My sister, Cindy, just shared some pictures of dolls she STILL HAS! I thought you might like to take a trip down memory lane with me…Cindy kept her Skipper and Midge things… I…unfortunately sold mine a few years ago… but it was my choice.
Cindy still has her “Welcome Letter” from the Barbie Fan Club…
This is a little booklet for her Tammy doll… and the dress shown in the picture…
I think it’s funny, after all these years (50+) Cindy admitted to me that she always thought Tammy looked a little creepy! I can see that!
She has couple of Midge’s dresses left…
..and a fur coat… I had this one, only in red with a black fur collar.
My mom made this dress and it’s funny, I still remember that fabric…
Here is her Skipper doll in the case. She has the most glorious head of thick blonde hair…I was always a little bit jealous of her dolls hair.
So I’m guessing if Cindy still has her things, I bet a lot of you do too… want to share what you still have of your childhood doll collection?
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Good morning, Jeanne! Seems like it’s been ages since we heard from you! You were missed!
It’s wonderful that Cindy still has her childhood dolls. I sure don’t! My mother was never one to have us keep things for later, and so, since I was the oldest of four girls, my dolls were usually played with so much that they really weren’t worth saving! I was too old for the Barbie generation, but my younger sisters had them It took a couple of years before my mother “allowed” them in the house, since she didn’t like the fact they were grown up dolls! I was in high school, or close to that, when Barbies came out, so I didn’t get any, or want them!
I do remember my Sparkle Plenty doll though! Did anyone else have one? She was supposed to be the daughter of Li’l Abner and Daisy Mae, of the comics. She had some kind of rubbery skin that turns black when exposed to sunlight, which happened to my sister’s doll, and had bright yellow yarn hair that really wasn’t brushable, so unless you braided it, was always a mess! I also remember Madame Alexander newborn Baby dolls, Vogue dolls, and a few others. I remember having about 10 dolls at one point, and playing house with them. I had a hard time trying to put them all to bed in the two doll beds that I had, and then feeding them around the table with only one high chair! Took all day!!
By the way, I want to thank all you lovely ladies who commented on my flowers! Sadly, most of them are now gone, and we have a heat wave coming this week. That will do a lot of them in.
Hi Linda,
We have been staying quite busy, so I haven’t been on my phone very much…
It is fun to read about everyone’s dolls from their childhood…
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Sparkle Plenty, but I’m sure going to Google her and see what she looked like.
This hot weather doing plenty of damage to the flowers and everyone’s hostas….
They were pretty while they lasted…
Blessings, Jeanne
What a wonderful walk down memory lane! Of course my sister and I had Tammy and Midge and Skipper…and ken and lots of Barbies and I remember almost all the clothes your sister still has. My skipper had brown hair and I think Tammy belonged to my sister but between the two of us, we had a whole suitcase full of Barbies and their friends and clothes. That suitcase, about the size of a piece of carry on luggage, FINALLY got to move from mom’s house to mine when I had a daughter and she reached the age where Barbies interested her. Mom had always been VERY fussy that we take care of things and after we played with them we had to put them back where they belonged so I tried to stress that to my daughter as well. The suitcase was as full as it could get because one of mom’s hobbies had always making Barbie clothes, really nice, really ornate and detailed ones, she was meticulous and the most amazing part of that, I think, is that she was nearly blind (wore bifocal contacts, bifocal glasses and had to use a magnifying glass and her thumbs were crippled with arthritis and she did it all on an old singer treadle machine or by hand. (I should find some pictures and send them to you). Anyway, when I moved to Texas that suitcase of priceless treasures and memories came with us. Our first home was an apartment building and my daughter LOVED it. Coming from a small town in Montana she had never even seen an apartment…she thought it was heaven. She was 6 and instantly had over a dozen friends. One day I went to looking for that suitcase and couldn’t find it. I asked her if she knew what happened to it and her face fell. She knew she had done something wrong. She said, “I took it to Elizabeths.” O.M.Gosh…I completely freaked. I sent her immediately to retrieve it, knowing full well that half the contents were probably gone forever. When she returned empty handed, my heart sank. Elizabeth and her family had moved away. I am 62 now, my daughter is almost 40 and I’ve still never gotten over the hurt of losing all my Barbie treasures in one felled swoop like that. I sometimes sit and try to remember all the wonderful things that were in the suitcase and your pictures sure did help.
love and many blessings!
Hi Bobi,
Oh what a sad story about the loss of all your doll clothes and accessories. As someone who literally agonized over selling my Barbie dolls a few years ago, my heart goes out to you… I kept all my hand made clothes and they are priceless to me… I wish there was someway to find your things…:o (
Blessings, Jeanne
I don’t think I ever saw a Tammy doll — the clothes are pretty amazing. My youngest sisters had Barbie and Skipper. I had Ginny and a similar one that I still have that may be a Nancy Ann. I may have the wrong name. They are the same size as Ginny. I still have some of their clothes. We really enjoyed those. I also have a Ginnette doll — my last doll as a child.
Someone on AGPT is having a huge sale and I just bought the old classic cheerleading outfit. The prices are so good that I added a few extra dollars — I thought the seller was cheating herself. The sale is under the new threads category.
A friend left some of her kids’ things in storage in Colorado when they moved to California. They include a large number of action toys. They don’t have room for them, but the family storage is being closed and we are having them sent to her — she says they weren’t toys, they were a refuge. I’m looking what Bobi said about losing the childhood things that she still misses and I can see that we are doing the right thing. It’s not cheap and there’s no space, but it’s better to have them than to miss them forever. Thanks, Bobi, for telling us that we are doing the right thing.
Hi Marilyn,
I’ll have to check out the Ginnette doll too…I don’t think I have ever heard of her….I’d like to see her face…
How sweet to send the toys to your friend….you will be blessed for doing such a sweet thing!!! That warms my heart…
Blessings, Jeanne
I still have my Barbie collection. I have a lot of dolls, clothes, and accessories. I believe I still have a house and the camper too. The majority of my clothes were made by my Mom and I have handmade sweaters knitted by my Aunt. I haven’t looked at them in years. It would be fun to do one of these days.
Hope you have a good day.
Take care.
Hi Charlotte,
You should take time to look at your dolls things. It truly does take you down memory lane when you see things from your past…
Thanks for sharing…
Blessings, Jeanne
Nice to see those memories of the past that Cindy provided for us. Thank you.
My sister had a Barbie doll and I had a Tammy doll. I have to say that I never thought that Tammy was creepy, but she certainly did not have the popularity of the Barbie dolls. I have to say that she had a pleasant face. There were a number of different hair styles and colors, perhaps there were more appealing ones to some eyes. I still have my Tammy doll (and my sister’s Barbie doll) and most of the clothes and case I had growing up. Three daughters passed through Tammy so she looks a bit less desirable than the past but, I still appreciate her. I also have 3 other dolls from the past…two were more generic types of the early ’60s and the third is a Carol Brent doll by Ideal. My sister and I would play together with our dolls for hours, use our mother’s scrap pieces of old slips/petticoats and other bits of fabric and make fashions for our dolls. It is a wonderful memory.
Thanks to all the ladies for their memories.
Blessings.
Hi Becky,
It appears many of the ladies on here have their dolls still and many have clothes made by their moms…how sweet is that…we are all thinking of our favorite dollies today… and how much fun we had playing with them…
Thank you Becky,
Blessings, Jeanne
No Barbies here. Like Linda, they came out past my dolly days. But, I did have a Jill, Ginny’s older sister, and a Ginnette, like Marilyn, as well as many Ginny’s and Muffie dolls. Still have them all, including the two wardrobes, made by my grandfather, filled with clothing, shoes, purses, etc. Have most of the furniture too. Only thing missing is the wonderful modern style wood doll house. Have not seen another on ebay, but I’ve been looking. 🙂
Hope you are enjoying your trip.
Hi Joy,
I have got to look up a Ginnette, and now Kill to see what they look like. It’s neat that you have most of your stuff too.
We are having fun…and I can already say, I know I’ll be sad to leave.
Blessings, Jeanne
What fun to see the older dolls and their clothes. I love the pamphlets of those older dolls too.
I had Barbie and Midge and always wanted a Skipper and then the Tammy. (who at least had a more normal body shape than Barbie) My mother made me beautiful clothes for any of my dolls, including Miss Revlon. My father built a really neat wooden doll case for Barbie. My girlfriend and I grew up loving our dolls and then later collecting together. I no longer have any of my dolls or their clothes. My mind is totally blank when it comes to what happened to them. I grew out of them and we also moved to another state…so who knows? Now I have many many dolls and clothes and accessories.
Looks like a lovely day outside…Jeanne, I just know you are having a good time!!
Hi Paula,
I guess since all of your doll clothes “vanished” when you were younger, it’s okay to collect things now…it’s fun to collect as we get older isn’t it?
Thanks Paula,
Blessings, Jeanne
That brown coat definitely looks familiar!!!
I’ll have check if I have it. Now where did I put my Barbie stuff?
Hi designdreamer,
I hope you found your brown Barbie coat…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
How sweet that Cindy still has those dolls. I had a Skipper and a Sunshine Family including the grandparents. Unfortunately, in my case, those dolls as well as some other childhood dolls including my Scottish Madame Alexander doll were at my grandparents house. My grandfather remarried very late in life after my grandmother died. I knew my things were there as well as my mother’s childhood treasures. My grandfather suddenly fell very ill, he was 82 and after he died, his second wife sold the entire contents of the house without our knowledge at auction (the house was willed to us). She moved quickly out of state and we had no recourse. The items were gone anyway. 🙁 My mom lost the dance costumes her mother made and we both lost irreplaceable items. We do have some things that had been taken already such as my great, great, great grandfather’s violin, my mom’s dollhouse my grandfather made, the dish sets that Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner were served on and Christmas things (manger and ornaments). I do have my favorite childhood baby doll as well as the outfits my grandmother sewed for her as well as Daisy, my Madame Alexander Pussycat doll. It’s sad to look at some pictures and know a particular item is gone forever., but it make the ones left all the more precious.
Hi Laura,
Another sad story about some lost dolls in childhood. I’m so sorry you lost your dolls too and wish that hadn’t happened to you…
But I’m glad you were able to get a few of those things. You are right….it does make the things you were able to keep all the more special…
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
How nice that Cindy has her dolls! I had Barbie, including a bald one that wore wigs, and Skipper, but never had Midge or Ken. They are all still in their cases with their clothes and accessories at my mom’s house. I need to get them from her but never seem to think about when I’m over there. I recently got the two Patti Playpals and their little sister Penny as well as Kissy and Thumbelina since my mom decided they took up too much room. I have to say they do take a lot of room, but I will doubt that I will ever get rid of them.
Hi Carolyn,
After reading a few of these ladies stories whete dolls were lost, you might want to get your dolls and bring them to your house before something happens to them…
You sound like you have quite the collection…
Blessings, Jeanne
Happy Monday, Jeanne! What wonderful memories Cindy’s doll collection holds, and how kind of you to share pictures of her doll treasures with us. Perhaps your destiny for doll clothes design was borne from your childhood memories and experiences with doll fashions. I can see elements of your signature style in the charming little dress your momma made. You must come by your talents naturally, as she was a skilled seamstress, too!
Like Linda D., my mother discouraged play with the “adult” dolls, so I never had Barbie and friends. Instead, I had a series of play dolls beginning with my first beloved “generic” baby doll, named Linda Lee, after my older cousin. “My” Linda Lee and I had several matching outfits, and I loved her so much that she rarely left my side! Later, I also had a Tiny Tears doll with cradle and a newborn Thumbelina, and I marveled at the “realistic” features of both. I spent hours playing “mommy” to them, just like in the Little Golden Book, “My Dolly and Me,” which I also loved. At the same time, my aunt, named Anne Alexander, gifted me many Madame Alexander dolls for special occasions through the years, and my dear father also brought me little dolls in their native costumes from the foreign countries he visited on business, similar to the vintage ARCO dolls. Both my foreign dolls and the Madames were collector dolls only, and they sat on the shelves of the hutch in my bedroom where I admired them as I fell asleep. Later still, my best friend Jane and I went through a “Liddle Kiddles” phase, but the baby dolls continued to capture my heart. Although I was a bit old, I asked for my last baby doll for the Christmas I was 13, and amazingly “Santa” brought her to me. I think it was my mother’s way of allowing me to keep my childhood a little while longer, and I loved her for that. I never played with that doll the same way I did with my dolls when I was younger, but she was just as dear to me. Unfortunately, all of my dolls were lost in a flood some years later, but I hold the memories of them close to my heart. I credit them all with both strengthening the nurturing skills my mother imparted and instilling my love for doll collecting. Thank you for allowing me to share my “dolly” story, Jeanne.
My life has been racing a bit too fast lately, and circumstances have sometimes prevented me from commenting on your blog, but reading it is always an honor and a pleasure, Jeanne. I would like to take just a moment to thank Linda D. and the many other ladies who share their pictures, stories, and information with you, enriching all our lives. All I can say is, “Beautiful!” Thank you all for feeding our minds with so many beautiful things, and I hope you are cramming as much “beautiful” into your visit with your sister as possible, Jeanne. Blessings!
Hi Anne,
I did do some sewing way back then and loved looking at the doll dresses in the stores. I still look at them today when I see a doll in a shop…
Cindy and I were talking about her Thumbelina doll recently and noted we hadn’t seen one quite like the one she had. It was adorable…
Oh, another heart breaker of a story…losing your dolls in a flood…I’m so sorry, Anne. You must have cried your eyes out…
Anne, we most certainly have been visiting to our hearts content…time is flying by quickly and soon it will be time to go, but Deb, Cindy and Bob will all be in Carbondale next week…everyone is coming home for some big decision making…
Thank you for sharing all your memories too, Anne…
Blessings, Jeanne