Tiny Betsy Little Devil

Halloween week has arrived.  Half my ceramic pumpkin bowl of trick-or-treat candy has already been enjoyed.  While I do this for my husband mainly, I love a trick-or-treat bowl of candy in the house.  Its only filled with the mini chocolate bars that were so coveted come Halloween night.  Mini Baby Ruth, Butterfingers, Milky Ways...you know the ones I'm talking about.  When we'd arrive home, I'd dump my candy loot on the floor and separate the candy out by type, saving the mini chocolate bars for last.  Besides, they were minis! and I loved miniature things. Still do.

I had a very special trick-or-treat bag that I'm sure my mother tossed at some point.  It was plastic and had a drawstring, and she probably picked it up for FREE at the gas station.  Some reading on such bags told me that these plastic trick-or-treat bags were giveaways at certain places of business to retain good business.   

The bag in question was magical.  Some clever artist drew a witch flying in front of the moon over a rural landscape and she was carrying a trick-or treat bag with that very image on it.  And so it followed inward in the drawing to the tiniest trick-or-treat bag on the tiniest witch flying in front of the moon.  I knew it went on forever, and today I would call it an infinity bag.  It fascinated me no end.  Some years ago, I found a similar one on Ebay or Etsy and purchased it.  It wasn't quite as detailed as the one I had, but its sentimental to me for the imagery.  

I love vintage Halloween ephemera of all kinds, and books on Halloween.  If I had the room, I'd have an entire cupboard or wall reserved just for Halloween dolls and ephemera.  

In the past, as a true collector of everything I love, I have a nice little stash of Victorian postcards.  Raphael Tuck, Ellen Clapsadle and others.  But one of the images that intrigues me the most, and was at the time quite difficult to find (when I was doing that  

collecting), were images with silly devils.  They never felt spooky or scary to me, as they were drawn with joy, and more like naughty pixies or simply a natural part of the ghouls on parade.  The Victorians were very superstitious and enjoyed the supernatural.  This is why during the Golden Age of postcards you see so many goblins and witches and devils as themes.  True, they loved the romance of tarot, mirrors and crystal balls to tell fortunes, but they delighted in their supernatural superstitions as well.

I've been a Halloween hound since I was a child.  I've never, ever tired of it and honestly love the month of October more than that of December and Christmas.  It's the 2nd 'ber, with plenty of celebrations still ahead to enjoy.

While writing my last journal posting on Dawn and her little witch costume, I'd been looking at "Halloween dolls" on Ebay, when I came across Madame Alexander's little devil dolls.  I had to make a devil costume.  Had to.  I didn't know if I'd have time, and frankly, Peggy

Sue would have been the perfect doll to dress, with her red hair, her 13" size and all, but it occurred to me that I'd never sewn for Tiny Betsy before, and so the choice was made.

I undressed the Tiny Betsy from the Atlanta convention that was dressed her in caterpillar costume, and started work on a little devil costume for her.

Specifically, I wanted to make something that would have been done for the doll in the early 1960's.  Something that would have been drawn in one of her paper doll magazine pages.  

I fall in love with Tiny Betsy every autumn (and Easter), since I have all the trunk sets that Robert Tonner made for the seasons.  Each has been added to nicely and so each one in turn comes out for the month or holiday they celebrate.  Since so many precious outfits were made for this doll, it never occurred to me to sew for 

her.  

I started with a pair of red tights using the yellow ones from the caterpillar costume as a guide.  She's such a tiny little thing that I needed to take the tights in twice.

Next came her dress.  I could have made a body suit for her, but I'd done that for Peggy Sue's Wendy Witch costume, Casper the Friendly Ghost's friend.  I wanted to do something different, and Madame Alexander was my inspiration. The dress with the rick rack sewn to the hem felt very vintage. 

I made her a little cape with a high collar on it, but her lovely hair kind of hides it.  The collar is a rectangular band sewn to the curve of the neckline and this creates that stand up collar devil cape look.

Her cotton sateen shoes have little pink rhinestones in their centers for a bit of bling.  They are not perfect.  Doubled cotton sateen does not make for good slippers, but I wanted them to match her costume.  

While I used cotton sateen for the dress and slippers, the cape is lined in silk so that it wouldn't be too thick.  The little devil horns are silk and were the devil to make!  Sewn onto a band of red elastic, they stretch nicely over her head.  

I learn a lot from studying how other doll costumers have constructed their costumes.  I've never taken apart a costume before but it's been very tempting.

The back view.

Finally, Tiny Betsy had to have her pitchfork.  This is a simple affair of wool felt and a painted wood dowel.

One of the images from the vintage trick-or-treat bags was used for her tiny one.  Now I have a little devil in the mix of Tiny Betsy Halloween dolls.  I wonder if Robert ever considered making one.  Would it have looked similar?  And I really do think Peggy Sue needs one next year.  

It's been a lovely fall day, and the temperatures have finally dropped.  The leaves are finally beginning to turn on our Liquid Amber trees and Silver Maple, and in two weeks' time, they'll be gorgeous.  The season is very late this year, and it makes me wonder if we'll see rain here, or snow in the Sierras any time soon.  Best just to enjoy the days for what they bring.

Below you'll find a delightful assortment of my favorite Halloween trick or treat bag images, and a few Victorian postcards sporting pixie devils.  I've also included some of the devil dressed dolls I found, including a stock image of Gene Marshall's Halloween party with Trent as a devil (I have all those costumes), and Robet Tonner's Patsy in costume.  I just may have to add that Annalee pixie doll to my Halloween ephemera collection!

Next stop, Christmas gifts.  I won't be able to share them here until after the holidays, but if I don't get started on them, they won't get done.  This is what November is for.  So Happy Halloween once more and enjoy a few mini candy bars from the trick or treat bowl!

Love, Melissa

Annalee

Madame Alexander

Madame Alexander

Betty Boop

Robert Tonner's Patsy

Troll Doll

Gene Marshall

 

Happy Halloween, Dawn!

Over the years, since I was 13 years old, I've been a Dawn Doll collector.  It seems strange to me that Topper introduced her in 1970 because I was a tween then and quickly losing my interest in dolls for boys.  Maybe I was 12 that year.  I was earning my own money cleaning my neighbor's home on Saturdays and ironing her husband's work uniforms.  (When I think of "starch", I remember starching those post office uniforms, and getting out every wrinkle.) And the money was just enough to buy the little things I wanted.  

The collecting didn't last long, but I remember loving my tiny Dawn with her fabulous wardrobe of mini dresses and let's just say it, sexy clothing. 

I had the tiny pink doll case with Peter Max inspired graphics.  I had to have Bikini Beach Bunny because that outfit was in the graphics on the case.  My Dawn owned Fabulous Fake, Skinny Mini, Silver-au-Go-Go and Glimmer Glamour - that I recall, at 

least.  It was a beautiful little collection, that went the way of storage and wouldn't be unearthed until my mother died and the rafters were being cleaned out.

The Dawn Doll case was stuffed inside my large Barbie trunk and the pink from the case had left a stain on Barbie's wedding gown. I was so surprised to find the case, much less the Barbie trunk that held it, and all of the gorgeous costumes I'd collected for Barbie and Casey.  I know I brought them home, but I never played with them again.  They were a piece of my history and a little bit of magic, so I stored them away in cool, dark closet.

Then I needed money for something I wanted to buy, and Dawn was sold on Ebay.  Years later, I would go absolutely nuts for Dawn and acquired a huge collection.  In 2001, Checkerboard Toys released the commemorative Dawn Doll line.  So, when I started this huge collection, I bought brand

new dolls and NIB clothing from the 70's.  I love to play, and I like brand new because it's exciting to open the packaging and be the first to play with the item.  I collected like crazy then decided to sell the entire collection to buy something else.  I knew I could always recollect if I wanted to.  

Then a few years ago, I got Dawn Doll fever again, and this time would be the last.  What I purchased was here to stay, and once again it was all NIB and the Checkerboard dolls.  Come to think of it, I had a Glori, too, when I was 12 or 13.  

I love my tiny Dawn, and I keep the play Dawn on my nightstand.  I dress her up for the seasons. Once in a while find that NIB collectible outfit from the 70's that is on my Dawn bucket list.  I have two Peter Max cases, and they are full.

The beautiful encyclopedia by Benita Schwartz is my "wish book".  I'd love to have Dawn's car someday.  I haven't room

for anything else, but wow...I think of what I could have collected if I'd been younger and hadn't lost interest in my tweens.  And I'm truly only interested in minty, or NIB accessories.  It's getting harder to collect Dawn these days as people are asking so much more for the items than they did even seven years ago.  Just another reason this collection is home for good with me.  

But one thing has bothered me every time Halloween comes around.  Dawn never got a Halloween costume.  Even though she's been referred to as a tiny Barbie, or rival of Barbie (back then), her wardrobe was primarily mod and model wear. 

So, this year, I decided to make her a Halloween costume.  I do have a tendency to torture myself.  

I used to be really good at miniatures.  Whether it's my eyes, or my patience, I find creating tiny very frustrating.  As well as 

sewing black on black.  It takes me longer if I really have the will, and I find excuses every time I sit down not to do the tiny or black project.  But, hey.  It's something to do, and I've said it before, I love a challenge.  Tell me I can't, and I'll do just that.  

I really had no idea what I wanted to make for her, but a witch is always a winner, and I've made plenty of witch costumes.  The question was, could I find a pair of black shoes for Dawn?  No.  No and no.  They did not make them.  EVER.  The boyfriend had black shoes, but not Dawn.  She did get black boots with one of her outfits though, so I bought a pair of those from Ebay.  It was a start. Reminds me of trying to find the black shoes for Tammy/Misty dolls for my Samantha Bewitched.  Boy, that was a lucky find!

I started with the boots and sorted through her little wardrobe to see what style might be easiest to stick under a sewing machine needle.

After a valiant attempt at making a pattern, I decided that maybe I should check Etsy and see if anyone was crazy enough to have made patterns for this 6 1/2" model body doll back in the day.  Yes, they had been.  I bought the PDF file and printed it out.  "Hurray!", I thought.  But the patterns were too big.  I couldn't figure out why this one bodice wasn't fitting with the teeny darts I had to make.  So, I reduced it to 90% and got a nice fit.  

The other problem was that I didn't like any of the patterns and there certainly wasn't a witch costume, so I had to use the bodice as a mockup and created my own pattern from there.  And no, I'm not doing this again.  Dawn has a bazillion lovely outfits out there and I do not need or want to sew for her.  Just a Halloween costume, thank you very much.

I love the combination of "witches brew green" and black.  I chose a fine silk dupioni for the dress and used a fine dotted Swiss tulle for the duster.  Dusters were popular in the 70's so this fit right in with 

the look I wanted to achieve.  Dawn is a tiny model from the 70's and I wasn't about to time walk her to the present.  I finished her mini dress with crystal sparkles on the bodice and made her a tiny broom to carry to her Halloween party.

Here's a photo of 12" Samantha next to Dawn for scale.  I'm pleased.  Dawn finally has a Halloween costume and can wear it every October now.  

That makes four costumes I've made this month and believe it or not, I just thought of a fifth I'd like to make.  But for what doll?  Maybe the idea will have to go into the hopper.  That's just the way I do things.  When I'm on a roll, I don't quit until I can't lift another pair of scissors.

I scanned some images from Benita's encyclopedia for you.  The first four are costumes I collected originally and recollected twice.  The last, Rain Check, is an ultra-rare outfit and I've never seen it NIB.  I did acquire it a couple of years ago and love it.  Perfect for the rainy season.  There's a photo of my Dawn in it a few pictures up, walking her black poodle in the puddles.

I'm over the moon delighted with the VDC's special offerings for Anne and Grace of Wednesday inspired outfits.  I dressed my girls last night and took this photo of them with Dawn just because.  The day I stop playing dolls is the day I'm no longer breathing.  

If the last idea for Halloween doesn't get made, I'll once again wish you the Happiest Halloween ever!

Melissa

 

Anne as Frozen's Anna

Last month when Anne was going back to school (with the subscription box), some little books were being sold as add-ons.  I'd purchased little books like this before, and while I bought those offered on the VDC, I also looked for a few more from my source.  I found one titled Frozen.  It looked cute.  Like the story a little girl would enjoy, so I bought it.  I flipped through the pages and became more curious, so I looked up the movie on the Internet.  It seemed like a very dark story, but then many fairytales are.  So, what did I do?  I rented it for $3.99 on Amazon Prime and watched it.

I'd been scrolling Pinterest images of Elsa and Anna and thought that making Anne an Elsa costume might be fun.  For Halloween, of course, or just because.  I'd purchase some sparkle tulle and had fully prepared for this.  Then I watched the movie and fell in love with the Anna (pronounced ah-nah), character, the moose, Sven, and Olaf the snowman with the big carrot nose.  Gotta love Disney!  No matter the frightening times our heroes and heroines 

face in a Disney movie, there is always the sweet comic relief, and the animals win out every time.  I still think about Mulan's red dragon played by Eddie Murphy.  Brilliant!

And so, I decided to create the Anna costume instead.  Naturally it would have to be more difficult and involved, but I'd made up my mind.  Just call me Crazy, because most of the time when I'm sewing for dolls, I choose the most difficult thing to do.

Frozen, the movie, came out in 2013.  Where was I at the time?  Who knows?  Of on some other adventure and wondering what the all the fuss was about.  I need to be reeled in at times and stay contemporary.  I'm working on it.  And yet, Frozen is still making money hand over fist.  American Girl just came out with their versions of Elsa and Anna, and they are gorgeous dolls.  You can't have one without the other, but at $310 a piece, it's an expensive commitment.

The Broadway musical would be underway in 2014, as well as a production of Frozen by Disney on Ice.  What a perfect venue for an ice themed story!  I'm told the Broadway musical was quite a feast for the eyes, especially when Elsa becomes the Snow Queen.  And here I sit in this little podunk town of Auburn, California, far away from the glittering lights of big city entertainment.  All the things I miss!  And perhaps this is just another reason why I sew and create my own entertainment.  

I don't think I'd enjoy city life as much as I once would have anyway.  Those days were spent in my 30's.  I used to have season tickets to the San Francisco Ballet and never missed a good musical or performance of The Nutcracker.  My ex and I even traded tickets once to see an opera.  But this is all history.  And I've become shier and more introverted as time has gone by.  I didn't mean to become this way, but age and experience can sometimes do that to a person.

And so, I ventured into Frozen land with an Anna outfit for Anne.

As usual, now, I hunted through my stash of fabrics to find the correct colors and weights of fabrics for this costume.  It took me a week to do this.  The only fabric I had that would do nicely for the skirt was this piece of thin cotton velveteen I'd used on one of Louise Godey's outfits eons ago.  The color was so gorgeous, and there was very little left of it.  I knew I'd be saving it for just the right project.  But was this the project?  I deliberated.  Then finally made a decision to use it.  As the story was given a Nordic setting, snow and ice the conditions, I couldn't see creating the costume entirely of silk.  Anna would freeze to death!  She was going to anyway after Elsa blasted her, but that silly thing about me, needing to be accurate, gave into using the velveteen.  The wools I had were simply too thick and there were the scallops to contend with.

The dress is one piece.  It is a costume.  An aqua silk, high collared blouse was sewn to the scalloped velveteen skirt with a lighter blue silk layer beneath.  The vest is fine black wool edged in this beautiful metallic gold braid I'd been saving for another costume.  I only have 

seven inches left of it and may not be able to find more.  

I'd been studying all the images of Anna's costume that I could find.  Even those created for 18" dolls by seamstresses on Etsy.  Each one is as unique as the person who designed it.  Even Disney changes up the costume up from time to time in the movie.  So, I selected two images to work from then did my own version.  This one was for Anne.

I borrowed a wig from another doll I own, to give her the red braids.  The wig could have been longer, but finding a red wig in size 4-5 is daunting to say the least.  We make do.  Braiding it took a lot of patience.  If Rachel ever offers us a long red wig for Anne, my other doll will get her hair back.  In the meantime, the wig will belong to Anne for her costume.  

When contemplating the embroidery and decoration for the skirt and black vest, I deliberated some more.  Just how much time and effort

did I want to put into this?  Also, you can't draw on velveteen easily, not with chalk, not with white charcoal pencils.  It doesn't mark or makes a mess and embroidery is delicate.  Most of this work by other people is done with machine embroidery.  I gave the tulip design a gentle free hand look and embellished with jewels.

Then there was the cape to create.  I used a similar velveteen from my stash in a raspberry color.  I've seen the pom pom trim done in both black and pink, and I chose black to pick up the color of the vest.  The outer shoulder cape could have been a bit smaller, but I didn't notice until the collar was sewn on, so this is how it shall be. The cape is lined in a deep brown silk with hints of raspberry red.

The silver clasp was of my own making using silver leather and gemstones.  Do they actually make them this small?  I doubt it.  And if they did, they'd come from China.  You could spend a year trying to make a costume like this, and Anne was already delighted with her costume as I created it for her.

She does have a pair of black boots.  They are made of wool and have true, flat soles, but I did not embellish the boots with gold embroidery.  They cannot be seen under the skirt, so Anne didn't mind.  To do that kind of work would be another free hand nightmare anyway.  Maybe someday when the crazies come back!

Next was her Trick-or-Treat bag.  I intended to make a bag of white wool felt in the shape of the snowman, Olaf.  I had it all planned out.  Actually, I'd thought of needle felting an Olaf, but just how much work did I want to put into this project?  It's a Halloween costume!  Not an art doll for the ages.  American Girl did that.  I'm still thinking about them.  $620!!!

As some of you might know, I've been posting my daily "national days" on my Facebook home page and gave each a Halloween theme this month. Too much fun finding Halloween themed images for them all!  I wondered if Frozen could possibly have Halloween themed images...

If one person thinks it, you can be sure others have!  And so, I found Olaf holding a Halloween pumpkin and a few more Frozen Halloween images.  I used the Olaf image for Anne's Trick-or-Treat bag.  

Earlier I'd made sure to look for any tiny Zuru Frozen dolls for Anne and found two.  One was a chubby child doll of Anna and the other, one of Elsa.

So, between the Trick-or-Treat bag, the book and the dolls, Anne was set to play Anna for the remainder of the month.  Or at least until her Wednesday Addams dress arrives in the VDC subscription box.  

I cannot tell you how much fun this month has been with the Halloween offerings from the VDC!  Rachel's hit her stride with these boxes and extra outfits for our dolls.  I'm so pleased with all of it.

And this weekend is the Tonner Fest Halloween party.  Just how many times I've contemplated going and didn't pursue it.  I have my reasons and none of them are good and all of them revolve around my husband.  What I can tell you, is that if Rachel feels it was a success and she enjoyed doing it, maybe she'll do it again next year.  Then I'll go since I won't be attending convention next year.  I won't hesitate. This year's event will be spectacular.  And because its being put on by the VDC, those tucked in at home will be able to enjoy it in some small part.

Anne with her Elsa doll.  

Beautiful little Anne as Anna.

This project was fun.  It was intense at times and always and ever challenging, but the final joy is in the completion, the accomplishment.

Olaf wishes you a Happy Halloween!

Below are a few of my favorite images from Frozen, and a few Halloween themed ones to enjoy.

Will I make Anne the Elsa costume?  Yes.  I'm sure I will, but not this month.  It might be fun for the winter months.  Anna had some beautiful costuming in the movie, and I'd love to make one of the green gowns some time, too.  There's always a new project on the horizon, and my next one starts today.  

We are midway through Halloween month, and it just keeps getting better!  Enjoy!

Melissa