Grace and Dolly's Club Grace Garden Fun

July arrives!  And with it, the end of a long Club Grace Subscription hiatus!  It feels like so much longer than the few months since February, and the past season's last offering.  It was a white dress you could "dress up", and I was busy working on other things at the time, so I didn't play Club Grace in that last month.  If you recall, I was creating Mardi Gras costumes for several dolls and having a ball with it.  But yes.  Club Grace is back!  I got in and will be playing Grace and Dolly and Remmie Lou again while the current subscription lasts.

And there have been changes since February.  The most significant were the hiring of Christopher Johnson, and the retiring of that dear fellow, Stanley.  Christopher brings an exciting glamour and energy to dressing and displaying both the Tonner dolls and vintage fashion dolls. 

When we were told that Stanley was retiring and leaving 

Turn of the Century Antiques, I felt and heard a collective sigh of sadness round the world.  Stanley rocked Rachel in her cradle as a baby, and then her little daughter Holland Diane.  Stanley was much more than an employee.  He was family and always will be.  We'll all miss him.

But there are other changes that I've noticed as time has gone by, and as Rachel's little daughter grows up.  There is more focus on the contributions of Christopher.  And Holland Diane is a wee social media celebrity even before she knows what one is.  It's a joy to watch how things develop at Turn of the Century Antiques, but it's also a time of change.  Sometimes changes come quickly.  And how do some of us move along with and through changes in our lives?  By getting out in nature.

For myself, my Zen time in nature is by kayaking on the lake, or time spent in my hiking boots on a trail with my dog, Brighton. 

For others, it's getting out into their backyards and digging in good soil and planting flowers or seeds or starters to grow fresh garden produce.  There is nothing as delicious as fresh tomatoes or squash from your own garden.  And sweet cucumbers!

I'm not the gardener.  I'm pretty good with indoor plants, watering them with Miracle Gro, but I'm not a gardener.  When my husband was a child, he grew produce in his backyard.  His grandfather was a farmer in Alabama, and he learned love of the land from him.

During the summer months, he would tend his vegetable garden, daily pick the most beautiful of vegetables they would produce, load up his red wagon, and go door to door selling the vegetables to his neighbors and come home with an empty wagon and a pocket full of change.  He did this for years and saved every nickle.  So much so that his brother, when he married, borrowed money from David to take his bride on a honeymoon.

His mother told the story of how, when he'd till his field, he'd have a small army of robins following behind him, pulling at the earthworms the tilled soil would produce.  The robins would watch for him in the trees, then quietly swoop down behind him and hop along until all had full bellies.

Gardening, whether you grow flowers, shrubs, or vegetables is good for the soul.  Good for the soil.  Good for the earth.  Our garden is good for the birds and squirrels and the deer and the darned gophers!  Hah!  It's a constant battle to keep them at bay, but

David does a pretty good job of it with fencing and netting.  The overgrown vegetables get tossed over the fence into our field in what we call our compost pile, and it is empty the next morning.  The deer keep an eye out for the daily treat.  

The first Club Grace offering for the new season was called Garden Fun, and Grace was given a shorts overalls embroidered with flowers and a gardening hat and pink rose wellies.  

I studied the photos Rachel had provided us as well as Diana Vining's illustrations and paper toys and did my best to create something for both Dolly and Remmie Lou to compliment Grace's outfit.

The box came with a package of adorable Graham 

Cracker Bug Bite cookies, little play, doll sized vegetables and the assortment of story cards and stickers written and illustrated by Diana Vining.  A charming little box of garden joy!

Dolly's own short-alls (I think you call them that), were made from a denim skirt I never wore.  I actually save clothing just to cut up for doll clothing these days.  You never know what item will come in handy in a pinch.

Her wellies are leather with hand-painted roses on them that I drew in with those lovely alcohol markers.  She has a white t-shirt and a white straw hat.  I was confused with the straw bucket hats that were shown on Grace and didn't know that Grace would receive a canvas bucket hat of her own.  This is okay.  Dolly can have something a bit different.  The straps and shorts are closed with snaps.

Remmie Lou got a sun visor, made the same way I created Dolly's wellies.  

Diana Vining created a sweet little backyard fun game of a Remmie Lou treat toss.  Brighton would have consumed the hot dog first, but Remmie Lou knows that she must get all the paper treats in the hole in the net before the hot dog gets eaten.

This was a fun and summery change for the dolls since I kept them in the June Bride costumes until the new season of Club Grace came out.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to sign up for a third season so I could enjoy sewing for Dolly and display these dolls in something new each month.

Below, I'm sharing a few pieces of garden imagery.  One I like in particular, is the illustration by Harry Hintermeister of the little boy loading his cart with his dog looking on and imagining the mouths he'll feed from the labors of his hard work.  It's gorgeous!

We must have a one of anthropomorphic vegetables, one from a Victory Garden, and one that I can identify with.  Which is the little girl who turns her garden box into a miniature village!  That's me.  Oh!  The summers I spent in my grandmother's rock garden, making flower people and little homes for them!

Wishing you all the very best of the last half of July.  If you can't get outside in nature to plant something, enjoy watching something grow.  

Sending love, Melissa