Whitman - Ballet Dancers #1962 / 1968

This is my latest paper doll purchase.  I have been looking for this set for quite some time to complete the trio of Whitman ballet paper dolls I originally played with as a child.  I have included posts on the other two before - Whitman Ballet Cut Outs -#1962/1964 (my favourite) and Whitman Now Playing Ballet Paper Dolls #1962/1966 .

I took a bit of a chance with this set, buying it with a job lot of 5 used/cut paper doll books.  I had no idea how complete anything was and what condition they would be in.  As I did not pay all that much for them I thought it was worth the risk and would have been happy enough to get three of the covers (including the one for this set) so the contents were a bonus.  I bought them from Jean Claude in Canada who was very helpful - his eBay shop toys and things 4u has all sorts of interesting items for sale.

I was thrilled to discover that this set was the most complete of the 5 in the lot and is in great condition considering it has been cut and presumably played with.  From what I can tell only one piece of headgear is missing - I have been able to find another scan of that costume and have included it at the end for completeness.

Of these three ballet paper doll books by Whitman (all numbered 1962) this one is my least favourite -  although I'm still extremely happy to have it purely for the memory factor.  I think I preferred dolls that were younger (closer to my age at the time) and I've never found the dolls in this set particularly feminine or ballerina-like.  With their muscular legs and athletic builds they look more like track athletes to me.

Strangely this is one set where I think I prefer the outfits off the dolls rather than on.  I think they look prettier somehow when the dolls are not wearing them!

This is the hat that I am missing - I've included the extra version of this costume here.

These Mist Covered Mountains are Home Now to Me ...

Last week I included a post about my past in I Had a Farm in Africa.  This week I'm on holiday and this is my present - the magical Wicklow Mountains.   Sometimes I'm truly in awe as to how I managed to end up here.  As a child in Africa I was always drawn to this type of landscape - straight out of a fantasy story.  Sometimes I think the fairies really must have brought me here.  

When I have time off work (as I have now),  all I usually want to do is stay at home.  As this is what greets me just behind my house I guess I can be excused for not wanting to rush off on a holiday somewhere else.  My job as an IT systems developer can be quite tiring and I spend hours commuting to work every day, so having a chance to stay at home is the most perfect break I can think of!

I took these pictures earlier today.  Of course my 'boys' are an essential part of my perfect holiday.

Anyone who is familiar with my blog by now will know that I like empty untamed landscapes.   The more remote a place is the more it appeals to me.  These views are timeless.

This next picture is the Powerscourt Waterfall taken from across the valley on the road we use to get to Enniskerry.  We went there this afternoon as I like to visit the garden centre at the Powerscourt Estate.  This is the same waterfall as the photo I chose for my blog title (just taken from much further away).

I don't really mind what the weather chooses to do when I am at home on holiday.  If it rains I sit in my study and write or paint and look at the trees in the mist through the window.

If the sun shines I sit outside - this is my favourite spot in the garden.  Sometimes I pretend I'm reading, but mostly I just sit and listen to the sound of the wind in the trees.   
    

I've noticed these roses (I call them my briar rose) are growing wild all over the hedgerows.  These are in the garden and twine themselves in between all the other flowers.

There are wild foxgloves in abundance everywhere also.  Some have seeded themselves in the garden but these are growing at the side of the road outside the house.  They seem to do exceptionally well there!

Guinevere - A Paper Doll (Lilac Dragon Dress)

                                               

Guinevere from the BBC's Merlin

I've thoroughly enjoyed making my paper doll of Morgana (and I'm not finished with her yet!).  It has been so much fun I decided to make a companion doll of Guinevere from the same series (the BBC's Merlin).

Guinevere is played by the lovely actress Angel Coulby.  Her sartorial journey has been the complete opposite of Morgana's.  Morgana started out in shimmering jewel-like creations but is now consigned to drab and dowdy black gowns that reflect her move over to 'the dark side'.

Gwen started the first series in unflattering sack-like dresses made of coarse material that emphasised her lowly position in Camelot as a servant and blacksmith's daughter.  With each passing season her clothing has cleverly evolved to match her changing status, until now as Queen of Camelot in Season 5 she is the one bedecked in red velvet and purple satin.

Angel Coulby as Guinevere 

      

In Gwen's case I think it is important to show her dresses in order, but having said that I'm breaking my own rule for this first 'Gwen' post by starting with her Lilac 'Dragon' dress.  I think this is the gown most people will associate with her character.  She virtually lived in it during seasons 2 and 3 but I never got tired of seeing her in it.

I think the dress is lovely.  The colour suits her, the material is soft and feminine and the styling very clever - it is pretty but still maintains her status during this part of the story as a maid in the palace.

Guinevere - Queen of Camelot

Guinevere - Lilac Dragon Dress

As with Morgana I'm including all the sketches for the dolls and dresses before they were coloured in.

Guinevere Paper Doll - Sketch

This was the initial rough sketch for Gwen.  Once I had decided how her basic form was going to look I traced this original drawing onto light cardboard for the figure above.

Guinevere - Initial Sketch

Gwen's 'dragon' dress before it was coloured in.  I tend to prefer the dresses in this sketch stage when they still leave more to the imagination.

Guinevere - Lilac Dragon Dress Sketch

Guinevere - Season 4 Dresses can be found here (Posted 19 Aug 2012)

Guinevere - Season 2 and 3 Dresses can be found here (Posted 13 July 2012)

Guinevere - Season 1 Dresses can be found here (Posted 10 July 2012)

Gwen Season 5 Velvet Burgundy dress can be found here (Posted 6 Aug 2012)

  The companion paper doll of Morgana can be found here (First post 1 Jan 2012)

 Sharon Souter - not to be used for commercial purposes 

I Had a Farm in Africa

"I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills..."  (Karen Blixen - Out of Africa)


Well not quite . . .  I had a farm in Africa between Mooi River and Estcourt in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands (South Africa)


Unless you are something of a Boer or Zulu War enthusiast the area won't mean very much.  It is not far from Spioenkop - one of the most eerily atmospheric places on the planet with its mass grave of British soldiers who fell during the battle.

This is Beaconsfield - affectionately known by my family as Beaky's.  The farm actually belonged to a friend of my stepfather's and we would spend short holidays there from the mid 70's to the mid 80's.  Usually not much more than a long weekend as we had to take EVERYTHING with us, including all the water we would need.

I became quite adept at using two small bowls of water (warmed by the sun to conserve fuel) to clean my teeth, wash myself and my hair and any sundry items of clothing that need freshening up.  The loo was a long drop in one of the barns.  Not everyone's idea of the perfect holiday, but for me it was heaven as I love places that are remote and untamed.

The hill behind the farmstead looked very innocuous from the house but when you climbed to the top there was a powerful sensation of magic in the ground that I found a bit scary and unsettling.  (I can cope much better with the fairy forests here in Ireland.)  As a result I never went up there very often.

Many of my photographs from that time are slowly loosing their colour.  They are ending up with a strange sepia effect and in one sense I'm glad that I'm starting to scan them now before all detail is leached out completely.

This is Zacharias (Zaccy) - he was not much bigger than a mouse, but had the heart of a lion.

According to 'legend' the farmhouse (I think it was build in the 1800's) was abandoned after one of the original family members was killed by lightning.  One account is that this happened on the hillside in front of the house.  The other is that the person was struck while throwing out a pail of water from the stoep (verandah).

Later a new modern house was built somewhere else (I never saw it) and the old homestead was left to quietly crumble away, with what was left preserved like a time capsule.

Playing cards with my Mom and sister Melanie (I'm in the middle).  We were hooked on sergeant major - a great game but restricted to three players so anyone else had to sit out. 

Melanie having fun with a frisbee in the 'garden'.  (I think I'm on the other side throwing it to her.)  

Where ever I went at the time a sketchbook came with me.  These are sketches I made at Beaconsfield in 1976.  I think they were all done during the same holiday.  The one at the top (it is a single drawing but I had to scan it in two halves) is dated 28 December 1976.
 

Pressed leaves gathered at Beaconsfield in 1976.  Some would have been used when I did the drawing shown above.

We holidayed at the abandoned farmhouse for a period of 10 or so years.  Then when the growing crime rate become more rampant we started to feel uneasy about staying in such an isolated place and so our visits stopped.

For me, though, these memories of Beaconsfield are some I will always cherish - a snapshot of my past that will live in my heart forever.

Morgana Paper Doll - Violet Dress

Morgana Paperdoll - Violet Dress

Another rainy weekend so I decided to make another outfit for Morgana.  This time I chose her violet dress which is actually a cape - I'm going to give her two versions - this one and another with the hood of the cape up so that you can actually see it.  I think this was a favourite during the early seasons of the show (BBC's Merlin) as she wore it quite often - I can see why - it looks comfortable as well as being quite sumptuous.

Morgana Pendragon

Morgana - Violet Dress

As I've done before I'm including the sketch of the dress before it was coloured in:

Morgana- Violet Dress Sketch

The original Morgana paper doll post including her purple, green and blue gowns can  be found here (posted 1 Jan 2012)

Morgana's white dress can also be found here (posted 5 Feb 2012)

Morgana's black lace dress can be found here (posted 7 October 2012)

 Sharon Souter - not to be used for commercial purposes