Travel Doll Janet's first appearance here was on
March 21, 2016. As noted in that post, the doll was purchased last year to be used this year for a travel doll event for my online doll group. Janet remained with me until the end of March when she traveled to the next host's location.
From Texas, Janet traveled to the following cities and states and remained for approximately two weeks at each location:
- Catonsville Maryland
- Upper Marlboro, Maryland
(I wrote an update of her travels after her Upper Marlboro, MD visit, which can be reviewed or read,
here.) Afterward, Janet continued her travels to:
- Mitchellville, Maryland
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Aurora, Colorado
- Albany, Georgia and her final hosting location was in:
- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
While with each host, souvenirs and other goodies for Janet were purchased. After Janet's visits, all except two hosts* sent Janet's souvenirs to me to be sent along with her to her forever home at the end of the event. The following images are just some of the souvenirs Janet's hosts purchased:
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| Souvenir's from Dallas, Texas |
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| Souvenirs from Catonsville, Maryland (photo courtesy of the host) |
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| Souvenirs from Mitchellville, Maryland include a handmade quilt, squares of which spell out M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D. |
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| Authentic mini replicas of Native American items from Albuquerque, New Mexico (photo courtesy of the host) |
From her last visit in Gettysburg, PA, Janet returned to me. I hand washed her clothes and placed her back inside her original box which had remained here during her travel experience.
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| Janet stands in her undies waiting for her romper and socks to dry. |
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| In this photo, she has been dressed and reattached to the box liner. |
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| She's back in the box, all set and ready to go! |
Within a week of her return to me, a number was drawn to determine her final destination. I made myself ineligible to participate in the drawing. A video was created as the drawing took place and was thereafter shared with the participating members. The video can be viewed next.
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| And the winner is... drum roll please. |
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| Janet and the souvenirs that were mailed to me were boxed for shipping. |
The souvenirs that were mailed to me were placed in separate Ziploc bags. To help identify the hosts who sent them, a map illustrating their location was attached to the front of the bags. Everything was placed inside the box shown above along with Janet. She is in the tissue-paper-wrapped box. The package was mailed on October 5, 2016. *After the drawing was held and the winner announced, as instructed by me, the two hosts who had not yet sent their souvenirs, sent them to the final destination of Aurora, Colorado.
As an expression of my gratitude for their participation, I sent all hosts, including the winner, a gift.
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| Doll pin (brooches) by Sylvia Small |
Three hosts received a doll pin made by doll artist, Sylvia Small.
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| Doll bookmarks by Karen Oyekanmi of Kissing Kousins |
The remaining five hosts received a doll bookmark made by Karen Oyekanmi, of Kissing Kousins.
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| Bookmark doll, photo courtesy of Cheryl B. |
Upon receipt of the above bookmark, because she likes it so, the Mitchellville, Maryland host wrote, "She will never see a book as a bookmark." I own one, too, and I can't blame her!
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Mini gift bag gift from one of the hosts
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One of the hosts sent a mini Toys "R" Us gift bag to each host, including me, which I thought was a very sweet gesture. Both sides of the gift bag are shown in the above image.
To sum things up, this was a very doll-lightfully successful event. Every participant expressed their pleasure, which was the ultimate goal. If Janet could talk, I am sure she'd tell you how much fun it was for her, too.
Thank you again, Alisa, Cheryl, Debbie V., Julia, Shawatha, Sheila, Tammy, and Teresa for participating.
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