrow. :)

Fierce Fellow

I almost always look at dolls
in thrift stores and flea markets.
I bought this fierce Pirate Captain.  Then I
didn't know quite what to do with him.
So, I sold him, again.  He's set to sail
away this week.

Did I mention I Like Almost all Dolls?

Barbie head on LIV body,
Tommy (Mattel)
and wooden doll my sister made from a kit.

A Few of my Red Haired Dolls.

Prego theme is redheads, sooo...

Tonner's Kitty

Tonner's Miss America

Playmate Ariel

Brenda Starr from Effenbee

Miss America & Miss Kitty

A little more Brenda

Did I Wish for a Kish?

When I allowed myself to get
very interested in dolls, again,
I was enchanted by the work
of Helen Kish.

A little magazine shopping
showed me that "Kishies"
would be out of my line
for awhile.

Now, I could hardly believe
what I found in a local thrift
store for one dollar, lately.

American Girl (read "Mattel")
had a line called
"Girls of Many Lands,"
designed by Kish.
This one is Chou Spring Pearl,
and was wearing a
Barbie looking dress.
Isn't this fun?!  :)

Making Lemonade

You know the expression:
When life hands you lemons
make lemonade.

Well, I made my own lemon,
this time.

This little Monster High doll
was a thrift store find.
I wanted to try making tiny
clothes, so I bought her.

Someone had drawn on her
head and got a dot of blue
on her nose.

I used some "magic eraser"
to get most of her "hat"
off and started on her
"nose ring."

OOPS!
I found I had scrubbed
some of her eye off, too.

I needed to photograph
her in some clothes
I wanted to sell,
so I got out my "permanent"
markers.

OOOPS!
I smeared her.

A little fixing up
and she'll do
as a model.

Oh, my!  :)

Four Dollar Flea Market Fashion Doll Find

Have a look at those eyelashes!
Did someone fall asleep
at the  ..um... brush?

Her markings seem to indicate that she's
nobody in particular.
Yay!  I get to keep her
for a while. :)

Gum Drop!

That's her name!
She's by EFFANBEE
and marked 1962.

For some reason,
perhaps because she
reminds me so much of
my niece, I brought her
home from the doll show.

I went to a doll show
& forgot to take pictures!

Portrait of Porcelain

I once aspired to paint portraits.
I still wishfully think of it.
I'm not very good, but
 I can "doctor" a photo
with gimp and pretend! :)

Here is the original photo.
Isn't this everybody's idea
of fun? ;)

Transforming Trent

Do you know Trent?
In the Gene Marshall doll story,
Trent was the leading man.

I am not sure how many versions
were made.
This is mine.

When I play with dolls, it is not usually
to act out a story.
I like to design costumes.

In this case, I used some fake fur
and some tacky glue to transform his looks.  :)

Folksy Ariel

I don't remember where I got
my Ariel doll.

To be brutally honest, I was disappointed
in Disney's version of The Little Mermaid.

The whole point of the story
is to be yourself.

In the original, the little mermaid
was rejected, having changed herself
at great cost, only to fail.

A "happy" ending to this tale?
(pun intended)

How Disney!

I like her in this folksy outfit
which was supplied by a porcelain doll.
(I think the "donor doll"  was broken.)