This week I would like to introduce my
Doll friend, Anna.
Anna lives in New Zealand, in a small town near Auckland.
Anna says, "We have the best of all the worlds
here; near the beach, the city and the countryside."
Anna, similar to myself, started collecting dolls
through her daughter's dolls.
When her daughter started to outgrow dolls,
Anna was in the process of selling
them, including her own childhood,
"Mary Quant Daisy Doll"
when she realized she liked these
dolls and why was she selling them?
I have never heard of the Daisy doll before,
so here is a photo of a Mary Quant Daisy Doll.
Anna says she is about the same size
as a Skipper doll, originally released
in the 1970s. I can definitely see why
Anna would want to keep her
Daisy doll!
Anna and I are both members of the
Little Miss Revlon Doll Club
Little Miss Revlon and Friends doll club.
These are Anna's 10" fashion dolls.
Back: Vogue Jan, Vogue Jill, American Character Toni,
Miss Nancy Ann and Miss Ginger.
Front: Two Madame Alexander Cissettes.
Anna made all these beautiful gowns!
Anna's two Madame Alexander Cissettes
wearing outfits she made.
I love Anna's backgrounds!
Miss Ginger, Vogue Jill and Vogue Jan.
American Character Toni and Miss Nancy Ann.
What an adorable tea set!
This precious composition baby is a
Pedigree baby doll from the 1930s.
Pedigree Toys is a company started in
Exeter, England.
Known mostly for dolls and plush animals.
Overtime the company spread to Ireland,
New Zealand, Australia and
South Africa.
This is what the doll looked like when Anna
found her, poor baby!
Anna restrung her, reglued her wig,
fixed her hair, replaced eyelashes
and refreshed her face paint.
Look at her now! Isn't she beautiful?
Well done Anna!
Anna enjoys restoring and remaking,
not just dolls, but quilts and
doll clothes. She loves sewing, gardening,
shopping in thrift stores,
scrapbooking and walking.
She hates cooking. Me too Anna!
These are pieces of a larger quilt that was
made by Anna's Mum. Anna remade
the pieces into this doll-size quilt. What a great
way to save some sweet memories.
Anna created this lovely small quilt
from the center flower that her Mum had
painted. Her Mum was going to throw it away!
This is Anna's Patsy Joan and Patsy Ann.
They are both reproduction dolls.
They are wearing dresses Anna made
for them.
This is my Patsy Joan, Charlotte,
wearing her restored vintage dress.
Another doll friend asked if I would
make a pattern from this dress?
Anna used the pattern I made from
Charlotte's dress to make these
adorable matching dresses!
How cute are they!?!
Anna and I both enjoy shopping thrift stores,
or "Recycle or OP stores" as they are called in
New Zealand.
She too has made some adorable finds, like
this tiny doll bed with a lovely
miniature quilt!
These next two dolls are from the
late 1950s or early1960s.
This sad little girl is a Pedigree Cuddles.
Anna replaced her eye lashes and
bleached her cloth body.
Look at her now!!
Anna styled her hair and made
this adorable dress for her.
This doll is marked SADI, which Anna
believes is a South African Doll Company.
She was very dirty, but seemed to
be wearing her original dress.
Always a great find!
Here she is all clean and refreshed.
Just beautiful.
This last doll also came from a thrift store,
or recycle store.
Anna saw this baby doll and walked past her.
Anna walked all around the store, but
came back and looked at her a second time.
Anna decided to take her home!
Can you believe this is the same doll?
She is a Thumbelina Snoozie from 1964
made by Ideal.
Anna made her outfit from an online
image of her vintage outfit, so talented!
What an adorable doll.
Here are some before and after shots.
Ideal Thumbelina Snoozie before and after.
Pedigree Cuddles before and after.
SADI Before and After.
And my absolute favorite!
Pedigree composition baby, before and after.
Thank you Anna for sharing a
little about yourself, your home and your dolls.
I loved seeing your dolls and all the outfits
and quilts you have sewn.
I especially enjoyed doing a little research and
learning about dolls from other parts of the world.
Thanks again Anna!!
2 comments:
Hi Brenda, This post was so wonderful. I absolutely love seeing all these dolls from the past being brought back to life. Anna seems very talented with dolly refresh and sewing skills. Her babies look so huggable. The little lady dolls are so gorgeous in a grown up way.
You past few posts have been enjoyed as well. I love seeing what you manage to find at the thrift stores and how YOU bring them back to life.
Thanks for sharing, love seeing your posts!!
Doreen in Arkansas
Hi Doreen,
Thank you! Yes, Anna is very talented with restoring and dressing her dolls. Anna and I both enjoy the 10" fashion dolls. They are a nice size and so fun to dress and accessorize. I was so happy when Anna agreed to share some doll photos with us all. It was a pleasure for me to learn more about dolls from Anna's side of the world.
Hugs
Brenda
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