Baby Catch-A-Ball's Inaction

I fished two size D cell batteries from the battery drawer to test Baby Catch-A-Ball's mechanics and (after she gave me a slight scare followed by a heart-racing one), I discovered how she functions.

Scare #1:
I removed Baby Catch-A-Ball (BCAB) from the box to insert the batteries and discovered her battery cover was missing!  (Did they sell me a doll umpteen years ago without a battery cover? I questioned.)  I peeked into the box and found the cover at the bottom.  Relieved, I inserted the batteries and tested her.  She did nothing.  (These batteries must be old, I thought).  I looked at the diagram on the cover and read the insertion instructions.  I had the batteries inserted incorrectly.  As they say, reading is fundamental.  

With the batteries inserted properly and battery cover on, I placed BCAB in the seated position in my lap facing me with her arms and hands in the "catch-a-ball" position.  I tossed the ball toward her cupped hands (aiming to the area behind her bracelets as the instructions outlined).

Scare #2
She is quite noisy and the speed at which she popped (not threw) the ball back startled me!

An attempt to capture the doll in action by video met with frustration.  I can only imagine how children must have felt in their attempts to make BCAB catch and throw the ball back properly. After multiple unsuccessful tries which caused the old D cells to lose power and my exasperation to mount, I finally captured a decent video (take 10).  Click this link:  Baby Catch-A-Ball Take 6, then arrow through to view takes 7, 9 and 10.  I did not even bother to share take 8.

***

The reason behind BCAB's sly facial expression has become very apparent.  She has a sly grin with tongue sticking out on the side because she knows how frustrating each ball thrower will become in their attempts to see her catch and throw the ball back to them.  Baby-Is-A-Little-Cute-Devil is a more appropriate name for her.

BCAB made me feel like a parent who wanted to show an audience something their child did exceptionally well.  The child then either fails to do so or does it with less enthusiasm. As a result, I have given BCAB some additional names:

Baby-Won't-Act-Right
Baby-Is-Stubborn
Baby-Is-Getting-On-My-Last-Nerve
Baby-What-Is-Your-Problem?
Baby-Do-You-Want-Me-To-Sell-You?

Will I buy fresh D cell batteries to see if they will help her do what she is supposed to do correctly? No, because BCAB has been banished to her box in the corner, indefinitely.  The little stinker!

dbg

Baby Catch-A-Ball

After the spilled milk and Cheerios mishap mentioned, here, Baby Catch-A-Ball and I made a reconnection. Unlike Giggles, I had not considered her missing in action because I knew she was in the doll room.  In my mind she was either in the corner where she was found or at the back of the room where other mint or never removed from box dolls are stored.   I removed her from the box for a quick exam and found her in the pristine condition she was in when I purchased her sometime prior to 2003.  Like Giggles, she is illustrated and described in my first book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls.   See her entry below:

Side panel box graphics illustrate how Baby Catch-A-Ball can throw a ball.

Made by Topper in 1969, this battery-operated doll is supposed to be able to catch her ball and throw it back (as illustrated in the photo immediately above).  I have never inserted batteries to check her functionality.

Before returning the boxed doll to the corner where she was originally, I took photos of the box graphics, the doll, and her instructions, which are shared below:

Box graphics describe the doll's function.

Baby Catch-A-Ball is holding her ball.  The two metal bracelets on her arms activate her catch-a-ball function.  

Isn't that face adorable?

Instruction sheet.

I found the following online description of how Baby Catch-A-Ball works:

The two* balls that she came with have a metallic coating.  Each of her bracelets are part of an open circuit to her arm cocking and releasing mechanism, which is actuated by a battery operated motor. The circuit is closed when the ball connects with both bracelets simutaneously. When this happens, the motor starts to turn, her arms lower, and the ball (hopefully) rolls into her cupped hands. Then, after a moment, her arms pop up, throwing the ball to you! http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?babycatchindex

*My doll has only one ball.

No, she is not one of the dolls I have decided to sell.

 dbg

Cheerios and What Makes Little Girls Giggle

I was forced to move these doll boxes from their normal front-corner-of-the-room location.  The two Wannabee dolls have been moved from their prior location and are now blocking the doorway.  The other dolls on the right also had to be moved.

My usual Monday through Saturday breakfast is a bowl of Cheerios with lactose-free milk.  The sugar and sodium content in Cheerios is low and I like the taste, which is why it is my chosen cereal staple.  On Sundays we eat a cooked breakfast, taking turns preparing it.  I dread my Sundays because that means I am forced to get out of bed and "make noise with some pots and pans" to prepare it.  I'd rather sleep in and have breakfast in bed prepared by my husband.

Last Friday, after preparing my quick weekday breakfast and a half cup of coffee (having recently reduced my caffeine intake in an effort to slowly wean myself from it), with my cereal bowl in one hand and coffee cup in another, I stepped down into the dark doll room/office.  Using the hand that held the cereal bowl and spoon, I attempted to turn on the light.  The plan was to begin my work day.  That plan was delayed by several minutes caused by a cereal-and-milk-filled spoon that flipped after bumping the wall. Some of the cereal landed on top of boxed dolls that line the wall below the light switch.  I had to stop and clean up the mess.

Several doll boxes (most have been removed in this photo) had lined the wall from the floor to just underneath the light switch (which is not visible in this photo).

There were only a few pieces of Cheerios visible on one or two of the boxes on top of the stack, but I wanted to make certain none had fallen behind the boxes.  This forced me to remove several standing dolls and doll boxes.  That is when I found her box.

The box that contained my missing in action  (MIA) Giggles by Ideal was one of the ones on the bottom of the previously stacked dolls in boxes.  Her box happened to be in the corner and was hidden by other boxes that were on top and in front of it.

Before finding her, I knew Giggles was either in the doll room or in a closet where a few other dolls are stored.  Exactly where she was had been a mystery for a few years until the spilled milk and Cheerios led me to her.

Giggles by Ideal has a box date of 1968.

Giggles arrived to my doll family during the late 1990s as a long sought-after doll.  After discovering her in Black Dolls an Identification and Value Guide Book II by Myla Perkins (Collector Books, 1995), I had to have her!  This was during my pre-Internet doll buying years when the hunt and find for dolls was more challenging.  It took some 2+ years to find my beloved Giggles.

My doll was featured in Judy Izen's Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls Identification & Value Guide 2nd edition (Collector Books 1998).  Later, I included her in my first book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls (Hobby House Press, 2003), as illustrated below:

As described in my book, "Doll's head and eyes move from side to side when her arms are outstretched and brought together or separated, which causes her to giggle."  Standing 18 inches, she has a soft vinyl face, rigid vinyl body and brown rooted hair.  Her eyes move from side to side along with her head movement.

Giggles illustrates the length of her hair.

Her neon colored top and shorts have orange, yellow, pink, and green stripes of varying heights (top) and widths (shorts).  The year Giggles was released, 1968, I owned a blouse made from the exact same fabric as the doll's clothes.  See me wearing that top below in the next faded photo.  The little one with me is my sister.

My sister and I, circa 1968, are in our "groovy" colored bedroom.  She is seated on a bright orange ottoman that matches the orange in our matching bedspreads.   Her bed is on the other side of the room.  We were 6 and 12, respectively.

Based on her appearance in two published works, my Giggles is a popular little girl who went missing in action for about five years, which is the last time the doll room was given a thorough overhaul.  Her previous owner jotted, "Art's Toy Fair Gardena, Calif. 10/10/68" on her instruction booklet, presumably the date of her original purchase.

Giggles' instructions booklet -- excuse the poor lighting.

I am happy Giggles and I have reconnected.

After cleaning out the corner where she had been stored and returning some of the dolls to their respective locations, the decision has been made to sell a few.  Will Giggles be one of them?

Because of the obvious answer to the question at the top of her box, Who makes little girls giggle?  Giggles will not be one of the dolls seeking a new home.  I placed her back in the same corner, surrounded by other doll boxes.  However, her location has now been documented on the "Where they are" sheet of my doll inventory spreadsheet.  This ordeal coupled with the spreadsheet entry should help me remember her location.

 dbg

Live Love Laugh Finally!

Stock photo, Barbie Live Love Laugh  (LLL) tank top

After checking two different Walmart stores on multiple occasions, I finally found and purchased the Barbie Live Love Laugh tank top. There was only one in stock at the time.

As shown in my image above, I purchased a separate pink shirt that has patent leather sleeves, pocket, and trim at neck.  A third fashion piece is a pink and black skirt.  They were $2.44 each.

There were also two different shoe accessory packs priced the same as the LLL top, which I purchased for the flat shoes they include.

This accessory pack contains a lavender shoulder bag, lavender high-heels, shiny silver choker, aqua head band and bracelet, and gray oxfords

A dark pink purse and matching, flat slip-on shoes; dark pink and yellow necklace, white high heels, yellow bracelet, and white headband are in this accessory pack. 

Goddess, whose new full name is Goddess Emerald*, is wearing the Live Love Laugh top with black leggings (borrowed from Rocawear Grace).  Black sandals cover her feet.

Here she mixes the top and leggings with silver flats and matching purse.

The leggings are now worn with her new pink top with black patent-leather trim.  The kitten-face shoulder bag, cat ears headband and black flats are nice complements.

The pink top and black leggings are worn with pink flats.

The pink top is now paired with the pink and black skirt.  A pink purse and pink flats are added.

Finally, Goddess Emerald exchanged the pink flats for a pair of black ones to complete the look of the pink and black top and skirt ensemble.

*During the 13 hours spent at the ER with a family member recently, I met a delightfully precocious, overly-friendly-with-strangers, 2-year-old (going on 22) whose name is Emerald, Emmy for short. She was there for a minor head injury, but according to her, "I busted my head open in my daddy's car."  She had a visibly swollen area on her forehead, but no open wound.  Her rightfully concerned, mother brought her into the ER to have it examined.  Based on Emmy's behavior, I could tell the bump on the head did not set her back one iota.  She talked from the time she arrived until shortly before an exam room was available.  Her talking ceased only because she fell asleep around 2 a.m.  Because Emmy (who favors the little girl here) has a complexion similar to Goddess', I changed the doll's name to Goddess Emerald.


 dbg

Project Mc2 Dolls ♥ STEM

Project Mc2 dolls by MGA Entertainment are:  Camryn Coyle (C2), McKeyla McAlister (Mc2), Adrienne Attom (A2), and Bryden Bandweth (B2).  These dolls come with a science experiment.

It was through an article in the Daily Mail that I discovered the Project Mc2 dolls and their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) theme, which I think is quite refreshing.  According to Daily Mail, the manufacturer's "aim is to create a new image of girls who are into sciences -- away from the traditional 'geek' character associated with STEM... subjects."

Initially, I incorrectly assumed the dolls were only available in the UK; however, the dolls are already here in the US, available online at Amazon.com, ToysRUs.com, and Target.com.  In his overview of the dolls, one vlogger indicated he purchased his "at Target," which leads me to believe they are also available at physical Target stores.

There are two versions.  One version comes with a different science experiment or project for each doll and retails for $24.99.  Experiments/projects include making a volcano, a lava light, a skateboard, and a glow light.   The core version, priced at $14.99 (the version the vlogger reviewed) includes the doll and a beaker-shaped comb.  In addition to their STEM interests, the dolls already have their own TV show on Netflix:  Project Mc2 (see the link below).

Project Mc2 core dolls include only a beaker-shaped comb.

As shown in the above two images, the two versions are dressed differently.  The doll with experiment appears to be fully articulated.   At 11.75 inches, both versions are playscale in size.
Those with an aversion for dolls with oversized heads, however, might not find either version appealing, even with the STEM theme, as the heads and bodies appear disproportionately sized.  

Close-up of core doll, Bryden Bandweth 

One Amazon.com reviewer gave Bryden Bandweth a 3-star review based on her eye color alone. The reviewer's desire was for brown instead of green eyes for her 5-year-old.  The reviewer pointed out that brown eyes were used for the doll's box image and questioned the reasoning for green eyes.

The actress who plays the role of Bryden Bandweth on Netflix appears to have brown eyes as well.  So I also wonder about MCA's eye color choice for the doll that represents her.  I am happy, however, that her complexion is brown and not tan.

Links and resources for this post:
Daily Mail article
Vlogger's review.
Season 1 of  Project Mc2 on Netflix


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Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

There are many images on the Internet for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award, which I was recently nominated for by Mommy's Doll Club (MDC).  Thank you Chrissie!  I chose the above image which links to the source page.

Here are the rules for the award:
“Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award recognizes the unique voices of women bloggers around the world.”

What you need to do:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.

• Put the award logo on your blog.

• Answer the ten questions they have sent you.

• Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.

• Nominate ten people.

The questions I was asked and the answers follow in italicized text:

1) Besides blogging, what other things do you like to do on the Internet?  I enjoy communicating, often in real time, with others who collect black dolls.  As a result, I created a private doll group on Facebook in July 2014.  This group is a direct spin-off of a former private Yahoo email discussion group that I founded in 2001.  After the activity in the email discussion group fizzled (with social media being the culprit), I closed that group in January 2014 and went for months without the active, daily communication with my doll collecting comrades.  Because I missed our daily networking, I formed the Facebook doll group.  I am also a member of other doll groups on Facebook, but for obvious reasons am more active and enjoy mine the most.

2) Why did you start a doll blog?  Initially I began my doll blog to promote sales of my second black-doll reference book, Black Dolls a Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting, and Experiencing the Passion.  My first post was written in 2008, the year the book was published; however, I did not become an active blogger until 2009 when I decided to share my experience as a happy black-doll collector on a consistent basis through blog posts.  The passion continues; therefore, the blog posts continue.

Leo Moss doll grouping

3) What doll don’t you have that you would most like to have?  I would love to own an original Leo Moss doll.  During the late 1800s through approximately 1932, Leo Moss, a black man from Macon, Georgia, made dolls in the likeness of family members, friends, on commission and/or in exchange for goods and services.  For the most part, Moss used existing white doll parts for the bodies and extremities and sculpted new faces (often over the existing heads) to create ethnically correct features using papier mache.  It is said he made black dolls in an attempt to provide them for his children as manufactured black dolls were either immediately unavailable or nonexistent for them.   At auction, his dolls now sell for multiple thousands of dollars, which is the main reason I do not own an original Leo Moss. 

4) Your favorite American Girl doll accessory?  As a collector and lover of dolls, period, I do not find myself fascinated with doll trinkets and paraphernalia other than their clothes and shoes.  Addy's black cloth doll Ida Bean and additional American Girl books are the only American Girl extras that I own. 

5) Your favorite Non-American Girl doll accessory? Fashions and shoe packs are my favorite non-American Girl doll accessories. 

6) Do you play any instruments and if so, what?  Currently, I do not play an instrument.  I was in the marching band in junior high school and in high school and also briefly in the high school concert band.  I began my band career attempting to play the flute in 6th grade.  I obviously did not have enough air in my lungs to successfully play that wind instrument.  I quickly exchanged my attempt at being a flutist with becoming a clarinetist, at which I excelled, winning at least one award in a competition against students from area high schools.  However, I put that instrument down and never picked it up again after graduating high school.  

7) Favorite type of music to listen to? My favorite type of music is traditional and smooth jazz.  I love it and am often lulled to sleep by smooth jazz.  

8) Tea or Coffee?  Coffee first (two huge cups in the morning) followed by afternoon tea is a Monday through Friday routine.  I can do without the tea on weekends, but my two cups of morning coffee are must-haves, seven days a week.

9) Favorite Movie?  I viewed the 1959 version of Imitation of Life (IoL) at a local movie theater for the first time at around age 7 or 8.  That event had a huge impact on my life for a couple of reasons.  The local movie theater was a few blocks away from our home.  I often walked to the theater with my older brother where we paid a dime or 15 cents each to see the most recent-to-us (but not necessarily the most recently released) movie.  IoL had probably been released several years before it became available at "our" theater.  

The death and funeral scene of the supporting actress (Juanita Moore) who played the role of Annie in the movie had a negative effect on my brother.  He cried for days afterward.  Initially he would not divulge what was bothering him but finally confessed to our parents that it was the funeral scene in the movie.  

Me, at 18 months old with my brother, age 5, (smiling as he often did).

Death of others that we know, as unpleasant as it is for most, was even more unpleasant for my brother, even when he did not know the person personally.  Annie's death in IoL did not have an initial impact on me, but I still cry every time I watch the movie, even though I know the outcome.  My brother is no longer with us, so viewing it now makes me reflect on the times he and I spent walking to and from that movie theater to see it and the other movies we went there to see.  Some of the tears evoked now when I watch the ending scene of IoL are for Annie but most are definitely over the loss of my brother.  

10) If money were no object, where would you most like to travel to?  I would also have to overcome my current flying phobia in order to travel anywhere by plane, but if I were to overcome this and money were no object, I would love to travel to the continent of Africa at least once in my lifetime to plant my feet on Motherland soil.    

Questions for My Nominees

1) When did you publish your first blog?
2) What inspires you to write a new post?
3) Other than your blog, what else do you write?
4) Has any of your other writing been published?
5) How long have you been a collector?
6) List everything you enjoy collecting?
7) How do others feel about your collection?
8) If you could purchase anything you enjoy collecting, what would it be and why?
9) Please share anything about yourself that you would like your readers to know?
10) Share one thing about yourself that would surprise most people?

My Nominees for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award are (drum roll please) and a brief reason why I chose to nominate them:

1) atelierniSHASHA because I love the playscale fashions she sews.
2) Auction Finds because she finds the most interesting eclectic items at auction.
3) Dazzle Dolls because her doll photos are awesome.
4) Desperately Seeking Dolls because I enjoy her narratives about the dolls she chooses.
5) Dollightful because she is a good storyteller.
6) Fabricholic Doll Maker because I'd love to own one of her dolls one day, too.
7) Male Doll World because I love her male doll musings and her Black History Month quizzes.
8) Pink Obsession because of her loyalty (through comments) to my blog posts.
9) Sarah Plays Dolls because she is thoughtful and creative.
10) Thammie TheDollMaker because I enjoy seeing her dolls and scenic photography.


dbg

The Best Way to Spend a Lengthy Post ER Trip

Clear plastic wrapper with peach label has the word, Beautiful, written repeatedly on it.

I did not expect to spend my Friday evening and the early hours of Saturday morning in a local emergency room (ER) but sometimes duty calls. After a family member informed me of their illness and desire to go to the ER at around 6 p.m. this past Friday, with me in tow,  Hubby drove me to the person's home and we all took the short trip from their home to a local hospital ER. The trip there was the only thing that was short. We spent several hours in the waiting room before an examination room was made available. Another several hours in the exam room involved the collection of urine and blood specimens for laboratory tests, a portable chest x-ray, results' waiting time, and an IV of comforting medications for the patient. The patient was dismissed around 8 a.m. Saturday with followup instructions. Hubby and I were so tired.  I had been awake since 3:30 a.m. Friday, so essentially, except for the few nods I took in the examining room, I had not slept in over 24 hours. After taking the patient home, who felt much better and offered sincere thanks for our time, we went to a donut shop for coffee for him and a blueberry donut for me, both to-go, before returning home and crashing until about 1 p.m. (me). Hubby was already awake when I finally awoke.

After a bite to eat, I sat down at my desk to check email (without the lights on in my doll room/office).  Soon thereafter I heard the doorbell ring. A few moments later, Mr. G. asked, "Where are you?" and then answered his own question, "I should have known... playing dolls." When actually I was just sitting at my desk. He said, "You have a doll." Incredulously (because I was not expecting anything to arrive this soon), I said/asked? "A doll?"

About 10 days ago I ordered what was described by the seller as (word-for-word): Original Macmillan Germany Black Skin Doll / with 11 Joint Flexible / Africa Doll Black Curly Thick Hair For Barbie Doll Gift.  Is that a title or what?  The doll was included in my search results at Aliexpress.com for "African doll."  I used these search words because sellers on the site do not use the descriptive terms Americans generally use for black dolls. "Tan" to them is often considered black, but if you search for "tan doll," a multitude of non-black dolls will result.  I try to cut to the chase and use "Africa" or "African" in my searches on their site and sometimes, as in the case of this doll, I have positive hits. After finding her through the search results, I placed the order on July 27th and was not expecting an arrival for at least another week.

Marked ©2012 Macmillan Toys China, this lovely doll arrived just in time to provide a quick doll fix after I spent some 13 hours in a local emergency room.

This 12-inch doll arrived inside a clear plastic bag with peach self-adhesive label that contains the word "beautiful" repeatedly written across it (as seen in the first image of this post).  The plastic bag-filled doll traveled unscathed from China to me as a small packets delivery with only a rectangular shaped bubble wrap envelope to protect her.  As the seller's description indicates, the doll does have 11 joints, unfortunately the joints do not include any in her torso.  The joints are restricted to her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. Her head is disproportionately sized.  Her painted brown eyes are not very realistic looking, but this is usually the case with most manufactured, inexpensive playline dolls. The non-jointed torso, over-sized head, and generic painted eyes are her features that are my least favorite.  Everything else is a thumbs up.  She posed for several photos, which are shared and captioned next.

After watching a recent episode of America's Next Top Model (even though Tyra Banks now wears a pixie-style haircut), I decided to name this girl Tyra.  Tyra shows off the fact that she can do an impressive split.

The split is followed by a full-view pose.

Her sitting-like-a-lady pose is not accomplished very well, but she can cross her legs at the ankles.   Crossing them at the knees was not able to be done with such ease or grace so I did not bother capturing her attempt at this in a photo.

Whose shoes can she wear?  Her feet are slightly smaller than the new biracial Fashionista's and her arch is not as defined, but...

...Tyra can wear Barbie shoes made for high-heel Fashionistas and she can wear So In Style Barbie shoes.

Complexion-wise, Tyra's medium brown complexion is lighter than So In Style Kara's and slightly darker than So In Style Grace's.  When standing straight, Tyra is also a little taller than the SIS girls.  She measures right at 12 inches.  (Her over-sized head is apparent in this comparison photo. Her appealing face compensates for this flaw.)

What to wear or what not to wear is the question in the case of this Sparkle Girlz aqua lacy party dress and gray heels.  The heels are okay, but the dress, not so much.  It is too short for her long legs, in my opinion.

Since Sparkle Girlz (SG) clothes are now my go-to fashions for playscale dolls, I searched through other still-carded SG fashions and found this two-piece one-shoulder top with stretch denim Capris.  Initially, Tyra could not decide on the light or dark pink shoes and matching purses.  I prepared a cup of ginger tea to allow her to contemplate the matter.

She ultimately decided to wear the gray heels that came with the aqua party dress and carry another gray purse that was found still carded but without its accompanying fashion.

Tyra models one last photo wearing her fashion ensemble selection.

As indicated, I purchased this doll from Aliexpress where, at the time of purchase, two blondes, a brunette with true tan complexion, and the version I purchased were available from this particular seller. There is also a version with the same complexion as my doll with blue eyes and straight dark brown hair.

In my opinion, my doll's thick, luscious black hair is her best attribute!

In addition to being a nice way to recover from a 13-hour ER ordeal, receiving Tyra was a great inside way to beat the current triple-digit Texas heat.

dbg

2001 Dolls of Color Calendar and Sharon E. Tucker Original Doll

In 2003, I became aware of Sharon Tucker's Dolls of Color 2001 "New Beginnings" calendar  (shown above) which features a pair of her Raggedy Butt kids on the front cover.  It was in 2003 that Janice Larsen-Tyre became a member of my former Yahoo doll discussion group.  In her introduction post, Janice shared that her doll, Jimmy, is the January doll featured in this calendar.  Even though the calendar had been published for the year 2001, I wanted to include it with my black-doll memorabilia.  Janice made that happen for me.

Back cover of 2001 Dolls of Color "New Beginnings" calendar

The back cover of the calendar contains images of the variety of soft-sculptured and mixed media art dolls featured for the 12 months of 2001.  With the exception of the January doll and artist, the other images do not include the artists' names.  My calendar is still shrink wrapped; therefore I am unable to identify the artists of all dolls or know whether each artist provided a quote as Larsen-Tyre did.  Base on individual styles, however, I am able to recognize some of the featured artists.

January - As indicated, Janice Larsen-Tyre's doll, Jimmy is the January doll with a quote from the artist which reads:  Like a sunrise on the ocean, one of God's many gifts to us, I thank him for the inspiration & Talent to create Jimmy. The other artists that I recognize are as follows:

February - Anne Myatt
March - Paula Whaley (sister of the late-James Baldwin)
April - Unknown artist
May - Patricia Coleman-Cobb
June - Contains four doll images; one is by Rose Chapman.  The next doll appears to be one of Sharon Tucker's dolls.  Two dolls are in a single image by an unknown artist and one additional doll by an unknown artist follows.
July and August - Unknown artists
September - Doris McGillan
October Tonia Mitchell-Floyd (possibly)
November - Unknown artist
December - Kor January

For years I had wanted to own one of Sharon Tucker's dolls but, until recently, never took the steps to make that happen.  She and I have been Facebook friends for quite some time, but it was just recently that I saw images of her newly created art dolls in posts by her on her timeline as well as in two Facebook groups where we share membership.  After viewing the photos of several, I chose the one that pulled at my heartstrings the most.  I have named her Sandy.

Original art doll by Sharon Tucker

Sandy is 18-inches tall, hand painted with sculpted features.  She has black yarn hair styled in three braids hidden underneath her funky hat which matches her Bohemian chic-style clothing.  She has painted fingernails and toenails and wears platform sandals.  This one-of-a-kind doll was completely handmade by the artist.

After Sandy arrived, I was as pleased with her as I had been based on her online images.  I took several photos of my own which are shared below.

This close-up image shows Sandy's wooden necklace of beads and spool.  She has permanently attached gold tone earrings and a beauty mark below the corner of her mouth.

The trim around the soles of her sandals matches the trim at the hem of her pants.

Yarn was used to create her three fat plaits which are held together at the ends with fabric that matches the top of her hat.  The same fabric was used for the bands and soles of her sandals.  Sandy's original jacket matched the yellow fleece of her top and pants, but after a few messages back and forth between artist and collector, Sharon changed the coat to the tan and brown jacket. That change met with my approval and, in my opinion, bumped up her Bohemian look a notch or two.

Sandy's asymmetrical top can be seen better with the coat removed.

The flip side of her hand-signed tag contains the artist's contact information including email which is sharontucker3@hotmail.com.  Tucker can also be reach through her Etsy shop.

Contact her if you are interested in adding a one-of-a-kind original art doll to your doll family.  Better yet, she is hosting a Doll Making Party on August 22, 2015 where attendees can construct their own doll using materials provided in the prepaid party package.  If you reside in the Philadelphia, PA area, this might interest you.  For more information contact Sharon for specifics.


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