UGH! I just got a notice from Ebay… telling me they had “pulled” my listing for Patsy’s dress… It was in the wrong category; they said. I have it listed under Doll, Tonner, Ann Estelle’s Collection… and Ebay tells me it needs to be under Clothes and Accessories, Modern, Modern Doll clothes. I have been listing things under the doll categories for years and NOW they are telling me it’s in the wrong category? They said my buyers might get confused…that it might result in a poor shopping experience for my buyers and the buyers for my item might not be interested in seeing what have. O-K-A-Y… so tomorrow I will call them an tell them I prefer my listing to be under Tonner and the subcategory of Ann Estelle, but they probably won’t listen… so it will be in the modern clothing section. I prefer to look at the dolls as well as the clothes and if I want to include my doll dresses with the dolls, I personally think that should be up to me…but I’m sure it won’t matter…
So I’ll get this listed again tomorrow night most likely; the same listing… only in a new category… as I looked at the Patsy listings…there sure are lots of other listings in the wrong category… wonder if they’ll all get pulled? Okay…enough of my rant…Since I’ve lost all my watchers and my bidder, I will probably make this a 3 day listing to make up for time lost…
I finished my blue cabinet today and wanted to share it with you. The problem is… the lighting was so bad around 5:00 Sunday evening that my pictures are pretty crummy… In fact, my hubby was helping me try to get the lighting better, but it just couldn’t be captured on my camera back in our sitting room. I’ll show you a couple pictures anyway… I used a dry paint brush with very little brownish paint loaded onto it and just sort of swished and swiped it over the blue color. It made little streaks and highlights that are very pretty. After I got it done as much as I thought necessary (it took maybe 10 minutes…if that long..) I waxed it with paste wax and then buffed it to a nice sheen. In my pictures it looks like something in one of those primitive shops, sort of country like, but it’s funny, when you see it in person, it looks much nicer and not country at all… just sort of aged. The brown areas aren’t as prominent as they are in my pictures for some reason.
My hubby knew I was disappointed with how my pictures turned out, so he told me to tell you all…”It looks much better in person than in her pictures!” There you heard it from him… and by the way, it’s not going to the garage! :o)
These two pictures captured it the best of all the ones I took… but if the sun comes out tomorrow, you may see another shot of it…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My sister in Pennsylvania had a Women’s Tea on Saturday and I think she told me 225 ladies attended. Amy, my niece, (Hannah’s mom) was in charge of coming up with the menu and did most of the planning and prep work… (she is AMAZING!!!) Anyway, the way they set it up, any lady who wanted to decorate a table could do so… in any theme, with any dishes she may have had… it sounds like something right up my alley!! You too?
Cindy said there 28 tables decorated and it must have been amazing to be in that room. Each woman who decorated a table was the hostess for her guests and every table had little favor bags to go along with the theme. I asked Cindy to send me some pics and she did… I wanted to share them with you because I know you’ll love seeing them… and as you look, think about which table you would chosen to sit at… just for fun… :o)
Want to see some? I wish she had sent me more…but this is all I have to show you…
This next one is my sister’s table. Last year she made an elaborate centerpiece, and it took up most of the table, so this year she decided to go easy on the decorations and try “simple!” She had Russel Stover chocolate bunnies and candy kisses in her favor bags.. I know where I’d be sitting… :o)
Aren’t they all clever and beautiful at the same time? Did you figure out where you’d be sitting?
…and if YOU had to plan a table, what theme would you choose and how would you decorate it? Inquiring minds want to know… :o)
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I’ve heard about other people’s items getting pulled and told it was in the wrong category too. You are not the only one, and it’s frustrating everyone with what Ebay is doing now.
HI Christine,
I guess Ebay has just gotten too big for their britches… there is no changing their mind on this… oh well… as long as people just type in Effner 13″ or American Girl Molly or Ten Ping, or whatever doll they are looking for, instead of going through the categories I suppose it will all work out…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Love all the beautiful tables. So much fun to see the variety.
Ebay is going crazy right now pulling auctions for wrong category. There is a large discussion about it on Resin Café. Grace from JPOP is trying to help. She has contacted her Paypal Manager who is trying to contact the right people at ebay. So far no success but she is still trying. Here is the thread:
http://theresincafe.proboards.com/thread/30202/ebay-selling-problems-harassed
God Bless
Marsha
OH my goodness, Marsha,
I had no idea this was all going on… What a nightmare some of these ladies have gone through or are still in! I read thread after thread of what was happening and just felt sick…
Thanks for the heads up and the link to the thread on Resin Cafe… All I can say is “Wow!”
Blessings, Jeanne
You lost a bidder and some watchers. When you re-list, and you probably have done it, can Ebay notify your bidder and watchers? The are always notifying me about items relisted or on sale or auctions ready to end, so it may be possible for you or her to reconnect. I’m sure she’d appreciate that.
I am not generally a red, white, and blue or western person, but I liked the bandana/guitar table and the red, white, and blue one especially well. Maybe they just photographed extra nicely.
I generally like a table full of antiques for tea. If any of your readers live close to Berthoud, Colorado, the Swan House is lovely for tea, and they do sell old teacups and plates and other charming things. If you are in Boulder, check out our tea house (Boulder Tea House on Google). It’s a gift from our sister city in Tajikistan and is extraordinary. Most people seem to go there for meals, rather than for tea, but they do have an unusually good tea selection.
Gold and white on a white tablecloth is nice for a winter tea. Or April Cornell tablecloths make any table look nice and her patterns don’t show tea stains the way white does — she has a website with a large sale section. Ebay has endless Haviland china in endless patterns — Haviland has long been a family favorite — an American company operating in France, my mother discovered. I had thought it was a French company. As Ebay proves, there so many china companies it is hard to believe, and they all make wonderful patterns. Currently, I’m enjoying looking at Syracuse china. The company called Replacements is probably the best known of several that offer replacements for missing pieces of your own or your grandmother’s china.
Hoffman Media publishes Victoria magazine — you can get back issues online and copies of older special issues, like Tea Pleasures, which are stunningly beautiful, as well as back issues of Tea Time magazine. In the back they’ll usually tell you what china patterns appear on what pages. Victoria also puts out tea books, like The Essential Tea Companion, that are often available for very low prices on Amazon, through the Marketplace feature. Much less well known is ABE.com, also a great place for books, and often at low prices. ABE seems to be a network of independent book stores, and I’ve found things there that I couldn’t find elsewhere, or books at lower prices than I could find elsewhere.
The other thing that Victoria magazine does well is identify beautiful serving pieces. One picture was spectacular, with something that resembled an ornate champagne glass being used for dessert. It was identified as a tall sherbet — there are lots on Ebay, you just have to know what to call them. The same is true for Russian tea glasses and tea glass holders.
If you need a starting place on books for recipes or for tea houses or shops, try “Bruce Richardson” on Amazon. This will lead you to his books, which will of course lead you to many more. Richardson is an American tea expert. The pictures in the books, like the ones from Jeanne’s sister, will give you an idea of what colors and shapes of teapots, cups, and service pieces you want to look for. Another starting point is the popular series of mysteries by Laura Childs — her heroine owns a tea shop in Charleston, SC, and various teas are named and described, as are some china patterns, some of which are not expensive. The mysteries are often so-so, but the food descriptions are worth the price of the book. Some recipes are included.
Jeanne, I’m so glad you gave us these pictures. I love the idea of letting people who want to set their own tables do it.
Wow, thank you for this wonderful information! I really enjoyed reading it!
Hi Marilyn,
As Anne would say, “You are definitely a kindred spirit”. I absolutely love Victoria magazine and Tea Time as well. Victoria began publishing when I was 19, but I wouldn’t find it until almost 12 years later. I have since gotten all the back issues and enjoy them immensely. I pull out the current month ones to look at all the gorgeous photos and to try a recipe or two. I began subscribing again when it returned. I keep all the issues in an antique barrister cabinet and already am well into the third shelf. 🙂 I borrowed all the books Victoria published from the library to peruse as well, they were lovely. I’m looking forward to the next issue which will feature Anne of Green Gables and Prince Edward Island. We took a train trip from Ohio, where I live up into Canada and went to see all the Anne sites as well as Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia etc.
I’ve heard of the Swan House, I believed it was featured in a issue of Tea Time. Too bad Colorado is so far, we probably would be good friends.
~ Laura
I think so too. I love the much deeper than usual knowledge you have about dolls and AGs.
I’m so glad to hear about the Anne of Green Gables issue. I was just looking at an edition to send my goddaughter. She’s into science and manga and politics and writing poetry and short stories — she’s interested in everything and loves The Secret Garden. I’ll mail her the Anne issue of Victoria. Thank you so much for telling me about it.
HI Marilyn,
I haven’t relisted yet, but the auction will go back on tonight… I think I can get the bidder back who was bidding on it…
That “guitar” table was certainly an eye catcher, wasn’t it? It was well thought out!
For Tea Parties, I like antique dishes too… they don’t have to be matchy matchy and I like them more if they don’t… It’s fun to see all the different patterns that can used to make a pretty table. I LOVE April Cornell fabrics…and just saw a book on her fabrics and pillows at the Thrift Shop the other day… I picked it up and looked at it, but decided I didn’t need it, but it would make a nice coffee table book…:o)
I used to LOVE looking at Victoria magazines and would drool over the pictures of their very lovely things… dresses, dishes, fabrics, desserts, etc. It was such a delight to the eyes.
Wow…you certainly gave us lots to think about in your comments, Marilyn… I love it when you do that…
After seeing all the tables my sister and the ladies at her church put together, I’m thinking I want to maybe do this for our ladies… maybe just in time for Mother’s Day… it would be lots of fun… and I would only be in charge of one table… well, plus all the other details of a Mother’s Day Tea, but it would still be fun… I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks for your huge wealth of information, Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne your cabinet turned out really nice. I would have to choose your sister’s table, I love tulips and bunnies. I have always thought that an Alice in Wonderland tea party theme would be fun to do…but I am a little bit mad hatter. : )
Hope you get you Patsy dress relisted, it is just so pretty!
HI Regina,
Actually I’m in the process of tweaking the cabinet just a bit… when I got up this morning, the brownish paint looked a little too much like “cocoa” so I painted over the whole cabinet again…it was very quick… and now I’m going to put on a “glaze” in a coffee color… I think I’ll put it on and rub it off with a rag and see what happens with it… It was “okay” the way it was, but I think it can be better… (it’s just me…)
I like Cindy’s table too…simple, but very pretty colors and of course, those chocolate bunnies… how could you be disappointed…
I have Patsy’s dress relisted for tonight… and it will end on Saturday evening…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne: I enjoy your posts every day, and really enjoyed this one since one of my favorite things is tea parties. Sorry ebay is being difficult. Some manager must have gotten a “bright” idea. Grr.
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks so much for being a faithful reader each day.. I”m glad you enjoy the posts… I wish I could have a Tea Party and invite all of my readers.. how fun would that be???
As far as Ebay goes, they have just gotten too big I think… I hope they get it figured out…
Thanks again Kathleen,
blessings, Jeanne
I have to admit – when I’m looking at ebay for a DOLL and have to ‘weed’ through all the clothes pictures to find it – it’s frustrating. I look at clothes, too… but, I like the idea of keeping ‘clothes’ out of the same listing category that the dolls for sale are under.
Tables 10 and 12 would be my choice to sit at… I don’t like centerpieces getting in the way of seeing who’s across from me…. and tall centerpieces look scary – they might tip. LOL!! but – then, I’m a ‘keep it simple’ type of person…
that was a lot of work on that cabinet… Very nice!
HI Mary,
I think there will always be items in the wrong categories so it’s just something we’ll all have to deal with. When the categories are small, like the Patsy Tonner one is (255 items) I don’t see what it hurts to have the dresses in with the dolls, but maybe the larger categories does make a difference.
I thought I would wake up this morning and my cabinet would be shining in the light and I could take new pictures of it, but instead, it looked sort of like I had smeared cocoa on it, so I’m redoing it once again… oh well, gotta get it just right!
It really goes pretty quickly…
Thanks Mary,
blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
How annoying about the eBay listing. I have noticed things listed very strangely before. When I was looking for one of Felicity’s accessories in the past I would see listing for a book (not one of hers) or a piece of china whose pattern was “Felicity” etc. even though I may have typed in ” Pleasant Company Felicity Plantation Play set”. When I was hunting MY Felicity doll I found it annoying to wade through the accessories and clothing instead of just seeing the dolls listed. I actually assumed that the category listing was the seller’s choice. I hope your bidder finds you back. I’m sure she was disappointed unless eBay tells her to look again for the new listing.
Your cabinet turned out great. I really like the soft gray-blue. Now you can rearranging all your goodies into it again.
We attended the Mother/ Daughter dinner/ tea at church for many years and then they stopped having it and do a small brunch instead.
All the tables are nice , but I like your sister’s #10 and the yellow one #12 best, I’m not an all pink person, but like it mixed with other colors. My daughter would like the Western one as well.
If I did a table in would be in blue… periwinkle blue with some soft yellows and soft creamy white. My favorite flowers are blue ones, except I do love roses, actually all flowers, I just gravitate toward blue and cottage/ old-fashioned varieties.
HI Laura,
It was a little annoying but I’ve cooled down a bit after I read some of the nightmares others have been through and are still trying to work out… One lady had all of her doll wigs pulled because it listed what “doll” it was for and Ebay said if she used the doll makers name, the doll maker had to have made the wigs… how silly is that! Then they told her she had to put the wigs under clothing and accessories, then they changed it to doll parts/repairs and supplies, and her latest nightmare, they’ve told her she needs to put them under toys/hobbies and specifically under Disney Toys. I bet she is about to pull out her hair!
Well, I can rearrange my goodies in the cabinet… as soon as it dries again.. yep, I’m tweaking it again.. the brown was too cocoa-ish in color and in the daylight this morning, it was a bit off to me… so I’m going to try a glaze on it.
I love blue and yellow and was just talking about that color combination with my daughter, Rebecca yesterday.
Thanks for your thoughts, Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
I love table settings and thanks to your sister for the pictures. My children tease me about the many sets of china I’ve collected over the years, but table settings are my thing. The first set came from the seconds shop in Oldham, England, that sold Wedgwood Queensware with raised grapevine decoration when I was 17. I like using the lighted Dickens houses from 1969 with plates from a Shakespeare character series by Royal Doulton from my Nana, bought after the 1901 Worlds Fair in St. Louis. Christmas houses from Heather Goldminc’s Blue Sky from eBay go with the Christopher Radko from Target, part of an eclectic sets of dishes collected over a lifetime. I’ll send some pictures, Jeanne.
Southern California finally is getting some rain. I went up and back yesterday between storms to Santa Barbara on a beautiful day for the International Orchid Show yesterday and an early St. Patrick’s Day lunch at the Irish Pub with my son and family. Even the boys noticed the details in pictures of the outfits I’ve made for Addy and Felicity. Thanks once again for the new hobby.
Love your paint jobs. I noticed some time back that your listings were not being shown in all the categories. Hope it gets the broadest exposure possible and the stumbling block (person) is overcome.
HI Susette,
Your collection of china sounds wonderful and I bet you can do most anything with such a huge variety of pieces. I used to have set of Railroad china but sold it at a yard sale… silly me… it would have looked pretty in my new cabinet. Oh well…
I bet the Orchid show you went to yesterday, smelled heavenly, didn’t it? How fun that must have been… Wow…your boys noticed your new details… what a compliment, huh?
I’m hoping to get cabinet done soon…before the sun goes down…so I know what it will look like.
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
I may have beaten Susette in the dishware category. I think I may have at least 12 different sets. Maybe more? Haven’t counted. Love them all and setting a fun table.
Hope you can straighten out the people at the bay. Sounds like they need it. I just typed in Tonner Ann Estelle as usual and a ton came up. Sometimes I add in Patsy with the Ann Estelle. I would never have thought to look under modern doll for anything.
HI Joy,
I think as long as people just type in what they are looking for it will bring up what I’m selling… I feel sorry for some of the ladies who are in huge battles over their items being in the totally wrong category. I hope it all gets settled soon. It needs to be done in person though… it’s very hard to explain the dolly world to people over the phone…
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
My goodness, I thought I would NEVER get to the end of all the comments, so that I could type mine in!! Everyone is really liking this post, Jeanne! Wouldn’t it be fun if we could all get together for tea?
First, I really like your cabinet and the way it turned out. It will be nice wherever you put it, and it better NOT be the garage!!
So frustrating about Ebay. Although I have bought and bought so many times, I have never sold anything on Ebay, and hope to heavens I never have to! I don’t think I could deal with everything if I just started now. Anyway, what would I sell? I worked so hard to get all the things I have for my dolls, and for a couple of years there, my life was taken over by Ebay, and getting there when the auction was ending. I feel that I can do a lot more now, since I don’t feel tied down to my computer. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret it, but it did take a good chunk of my time getting to auctions at the last minute, which is the way I do it.
Oh, those table settings, so pretty! For myself, right now I would like to sit down to a spring themed table, bunnies, tulips, daffodils, fresh green grass, and birds. I realize that some colors don’t look quite right on my monitor, but I love the fresh pastel colors on the table settings best. I really do think, though, that the western themed table was done very well! I’m not a fan of overly ornate anything, really, so some of the Victorian settings, while in good taste, just aren’t for me. As I get older, I like the more simple things—–or maybe I don’t like to dust so much!! 😉
HI Linda,
Yes, I think today takes the cake for having the longest comments ever…but so much information in them too… I love to learn new things.
Well, the cabinet got changed again… I like it much better now. I guess if you tweak things enough, you eventually get them the way you like them. I didn’t like the color of the brown on the cabinet this morning, so I repainted it blue and then used a “Java Coffee” glaze on it, and wiped it off. Now it just looks aged and not so spotty… ( I guess I don’t like “spotty” do I?)
I am just one of many who have been affected by Ebay…some ladies depend on Ebay for their income and it’s really scary to them… I hope Ebay gets things figured out for the sellers and soon!
I think a Spring themed table would be my choice too… If I had done a table, I could have used my little resin Easter houses and created a little Easter village along the middle… :o)
Thanks for your thoughts Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Tulip table would be my choice. Just as some doll groups imploded with just postings for sales, it is possible Ebayer doll searchers became tired of looking at few dolls and too many listings for clothes. Perhaps ebay listened to the doll buyers complaints. Now it is time for the seamstresses to have their say. I was very glad when groups limited the sales and expected members to participate.
Thank you Jan,
The tulips were very pretty weren’t they? …and of course those bunnies helped!
I supposed Ebay will get things figured out for everyone. Right now, I’m going to comply and list my things in Modern doll clothes, and I don’t think it will affect me much… Most ladies tell me they search by what they want anyway… Effner 13″, Patsy Tonner, American Girl Josefina, Ellowyne Tonner, Ten Ping, etc… if it’s done this way, I’ll still be found…
Thanks Jan,
Blessings, Jeanne
When I started reading today’s blog, my first thoughts were, how would I ever come up with a table theme? Then the ideas started coming to me—American Girl, western, Native American, the color green for Spring, new babies–animal and human.
I finally decided that if I did this, it would be a Native American theme. I have a lot of Fiestaware dishes in a variety of colors., several Native pots, vases dolls, table linens, etc. Thanks for getting my imagination going.
Diana Jenness
Thank you Diana,
Your Native American table sounds glorious and very colorful. I think you should do it the next time you have a get together…
Oh…and if you do…don’t forget the pictures!
Blessings, Jeanne
The cabinet turned out really well. I think it looks much prettier than it did before, and I’m curious to know where you plan to use it–especially since you said it’s no longer destined for the garage. I love the pictures of the table settings and am so glad your sister shared them. When I was on the United Way board, we did that for our annual dinner. You could sign up to “sponsor” a table, and some of the members were just so creative. Your sister did a beautiful job with hers; I just wish they didn’t have those foam bowls on every table. It really detracts from the beautiful China. Like some other commenters here, I love pretty dishes.
As for eBay, I think you should be able to choose your own categories, but no worries. I’m guessing your regulars have you bookmarked to their “favorites” and will get notified when you repost. At least I hope so.
HI Carolyn,
You’ll see the cabinet changed again tomorrow… sorry, I just had to!
I saw those bowls too and think it must have been for their salad or something… I thought the same thing… kind of ruined the looks of the china, didn’t it?
I relisted Patsy’s dress and I’m guessing she will still be easy to find, by just typing in her name… it’s just sort of irksome on Ebay’s part to do this…
Thanks Carolyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Just one more note on the whole Ebay thing…I was shut down a few times when I sold on Ebay..sometimes just a few hours before my auction ended! After the first “offense” they can actually shut you down for an extended period of time! The last time I actually talked to someone at Ebay, they seemed sympathetic, but clearly didn’t really understand the whole doll category/handmade clothing bit. Also, in the course of our conversation, she let it slip that part of the reason for my shut-down was that there had been a complaint….I think that’s why so many others using the same wording I was, were not shut down…..I did change all my wording, and in the end, it didn’t really matter…people seemed able to find the listings wherever they finally landed…..
HI Kathy,
I had a few auctions pulled before and I found out someone complained about mine too… that hurts when it happens to you. I guess you just have to comply and see if you can still make it work for you. I feel sorry for the ones who have things to sell like doll wigs or shoes and ebay makes you put them in a weird category… like one lady said they wanted her to put her doll wigs in Disney toys… how crazy is that?
Thanks Kathy,
Blessings, Jeanne