Happy Halloween! (late post)

 

This is a late post...so a late /belated Happy Halloween to all my doll friends out there! Some dioramas from the archives...

New Roombox Project

 I haven't posted in a while...September flew by! I have begun a new project and have been distracted with life (in general), dolls, my Ebay business, and a new project I am undertaking for my doll club. So have been very distracted. 

Our doll club has a raffle every year to defray expenses for the Christmas party excursion...and hopefully since the Covid-19 restrictions are being relaxed, we will be able to have a get-together by December. However, our raffle will be online. Usually each member chooses a 'theme' or holiday, or a season and creates an item or doll or items for members to buy tickets to to bid on. My theme is Thanksgiving and I am creating a roombox with that surrounding theme. 

So far...here is my progress. 

So far, I have the roombox assembled and a first coat of paint primed on its interior and top. It will need sanding and more prime on it, before adding the other features and timbers for a medieval / cottage feel. Lots more work to do. 

I have been also working on the Thanksgiving foods and the Pilgrims too and their clothing- just one doll. Almost finished on the Pilgrim Ken. Will show photos as I get to a finishing point on him. 

Hopefully I will be finished with this project way before the November deadline. Enjoy the pics!

Sizzling Poppy Parker

 I entered the lottery for this fabulous doll and received her a while back. I have just got around to taking photos of her in her box, - and she is simply stunning. 

Sometimes, a doll is so beautiful in their packaging, I can't bear to take them out. I am going to de-box her, as I am on a mission to 'play' and display my dolls this year as well as to attempt to re-purchase my dolls I have had to sell over the years- my 'regret sales', I call them. This Poppy Parker- Sizzling- is not one doll I will be selling, I am happy to say. 

Her box is designed to look like a piece of travel luggage, even down to the cardboard handle on top. It has photographed stickers on it and looks like a 1950's - 1960's piece of vintage luggage. So smashing. It is the details that makes the W Club worth the price. 

I will have more updated photos of her de-boxed soon. Toodles! Lisa 

New doll- Ivy 'Vee for Tea' Jordan W club registration doll from 2008 has arrived!

I have totally missed posting more updates in July and now we are into August. 

 My post now has to do with a new doll I have been wanting to purchase back for a long time, one I had to sell a few years ago. Ivy 'Vee for Tea' Jordan was a registration doll in 2008 that I had when I first came into the W Club , one of three registration dolls I purchased that year with my membership, I remember being SOOO excited when the dolls came in the mail. It is so long ago- 12 years now- that I cannot remember if it was 2 or 3 dolls I received that year. I would have to go back into my folder and look at those receipts. 

I am slowly making an effort to buy back some of my dolls I had to sell, so now I am embarking on my next doll- which would be Careless Kisses. She was purchased in 2010 from the W club when they had a sale- and she was birthday gift to myself. For some reason I also sold her. One of the reasons may have been due to size- these dolls are 15-16 inches in height and I did not have anywhere suitable to display them. I want a Trent too, as well as a Gene, but I want to try and get my Careless Kisses back - I have a list of dolls that I want to buy back that I have deeply regretted selling. I have long loved Gene Marshall and the 40's and 50's era fashions- this is one reason why I love the Integrity line of East 59th line and the Victoire Roux dolls, they are far more stunning in my opinion, as well as the Katie Keene dolls. 

I got her on ebay for a whopping $76.99 Plus shipping so she came in under $98 !! That is so under what I paid for her. No, she didn't have her hat, purse and most of her jewelry- no brooch, and only one earring in her ear, but she did have her hangtag, the seller included her box which was a nice surprise, and her stand, as well as a beautiful coat which feels like real fur on the collar and cuffs. The seller did not wrap the box very well or cushion the doll in her box, one small piece of bubble was haphazardly wrapped around the middle of the doll box, and no paper or cushioning was in the doll box, which allow her heel to come off during shipping. The doll box was allowed to bounce around in the bigger box, so I believe a little paper would have avoided damage to the shoes. Poor packing in my opinion, especially when I was charged $17 for shipping and they shipped Fedex, and the tape was coming loose, only two strips of tape was used to seal the box. I contacted the seller, the apologized, and made some suggestions, but I was pleased with the sale and was able to glue the heel on the shoe. I was annoyed that the seller did not disclose she had only one earring - that was not apparent in the auction. She did have her original gloves. So I can't complain. 

Madra has offered Ivy , her friend, tea after her long journey, but Ivy is famished, and has asked for dinner. There was no suitable restuarants to eat in / or stop, and they drove for hours, dahling. 

Madra asks the staff to hurry along the dinner, they are already cooking, and clear the tea items and re-set the table for an early dinner. 

Dinner is served but the staff is behind with the vegetable course, turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, warm biscuits, coffee, and desert are all ready. Miss Jordan is famished and ready to eat. 

'Madra it looks so good! It is so good to be home! I can't wait to tell you the gossip about Gene and Trent! Ivy exclaims

'Oh you must tell me now! Is it true- did they have that scandalous kiss during their last scene in that latest movie??' Madra asks...

And the two catch up on the latest gossip of Tinseltown over dinner ....

I hope you enjoy the photos...Lisa

More Ultimately Madra Lord.....

I decided to 'play' more with Madra, and was going to put her into another outfit I had on hand...so I went to undress her. Underneath her Pink with Envy outfit she was wearing....SQUEE! She was wearing her original loungerie with bra, panties, stockings, and garters!

                The shoes are from the Pink with Envy outfit. 

     

She is a gorgeous doll. Here is a close up . She has such a contemplative face.

Here is Madra adjusting those pesky garters and straightening her stockings. She is also going to have some tea/ or cafe au lait and a pastry before getting dressed. 

Ultimately Madra Lord doll- Ashton-Drake (Ebay seller sla2 )

Food created by me

Assorted plants came from Michael's

Picture on wall- Antique store find

Tea set from Tuesday Morning

rug- Dollhouse Miniature

Chair and Table in 1:4 scale- Bespaq, retired pieces, no longer manufactured

Madra Lord doll has arrived...

So I have been enthralled with Gene Marshall dolls and friends...and have been wanting for a while to purchase these dolls again. 

A few years ago, I had purchased Ivy Jordan 'Vee for Tea' in 2007-2008 when Jason Wu teamed with Mel Odom and re-did the line in full articulation with resin and they were gorgeous. I did not purchase the entire line at that time as I was just becoming a member of the club and was quite overwhelmed with the dolls, the cost, etc.  I did also purchase Careless Kisses Madra Lord. Her gown and jewelry were gorgeous. 

For some reason, a few years later, I sold these two dolls. I think I sold them because of space, and sometimes, I get into the rut most doll collectors do- guilt over having so many dolls and not enough time to give to all of them, so I sell them to make space for more that are coming. Then I usually find I regret selling those treasures later on down the road. 

I had seen this doll on ebay and she was listed as Jason Wu/Ashton Drake Madra Lord Pink Envy ...it was evident the seller did not know which edition she was. I did not know either. The doll had long vibrant, red hair. I had never seen a Madra Lord with red hair and that was articulated and had never seen a fully articulated Ashton Drake edition. This one had articulated elbows and knees. I think that was why the seller, quite understandably, assumed it was a Jason Wu edition. 

She is lovely. The franken priority mail box I got her in was crushed on one side, but thankfully, the seller had wrapped the box in strong saran so that did not harm the doll . It irritated me that they wrapped the dolls head in bubble but did not wrap the doll in bubble wrap, simply wrapped the stand in saran and put the doll and the stand in a plastic bag! If that box had been crushed any more my doll would have been toast!

So here are photos of Madra, my first Gene doll and I am hoping to go on to more. 

From my research on the Gene doll message boards, she is an 'Ultimately Madra" doll who would have come out in 2002 , a basic doll who would have come out in her loungerie and been redressed, one of the first ones to have been fully articulated and by Ashton-Drake according to the Gene Marshall Wiki. 

I love this doll's face. She has a delicate coloring and a beauty mark below her right eyebrow. I can hardly wait to get her a friend and maybe some patterns to try to make some clothing for her. 

More dolls coming soon! Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!

 George Washington Barbie is standing near the Bespaq desk which holds the Declaration of Independence (a magnet from a Williamsburg souvenir store) 

We celebrated today, my husband and I , by grilling yet eating indoors. The temperatures were hot!

We had hamburgers & hot dogs, pickles, potato salad, gourmet salsa & chips, and red velvet cake with buttercream icing and blue sugar sprinkles. To top it off we also had a cranberry and lime seltzer water spritzer with a lime wedge to cool off. Very yummy. 

As you can tell, I have been busy decorating, and still not done! I did not get to my Tammy photos, or my Annabelle and Marie Terese dressed for today. I will get them dressed in the patriotic mood and hopefully post some of them tomorrow to carry the theme. I love the red , white and blue theme, it is so festive. My UFDC Marcus would make a great Uncle Sam. 

Enjoy! And Happy Fourth of July!