Boxing Day sale!

I usually don't go out on Boxing Day, but the snow had stopped and the roads were clear, so we ventured forth to Market Crossing on Marine Drive.

I believe these stores were built in 2009, and at the time I was very excited as a Michael's craft store was added, and it's the closest one to our home. I used to spend $70 each time I visited but those days are long gone. I now spend around $10 or less! 

I found a darling Christmas fireplace which lights up. It's perfect for the mini dolls and it's so cute! It was marked down to $6.95 from $22 Cdn!

Nanea received a darling mini tea set from Frankfurt Germany! Actually, Robert got it for me and put it in my stocking. I picked it out on that hot May day when we spent 2 nights in Frankfurt on our 35th anniversary trip to Europe. We didn't have much time to shop there, but I found it in a souvenir store near our hotel. 

The little Bible is a New Testament with teeny print. It was a gift from Steve Jensen, Robert's childhood friend he still keeps in touch with. It belonged to his maternal Grandmother. He sent it as a surprise in the mail and I waited until Christmas to open it.

The hand embroidered doily is from Heidelburg. I love these sorts of presents the very best of all!

By Loretta Houben

Mini Nanea's new Christmas dress!

I love to get Wren*Feathers lovely newsletter each week.

In it Jenny has FREE dolly patterns, and they are darling. She also has an Etsy shop.

I usually procrastinate, save the pattern, and never get around to sewing it, but mini Nanea (who arrived last week) wanted a new dress very badly, so I printed the pattern, found a cute Christmas print, cut it out, and hand sewed it. I even put the snap on the back.

I'm very pleased with myself, and Nanea is quite happy.

By Loretta Houben

A Bleuette Christmas!

These photos were taken in 2010, at the height of my Bleuette reproduction doll craze! They are very addictive. I bought all my dolls online through a Bleuette Yahoo doll group. My first one was Yvette Marie, painted by Connie Zink. She is sitting in the photo above, holding a tiny Chatty Cathy doll. The next Bleuette I got was a gift from Marcie Ewasko. She's wearing the red velveteen dress and is named Zoe.

I sewed quite a few of their dresses. I made the hankie dresses by hand sewing. I collected quite a few props for them!

For a while I had a special blog just for them. But then I returned to my love of the 18" size dolls, and so the Bleuettes are biding their time for now.

 I have so many cute things for them.

 This is a special blue velveteen dress I designed as a swap gift. I think Zoe looks very pretty!

 I can't believe I hadn't yet blogged about the Bluettes on this doll blog. I'll try to add more photos in the days ahead.

By Loretta Houben

Original Chatty Cathy PJs and hand sewn nightie.

In 2004, I discovered the joy of sewing for Chatty Cathy. I bought vintage patterns on eBay, and developed my own style.

Here is a cute nightie and mob cap for Chatty.

This is Chatty wearing a vintage PJ outfit with cap and slippers, made by Mattel in the 1960's. You can find them for a reasonable price on eBay.

The bunk bed set belonged to my sister Leona and I. I think we got it for Christmas in 1969, as the next year my Mom crocheted a bedspread for my bunk bed while she was in hospital after Marie was born. 

In 2004 I made a house for my Chatties on the windowseat in our bedroom. The dresser is a jewelry box, and the little lamp was from Ikea. 

Things have changed in 13 years, so I no longer have this displayed. I took the photos using our 1.5  megapixel camera. It has very low resolution compared to today's cell phone cameras!

Although so much has changed in such a short period of time, my love for dolls will never change. I still set up scenes and take photos, but in 2018 I would like to do it much more often, as my dolls are feeling a bit neglected.

Good night!

By Loretta Houben

A new Journey Girl piece of furniture!

Today I thought of Heather Cuoio, a doll collecting friend I met online. She often posts in her darling doll blog about all the cool deals she finds for dolls in thrift stores. We don't have great thrift stores here but we sure have great stores for doll items, if you keep your eyes open. Today I thought I'd check out Toys R Us at the mall, as I don't know how much longer it will be in business. I headed to the Journey Girl section, and admired the Australian dolls they have. I checked out the doll props, and I couldn't believe my eyes, as the turntable unit was only $11.98. 

Of course I didn't need it, but only $11.98 Cdn? So I bought it. It was very well packed, and although not perfect (painting flaws) I'm keeping it. It has a mirror on one side, storage spaces, and a chalkboard on the other side. 

It really does turn. It also comes with a side table and a plastic lamp. Cool, eh?

By Loretta Houben

A new retro Our Generation doll!

Today was a lovely, chilly, crisp day with sunshine and blue skies! After my grocery shopping, I headed downtown to drop a DVD off at the library. Then I checked out The Bay to see the OG doll selection, because at Christmas time they have more items.

I noticed that all toys were 20% off!

So I headed towards the dolls, and I spotted the above doll for only $15.50!!!! I thought it was an error as the other OG dolls were $39.99. 

But I took it to the cashier, and lo and behold it rang through as $12.40 Cdn! 

I was simply astounded. I think she's adorable. Her name is Joy, which is my sister Leona's middle name. I love her red hair, and she could easily double as Anne of Green Gables.

So now I have two Retro dolls. It pays to check things out!

By Loretta Houben