It's A Major Award!

Sorry this is late, I was on a short vacation to
Jeykll Island, GA for my 60th!!!! birthday. I had
a great time but I am so far behind at work
now...ugh...you almost hate to take time off.

It appears I have been nominated for a Liebster
award by April of 'Fashion Doll Stylist' and Jewell
of 'Doll-Lightful'.  I would love to answer all your
questions but I picked some from each one.   Thank
you both so much for nominating me.

Now on to the questions......

1)  What was it about the first doll you ever bought
that prompted you to start a collection?  Well, the
doll that started it all was actually bought by my
parents, a 1963 Bubblecut Barbie.  They added 3
more to my little collection and I still have all 4 of
them.  I always loved the clothes and that is what
has continued my interest in Barbie, plus she is so
darn pretty!

2)  When you get a new doll, how does that make
you feel and what do you do right after de-boxing?
A new doll makes me feel 'HAPPY'!  The doll usually
goes up on the display shelf for awhile after deboxing.

3)  Do you name all your dolls?  If so, where do you
get ideas for their names?
I love names, so naming my dolls is one of my
favorite things!  I have a book on names and the
internet is a great place for name lists.  Usually I
just look at the doll and her/his name will come to me.
I think each doll has a personality or reminds us of
someone.  Sometimes a last name will just pop too,
like Roxanne Benevento and Gabrielle Ferrand.  If I
have trouble naming a doll I put it out so I can look
and ponder it or flip through my name book and try
out different ones.  But it doesn't happen very often
that a name doesn't come.  That being said,I have one
doll now that I can not connect with a name.  If I don't
come up with something soon she may have to go!

4) What doll related projects are you currently working
on?
I am trying to finish sewing the 4-5 outfits I cut out last
year before I start any new sewing projects.  I also just
got a Barbie Glam Getaway House that I would like to
repaint and make into a little Paris apartment for Gabrielle.

5)  How do you organize your dolls' clothes, accessories,
props?
I wish I could come up with a foolproof way to organize
things so I could find them easily but here is my best plan
so far.  All the vintage and reproduction outfits are stored
within the 8 vintage doll cases and my Susie Goose wardrobe.
All other outfits and things are stored in photo boxes broken
down by categories like Fashion Avenue, Handmade,
Sparkle Girls and such. Nothing fancy butit works to a point
and the boxes stack nicely on shelves. I don't have too many
props but small items are kept in photo boxes and larger
furniture in an ottoman.

6)  What motivated you to start writing a blog?
It gave me a reason to play more with my dolls.  Most were still
in boxes (except for the vintage ones) and I was tired of just
looking at them.  So I decided to start deboxing them and making
more clothes.  I just thought it would be a fun way to
catalog what I had.  But of course, it lead to getting
more dolls and more clothes......you know how that goes!

7) How do you decide what to add or purge from your
collection?  
I've been collecting dolls for over 50 years, it's always changing.
I did a major purge out of necessity when we moved to Florida
keeping only very treasured dolls.  I have added much more over
the past few years but am reaching that point where it's time to
seriously look at where I want this collection to be.  I will start
with the dolls that I only bought for their outfits.  The outfits
can stay but they will most likely go.  Then I will look at dolls
that I have not deboxed yet and go from there.  Clothes never go!
I will always add new outfits.  I never had any props so have
bought a lot the past year but think I have enough now to make
some nice dioramas.  I will be more selective now making sure
the prop has a place in a scene.

8)  What kind of camera do you use to take your photos?
My iPad!  I know my pictures could be better but it's that or
my iPhone.  I'm pretty low tech.

9)  What challenges does this hobby (or blog) present? (What
have you learned?)  I find it hard to pick one project sometimes
and get overwhelmed by all my choices causing me not get
anything done.  I try to post to the blog at least once a week,
but work and other things happen.  I usually do all the posts over
a weekend and schedule them out.  I have learned that even
though the things I make aren't as good or creative as some
people, that's okay, it's not a contest it's just fun.  And I've
learned a lot from other blogs on how to make and where to
find Barbie size props!

10) Where do you go to discover new dolls to buy?
The internet.  I only collect Barbie and family so I am always
trolling eBay and store sites.

11)  Doll-wise, what are you hoping for in 2016?
I don't have any 'must haves' on my list and have just about
reached capacity in my little doll world, so as far as dolls
I'm good right now.  But you can never have too many
clothes!  I'm hoping to add to my collection of 'Fashion
Avenue' outfits and maybe get some from the 80's.  I want
to continue and improve on making clothes and try to
crochet and knit some items.

I am suppose to nominate 5 other blogs, but it seems like every
one has been nominated so I will end here.

Thank you again to April and Jewell for the nominations and
to everyone for visiting my blog.