Bright Eyes Paper Dolls - Artcraft #4454

When I started this blog almost 4 years ago (how time flies!!!) my intention was to feature all the paper doll books and illustrators that had brought so much enjoyment to my childhood.  Lately I have not been a very good member of the blogging community! - but there are a couple of classic paper dolls I have still been meaning to include here for quite some time, especially as I have not seen them on-line anywhere else.     

I have mentioned before that I discovered a box of paper dolls my mother had carefully collected and packed away when I was sorting through her belongings after she died.  My paper dolls were very well played with so many are just fragments of sets with tatty looking dresses and no dolls,  

Amongst them was a cut version of this dress - something I recognised as a treasured and precious memory.  But try as I might I could not recollect which set it came from.  I knew I wanted to seek out a replacement for my 'new' collection but I had no idea whether I was looking for ballet, fairies or children!

It took me quite some time to track down but eventually I recognised a cover I remembered and was thrilled to discover it was the book I was looking for.  It was produced by Artcraft and unfortunately does not have a date but I would have been given my original copy some time in the 1960's.

       

Front Cover

My scanner is A4 size so I could not fit in the complete cover,  It has a handle (visible in the first scan) so can be carried around like a little portfolio.  The windows are the cut-out type so popular at the time with the actual doll peeking through from the page behind.

Of course I discovered when I paged through the book that I still possessed one of the dolls (Carol shown above) and some of the other dresses in my box of fragments but I had not realised they were part of the same set!

All of the outfits are shown below. I especially like those where there is a little skirt to go over a shorts set.

Back Cover

This book remains one of my favourite childhood memories and still gives me a little thrill of pleasure every time I look at it.



I bought it from Kassy Ferguson who was selling her late mother's impressive paper doll collection at the time.  She was kind enough to help me obtain my copy of Saalfield's Double Wedding as well, another book I had been trying to find for many months.

1960's Barbie Plays the Housewife - OPDAG Issue 109

My only forays into Blogland at the moment seem to be my OPDAG (Original Paper Doll Artist's Guild) submissions.  This is from the latest issue #109.  The theme was 'The Housewife.'  I chose Barbie from the 1960's to represent the perfect housewife with dresses based on some of the vintage outfits I remembered from childhood.

Only the finished coloured pages feature in the magazine but as I usually do I've included the sketches here as well.

Bethany - Made for the Annual Paper Doll Convention 2014

I was asked to contribute a paper doll for the Raffle Room of the annual Paper Doll Convention - held this year in Richmond, Virginia (25-29 June).
If you want to read more about the convention this post  2014 Paper Doll Convention  by Anne K Donze provides an amazing amount of detail.

I sent in Bethany together with an accompanying sketch of the doll.

I also made another version of Alice to add to my donation as I felt one page with only one doll looked a bit paltry!  The original post and the background behind Alice can be found here (Introducing Alice) .

My original intention was to include a third doll and make a new version of Clarissa as well but I ran out of time!  I was going to call them my three little ABC girls but in the end I had to settle for just A & B !

I'm still hoping to find out who won my dolls and how well they did.  I believe they drew a fair amount of comment because they were sent in from Ireland!

All three dolls are based on the beautiful artwork of Janet & Anne Grahame Johnstone.

The Hunger Games Catching Fire - OPDAG Issue 108

This was my official entry for the latest OPDAG (Original Paper Doll Artists Guild) Paper Studio magazine. The theme was 'Favourite Film'.  I was originally going to make a set of the children from Narnia and then I saw this film with my son and decided it was the doll I wanted to make instead.

In the end I sent in three totally different paper doll submissions to the magazine.  All of them featured, including the Galadriel Doll I have already shown you in an earlier post.  I'll do a separate blog entry on the third doll.  It was one I did on the spur of the moment, but it appears first in the magazine.  I think the older, classic movies proved to be more popular - but I'm still glad I chose something contemporary.  
 

Hunger Games - Sketch

My outfits were all taken from the official posters and press photographs used to advertise the film.  The doll herself is copied from the picture below.  A set like mine could never be offered for sale on its own - but Paper Doll Studio are allowed to print content such as this as it is considered editorial. I love these costume designs - they are up to date and slightly edgy, but contain a recognisable fantasy element at the same time.

I'm still a haphazard Blogger at the moment - but despite my inability to get here very often I do think of the good friends I've made in Blogland all the time - and Nora I want to say a special hello to you as I have no other way of contacting you.  I loved all the comments you left me last time! 

Daffodil Day - 28 March 2014

Hilda Boswell - Daffy-Down-Dilly

Yesterday was the Irish Cancer Society's annual Daffodil Day.  It is always the last Friday in March.  I've posted about it before and the badges representing past years are from my earlier offering.

I think it is a lovely idea.  It's so nice to see everyone going about their business in Dublin with a sunny silk daffodil pinned to their jackets.  Somehow the day seems a bit brighter and people look a bit more cheerful.  There was a very good turnout of volunteers this year, selling silk flowers and badges on every street corner.  I was glad to see there was still a strong presence. With the economic downturn its always a worry that good causes will fade away.

I tend to buy the badges rather than the silk flowers as they are easier to keep and I'm building up a nice little collection.

This year I also bought a pack of note cards.  I find blank cards very useful and I prefer having something that supports a charity.  A few years ago we lost a colleague at work to cancer.  She was only 45 and left behind two young children and a husband who adored her.  It made me realise how quickly and unexpectedly cancer can strike and how important the work of an organisation like this is.

I love daffodils.  They are a real reminder that summer is just around the corner.  At midnight tonight we change the clocks for summer time - longer days but I lose an hour of sleeping late tomorrow morning!

I always include this little paper doll for Daffodil Day.  The full set of Mother Goose Paper Dolls can be found here.  It is one of my favourites from my childhood.

Hilda Boswell - March and April

Warmer days are almost here ..............

Disney's Cinderella

Like many little girls throughout the ages I dreamt of growing up to become a princess.  (Nowadays I aspire instead to a quiet life with a veggie patch, a rose garden and maybe a bee hive).

Perhaps the most accessible princesses during my childhood were the Disney versions.  I loved all the classics of the time, but Cinderella possibly had a slight edge when it came to my affection.

I think the appeal of Cinderella is the 'against all odds' aspect of the story.  She endures great personal tragedy, reduced circumstances and overt cruelty - and then just when life seems at its bleakest - fate (and a fairy godmother) step in and whisk her away to a new life of happiness and promise.

When we went to Disneyland (Paris) I chose a small figurine of Cinderella as my memento of our holiday.  

 I can't seem to photograph her successfully but she stands on my dressing table with all my other little treasures.....

.... . And then last Christmas I bought a 'vintage'ornament for the tree.  It was a bit of an impulse buy but I couldn't resist it and she looked really pretty amongst the other decorations.. 

The most bizarre thing has just happened.  I was busy adding these pictures to my blog when I saw a Google notification. It told me 'an awesome photo has been added' and someone else has included this effect of the tree sparkling - how strange is that! 

My Mom owned these two identical little books of Cinderella and she loved them.  The books are really small - like the little pocket dictionaries I used before we were able to look things up online.  As a child I could never really see their appeal.  They were not big or colourful enough for me, but I treasure them today because they meant so much to her.

Something that has always intrigued me is that Disney brought out two versions of Cinderella.  I've always found both quite magical.  Does anyone know if the alternate version was ever made into a movie?  If it was I've never come across it.

There is a well known paper doll book based on these illustrations - I've never owned a copy but have seen it advertised for sale and have often been tempted.  

When I was eight years old (don't laugh I know I was that age exactly!) one of the big South African supermarket chains gave out a page of card when you shopped there (it must have been some sort of promotional offer) that had a game on it - I think it was a bit like snakes and ladders.  It was similar to the sort of thing that appeared on the back of cereal boxes.  The illustrations all centred around Cinderella wearing the ball gown from this version of the story.  I would love to be able to see this game again but doubt any are still in existence.  I do own a book with the full story and all the illustrations - I've scanned my favourites from it and have included them here:

I've always thought this paper doll book a particularly lovely one.  It first appeared 4 or 5 years ago and looks like it is from somewhere like Russia.   The dolls and dresses are gorgeous.  I'm not going to repeat them all here but will instead give two blog links where you can see the complete set (including other Disney princesses as well)

One can be found here at Paper Doll Collections and I also spotted them on the blog belonging to Miss Missy  (a fellow OPDAG member).

Of all the blog posts I've ever done the one that still continues to be visited the most (at least 50 times every day) is my compilation of Disney love songs.  I shouldn't be encouraging more traffic to it but the link to that post can be found here.  I wanted to put the same version of the song at the end of this post to finish but can't get it to list in the YouTube search so have included another one instead.