Googly Doll at Christmas

I get the feeling that my dolls are feeling a little neglected again as I have not posted anything here in awhile so tonight I ran across this picture of my Googly doll that I took at Christmas time over 20 years ago and thought I would share it with you.  

Merry Christmas!

A NEW BLOGGER AWARD

Thanks to Tardevil at Confessions of a 40 Something Mama Queen for this special award. I love it and appreciate so much that she gave it to me for this blog. I hope you will go visit her blog. You might be interested in how she got the name Tardevil. I was. She has a very interesting blog.

Here are the rules that go along with the award. 

 Add the award image to my/your sidebar.

2) Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post.

3) When posting on receiving the award, make sure you include the person who gave you the award and link it back to them.

4) Post 5 of your addictions.

5) Post 5 winners and link it back to them as well.

6) Let your winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

My Five Addictions:

• Blogging has got to be one of them.
• Shopping
• Dark Chocolate
• Dates & Nuts
• Watching Fox News Channel

In the spirit of the holidays I just can't chose 5 people, so if you are reading this, and if you are a fan of my dolls, I would like for you to have this award. I know this sounds pretty generic, but so many of you have fabulous blogs and I would like to give the award to every one of you. 

Friday Show & Tell

I've been neglecting my dollies the past few weeks so decided to do my Friday Show & Tell on this blog. These pictures are of the same doll, of course, but different trees, different years, even different houses. The pictures at the bottom were taken when we lived in California.

Thanks to Kelli for hosting Show & Tell. Be sure to visit her blog for links to more blogs. Just click on the picture at the top of this post.

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

I did not make this doll head. I bought it at Joanna's a few years ago. I posted a picture of it on my other blog for Trim the Tree Thursday but when I saw that Sarah at Everyday Elegance Favorite Things Monday was featuring favorite tree ornaments today I decided to do this post. This is one of my favorite decorations. It is usually the first one I put on the tree every year. 

This is another of my favorites. Actually I have 5 of these now. My daughter gave me the first one that she got many years ago when she was working for the Red Cross. Someone where she worked made it and since it didn't match her decorating style, she asked me if I wanted it. Of course I did. That was just my style. I liked it so well that I made 4 more like it. 

I hope you will visit Sarah at Everyday Elegance for more Favorite decorations. You may even want to participate by posting your favorite decorations. Having more than one blog comes in handy sometimes. I had already done a Blue Monday on my Charlotte's Weblog blog when I discovered that Sarah was doing favorite decorations, and I couldn't resist joining that meme too. I love this time of the year. 

BTW did you notice the new widget on my sidebar for our Spiritual Sundays blog? Ginger just made it and I think it is fantastic. 

GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART

COUNTY FAIR

Visit Kelli for more Show & Tell Posts.

First of all - here's a group picture of some of my dolls.

I entered these four in the San Joaquin County Fair in 1988.

I took first and second place in two size categories. This is the first and only time I ever entered anything in a fair. I was kinda proud. No, actually I was very proud. Oh, and I got a check for $50.00.

Hugs,

Charlotte

KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD & A TAG

Carrie of Oak Rise Cottage has graciously given me this award for my Doll blog. Thank you Carrie. I am honored. I enjoy so much sharing my dolls with my blogging friends and it is nice to be appreciated. I appreciate all the lovely comments I have gotten on this blog as well as

 my other ones, Charlotte's Weblog, At Home in Scottsdale and Spiritual Sundays which I cohost with Ginger of Enchanting Cottage.

Carrie also tagged me to list six things I value and six things I do not value. So, here they are.

6 Things I Value:

1. Relationships (with God, family & friends)
2. Family traditions
3. Honesty & Integrity
4. My computer and the time I get to spend on it
5. Comfortable shoes that are "cute" as well
6. Living in the greatest country in the world.

6 Things I Do Not Value:

1. People who take advantage of other people
2. Rude or mean spirited people

This is harder for me. I can think of a lot more things that I value than things I don't value. Oh well, I'll continue ----

3. Appliances that break right after the warranty expires

4. People who are always late. I think this is a form of disrespect

5. People who vote without being educated on the person or the issues

6. Bad language

Now I want to pass the award and the tag on to the following: (in no particular order)

1. Katherine at Yellow Rose Arbor

2. Cherdecor at Cherdecor

3. Sarah at SarahLifiC so terrifiC

4. Kathi at Lavender, Lace and Thyme

5. Lady Katherine at Lady Katherine Tea Parlor

6. Jeanette at Jen's Chronicles

I enjoy all of these blogs and appreciate their creativeness. 

VINTAGE DOLL

This week for my Vintage Thingies Thursdays I'm featuring my Madame Alexander Jeannie Walker doll.

This is the doll that Santa Claus brought to me back in 1942. It has pins in the tops of the legs and it is suppose to make her "walk". It never really worked but it was a beautiful doll. Some of you may have seen this doll before as I featured it on my other blog a long time ago. She is still wearing her original dress.

This is me holding the doll when it was new. That's my cousin Jerry with me. Isn't this a funny picture? I suppose they moved the Christmas tree outside to take pictures since this was in the pre-flashbulb era.

You can see other Vintage posts at The Apron Queen's blog. 

JOY

If you followed the butterfly over here from my main blog on Tuesday, you know that today Joy is the subject of my Show & Tell. Joy is one of my most popular dolls. Everybody likes Joy. Below is a picture I took of her and Gloria soon after I made them about 20 years ago. 

Here's Joy with a new wig. I think this one looks better on her than the darker one. The picture below is truer to the actual color.

This picture and the one above was made in our backyard in California. The pink camelias were off of our camelia bush. I just broke off a branch and laid it on the bench. 

Not only did Joy get a new wig, she got a whole new outfit as well. This is the one she still wears 20 years later. I sold the other dress to someone in my doll class that didn't sew. I made these shoes she has on too.

Here she has boots on. I bought the boots. I didn't make them.

This is Liesel. I made this doll for my daughter. She picked out the wig for her and told me what she wanted her to wear. Liesel was made from the same mold as Joy. I love this wig she has on. Guess I should have had my daughter pick out wigs for all my dolls. 

Thank you for visiting Joy today. Thank you to Kelli at There's No Place Like Home for hosting Show & Tell. You can go there to find a lot of other interesting posts.  You can go there by clicking on the Show & Tell picture.

DID YOU CLICK ON THE BUTTERFLY?

Hey brave person. My name is Joy. I am one of the dolls that Charlotte made - one of the first dolls. I want to invite you back here on Friday. Charlotte tells me that I am to be the subject of her Show & Tell this week. I'm glad you clicked on that butterfly so I got to meet you or you got to meet me I should say. That lady that made me gets a little silly sometimes, but she means well. 

xoxo Joy

I'VE BEEN TAGGED

Carrie of Oak Rise Cottage has tagged me to tell 7 unusual or random things about myself so here goes.

1. I got my first permanent when I was 2 years old (1938) at a beauty parlor where they used those heated roller things. 
2. I learned to drive on a gear shift car, but can't drive one now.
3. I used to walk 10 miles to school in the snow (no -  just kidding). 
4. I rode a camel at the pyramids in Egypt.
5. I won a horse at a roller skating rink when I was a teenager.
6. I don't like mustard, mayo, catsup or special sauce on my hamburgers. 
   
7. I prefer a bowl of cereal to eggs etc. for breakfast.
   
8. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 40 and now I drink it twice a day.
   

Hey, that's 8 things. Oh well, one of them didn't count.

Here is a picture of me taken right after I got that first permanent.

Instead of naming those I wish to tag, I'm going to let you consider yourself tagged if you are reading this. 

A MAKE OVER

I was never happy with this doll after I made her. I thought I had hollowed out the eye sockets too much and so the eyes I had to use were too large and didn't especially like the way I painted her face, so one day I decided to just make her a new head.

This is still the "old head" but it looks better here because of the lighting. BTW I took this picture in California on our front porch by potted Azalea plants. Azaleas did wonderfully well in California. The only way we can grow them here in AZ is as houseplants. 

Here she is with her new head. I decided to give her a new wig too. These heads were made from the same mold, but look quite different. This picture was taken in front of a picture. The wooden books are real. They are still in my doll room.

I took a lot of pictures of my dolls back when I made them. In fact, I have a whole photo album filled with these pictures. Photography is another passion of mine, one which I'm enjoying even more with the invention of digital cameras.

Thank you for visiting my Show & Tell. If you are here now (and you obviously are or you wouldn't be reading this. lol) you probably came here from Kelli's place. If you happened to just "stumble in here", click here for more Show & Tell posts.

BUNNIES for SHOW & TELL

Are bunnies dolls? Probably not. So why am I featuring bunnies on my doll blog? Because I want to. Let's just call them bunny dolls and they can pass for dolls.

I made this little bunny family over 20 years ago. I don't have them anymore. I was trying to remember what happened to them. I think - I'm pretty sure - I gave them to one of my nieces. I remember I had fun making them. I decided they needed a spot here in my doll blog so here they are.

I'm grateful to Kelli for hosting the Friday Show & Tell. I've enjoyed participating in this for a long time and I look forward to it every week. Go there to link to lots of interesting S & T posts.

Hugs,

Charlotte

H

DANFORTH, RALPHIE & AN AWARD

Before I do my Show & Tell for today I want to acknowledge this award from Carrie at Oak Rise Cottage. She gave me the award specifically for this blog. I haven't been doing this one for very long and am so honored that she gave me this award. 

Now, I'm suppose to give the award to at least seven people. When I started thinking of who I should give it to, I decided to see who had made comments on my Dolls blog. There just happened to be 7 comments on the first post, so I picked those 7. Only one little problems. One of those people was Carrie who just gave the award to me. So, Carrie, I will give you the award as well. Here are the other six people and here are the rules.

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated.

ceekay at http://thinkinofhome.blogspot.com/

Katherine at Yellow Rose Arbor

ginger at http://thank-youjesus.blogspotcom/

Louise at http://pinkgate.blogspot.com/

Kate at http://singlehearteddevotion.blogspot.com/

Mam at http://morthanenough.wordpress.com/

Dan Quayle was the Vice President when I made this little guy. That's where I came up with the name Danforth. Some of you may not know that Dan Quayle's name is Danforth. That brings up a political thing because I can't think of him without thinking how the press destroyed the man. Do you think they would have been so vicious if any and I mean any Democrat had stumbled on spelling the word potato? I shouldn't get off on that path.  I apologize. I had no intentions of doing that when I sat down to write this post. Soooo back to the doll. If you have been to my regular blog in the last couple of days you will see that I used this picture in the header. Click here to go there. 

Here is a picture of Danforth pulling Ralphie in his little wagon. If you have been reading my blog for a long time you may remember this doll as the two faced doll. One side has a smiling face and one side has a frowning face. The bonnet covers up the second face. If you would like to know more about Ralphie and see his other face, you can click here to go to that post.

I appreciate all the lovely comments I have received about my dolls. I had so much fun making them. Some have a hard time believing I made these dolls. I know how you feel. The first time I saw the doll our teacher had made, I thought "no way". You can't make a doll like that. But it really isn't hard when you have a good teacher who provides the greenware and shows you how to do it. Now I'm happy to share them with all of you. Have a great weekend.