A Dolly Neighbor Visit With Nonna of Mommy's Doll Club

(Mikey on a knit turtle (which is commercially tagged and was not sold as handmade oddly enough), Laurel and Kimberly)

Today I am thrilled to introduce Chrissy aka Nonna from Mommy's Doll Club Website as our Who are the people in your neighborhood feature today.

Nonna is sharing her photos and insights into her collection and her motivation for starting her website. don't you just love all these different dolls!

(Mom had Raggedy Anns made for us when we were little.  Andys later followed.  I painted the image for my watercolor class in college. Mom has custody of the painting - it got an A.  Though I didn't think to add a scaled item in the shot, it is leaning against the closet door for which the doorknob is just cropped out.MY news years list includes more doll paintings!)

I asked Nonna to share a bit about her doll collection with us....

What was your first doll?

 "Laurel the Woodfairy from Stardust Classics bought on closeout for less than $20 was my first 18 inch.  My first doll was a Horsman hardbody baby doll from 1974 who did everything with me and was thankfully, completely washable.  My grandmother made her clothes and diapers.  The doll's name was Mikey but sometimes, she was a boy because that was more fun.  My first play doll was a Tomy Kimberly - she came with roller skates and I loved roller skating.  Kimberly is a little smaller than AG but close enough to be the younger sibling.  She also shares torso proportions with Mikey (with longer legs) and could wear many of Mikey's things.  My grandmother also made Kimberly clothes and Mom crocheted them both sweaters and hats."

(My first two AG dolls bought simultaneously - Joy and Tyler.  Joy is not an Ivy.  She is still available as Item# F1273.  I chopped her hair as soon as I opened the box.  I did not want a doll with earrings so I did not order Ivy.)

Why do you collect dolls now?

" I collect dolls now because it makes me happy.  Sharing a love a miniatures with my grandmother brought me lots of joy.  Now I can share that with so many others.  It's wonderful!"

(My newest dolls: Charlotte (OG Retro June), Missy (OG Kiana with a hair chop), Gwynn (espari's Lily Ria) and Janie (OG Ella Grace).  They are standing on some customized closets made from IKEA drawers found in the As Is section for $1 each turned on their sides (so the drawer fronts became the tops) that we added dowels too (just screwing straight in from the sides).  There are two shown here side by side.  The painting in this picture is was done by a man in Thailand who has no arms (I saw pictures of him painting).  The painting was brought back by a family whose relatives do their local buiying in Thailand and they own a local store here in PA.  It's the only original painting I've ever bought. Charlotte and Gwynn were Christmas gifts.  Missy and Janie were black Friday deals.)

For more on my individual dolls, this year I'm featuring them in the new My Doll Friday segment.  Many of them already have photos up on my Dollbook post (http://mommysdollclub.com/wp/dollbook/).

When did you decide to share your love of dolls with others? When and why did you start your blog?

"Last year I started my blog when a friend provided the host site at no cost.  He was already supporting his own sites for music so when the opportunity was provided, I leaped!  I had thought about hosting a blog for a while since I'd been saving all the links I could find in an Excel spreadsheet (and as print screens or pdfs) since my kids were little so I could share with anyone who wanted to know where I'd gotten "that" pattern or idea. It was a natural turn to finally create a blog like I wished I could find over the years.  I'm so grateful that there are so many doll enthusiasts out there posting wonderfulness that I can share.  (Note: one thing I do like to make sure I do since I am posting other people's links to make sure that what I post isn't a new post and I always include the links to the host sites; credit where credit is due is very important to me!  I urge anyone who likes a particular blogger to subscribe to their sites!) My twin sister was always the girly girl so she "played" with dolls and I made them stuff (and I loved that).  Setting up scenes and making furniture (Mom got me balsa wood for miniatures to make my grandmother stuff) as well as creating food and clothes has always been something I enjoyed.  The doll stories lived in my head but some of them are starting to come out.  I didn't discover Rumer Godden stories until I was adult but she is my favorite indulgence on a cold night with a cup of cocoa.  If I read her stories, I dream of dolls and doll's houses and tea and friends..."

What do you want people to know about you? Your Collection? Your Passion?

"I have a degree in Philosophy and Literature with second degrees almost (but alas never) completed in Fine Arts and Psychology.  I took a lot of cultural anthropology and sociology courses in school as well.  The idea of community and culture has always fascinated me. I love painting and drawing and creating both music and stories.  The dolls have become a vehicle for creative expression for me that connects me to my past via my children and the women in my life (and actually, my dad who built me a doll house once and is my avid flea market/yard sale shopper now).  Having a supportive community around you, whatever your joys are, is the best thing you can have in life.  I've been a Sunday school teacher, homeroom parent, Girl Scout leader, Youth Group leader, college mentor and scholarship founder in addition to my doll hobbies with always the same goal of helping others grow.  I think that's the best gift we can give one another. Being true to myself while supporting others being true to themselves is probably what I'm most passionate about doing...it doesn't hurt if I get to squee about how cute some doll things are too. "

Thank you Nonna for sharing your story with us today! Click here to visit Mommy's Doll Club Website or any of the highlighted words in today's post.  If you would like to have your story told email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com