Doll Show Shopping Finds

Hi Doll Friends,

We had a fabulous day at the Bayou Bebe's Doll Show recently. The fun and excitement of going to a doll show is almost indescribable! I took some pictures so that I could try to share a little of that excitement with you.

Imagine walking into a grand hall filled with all kinds of dolls as far as the eye can see...

There really was something for everyone there. Dolls from antique to vintage to modern, and everything in between. 

There were so many bargains at the show, that I couldn't possibly have bought everything that was an amazing deal or even everything that I wanted. If you love bargains, you need to go to a doll show... prices were so low, it's unbelievable.

I realize now that a lot of my pictures are of the wonderful antique dolls that I saw, but there were tables full of brand new dolls too, including Barbie, Monster High, and even whole booths dedicated to reborn dolls. I wish I could have gotten pictures of everything.

There were also lots of accessories at the show, like furniture, miniatures, doll clothes, and shoes. There were also booths with every color and type of fabric that you could possibly want for sewing doll clothes. Fabrics, silk ribbon, tiny trims, and beautiful lace... 

So I guess you're wondering what we brought home. Well, here's a sneak peak of our huge haul...

Now, I went to the doll show with my 3 daughters. When we got there, my oldest and middle daughers wandered off together, while my youngest and I slowly looked at the first table, just trying to take it all in. A few minutes later, they came back with my middle daughter (11 years old) carrying a Giggles doll.  

I've been looking for a Giggles doll for a long time because I grew up with Giggles. I was so excited and completely shocked that they had bought this precious doll for just $10. Giggles is an 18" doll that was made by Ideal from 1967-1969.  She tilts her head from side to side and giggles when you move her arms. She has "flirty eyes", which means her eyes move from side to side when her head tilts. My sister, who was 8 1/2 years old, got a Giggles doll for Chrismas when I was just 5 months old.  This picture is from my first Christmas, and my big sister is holding her new Giggles doll. You can even see the Giggles box on the floor behind me.

Another doll from my childhood was Holly Hobbie. She is a 16" tall ragdoll made by Knickerbocker. I found her at the doll show in clean, excellent condition for just $2.

Not long ago I posted about my new Bleuette doll (see that post here). As I mentioned in that post, a nice antique Bleuette doll could cost around $5,000 or more, and the artist made reproduction Bleuette dolls usually cost around $250 and up. I was so excited to find this little wooden trunk with a beautiful Bleuette head and mohair wig for just $20.  She is a reproduction by doll artist, Laura Kelley from New York.  She is marked SFBJ 247 Paris Laura Kelley 12/05. I have already ordered a wooden Bleuette body, and I can't wait til it arrives to put her together.

I also bought these two adorable Bleuette dresses, so once she's all put together, she'll have something to wear.

I found this adorable shabby chic cabinet that is about 15" tall for just $15. The seller also threw in the china tea set for just $2.

And this miniature metal doll carriage with bedding and doll for $3.

I got this sweet Mammy doll from Gone With The Wind for $5.

  

She even has her rustling red petticoat.

I just fell in love with these two antique China Head dolls, so they came home with me.

My youngest daughter got a My Little Pony Equestria Girl doll.

My two younger daughters are definitely doll collectors already. My oldest daughter, the book-loving school teacher, doesn't collect dolls for herself, but loves to help us look for dolls. But, even she found a doll for herself at the doll show, a book related doll of course, Harry Potter.

The tall doll in the back is a 30" tall walking doll from the 1950's. She is marked AE on the back of her neck, indicating she was made by Allied Eastern. If you hold on to her left arm, she walks with you. One foot on the floor causes the other foot to swing forward. 

Here is a close up of her sweet face. She appears to be wearing her original dress and matching hair bow. One of the vendors gave her to my 11 year old daughter. Doll Show vendors are so generous, and they love to see the younger generation interested in doll collecting. Junior collectors are the future of the hobby after all. 

These two little dolls are 11" Baby Mine dolls made by Ideal from 1951-1954. They have all hard plastic, fully jointed bodies with blue side-glancing sleep eyes.

My younger daughters like Kewpie dolls, and they got these two little vinyl Kewpies and this 1972 Cameo Kewpie Gal doll.

I got this Wee Patsy made by Effanbee. I think she is either Alice in Wonderland or Mary Had a Little Lamb. She is just about 5" tall, and she came with a little lamb. I don't know if the lamb came with her originally or if someone added it. I'm not sure what year this reissue is from, but probably before 2002 when Robert Tonner purchased the Effanbee Company. 

I bought some 100% silk ribbon and a pink flower trim. Did you know that craft and fabric stores don't sell 100% silk ribbon anymore? I was looking for some recently, but I could only find polyester ribbon in stores.

I also picked up some vintage cotton lace.

This little framed 5 x 7 Cream of Wheat dolly picture was just too sweet not to bring it home.

I picked up some back issues of Doll News Magazine for just $1 each. This is the official magazine of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, and is sent out to members only. These wonderful thick magazines are packed with beautiful full color doll photos and informative articles, not ads like other magazines.

Just above the magazines, you can also see a couple of cute dollhouse rugs that a vendor gave to my daughters. Doesn't the braided rug look just perfect in Hitty's house?  ♥ I love it! ♥

I strongly encourage you to search for doll shows in your area. Check the United Federation of Doll Club's Event Calendar to search by location. You can also search online by typing "Doll Show and your state or location" into your search bar to see what comes up.

We are planning a trip to Fairhope, Alabama this Saturday, March 14, 2015 for the Eastern Shore Doll Study Club's Annual Doll Show and Sale. Looking forward to another exciting doll show!!!

Hugs ♥ 
 - Lisa

Kewpie Dolls at Tuesday Morning

I've been interested antique and vintage Kewpie dolls for a while now. Such adorable little faces with precious side glancing eyes. Imagine my surprise to walk in to Tuesday Morning and find new Kewpie dolls on the shelf!

The History of Kewpie

In case anyone isn't familiar with Kewpie Dolls, here's a little background information. Rose O'Neill, born in 1874, was an American illustrator, artist and writer. In 1909, she created the popular comic characters, Kewpies. According to O'Neill, the idea for Kewpies came to her in a dream. Her first Kewpie illustrations were printed in the December 1909 issue of Ladies' Home Journal, and from there, Kewpie became internationally popular. Her Kewpie illustrations were sculpted into dolls in 1912.

The first Kewpie dolls were made of bisque by J.D. Kestner in Germany from 1912-1915.

Kewpie dolls were an international hit, and by 1914, O'Neill had become the highest paid female illustrator in the country. The Kewpie brand became a household name, and her illustrations were used to advertise products from Kellog's Corn Flakes to Jell-O, Colgate, and Sears.

Composition and celluloid Kewpie dolls were produced in the United States from 1916 to the 1930's.

Composition Kewpie

Celluloid Kewpie

Sears Catalog 1922

Wow, can you believe composition Kewpie dolls were only 58¢ each from the Sears Catalog in 1922?

In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic Kewpie dolls. Soft rubber and vinyl Kewpies were produced by Cameo and Jesco starting in the 1960's.

Kewpie Today 

I am excited to see that after 100 years, Kewpie dolls are still popular enough to be found in stores today.

These come in a clear plastic box with a pink and green cardboard liner. The front of the box simply says Kewpie An American Treasure.

The back says ©2011 Charisma Brands. Kewpie is a registered trademark under license from Jesco. It also mentions that Kewpies were created in 1909 by illustrator Rose O'Neill. The bottom right corner says This is not a toy. For the adult collector over 14 years of age. I'm not sure why they are recommended for ages 14 and up, since they're vinyl dolls. I guess they were designed for collectors.

Here's little Kewpie Bunny Hop out of her box. The dolls stand about 8" tall (not including their costumes).

Her pink jacket with ruffled sleeves has a tag attached that says Kewpie Handcrafted in China for Cameo Collectibles.

Her furry white and pink bunny ear headband is removable.

Under her pink jacket, she is wearing a white eyelet sundress with gathered top, pink and white floral trim, organza sleeves, and pink tulle attached underskirt.

The dress closes in the back with two hook and eye fasteners. She is marked Jesco on her back.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a little red heart actually painted on her chest, reminiscent of the red paper heart sticker the first Kewpie dolls had. She has white bloomers, white lacy socks with tiny pink bows in the back, and pink shoes.

Her complete ensemble.

She has painted side-glancing eyes with tiny painted upper lashes, the classic watermelon smile, and rosy chubby cheeks. She has molded tufts of hair on the top, sides, and back of her head.

She is jointed at the neck, shoulders, and hips.

She has cute dimpled knees and the impression of her big toe sculpted on each foot. She can stand well on her own with or without her shoes.

She has chubby starfish shaped hands.

I like her best dressed in her eyelet dress sans the jacket and bunny ears. I'll save the jacket for winter and the bunny ears for Halloween or Easter. For now, I like seeing her cute little molded tufts of hair.

My 11 year old daughter picked Kewpie dressed in a Sock Monkey costume.

The little Sock Monkey hat is so adorable and it is very well made with embroidered monkey face, a big pom pom on top, and smaller pom pom tassels hanging from the hat's ear flaps.

Actually, all of the Kewpie clothes are very well made with embroidered details, lining, finished seams, snaps, and hook and eye fasteners (no velcro). The back of the Sock Monkey costume closes with two snaps. There's even a little curled monkey tail.

There are little monkey footprint toes embroidered on the bottom of the feet.

My 8 year old daughter chose the cat themed Kewpie wearing a frilly pink dress.

She is wearing a removable grey furry hat with pink cat ears, darker grey lining, and bright pink pom poms.

Her adorable dress is bright pink with layers and layers of ruffles.

Her dress closes in the back with one snap and one hook and eye fastener.

Underneath all the layers of ruffles, she has on white bloomers.

She has white socks with pink tulle ruffles and grey shoes with embroidered kitty faces.

I haven't seen Kewpie dolls at any other stores. I did find them on toysrus.com for $34.99 each, but they appear to be out of stock. I think these are an excellent deal at Tuesday Morning for just $14.99.

I also have to show you this vintage bisque Kewpie that I got for my birthday Saturday. Local antique store find. The sticker on the bottom says Made in Japan.

I'm adding this picture of Kewpie with Mini American Girl Kit for size comparison. Mini American Girls are 6" tall. Kewpie, at 8",  is a little taller and of course chubbier.

What do you think of the Kewpie dolls from Tuesday Morning? Any Kewpie collectors out there? Please leave a comment below.

Have a great week!
Hugs,
Lisa