Some Christmas Postcards

I like to go to antique co-ops but I don't always find a doll worthy of buying.  A little item that doesn't cost much, doesn't take up a lot of space, and feeds my need for visual stimulation is the post card.  Here are two from my collection for Christmas.   The one on the left is postmarked 1907.  The other says 1920.
The little verse reads
   May Santa have treasures for you in store.
      All that you wish for and even more,
   So that your Christmas be full of joy,
      Goodies delight you, and many a toy.

Surprise Paper Doll Find

Surprise Findings

   I love wandering through antique co-ops.  You never know what you might find.  On a recent trip I found two interesting cut paper doll sets.  I like cut sets and even though I know they are seldom complete, they make good additions to my research on fashion history.

   One set I found had a glamour puss paper doll named Lola Talley.  Who the heck was she?  I wanted to know more so I searched the web.  The story is in the latest issue of Doll Castle News.

 





I made a video of my paper doll art.  It is available on YouTube as Lauren Welker's Original Paper Dolls.

 

I Went to Paris!

When I was about 14 years old the Mona Lisa was loaned to the United States.  It was exhibited in Washington, D.C.  My grandmother, Fairie, took me on a bus trip to see the famous painting.  We ate at a restaurant that had many oil paintings on the walls.  I never forgot that trip.

It became my life's dream to visit the Mona Lisa at her home, the Louvre, in Paris.  In 2011, fifty years later, I accomplished that dream.  With my dear friend, Diane Lolli, I got to see the Mona Lisa at home in the most beautiful city in the world.  I will never be the same.  Love always changes you.

The pictures shown here are the church at Montmartre and Versailles.

Dolls with Nothing to Wear

I bought these two dolls at an auction years ago with the clear objective of making them wonderful outfits.  Poor things, it hasn't happened yet.  Finally a friend took mercy on the brunette and made her a dress and hat.  She now has joined my little family of German dolls.  Serendipitously I have bought a mama and some children that just look right together.  Only one of them has an original costume that has survived and that costume is just being held together by dirt.  Generally I am in favor of gently washing doll clothing, but I know that outfit wouldn't survive. 

I have the habit of sketching out all my own outfits that I will take on road trips, especially conventions and shows, so that I will pack everything that I need.  I have done this for decades.  Sometimes I find an old sketch and realize I still have an outfit or two that should have gone out the door ages ago.  Those outfits aren't quite as old as these dolls but they are getting there.



I'm Teporarily Paper Dolled Out

I'm temporarily paper dolled out.   I guess I need to clean up the house and do the laundry.  How sad.  Recently I saw a cut set of the Dogpatch paper dolls.  Mammy and Pappy Yokum, Lil' Abner and Daisy Mae.  They were my favorites when I was a kid.  I guess I had others but those are the ones I remember playing with.  Here's a pic of some of my paper dolls.

Life's a Beach

I'm back from spending four lovely days at the shore.  Why does our time away from home go so fast?  My  pal Catherine and I had a great time reading, relaxing, eating and shopping.  That's right -I don't swim.  I love being near the water.  I just don't want to be in the water.  That's why we always book a shore front room, so we can sit on the porch and look at the ocean. 

I recently saw a show that traced the indigenous people of the Americas using DNA.  Once people thought all the "native Americans" came across a land bridge (now gone) from Asia to Alaska.  We now know some of them sailed across the ocean from Africa.  It is hard to imagine setting off on a journey when you don't know where you are going or if you will ever return.

Come to think of it, life is a little like that.  You don't know where you are going, how long the journey will be, or where you will land.