A Long Weekend

It's been a long but fun weekend visiting American Girl Place and presenting at MMLA, a dream for me. American Girl Place was truly fantastic; lots of people, even late in the afternoon, and all pink, white, and pastels. Two floors of the dolls and their accessories, and life-sized vignettes of the historical periods from which the dolls come. I chose Felicity to join the rest of the American Girls, since she will be retired. The staff there is very helpful and friendly. One chooses the type of purchse from tiny post-it note photos and descriptions. There were many books and of course, the clothes for little girls. I would liekt o return to see the holdiay window and to have lunch. They don't validate for Watertower, though, and don't serve dinner.

MMLA was fantastic; I saw one of my old profs from grad school, and the speaker was Lady Antonia Fraser, noted author and authority, and widow of Harold Pinter. I also love her Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Warrior Queens, and Mary, Queen of Scots. She was the first author to respond to me when I was writing my dissertation, and later my book. The Vampire Narratives panel went great; I mentioned the vampire dolls and toys popular, and gave everyone gummi skeletons and plastic vampire teeth. We all need our toys! The conference theme was "terror" and my sister panelists were terrific. Thanks for a wonderful experience.

Today, I went to a presentation on German cooking and holiday cookies. I visited the disoplay of my own dolls, too. We learned about gingerbread figures and molds, and figures made of dough and given on St. Nicholas day. I am going to make them for my class. Dolls made of dough and in gingergread are an important part of German Christmas, along with the Christmas markets and toy markets that date to at least 1450 or even earlier. The Christmas stollen, or cake, I learned, represents the Christ child in his swaddling clothes. There is a long tradition of dough figures from Sweden, South America, the US, Greece, and other countries. There is a fertility goddess with three breasts in Carl Fox's classic, The Doll, and the 1956 World Book Encyclopedia discuss Swedish dolls made of dough and dressed in long gowns.

I have several edible dolls made of gingerbread and other types of dough, preserved and varnished for posterity. I keep them in an extra fridge, low temp, or in cool, dry, tightly sealed places. I have seen Golliwog cookies in collections, and gingerbread marionnettes as well.

Tomorrow or so, there will be new photso posted of displays of my nutcrackers and German dolls and some of the dolls that I restored which were beyond hope. Also, I hope to discuss some of my favorite mysteries on dolls and hobbies by Deb Baker, Laura Childs, Diane Mott Davidson, Tamar Meyers, Joanne Fluke, Margaret Grace, Sharon Fiffer, Sharon Holub, and Ms. Jackson's classic, Missing Melinda. Happy Dolling!

Happy Halloween!

It has a been a cool, brisk, and green Halloween; tomorrow is The Day of the Dead. I found the skeleton family of dolls on sale at Michaels, along with the Lemax houses. I bought the family, and was very pleased. Today, at our local flea market, I found a Ginger with outfits and marked Hangers, and an HP Pam with original shoes, hat, dress, etc. I found a great cross stitch of Little Women, framed and matted, and two of the very small Nancy Ann HP dolls with original outfits. They are my best examples of this size. There was also a tiny doll watch to fit a Saucy Walker, in an original package.

The dealer has been an acquaintance and friend for a very long time. Her mother used to dress dolls and her father proudly told all her customers that his wife made the outfits. I bought several outfits that her mother made, and relived the memories. We first met her at the same flea market. I also found an art deco Strombecker corner table in its original box. Later, I found our local stamp club show, and won the door prize, a Lincoln stamp worth over $250.00! I was very, very excited, and it was my best stamp ever. I won it nearly the moment I walked in.

Outside, the scarecrow and Halloween decoration dolls reigned. It was clearly their evening. I dressed as The Black Dahlia last night, and one of my black haired dolls actually snaps in two and back together. I dressed her in a two-piece black felt dress decorated with white flowers. After the party, I snapped her back together; she is restored and redressed, and only needs a new pair of black heels. Half of her was a brooch, and half a necklace, to go with my black velvet dress.

Hoping to view new American Girls and outfits, soon. I also have more dolls to dress from my Uber great restoration project. Life has been very busy, and I hope to make some holiday ornamnents from pressed leaves, another passion.

Happy Halloween, Blessed Samhain, Blessed Day of the Dead and All Saints and All Souls Days.

Till Next time.

Historical Dolls

It's been a good haul for the museum again. We found our first Porcelain Marie Osmond doll, and a very nice Boyd's doll, and of course, a porcelain Adora Belle. Then, never seen before, a hard plastic, mechanical CPK and a mechancial Bratz girl joined the family. We alsol found an all brass dancer from India, arms outstretched, and a small figural bell, also from India, with a Bridegroom figure on top. Many procelain costume dolls and clowns, a few foreign dolls, some plush characters and another bear or two have also found their way to the hallowed halls of Dr. E's Doll Museum.

We will be setting up exhibits in a sister museum of nutcrackers and German dolls and characters, as well as a later display of Barbie, Lili, and friends.

In the spring, we will have a travelling show of dolls representing historical women. Today, my doll of Boudicca, from our friends at Uneek Designs comes to mind. Such a perfect miniature, and of one of my favorite all time historical women. She will be part of the show for sure. The graphic of her is one of my favorites, another strong warrior woman, mother, leader, soldier, full of courage, brave so that even her enemies write of her with admiration. Isn't thathat the way to go?

Autumn is a good time for historical women dolls. There are female ghosts, and Prisilla Aldens, and Pochohontas dolls of all types. There are Erzebeth Bathory's and Brides of the Monster, Elvira, witches, especially the famous
Titutbas and others from Salem. There is Evangeline, and the Cornhusk doll with her apple head and gourd sisters, the ephemeral and eclectic Jaqueline O'Lantern and her fmaily, the Dried Fruit sisters, the dolls of famous maker made by other famous women, my penpal Suzanne Gibson, the late Ann Parker, The Grand Dames, Ruth Handler, Madame Alexander, Miss Elsa, Dame Peggy Nisbet, and Miss Walker, Miss Chase, and Miss Ginny Graves. So many, including Sister Innocentia, and Madame Lenci, Fraulein Steiff, the elusive Marjorie Spangler and Christmas Christina. We love them all. We love the corncob dolls of Laura and Mary, Miss Hickory and Hitty, The Doll of Lilac Valley, Sethany and Nicey, and all of them.

Happy Fall, and Happy Halloween!

Halloween Dolls and other Ideas

For more tips and holiday idehttp://dresgreening.blogspot.com/as, see my blog on tips for living green.

Today it feels like October. It is getting colder, and darker early, and there has been a spooky, misty rain. Check out Dr. E’s Greening Tips for the Common Person, my other blog as well. You can google the title and find it easily. There are photos of dolls and vintage art there, as well. I’ve also posted tips for making holiday cakes and for making miniature terrariums and dolls of natural materials. There are also ideas for homemade and craft gifts for the holidays.

I’ve been checking around the stores for great holiday and Halloween decorations and dolls. The miniature houses and accessories at Michaels still rock, as do the Dept. 56 houses and accessories. A personal favorite in my collection is a light up house entitled “Vampire Attorney” office, which was part of our local vampire display. I also have preserved as gingerbread and cookie house, bought over twenty years ago at Marshall Fields. Next would by my Elvira and Grim Reaper dolls, and the dressed skeletons my mom and I bought, but also knitted and sewed for. We have brides and grooms, Ophelia who sings “Fright Wedding” to the tune of “White Wedding,” our Puffkins and Beanie Babies and Bean Sprouts witches and ghosts, and an assortment of scarecrow dolls with pumpkin heads. My late friend, my dear Greg, would bring me cornhusk dolls to display together in baskets, and beaded miniatures to wear at Harvest. I also love the wax candles I’ve blogged about earlier, and my witches, many of which came from Salem, MA itself!

The museum has a small collection of voodoo dolls and magic dolls from around the world, and we have large mechanical Frankenstein’s monster and various other images, including one of our newest additions, The Golem of Prague. We love our living dead dolls, especially Erzebet, and our MacFarlane toys Six Faces of Madness figures. Personally, I love my carved masks from around the world, but my husband won’t let me display some of them, and my Dia de Muertos figures. We have a mechanical zombie baby and a Spasm, the Emaciated Prisoner, who shakes and moans. She is wearing some of my clothes, and a tasteful hat and slippers. I can’t bear to leave her cold and suffering. She sits on one of my beds with other dolls, but again, my husband won’t look at her! Of course, there are the doll horror films like the Chucky films, Dolls [my favorite], Dead Silence, and Interview with the Vampire, as well as Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark, and a scene with doll in the mini series Tommyknockers. Dolls are at their eeriest this time of year, and it is fun to collect them and look for them. Annalee Dolls makes wonderful Halloween editions, and so does Mattel. We have quite an assortment of Halloween and Wizard of Oz Barbies, as well as Cruella De Ville, and also doll versions Dracula, Twilight characters, the Universal Monsters, and Maleficent. We even have the Bride of the monster and a tiny Nosferatu, and the famous Hunchbear of Notre Dame. We love our monsters at the museum, and we love Halloween. Now is also a great time to visit The Shelter for Misfit Dolls online. Google the name. Happy, spooky dolling!

Thank you

Thank you to all my Twitter followers, and thanks to the over 1250 who have viewed this blog and the over 300 people who have viewed my other blog with living green tips for the common person. You all inspire me to keep writing, and keep on with the museum plans, though I confess life is getting in the way big time. This is a sad, elegiac time of year, and I see the lost faces of those I love in the dolls they have made for me, dressed for me, and given me. My mother and grandmother used to sew Halloween costumes for me, and for my dolls, and they made rag dolls and doll quilts and doll clothes. I still prefer my mothers handmade Barbie clothes, and I marvel the Christmas she made little boots and maxi coats of faux leather, brocade evening gowns, velvet skirts and dotted swiss blouses with bead and ribbon trim, while she taught seven classes every day, came home, cooked, kept me entertained, and graded papers incessantly. Dolls are so much more than just collectibles or investment items to me; they are the symbols of her love. They mean motherhood and family and creativity and even sacrifice of valuable time. When I think of getting rid of the all of them and of the whole museum idea, they seem to reproach me, and the spirits of those who have loved me so well in better times seem to say, "haven't we been through worse than this, and haven't we seathered the storm?"

Now is a good time to look for craft dolls and holiday dolls of all types. Many stores will have Hallwoeen items on sale, some at 40 or 50% off. There are more estate sales, and last of the season yard sales, and of course, the wonderful catalogs that come out. I love Design Toscano and Sadigh Gallery for ancient dolls and replicas of ancient dolls, and miss the old Marshall Fields, Sears, Wards, and Enchanted Doll House catalogs. Mark Farmer used to have a great doll catalog, as did Shopping International. Thse are now colletible items in themselves. American Girl has always had a good catalog, and Harriet Carter, Doll Masters, Standard Doll, and Mangelsen's still have great ones. I also loved Lynne's Miniatures, Shackman, and Federal Smallwares, and there was the wonderful Doll Talk from Kimport.

Online shopping is great; I swear by Etsy, but I miss those in hand catalogs that served as great paper doll sources, and alter, as great research sources.

Thanks to our friends at The Haunted Doll Museuma and site, and to those who loyally follow this blog. Till next time.

Dr. E.

City Wide Yard Sales

Today I attended the first of these in my area. I was surprised at how many were participating. The entire community center was filled with tables, better even than our Antique Show and Holiday Craft Fairs. I did very well; at the end, folks were generously giving things away, and I was able to pick up good prizes for school. I found a wonderful antique wall pocket, many fine pieces of china, vintage dolls in original clothing and shoes, another metal doll house, this an L-shaped ranch with patio graphics, and lots of great furniture to go with it. I found some old paper ephermera, Boyds bears for $2 each, and trains for our special civic project. One of the dealers was a lady who, with her late husband, ran our own Lighthouse Antiques, now defunct over 30 years. My mom and I had great memories of going there and buying bisque Nancy Anns for $.50 and many wonderful old dolls, including pincushions, and composition Shirleys and Shirley twins, Horseman, foreign dolls, you name it. The dealer remembered me; her husband, and my mom, are now gone. It was very bittersweet for me. I remembered how excited my mom and I were when the compo doll with the cute face we turned over had the Shirley Temple mark on the back. We researched and cleand up every doll. My mom lovingly dressed them, and one Shirley twin was a look alike of the doll she had to leave behind in Europe. She often washted them up, and put them on our evergreens to dry in the summer. She and my uncle would laugh and laugh, because I would be playing under the bushes, in their shade, oblivous to the fact that the dolls, often birthday presents, were drying right above me. I guess it is true that hiding something in the open makes the best hiding place.

It was very emotional for me, and I remember my mother having such a good time. She had met this lady herself about ten years ago at another flea market, but once again the dolls bring back family memories. I still have all of the dolls from the LH. the museum is proud to have them.

YouTube and Doll Museums

There are some great museums on YouTube, including Musee de la Poupee, and our Friends at The Fennimore Doll and Toy Museum Surf, use doll musem, names of doll museums, doll collections, Barbie, G.I. Joe, Toy Museums, etc. Have Fun. Here is one link for Musee de la Poupee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHeWDieibag&feature=related