Happy Hinamatsuri Day!

On the third day of the third month in Japan, girls have a Girls' day festival or celebrate Hinamatsuri. This is when ceremonial dolls are brought out and special foods are prepared. These dolls are not played with by the little girls but are handed down in the family. 

Re-ment made a wonderful set that I was able to get my hands on before it went sky high. I still use it each year. With all the craziness going on, I was unable to get over and get the Japanese family set up this year. So I'm going to share my photos from last year. 

I have another Japanese Barbie I had wanted to include in this line up. I had purchased her at a show and never deboxed her. Hopefully I can get her out of the box and get photos of her.

Little Ivy is still keeping the Japanese traditions over here in America and carefully helps her mother and aunt set up the display. Looks like they are almost finished...

After the display is set up, Ivy's mother prepares the table for the family. The little wooden goldfish plate set is something I purchased on a trip to New York when I was about 13 years old and we were walking through Chinatown.

 

                       Happy Hinamatsuri! Great books to read for this day-

                          Little Plum by Rumor Godden ~ It tells how Miss Happiness and Miss Flower celebrate the doll festival to welcome Little Plum, the neighbor doll . A really wonderful innovative book with ideas on how to create your own dolls' dolls for this display like Nona did with matches and toffee wrappers. 

Tuesday Morning finds....

I am a complete sucker for Tuesday Morning, or Big Lots, or Ross stores simply because their prices on dolls and playsets and diorama goodies are too good to resist! Even when I know I have three, four, dolls incoming, and convention on the horizon, here I go, panting into Tuesday morning as if I'm 12 years old ago with my allowance burning a hole in my pocket. (Back then it was to the miniature shop or the toy store at the mall that sold dollhouse Concord miniature furniture. I used to think that saving up my allowance $3 a week- was torture to acquire a table and chairs or a tiny teapot. lol)

Yesterday as usual I had  aton of places to run and had lunch with hubby. I casually asked if he would like to go to Tuesday Morning nearby and he said yes. I foolishly thought- hubby is coming so I definitely will not find any sort of DOLL...WRONG!

Tuesday Morning has lately been selling Jun Planning or J-Dolls, the small Pullips and I had seen pictures of the J-Dolls on Saucy Suwi's blog (if link doesn't work click on my links to the left) and this little lady really floored me. The back of the box is written in Japanese or Chinese, and what caught my attention was her Victorian outfit. With her pale skin tone though she is a dead ringer friend for Sooki in my haunted doll family. She looks like a little ghostly waif. Her body is similar to a Momoko body in that her arms do not fully move like a FR or Barbie pivatol body, more of an Obitsu type. Her feet are flat and shoes did not stay on, theyare quite loose. Her name on the box is Mariya Loiza (I am guessing either Marie Louisa or Maria Louise??) and the dress is wonderfully, Victorian, detailed. There is even a lace and ribbon accessory pieces but she looks better without them on. At Tuesday Morning you will find a variety of these dolls with accessories for $19.99 !!!! I have seen other collectors use these dolls as young pre teens with the Momokos and Ruroko dolls as sisters or friends. There was another one I would have purchased but her Victorian outfit just took me by surprise- she is lovely. 

Morticia, Gomaz, the Countess and Dracula took to her immediately. She is a little shorter than my Momoko - I would say she is only ten inches high, but her head is slightly larger.

The outfit is a black puffed underskirt that has tulle to plump it out a bit. The overdress is of black gingham, trimmed with red bows and lace on the hem, underskirt, sleeves and collar, it is almost like a wrap dress. There is a large gingham bow or bustle in the back with panels of lace cascading down with red ribbon, it is very lovely if you can get it to pouf out like her skirts should. Her hair is long and wavey and gives a very etheral look. Reminds me a little of how I thought of Jane Eyre looking after coming out of the orphanage. She looks perfect in my haunted room diorama. 
Now what are you waiting for? You know you want one! Go shopping!