Madame Alexander Travel Friends Story Land Doll--Alice in Wonderland!

While browsing my local Tuesday Morning a couple of days ago, I stumbled across a few of these Madame Alexander Travel Friends Story Land dolls.  I was really excited to find Alice in Wonderland, as she is one of my favorite Disney characters!

 

Here she is, still in her box.  As you can see, I got her for a really good deal, considering that her original, retail price was $15!

 

Little Miss Alice stands approximately 7 1/2" tall.

 

The back of her box shows all of the characters in this line.  My Tuesday Morning also carried a Cinderella, a Little Mermaid, a Starry Princess, and a Fairy Princess, but Alice was the one I wanted most of all.  I almost bought Cinderella, but she's so similar in coloring to Alice that I decided to pass.  Now, if they would have had "Beauty" (Belle), I would have snapped her up in an instant.  She's adorable!

 

She was quite easy to remove from her box.  Here she is, still attached to the cardboard liner.  I only had to remove two pieces of clear tape and undo one twisty tie to completely free her.  Not bad.

 

Free at last!  She can stand on her own.

 

Beautiful, long, wavy hair.

 

Because she has hinged knees and elbows, she can sit in more lifelike positions than most dolls.  I think this is a really impressive feature for such a small, relatively inexpensive doll.

 

She can even kneel, as long as her feet can hang over the edge.

 

She has molded underwear.

 

Her dress is cute and has lots of detail, but mine has a flaw where the skirt is attached to the waistband...part of it got tucked up when it was sewn to the bodice, making it hang funny and shorter than the rest of the skirt.

 

Here's the other side of the skirt, which looks just fine.  Just thought I'd mention this, in case you go hunting for your own doll.  Look at them all and compare before picking one out so you can avoid flaws such as this one.  However, for a $5 doll, I'm not upset.  In fact, I'll probably pick out the seam myself and just reattach it properly.

 

Just for fun, I decided to pose her next to my other Alice, a Robert Tonner Doll.  The Tonner doll is much more expensive and has a better made outfit.  Only her knees are jointed while her arms are not.  While she is a better quality than my new Alice, I really do love them both the same!  I actually think that I prefer the face on the Madame Alexander version more. 

 

They are both the same height--7 1/2", and have jointed knees.  The Tonner doll has a better quality, more detailed outfit, but the MA Alice has jointed elbows.  Both have nice hair.  Both have removable shoes, but Tonner Alice also has nice stockings.  They each have nicely painted faces with different expressions--Tonner Alice is more serious, while MA Alice is more sweet. 

 

For the price (and you can't beat $5!), I think the MA Alice is a wonderful, little doll.  She's easy to pose, a nice size, and just looks so cute.

 

There were two, other Alice dolls in the Tuesday Morning when I bought my doll...I stood them all up, side by side, and studied their faces carefully.  I wanted to make sure that I got one with the best facial painting.  All three were slightly different, so I'm glad I checked!  However, I didn't think to check the workmanship on the clothing, or I might have noticed the flaw with the skirt.  In any case, I am really pleased with this little doll.  I think she's a great doll for children, as well as adults!   If you are fortunate enough to have a Tuesday Morning in your area, check them out.  They frequently have wonderful dolls at great prices.  You never know what you'll find!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Adventures in Disneyland with Alice, and New Dolls!

This year my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  That deserved some sort of vacation, right?  I mean, we hadn't been away for more than one night from the kids in about 27 years!  So we decided to go to...Disneyland!  This was a big step for me, since I hadn't been on a plane in over 13 years, and flying makes me VERY nervous.  But I conquered my fears for a chance to get away with just my husband to the "happiest place on earth".  And, I'm happy to say, we had a wonderful time.  Of course, I had to take along little Alice for my travel doll, since I wasn't going to have my cute kids around for photo opportunities.

 

Here she is, sitting on a railing while we were waiting for a parade to begin.

 

Reclining on the Mark Twain paddle wheel boat.

 

At first, my dear husband had to look the other way when I would bring Alice out and pose her for pictures, hoping that nobody was watching!  But by day 2, he decided to embrace my "strange" hobby, taking delight in chauffeuring Alice around in his shirt pocket.

 

 

What a goofball!  A husband that can make you laugh is the very best kind around.

 

The view from our caterpillar car, traveling through can you guess which ride?

 

Alice, of course!

 

I was thrilled to see that Alice is now a permanent fixture in the "Small World" ride!

 

A poster of my favorite Disney character in the tunnels you pass through upon entering Disneyland.

 

Every afternoon we rested our weary bones while enjoying a Dole Whip.  What a delicious treat!  Alice wanted to try it as well.

 

This is the White Rabbit's door.  It is located right next to the tea cup ride.  Every time we have visited Disneyland, I have taken photos of my kids in front of this door.  Well, now it was my turn!

 

On our last day in the park, I was thrilled to see a display of Precious Moments dolls dressed as Disney characters in one of the gift shops.  To make it even better, the designer of the dolls, Linda Rick, was also there!  I just had to buy Alice, and she signed her for me.  Linda was so sweet and gracious to pose in a photo with me.

 

Big Alice meeting Little Alice for the first time.

 

I had really hoped that I would meet the "real" Alice character while in Disneyland.  However, I didn't hold out much hope since I've rarely seen her before.  Well, as luck would have it, we decided to get an ice cream in one of the shops.  I sat down at a table to hold our seats while my husband went to stand in line for the ice cream.  The minute he walked away, who should walk around the corner but Alice!  I was so sad that I could only watch Alice from a distance and not get my photo taken with her since my husband had walked away.  But just a few seconds later, he returned because the line for ice cream was too long, and before he knew what hit him, I had thrown my camera in his hands and dashed over towards Alice!

 

I even got Little Alice in the picture!

 

On our way home:  Since we were sitting in the emergency exit of the plane, we needed to be familiar with the emergency procedures.  Alice took this very seriously.

 

She got a little bored during the flight and decided to climb the seats for a better view.  Unfortunately, she got stuck between the cracks.

 

"Is it time to exit yet?" she kept asking.

 

Hanging from the window, above the clouds.  What a view!

 

After an uneventful flight, we made it home safe and sound.  And oh, we brought another stowaway home with us:

 

Pinocchio!

 

He was just too cute to leave behind in Disneyland.  My sweet husband could see how much I liked him, and persuaded me to buy him, too.  I think Big Alice was pleased to have a friend along for the trip to their new home.

 

"Why, Pinocchio, what a big nose you have!" (But I think it's rather cute!)

 

These cuties are all vinyl and stand about 16" tall.  They have nice quality wigs and well-made, detailed outfits.  While Precious Moments dolls are sold on the web, these Disney versions are only sold in the Disney Parks.  I am so glad that we happened to be there at just the right time which afforded me the opportunity to add these two to my collection.

 

It's hard to believe that the past 30 years have flown by so quickly.  Here's to 30 more years with my sweetheart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amelia as "Alice"

"Oh, Dinah, how could anyone possibly like a book without any pictures in it?"

 

"Mr. Rabbit, wait!  Please wait!  Where are you running off to in such a hurry?"

 

How very curious!  A tea party, in the middle of nowhere.

 

"May I join you?"

 

"You are late!"

 

"Late for what?" asked Alice.

 

"Why, the 'unbirthday' celebration, of course," announced the White Rabbit.

 

"Oh, dear...this table is rather large, or perhaps, I'm too small...I can't quite reach the teapot..."

 

The more I've been enjoying my Girl for All Time Amelia, the more I realized that she would make the perfect "Alice".  I had the perfect blue, cotton sateen fabric in my stash for her dress.  It is trimmed with vintage trims and closes in back with snaps under decorative buttons.

 

Many, vintage, Alice illustrations picture her wearing black & white striped tights.  I made her a pair using a thrifted, women's knit shirt.  So easy and gratifying.

 

The skirt and bib for her apron are cut from a vintage hankie.

 

My "Alice" collection is growing bit by bit.  Next month, Hubby and I are going to Disneyland (by ourselves!) to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary.  I can hardly wait!  I hope to come home with a few more Alice things for my collection.  I will also take along my mini Disney animator Alice doll as a travel doll.  I plan on taking lots of pictures with her at all the places we visit.  Did I already say I can hardly wait?!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8" Tonner Alice in Wonderland Doll

A few weeks ago, I attended a doll luncheon whose theme was "Falling Down the Rabbit Hole".   Imagine...a get-together with other doll lovers, centered entirely on Alice in Wonderland!  You didn't have to ask me twice if I wanted to attend, especially when I found out that the  souvenir all the attendees would receive was an 8" doll by Robert Tonner.  I love Tonner dolls, and I was sure I'd love this little Alice as well.  She did not disappoint:

8" of perfection from the top of her blond head to the soles of her cute, little Maryjane shoes.

I also found this adorable little hutch at Goodwill shortly after the luncheon...I thought it might be the perfect scale to use as a prop with little Alice.  It's plastic, but ornately modeled, so it really appealed to me.  The bottom doors are actually a drawer that pulls out, so one could store items down there if needed.  I just thought it would be a cute place to display the china Alice tea set (bottom shelf) that I picked up at Tuesday Morning a few months ago.

It's only three pieces--a plate, a cup & saucer (which are molded together),and a teapot with non-removable lid.  For some reason, I was having trouble getting my camera to keep all three items in focus, so this picture focuses on the plate...

...while this one focuses on the teapot:

Tuesday Morning used to get lots of great deals on dolls and collectible china sets like this one, but lately I don't find as much good stuff there anymore.

I think Alice looks right at home in front of this hutch.

This Alice has lovely, blue painted eyes and a silky, thick wig.   Her arms can lift out at the sides as well as up and down.  Another nice feature about this little cutie is that she has jointed knees!

"Oh, no!  Dinah, you are not to be up there!" 

(I think Alice's cat Dinah is usually portrayed as a dark colored kitten, but this little, china, Siamese cat was the only one I had available)

I love miniatures.  I bought this little kitty with my own money when I was a child.  My father built me a dollhouse, and I spent countless hours playing with it.  This little kitty was one of the "pets" in my dollhouse.

"No, Dinah, you mustn't!"

"You come down from there right now!"

Alice needed to drag over a chair in order to reach her naughty kitty!

Finally!  Safe in her lap at last.  Here you can see the way Alice's little knees can bend when she's sitting.

The week following the Alice luncheon, my doll club had our monthly meeting at a local tea house.  We all donned hats (provided by the restaurant!) and used our best manners (just kidding...I think we were all having too much fun for our own good!)  Here I am with my youngest, who got to come along on this excursion.

She brought along one of her favorite baby dolls, a vintage Corolle doll.

And I brought along Alice, who started to get into quite a bit of mischief, what with perching on things like teapots and the like.

She thought the sugar cubes looked tasty, and besides, one never knows if they might come in handy at a later date if she nibbled at one and it caused her to grow taller...

This little Alice is simply adorable.  I love her petite size, her serene expression, her bendable knees, and her detailed outfit.  She makes a delightful addition to my Alice collection.