Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Merry Christmas from my house to yours!


I wish everyone the Merriest of Christmas.  I hope that everyone enjoy their holiday and has a safe and happy time. 

 My hubby and I will celebrate a quiet day with just the two of us.  All our children live too far away to come to our house and they all will be enjoy time with their children and extended family and friends.  We chose to live in the part of the country that none of the kids liked and so there is never much chance to see them.  They also live from one end of the country to the other so they don't see each other either except for every two or three years.  We were lucky this summer and two of the kids and three of the grandchildren were here in July.  That was a fun week of lots of activities in very hot weather.  Living, as we do, in Arizona, most people can't take the heat we have and are glad they don't live here. 

 There are times when I do miss the snow but........at my age, I sure don't want the cold or the snow and ice to drive in.  We both grew up in northern Illinois and as adults also lived in Michigan and Indiana the first 30+ years of our lives and that was enough, we moved to sunny Arizona.  So because of living here we don't have family close but we will make the most of our Christmas day.  There are 9 casinos just across the Colorado River from us in Laughlin, Nevada so there is always entertainment.  We just might avail ourselves to some on Christmas day.

 I wish to thank everyone who bought bears and dolls from me this past year.  You have all made me very happy with sales higher than I have had in the past few years.

 Merry Christmas
 Bear Hugs and Dolly Kisses
 Eva

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Big Sale on my website

I have so many dolls right now that I have marked a lot of them down and I thought maybe some of you would like to see what is still available.  I really need to add more things to the site but that will wait until after Christmas and then I will know what I have left.  I also have two big shows to do the first part of the year.  One antique show in February and a art and craft show to do in March so I need to get busy with sewing on some of the dolls that, at this point are naked.  Poor babies are all in a container and I have just been to busy and then ill for the last couple of months.

 I never get sick but this year has not been good to me.  First a sinus infection in October which in a week turned into a lung infection and took lots of medicine to cure.  Then just as I was feeling better and thought good it is over, I got the flu which completely wiped me out for a week.  Fingers crossed, I am doing okay this week other than the arthritis in the spine and that pain will never go away.

 I hope everyone has their Christmas decorations all up and everyone is excited about the holidays.  We have a quiet time here as none of our family lives close.

 So I hope you will take a look at my website and pick up those last minute gifts.  There is still time to get it in the mail if you do so in the next few days. 
 
 Thank you for taking a peek   http://www.ejcrafts.com

 Bear hugs and Dolly kisses to everyone.
 Eva

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving is over and now on to Christmas

Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one with just the two of us and we had a nice rib roast for dinner.  We are not turkey eaters and we do love a nice beef roast.  Of course we are still eating on it. 

 I know I haven't been around in a while and this time I have a good reason.  I was very sick for almost a month.  It started with a head cold and went to the lungs.  Didn't want to go to the doctor but it came down to that when the paramedics had to be called because I couldn't breathe.  Had some very strong antibiotics and steroids for a couple of weeks plus lots of other medicine and I am finally getting over it.

Then with all the weather changes the arthritis also went into high gear and there are days that I can verily get around.  Whoever said that these are the golden ages, should have been shot.  Old age is not for the weak!

 So after saying all that, none of which you wanted to hear, I have not been in the sewing room to work on any new dolls for over a month.  This is bad for me but then I have plenty of dolls so I don't have to worry that I am going to run out of stock.

 I did one show this year in October and it was bad.  It is usually a good money maker and the traffic was not there this year.  Don't really know why.    The economy around here is not good.  I was going to do the swap meet to get rid of some of the cheaper dolls and then I got sick and was unable to do that.

 My next show is an antique show in February and along with the dolls I have picked up some antique furniture this year to add to the mix.  Some is doll furniture, some children's furniture, a old 1924 cabinet and a 1954 sewing machine in a cabinet.  I hope this will bring more people into my booth.  Here is the cabinet that I have.
          


Now I also wanted to say tonight that I have a BIG SALE going on my website until December 10.  Everything will go back to regular price after that time.  I hope you will all take a look and see if there is something that you would like.  The website is http://www.ejcrafts.com    I would sure appreciate anything that you can do as being sick has kept me from doing the usual craft shows this year and my stock is pretty big.  My husband says he is getting to feel like he lives in a doll house or store and said I can't buy any more dolls until I get rid of some.  Little does he know that if I find something that I want, I am going to buy it.  Tee!  Hee!

Hope your Thanksgiving was great and you didn't over eat too much.  All the cookies, candy and Christmas parties are coming up and we will probably all gain a little over the next four weeks.
 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Procrastination

Yep, that is me.  I should be getting dolls priced and deciding  on a set up for a craft show I have next weekend and here I sit.....playing on the computer. 

I saw this sign this morning and I really think it is me.  "A clean house is a sign of a broken computer".  It really does describe me.  My house needs some cleaning and my sewing room is a mess from working in there and just dropping things anyway after I use them.  I am an organized person and everything has a place but it seems lately that I just don't get done what should be.  Is it age?  I don't know but maybe I can blame it on that.

Now if anyone has some answers for me or maybe you all would like to come and help, I sure would appreciate it.  :)

As for the show next weekend.  It is in the Community Park at Bullhead City, Arizona and if any of you are near the area, please stop by and see all the beautiful stuff that people have made.  October 21 to 23 is the date.  It is just across the Colorado river from Laughlin, Nevada so you can always stay and play at the casinos.  The weather should be great and in the 80's.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Why I love thrift stores

I have been going to thrift stores now for about a year and this is something I didn't think I would ever do as I was a teddy bear maker and they didn't have things in the thrift stores that interested me.  


Boy was I wrong about me and thrift stores.  I probably hit the thrift stores now 2 to 3 times a week.  Of course, part of that is because I no longer do the teddy bears, although I have been having people say that they think I will start doing them again one of these days.  I don't think so because I am having too much fun with the dolls.


Now back to the thrift stores.  I think I have pretty much depleted all the dolls at these stores.  I am not finding them like I use too but then I know there are others out there doing basically like I am doing with the refurbishing the dolls.  Anyway, I started looking for doll furniture mainly for displays for my craft shows but that kind of got out of hand and now I have a ton of doll furniture and some recycled pieces that didn't start out as doll furniture.  I have enough stuff to start a store of my own.  


So I started this blog posting mainly to talk about my newest addition to my doll furniture.  This is a real baby cradle that I found at the thrift store.  It was in with all the other furniture and not where the toys or dolls are at.  I thought it odd that this cradle was with the regular furniture but then it is for a baby.  I have several doll beds to but I really fell in love with this cradle.  It looks old and it looks homemade and it does show wear and use.  Wouldn't it be great if it could tell us where it has been and if it ever was used for a baby.  I made a new cushion for the bottom and a pillow to match in a blue and white cotton and then I had to put one of the dolls in it.  This doll is an interactive doll and does several things but it also plays the song "Lullaby and Good Night".  I think it was made for this cradle.  What do you think?



Monday, September 12, 2011

A funny little story

This is the doll that caused all the problems this morning.  I bought her months ago.  Didn't know who she was and at the time couldn't find her.  I got her without batteries so when I brought her home, I did what I also do with dolls when I bring them in the house.  I cleaned her up and added the batteries.  Nothing happened.  I could see that the arms were suppose to move because of the metal in the arms and the head seemed to want to move but nothing I could do would make her move.  I googled her and I looked at several other places and no doll.  All I knew was the tag that said Mattel 2006.

Well seeing I couldn't make her work and I really didn't know who she was and what she was suppose to do, I put her in the corner of my sewing room and thought someday I will find out who she was.  She sat there for months and.............

Forward to this morning.  I was in the sewing room going to work on a new pattern for a 12 in Alexander "Lissi" doll that I have orders for Christmas outfits.  All of a sudden I heard a noise and wasn't sure what it was and then I heard a giggle.  Now I knew I didn't have any dolls in there that make noises or talked so I just ignored it and then there it was again.  The little noise and a giggle.  This I had to check out!  I walked around and I could hear it again from a pile of doll stuff.  I moved a couple of things and there was this doll with it's arms moving and they went to her eyes and she said peek a boo.  I picked her up and she started talking and moving her arms more and her head moved.  I took her out to where my hubby was sitting and we both sat and listened for about 15 minutes to all the different stuff that she was saying and watching her arms move in different positions.  It was fun and to think I had thrown her in a corner and just forgot her.  Why she started to talk this morning I don't know but I decided I needed to find out who she was.

So I Goggle her and still couldn't find her and so I took the next step.  I have lots of friends on Facebook and I just knew someone there would know because this doll is not that old.  Sure enough within minutes I had my answer.  She is called, Little Mommy Real Loving Baby Doll.  She was made by Mattel but for Fisher Price. I found her on Amazon at a high price and she also was on eBay.  My next step was to get her dressed.  She had the original ribbons in her hair so those I left and she had come in a one piece pink suit but I don't like those outfits so I made her a pink cotton dress and matching bloomers.  A couple of the things she says is "I want my blankie" and "I want my teddy bear".  I had both of these items that I bought at the thrift store so just added those to her.  She also asks for milk and there was a bottle in the original package when the doll was new so I will find a bottle the fits her and add that too.

So even though it isn't Halloween yet and spooky things are not suppose to happen, I consider this my Halloween joke on me for the year.  I still want to know why all of a sudden she decided to work.  Now I have to turn her off or she wants to run all the time.  SPOOKY!!!!!





Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Memories

Did you ever wake up too early in the morning and then couldn't get back to sleep?  I did that is morning and so I just laid in bed and for some reason, I started thinking about buying gas for the car in today's world and what it was like buying gas when I was young.

Today we go in to all self serve gas pumps, swipe our card, select our grade of gas then pump our gas and drive away, never seeing or talking to anyone.   I did this last week and it cost me almost $60 to fill the tank.  I really don't like get gas for the car but then we don't go very far and I only have to do this every 3 to 4 weeks.  I know a lot of you out there do this every week or more.

Now for the story about getting gas that I was thinking about this morning.  When I was young, I never even thought about pumping the gas myself.  In fact no one pumped there own gas.   It was unheard of.  You had gas stations where you pulled into the pump, a nice man came out and asked you how much gas you wanted, pumped the gas then checked your oil and water levels and washed the windows in the car, took you money and thanked you for stopping by.  You usually only bought $2 worth of gas.  This would probably get you around most of the week.  The gas stations were also set up with a garage attached too it so when you needed to have the oil changed, a tuneup or even new tires, that is where you went.  You were on first name basis with the owner and whoever worked for him. 

I wonder if there are any of these type of stations still around somewhere in the back roads of our country.  I miss the friendly people from back then and someone else pumping my gas.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Family....Dolls......Pain....Everything that has kept me off here.

First we start with the family.  Two of our three kids plus two grand kids were here for almost a week.  I sure enjoyed having them here but it was too hot to really do any thing so we pretty much stayed in the home and talked, played on the computers, watched some television and put together a puzzle.  We did do a little shopping and ate a lot.  I didn't cook at all because the kids bought at our meals.  It was great as I really, really don't like to cook.

Then I guess I should talk about the pain.  I am pretty much living on pain killers.  I have been diagnosed with severe arthritis of the spine.  Some days it is hard to get out of bed and other days not so bad.  It is something I just have to learn to live with.  I had a couple of days of pity party but then, I decided it is NOT going to stop me and I decided  try to live a normal life for as long as I can.   I work a little and I sit a little and I walk a little and that is how I get through each day.   No one wants to hear about my aches and pains so that is enough......

 Now for my dolls.  My real joy in life right now.  The hunt for dolls is so much fun and my husband, I think, is having as much fun as I am going to the thrift stores.  There are times when I figure we were at one of the store just a couple of days before and here he is saying lets go check out this store or that.

 It has been a couple of weeks were we didn't find anything that we wanted and then this past week we have found 6 dolls that I can work on.  Some are named dolls and some are not.  Are the vintage dolls, no, but they are nice dolls to work on. 

 Here is one that I have not found anything about.  She is a sweetie with a cute smiley face and freckles.  She is 15 inches tall.  If anyone knows anything about this doll I would sure appreciate knowing.

These are the before and after pictures of her.  She has a little speaker in her tummy but it doesn't work anymore and there is no way to replace it without taking the doll apart.  I didn't want to do that as she was in great shape.  I decided she looked like an Irish lassie with her strawberry blond hair and reddish brown freckles.

I hope to be able to get on here tomorrow or before the week is out to be able to show you the doll I finished up today.  She is my BJD Southern Belle doll.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

It has been a while......

Yep, it has been quite a while since I have posted on here.  Where does the time go?  I have been getting more dolls and fixing them up.  I had been buying a few on eBay as the dolls that I put on there sold, I would use the money to buy other dolls.  Now eBay is flat in sales so I have not bought any more on there.  By the time I pay to have them shipped, it raises the cost and then I have to charge more for the dolls when I finish them.  We are still going to the thrift stores every week and finding some good buys.  Have bought quite a bit of furniture too so come fall and the craft shows, I will have the furniture to sell too.  Plus I also have some doll quilts that I have made and there are always the extra doll clothes.

Digging through all the old stock I had on the shelves, I found a few bears that haven't sold so have them on my website at a good price.  Need to get rid of that stock because I need the room.  I have also make some of the "Emma" dolls and have a couple of them on my website too.  I really need to get some more of them made.




Here is the one doll that I worked on this past couple of weeks.  It is a Madame Alexander,  18 inch baby doll.  She was such a sweetheart to work on.


And next we have the Lee Middleton by Reva,  17 inch boy doll.  His face was so sweet, I couldn't pass him up.  I made this outfit in a navy suede cloth. 

















I hope you like these two babies.  They are not listed anywhere yet but if anyone is interested in these dolls, please contact me.

Well we are starting to get a wind storm here so I guess I had better get off the computer.  Thanks for reading my blog and don't forget to leave comments.  

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

I am in love with a doll.

Yes, it is true.  My hubby and I go looking for dolls and doll furniture every week at all the thrift stores.  These are all old dolls in need of work and clothes and all that you already know.  I love the work I am doing with the dolls.  Last week we found some great doll furniture.  A wicker cradle, a love bunch and a wicker chair and one little doll that I got cleaned up.

Well today was our usual Goodwill day as it is 25% off for seniors.  We were going up and down the toy aisle and looking for dolls and rejected what was there.  We always stop in the porcelain aisle but because I have not had good luck with selling this type of doll and they are always priced higher, we just look at them and pass them by.  I picked up this Indian baby and said isn't she cute, to bad she is porcelain.  I put her back and we walked to the back of the store to see if there was any furniture, trims or fabric we could get.  Nothing there and I saw an oil lamp that looked nice from a distance but when I got up close it was to new to be sold as an antique so past on it.  I was ready to leave and just as we got up to where the dolls were again, John says don't you want this Indian doll.  I loved the look but know she probably wouldn't sell and that is what we do this for, but I decided, oh heck, I can buy something for myself once in a while.  She was a little messy but I got her home, brushed her hair and the fur on her outfit.  Then I found she did have a cute little necklace with bells on it.  She sits in a swing that is just attached at the top of the head.  Right now she is hanging in my kitchen but I am going to be putting her in my sewing room and I will be able to smile at her every day when I am in there.

I guess it is good to find something for myself once in a while.  She is dressed in lavender which is one of my favorite colors.  She has a couple of things I still need to fix.  Some of the feathers need replacing and one eyelash is missing but she is so sweet even if I never get the little things fixed.


By the end of the week, I should have another doll in the mail that I can work on but at this point in time, I really don't have anything new coming out.  I miss working on dolls every day.

Tomorrow I have to get an album together to take to a store so that they can show my dolls there.  I am hoping that one of these days they will carry some of the dolls and not just pictures of the dolls.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

I have had lots of fun this week.


Then it was onto the last of the Lee Middleton dolls that I got.  This one is a 15 inch toddler doll from 2000.  I just did her is a little white with red rose buds, cotton print dress and bloomers.  She is a little cutie with pretty brown eyes that seem to talk to you.

As this is the last of these dolls, I have  3 Alexander dolls from 1965 that I have to see what I can do with.  All have some ills and not sure I will be able to fix them or not.    These are 13 inch dolls and I am going to have to really work on them to be able to do anything with them.  Next week should be good for working on them.......but first I really, really need to clean the sewing room.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Back to designing.

After a pretty good show two weeks ago and then pretty much not really doing much last week, I have started to design long christening like dresses for dolls.  This is my first example of an outfit.  There are a few things I want to change but only minor and I am probably the only one who will notice what differences will be in the dresses and hats.  This dress was designed for this old Eugene doll that I had completely taken about and cleaned and put new stuffing in.  Some of the dolls that I get are in pretty bad shape and sometimes it takes my months to get to the bad ones.  They are always put aside as I work the on easier ones.  Minor cleaning and washing and setting hair is the easy part.  Some times though a doll will sit on the shelf, without any clothes, until I can find just the right fabric and dress design to use.








I just had to show everyone this tricycle I found last week at the thrift shop.  I was out looking for doll furniture as it is so hard to find and this is one of the things I found.  I have wanted one of these for years.   I have now stained it in a walnut so that I will be able to use it in my displays when I am doing shows.

Side note on this trike:  Dolls really don't fit too well on this trike so I actually may have to break down and design and make a bear just for this trike.  Funny idea when I said I wasn't going to do that any more.







So now today I received three Lee Middleton dolls by Reva Schick.  Two little 13 inch baby dolls from 2007, that I have started to make outfits for.  One will be in blue and one in peach.  These will be the long christening type dresses.  The 17 inch doll, by same designer in 2000, that I got, I am not sure what I am going to do with her.  We will just all have to wait and see.





Sunday, March 27, 2011

Great show and I am exhausted.

Well my three day show is over.  Sold lots of stuff and made some money.  Yea for me because in 3 shows over the last 6 weeks this is the first one that made money. 

 The first show was an antique and collectible show with lots and lots of people coming through and the sales for most of us were dismal.  The second show no customers showed up.  There just wasn't any advertising and as a first show this was a big mistake.  The show this weekend had good advertising and the sales for almost all the vendors were good.  People were buying.  I sold things I have been carrying around for 2 or 3 years.  I couldn't believe it.  It sure helped me get rid of stuff I just don't make or what to sell anymore. 

I talked to lots of people about dolls and may have a lead on a bunch of old dolls.  I will see if that pans out.  Hope so.  Then people are always asking me what I thought a certain doll is worth.  Some I could tell them my opinion and others I had no idea.  I told these people they would have to research it on the internet and always check Ebay as to what they are selling for on there.  They could even list on Ebay themselves and see if it would sell.  I don't buy dolls from people when they want full retail for them or I would never make any money. 

The price of dolls goes up and down so fast that there is no way of saying what sells at a good price today would sell at that price in two weeks.  It is all what customers or collectors are looking for at the time and there is just no predicting that. 

Now I have to find someone who will make me some more doll furniture cheap.  I am always being asked if I will sell the chairs that I have now.  Doll furniture at a good price is hard to find.  I do sell the chairs I have collected over the last few years and I am getting very low on chairs.  I wish I was able to make them but I just don't do that kind of work or have the work space to do them if I could.

Well I am exhausted tonight and just wanted to tell everyone that there are good shows out there. It took me a while to hit one but it did happen this weekend.  I usually don't do spring shows because my stuff has always sold better in the fall but I will continue to do this show every year. 

Now because I sold all my "Emma" soft dolls I have to make a bunch of them again.  I never thought they would go over as big as they have but they are unique with their four faces and they have been one of my best sellers in any show that I do.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Grrrrrrr Computer Problems

This has been a horrid two weeks of computer problems.  First my computer total stopped and I have to send it in for upgrades and repairs.  Then my husband's had a virus and because it hadn't been connected to the net his needed major updating.  So we thought we had everything taken care of and guess what.  After two days home from repairs, I got hit major time by hackers on my computer and it hit microsoft's operating system which shut it down.  They had added all kinds of junk to the system and it took another hour of special software by the repair guy to fix it.  Well we thought it was all fixed.  Little faith...because it still isn't right and now we wait for the repair guy to call tomorrow and with multi-fingers crossed.... hope he will be able to fix the rest of the problems.

Okay that is enough complaining about computers.  Can't live with them and can't live without them.

Now onto the good part of the week.  We picked up 4 dolls at Goodwill on Wednesday.  Good price on all of them and was not really sure what I had picked up but I am getting really good at spotting sellers.  I ended up with a 23.5 inch Corolle doll.  No picture of her here (will add picture to side bar of her)  because after I cleaned her up and made some new clothes for her, I put her on Ebay and she sold within three hours of the listing and will be traveling to France tomorrow.  Next I got a Ballini baby doll that I made clothing for, plus a Zapf Baby Born, which still has the original clothing and a Precious Moments doll completely dressed with tag still attached.  These are now on Ebay and seeing I didn't put a "buy it now" on them, I have to wait to see if they sell.

 The above is the Ballini baby doll.  She is 18 inch tall, with cloth jointed body and vinyl limbs and head.  She has the most electric blue eyes.
Then we went on to dolls that arrived in the mail, these I had picked up at a good price on Ebay.  The above is a Horsman, 14 inch all vinyl doll.  She had a long dress on but was not in good shape.  I had bought this doll because I had had several people bug me to make a bride doll.  I haven't made bride dresses since I was making them for my daughter's Barbie dolls back in the last 60's.  I really didn't want to make one but I thought just one.  I have a hard time working with white on white and all that bride fabric.  Eyes just don't see as well anymore.....That is another whole story and we WON'T go into that one.

I also got a 12 inch cloth and vinyl baby doll that is a Horsman too.  I did get the clothes done for her today but no pictures yet.  Maybe tomorrow after I have the computer fixed again.  Right now it is hard to get the pictures loaded on my computer.  I have to use a backdoor and them move them around a couple of times to get them where I can crop and fix them.  No fun.

Well that has been my last couple of weeks and I have a 3 day show this next weekend, so don't know when I will get back to post on here again.  I really need to do a better job of keeping up with my blog. 

Everyone enjoy your first week of spring and I hope your weather is warm.

Friday, March 4, 2011

What I have been up to this last week

I got this doll from a friend in a box of lots of dolls that she didn't want to deal with any more.  All I hade to do with fix her hair, wash her and her clothes and she was all ready for showing.  This is a Panosh Place doll from 1985.  She even has little purple earrings permanently on her ears.   She is called Honeycomb which is written on her hair clip.  She is completely original and the only thing that is missing is a comb that she carried in her purse.  I call her my Dolly Parton doll because of the hair.

I also have several other dolls that I have worked on this past week and as soon as I can figure out how to add more pictures I will show them to you.

I did my first Antique and Collectible show last week and it didn't go so well.  I talked to lots of people and answered lots of questions on dolls and heard lots of stories about their collections or what they had as children but the sales were bad.  Everyone admired the dolls and said what a great job I did on them and their clothes but that doesn't put money in my pocket.

I have two show this month and we will see how they go.  Both are art and craft shows and I can show anything that I want to show.   So seeing that is the case, I will take a few of my bears and soft dolls that I made and add some of the dolls I have refurbished and see how that goes.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Busy bee, that is me!

Busy, busy, busy as a bee. Get some dolls, clean them up and make clothes and then take some pictures and get them on the internet so that I can sell them and this enables me to buy more and the process starts all over.

I do so enjoy what I am doing. Any way that is my excuse for not updating my blog like I should. I even haven't even updated my website..bad move. I have been selling more on ebay so that has been where I have been putting my dolls.

Do you have a doll that needs a makeover? One that looks like the monster of the blue lagoon? Wild hair and dirty? They are fairly easy to make them look new again. Also if you sew, a new outfit always makes the doll look great.

Don't sew or want to take the time to clean them up? Email me and I should be able to help you. I only do vinyl or plastic dolls and they can't have any cracks in them or missing body parts. I don't have spare parts and cracks are hard to repair and look good. Most spots from ink, lipstick, nail polish will come off a doll. If not they do lighten enough not to be a bother.

If you want to try and clean the dolls up yourself, just email me and I will walk you through the process. No charge. I just want to help where I can. I may not be able to answer all your questions, but I will share any information that I have.

I will try to come and write more often and share with you some of the dolls that I have been working on. I just upgraded my computer so that is one reason I haven't been on here as the computer was gone into the shop for several days.

Have a good night or day, whichever it is for you. Write me if you need any help.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Dolls Finished up.

Okay, so I have been trying to get some of the dolls finished up before next week when I expect more dolls in the mail. These are all 15 inch dolls that have been sitting around a while. I have to leave them sit for a while and see what they want to wear. Some times it only takes a day and I know exactly what they should wear and sometimes it takes weeks and digging through my large stash of fabrics to decide.

This first baby doll is an Eegee, probably a 1963 Baby Tanya. This is the closest that I can find. She has a battery compartment in her back and a place for a key. Of course, I don't have a key so I don't know if she works. I figure she does if we can just find a key that would fit in the little hole.

She has been sitting probably for a month on my work bench without any clothes. She has a baby doll body but her face and hair is more of the toddler look. This week when I was a Goodwill I found this burgundy and black plaid, wood blend fabric and I knew right away this is what this doll needed. So here she is and I added a tam too and put some vintage buttons on the dress and tam. I have her listed on ebay this week.



This sweet little girl has been sitting in my sewing room window for a couple of weeks. She does have a problem in that her face and arms are paler than the rest of her. Now she can't be sold at the price that she should sell for.

She is an Effanbee, 1967 with really nice long blonde hair. I have dressed her in some vintange blue and white stripped cotton fabric for her dress and white panties, white knee socks and a pair of brown leather vintage high top shoes that I have had for a few years. I added the straw hat because she doesn't want to get a sunburn while she is out. In the days when this type of clothing was worn, women did not want anything but pale skin and always wore big hats and completely covered their bodies.



Now this last one is also an Effanbee doll. I love the faces on the Effanbee dolls. They are always so expressive. This is a 1962 doll called Gum Drop. She came with long hair in brown, red or blonde and it was always looked like the doll in the picture above. This poor little one has had a hair cut. Some little girl must have decided she didn't want the doll to have long hair. When I got her the hair was several different lengths and the bangs were all crooked. I have trimmed the bangs and evened out the rest of the hair and she looks cute with her little girl hair cut.

She is wearing the same dress that I received her in. I think it is a original dress for this doll. I made her white panties and gave her white shoes and a straw hat.

I think I was in a straw hat mood yesterday because the two dolls I did yesterday both have straw hats. And then there was a tam on the doll today. Hat time!

These last two dolls are listed on my website at a very good price for this old of a doll. Not considered vintage because of their problems but still have lots and lots of play time left in them




You have an old doll you don't want any more or have one that needs it's hair fixed or new clothes made for it. I do buy old dolls and I also can fix the hair and make clothes so that it will look new again. I do not repair old dolls.

I can be contacted through my website where I have my dolls and other things listed.
http://www.ejcrafts.com/

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Good Morning Everyone.

Here it is Wednesday and another day to see what I can get done. Wednesday is our day for grocery shopping. I am not a fan of grocery shopping but it is something that has to be done. Today is also pay day for us and a lot of the other seniors who live in this part of the world so today the WalMart is really, really going to be crowded with people and their carts. Why does everyone have to stand in the middle of the aisles to decide what they want on the shelf? I never could understand that one. And then the motorized carts.....I am not even going to start in on that one.

So, a bright spot in the day will be going to the thrift stores to see if I can find any more dolls. Last week, nothing but you never know what will be there. It isn't like I need any more dolls to fix up but the hunt is so much fun. I have several dolls that need clothes right now and I will get to them. Some just have to sit awhile while I decide what they will look best in.

I do have to thank a very special Canadian friend of mine. We have only met through cyber space but I feel she is a true friend that I could sit and talk hours to. Dale is a doll fan like I am and I was pleased to be able to get her the Chatty Cathy dolls that she had been looking for. She wrote such a beautiful comment about me in her blog and I just want to thank her for it.

Well it is time to get this day started. It is finally light out and I need to get off the computer, shower, dress and make the beds so that we can get going. It looks like no wind today so far so it sure will be easier to get around as the last few days, that wind has made it hard to even get from the house to the car, to the store and back.

Everyone enjoy their day.....happy Wednesday.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

New Year!

Here it is a new year and I have been so bad about getting to this blog. I just have not had the time to really get to any thing extra. December was a very busy month with posting and packing dolls for shipment and then the stand at the post office to get everything mailed. I had a good month but a busy one. January has started off good too and with fingers crossed, I hope it continues.




The first doll is one of the many dolls that I have bought and cleaned up and redressed. I really love doing this and I guess so does everyone by the number of sales I have had on these dolls. I love old dolls. There is just so much you can do to make them look new again and bring joy to a new owner. This one is a 15 inch Horsman vintage doll from the 1970's. She came to me in an dirty outfit and her hair was full of dirt and in ponytails. She washed her up and curled her hair and gave her a cute little dress and new shoes and socks. She doesn't even look like the same doll.

I have also added a picture of the "Emma" dolls that I made this past week. This has been a very popular design for me. I designed them last spring and they seem to sell as fast as I can get them made. One of these is already sold and I just got them done today and I don't expect the others will last long either. I don't have them on the website yet because I want to show all of these to the lady who bought one and I hope to get that done tomorrow. I take special orders on these with chose of color of outfit and hair. I think they have done well because each doll as all four faces and with the turn of the head they change their expression.