MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holiday! Thank you for visiting my blog and all your kind words. May you all be blessed this season.

It doesn't show up very well, but the dolls are standing on a fleece throw Spunk made and gave me for Christmas. Thank you so much, Sweetie! Love, Mom

Another exciting giveaway at Daydream Doll Boutique.

Hello friends. I just had to share this giveaway with all of you. It is for an American Girl doll! Who among us wouldn't love to win that???!!! Just go to this site and follow the instructions. Good luck everyone. If one of my readers wins, I hope you'll let us know so we can rejoice with you. Here is the address: http://daydreamdollboutique.blogspot.com/2013/11/daydream-doll-boutiques-amazing-holiday.html?showComment=1385906225300#c1597387593699294483

Thank you for stopping by.

Where to Start...

Hello. It's been so long since I've blogged that I almost feel the need to reintroduce myself. To my followers, Thank You. I still need to learn how to "follow" someone on here, as I read your blogs on a regular basis and am inspired and comforted by them.

First, I'd like to wish Seranata's Peggy Sue a very Happy Birthday. Her dolls threw a splendid party in Peggy Sue's honor. You can read all about it here: http://howmanydolls.blogspot.com/2013/11/party-time-happy-birthday-peggy-sue.html#comment-form . 

I suppose I should begin with the most exciting acquisition. I finally bought a Sasha doll. I made a very low offer on ebay, and the seller accepted it. She is a birthday present to myself, although I really don't need official reasons to buy dolls. Every day is a dolly day! She is an original Sasha doll. I've thought of several potential names for her, but I keep calling her Sasha. I'm pleased to say that the other dolls have given her a very warm welcome.

As a lover of nature and particularly botany, I couldn't resist buying Venus McFlytrap. Carnivorous plants have always fascinated me. She has become best friends with a much more sedate looking Moxie girl. I suppose opposites do attract in some cases.

 

"That giant cat doesn't scare me. After all I AM a monster."

 

Here is a little beauty I found at Tuesday Morning a few weeks ago. She is jointed and was only $20. She reminds me of the beautiful artwork in the old anime shows we love to watch. I've not named her, or really 'played' with her. She looks so pretty in Spunk's room that I've just left here there on the sewing machine table.

 

 

 

 

I've been a little frustrated lately because I am not adjusting particularly well to 3rd shift, and I don't have the energy or mindset to sew right now. Also, I have a lot of work to do in my home (repair and remodeling) and I am working towards qualifying to teach high school science. The Department of Education has sent a letter stating that I have all the required college courses and now all I need to do is study for/take the Praxis test. I am excited about making my house nicer and the prospect of getting to teach science instead of driving a forklift on 3rd shift. And yet through all this, my dolls still are a huge part of my life and bring me a lot of comfort and companionship. Instead of fretting that they're not the best dressed dolls in the world, I am simply going to share their interaction in our lives. This is an exciting time for us and we feel immensely blessed. So, please join our motley crew on this adventure! As always, thank you so much for stopping by. (And if any of you can tell me how to follow other blogs on here, I'd be very grateful lol.)





Exciting Giveaway on A Fellow Doll Lover's Blog

Hello. I wanted to share an exciting Giveaway opportunity with you. Daydream Doll Boutique is giving away this Little Red Riding Hood costume with all the extras your 18 inch doll could want. Entering the Giveaway is easy. Here is the link to the site: http://daydreamdollboutique.blogspot.com/2013/10/enter-our-happy-halloween-giveaway.html?showComment=1380957701005#c868128720525191668

I wish you all the best of luck! Thanks for stopping by.

A New Friend for Autumn

Hello. This is an Autumn Leaves Lottie doll. I won her in a giveaway on Beast'sbelle's doll blog, http://nevergrowupdollguide.blogspot.com/ . Thank you, Beast'sbelle! I'm still as excited as a child about having won her. She is only 7 inches tall, and seems very well made. Her hair is shiny, and looks like it will stay nice. I wanted to take her picture somewhere other than my desktop, but she's made herself at home here, so the desktop it is. This is a reasonably priced line of dolls (currently available on Amazon), and I love how young and innocent she looks. Her clothes are well made and as you can see, very detailed. She even came with a little winter jacket, scarf and hat. Thank you for stopping by.

"I like this guy. He has big eyes just like me!"

"Now if it would only cool off in the southern United States."

"I'm just the right size to go exploring."

Another Corolle Les Cheries Doll

 Hello. The doll on the left is a Corolle Les Cheries doll I found on ebay. She came to my house in need of a bath and shampooing and was only wearing her birthday suit. This is her after an evening at the spa and wearing a new dress I made her (and panties just like her sister). I actually used some of my stash on her dress. That always feels good. Here are a couple of full length pictures of the dresses.

 

 

 

I've always enjoyed making pillowcases. When my children were small, I'd buy a yard of print fabric of whatever they were into at the time. I've made pillowcases with everything from whales to My Little Pony on them. Spunk's bed was in need of an upgrade, so I got into my stash and made her a wolf pillowcase, a horse pillowcase, and a neon horse pillowcase for her body pillow. She's delighted.        

 

 

 



 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by. =)

Sewing at last!

It has been such a long time since I have sewn anything, let alone fussy little doll clothes, that I find I'm quite out of practice. My little Corolle Les Cheries doll, Ines, came as a ballerina. I've never been particularly fond of ballerinas/princesses, and besides her feet looked like they were killing her in those stockings and ballet flats. Also, she had no underwear. Spunk says I'm crazy, but I think panties for dolls are just as important as they are for me. Here she is at last with a new dress (and panties). I've never made doll shoes. Eventually I'll get my courage up and try to make some.

"I'm still waiting for that cammie you suggested Mom make, Aunty Audra!"


 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by.

The 1950's Doll I Thought I'd Never Own

 

 

 

I have seen these 1950's era dolls on several blogs, and always thought they were beautiful, but since I really know nothing about them, I always assumed that I wouldn't own any. Well, a spur of the moment trip to the Goodwill Warehouse changed that. After Spunk's dental checkup, we debated whether or not we felt like thrifting. I leaned toward going home, and after some deliberation, we decided we needed an adventure. The tables/bins were picked over and about half empty. We'd been thru three or four bins when I spotted this doll. After consulting a blogger friend, I feel certain she is some type of  Valentine doll. Most Valentine dolls seem to have high-heel shaped feet and this doll's are flat. Most of the Valentine dolls on ebay look exactly like her. I am still pinching myself to see if this is a dream. I think she is beautiful! The scariest part of all is that within just minutes of picking her up, an employee announced that all the bins would be taken away (to go to the dump) and new ones brought in. I can't even bear to think about her ending up in the dump.

Here are a few more pictures of her. She is a little over 19 inches tall. As you can see she has knee and ankle joints. She has most of her hair, but it is so dry and brittle and matted, that I am afraid even the miraculous "Downy dunk" won't save it. We shall see....

The poor dear was completely unclothed when I found her. She is borrowing some clothes I bought for a magic attic doll years ago. Thank you for stopping by.


"Hmmm. This Downy stuff better be pretty good."

"I feel like quite the lady."

"Oh no! We didn't wear miniskirts in my day!"













 

A New, Portable Little Friend

This little gal helping me with my school work is a Corolline Mini Doll. Our friend, Big Guy had given me a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas, and I finally used it to purchase this doll and a book on crocheting and knitting for small dolls. I haven't thought of a name for her (I welcome all suggestions!!!).

I'm not sure how well you can read the ruler, but she is a mere 8" tall. I was wanting a doll that I could easily slip into my purse or backpack for those days when I just feel like I'd enjoy a little dolly company on the go. So far, I am really pleased with her. Once again, I am eagerly awaiting the removal of this cast so that I can begin either sewing or knitting for her.

One last picture of my little girl. Thanks for stopping by!

A New Arrival...Finally!

Hello. This is my beautiful new little girl, Robin. She is a My Twinn doll and is 23" tall. I bought her from ebay. Fortunately (Unfortunately?) I am very experienced at buying dolls from ebay, so I know how to track a package and know about how long something should take to reach me. The lady who shipped her to me mailed her on July 5, 2013. I checked on the status of her tracking far more often than I probably should have, and by July 8th, the status hadn't progressed from the pkg having been accepted in Alabama. I contacted my post office, and my mail carrier even called me to explain they hadn't seen the pkg. I opened up a case on ebay, and finally early on the morning of July 10th called the Alabama post office and asked about her. The clerk explained that she's been sent off once and returned to their post office and that she'd sent the pkg back out on Saturday July 6th. I then called my own post office here in South Carolina, and the clerk here told me that they did indeed have a pkg for me & that the writing on the label had been almost completely washed off. I asked if I could come get her, and the clerk replied that since I'd been put thru so much that she'd bend the rules and let me come to a special door and pick her up before the PO opened.

When I got her home, Spunk and I cut thru MANY layers of tape and paper, and found her crumpled up in the bottom of the box wearing this toddler's dress (tied up tight in the back so it did look ok).

We dedided that she'd spent WAY too much time in that baggy toddler's dress and that she'd be much more comfortable in some hand-me-down Build A Bear sleep pants. We didn't have a shirt her size so we made a trip to the Miracle Mart (a very worthy charity thrift store) and found a brand new bright green t-shirt that fits her perfectly.

After we got Robin settled and in more comfortable clothing, she joined Spunk and I for a few episodes of one of our favorite animes. Robin decided that a pink rabbit in our toy stash looked like a magical animal in the anime, and instantly made it her own. Here are a few pictures of Robin soaking up the sun on the back of our couch and at play in our yard:

 

 

 

 

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking a couple of college classes. I've had a huge amount of homework lately and have felt bad about neglecting Robin and our other dolly family members. Here is a picture of them entertaining themselves (on my unmade bed *blushes*) as I study:

 

 



 

Thank you for visiting our little corner of The Dolly World!

 

 

 

 

What should I call this...a "new" beginning?

Hello there! Well, I had wanted to start dolly-blogging a little while go, but my wrist ended up being broken, which kept me from doing many things that I had planned on doing. For the mean time, crocheting and sewing has been put on hold, so allow me to introduce everyone! Let's start from the beginning...

First, I am Raine Crowe, or just Raine. I have loved dolls all my life, and I have acquired them from my daughters and my old ones, but I am now officially collecting them. I have a daughter who I will call "Spunk", and we are the absolute best of friends. She never really liked dolls even as a little girl (always played with her horses no matter how many dolls I would buy for her), but she has helped me clean my dolls that I am collecting now. But, thank God, I have led her to the Light of Dolly Fever! She chosen two of the dolls in our huge collection, one which is a new member, and one which is an old Barbie we dug up and she wants to OOAK. Then there is JJ and Alice, our dogs. JJ is the two year old red doberman that we rescued last year and Alice is the five year old, white pitbull we bought when she was a puppy. Owl is our year old calico kitty, and then there is Baby, who is a fuzzy gray kitten that has huge eyes and a funny little personality. So, as one can see, we are a huge, happy family full of girls, that is not including all the dolls!

My favorite doll is Li'l Raine Crowe, who is the third doll to the right. She is a 18" Daisy Kingdom doll, who I have had since around 1991 or 1992 when she was brand new. She has been through a lot and survived it all, and that is partially what makes her so special to me. She sits with Spunk and me whenever we are simply hanging out at home, and she often tags a long on "adventures", as Spunk and I call any sort of errand, if it isn't too hot. She has ridden in the cart once at A.C. Moore, when we got her pink crocs, which go with a Daisy Kingdom panel-dress that I ordered, but she wanted to go ahead and wear them now.  All the way to the left is Molly (American Girl Doll) that we rescued a few months back. She is in good shape, and this is the dress I made for her when I first got her. I also put in the addition of new ribbons in her hair (any Molly owners/lovers know that she loves her ribbons) to match the ones with her dress. I had to buy her glasses for her, but I didn't mind because I knew from Spunk's Molly that her original glasses don't fit well. I only just found her nurse doll recently while Spunk and I were sorting doll-stuff for a new doll house we bought. Next to Molly is a Madame Alexander Doll that we have named Prissy, short for Priscilla, because she is prissy! She is the newest addition to the family, and we found her at the closest Miracle Mart on one of our adventures. Finally, on the far right side of Li'l Raine Crowe is Sir Charles. Spunk and BG (Big Guy, a good family friend of ours) bought Sir Charles for me several years ago because Spunk knew that I love sock monkeys. He only notified me recently that his name was Sir Charles. I was quite curious of why he had only now just told me when I have been calling him "Monkey" this entire time. These are my four favorites, since I happen to like larger dolls more than smaller.

Please excuse the delay getting this blog going. I've started back to school this week, and all my crafting has to go on hold. Hopefully things will settle down enough for me to get a few things posted. Thank you for your interest and patience. =)

Beginning

Hi. I'm Raine. I've recently been following a couple of doll making blogs and am now inspired to make my own. I have to balance my crafting with work and mothering, but I do steal a few minutes here and there to crochet, sew or play computer games. I love all things "doll"...crocheted dolls, cloth dolls and doll clothes. So here goes: Now begins my blog about crochet, sewing & dolls with a little gaming and life thrown in for color and texture. Be blessed  =)