All About the Doll Teonnie

All About the Doll Teonnie arrived in a heavyweight box that has the company's name written on the front.  The box was shipped in a plastic wrapper.

Teonnie arrived from the UK in early December after I discovered All About the Doll offers international shipping.  She has the sweetest face with such an infectious smile that I had to add her to my 18-inch doll collection.  Except for being sold without socks (no socks or tights with dress shoes is one of my doll pet peeves), she is perfect.  Her photoshoot and photo captions follow:

This is her very first photo taken while still in the box where she was not strapped in but arrived safely.

Teonnie has short brown hair with individual curls.  Her inset eyes are brown and she has thick upper eyelashes.  She has a smiling mouth with parted lips that expose her two upper teeth and the tip of her molded tongue.

In this photo, the front of her hair has been finger-combed down over her forehead.

From head-to-toe, she is made of artist vinyl.  Her white dress has purple and teal circles with an image of a bird within the circles.  There is a  purple sash at the waist.  She wears white panties and white patent-leather Mary Jane shoes.  Her fabric scrunchie matches the fabric of her dress.

The dress has a Velcro closure in back.

I used a plastic-bristle brush to comb out Teonnie's hair to give it a fuller look as I prefer this look over the individual curls.

Teonnie wears the scrunchie on her wrist in this photo.

I decided to pierce her ears using a push pin. 

Her faux diamond earrings can be seen slightly better in this photo.

Teonnie's Socks

I used a 1-1/2-inch white headband to make Teonnie a pair of socks by first folding the headband in half and cutting it along the center.  

This created two pieces to use for socks with openings on all sides.

I stitched one end of both pieces using a gathering stitch first going from left to right and again from right to left.  This end would be the toe of the sock.  

A final overcast stitch along the edge was done for reinforcement.

The socks were then turned inside out so all stitching would be inside.  The socks fit Teonnie perfectly.  They extend above her knees but can be cut to shorten and folded over to create ankle socks if desired.  

Now it appears she is wearing tights with her white patent-leather Mary Janes.

The final look; she is now perfect from head to toe. (A hairpin holds the front of her hair down which is combed to the side.  I wanted to add a white barrette, but the hairpin was more accessible.)

All About the Doll sells a variety of high-quality, affordable dolls that use this same head sculpt in a choice of complexions, hair and eye colors, and hairstyles.  All dolls have different names.  Separate clothing and accessories for the dolls are also available.  Visit their website here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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The Off-Shoulder Blouse

This lovely graphic off-shoulder blouse was made by Nises Designs.

After I saw images on Facebook of dolls wearing this blouse, I inquired about how I might own one.  The designer of the blouse, Denise "Nise" McKenna of Nises Designs made it happen.

Made of felt, the blouse was designed for The Black Doll Affair's 12th Annual USA Doll Giveaway* held on December 7, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia.  Fresh Dolls donated by Dr. Lisa (creator of that doll line) were dressed in this blouse and knee-length skirts.

The blouse has the image of a lovely Nubian Queen on the front.  I had to decide which of my dolls would wear it.  It did not take long for me to choose the fashion doll that recently arrived from China as the doll to wear this lovely blouse.

My "China doll" is shown wearing this lovely black blouse.

I looked in my doll stash of clothing to find a skirt or pants to pair with the blouse but did not find anything.  With nothing on hand suitable for her to wear with the blouse, I made a full-length skirt for the doll using a burnt orange square piece of felt.

The felt was wrapped around the doll's waist with the top corner of one side underneath the other.  The top side was wrapped over to the side of the skirt.  Thin strips of self-adhesive Velcro were placed at the waist and only along one side of the skirt as illustrated next.

Thin strips of the hook surface of the Velcro were placed along one side of the skirt.  Because felt easily adheres to Velcro hooks, I did not have to use the smoother Velcro on the other side of the skirt.

With the upper side of the skirt pressed onto the Velcro on the bottom side, the skirt stays closed as illustrated here.  The final step in making the skirt was to trim the bottom.

For the very final touches, I painted her original silver earrings and bracelet metallic gold and changed her lip color from bright pink to a shimmery orange by painting over the pink with the metallic gold paint.  

She looks ready to celebrate Kwanzaa week.

Thank you again, Nise, for making it possible for me to own one of your lovely designs.

*Visit The Black Doll Affair's website or Facebook page to learn more about their philanthropic efforts to instill self-esteem in Black living dolls through the use of Black inanimate dolls.

Happy Kwanzaa!

Kwanzaa History

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Merry Christmas!

My recently acquired 1950s doll by Levia of Milan, Italy returns to help me wish you a Merry Christmas.

For all who celebrate, may you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Painted Cloth Doll by Jude Kappron

Beatrice, a painted cloth doll by Jude Kappron appears to be in deep thought about an expectation.

 Beatrice is a 19-inch painted cloth doll with sculpted facial features and sculpted ears.  The artist uses a papier-mache process to sculpt the features.

She wears a sheer white dress with pink ribbon accents at the bodice.  Underneath the dress is a white slip and white pantaloons.

Beatrice's sculpted ears can be seen in this photo and later in another.

I love her textured hair and multiple braids.

This photo illustrates the way portions of the hair were braided by the artist and accented with dark pink ribbons.

The wig has a natural texture and is styled the way many young girls wore their hair in the 1950s and 1960s except the braided sections were more uniform as illustrated in this photo.

The artist's signature and the year the doll was made are on Beatrice's back.

Beatrice's back is signed and dated by the artist.

These are the shoes Bea arrived wearing; one is missing a button

She originally wore vintage, oversized child-size pink leather Mary-Jane-style shoes.  One of the shoes is missing a button on the top front.

Temporary replacement shoes

Because of the ill fit and the missing button, I swapped the original shoes for a more modern pair of pink pleather shoes.  (Oh no! not pleather!)  I do plan to find another vintage pair that provides the same fit as these replacement shoes.

Now with pierced ears

I thought she'd appreciate having pierced ears, so with pink quilting pins that serve as stud earrings, I pierced Beatrice's ears.

Beatrice likes her stud earrings and the better fit of these shoes.

I really love her innocent-looking facial expression and original vintage theme, which is why I will find different, real leather shoes or optionally replace the missing button on the original shoe or replace both buttons with buttons I have on hand.  (I do not have a matching button on hand like the one on the other shoe; all my buttons have four holes instead of two.)

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Jude sells dolls on Ruby Lane in her Artistic Differences Shop where, at the time of this post, a similar doll is currently listed.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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More Cheap Fashion Doll Thrills

This girl from China finally arrived wearing the black short-sleeved top and ethnic print shirt shown in the above image.  Because the waist of the skirt is too wide for her, I immediately redressed her in a denim dress purchased from Instagrammer, Laylee.m.doll.clothes.

She wears the ruffled-collar denim dress with her pink high heels.  She continues to wear her silver-tone earrings and permanently attached necklace.

She actually has a beautiful face.  For years I hesitated to buy dolls with this head sculpt because of the long chin, but she is actually quite attractive.

I like her even better wearing this Sparkle Girlz fashion.

She poses here with a My Scene Jai look-alike and two other Barbie competitors.

Family Dollar Finds
-Wedding Set

I purchased this couple from Family Dollar when they were having a buy-one-get-one 75% off sale.  I purchased two sets.  The other was for someone who had been looking for the set in her area for a while.

The guy gives me a Frank Sinatra vibe.   He wears a gray tuxedo, white shirt, black tie, and black shoes.  His straight combed-back hair is molded.  His eyes are brown.

Distributed by Midwood Brands, LLC, the female doll uses the same head sculpt as the Glimma Girlz dolls from Family Dollar.  She too has pencil-thin legs, but I have no immediate plans to remove her full-length wedding gown.

The bride has black rooted straight hair and brown painted eyes.  As seen in their first photo, a pink bouquet and silver-tone necklace are attached to the box liner.

Also from Family Dollar, distributed by the same company as the Wedding Set were two additional dolls that I purchased a couple of weeks after purchasing the Wedding set.  I had seen the biker earlier but dismissed her initially because of the bike.  (I collect dolls not accessories because I have no room for the extra paraphernalia.)  After someone shared a close-up photo of her striking facial sculpt, I went back to Family Dollar and purchased her and another rather FLD (funny looking doll) just because she is different and because she has shapely (instead of pencil-thin) legs.  Their photos are shared next.

-Family Dollar Biker

This $10-priced doll includes the pedal bicycle with a helmet, a yellow puppy, and a pet basket.

The bike pedals are attached to the liner above the helmet.  The bike also has a kickstand!

Doesn't she have a lovely face?  Her lip color complements her complexion.  Incidentally, the doll from China could be used as a body donor for this doll, but I have no plans to do that.  I'd buy another one from China first.

-Family Dollar Teacher

This is the FLD I referred to earlier.   She was sold in a set as a teacher, a nurse, and a third version that slips my mind.  The teacher includes a stand-alone blackboard.  Each one was priced $5 as shown on this doll's box.

Her shapely legs can be seen in the image on the back of the box and in the next photo.

She wears gray high-heel shoes with a plastic-feeling dress.

This photo was taken with the doll still attached to the box liner but removed from the outer box.  Her black rooted hair does not appear to be closely rooted based on a gap in the rooting that is visible on one side, but I have not fully examined the hair.

What a face!  At least one collector has transformed this doll into a male.  I have no plans to do that, but it is an option.

Janay & Jordan Holiday Set Special Edition

Janay and Jordan Holiday Set Special Edition, Integrity Toys 1999

The Janay & Jordan Holiday Set Special Edition by Integrity Toys has the copyright year of 1999.  One of my Facebook friends who faithfully follows my blog posts there found this set at her local Goodwill and offered it to me at cost plus shipping.  Prior to receiving this set, I owned only one Jordan and only two Janay dolls that use this original Janay head sculpt (Janay Princess Delight and African Dancer Janay).

The back of the box illustrates the couple in a holiday setting that differs from the backdrop used for the box liner.

This Janay is dressed in a lovely burgundy gown that has a full skirt with a black raised leaf design.  She also wears dark red faux ruby drop earrings and necklace and a gold ring.  Her shoes are probably red, based on the image on the back of the box.

The backdrop image is a room decorated for the holiday with a Christmas tree, wreath, white poinsettias, and other holiday decor.

Janay's black rooted hair is styled in a top bun with twisted strands of hair.  The bun has gray streaks.  Jordan has black molded hair and wears a black tuxedo, white shirt, red cummerbund, and black shoes.  Both dolls have brown painted eyes.

Thanks again, Frankie, for offering the Janay & Jordan set to me.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!