My Friend Mandy And American Girl Doll Clothes Garage Sale Score!

Hi Doll Friends!!

A few weekends ago I was out and about  in town on a Saturday afternoon and so dropped by a few Garage Sales. One of them had a big box of doll clothes marked 50cents each... It was quite a mish-mash of baby doll, Barbie doll, American Girl doll (sized, not brand) and My Friend Mandy Doll clothes. So... I started digging thru them. The lady sitting there, being as it was late in the day, says to me "I'll give you the whole box for $5.00!" Hmmm... I'd looked through the box and had seen enough interesting stuff to think it might be worth it and I was short on time so... I handed over $5 and walked off with my box of 'who-knows-what'... I brought it in the house, dumped it all in a bag and put in the Doll Room closet to 'sort later' and kind of forgot about it. Teehee. 

So I finally sorted through it this past weekend and oh-my-stars I got some neat stuff! I should've thought to photograph the entire lot but I was intent on sorting thru, gleaning the good stuff and getting the rest back in back and off to Goodwill... So... Sorry... I didn't think to! I really only kept the bits that were in good shape and that I was sure would fit the dolls in the Doll House.

This photo is all 18inch doll sized clothes. I think I am going to use the cape as a Halloween costume this year because how fun is that? Little Red Riding Hood is a great costume and with just that cape, I have it! I am going to *try* to be more proactive about Halloween this year... I am always scrambling at the last possible moment to get my seasonal photos taken/edited/posted in time for the holiday. So I am planning, this year, to try and do each one a month ahead... I digress... Point being, Halloween is right around the corner practically! Hahaha! I love the dark velvet dress! Prepare to see that in Homecoming Dance photos in the not too far distant future! The 'snow people' dress is a bit hokey but I thought it would a fun dress for when some of the dolls pull out the ice skates this winter. Or as part of an 'ugly Christmas sweater' party. Hmmm.... What a fun idea. I'll have to do that this year in the Doll House. Heeheehee.

This photo is a mixed lot of both American Girl Doll sized and My Friend Jenny sized items. The little shawl on the top right of the photo was hand-made by someone using the My Friend Patterns that used to be included when you bought a pre-made ensemble in the 1970s. How do I know this? Because my own Granny made me two of them and I still have them to this day. Upon looking closer at it, I was thinking "This would be really easy to make!" so I might just have to try that soon... I digress... I love the little 'monkey' top! It's by Battat and you can see I used it for Alyssa's first day of school video (and the top photo of this blog). I've since figured out that the little 'denim' bolero jacket with the flowers on in the bottom right was likely made to go with it I think... The little striped dress in the middle is so adorable! I ironed it and it's being worn my Fongtan but I just haven't gotten a chance to photograph her in it yet. So many blog ideas, so little time! The red pants, white shorts and kerchief are all 'My Friend Mandy' Brand clothes. 

 This photos is mostly My Friend Doll Clothes other than the animal print coat. I actually owned a plethora of My Friend Mandy and Jenny doll clothes when I was a kid. Sadly, *sobs*, I sold them on eBay in my 20s because I could "Get like $10 an outfit for them!!". Ugh. Oh well...  So it's nice to have a few of these again. The white sweater has a horrible hole in one arm but I plan to ask my friend who knits if she thinks she could repair it. Cos it's such a cute sweater and it's like 30 years old! I laughed at the 'Wizards of Waverly Place' bag... A bit dated since the shows name is on it but I figured I could just turn that side in when a doll is using it. Teehee. Isn't it funny how quickly 'kids shows' become passe? I have a couple of 'Hannah Montana' PJs that someone made for 18inch dolls when that was all the rage and I stubbornly hold on to them because there was a time that was a wholesome show! The dolls don't need to know that the star of the show went off the rails, right? Heeheehee.

And the last bits that were 'good stuff'. The hat is My Friend Jenny's Meet Outfit hat. In great shape considering it's age!! The little blue clogs are also My Friend doll shoes. The little black shoes are, I think, Muffy Vanderbear shoes but I am going to try them on a few of the dolls who have 'off' sized feet and see if they'll work before I give them to Goodwill. The flowered tennis shoes are kind of weird... I haven't tried them on a doll yet but they look a bit like 'clown' shoes in how they are made. That's really only reason I kept them honestly... Halloween and all. The pink dress was a hot mess of 'pulled' fabric from having a velcro closure and getting all 'stuck' on itself... I washed it and ironed it... But it's still rather sad looking... Trying to think of a way to salvage it because the darker pink 'silky' material is still lovely...

So... Worth $5.00? Absolutely! How fun! I'll have to link back here when I finally get some of the dolls photo'd in the clothes. Or come back and update, one. Till then...

Better run!
XXOO
Heather

My 'New' My Friend Mandy From My Husband

Greetings Doll Friends!

My husband went to the barber last weekend and it happens to be right next to my favorite thrift store. I wasn't able to go with him that day but he is sweet and went in and checked around for dolls or doll related items. He said he didn't find anything at all until he was just about to walk out and he looked behind the counter and saw this beauty!

She is in great shape for her age! Her cute little outfit was probably made from one of the patterns that came with the dolls originally. My husband knows me well because he knows that My Friend Mandy is the doll that started the doll love in me originally! I have my original one and my original Jenny too! I am playing with the idea of re-wigging this one in a totally different color hair... They had a redhead doll but not a rainbow colored one! Who knows... It'd be hard to cut off all her hair because it's gorgeous!

Her face was a bit dingy from not having been washed properly in a while but she is beautiful!

He got her for $1.97!! Sweet! I can't believe she was still there after so many markdowns!

I love that they have doll shoes on her that aren't orignal but that fit perfectly. They are the type you normally find on porcelain dolls.

I'll need to clean her up a bit but I am so glad he got her!

Till next time!
XXOO

Vintage Mint In Box 1982 Sekiguchi Sala Doll Joins the a Doll House

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

If you've been following my blog, you'll know that we recently had a new addition named Magdalene. She is a La Cheri doll by Mattel from 1982 that I got on eBay recently for $10. She has such a pretty face, I just had to know more about her and the price was so reasonable that I bought her just so I could see what she was all about. I am so glad I did! I love her so much! She has immediately become one of my favorite dolls! If you missed the post, you can read all about it here:

Magdalene's Arrival

So... Being me, I researched and researched her and, as we've already discussed, one of my most reliable sources of research is eBay. Go ahead and laugh, but it's true. You can find anything in the world on eBay, I am convinced. So, as I was researching, I came across Sala. She was also made in 1982 and was completely Mint-in-Box. Her BuyItNow price was so low that before I knew it, I'd bought her and she was on her way to the doll house!!

Here she is in all her adorable glory! I took a photo of her strait away as she was opened up but the photo was bad quality in my excitement to get her out and look her over!

Here she is with Magdalene! So happy to reunited with one of her family members after over 30 years in a box! Magdalene was pretty stoked too. 

Here they are on my real couch together. You know I must've been excited to take photos! I usually set a whole elaborate scene up to photograph in but I just wanted to look her over! 

Here is the hang tag she had on. I think she was in an antique store for quite some time. She smelled the tiniest bit musty and a bit like cigarette smoke too. Not that it bugged me too much. I am old school and lived in a time where nearly everything smelled like cigarette smoke! So... I just undressed her and put her clothes in the wash. Figured I wanted to report on how they held up in the washer anyway, why not find out now. 

The clothes these dolls came in was amazing. Top notch stuff!! They pre-dated velcro (I know!?) and so they have snapped closures. I actually prefer this because Velcro has a tendency to stick to the clothing and tangle in hair. So I am pleased as punch!

Sala had a bit of a different body than Magdalene did. Her body fabric is a bit of a darker shade, like she has a great tan. 

I wanted to change her into fresh clothes and so first I tried on my My Friend Doll clothes. They are obviously much thinner in the body than Sala because I couldn't get it to fasten in the back. So, I put her in some American Girl Doll Clothes. The jeans are actually some ill-fitting capri's I got on a cheaper doll once and nearly threw out because they fit so poorly on the 18inch dolls. I kept them though, thinking some doll might fit into them. They were perfect for Sala, even in length!

The other dolls decided to make her dinner! Kid food of chicken nuggets but with a side of peas to keep it healthier!

Here we have the girls hanging out in the kitchen!

Reunited, Magdalene and Selah are so happy! I love them both! I think there will be more of this type of doll in the Doll House in the future too. Just gotta save my pennies to get another one!

I wanted to show the fabulous box they came in originally! Magdalene didn't come with her box and so I didn't have one to show with her but the boxes are super nice! Great place to store dolls if you need to for a while. 

Well, that's it for now! Thanks for dropping by! See you next time!

My Friend Mandy and Jenny meet American Girl Doll

In keeping with my recent vintage toy theme, I am going to post about my dolls from when I was a kid. I was born in 1972 and so when I was the right age for dolls (well, aren't all ages the right age, but I digress) I was lucky to get My Friend Mandy and then soon afterwards, My Friend Jenny dolls. I loved them! I played with them constantly! My mom liked them as well as I did and so I had nearly every outfit they made for them back then. Naturally, being me, I kept them. Doll friends, meet Mandy and Jenny!

Actually, in this photos it would be meet Jenny and Mandy! Jenny has brown hair and Mandy has blonde. Above, I have them standing next to an American Girl Doll (named Panda) and a Heart For Heart doll for size comparison. 

I was kind of appalled at how dirty they were when I pulled them out of storage! I'd previously let my daughter and many other kids play with them and guess I never looked too closely at them. So I washed them up, laundered their clothes and combed out their hair. The dresses they are wearing in photos are the ones they originally came in, tights shoes and all! All in pretty amazing shape considering they are all over thirty years old! Sadly, despite having owned nearly every ensemble made for the My Friend Dolls by Fisher Price in the 1970s and early 1980s, I now only own these original dresses and the clothes my Granny made me from patterns found in the boxes to the pre-made ensembles. Somewhere along the lines in my 20s, I discovered I could "get $10/outfit on eBay!" And I sold them all. Regret!!! Oh well, I kept the important bits, the ones made by Granny and the dolls themselves. Speaking of, my Granny kept the patterns and sent them all to me in my 20s as well! I may have to pull them out and try and sew some new clothes for my old friends! There was also a red haired My Friend made at time named Becky and a boy doll named Mikey who I really wanted at the time but I didn't get them. 

Here are a couple of photos to show the difference in body types between the My Friend dolls and American Girl and then Heart for Hearts.

Sorry these are sideways, I thought I'd edited them to be upright but if I don't post them now, I might not make it back! Sure you busy people understand! Ha! So I may edit photos and come back and change but just in case, here they are.

And another photo from the 'Welcome Party' the dolls threw! Mandy and Jenny are going to be permanent residents now and so you'll see them more in the future. 

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time!