Doll Luncheon & Florida Doll Store Goodies

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer! June has definitely been an extremely busy month here. I'm sorry for the lack of updates and posts.  Vacation Bible School, Youth Camp, and other summer activities have made for a very fun and busy June.

I signed up to join the local Doll Club this month. I attended my first club meeting in May as a guest, so June was my second meeting, and I officially turned in my application. The ladies in the club are so nice, and they are very knowledgeable and talented. One of the ladies offers doll making classes.  She invited me to come to a class just to see what they do. Of course being the curious doll enthusiast that I am, I had to check it out. These ladies are some very talented artisans, and I saw a lot of beautiful dolls that they have created. I decided to join them for these fun classes that meet once a week, and I am currently working on my first doll.

Some of the ladies from the club invited me to go with them to a Doll Luncheon in Pensacola, FL. I had never been to a Doll Luncheon before and didn't really know what to expect. I am so thrilled that I had the opportunity to go to the Luncheon, and I'm so thankful to my new doll club friends for taking me along. We had such a delightful time.  In case you've never been to one of these special events, I thought I'd share what our day was like.

We left at 6:00 am on Saturday morning, heading to Florida. We stopped along the way in Alabama to pick up another one of her friends. To make an awesome day even more special, when we got to her friend's house, I got to go inside and see her beautiful doll collection too.

The Doll Luncheon was held by the Pensacola Doll Study Club at the Pensacola Naval Air Station Mustin Beach Officer's Club.

The theme of the Luncheon was "By the Sea". Inside, large round tables were set up for lunch.

Along one side of the room, there were tables displayed with beautiful dolls. There was such a variety of dolls on display that there was something for everyone to enjoy. There were antique dolls, American Girls, Ellowyne, Shirley Temple, Effanbee dolls, AI Ball Jointed Dolls, Madame Alexanders, Monster High, Barbie, Disney dolls, and many more. Here are some picture of the display tables. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

There were two silent auctions that attendee's could bid on if they pleased. The first auction was a lovely set of companion dolls to go with the Luncheon Souvenir Doll.

The second silent auction item was a beautiful handmade quilt.

Along another side of the room, tables were set up with "Helpers". These dolls that were called "Helpers" were to be raffled off at the luncheon. There was a little bag in front of each doll. Luncheon attendee's could buy raffle tickets and place their tickets in their favorite dolls' bags for a chance to win them. Here are some pictures of the "Helpers".

After lunch, there was a presentation on doll history by Kitty Murks, who is the feature editor of Dolls Beautiful Magazine.

After the presentation, drawings were held for door prizes and the "Helper" raffle dolls. On each table there was a little bottle with a message inside. We were instructed to open the bottle and answer the question inside.

The guest with the closest birthday to the Luncheon date won a table prize. Of the eight at my table, my birthday was the closest, and I won the prize. I opened the box to find a precious doll dress.

Finally, after all of the other Luncheon activities were completed, we were presented with our Luncheon souvenir dolls. Each attendee received a beautiful doll made by doll artist Glinda Martin. The doll box is even a lovely keepsake.

The inside of the box is lined with a seashell print paper, and the doll was held in place with satin ribbon. The chair, umbrella and bucket were table favors.

She is an all bisque doll, and she stands about 10" tall. Her name, Shelley, is written inside her wrist tag.

She is an adorable reproduction of an antique Kestner doll. She has beautiful blue glass eyes. I just love her sweet smile and rosy cheeks.

Her golden blond hair hangs in soft curls. It's a mohair wig, and if you've never felt one, it's just as soft as a cotton ball. She wears a beautiful red, white, and blue sailor suit.

Here you can see what an all bisque doll actually looks like. She is jointed at her shoulders and hips. She can stand on her own.

She has molded and hand painted blue socks and black shoes with a brown heel.

She can be posed sitting down.

Here she is in the adorable blue floral dress that I won as a table prize. She looks precious in this dress.

Her clothes are very well made and loaded with details like buttons, snaps, bows, trim, and even little stars.

Luncheon attendees were even given a booklet with patterns to make all of these extra clothes for her.

Dressed back in her sailor outfit, she makes an adorable 4th of July display in this dome along with the table favors.

After the Luncheon, we went to a doll store called Taylor Doll House. This store was chock full of dolls, everything from antique to vintage to modern. There was a 50% off sign on the door, so I was able to find a few goodies to bring home without breaking the bank.

The tiny dollhouse size China Doll is an antique doll from the early 1900's. I love China Dolls and tiny things, so I had to have her. Here she is in my dollhouse.

This tiny little doll is a lady similar to a Frozen Charlotte. Her arms are jointed at the shoulders. She is an antique from the 1880's. I think this tiny lady is precious, especially at well over 100 years old.

I also got a really good bargain on these two little vintage reproduction girls.

I also picked up these two tiny Madame Alexander Raggedy Ann and Andy figurines. The Madame Alexander dolls are actually called Mop Top Billy and Mop Top Wendy. They were still in their boxes from Hallmark. I just couldn't pass these up for just $2 a piece.

You can see how tiny they are with my little 4" Amelia Thimble. They are perfect toys for the dollhouse.

Visit the United Federation of Doll Clubs to find a local doll club in your area. If you're near the Pensacola, Florida area, I'd recommend a visit to an awesome little doll store, Taylor Doll House. Also, if you have the opportunity to attend a Doll Luncheon, I'd highly recommend these fun events!

As always, comments and questions welcome!
Hugs,
Lisa