2023 in Review

Happy New Year, my friends!  I was just sitting here feeling like there was something I ought to be doing.  And then I remembered!  My journal's year in review.  

As I began to arrange these photos January to December, one thing occurred to me.  There really is no theme.  Is there ever one?  I don't know, but these seem to be random and all over the place.  I was trying new things.  That's the theme!  Going places in creative journey.  

I became interested in decorating paper parasols for dolls to hold and the reason was because I wished to create the little Ole Lukoje (Sandman).  Mardi Gras became a passion as I agonized over my sister giving a family heirloom to her best friend, when 

for years she'd told me she didn't know where it was because she knew I wanted it. Even I have crap in my life!  I tried my hand at making my first kimono.   I became interested in India and lehenga dressing after purchasing a lehenga for my American Girl, Kavi.

I also became interested, once again, in sewing for the 1469 Flapper doll.  And finally began collecting the outfits Doug James created for the 1470.  Collecting for me is just as much, if not more fun, than creating for dolls.

This Christmas season saw me going wild for Ideal's Tammy.  There's an illustration of Tammy on a Little Golden Activity Book that I scrapbooked with last year and was going to use again.  One thing led to another, and I bought my first Tammy doll.  Tammy came out in 1962 and was Ideal's response to Barbie.  I love early Barbie.  For years and years I collected all I ever hoped to have for

her, Ken and Skipper, so Tammy was almost a natural transition.  Yes, I went nuts.  A case, the car, books, paper dolls and MIB outfits.  You can see on the left, the Little Golden Activity book that sparked this new collecting.  If possible, I only collect mint and complete, but there are times I'll have to purchase three sets of something to get the pieces for one perfect outfit with the accessories.  Tammy on the Town is one of the Holy Grails (seen in green with fur trim) and I caved and splurged.  You see, I really felt she should have been Christmas shopping in this outfit, but I just wasn't ready to splurge.

I could write a blog on Tammy, what was offered, what the Holy Grails are, and so on, but there are so many wonderful blogs already written and I do have the collecting guide, which in itself is hard to find.

You can see her Christmas loot on the left.

Tammy with her 85% perfect convertible.  It has the steering wheel and both side windows.  No one ever writes about things like this, but I learned why all those cars don't have steering wheels.  Tammy is a big girl and her legs open when she sits, so trying to get he in and out of this car is a challenge.  I can easily see how little girls broke the steering wheel off the car.  Don't worry.  I'll be careful.

Another doll that I began recollecting for was Dawn.  Here she is in the Dawn "Holy Grail" of Rain Check, which was just this hooded cape, long cloth boots and a poodle.  I saw it paired with this silver dress and hunted one of those down, too.  Still looking for Dawn's convertible but am quite happy with the outfits I've collected and the second case just like this one.  

Another "Holy Grail" for Dawn is Bikini Beach Bunny, and I bid the moon for a MIB one this past fall.  I'm happy.  

I had Dawn when she first came out in 1970 and collected for her with my own earned money.  This surprises me because it was around the time I stopped playing with dolls.  I went through a Dawn phase about ten or fifteen years ago, sold it all, then of course, regretted it.  This collection will go to the grave with me.

Of course, there were other dolls and outfits I collected throughout the year, but these two dolls gives you an idea of where I'm at with sentimental vintage collecting.  It brings me great pleasure to have something in new condition, today, that I never had a chance to play with as a child.  Tammy is pure fun!

So, let's take a look at the year 2023 and what I worked on month by month.  It was hard to select just one photo for each project, but if you wish to see more, you can do that by looking them up in the menu to the left.  Let's go!

January saw one of my favorite Club Grace outfits offered.  One for Chinese Lunar New Year.  I made Dolly a detailed little Hanfu costume, and Remmie Lou got a fur trimmed Chinese dog coat.

January was also the month I made a Year of the Rabbit outfit for Illustrated Alice.  Simply a no-brainer project.  She remains to this day in this costume, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

It gave me a chance to do some embroidery and celebrate Lunar New Year as well as the rabbit.

February was the month I began three Mardi Gras costumes.  Cissy's was first and its just glorious.  I had no idea what I wanted to do for her, but it came together so elegantly.

Peggy Sue wanted to go to Mardi Gras, too, so I made her a sweet and fun little jester's costume in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, yellow and green.  I found a little "gator" for her to carry, and took apart strands of Mardi Gras beads to make mini ones for her.

March was Cherry Blossom season, so I made Cissy a kimono to wear while she enjoyed the blossoms in Japan.

This was also around the time that I was trying something new and wanted to teach myself how to decorate paper parasols for dolls.

The reason for wanting to do this was obvious to some degree, but I wanted to make an Ole Lukoje and really needed to be able to highly decorate an umbrella well.

I also made a circus parasol for Heather's Connie Lowe doll, and an "Alice" parasol for Tonner's Ellowyne in Wonderland.

April.  American Girl released Claudie Wells but didn't really make much for her.  In her first story, Claudie plays with a puppet theater to entertain her little brother.  So I made it based on the illustration they had in the book.

I don't understand.  This would have been a perfect toy for Mattel to make for Claudie, but they never did.

May was the month I made Ole Lukoje.  He's the Hans Christian Andersen "Sandman" pixie that holds a storybook parasol over the heads of good little children as they sleep, so they have sweet dreams.  Bad children get a black umbrella held over their heads for no dreams.

Ole Lukoje is on my bedside table.

May must have been a non-Club Grace month, so I bought a beautiful Tonner bridal gown for Grace and made Dolly a flower girl costume, while Remmie Lou was the ring bearer.

June saw me making a red mushroom costume for little Esme.  I'd bought this mushroom costume set that Boneka made for a Modern Doll Convention.  I dressed the large costume on a small Maggie Iacono, and the little one is on a Mini Ginny.  

July may have been the first Club Grace of the year, but don't quote me on that.  I made Dolly gardening overalls and floral wellies to match Grace's outfit.  Remmie Lou got a game to play by Diana Vining, and I made her a visor.

August was the month I delved into lehenga-land and did tons of research on the costuming of India, as well as the right silks to use for these doll costumes.  I spent a small fortune trying to find the right silks and trims, but it was worth it in the end.

Sadly this beautiful aqua blue lehenga faded in the sunlight and I learned a lesson about the delicate nature of these silks.

In September, I made one of the Ruby Red Fashion Friends dolls a lehenga of her own.  I named her, Suhani.  She's the doll I'll make more of these costumes for.  Maybe a new one for her this coming spring.

October arrives and its Halloween time.  My favorite time of year.  Heather and I had a brief conversation about Kitty Hudson needing a Halloween costume, and the next thing I knew, Kitty was on my doorstep asking Madame Hoover for a new outfit.

Kitty's costume was so successful, and I had so much fun making it, that I burned the midnight oil making something for my 1470, Emily.

Both costumes were illustrations in a Dennison's Bogie Book.

November would see the last performance set up in Barbie and Ken's Little Theatre.  Using the Arabian Nights back drop and costumes I had for the dolls, I set up for a performance of The Nutcracker Suite and the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

I enjoyed having this theatre up for a year and just packed it up a couple of days ago.  The "table" is now home to Tammy for a while.  

November also saw me creating a ski outfit for Cissy.  I enjoyed making this so much.  Gowns and dresses are fun and pretty, but I adore play clothing for my dolls.  A craftsman in the U.K. made these beautiful skis for me and I pulled out the stops to make a gorgeous ski outfit for Cissy.  The ski boots were the main attraction.  

Shortly after I finished, I undressed her and began the Shiny Brite dress for her, with the black velveteen coat and hat.  After New Year's Eve, I'll redress Cissy in this costume for the winter.  She may be the only one skiing this year unless we get a change of weather in the Sierras!

Details show with the jacket open, of the wool pants and striped sweater.

A Shiny Brite Christmas for Cissy in silk.

I went nuts purchasing Radko's Shiny Brite reproduction ornaments this year.  They look gorgeous mixed in with my Old World Christmas ornaments.  

Cissy holds a tiny vintage one and a Christmas present wrapped in miniaturized vintage wrapping paper.

I might just mention that one of the appeals of Tammy, is that she reminds me of a mini Cissy doll.  It's the innocence in the face I love.

December was the crescendo for Club Grace.  Finally, a costume I could really love.  Her ice skating costume was based on a vintage one from the 30's but Dolly's is more in the style of the 1950s.  Even Remmie Lou got a skating costume and skates.

It's all make-believe and play, and there is nothing I enjoy more than escaping reality through my dolls!

If everything works out well, Peggy Sue will be getting a 1950's ice skating costume in January.  

I have no plans for this coming year.  More than last year, I'm letting my inspiration take me where it wants to go.  It may mean that I won't have a blog each month, but that doesn't mean I won't be working on something.  To create is to live my best life. Who knows what will inspire me and when?!  Whenever and whatever comes along, I'll be ready.

Thank you for following along with me on this creative journey and I hope you'll enjoy some of the new things I make in 2024!

Wishing you a most Happy New Year!  Melissa
 

Grace and Dolly's Winter Solstice on Ice

Christmas week has arrived!  Six more days until Christmas morning.  The childlike frenzy of tearing open gifts under the tree.  The excitement of choosing which gift to play with first.  Then come the wonderful smells as Mother rustles in the kitchen preparing Christmas dinner.  

Christmas Eve to Christmas Day was a well staged event.  Even if most of it was in my imagination.  My father would light a Presto log in the fireplace so I could write a letter to Santa and send it up in smoke to the North Pole.  Midnight mass followed on the heels of whatever Christmas shows were on television, which was a thrill on its own since bedtime was 8pm in normal circumstances.  The restless sleep awaiting the morning when we'd race to the tree and drag our parents out of bed so they could watch the spectacle.  This is the memory that stays with me through the years.  It's a feeling deep in the heart that cannot be erased by time.  And so it is this year.

Christmas brings out the child in me that never really grew up.  Today I plan my own Christmas Eve and morning, and A Christmas Carol (Magoo or Simms) and the DVD of the NYCB's Nutcracker are top of the list.  As an adult with no children, I collect a few gifts for myself and play with them on Christmas day.  I make a lovely dinner for my husband and I both the 24th and 25th, and if there is snow, we go cross-country skiing.  This year, there is no snow.  So Plan A.  Dolls, dolls, dolls!  It's all about Tammy and Dawn this year.  And dreams for the new year.

When I was a child I had two very specific dreams.  One was to become a ballerina, and the other was to learn how to ice skate and fly across a frozen lake.  Movies of Sonja Henie and her skating revues in costumes that rivaled any tutu, movies like The Bishop's Wife and the great skating rink scene, fueled my imagination.  I even had a skating costume 

for my troll doll.  No kidding!  My mother knew how much I loved the idea of ice skating and insisted she buy it for me.  I was crying because the girl across the street made me give my troll doll to her or she wouldn't be my friend anymore.  I had to confess this to my mother, and she made me go get the troll doll back.  I froze pie tins of water so my troll doll could skate on them.  How I wish I'd never gotten rid of my troll doll and troll doll house!  Oh well.  And that skating costume with the white ice skates went with it.  

Books by Rand McNally like Little Ballerina and Little Skater were poured over daily as I read how the shy child triumphed in her dream.  

It wasn't until I was 20-years-old that I learned how to skate.  Our mall had opened a rink and I signed up to take lessons.  I loved those years and was actually quite good.  I learned how to fall, and this learning how to let the body go and fall with-

out injury, was something that helped me in cross-country skiing.  My dream of skating outdoors on a real frozen lake didn't happen until 1990 when my then husband Mark, and I, went to New Hampshire one winter.  It's not all it's cracked up to be.  Lots of bumps and things to look out for, but it was magic.  I skated on the Boston Common.  I skated on a lake near the coast and froze my yinny off.  That child in me still dreams of skating the endless river and flying with the wind.

When Rachel Hoffman posted a sneak peek silhouette of Club Grace's selection for December, I knew.  I knew!  I immediately found some ice-skating blades to fit Dolly's feet and was lucky to have an even smaller pair for Remmie Lou.   I was finishing up Cissy's Shiny Brite party dress and coat, and knew I'd have time to make something for the little ones while awaiting the subscription box.

Rachel saw this vintage skating fashion on the Internet and fell in love with it.  I believe she indicated it was from the 1930s.  What Ruby Red Galleria did with this, is amazing.  Of course, they have all the computer and mechanics of fabric making to create this sweater to the exact detail, but its still pretty awesome.

The skates for Grace are typical of this era, too.  Figure skates were very tall back then.  I'm not sure when they shortened them to just cover and support the ankles, but as the demand for serious athletics turned skating into triple and quadruple axles, the need for the ultimate support in design, shortened them.  I suspect old skates weren't padded as the professional ones today are, either.

What I noticed first when I looked at the skates, was that they were made like Cissy's ski boots.  To have a flat based shoe on a high heeled foot, you need a special design.  It was fun seeing this.

I don't normally make a backdrop or scene when photographing my dolls, but this skating fantasy demanded I do a little digging in closets for a rink, some snow, and some holiday decoration for the rink.

Someday someone will show me how to use a computer program to put dolls in scenic backgrounds.  Until then, this is my photography.

Dolly was fun to dress.  For those of you new to my blog and the Virtual Doll Convention, Dolly Dingle was the VDCs mascot.  And the bulldog?  Remmie Lou is one of Rachel's dogs, and Diana Vining used to draw both of them into her illustrations with Grace.  Things have changed, and we don't see much of them anymore, if at all.  

I used to bring to life whatever Dolly was wearing that Diana drew.  It was a challenge.  It was fun.  It was what I loved to do.  Bring paper dolls to life.  Now I have to get creative and that keeps the old gray matter healthy and functioning well.

It's my mission to use the fabrics I have on hand since I have a closet full of fabric.  However, finding a knit for a skating sweater would be difficult among the silks, velveteens and cotton prints.  I finally caved and cut up a Land's End knit top that I had and never wore.  It was perfect for Dolly.

I made her a periwinkle blue velveteen skating skirt lined in a lighter colored silk.  She's a difficult little monkey to sew for since she has a chubby, stubby body, large belly and curved arms.  I got the pattern for the sweater right on the first try so I felt pretty good with where I was going with this.

I made her a pair of white tights and knew that when she did one of her spins her skirt would fly up, so I made her a pair of matching bottoms to go under the skirt.

The end of a sleeve made for the perfect knit hat, and I made a baby soft yarn pom-pom with a pom-pom maker by Clover.

The skates were fun to make.  Little white leather boots with skating blades attached.  This will surely be one of my favorite outfits for her.

Her tiny, stubby hands needed to be warm, so I made her tiny mittens out of the stocking jersey.

Grace and Dolly don't go anywhere without Remmie Lou by their side, so I made a costume for her as well.

Remmie Lou got a blue skating skirt out of wool, and a scarf from the sweater material I used for Dolly.

But the skates were the best!  Of course she's sitting this one out, but if any dog could ice skate on her back legs, Remmie Lou could.  Diana could have done an adorable illustration of this.  I don't understand why Dolly and Remmie Lou are no longer illustrated, but things have changed over the last two years and I suspect the focus is less on playfulness and more on fashion.  There's even a second illustrator now, who draws quite beautifully.

Remmie's skirt snaps in the back for ease of dressing.  Dogs don't like to wear clothes anyway, but Remmie Lou is a good sport.

And so the day comes to a close as does this journal posting.  The early dark of night is expected and even welcome as the light sensor Christmas lights come on early on homes in and around our neighborhood.  I love Christmas light displays.  It's the bling we love during the holiday season.  And in a couple of days the Winter Solstice will arrive and minute by minute, day by day, the sun will last a little longer each day.  

Every Christmas season, I enjoy listening to my Windham Hill CDs.  One year I discovered Winter Solstice on Ice, which was music that was played to a special televised ice-skating event.  Beautiful music.  At least the first cd is.  I skate in my mind and heart when I listen to it.

Grace and Dolly's and Remmie Lou's costumes will be a favorite for a long time to come.  Just as special as Grace's Chinese New Year was last year.  Fashions and themes that sing to my heart.

My next posting will be before New Year and will capture what I've done over the past year.  I enjoy thinking back as much as I do looking forward.  

I hope you'll enjoy the selection of skating illustrations below.  Vintage and space age retro.  As a little girl growing up in the 1960s, these darling images of skaters on ice would fuel my imagination and give me a lifelong love of ice skating. 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a special Winter Solstice.

Melissa