Miss Marvel (Lana)

Wearing Madame Alexander's Dance Til Dawn. Necklace by me.

Wonderful Discovery!

See these dear little Madame Alexander Alex dolls? My beloved Aunt Sue gave these to me when I was eight years old. Aside from Barbie (who will always remain my first love), these dolls inspired my doll collecting/obsession.

The Scottish girl on the left has her original outfit on, however the dear girl on the right was originally Scarlett O'Hara. Her gown was destroyed by yellowing due to age and being improperly displayed. Tried to salvage it, and it was just a big mess--and pretty much shredded when I tried to hand wash it. She's been dressed in a Barbie dress that belonged to my daughter for a few years now and has looked rather shabby--a sad little image of her former self.

To my delight, my beloved friend, Ginny, sent me some doll clothes this week (among other treasures. It was indeed Christmas in March) and this little costume was in it. I couldn't imagine what doll it would fit, but I was super excited as the costume looked Austrian to me.

Went scrambling for little Alex tonight and discovered that it indeed DOES fit her! Doubly excited at the fact that both dolls now are wearing costumes from my heritage!

The little Austrian costume has little flowers on it (which probably should be Edelweiss, but are daisies---and that makes it even more sentimental because my dear Aunt Lynn who went to be with the Lord, loved daisies, and I thought of her right away. She's also wearing a yellow crocheted shawl...the crochet makes me think of my grandmother, Gigi, and the yellow--my Aunt Lynn again.)

VERY sentimental evening.

Note to self: buy the poor girls' some shoes, and finish mom's doll.

Franken Madame Amanda Tai and Franken Jamie Megan Tonner show off their new BASIX clothing

Got some really edgy clothing last week from my talented friend, Kari, of Liquid Sunshine BASIX, and had to show them off.



Modeling is Frankendoll, Amanda (a hybrid Madame Alexander / Joe Tai) and Megan (JamieShow / Tonner.)



Megan is wearing a BASIX top, ANGELS Kiss Couture skirt, and Shiloh Winter Jewelry.

Amanda is wearing a BASIX top, Brunhilde pants and Shiloh Winter Jewelry.

The Color of the Moment --- Melon

I go through phases where I obsess over a color. Right now, it's a coral-melon color I'm obsessing over. HAD to have this gown by Viva La Posh. The color was right on. The style is very neo- classical to me and I'm quite enthralled with this time period. Very pretty gown! I was so thrilled when it arrived today that I had to pull out my art nouveau components and I set to work making her earrings, a necklace and a ring to match. I think they really compliment the gown. Modeling is Jonna, a Madame Alexander Paris by Jon Copeland. I thought the palette of her repaint would really compliment the gown. I probably should have chosen some Pre-Raphaelite looking creature, but Jonna looks lovely in it. Maybe later on, I'll take some Alma Tadema looking images.

Testing out my new studio lights that just arrived, and my new floor (by Raw*Kiss.) Happy day!

Madame Alexander / Jason Wu's Paris Collaboration

LOVE what the Madame Alexander / Jason Wu team has done with Paris!!! Fabulous new body! Gorgeous new face! A little too exotic to be "Paris" still IMHO. She needs a more exotic name like...Seychelle, Martinique, Nairobi, Indira, Cleopatra......hmmmmmm....

She has really great legs....and feet! I LOVE her feet!! LOL
I think I'm going to have to paint some mendhi on them and show them off a bit!

My Exotic beauties

Nothing cheers me up more than my favorite dolls in the beautiful colors of India!

Madame Alexander Paris >>>>

I've always admired the work of Jon Copeland. Especially blessed to acquire this beautiful repaint of Paris by Jon. It's very timely because the new Madame Alexander Paris that was done in collaboration with Jason Wu is being shipped from dealers this week. I've seen pictures of her and she's lovely, but she isn't Paris. THIS is Paris. I've renamed this particular repaint, "Jonna" since Jon's masterful brush painted her, and his work with hair is uncomparable.

Never quite cared for the Madame Alexander bodies. This doll is a Frankendolly and has a Tonner Antoinette body. Looking forward to seeing what Jason Wu does with the body on the new dolls.

The beautiful gown is by Ashton Drake.

Madame Alexander's Alex's Aunt Amanda never looked so good!

Always thought Amanda was a beauty, but those lame Madame Alexander bodies never did them justice IMHO. Put her on a Joe Tai body and VAVAVOOM what a gorgeous woman! I can't wait for the reveal of Jason Wu's collaboration with Madame Alexander. I've got my dolls on order and I'm psyched!

Wild Orchid Jadde Frankendolly

Ever playing Frankendolly, I re-acquired this beautiful Jadde over the weekend. I sold my first last year when money was tight, but got this beauty dressed and at a very nice price. I adore Madame Alexander clothes, and Jadde is among my favorite sculpts by M.A. so she definitely had to get one of Joe Tai's fabulous replacement bodies. Now she is just exquisite!

Jadde Lee's new look!

My favorite Madame Alexander doll, Jadde Lee, gets a new look! I Frankendollied her with Joe Tai's new replacement bodies and now she's everything I dreamed of! Never quite cared for Madame Alexander's doll bodies. This particular Jadde is Straight Cutts and is the prettiest IMHO. I love her gorgeous hair with the blue streaks. I need to pull out her original outfit and see if it fits. I hope so! She's presently wearing a Monaeglow gown.

Madame Alexander's Sienna

Always loved this doll, but the Madame Alexander bodies never did a thing for me. So stiff, and unnatural looking! I got this Joe Tai replacement body and I had seen a Sienna head on it on one of the doll boards, and I knew that it was meant for Sienna. Here's Hopelessly Fabulously Fifties Sienna rebodied........

Aunt Sue's Museum of Dolls

As a child and young adult, there was nothing more fascinating than a trip to my mom's best friend's "museum." Well, it wasn't actually a museum--it was her home-- but we always viewed it as a museum because Aunt Sue had THE most amazing collections of anyone. I absolutely adore my Aunt Sue and she is one of the sweetest, and most interesting people I've ever known. The crowning jewels in Aunt Sue's collections (there were many collections because she was a world traveler) were her Madame Alexander dolls. I think she owns just about every one ever made. My sister and I used to stand before her curio cabinet for HOURS and just wonder in amazement at her dolls.

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When I was about 10, Aunt Sue told me that I could choose any two, and they would be a gift for Christmas. I chose a little Scottish girl (our family is part Scot---my beloved Poppy was a Mac Ilwraith) and Scarlett O'Hara (it was all because of the gown.) (Oddly, I remember that my sister chose India, and I say odd because the majority of my doll collection as an adult are Indian dolls. Interesting.)

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Here's the poor Scottish lass. She's lost her shoes, and socks, and her tam. (My girls decided to "play" with her one day---to my horror--and some pieces went missing.) Poor Scarlett was a victim of age, and her stringing rotted. I actually restrung her last week for my 8 year old daughter to have in her collection. Her beautiful gown is all yellowed and faded with age, so she's been redressed. (I'm showing some age too. Hee hee.) Still, there are many happy memories that reside in these dolls. Here is where my doll collecting began.

Iris in True Romance

During a momentary lapse of sanity, I almost let this girl go. Thanks to an angel of a friend, Susanne, she remains in my collection. Here is the beautiful Iris from the Metrodolls Garden Party. She's a Daphne sculpt (one of my favorite sculpts by Robert Tonner) and she is wearing Madame Alexander's True Romance (Madame Alexander clothing is another obsession of mine.)