Antique Show Treasures and a New Package--It was a Good Day!

Yesterday I got to spend the day with a good friend at one of the largest antique shows in the nation, which just happens to take place a few miles from my home.  How lucky are we?  Over 1,300 vendor booths--it takes an entire day just to see everything.  Here are the items that managed to come home with me:

Love, love, LOVE this antique metal baby buggy.  Sticker underneath says "made in Germany".  And check out the adorable, German, vintage plastic baby doll riding inside--she has layers of beautiful, handmade clothing.

Doll sized clothespins.  How cute are they?

A pile of vintage hankies, trim, and linens, perfect for doll clothes:

Antique baby shoes in a delicious shade of robin's egg blue.  Long ago, someone marked "1901" and a child's name (illegible) on the sole of one of the shoes.  I think these shoes will be perfect for my Rollinson cloth baby I bought recently.

Check out this miniature, metal baby buggy--isn't it just the cutest?  At some point, I plan on making myself a dollhouse for all the miniatures I've collected/hoarded over the years, and this will go in the children's nursery.

And can you tell what this is?  At first I thought it was just a little, stuffed dog.  I thought it would be a good prop for my smaller dolls.  Then, on closer inspection, I realized it was a tape measure!  The tape comes of the tail area.

Why don't they still make cute things like this?!

And last, but not least, the item that made my heart skip a beat when I spied it:

This antique, ELECTRIC, child's stove!  It has a cord and can be plugged in!  There are actual heating elements in the stove.  Can you imagine?  I suppose this is the older version of today's "Easy Bake Ovens".  I haven't tested it to see if it still works...I'm kind of wary of plugging in that ancient cord!  So I put the cord away for now.  I've really been wanting American Girl Kit's stove which was retired long ago...but it commands quite high prices on Ebay.  When I found this one, I thought it was just about perfect!

The door to the oven opens and closes.

This stove is heavy.  It is completely made of metal--no cheap plastic here.  The label on the front says it's a "Quality Brand".  I'm trying to pinpoint a date, but I haven't found anything like it yet on the internet.  I'm guessing it might be from the 30's-40's?  Anybody have any ideas?  Anyway, I love it.  Here is Ruthie, standing next to it for scale:

Please excuse her pajamas.  I woke her up early to be my model and she hadn't had a chance to get dressed yet!

There...that's better!  Ruthie was really embarrassed about modeling in her pj's, so I changed her into her Play Outfit. 

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across a bag of doll clothes at Goodwill, and decided to take a peak inside to see if there was anything in it that would make it worth it to purchase the entire bag.  Well, it just happened to contain Ruthie's Pajamas and Play Outfit with the shoes!  It also had a whole bunch of Our Generation & Madame Alexander clothing...score!  Not bad for $7.

So, I had a wonderful day at the antique show with my friend.  I came home, thinking things couldn't get much better, and what did I find waiting for me?  This huge box:

My purchase last week from A Girl For All Time!  I was so excited!  However, we were having company arriving shortly, so I didn't get to open the package right then.  I had to carry it up to my bedroom and leave it there while I prepared for our guests.  Talk about torture!  I will show you later what's inside, so stay tuned!

Happy 4th of July from A Girl for All Time MATILDA!

Are you familiar with A Girl For All Time Dolls?

They are a wonderful line of dolls from Great Britain depicting historical eras in British history, much like the American Girl historical dolls do for the United States.

This is Matilda Marchmont.  She is the first in the line of dolls from this series, and depicts a 13 year old Tudor girl from the time of Henry VIII.  The other four dolls (so far) in this line are her descendents, so they are all related!  What a neat concept.  There are books that go along with these dolls as well, telling their stories.

This photo is credited to Swish-swirl.com who sews fabulous outfits for these girls.  From left to right are Matilda, Lydia (Georgian girl), Amelia (Victorian girl), Clementine (1940's girl), and Sam (1960's girl)

As you can see, I have redressed my Matilda into a more current day dress, although she still reminds me of an old-fashioned girl.  I styled her long, luxurious hair into looped braids, which instantly made her look like a young Margaret O'Brien to me:

The first time I saw these dolls, I wasn't sure if I liked them.  Their faces are definitely different from most other dolls on the market.  But the more I looked at them, the more they grew on me.

Matilda came with the key necklace--I think it is supposed to unlock a hidden compartment in her trunk where she hides her diary.  Mysterious!

I have to take a moment and show the cutest little bear I found at Goodwill the other day.  The minute I picked him up, I knew he was a quality teddy-bear.  He had a hang tag which identified him as an artist's bear made by Steve Shutt.  He is all jointed and 100% mohair, and he wears the most darling, little sailor outfit.  I love him!  Not a bad purchase for $2, I think!

I love Matilda's serious expression...

...and I think Matilda loves Little Bear.

So sweet.

Lydia is the next one I'd like to add to my collection.  Not quite as serious as Matilda, she has the hint of a smile beginning to show.

Another photo courtesy of swish-swirl.com...this is Elinor, the Elizabethan girl.  She is slated to be released this fall.  I love, love, love her red hair and blue eyes combination!

These dolls are completely vinyl and jointed in the usual places, as well as at their elbows and knees.  They stand 16" tall and are much thinner than American Girl dolls, so they cannot share clothes.  However, that will not stop me from adding more to my collection--these dolls are gorgeous!  Everything about them is high quality--their outfits are beautifully made and close with snaps (no Velcro)--and their hair feels real, like human hair!  There are books available that go along with these dolls, but they don't come with the doll.  I will most likely buy Matilda's book soon as I'd love to read more about her time in history.  You can see all these dolls and their available extra clothing and accessories at www.agirlforalltime.com . 

Happy 4th of July!

Wellie Wishers vs. Hearts 4 Hearts Dolls

Yes, I caved and bought some Wellie Wishers.  As in plural.  More than one.  I just couldn't decide between the two I liked best, so I got them both!

Meet Emmerson and Willa!

As stated before, I love Asian dolls, so Emmerson was a must.  But I also love red-heads, so I couldn't leave Willa behind.

Willa has a light sprinkling of freckles and beautiful, hazel eyes.  She is supposed to be the animal lover of the group, which is why she's wearing bunny ears and a hedgehog printed skirt. 

Her boots are adorable ladybugs!

Emmerson is so pretty.  She loves to be in the spotlight, which is why she wears a dance outfit.

Check out her ballet-themed wellies!

Back view.  I was a little concerned about their hair...they are wearing what appears to be nice quality wigs, but Willa's hair has so many short hairs along the part line that I wasn't sure if the rest of her hair could come out of the pony tails without looking funny.  But I decided to try:

Not bad!  I had to spend a little time, finger-combing the longer hair strands over the short parts, but I finally got it looking presentable.  I think it would look even better if I used a comb, but I didn't have one handy at this point.

Very cute with her hair down.

Here they are, with one of my favorite Hearts 4 Hearts dolls, Lilian.  I turned her into "Alice" by making her an Alice in Wonderland outfit.    As you can see in the picture, Lilian is just 1/2" shorter than the Wellie Wishers.

Here they are with the rest of my Hearts 4 Hearts girls.

Top row, left to right:  Dell, Consuelo (replaced wig), Tipi

Bottom row:  Lauryce, Emmerson, Lilian, Willa, and Shola

I love the Hearts 4 Hearts dolls.  I was sad when they were discontinued, especially since I had only found about them shortly before that happened.  I think they were an awesome doll for the money.  I bought all of mine at Target, and I think they were somewhere around $25.

Here is a shot to show how similar their body construction is.  Wellie Wishers are about 1/4" bigger around in their waist and chest measurements.  As a result, they can share clothes (and even shoes!)with the Hearts 4 Hearts girls!

While they both have the standard 5 joints, Hearts 4 Hearts dolls can move their head at different angles, while Wellie Wishers are more limited with just side to side movement.  The photo above shows Tipi looking up to her right...

...then down...

...and up...

...and then up to her left.  This small feature gives them so much more posability.  I wish the Wellie Wishers had this feature.

In this photo I was trying to show how far their legs must spread in order for them to sit--pretty close to the same, but the Wellies have a slightly bigger spread than the Hearts 4 Hearts.

So...would I recommend these dolls?  Yes.  I do like the Wellie Wishers--I think they have adorable faces and darling outfits.  Will I buy another one?  Probably not.  I think their price point ($60) is rather high for this type of doll.  But it's American Girl, so what did we expect?  Considering that the very similar Hearts 4 Hearts dolls were only $25 and have more articulation in the neck joint, I think that American Girl could have done better.  That said, I'm glad I got the two I did, but I don't feel a burning desire to add any more to my collection. 

But have you heard???  Hearts 4 Hearts dolls have been licensed to a new company and will be relaunched in time for the 2016 holiday season.  I can't wait!  I've read that the first four to be reintroduced will be Dell, Rahel, Nahji, and Consuelo.  Yay!  I never got a chance to get Nahji and Rahel, so I suppose those will be the first ones I get.  I'm excited to see how the new ones will compare to the originals.  Will they have the same outfits?  Will the quality be the same?  Will they introduce new dolls?  Oh, the doll world is so exciting, don't you think?!