Ruby Tuesday~Nov 10, 2009

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Ruby Tuesday

*Go here to find other RT posts!*

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Just a little bit of red...getting ready for Turkey Day!






Junie

Can this santa be saved?

Can this santa be saved?



This is the very first gourd santa I ever created. It is signed on the bottom, ‘Ginga’s Santas’, 1992.

Sometimes - well, oftentimes- painted gourd crafts get weevils from within, long after the craft figure is painted and finished into it’s decorative transformation. This, of course, can be prevented if the bottom of the gourd is taken off and the seeds are removed and the inside scrapped clean.

( notice the small , round holes...the bugs eat their way out.)

With my gourd santa figures I liked the added interest of the sound of the dried seeds inside, rattling around when shaken.

This, of course, was my very first experience working with gourds in any kind of craft projects. It was all guess work for me - trial and error!
I had never even seen one of these santas except in magazines. But I was pleased with the finished figure I had made. I liked the old world look of this santa.

I went on to make others-learning as I went along. In time I was adding papier mache trim- for beards and fur cuff on hats and and coats!

After a couple years of displaying this original santa at Christmas, I discovered the tiny holes...and some fine dust where he had sat on the shelf! Oh my! My santa had bugs-was being eaten from the inside!! Nothing to do but quarantine him in a plastic bag with a good dose of insecticide... tie the bag tight for a good, long spell of time! I did this!

I was still in the ‘figuring out phase’ of my santa making, but I liked the idea of the seeds inside and wanted to keep it that way. I knew I could take the bottom off if I chose to go that way...but I wanted to try this first! After some time (maybe weeks) I felt it safe to remove my santa, knowing the bug problem would have been resolved!
(The tiny bugs leave the gourd and die from the spray treatment in the closed up bag! :( Sorry!)

Meanwhile I had been busy with other, more elaborate styles of santas...much fancier than this first one had been. I did lots of crafts for shows and gifts during that time.

I always intended to do the proper repairs and the necessary repainting and refinishing for this poor old guy...but , somehow, he ended up on a shelf in my laundry room! There he has sat for many years, gathering dust and lint. NOW-he’s badly in need of renovation. After looking at him I’m afraid he will, indeed, need his bottom sliced off and the seeds and dust removed...but we’ll see! I’d rather keep him with his original signature and date ! I DO know for sure he will need some bug holes repaired and some new paint and varnish and some new holly trims!




However, I hope I can keep his original face...not that it's that great...but it is HIS! No one wants a complete change-do they?? ;)

Can this santa be saved?
The time has come!
We’ll see!






Note:

I continued to leave the seeds inside the majority of the gourd santas I made because I liked them better that way. A few more developed bug problems but most did not! My header shows some of my later santas.

Junie
of ' Ginga's Santas'

a slide show of dolls

Santa didn't leave me a doll this year...and I think I know why!  He must have seen  a part of my collection of dolls and figured I have enough!

But-Hey- if you live a  long  time and be good  all those years...you are bound to collect a lot of stuff!

;)  I'm living proof of that!  haha!

As you can see I like a lot of different kinds of dolls...in fact- seldom see one I DON'T  like!  But I agree with Santa...there is a limit to all good things!  :)  I haven't added a new doll in  a long while!....Well-actually, I have...but nothing expensive.  (Some yard sale finds that didn't even make it to my celebration this year!)

Anyway, hope some of you enjoy looking at  a few of my dolls!

Love,

Junie Rose

Sasha

( Click to enlarge )

Sasha is one of my top favorites in my collection.

I had wanted a 'Sasha' for a long while-after discovering them in the doll books I had started reading when I started actively collecting. I had never seen one except in those books, but I was quite taken with the unique look of these dolls. They also come as boys and babies! I just have my one blonde girl!

~~~

About 6 years ago is when I first got a computer and discovered all the possibilities it offered!
To my great surprise I found there were 'Sashas' out there to be bought! I discovered Ebay!!
I began bidding on Sashas. :( They usually went too high...and I was reluctant to take a chance on losing a big amount of money!

My birthday came during my hot pursuit of finding a Sasha doll to buy! As it turned out my husband had to be away on my birthday.(some family business in Alabama) He gave me $200.00 as a gift because he hadn't shopped for me!

Oh, my!! I knew just what I wanted to get!! Now I felt confident...and determined! I pondered over all the most desirable Sasha dolls at that time on Ebay...and put bids on a few.

~~~My Ebay bidding became comical during those early days! It was all so brand new to me-and FUN! The kids laughed when I would say I 'Won' something on Ebay! :) I didn't care- I was enjoying myself with this new thing!~~~

However...this doll was not just a few dollars! This was something pretty big! I was nervous ...still, I went for it! I WON! I WON!...At the last moment! It was my birthday $ plus another $37.00 with shipping! Yikes! Pretty much...but I was happy!

I need not have been worried about the deal going bad because the lady shipped 'Sasha' even before my check cleared! :)

OK- Maybe I paid a steep price for this doll... I'm not sure. I just know I'm happy to have such a doll in perfect condition!

Isn't she so pretty? :)

Note:
The history of these dolls is quite interesting! Go here!


Junie

Katie- & a baby too!

This little girl is Katie, by a very talented, present day, doll artist- Titus Tomiscu. (hope that is spelled right!) He designs very realistic dolls!
I have two of his dolls-'Katie' and 'Cute as a Button', a cute baby girl!

I will show pics of both of them here.

Katie is a little kindergarten age girl- I would say- all decked out for school! And you can see she's a very smart girl! Just look at that report card! Oh, and she has a little McDonald's backpack-which I forgot to get a picture of! She looks very cool in her school outfit! Katie is about 16-18 inches tall.

Cute as a Button is an adorable baby...Well, I have seen more beautiful babies but she certainly has her charm! She looks very happy in that crib I recently found for her! (bought it with her in mind! :) )

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For a few years I was buying myself ONE collector doll each year...usually from the well known mail order catalogs such as Franklin Mint- or Lenox and some others! I was able to break the
cost up into 3-4- or more payments and it wasn't a strain on my budget! I would usually arrange to have it come right at Christmas. They were Christmas presents to myself! :)

...But for the past 3 years or so I have not added any dolls! The main reason is I have run out of space!!...Still, I have recieved a few dolls as gifts since then. (The Baby Elvis, for one- from my daughter Tina!)

I have no idea exactly how many dolls I own these days!
My favorites have always been the babies and children - old and new!

I enjoy my dolls a lot! :)

Junie (the kid)

Buddy Lee Doll

This is Buddy Lee!

We bought him on one of our two trips to California (visiting our kids) in 1986!
We found him at this huge Flea Market in some town north of Salinas! (the name escapes me, but Charles will know!...lol- I leave it up to him to keep track of such things!)
Update: Charles says the town was Prunedale, at the Big Red Barn Antiques!

Anyway- back to Buddy Lee.

This little boy doll was made by the Lee manufacturing company from 1920-1962.
The first ones were composition, made up to 1949- and in hard plastic from 1949-1962.

Buddy Lee dolls are 13 inches tall, with the body and head molded together - but with arms that move. The faces are painted with closed, smiling mouth and painted eyes, turned to the side!

My Buddy Lee is dressed in the Lee overalls and matching cap which has the original labels.

At the time I bought him he had to be around 40 years old! That means he must now be almost 60 years old!! Yikes! That's OLD!
( no way can I be exact on his age- but that has to be close, according to the info I just looked up about these dolls!)

He's a cutie! He has faded some in the past 20 years...and the composition of his face has chipped a little. :(
( but we all fade and chip with age, ehh? )
I have never been one to hide my treasures away. I like them out so I can enjoy them!

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The little friend he's with in some of these pics is a little Cupie I have had even longer than I have had Buddy Lee. She's old too- at least as old as Buddy Lee...probably older!

They seem to go well together so they stand side by side in their doll case!


Enjoy!

JUNIE

Here's Johnny!

As I mentioned before-the$ value of a doll does not determine whether or not it will be one that appeals to me to the extent that it becomes a keeper! This is the case with Johnny.

This little boy doll goes back a long way in my kids lives. We bought him at a second hand place when my first daughter was just a baby and my little boy was just 3 years old! I liked him because he was the size of a baby. He could sit up and my babies were very taken with him. I named him Johnny!

Johnny is over 2 ft tall , made of hard, molded plastic. The head is of a softer material and he has open and close eyes- molded hair. I find no names or markings of any kind on the doll, so I have no idea of the company who made it) I always dressed him in some of my babies clothes! He's dressed, still, in clothes that were my first grandson's.

My babies and then my grandbabies, all played with Johnny when they were little! I have pics of all of them with this doll! ( Just happened to come across the one's of Zach- who is my 3rd. grandchild)
SO...as I said before... a doll doesn't have to be valuable to mean a lot to me! This one, I will always cherish.

Johnny has been with us for 44 years!

Photos:
My grandson Zach at about 6 months - with our doll, Johnny!

Junie (The kid)

...and more...

I got these 3 girls from the same elderly lady over 20 years ago in Miami.

Again- I have more information of them somewhere but -here- I will just list what I see on each doll.
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~ For me-collecting has always been just about fun so my record keeping is not the greatest! ~
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Anyway-my history with these three dolls is this:

They were bought from a lady we knew in our neighborhood in Cutler Ridge. (South Dade Co. Miami) They had belonged to her and a cousin when they were young girls. She was in her late 70s at the time I got the dolls in about 1986. At the time, they were in pretty rough shape; needing new wigs and a good cleaning-new dresses etc! One 's eyes had to be reset! There was also a box of original clothes for them. The doll with the white dress and matching jacket is in an original outfit that was in the box. The other two outfits and hats were made from vintage materials.

We found a doll restorer in Pensacola, Fl and made a trip there and left my dolls in her 'hospital' for a few weeks!

Wow! What a thrill - the first sight of them - all new and spruced up!

What do you think?


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The markings on these dolls are as follows:

Blonde girl in red velvet~
Queen Louise~Germany


Girl in white with dark hair and hat~
COD and with the #6


Girl with long brown curls-in an original outfit bought with the dolls~
#1079 found at the top back of head~ and at the bottom is Germany with the #8 under that.


All of these dolls are about 18-20 inches tall and have fully jointed composition bodies. The heads are fine porcelain!

Again - I have more detailed info on these dolls , from researching them, but don't have it available at the moment!
Some of these dolls may date back earlier than I stated in my last post!

~~~I am fascinated with the beauty of these dolls - and in the way their beauty has not diminished over all the years they've been around! I'm happy to have these 5 antiques in my collection!

Junie