The Moldy Doily

doll parts

My friend Taryn recently sent me a link to this sweet jewelry line that incorporates lovely dolly parts (little limbs and precious heads) into fancy pieces. The collection by M. Graves has an interesting story behind it as well. Check out the wares and then read about the artist below. Clever

SXSW Dolly

Leave it to Cynthia to discover this moldy dolly for me in Texas. She said she saw it and knew I had to have it. The original tag attached with string to the ankle said "armless doll" . The shop was waiting for someone to come in and take her away...

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

I was a strange kid. I had an overactive imagination and was immature for my age. At about 12 (when most normal girls are reading Judy Blume books and dreaming of making out with boys) I would send away for ventriloquist dummies with proof of purchase seals. I always wanted to be a puppet master. I was allowed to pick out one Pelham puppet for my birthday or Xmas every year as a gift from my Nana and Papa. The Pelham puppets were imported from Germany or somewhere where craft was not dead. I had many different characters but my all time favorite was the hobbly horse followed by the fairie ballerina. In the fifth grade talent show I rode to school on the bus with my puppets...and a Tchaikovsky cassette tape. Most other girls in my class were performing in a dance number by Billy Joel. When I arrived at school I discovered to my horror that the performing puppet strings were tangled in a messy web. I called my mother crying and she drove to the school and tried to calm me down and untangle. When she couldn't fix them she asked me if she could cut them and restring them. I reluctantly let her...and they remain that way today. I was obsessed as a kid with the Pelham catalog. All the interesting clothing and painted wooden faces on the pages. I wonder if kids would be different today if they were encouraged to play with a puppet instead of video games?
Anyway I suggest you make a sock puppet today or a paper lunch bag one and then watch the movie DUMMY by Greg Pritikin and get inspired.

The Niki Doll

I have always said that my friend Niki looks like a dolly. With her pale skin and electric red curls she gives Shirley Temple and Orphan Annie a run for their money. I found this amazing doll on Ebay- which was bid up to some insane price- and sadly I did not win. So I guess I must make my own Niki doll (or hang out with the real thing.)

HELLO Dolly! act 1

I have a weird fascination with cloth dolls from the 1920's. I tend to like the ones that seem sad and crumbly. Most of these images are from the dolls I could never actually own- but loved their look. I know it is quite creepy but I've always liked the idea that these dolls were never meant for children. Boudoir dolls were "adult" dolls and not meant to be played with by small children but rather to be displayed as decoration. There are stories of the dolls as status symbols. They were given as gifts by wealthy suitors to eligible young ladies and then dressed to match the attire of the young ladies when carried as escorts for "protection" on their social engagements. I'm not one of those lonely old ladies who collects them or talks with them over tea- but I do admire them in photos for their mad gypsy style.