My Sister's Dolls

Do these Ginny dolls look familiar? If they do, you're probably a "Boomer" like me. My sisters and I loved collecting the dolls and their outfits back in the 1950's.  These two dolls belonged to my "little sister", Nancy. Unlike me, who lost all of my old dolls over the years, Nancy took care of hers and displayed them on a shelf in her craft room.

Here is a photo of my sisters and I on Christmas morning 1953. I'm in the middle and Nancy is on the right - only 15 months old then. As you can see, we got dolls that Christmas. I still remember the ones my sister, Andrea, and I got because (with just a little maternal assistance) they walked!

When Nancy passed away in 2010, after a long battle with ovarian cancer, I was devastated. Her dolls were the last thing I thought about. They ended up in an attic somewhere, I think. I didn't care. I didn't care about much then, actually, except that Nancy was gone. It still aches every day. She was only 58 and my best friend.

And then, a few months ago, Nancy's widower, Aaron, called me. He was moving and found the box in the attic that held Nancy's dolls. He asked me if I'd like to have them. Are you kidding? Of course, I wanted them. 

I wanted to touch them again. To hold them and smell them and try to get a whiff of Nancy, of childhood, of happy/sad sisters' memories.

So now the dolls are on the shelf in my craft room. 

I remember how much Nancy wanted a Betsy Wetsy.

Our mother was reluctant because of the "mess" the doll might make but Nancy was adament and, that Christmas she got this one.

Over the years, she rubbed most of the hair of the old girl!

And then came the piece de resistance . . . Barbie! I still remember every detail of the day I got my first Barbie. Mine is long gone now. But Nancy kept hers.  Here she is, strutting her stuff in the Marilyn Monroe outfit our Mom made for her.

With the original Barbie case and all!

I'm so lucky to have Nancy's dolls. They bring back painfully beautiful memories of childhood and sisterhood that were almost lost.  Like sitting on the porch of our cottage at Wells Beach playing with our dolls together as the surf crashed below us. Like learning to sew at our mother's knee by making clothes for Ginny and Barbie on her old Featherweight. Like fighting, as only sisters can, over whose doll was prettiest.

Do you have keepsakes from your childhood that, when you touch them, make you feel six or seven or eight or ten years old again? Can you close your eyes and it's almost as if you're back there - just one more time?

Where does the time go?

This post is linked to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Share Your Style Link Party #193 at 21 Rosemary Lane
Inspire Me Tuesday #486 at A Stroll Through Life
Blogging Gradmothers Link Party at Grammy's Grid
Amaze Me Monday #300 at Dwellings

10 Beautiful Things to Have In Your Craft Room

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."              ~William Morris

Welcome back to my craft room!

In my last post I had some fun thinking about the perfect craft space. I looked around my own craft room and came up with a "Top 10 List" of items in it that I find to be the most useful. Today I'm thinking about how to make a craft space so beautiful that it inspires you to sit right down and start making something.  So, here's my . . .

Top 10 List of Inspirational Items to Have in Your Craft Space:

1. Natural light

You can't top this one. Not only does natural light help us to see what we're doing (and at my age, that's becoming more important!), it allows us to really appreciate color and texture.  In addition to a big window, my craft room has a skylight located right above my work table.

 Ott light over my sewing machine

If you don't have the luxury of natural light in your craft space, or if you do a lot of work at night, an Ott light may be able to provide you with task lighting that approximates natural daylight.

2. Color



I believe in surrounding yourself with your favorite colors. I love orange and turquoise, my friend Mary Elizabeth loves pink . . . our personal spaces reflect the colors we love. Who cares if no one else likes it? Who cares if the rest of the house is "builders' beige"? This is your room; it should make you feel happy and inspired.




3. Words that inspire

I love words and find them both soothing and encouraging as I work in my space.

These words were stenciled on the wall in my sister Nancy's yellow and red Mary Englebreit inspired craft room.

4. Objects found in nature

The shapes and colors found in natural objects inspires a sense of balance and design.

 

This strange looking piece of bark is on my craft shelf because it is shaped like a goat's head (?). Call me crazy but I'm saving it because someday I hope to make something out of it for a friend of mine who owns goats and makes beautiful things from their wool. (Yup . . . you know who you are!)

the view of Casco Bay from the bottom of Applegate Lane always inspires me

5. Things with interesting shapes or textures

Who knows what these things will become . . .  or not?  Right now it is simply their textures and shapes that make me covet them.

 6. Old Things

What can I say besides . . . bring on the rust . . .

and chipped paint, and beautiful wood, and faded lettering, and steampunk goodness!

7. Collections

 Sometimes I think I have too many strange collections lurking in my craft room, but . . . I love them so, there it is.

 

 

 I collect sea glass, buttons, door knobs, sand dollars, rusty tools, old keys, scrabble tiles, beads, vintage postcards, clothespins, tie clips, girl scout patches, miniatures, wooden spools, belt buckles, vintage linens, magnets, children's blocks, vintage Shiny Bright ornaments, old dolls . . .

oh, my!

 

 

I also have quite a collection of Cat's Meow buildings depicting some of my favorite places.

DH attached molding high up on the walls of my craft room so that I can display these without having them in the way when I work.

 

8. Books that teach

 

I love my craft books even more than I love Pinterest. Call me old-fashioned but I like to hold them, come back to them again and again, and have directions and photos right next to me as I work. Thank goodness for my local bookstore and, when that fails, for Amazon Prime.

 

 

9. Things that evoke memories

 

My craft room shelves are chock full of things that bring back happy memories, like this old Patsy doll, with her steamer trunk full of organdy party dresses.

 

 

And my Mom's buttons. Many of them came from clothes she made for my sisters and I when we were children; she would remove the buttons to use again.

 

 

 I love being surrounded by my favorite family photos . . . even the silly ones!

 

 

10. Handmade things

 

Having a few completed projects on display in my craft space reminds me that I really can finish what I start, frustrated as I may get with a project at times.

 

 

And displaying  things that others have made for me just makes me happy when I look at them. This amazing 3-dimensional book was made by fellow blogger, Paula Clare, from Paula's Palace of Altered Art.

 

 

 

So, to recap, here are my Top 10:

 

1. Natural Light

2. Colorful things 

3. Words that inspire

4. Objects found in nature

5. Things with interesting shapes or textures

6. Old Things

7. Collections

8. Books that teach

9. Things that evoke memories

10. Handmade things

 

 

 What are the things that inspire you the most in your creative space?

 

 

 

This post is linked to:

Party Junk at Funky Junk Interiors

Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things

Weekend Wrap-Up at Tattertots & Jello

Flaunt It Friday at Chic On a Shoestring

Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Amaze Me Monday at DWELLINGS