tractor statue

This first photo looks like a farm girl (it's Generation Girl Nichelle) in her overalls
in front of a statue in an agricultural area.

Now you can see that this is actually a statuette in a cemetery.
I know it's a little tacky, but I have wanted to photograph this for a long time.

qcbdc next doll show

The Queen City Beautiful Doll Club's next show will be on Sunday, April 24, at the Clarion in Sharonville north of Cincinnati.  I'm not setting up a sale table this time but will be at the door taking admissions from 12-2 p.m.  Here is the flier for the event.

Tutti and Heidi and Jan

That's me on the left, already in glasses and already dorky, with Barb (center) and Joan (right).  Those cone things on the lower left are Bedrock Boulders.  The printed cloth you see between Barb and Joan is a housecoat I received.  Except for the humans, the only things in the picture that still exist are the Nativity set, the music box under the tree (that's the dark thing behind Barb), and, of all things, the aluminum ladder!

My grandmother Matilda with my sister Joan, in her second outfit of the evening.  I think the reason they are looking down is because it looks like Heidi lost a shoe.  The TV thing you see on the left is a windup toy that played "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."

At some point we got ready for bed.  Note that I am wearing the aforementioned housecoat.  I remember all the toys in this picture except for the bell thing that Barb is playing.  From left to right are a blackboard, Fisher-Price milk bottles (you can also see a bottle on the chair with Grandma),  a ball, the bells and a roller coaster.

These are two aunts, my grandmother Loretta, a bunch of my cousins, and me.  My cousin Jane Ann has my new Tutti while my cousin Cathy has Jan and Heidi propped on her shoulders.    I am wearing a nurse's smock and hat that I received.  Look behind my cousin Nancy (in the striped shirt),  for the Fisher-Price Chatter Phone, which I always thought was creepy.   The phone, not Nancy!

Another shot of Christmas Day evening (the infamous starburst clock says 6:55 p.m.).   The only toy item that still exists is the Tutti swimsuit, as the doll herself is long gone.  The other women in the back are an aunt and a great-aunt.  My cousins Chris and Karen in the back do not look happy.  I don't know what the baby doll is.  I also don't know why I am wearing a Star of David pin, which is really strange because everyone in the picture is Catholic!  Perhaps the pin came with the outfit?  The item under my Aunt Loretta's arm on the far left is an Etch-a-Sketch.

I've mentioned before that I never actually had Barbie as a child, although my sisters did.  I had Barbie's friends and relatives, though.  The first Barbie family member I received was Tutti, for Christmas 1966.  I also received the Remco Jan doll while my sister Barb got Heidi.  I have no idea why I, the oldest sister, was always getting the friends while my sisters got the main parts of the series.  

I was born in February 1961, so I was 5 at the time.  My sister Barb was 3 and my sister Joan was 1 1/2.

These photos were taken on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I'm just going to show you the photos and include long captions with them.

Skipper's Christmas outfits

I know this is a few days late but here is a list of Christmas outfits for Skipper.

1964 #1902 Silk 'n Fancy and #1906 Dress Coat (but you already knew about these anyway)
1965 #1914 Platter Party
1966 #1928 Rainy Day Checkers
1967 #1941 All Spruced Up
1967 #1948 Velvet 'n Lace
1970 #1730 Lots of Lace
1970 #1737 Velvet Blush
1971 #3477 Dressed in Velvet (Skipper's most lavish outfit ever!)
1977 #9710 Casual Fashion (despite its odd color combination, this is meant for December)
1985 #7982 Study
1989 #2633 Fashion Smarts (my all-time favorite Skipper outfit)
1989 Sweetheart Fashion #5886 red sweater and plaid skirt (sold only in Europe)
1007 Teen Sister #15890 red plaid jumper, red leggings
1998 Teen Skipper pack outfit shiny blue dress, white fur jacket
1998 Teen Skipper pack outfit sequined halter, light blue skirt with fur trim

Skipper has had tons of winter coats, plus outfits for skiing, sledding and ice skating, which are too numerous to list here.

The little girls' post-Christmas party, Dec. 27, 2015

In the apartment complex where I live, there are 12 girls between the ages of 3 and 12.  Since word got out last summer that I am a doll collector, the girls have been periodically asking (AKA bugging) me about doll clothes.  There are a LOT of naked baby and Barbie dolls in the neighborhood!
I always have extras.  Many of the outfits are leftovers from when I have bought a doll case full of stuff.  I take the stuff I want, but not all of the items left are re-sale-able.  I had a large amount of recent, good condition items, a mixture of dresses, pants, shirts, shoes and accessories in several sizes.  I distributed some of them to a few of the girls last summer, but I had acquired more.
The mother and grandmother of two of the girls and I planned a short party for today, Sunday, Dec. 27.  We invited all of the girls over to the foyer/hallway/steps outside my apartment.  I put all of the clothes in clear plastic baggies, and included a hanger and shoes with each item.  There were a few new pieces I had purchased, which I removed from their packaging and also placed in baggies.  There was clothing for Barbie, Ken, Skipper and some baby/toddler dolls.
Each of the eight girls who attended the party got a number.  I then pulled a number out of a large glass and that girl came up to the table and selected an outfit.  I figured this method would be fair and the girls couldn't fight over anything that way.  There were enough baggies for them to do this routine twice, so each girl took home two outfits.  A few outfits were left over, and the mother who helped me will give them to the girls who were unable to attend.
We also served punch and candy canes.
Going through the game twice took about 40 minutes.  One of the girls came up and hugged me at the end of the party.  Everyone seemed pleased with what they got.  I took pictures but I don't want to put them on the Internet because I didn't ask the mothers if I could do so.

Willows in the 1990s, part 2

Barbie has more furniture than house!

I decided to put a lot of the furniture from the 1990s in or near my A-Frame Pool House from 1990.  I decided that Barbie had done like the Hearts did in the 1980s and greatly expanded her house.  This photo has some of the furniture from the A-Frame, the Folding Pretty Living Room and Dining Room, Baby Sister Kelly's crib, Skipper's School Days playset and an Arco gym set.
The dolls in the photo are Hula Hair Barbie, Wet N Wild Christie, World of Beauty Shani, Disney Classics Belle, Gymnast Stacie, Baby Sister Kelly and Big Brother Ken.  If you look closely, you can find Little Brother Tommy, who has fallen over next to Kelly's crib.  I didn't notice that until after I'd taken the photos and started putting everything away!

Willows in the 1990s part 1

Three of the businesses opening in the 1990s at the Willows Mall were the Cool Tops Skipper T-shirt Shop, a Pizza Hut, and the Barbie Movie Theatre. 

A poster on the side of the theater
advertises Ocean Friend Barbie.

Another poster in the theater is for Songbird Barbie.
The eighth notes on the upper left indicate that
the movie is a musical.

The Willows Mall was greatly expanded in the 1990s.  Three of its businesses were a T-shirt shop, a movie theater and a Pizza Hut.  I've put all three of my 1990s playsets together to make an indoor mall. From left to right are the 1990 #4955 Cool Tops Skipper T-shirt Shop, the 1996 #65033-91 Pizza Hut and the 1996 #14618 Barbie Movie Theatre.  Showing at the cinema are two movies, Songbird Barbie, a musical, and Ocean Friend Barbie, an adventure story.
(Note: Both Ocean Friend Barbie and Songbird Barbie were sold in 1996.)