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! :)

Did I mention I Like Almost all Dolls?

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

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!  :)

Oops! I Did It, Again Dolls.

I put back more than I bought.
Honest!
Three came home with me,
in spite of my resolve.

A modern Stacie for a dollar.
I guess I could have resisted...

A half size Barbie.
I must really need her, right?
Also one dollar.

I don't need another Barbie.
She cost two dollars!
It's not a good excuse,
but her face made me think of things
I can do with photos like...

this...

and this!

Maybe it really is addictive.

Sigh.

I can quit any time.

OK, I'm joking.

Real addiction is serious stuff.
I just gave myself permission for these.

Was I wrong?

Hey! Doll Face!

I've forgotten the name of this
My Scene character.

This is Barbie.  She has a Pivotal body.

This is my child size Cinderella.
The two Mattel are recent acquisitions.
All three are thrift store finds.

I just enjoy "playing" with their portraits. :)

Again a Dollar Doll!

At the same time I bought Esmerelda
I picked up this little beauty.

She has the Teen Skipper body and
the Courtney face, but I have not
yet found this particular doll, anywhere.

Of course, I had to mess with the
photo.  :)

I ignored these tallest Skipper
dolls, when they first came out.
I was annoyed that they kept
Skipper growing more and more.
Finding them in the thrift store
made me look them over a little
more and I found that I like
their slim figure, sweet faces
and their improbably long legs. :D

Esmerelda

"No more dolls!"
Oh, yeah?
What if I find an Esmerelda
at Goodwill for one dollar?

"Well..."  :)

Goodbye, Miko

This is Miko.

I often check out the dolls
in a department store.

Miko really got my attention.
I waited until she went on sale.
I bought her.

We were building a house.
There wasn't much money
lying around.
I had a small allowance
or a part time job,
I don't remember which.

Miko meant something to me.

BUT
Miko has been standing
in a box of dolls
gathering dust.

Sooo...

I sold her on eBay
and sent her off on Monday.

Goodbye, Miko.
I hope somebody enjoys you.

Now I have made a proper
goodbye and I won't be
sad for long. :)

For being such a good girl,
I printed out this paper doll
in color.

Do you like paper dolls?

They will never take the
place of dolls, for me,
but I do like them. :)

Dollar Dolls!

I have been at it, again.

"Uncle Si" & I enjoy hitting
those thrift stores.
Wee Three Friends Janet
by Mattel, was $1.

Fashionista Ken (Mattel)
for $1.

My Scene Hudson (I think)
Mattel $1

AND
Madame Alexander undressed
was also $1, but the panties
were another 25 cents at a
flea market.

Of course, I had to play with some
of my pictures... :)

I Have Midges

But, I bought another, anyway!

Her hands are chewed, but whole.

I thought of putting her
on another body,
anyway.
She was only a dollar...
Oh, dear, I must thin out
my dolls.

She was not the only one,
either!
I may be more discriminating
with my purchases
(I hope)
but I am still buying.

Should I feel bad?

Voted Off?

At the time I bought these
Skipper dolls, I wanted
to have an example of
each change in Skipper.
Barbie had so much variety
that I didn't even try.
Skipper had a growing up
body.  I missed that one.
Then there was this doll.
Her pensive gaze was
changed to a friendly grin.
Her body was almost the
same, but she had a little bust, now.

Now, this Skipper
reminded me of
the Takara Barbie
because of
the huge eyes
and womanly figure.
I did not care for her costume,
but she went on a really good sale.
I never did de-box her.
I had my son
and, though I loved to
look at dolls,
they had to take
a back seat, so to speak.

Over later years, 

I picked up examples of

these Skippers

that had been played with

and discarded --

well, donated, really.

There would be a plastic bag 

with several dolls in it

for a reasonable price.

There was no question

of keeping these dolls

pristine,

they were well used,

in most cases.

So,

will Skippers from the 

1980's sell in 2013?

I have started with these

two, on eBay.

We shall see.

Polly Pocket!

If you have been following this blog

for a little while, you may have noticed

that I have difficulty resisting a "deal,"

especially when it comes to dolls.  

I don't think the person who
marked this car and two
dressed dolls for $.99
was personally aiming
for me, but they might
just as well have done so. :)

Oh, well.  Another chance
to see if I can sell something.

To Sell, or Not to Sell

She was called Diva, but she looked like

Midge, to me.

She went on sale.

I wonder how many times I have 

bought something, 

something I don't need 

and may not be

exactly what I think I want,

because I wanted one so badly

when I couldn't buy it.

Languishing in storage for years, now,

I felt she was not appreciated.

So, I put her on eBay.

I got one bid, but the bidder asked me

to remove it.  

There is too much box wear.

There is a split in the "window" of

the box.

Is she unsaleable?

 We shall see. :)

I'm Quite Happy

with the way

this outfit

turned out!

(Maybe I'm not the only one.)

Excuse Me, Please

I'm just enjoying some

of my own "stuff" 

from my files.