BBD Dena's New Shoes and Scarf Dress

Square scarf and shoes are of different animal prints

The animal-print sandals, seen above, were made to fit Big Beautiful Dolls (BBD) and do fit perfectly! I purchased these on eBay for Dasia from Tamisha M., who is currently selling fashions and shoes for BBD, Lammily, and other dolls through her Etsy Shop, Ooaktamishay.  Until Dasia's return from the Perot Museum, Dena is enjoying these very well-made sandals.

In these two photos, Dena illustrates how well the sandals by Tamisha M. fit her feet.

Dena needed a coordinating dress to wear with the sandals. After watching the following video and finding an 18 x 18-inch animal-print scarf (shown in the first photo with the sandals), I made Dena a dress.  (Yes, I know the shoes and scarf are different animal prints, but she's a doll and won't complain.)

Making a Teddy:

Before the scarf dress was made, I used the foot and mid-calf portion of a stocking to make a no-sew teddy for Dena. The mid-calf of the stocking was cut crosswise and the corners of the toe were cut diagonally to create leg openings.  Dasia models this in the next two photos.

The excess fabric at the top of the teddy was rolled over.  This can also be trimmed to create a shorter flap.

View of the teddy from the back

Now to make the scarf dress:

As described in the video, the scarf was folded in half and the top two ends tied together, as illustrated here.

After unfolding the scarf, the two armholes were clearly visible.  Dena tried it on for size.

One arm was placed in an armhole, then the other.

The dress is coming into shape.

The length of the scarf was adjusted as illustrated in the next two photos:

With Dena lying down in a legs-up position, the sides of the scarf were folded in with one side on top of the other, as illustrated here.

Next, the end of the scarf was folded up to create the desired dress length.

One side of the scarf was brought across the front of Dena's body. 

The other side was folded across Dena's body to complete the closure with additional tucking and/or extra folding to create a tapered fit.

Initially, a black stretch ponytail holder was used to create a belt.

To create a more sophisticated look, the ponytail holder/belt was replaced with a copper bracelet. The bracelet was bent to fit Dena's waist with additional fabric tucking to taper the fit of the dress.

Close-up of the copper bracelet.

A view of the dress from the back

Dena looks elegant in her new animal-print dress with a copper belt and animal-print shoes.

In the final photo, the bottom closure of the dress was adjusted to create an opening because Dena wanted to show off her new shoes.



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Dena Puts On Her Shrug

Someone asked what I used to make Dena's shrug.  The above photo points to the portion of the sock used to make the shrug.

After answering:  

I used the leftover material from the mid-to-bottom portion of the sock that was cut away, after the toe area was cut off. This section then has an opening in each end. It is turned horizontally so that the open ends are sideways. One arm is the open end then the material is stretched behind her back and her other arm is placed in the open end. In this photo, the yellow and peach pieces on the bottom right are the shrugs (they are vertically placed in this photo). The smaller pieces are the toe areas of the sock that were cutaway from the pieces used for the shrug.

I took the following photos to illustrate Dena putting on the peach shrug:

1. Her arm is placed through the opening of the remaining sock material after the toe area is cut off.

2. The material is pulled across her back and her other arm placed inside the opening. 

3. Both arms are in the opening.

4. The top and bottom portions of the back are pulled together to cover her back. 

5. View from the front after all edges have been smoothed and/or tucked under.  

It's so easy!

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Dasia and Friends Facebook Group

Big Beautiful Dolls Dasia, Dawn, and Dena - photograph courtesy of Zipsy on Flickr

Passionate about the Big Beautiful Doll (BBD) line, a fellow collector has created a Facebook group devoted to the first 12-inch full-figured fashion dolls created by Audrey Bell and Georgette Taylor.   Even though Dasia, Dawn, and Dena were discontinued several years ago, many collectors continue to enjoy them.

Devoted to the BBD line only, I was added to the Facebook group, Dasia and Friends:  OOAK Big Beautiful Dolls and asked to "tell a friend."  The purpose of this blog post is to announce the group to those who might be interested in joining.  In the group, photo sharing and networking with other BBD collectors regarding clothing and shoe sources as well as discussions about the dolls will take place.  If interested, follow the previous link to browse the group and/or to make a request to join!


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Big Beautiful Dolls Dena Available

Big Beautiful Dolls

Georgette Taylor has about 5 of her Big Beautiful Dolls Dena available.  (Dena is the Latina doll on the far right above.  See a head shot of another Dena, whose complexion and hair color are lighter than Dasia's, here). 

The remaining 5 Denas are nude, described as being slightly discolored.  The cost is $20 + $8 shipping to US buyers.  International buyers must request shipping total.

If interested in purchasing a nude Dena, contact Georgette at georgettet@hotmail.com now.  These won't last long.

My Dena is on the way!


Big Beautiful Dolls were the first full-figured 12-inch fashion dolls made.  Read more about the now discontinued line here.  See a nude Dasia here. (I did not ask about remaining Dasia quantities, but I did ask about quantities of Dawn, which are sold out.)

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Heads Up on Those Nude Dasias!

IMPORTANT:  If you purchased one of the nude Big Beautiful Dasia dolls that I posted about here, be careful in choosing the color and type fabric used for your clothing selection for your doll. The doll's vinyl is extremely porous and will absorb dyes used in some fabrics. 

Last week I replaced my doll's original red shrug (made from the same material as her dress) with a shrug made from a black synthetic headband.  I noticed some black areas on her arm this morning, so I removed the shrug.  Almost everywhere the shrug touched her arms and back is now stained black.  I didn't take a photo of the stains before I applied 10% benzoyl peroxide to these areas.  I did take the following photo after the acne cream was applied before taking her outside to sun bathe.  Hopefully within a day or two the stains will fade.  The sun helps speed up the process.

My Dasia-turned-Maya has had a heavy application of 10% benzoyl peroxide applied to her stains.  The black headband underneath her caused the staining.

The red cotton crew sock dress did not stain her.  I saw a few dark areas on her feet from the black paint used for the elastic of her shoes that I made, but very minor.  The combination of synthetic materials and black dye used for the headband caused the majority of the staining.


Be careful!


dbg

Need a Dasia?

Big Beautiful Doll Dasia

Many have expressed interest in owning a Big Beautiful Doll Dasia.  I asked Georgette Taylor, one of the creators of the doll line, if additional dolls were available.  She only has nude dolls like the one I purchased from her in July for my Maya Angelou doll project and as seen on the left.  

Georgette invited me to have those interested in purchasing one of the nude dolls to contact her directly.  Her email address is:  georgettet@hotmail.com.

She only has the nude dolls, no clothing or shoes.  The cost is $25 + $8 shipping to anyone in the US.  International shipping is higher based on location.   

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How Dasia Becomes My Maya

Internet-captured photo of Dr. Maya Angelou, April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

After the death of author, poet, actress, dancer, and singer Maya Angelou on May 28, 2014, who was also one of my favorite African American female personalities and writers of works I enjoyed reading, I wanted to capture her likeness in doll form.  I decided Big Beautiful Dolls, Dasia, would be the perfect doll for this creative undertaking. 

I contacted Georgette Taylor, one of the creators of the Big Beautiful Dolls line to inquire about the nude Dasia's she mentioned having when we communicated about her guest post here.  She still had some!

Big Beautiful Doll Dasia in all her full-figured nude glory!

Within a week after ordering her in July, Dasia arrived and lay nude on a credenza adjacent to my personal desk, where I usually place to-do or unfinished doll projects.  As long as these things remain in sight, whatever intentions I have for them eventually get accomplished.

Selected face image of Maya Angelou with brown border added; I printed two in case a mishap occurred with the first.

I gathered several headshot images of my favorite writer and later selected the one I felt would be most appropriate in doll form.  I definitely wanted one that captured the dazzling smile that was unmistakeably hers.  I measured Dasia's facial dimensions before inserting the image into a WORD document.  Resizing and printing were followed by using Microsoft Paint and GIMP to create a border that would extend to the doll's ears and neckline.  The goal was to cover the entire facial area once the image was transferred to the doll's face.

The image was ironed onto the sleeve of a white T-shirt (purchased for 99 cents at a beauty supply store specifically for this purpose).

The image was flipped horizontally before printing on T-shirt transfer paper and ironing it onto a sleeve of a white T-shirt (as shown above).  Trimming was next.

Initially I had planned to glue the transfer directly onto Dasia's beautiful face, but decided to try another method that would preserve the doll's face and still achieve the desired effect.  (As much as I wanted a Maya doll and even though I have two other Dasias, I just could not handle permanently changing any one of my Dasia's faces.)

I created a mold of Dasia's face, similar to the wig cap molds I have created in the past:

A plastic baggie was wrapped around Dasia's head and secured with a rubber band at the neck.

A piece of the white T-shirt was placed over the plastic-wrapped head and also secured with a rubber band.  Layers of Aleene's Tacky Glue were applied over the fabric and allowed to dry for 24 hours.  This created a head mold.

After removing the mold, enough of the facial portion that would extend to the doll's ears was cut away.  The transferred image of Angelou's face was glued to the mold and allowed to dry.  Next, thumbtacks were inserted into the mold in the earlobe area and directly into Dasia's pierced earlobes.  The thumbtacks remained in place until the mold fully captured the shape of the doll's face.  In the next image, the thumbtacks have been replaced with earrings, which serve to hold the face over of Dasia's face without the use of glue or other adhesive.

The doll's hair was fluffed into a curly Afro allowing the front and sides to cover the edges of the new face. Since edges of the neck area remain a little crimped and jagged, I fashioned a neck scarf (seen in the next image.)

Clothing and shoes posed a problem initially due to the doll's fuller figure and width of her barely arched feet.

Illustrated above is the shape of the doll's feet along with the neck scarf and shoes I made.

I fashioned a red dress from a toddler crew sock (already on hand in my grandsons' sock and underwear drawer).  Shoes were made using other materials on hand (black leather for the sole, black foam for the innersole, and white elastic painted black for the two straps on the forefoot and the strap that extends around the sides of the doll's foot.  The shoes are shown two photos above.  The dress is shown next:

Red knit dress made from a toddler's crew sock

The toe portion that I cut away from the sock served as a temporary cap to give the hair the desired shape and length appearance.  (I did not want to cut Dasia's hair, which is now Maya's!). 

Sock cap used temporarily to shape the doll's hair.

To cover her exposed shoulders, I cut the end away from the sock material that had been used as a cap.  This created a loop of fabric which I turned inside out so the rolled edges would not be exposed.  The doll's arms were taken through each end of the loop to create a shrug.  Her back is exposed, but I am sure Maya does not mind.

My Maya doll poses with an autographed copy of one of the real Maya's last written works, Mom & Me & Mom.  I won the book in a contest conducted by author, Jo Maeder, shortly after Dr. Angelou passed.  Entrants of the contest had to post on Maeder's Facebook timeline her favorite Maya Angelou quote (shown below).  After several tries, I posted the correct quote and won the book, which is autographed to Jo, whose autograph and inscription to me appear below Angelou's.

I will eventually find a better fashion and shoes but for now, thanks to Dasia and my heavy dose of determination, my Maya doll-creating mission has been accomplished.

***

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. ― Maya Angelou

 dbg

Guest Blogger, Georgette Taylor, Shares Exciting News

A new feature of the Black Doll Collecting blog is to allow doll makers, artists, and others in the doll community with pertinent Black-doll information to share to become guest bloggers*.   In today's post, I am honored to present the first guest blogger.  

Audrey Bell-Kearney and Georgette Taylor with their Big Beautiful Dolls:  Dasia, Dawn, and Dena

Introduction

Hello Everyone!  First I want to thank Debbie Garrett for allowing me to guest blog on her wonderful Black Doll Collecting blog this week.

Many of you may know me already, but for some I may be new to you.  So here is a brief introduction about who I am.

My name is Georgette Taylor.  I am one of the co-founders of Big Beautiful Dolls along with Audrey Bell-Kearney.  Our company introduced the first line of full-figured fashions dolls over 15 years ago.  Wow, I cannot believe it has been that long and I cannot believe it has been over 6 years since I have written anything related to dolls. Our dolls were Dasia, Dawn, and Dena.  Dasia was nominated for the 2002 Dolls Award of Excellence and we have been featured in several doll magazines.

I also want to thank everyone out there who owns one of our Big Beautiful Dolls and who has supported our company and our dolls. We hope you have enjoyed them as much as we have enjoyed creating and showcasing them.  

Our dolls still inspire me to this day and it was one of the reasons I reached out to Debbie recently to share with her something I am now doing that I thought would be helpful to the doll community.  Being asked to be a guest blogger could not have come at a better time to share with you a little about where we originated, where we are going, who helped us in the beginning and what we are doing for the doll community that we hope will be another way for you to branch out and share what you love about dolls.

Although I have been out of the game for a while, I still manage to check up on things. I see Jason Wu wowing us with his meticulous and marvelous creations; Percy Newsum for his continued drive and creativity with Integrity Toys; and Robert Tonner is always doing an amazing job with his fashion dolls.  There are many other talented designers and doll makers that I have yet to discover. I absolutely just love it.

How It All Began

Speaking of Percy Newsum, I want to share with you something that you may not know about Mr. Newsum and Big Beautiful Dolls. Mr. Newsum was the person who was very instrumental in helping us get started on the right track. When we first started out, we had no clue how to do what it was we were going to do. So I thought I would start by going to Toys R Us to look at all the doll boxes on the shelves to get the names of the manufacturers. We thought we could call on a few to get some information on where to begin. I found a doll that I liked from Integrity Toys and was so excited when I realized that this company was driving distance from where we lived at the time.  So we called a few times and finally were able to talk with Percy.  We asked if we could meet with him and if he could share some insight about the doll business. He was extremely nice and said yes. We spent practically the whole day with him as he showed us his facility, talked with us, guided us and gave us wonderful resources that literally helped to create our line of dolls and doll company. We are deeply indebted to him for taking the time to do that for us.

That is how Audrey and I became connected to the doll business, but I already had and still have to this day a little doll collecting in my soul.

Today’s Fashion Dolls

When I look at the industry today and all the wonderful dolls that are out there, I realize a lot has changed since we started our company, but a lot still remains the same.  Fashion dolls have become so much more articulated.  There are so many more enhanced features and ethnicities, but one thing that has not changed much is the shape or should I say the curves of the dolls. Yes, some are definitely a lot less straight than they were, but there still are not many dolls representing plus size, full-figured women with curves.

After being the first company to introduce the full-figured fashion doll to the market, we were then followed by Robert Tonner's Emme doll, a plus size fashion model.  There is still a lack of other shapes represented in this beautiful arena. We are all beautiful and we all come in different shapes, sizes and colors.  I feel these should all be represented in the doll world.  Variety is what makes dolls so appealing. The thing that I do love and know about the doll business is that it allows you to lend your voice, opinions and express how you feel through the creativity of doll artists all creating dolls that inspire and empower. Our Big Beautiful Dolls represented, and still do today, a voice that is still pretty much silent in the doll world. 

Next on the Agenda and Current Collaboration

We will be introducing our dolls again next year in a Sweet Sixteen Anniversary Limited Edition to celebrate our dolls and company turning 16.  There will be a limited edition of 500 dolls, sold as a set of three.  We are very excited about this as well as some other news shared below.

I have been fortunate again to work with one of my best friends and business partner, Audrey Bell-Kearney, as Chief Content Officer for HerTube.TV, which Audrey founded.  HerTube is an online TV network for women and what women care about.  One of the things we care about is dolls and we want to be another platform for you to express your love for dolls on our network.

We have created the Doll Lovers Channel with shows that will allow the doll community (from business to collecting, from creators to artists) to share information about the dolls they love.  You can host your show and bring your form of creativity, artistry and love for dolls to a wider audience, not just online but in over 8 million households.

If interested, the first thing to do is go to www.hertube.tv  and become a free member of the community.   If you are interested in hosting your show on our network  go to www.hertube.tv  click on the tab "Host Your Own Show" and order the Premium Show Host package or  please contact me by email at:  georgette@hertube.tv directly.

I so enjoyed spending time with you and am so glad I had an opportunity to share with others my love for dolls, a little about what I am doing now, and what we are able to bring to the doll community that we love.

I also look forward to coming back to share more about our upcoming Sweet Sixteen Anniversary Limited Edition Dolls as we get closer to the release date. You can also email me at georgette@hertube.tv  if you are interested in being placed on the order list for a set of three Sweet Sixteen Anniversary Limited Edition Dolls, which will be produced in a quantity of only 500 sets worldwide.

Until next time,

Georgette Taylor

Chief Content Officer

HerTube.TV  

georgette@hertube.tv   

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*If you have pertinent Black-doll information to share and are interested in becoming a guest blogger on the Black Doll Collecting blog, for specifics contact me at

Thanks!

dbg

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Throwback Thursday: Big Beautiful Dolls Dasia

Dasia by Big Beautiful Dolls, Inc., 2000; designed by Audrey Bell and Georgette Taylor, is from the first line of full-figured 12-inch fashion dolls.  The above image is from my first book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls.

My memory is fuzzy on how I initially met Georgette Taylor, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Big Beautiful Dolls, Inc., but it is clear that her Dasia doll, shown above, is what brought us together over a dozen years ago.

The text from the image above provides Dasia's attributes. 

Dasia - Big Beautiful Dolls, Inc., 2000, is from the first line of 12in (30.48cm) full-figured fashion dolls created by two AA female entrepreneurs, Audrey Bell and Georgette Taylor.  Dasia wears a black velour evening gown accented by a sheer black nylon wrap trimmed with black marabou feathers; black nylon hose and black faux leather high-heel shoes, iridescent ear studs and matching necklace.  Black rooted hair is styled in an upswept style; painted brown eyes.  Dasia was nominated for the 2002 Dolls Award of Excellence.

Except for complexion, Dawn (Caucasian) and Dena (Latina) share the same head sculpt and body as Dasia -- Photograph courtesy of Georgette Taylor.

Part of a trio, the other dolls in the Big and Beautiful Dolls, Inc. line were Dawn (Caucasian) and Dena (Latina).  As the first full-figured 12-inch dolls, Dasia and companions offered a more realistic representation of most adult females' bodies.  

Silkstone Barbie (right) is giving Dasia some serious side eye. 

After featuring Dasia in the fashion doll chapter of my first book, The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls (2003), Georgette and I participated in or attended doll events at the African American Museum in Dallas and met up again at the Modern Doll Collectors Convention held here in June 2004.   Several years ago, she invited me to do a doll display and discussion at a local library where she was program director.  Photos (low residue from a decade ago) taken at some of these events we attended and/or participated in are shown below:

Georgette Taylor and I were at the African American Museum, March 2004, Dallas, Texas for Tea at Three, "Black Doll History" lecture by Barbara Whiteman, curator Philadelphia Doll Museum

Most of our communication prior to March 2004 had been by email.  Georgette and I met in person for the first time at Barbara Whiteman's "Black Doll History" lecture at the African American Museum on March 18, 2004.  Whiteman conducted a slideshow presentation and also discussed a few physical dolls.  Dasia was one of these.  About Dasia, Whiteman commented, "...this doll broke the stereotypical thin-fashion doll mold and is a better representation of the female population."
 

Georgette Taylor displays her Big Beautiful Dolls at the Sugar 'N Spice Final Fling at the African American Museum, August 28, 2004.

Dasia brought us together again in August 2004 at the Sugar 'N Spice Final Fling at the African American Museum.  This "fling" was the conclusion of a several-month traveling exhibit of dolls from the collection of Regenia Perry, Ph.D., an art historian and African American folk art collector.  Georgette and I both had a doll display prior to a round table discussion that we participated in with Dr. Perry and Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is also a doll collector.  

Closer look at Taylor's display at the AA Museum in August 2004

Round Table Doll Discussion at AA Museum, August  28, 2004, with panel members L-R:  Commissioner John Wiley Price with what he identified as his "Daddy Long Legs doll by Mattel"; me with Ideal's 1951 Saralee, Dr. Regenia Perry, and Georgette Taylor with Dasia.

During the time I was actively exhibiting dolls throughout the city, Dasia usually accompanied me.  She has been featured in my "Evolution of Black Dolls From Mammies to Models" exhibit and in others.

Bell and Taylor's dolls Dasia, Dawn, and Dena made history as the first of a kind in their category and scale.  For additional information about Big Beautiful Dolls, Inc., and more images of Dena and Dawn, read Roville's Blog post dated April 28, 2012.

***

My recent reconnection with Georgette Taylor, is what prompted this post.  As a result,Taylor will be featured on this blog soon to share some exciting news.  So please stay tuned!


dbg

Update 12/28/2015
The co-founder of Big Beautiful Dolls, Inc., Georgette Taylor, will bring the head sculpt and full-figure body style the BBDs back to the market under the newly formed company:  I Am Beautiful Doll Company.  The first doll's name is Nikia. For additional information, visit their website.

Georgette Taylor is currently taking preorders for new nude dolls of the original Dasia, Dena, and Dawn.  For more information and/or to preorder, follow the link:
http://iambeautifuldollcompany.weebly.com/nude-dolls-avail.html