Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer...

 I haven't had time this year to set up my Ginny dolls in a Christmas scene.  I've set up something every year for a long time, but this year I just haven't gotten around to it.  I'm also running out of new ideas.  So, I thought I'd post a picture taken some years back.  

You know the song..."Grandma got run over by a reindeer walking home from our house Christmas Eve."

GinnyFaith was horrified to see what happened to Grandma.  

GinnyFaith is a modern Vogue Ginny doll and she's my travel doll.  We haven't been on any trips in a long time though.  Grandma is a Richard Simmon's Nana's Family doll.

Merry Christmas!!  Betty

A Visit To The Pumpkin Patch

 Growing up in NJ I always loved Fall.  The leaves on the trees would gradually turn into beautiful colors and slowly drop to the ground.  To me there was nothing more fun than jumping into a big pile of raked leaves.  Back then people were allowed to burn their leaves and that smell always said Fall to me.  Now I'm in Houston and the leaves don't turn pretty colors.  Instead they shrivel up and die.  They slowly fall from the trees over the Winter months and in February the new buds push the last remaining leaves off.  So, all winter long we drag dead leaves into the house.  I hate it!  We don't really have a traditional Fall.  Here we basically have two seasons...a long, long Summer and a little bit of Winter.  I miss Fall so much.  I joke that before I die I want to jump into a big pile of leaves one last time.

I'm so envious of my little doll family.  They got to go to the pumpkin patch to pick their very own pumpkins.  It was a beautiful Fall day with just a bit of a chill in the air and the gorgeous colored leaves were falling. 

 Little GinnyFaith seemed more interested in the free candy rather than picking out a pumpkin.

And little Joey just wanted to play in the pile of leaves.  That's my kind of boy.

The rest of the kids headed over to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin.  There were so many to choose from!

Mr. Jeff kept a close eye on things.

And so did kitty...

 

Needless to say the kids had a great time!  

Happy Fall!  Betty

The Annual Easter Parade

 I grew up in the 50's and 60's in a suburb of New York City.  Every year I would see the New York City Easter Parade on TV.  That was back when everyone got all dressed up for Easter in new dresses, shoes, hats and gloves.  Anyone else remember?  Here's a trip down Memory Lane.  I'll never admit which one is me!

I recently wondered if New York City still had the Easter Parade and decided to google and find out.  Yes, the parade still exists but has definitely evolved over the years.  I guess when people no longer dressed in fancy outfits and wore gloves and hats the event had to change with the times.  Now it's more like a costume party with crazy outfits and elaborate home made hats.

This year my dolls decided to have a more traditional Easter Parade.  They put on their Easter outfits and lined up behind the Easter Bunny for a march down the main street of town.

My Vogue Ginny dolls, Nancy Ann Muffie, and Vogue Jill all wore seamstress made outfits that I've collected over the years.  After the parade they all had a chance to pose for photos with the Bunny or Chick and show off their outfits.

I was able to find dresses for Ginny and Jill made by different seamstresses but with the same fabric.  I bought one on Etsy and one on eBay.

A few of their friends wanted their pictures posted too!

A good time was had by all!  Betty

Easter Is Coming...

 Easter is coming and I have something new planned for Ginny and her friends this year.  In past years we've dyed Easter eggs and had Easter egg hunts.  This year I hope to have my new idea done in time.  Meanwhile I thought I'd share some photos of a past event.

This was the year we had a combination Easter egg hunt and dinner.

In the past I made Easter candy and Peeps for my dolls.  I'm glad I made the Peeps in the past when I was able to buy the Peeps in printed boxes, take the boxes apart, scan and reduce them.  Now the Peeps are sold in plain white boxes with printed cellophane.  I would not know what to do today.  In the past I just used plain cellophane on the printed boxes.  The Peeps are made out of polymer clay.  The chocolate candy is made out of the polymer clay too.

Many years ago I made some food for Easter dinner.  It was probably at least 15-20 years ago.  Today I might have done it differently but back then there wasn't a lot of information online or on You Tube videos about how to make it.

I think the "kids" had fun seeing the baby chicks that year too.

Here are a couple of close-ups of my Peeps.

And I thought I'd show you one of my doll cabinets.  I bought two of these cabinets when they were reduced at Home Depot years ago.  They were only $50 each and have nice deep shelves where my dolls live most of the time.  I'm able to shut the doors and keep them out of the light and away from dust.  The light isn't good for the vintage dolls.

Excuse the messy shelves.  Every so often I straighten them. :)  Betty

Christmas Decorating With My Dolls

 Normally I set my dolls up in little scenes for Christmas but I didn't get around to doing it this year so I used them as decorations in the dining room instead.  

I put some Ann Estelle Dolls and a Betsy McCall Doll up on top of the doll cabinet in the dining room with a couple of their friends.

Then I decorated by putting some modern Vogue Ginny Dolls on the dining room table.  I've been neglecting the modern Ginnys in recent years and I decided it was time for them to come out for Christmas.

I always put my mother's punch bowl in the center of the table filled with some of my parents' vintage ornaments. Surrounding the punch bowl seemed like the perfect place for my Ginny Dolls. 

I have a feeling my sons are going to be rolling their eyes when they see my doll decorations this year! 

Merry Christmas!!!  Betty

Memories...

When I was a child my mother sewed clothes for our Vogue Ginny Dolls one Christmas.  Mom was not a sewer and didn't even have a sewing machine.  She would wait until we went to bed at night and then sit and sew.  A neighbor showed her how to lay out the patterns on the fabric and Mom took it from there.  I've found that the outfits usually fit the slightly larger modern Ginny Dolls better than the vintage ones.  I think the pattern companies made the outfits a little larger so they would be easier for children to dress and undress their dolls.  This is one of the outfits Mom made.

 

In this picture you can see the tiny hand stitches.

I decided to hang some of Mom's outfits in my dolls' closets so I can see them more often than when they were stored in a box.

                                               

I believe the neighbor gave my mother some fabric scraps to use and I know the white dress with the red ribbon waistband was fabric from an old Eastern Star dress.  Lots of memories.  Betty