Thrift Store Finds: Madame Alexander dolls

I had some luck at the thrift store this weekend.

I went to check for AG stuff.

I did not find any.

Well, I did get Felicity's Story Collection, which turned out to be a hardbound collection of her books, with the illustrations.

My big find was that they had multiple Madame Alexander dolls in the locked case.

I remember very well drooling over these in the toy store.

Add in that I was not feeling very well, which made me feel I deserved a pick-me-up, and I got two Madame Alexander dolls of my very own.

There are Party Dress Wendy and Alice in Wonderland.

Party Dress Wendy is my favorite. I am renaming her Sherrie.

I love her short, dark, hair, and her totally unrealistic freckles.

It surprises me every time that she has blue eyes. I keep expecting them to be brown.

She has a very sweet but serious facial expression.

I got Alice because I love the book.

She complements Party Dress Wendy very well, with the different colored dress and hair.

However, Alice's eyes look upwards, giving her a more sulky expression.
She looks like she is rolling her eyes.

I do not like her underwear. It is well made, but she has a very long petticoat that peeks out from under her dress and pantaloons that go down to her ankles, hiding her striped stockings.
In my opinion, both of these apparel items are too long.

It makes me think of clowns. I like clowns, but not in connection with Alice in Wonderland.

I decided to take the pantaloons and petticoat off and store them, along with the doll wrist tags.

I think she looks better without them!

On a side note, this is why I don't like too much elastic in doll clothes. This doll is only ten years old, but the elastic on the petticoat already was giving up the ghost.

You still can't see her stocking in this picture, but they are there.

I am very happy with these dolls and slept with them on my beside table!

Lottie doll Mia in the Snow

Wildlife photographer Mia, who is made by the Lottie doll company, is such a fun doll to photograph.

If I am outside taking pictures, so is she!

I wonder what she is taking a picture of?

Maybe it is a hungry rabbit in the snow, or even a pretty bird, like a cardinal!

Saving Samantha

Both of my Samanthas have had missing limbs for at least two years now.

You may be wondering, why do I have two Samanthas?

Samantha number one is a Pleasant Company doll that I got on ebay when I was in grad school.

She was my third AG, and a childhood dream.

More than a childhood dream, I did not dare dream for more than the two dolls I had, Felicity and Anne.

Then I got the second Samantha, also on ebay, more recently, as part of a plan to give each of my cousin's daughters an AG doll when they are old enough. The girls in question are still a bit young for this and I am not sure how/ if I want to do this.

Amway, the Pleasant Company Samantha, which I had already worked on once, lost both arms and a leg, and the second Samantha lost a leg. Plus her remaining limbs were wobbly.

Call it The Curse of the Two Samanthas. It could be a Nancy Drew mystery.

Hearts for Hearts dolls in the Snow

A selection of my Hearts for Hearts dolls got to go out in the snow!

They were nice and warm in their hoodies made from a pattern by Requiem Art Designs.

Nahji looks cute in her elephant hoodie.

Tipi looks cute in a panda hoodie!

Mosi looks cute in a fox hoodie!

Kit in the Snow

Here is Kit, enjoying the snow!

Anne in the Snow

Of course Anne had to go out in the snow too!

Hearts for Hearts News

News from Hearts for Hearts!

The dolls that will be released in 2019 are Nyesha from Brooklyn and Zelia from Brazil.

While I will be happy to add Nyesha to my doll collection- she is very unique and pretty- I still really want to see Aya, the doll they showed at Toy Fair literally years ago and do not seem to be any nearer to releasing.



The Hearts for Hearts Instagram says that they will be released in August. I wish it was sooner.

It is believed that Lillian and Surjan will be released in 2020, but this has not been officially announced.

So we may not see Aya until 2021. I am very sad about this.

Surjan is the only one of these dolls I own currently, so she gets to have her picture posted.

I do not plan to get Zelia, Lillian or Lauryce, unless I find them at a great sales price or something.

Ellie in the Snow

Ellie wanted to play in the snow too!

Kaya in the Snow

After buying Kaya's winter accessories this year, I was very happy to get some pictures of her outside in the snow.

 I am sure Steps High was glad to get some exercise to stay warm.

It's actually really nice to have horses for the dolls to ride when taking pictures outside in the snow.
I didn't have to worry about them falling head first into the snow!

Felicity in the Snow

Felicity was happy to ride Penny in the snow.

Her green riding habit looks so good with her red cloak!

I couldn't decide whether to take pictures of her wearing her tricorn or with her hood up, so I took pictures of both.

She looked so pretty in the snow, it was hard to bring her back inside!

Taking Doll Pictures in the Snow

I live in a state where we get a lot of snow in the winter.

Even when you have snow, it takes, in my opinion, very precise conditions to take pictures of dolls in the snow.

The snow can't be too deep, or the doll will be standing in knee-deep or waist-deep snow.

YET the snow has to be deep enough to entirely cover the grass.

It can't be too long after the snow has fallen, or there will be leaves, twigs and other debris over the snow.

Today, I had great conditions for taking doll photos!

We had a layer of ice on the ground that was thoroughly covering the grass.

Then we got about an inch of fresh snow over the ice, so it looked fresh and white out there, and the dolls did not sink down into the snow.

However, it was pretty treacherous outside, so I did not go far. I didn't want to fall and hurt myself and drop a doll or two in the snow!
So I only took pictures in my back yard.

I actually had to hurry to get these pictures today, because we are getting more snow tomorrow and more doll pictures may not be possible after that.

I got a lot of pictures, which I will share soon!

Here are the dolls AFTER I finished taking pictures. My formerly clean table was a mess!

Another problem with taking pictures in the snow is how dark it is outside this time of year. 

Sometimes I take pictures on the night setting, even during the day, so that the exposure is better.

I hope everyone is managing to stay safe in this ferocious weather!

Meet Diana

When I bought Anne, I thought she would be my last American Girl doll ever. I earned the money for her myself, and it took nearly a year.

I put a lot of thought into which doll to get. 

Anne is a #6, but I almost got a #15.

I impulse bought this #15 from etsy 2 years ago.

I thought that maybe she could be Anne's twin, so I named her Diana, after the best friend of Anne of Green Gables.

I admit, though, I was nervous about changing Anne's story after so many years.

When I got Diana, she just didn't work as Anne's twin for me. She is taller and tanner than Anne, obviously a later doll. They just don't look right together to me.

I ended up not bonding with Diana, and will probably be rehoming her.

I hope she has better luck at her next home!