Little Brother Bernard

Bernard is an 18-inch hand-crocheted doll by Ra'chel Ba'ucham of Creations by Ba'ucham

Bernard is another hand-crocheted doll by Ra'chel Ba'ucham of Creations by Ba'ucham and another one of her creations that I could not resist. When she posted his photos on Facebook, she wrote,

Feeling a little whimsical so I crafted "Bernard." He is a sweet, shy little boy who is bubbling over with character as he shows off his beautiful dread locs. He is 18 inches tall and is a freehand (no pattern) crocheted doll.

I shared Bernard's post in Facebook doll groups thinking someone would purchase him before I gave in to my urge to do so.

With an unused gift card sitting on my keyboard that my son had given me, the temptation was just too much.  Within a few hours, I sent a message to Ra'chel to "hold him for me."  What two things do you not do to an incurable collector:  give her money and show her a doll that she will love.

Bernard was calling my name, so I listened.

Like his sisters CoCo and Precious, Bernard arrived with a certificate of authenticity that states he is a 1 of 1.  His description is recorded in my records as follows:

18-inch hand-crocheted doll has mostly black yarn hair styled in dread locs, some locs accented with cowrie shells; a few are brown. Has black eyes, a stitched nose and mouth, dimpled cheeks. Wears crocheted-on clothing of gold hoodie, denim-blue pants, burgundy sneakers with white soles. Ribbon label on inside of hoodie reads, Handmade by: Ra'chel Ba'ucham 2018. Has COA which indicates he is 1 of 1.

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Additional photos of Bernard were taken and are shared below:

Ra'chel's moment of whimsy is written all over Bernard's face.  Just look at that sneaky grin that indicates he is about to get into some devilment but he's smiling to throw you off.

Creating these locs must have been a timely process.

I believe it was Bernard's locs that really won me over.  The fact that CoCo and Precious needed a brother helped him join the family, too.

The extra detail of clothing that features a hoodie was another winning-over feature.

Ra'chel's cloth label is inside Bernard's hoodie.

His sisters, who knew he was coming, were very excited to meet their little brother.  His attempts to get into mischief have been thwarted by the biggest sister, CoCo, who constantly keeps him in check.

The girls and their kaka mdogo (which means little brother in Swahili) display well together.

See other creations by Ra'chel on her Facebook page.

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Precious Little Sister

18-inch hand-crocheted doll, Precious, by Creations by Ba'ucham

Seen briefly in my birthday dolls post, this post is devoted entirely to Precious.  An 18-inch hand-crocheted doll by Ra'chel Ba'uham of Creations by Ba'ucham, Precious was a gift from my daughter and son.

She arrived on the day of my birthday, as adorable as I had imagined.  I took several photos of this cutie after adding the following entry to my Excel doll inventory spreadsheet:

18-inch hand-crocheted doll has black yarn hair styled in four squared-off sections (two on the top sides and two in the back) with spiral crocheted ponytails and bangs; two mint green crocheted butterflies accent the top side ponytails; mint green yarn is wrapped around the back two.  She has black eyes, black plastic eyelashes, sculpted nose and crocheted lips.  Mint green dress has pink, yellow, and white trim; panties and shoes match the trim; wears mint green butterfly-shaped earrings.  Has signed COA which indicates she is 1 of 1. Ribbon label on back reads:  Handmade by:  Ra'chel Ba'ucham 2018.   

She has the sweetest face with a sculpted nose and crocheted lips.

Precious wears the traditional little black girl hairstyle from back in the day of four sectioned-off ponytails.  I love the way Ra'chel defined the parted hair with lighter color yarn for the scalp color.

Her crocheted-on panties match the trim of the dress and the color of her shoes.

The crocheted-on undies have ruffles in the back!  Is this cute or what?

Shown in the first photo of this post, here is a closer look at Precious' certificate of authenticity which is signed by the artist and dated.

As illustrated in this photo and the next, Precious is as cute from the side as she is from the front.

I love the pastel colors of her dress, which complement her caramel complexion.

Joined by her sister who is "a few months" older and slightly taller, Precious has settled into her new environment.

Sisters!

"You and me, Us never part

Makidada

You and me, Us have one heart

Makidada

Ain't no ocean, ain't no sea

Makidada

Keep my sistah way from me

Makidada"

I can just hear Precious and CoCo singing the above hand-clapping song that was sung by Nettie and Celie at the beginning of the movie, The Color Purple.

Makidada is of Swahili origin and means "little sister."  CoCo is happy to have her little sister home.

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See other creations by Ra'chel on her Facebook page.

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Birthday Dolls

Birthday dolls: 50th Anniversary 1959 Debut Barbie, 18-inch Crocheted Doll, articulated brown-skinned Blythe

Only three new dolls were received as birthday gifts this year. One was an unexpected duplicate; one was requested, and I purchased one.

50th Anniversary 1959 Debut Barbie was released to the market in 2009.  Having purchased my first one when it was released, this one is a duplicate.

As described in a previous post, this lovely doll is a dark-skinned replica of the #1 Barbie from 1959; however, Mattel did not release a brown-skinned doll with this head sculpt until 2002 (Silkstone Lingerie Barbie #5).  The 1959 Debut Barbie is dressed in a black and white sequined bathing suit and wears gold tone dangle earrings, gold tone Barbie charm bracelet, black high-heel ankle-strap shoes; comes with hangtag and certificate.

The friend who gave me the 1959 Debut Barbie had hoped it would not be a duplicate.  "I never know what you have," she said, "so I took a chance" on choosing this doll because she knows I like African American #1 Barbie clones.   Not to worry, this doll lover always accepts twins.

Part of the 2012 reproduction Barbie "Let's Play Dolls" gift set that included a Barbie and four fashion packs for each season, the Fall fashion, shown here was another birthday gift.  It includes one-piece silk sleeveless jumper pants; orange and gold lacy full-length, full-skirted dress; gold lamé wedge sandals, and a Barbie/Ken card.

Should I decide to debox the duplicate 1959 Debut Barbie, I will redress her in the Let's Play Dolls Fall fashion that was a gift from the person who gave me the doll.

Hand-crocheted, one-of-a-kind doll by Creations by Ba'ucham.

During the week prior to my birthday, doll artist,  Ra'chel Ba'ucham shared photos on Facebook of "Precious," a hand-crocheted one-of-a-kind doll.  I asked my daughter and son to buy this doll for me for my birthday.  Precious arrived the day of my birthday thanks to Ra'chel, who paid the extra postage to expedite her trip.  Precious is as adorable in person as her online photographs suggested.  She stands 18-inches tall and has a signed certificate of authenticity that verifies her one-of-one edition.

11-inch brown-skinned Blythe was sold nude by an Aliexpress seller.  Eyes can change to four different colors by pulling the string in the back of the head.  The body has multiple points of articulation.  

After Roxanne's post about her rebodied Babysitter  Inc. Skipper using an articulated Blythe body, I inquired about the buying source.  She shared the eBay seller's link.  While on eBay, I searched for "whole" brown-skinned Blythe dolls and discovered several.  Instead of purchasing from eBay, I purchased my doll and an extra articulated body from different Aliexpress sellers.

An additional articulated brown-skinned Blythe body and shoes that fit the feet were added to my Aliexpress cart when the Blythe doll was purchased.  The bosom of the extra body, like the one on the doll (which I blurred out in the photo), is mature (not flat chested).  I am not sure which doll head will be used for the extra body.

Shoes for Blythe and two pairs of sunglasses (not shown) were also purchased from different Aliexpress sellers.

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One-dozen bite-size Buntinis from Nothing Bundt Cakes

A couple of non-doll-related birthday items included a dozen Buntini mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  I initially asked my daughter to bake a 7-Up cake for me but changed that request to a dozen Buntinis, which are bite-size bundt cakes topped with cream cheese icing.  They are available in a variety of flavor choices.  I chose four different flavors:  carrot, lemon, marble, and pecan (three of each).  They are delicious!  Ask my son, who devoured most of them.

Collage frame with inserted gift cards

My "bestest" doll friend, Debra R. chose a quite clever way to present the above variety of gift cards, which were included in my birthday bundle from her.  (She gave me the 50th Anniversary Barbie and the Let's Play Barbie fashion, along with several other non-doll related items).  In the collage photo frame,  Debra inserted gift cards into the photo areas.  The gift cards, of varying monetary values, are from Walmart, T. J. Maxx, Target, Visa, Bath and Body, and Subway.  Was that clever or what?  With the gift cards removed, the photo collage will serve its intended purpose with photos inserted of my favorite four (my two children and my two grandsons).

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Separate follow-up posts on Precious and my brown-skinned Blythe will follow.


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CoCo's Eyelash Change

First seen here, CoCo is my first crocheted doll. Her original eyelashes were plastic craft doll eyelashes. After her arrival, I swapped the plastic eyelashes for the ones shown above, which are false eyelashes made for people that I already had on hand in case a doll need arose.

CoCo's initial eyelash replacement was done with human false eyelashes.

As a rule for me, if the artist or manufacturer's vision for a doll does not agree 100% with mine, I take the liberty to make the doll my own by making the necessary changes to suit me.  Fellow doll collectors, who enjoy their dolls to the fullest, can attest to this practice as well.  With CoCo, the eyelash change was a necessity.  The first pair of false eyelashes worked well to achieve the look of realism I desired for CoCo, but...

Fuller set of eyelashes

... while shopping at Family Dollar recently for a bottle of hand soap refill, I passed an endcap display of false eyelashes which contained the above "windswept" eyelashes.  I immediately thought they would work even better for CoCo and added them to my hand-held items to purchase:  the bottle of hand soap refill and a Snickers for my husband who said, "Bring me back a candy bar," when I told him I was going to the store.

CoCo shows off her newer eyelashes which are more visible than the others.

This profile view illustrates the fullness of the newest eyelashes.

The windswept eyelashes do add the measure of realism I was seeking for CoCo.  Like the first set, I used the adhesive that was already on the eyelash strip to adhere them to her upper eyelids.  If necessary, I can add a few drops of Aleene's Tacky glue to ensure they remain in place, but I do not think that will be necessary.  She and I are both quite pleased with these.

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CoCo - Creations by Ba'ucham

CoCo by Ra'chel Ba'ucham of Creations by Ba'ucham

In early January 2018, Facebook friend of a few years, Ra'chel Ba'ucham, began posting photos of her newly created crocheted dolls.  I initially inquired about the first one I saw, Ariana. Ra'chel informed me that Ariana and the other dolls she was making would be on exhibit during February after which time she would begin selling. This was perfect timing for me as I was in the midst of a doll-buying hiatus during the entire month of January.

These are the first photos Ra'chel shared of CoCo on Facebook.

Ra'chel posted photos of several additional completed crocheted dolls.  After seeing CoCo's photos, I decided I had to have her!  Ra'chel contacted me at the conclusion of the exhibit, which is when CoCo was purchased.

This 20-inch crocheted doll has a dark brown complexion, dark blonde crocheted hair with two side ponytails adorned at the top with yellow barrettes.

Her ponytails have multiple honey blonde double-strand twists, as illustrated above and in the next photo.

CoCo's double-strand twisted ponytails extend to the back of her knees.

She wears a crocheted yellow dress trimmed in black with a black jacket, white crocheted undies, and black and yellow crocheted shoes that have yellow ribbon appliqués on top.  Her yellow beaded bracelet is accented by a yellow ribbon flower.

CoCo has nicely shaped legs.

CoCo has dark brown eyes and applied eyelashes.  She has separately crocheted ears to which I added heart-shaped goldtone earrings.

A cloth label identifies Coco as a handmade doll by Ra'Chel Ba'ucham.

The cloth label attached to her bottom reads:

Handmade by:
Ra'chel Ba'ucham
Copyright 2018.

Coco also has a signed certificate of authenticity, which is illustrated next:

CoCo's certificate of authenticity verifies that she is a one of a kind.

Ra'chel recently began making crocheted dolls and miraculously does not use patterns to do so. CoCo is her first dark-skinned crocheted doll.  I have seen similar dolls by other artists but none appealed to me as much as Ra'chel's CoCo.  I am delighted by her presence here.

Prior to CoCo's availability for sale, someone else expressed their intense interest/fascination in a comment to the doll's Facebook photos:

QUESTION: WHO IS, COCO'S, CREATOR? AND, WHAT IS THE ACQUISITION FEE?

Ra'chel answered: GM. I am the Designer and Crafter of all items displayed. The Gift is from the Master Crafter, "GOD", i am just the vessel that he flow through. These dolls are going to be in a show in late Feb. After the show, they will be up for sale. Will notify everyone soon. Thanks for stopping by.

When my perfectionistic husband first noticed CoCo, he said, "That takes talent!  That takes skill... you have to do that with a needle."  He was quite impressed by Ra'Chel's artistic ability and even more so after I shared that CoCo is a free-hand-made doll.

Learn more about the artist, Ra'chel Ba'ucham in a separate artist's profile published on my Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black blog here.

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