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

Back To School

A few weeks ago the Vogue Ginny dolls and their friends headed back to school.  Most of these dolls are from the 1950's so they wore their plaid dresses to school.  I grew up in the 1950's and that's what my sister and I seemed to wear most of the time back then.  I felt it was appropriate for the Ginnys to all wear plaid this year.  Of course, the boys didn't wear plaid.  I guess the plaid rule didn't apply to them.  If you look carefully you'll see a Cosmopolitan Ginger doll already on the bus.  She's wearing her plaid dress too.  I don't think you can see it so you'll have to take my word for it.  I actually had more dolls dressed in plaid but I couldn't fit them in these pictures.  A Vogue Jeff doll is the school bus driver and he made sure to wear his 1950's era plaid shirt.

 

 

 

I do seem to favor the plaid dresses on my dolls.  I'm really not into all the "frilly" clothes although I do have some for my dolls.  I guess it's because back in my childhood I never liked the "frilly" clothes myself.  I hated going to birthday parties because back then everyone got all dressed up.  I guess I've always been a casual type person.

Here I am in a plaid dress posing for a school photo back in 1954.  My mother made sure I wore a plaid dress but what was she thinking when she let me go out in public with that hairdo???  Remind me to tell my kids to burn any of these old B&W photos when I'm gone.

The school bus was given to me by a doll friend 15+ years ago.  As I recall it was sold at Target and was actually an art kit.  The roof opens up and there are sections for supplies.  We were just thrilled that the bus was the right scale for Ginny photos. You can't really see it but I added the name Medford School District on the side of the bus.  The Vogue Ginny Doll Company was located in Medford, MA at one time.  Betty

Foodie Mini Brands

 Last week I was walking through Target when I spotted the Foodie Mini Brands in the toy department.  In the past I've bought some of the Mini Brands Toys and Food balls, but this was a new one.  In case you've never seen these balls they usually have sections that you open and most of the time the things are 1:6 scale, but not always.  It's kind of a gamble when you buy one because you just never know what you're going to get.  Here's what the Mini Brands have looked like in the past:

This is what the new Foodie Mini Brands looks like:

The Foodie Mini Brands are packaged a little differently.  They're in a larger pink ball with individual packages that you open and inside is mostly fast food in 1:6 scale.  I bought a couple and then my son surprised me with a few more!  My Vogue Ginny dolls have been chowing down on their new food items.

They had a picnic in the park and there were Subway Sandwiches:

Food from Sonic:

A burger from White Castle:

And a burger from Carl's Jr.

These Foodie Mini Brands balls cost around $8 each.  I'm happy with what I got and now I'm going to resist the temptation to buy anymore!  Wish me luck.  Betty

The Last Days of Summer...

 The kids are getting ready to head back to school soon so they went to the park one last time for a little old fashion fun.

Ginny and her friends always have a good time playing when they get together.

There's nothing like having fun building something in the sandbox.  Little JJ Watt is paying close attention so he can build something next.  (Somebody better tell the cat that this isn't a kitty litter box!)

Playing miniature golf is always challenging.

One of the cats wanted a ride!  He's waiting for Ginny to push him around.

Playing on the see-saw is always lots of fun.

It's time to get the croquet game started.

The kids always like to climb.  They better be careful!

Those lazy days of summer will soon be gone.  Betty

(The playground equipment was from a Fire Flies Convention.  The miniature golf I got at Dollar Tree many years ago.  The Little Tikes Car was found on eBay.  The Croquet Set was made by Cherie Kaiser.  She was a very talented woodworker and made some cute things for Ginny.) 

Just A Little Pokemon Fun!

 The kids are keeping busy playing Pokemon this summer.

 Everyone is getting into the act and chasing Pokemon.

I'm not crazy about them spending so much time on their mobile devices but you know how it goes nowadays.

Miss Jill is supervising the activities and getting a suntan at the same time.

Do you play Pokemon?  I used to play but lost interest somewhere along the way.  Betty

One Of My Moods

For many years I had one of my childhood Vogue Ginny dolls and most of the clothes from my childhood stuck away in the back of a closet.  I didn't realize that people collected dolls and thought others would think I was nuts if I put my Ginny on display.  While living in Oklahoma in the 80's I purchased a Vogue Jill doll, but I still wasn't really collecting.  She joined Ginny in the back of the closet for safe keeping. From time to time I'd ask acquaintances if they had ever heard of Ginny dolls and the answer was always no. Then the Internet came along and my kids introduced me to eBay.  I wondered if there could possibly be any Ginny dolls up for auction. Not really expecting to find any I did a search.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  There were lots and lots of Ginnys!  The rest is history.  Through eBay I bought from collectors and before you knew it I had Ginny doll friends.  My dolls were out of the closet! That was around 1998.

I am not a mint collector.  For example I don't care if I have an outfit from 1953 on a 1953 doll.  I just want my dolls to look cute.  I also make changes to outfits if I think something doesn't look right.  I have actually always enjoyed "playing" with my dolls and acquiring furniture and accessories for them and setting them up in little scenes more than just collecting dolls.  I've always said that there are many different kinds of collectors which I think is good for the doll collecting world.  

Unfortunately, I'm running out of new ideas for different holidays though.  I also get in moods from time to time where I find that I need to give my dolls a little break.  I've been in one of those moods lately so I thought I'd post some pictures from Valentine's Day 2020.  Fortunately, my dolls haven't grown or changed much in 2 years.

Do kids today still have Valentine's Day parties at school?  Back in the 1950's we always did so my dolls continued that tradition.

Happy Valentine's Day a little early!!!  Betty

Finding Things In 1:6 Scale

 I love finding things in 1:6 scale which is the scale for Ginny and her family.  Not too long ago I found Lego for my dolls.  Since my real life kids loved playing with Lego when they were little I had to get some for my dolls.  I think I might have found it on Etsy but I'm not 100% sure anymore.

The dolls are reproduction Vogue boy dolls and a Madame Alexander boy doll.  I had someone make the blue shorts and shirts and then I decorated them with Cub Scout insignias, made the scarfs, and decorated the hats.  Yes, my real life kids were Cub Scouts too.

Today I'm working on cleaning out a couple of closets.  I have too much stuff!  I always have trouble parting with things, but I'm going to try and be strong.  I have a donate box all ready.  Wish me luck!  Betty

Boys Will Be Boys

 I was glad when the Vogue Doll Company came out with the reproduction boy dolls.   Being a Houston Texans fan I decided one of my blond boys would be JJ Watt as a child.  I know he wasn't a Houston Texans fan back then because they didn't even exist until 2002.  That's OK because it's my imagination and if I want him to be a Houston Texans fan so be it.  I made little JJ's outfit. The other boy is wearing a Vogue outfit.

When my youngest son was little he enjoyed playing with Masters of the Universe toys.  Talk about coincidences...my boy dolls like to play with them too!  I was thrilled when I found some in 1:6 scale.  Betty

 

Playing With PlayDoh

My doll friend Sharon made PlayDoh for my dolls!  Sitting around the table from the left is a Madame Alexander doll, a vintage Vogue Ginny, a reproduction Vogue boy doll, and a Madame Alexander boy doll.

 

The table, chairs, bunk beds, and the rocking chair are vintage and from the 1950's.  I sometimes see this furniture on eBay and the sellers will say it's from the 1960's.  I guess that's possible but I had a table set and bunk beds like these in the 1950's.  It's made of a soft type of plastic.  The yellow shelf in the background was unfinished when I bought it at either Michael's or Hobby Lobby some years back.