New Glass Front Bookcase Thrift Store Score!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

When I was a little girl, my Grandma C's house was a magical place in the country where she and Grandpa raised rabbits on a farm. Not even kidding or talking story, that's all true right there. So, as you may imagine, I loved her house and we went there every Summer when I was a girl. One of the things I remember and loved about her place was that she had several glass front bookcases at her house crammed with books. That's likely where I get my own love of the written word and actual paper books. I don't know that I'll never be an e-reader. Which is kind of odd I suppose given that my whole job and blogging itself is kind of a total embrace of technology, eh? We live in interesting times to be sure. I digress... Glass front bookcases, have you ever seen them? My Grandmas looked a lot like this one where you would slide the little glass doors open on each shelf individually. Coolest bookcases ever because it kept a lot of the dust off your book. So what does all this have to do with the Doll House?

At a Thrift Store last week, I found a nifty glass front shelf that I thought would be perfect to use as a book case!! It was only $7.00! Interestingly enough, I talked myself out of getting it the first day I saw it, on Friday. I left it at the thrift store! I regretted it by evening but it was too late. I went back the next day and it was gone... Or so I thought. Untill I rounded the corner in a different area of the thrift store from where I first saw it and there it was. Needless to say, I bought it. Why do I need a bookcase for my dolls? Well... How can I say this? My Grandmothers love of books was passed down to your's truely. Yup, that's right. I collect books. I have cases of them all over my house in my 'real' house, one totally devoted to Bibles because I have a thing about wanting to own every version ever released. Teehee. So, books. I love them. Did I mention I also love and have loved everything in miniature ever since I was little bitty and I've been thrifting for a couple of decades? Well, those facts combined mean I have quite a large mini book collection as well.  Imagine that?

So here are most of them... I have a few others in the beautiful russian furniture from Frann. 

I know I'd want to see them so here is a snap shot of all the mini-books. I have a few duplicates that I plan to cover with other book covers from printables. Actually, one of my plans is to put different covers on a lot of the 'gift books' that are titled 'For My Friend' and such because it would be much cuter to have it look like a Harry Potter book or an Anne of Green Gables or some such. However a lot of them are rather cool as they are. I especially love my little Princess Diana book because my mother loved loved loved her and had like a hundred books about her, in a case with a glass front, actually now that I think of it. (She had an entire bookshelf of only Princess Di books as she called them) I am rambling... On to the bookcase!! Why did I leave it at the thrift store in the first place? Well, I was yet again worried about the 'space consumption' of the large doll furniture item. Obviously I changed my mind and I am so glad I did because I think it looks pretty amazing in the living room at the Doll House.

Perhaps it's because my parents lived in Europe for a couple of decades and so had large beautiful items of furniture all over their house that it just feels 'like home' to me but I love it! What do you think?

So I set up a doll scene and started snapping photos. Because that's what I love to do lately... Teehee... Here are Saila Doll (Maplelea in pink cat shirt) Samantha-Noel Doll (My Life As) and Debbie Doll (LOTUS at fridge) in the kitchen.

Here are Jenn Doll (OG on green sofa), Debbie Doll (Tolly Tot in red shirt), Noname Doll (I haven't picked a name yet! Custom LOTUS doll) Ashbee Doll (AG) and Stephanie Doll (OG Little Friends) in the living room hanging out.

Lisa Doll (OG) and JonSnow Doll (Custom) are having some cookies and milk.

Jenn was looking at a scrapbook of South Dakota and showed Debbie some of her favorite pictures.

Wonder what they're chatting about?

Kevin is finding a book with Stephanie.

Gebhardt Doll (Customized Springfield) is reading the best book there is. 💓

Well, I better run! Time flies when you're playing dolls, eh?
Have a wonderful day!
XXOO
Heather

Latest Little Books Finds

Greetings Doll Friends,

Since we are in middle of moving, I've been trying to be good about not buying books. The real size kind I mean. I boxed up over 30 boxes of books this move (I stopped counting) and that's after selling 12 boxes to Half Price Books! So... Yeah... I love books nearly as much (more?) than I love dolls. So it's hard not to buy any! However... Small books don't take up much room. Right? 

As a general rule, I look for "small books" at every single thrift store or garage sale I go to. It's one of my standard items to check for. I find them pretty often, although usually only one or two at a time. I love them and am amassing quite a large collection. They are never more than 99cents. Here is my Our Generation Tracy with my latest finds, found over the last month or so...

I love them all but especially the one with Gustav Klimt painting on front! He is my favorite artist!

Do you collect small books? Which are your favorites?

That's it for now Doll Friends! Till next time! 

Dare Wright and The Lonely Doll Books

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!

I have a dear friend who became my friend before we either one really collected dolls in earnest... We met when our oldest kids were in kindergarten and they are both in their teens now, so you know, life long friends. Ironically enough, we both started collecting dolls after she moved away from my part of the country. She likes a bit different 'type' of dolls than I do, more antique composition types and Anna Lee's Dolls but I think all doll collectors, irregardless of which 'type' of doll they collect, share a sisterhood siblingdom (men collect dolls too!). We all know that bit of a thrill upon finding a brand new doll we've never seen before or adding one of our wish list dolls to our collection. 

So anyway, my dear friend is a member of a real life Doll Collectors Group that meets up and talks about all things doll... Doesn't that sound amazing? Apparently they have them all over the country! Who knew? It was in one of the groups meetings that my friend heard of a photographer/writer who illustrated a series of childrens books with doll photography?! 

What?! Who?! 

Dare Wright is the authors name and I knew immediately upon hearing about her that I'd like her... That was even before I went looking for her doll photos! I discovered that she wrote several books in a series called The Lonely Doll books. They are still/back in print even! I actually heard about them over a month ago and asked for one of her books for my birthday and got it. I went with the very first in the series of course but am sure I'll get others going forward because I adore them! 

There is a whole website about this fascinating woman... She had a very interesting life although it sounds rather lonely and sad. Perhaps her doll stories were, in some small way, about herself. 

So, I haven't decided if it will be one of my 'as-of-yet-unnamed' dolls or one I get in the future but I have decided that I am going to have to have a Dare Wright Doll living in the Doll House!

 How can I not? I mean, even her name is cool!

So... I'll link back to this post when I decide or discover which of my dolls will be Dare's doppelganger doll!

I highly recommend picking up these one or two of her cute books too... The stories are so much fun and photos are adorable! I think about how she had to take them with actual film and am even more impressed!! That means she didn't even get to look at photos to see if she caught her 'vision' until after she developed the film! Totally different times. 

Better run!

Have a great day!
XXOO
Heather

Latest Thrifty Store Finds for Doll House!

Hi Doll Friends!

Thrift stores are often the best sources for doll sized items... You just have to look around with an open mind and "doll eyes". 

For instance, these baby shower party favors became 'Ring Pops' in my Halloween candy after I wrapped them in two packs. 

These were a steal! I love that Thrift Stores have gotten clever and hold back all their Halloween stuff for the right season. This set of six doll sized goody bags was only 99cents!

See? A steal!

This train is actually a Christmas ornament but it is so going in the doll toy box after it goes under the Christmas tree this year! So cute!!

These tools and books and scissors are actually the tiniest bit too small for the dolls... But really, I have 'mini books' myself and so I bought them anyway. The books will be 'mini books' for the dolls. The scissors, again, often you get sewing kits with tiny scissors so they can be those for the dollies...

The pumpkin erasers became doll sized cookies for my Halloween Party and the card sets are totally getting wrapped for the dolls under the Christmas tree this year or maybe going into stockings... So cute! They'll be great for game nite!

This made me giggle as I picked it up! Josh doll loves guns and it'll be perfect for him!!So... Keep your eyes open at thrift stores! You never know what you'll find that is perfect for your dolls!!

Till next time!
XXOO
 Heather

Months And Months Of Thrift Finds For The Doll House!

Greetings and Salutations Doll Friends!!

So... As I've indicated with my last several posts, 2019 has been a rough year... The last six months especially. I've been doing my best at treading the waters of the storms that keep rocking my ocean, if you will, but with only marginal success more often than not. My poor little doll blog has suffered dreadfully from it. I am slowly beginning to see things turn and can see a light at the end of a very long dark tunnel though and am hopeful that 2020 will be much much better. To be honest, I've been sunk into a depression, really, for months and months. It's only as I start to come out of the fog of it that I can realize exactly how dense the fog had become. Yikes. But it's nice to be coming out of it and slowly becoming myself again. 

During my dark months of depression, one thing I that brought a small measure of light was to stop into thrift stores and hunt for doll sized treasures. I'd buy them, bring them home, and add them to the pile of things that I would get posted 'someday'. It was honestly telling that I had hope enough to buy them, like deep in my soul somewhere I knew it would be temporary even if I couldn't feel it at the time. 

So... I finally pulled out the rather alarming amount of bags I'd accumulated in my thrift-purchases-to-show-my-sweet-doll-friend's-pile the day after Christmas. It was fun to dig into all of it, like a second Christmas really... So, I might have inadvertently included something here that I've shown you before....? I think this is all stuff you haven't seen but just in case I am wrong, sorry for the repetition. 

I love love love small books! I have so many! But I can't resist them when I see them anyway. I love books in 'real life' size too so how can my dollies not have a proper library?! All the little Christmas books you see here were 25cents each this summer at a garage sale. I love love love the Nancy Drew one!

I have several of these small tea sets... They are actually the right size for the dolls dolls. I need to pull them all out and see what all I have in total because several of the sets have a broken item or two. One thing at a time. 

So much stuff!

These are all ceramic and doll sized... I plan to put them in a doll room on a shelf as a 'collection' of one of the dolls. Aren't they cute?! For only 50cents, how could I not? 

These little quilt 'wall hangings' will make fabulous quilts for the doll house. I love quilts!

All these shoes for only $1.00!! I love my little towns thrift store!

Poor baby on the right is pretty much done-for... Not sure if I'll even try and do anything with the poor dear... I might just exchange the head with the one on the left... Especially if the 50c written on the forehead won't come off. Brown eyed Circo babies are more rare than the blue eyed ones and so... 

A whole bunch of plates... I bought them because they were priced as sets and so cheap. Sometimes they'll price by the 'eaches' and I generally leave those type at the thrift shop. 

These clock ones would make fabulous ones for a New Years Eve party at the Doll House. I'll have to see if I can pull of a small one so I can use them. 

Sushi Plates!! How could I not when I have doll sized sushi? I also have the My Life As Doll Sushi set but perhaps I didn't make a post about it? Golly... So many balls dropped over the last year. Yikes. 

These square plates are neat, eh?

Couldn't turn down that Build-A-Bear Christmas shirt... They are not a perfect fit for the dolls but the shirts work pretty well as is and other can be altered. 

This made my day the day I found it... It was one of the last things I found at that store and, after finding it, you can bet I went back thru the entire store to make sure I hadn't missed any others!

Here is what was inside!

I've researched and I think that the outfit is actually a Bitty Baby one but the shoes and headband are for the 18inch dolls and the clothes will work for them too. I'll have to take a photo of a dolly in the outfit for you. I love the shoes!

The charm was even in it! Still sealed shut!

I've been on a bit of a doll sized bear spree apparently. So many people seem to be dumping their entire Boyd Bear collections and their Ty Bears too. When I find them for a dollar or less (or sometimes a bit more if I really like the Boyd Bear) I can't help but buy them. I love Teddy Bears and so should Heather Doll, right? Haha! If you look close though you'll see I also found an American Girl Doll Bitty Baby Bear too! Score! I think he was only 10cents!

This Boyds Bear Mohair Bear is probably my favorite of all of them! It's like the old school bears back in the olden days. He's not 'soft, but rather has a sort of hard body and I love him! 

And this mini Boyds is pretty fantastic too! I'm sure if when I get my store open, I'll be selling bears for the dolls there too(and in the Etsy Shoppe that will be part of my business...) so I'll keep buying them when I see them! 

This cute little table was $3.00! The little sculptures were too cute to pass up. I think they'll make great decor when I have asian themed parties for the dolls!

Well, I'm out of time. If you have questions about any of the stuff I posted here, please do ask, I am happy to share! I just sometimes forget to mention details or don't have as much time as I'd like but I don't ever want to leave you with questions either! 

XXOO
Heather