Charlotte has a story about her dolls below. There was a Swap Gift exchange on the Little Darling Doll Ning site and these are the gifts Charlotte received from the lady who had her name. I hope you enjoy it…
I didn’t see a name for this story from Charlotte, so I’m calling it “Waiting is Hard!”
We have been waiting and waiting to open the package that Auntie Juanita sent to us! But daddy was in the hospital right over Christmas, and then he had to have an operation (something called a pacemaker–how do you make a pace?!). Then he came home and is feeling better, but mommy said it will take a while for him to get really better. She has been busy taking care of him, and has been looking pretty tired herself.
Finally, the day arrived that we could open our package! We all got dressed in our best clothes and fixed our hair nicely (with some help from mommy), and here we are! Uh, down in front!! (Pearl and Mariko weren’t quite ready!)
Inside the big white box was this pretty box with a bow. I wonder what’s inside?!
Ooh, look! Lots of presents—and a pretty card! There is a very sweet note inside; it really made mommy’s day, to read what Auntie Juanita wrote to her (and to us).
Well, so far there’s a place mat and plate with cookies for Santa, and an apple and carrot for Rudolph—and some tea and goodies for mommy, too! Mariko is loving the bunny in the stocking! I wonder what’s in the silver package, and the pretty beaded box?!
Oh, lookie!! Lavender footie pajamas!!! (Mommy’s favorite color) A tiny Christmas tree (just right for our dollies), and more things for mommy—a lavender sachet and soap, a pretty magnet, and…oh oh oh! Mommy can WE try the sparkly nail polish, too?!
Here is a close-up picture of all the presents. Lucky us!!
And here is Mariko, dressed in her new jammies! “Now I won’t get cold at night!”
Thank you, Auntie Juanita, for all the lovely presents!
Thanks for your sweet story, Charlotte,
See everyone tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a cute little story, Charlotte! You dolls are adorable, and what? SEVEN Little Darling dolls?? I can’t even afford one! How is it that Pearl has much lighter skin than Mariko? Do you get to pick a skin tone with LD dolls?
I love the way you have them all dressed up, and especially Mariko”s dress! Do you make clothes for them?
What fun they must have had celebrating Christmas! Tell Mariko that her new jammies are so cute on her, they look warm, soft and comfortable.
Thank you Jeanne for sharing with us!
Hi Linda,
I thought 4 Little Darlings was wonderful…I can’t imagine how much fun 7 must be! Charlotte is very blessed to have her sweet group of dolls.
You CAN pick a skin tone for your dolls…
It was MY pleasure to share anyone’s dolls with everyone else.
Blessings, Jeanne
Hi Linda,
Jeanne answered some of your questions; I will add that Mariko was painted by Dianna Effner and Pearl was painted (to my specifications, including the beauty mark) by Magalie Dawson, and several years apart, so that could explain the different skin tones of those two.
Yes, I do sew for my dolls! It’s a lot of fun!! In these scenes, I made three of the outfits–Maisie’s (short curly hair) floral dress, Patty’s (red hat) t-shirt and skirt, and Mariko’s red print dress. Delaney’s black velvet/red plaid dress came with her, and the others I received in various Christmas swaps over the years.
Charlotte, the first thing I noticed was one of your little darlings is smiling! Does that make her an extra rare doll? Everyone was dressed in such pretty outfits. Your gifts were all so cute. I think it must have been worth the wait. 😊
Hi Julia,
Yes, there are 4 sculpts for the Little Darlings…the #3 sculpt is the smiling one. She always looks happy, doesnt she?
Almost everyone who waits for their Little Darling to get painted, thinks it’s worth the wait. My Emmie was a 3 year 3 month wait, and YES, she was worth the wait.
Blessings ,Jeanne
Definitely worth the wait, Julia! I was fortunate, in that I don’t think I had to wait more than a year or so for any of my girls. I do remember that Maisie, my first one, took 9 months! smile….
Dear Jeanne, thank you for sharing Charlotte’s story. We did have so much fun with our swap this year.
Dear Charlotte, I love hearing stories about your girls. Your namesake, Charlotte Noelle, loved hearing this story and seeing pictures of her cousins.
Hi Dorothy,
It was fun getting on the Ning site again. I was working on our taxes, my business taxes, my hubby’s business taxes and my mom’s taxes, so I didn’t have much time to look around…
I’m glad Charlotte Noelle enjoyed the story..
Blessings, Jeanne
Sending along dolly hugs to Charlotte Noelle and the others at your house, Dorothy, from me and my girls!
Fun story Charlotte. Your girls are so well dressed. Love your photos. Thanks Jeanne for sharing them. So fun to see everyone’s dollies. 🙂
Hi Joy,
I’m glad you enjoyed Charlotte’s story about her girls. I’d like to do another bonnet for another one of my girls.
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you, Joy! And thanks to Jeanne for sharing them.
I’m with Linda D.! Seven Little Darlings! I’m waiting on my third now but I did take time out to buy my Meadow doll Lolla.
Charlotte, what sweet dolls and they all look so dressed up. And I loved the story. I’m not aware of the site y’all refer to. How do I access that? I love the name Charlotte but don’t have a doll named that. Hmm… A good reason to buy another doll….
Thanks, Jeanne, for sharing Charlotte’s pictures and story.
Hi Barbara,
The MORE, the MERRIER, when it come to Little Darlings, don’t you agree?
The doll forum for the Little Darlings can be found at….. http://www.ourlittledarlings.ning.com
Glad you enjoyed today’s post, Barbara.
Blessings, Jeanne
It’s funny, Barbara, when I was growing up, I hated my name! I was named for my great-grandmother (who I never met), which made it an “old lady” name, and NOBODY could spell my name correctly!! (And, of course, I was the kid who got 100s on all my spelling tests!) I didn’t know another Charlotte until we moved to Seattle in 1960, and there were two other girls named Charlotte in my h.s. class!
Years later, the introduction of the book, Charlotte’s Web, made the spelling thing a non-issue, mostly–I’d just say, “Like Charlotte’s Web” and anyone familiar with the book or the 1973 movie would know! LOL
Now, of course, it’s becoming fairly popular (I have a princess namesake, after all!! laugh), and I don’t mind it so much. I feel it fits me now–of course, I AM an “old lady” now! (74) Haha…..
By the way, Charlotte means “little womanly one”, according to one of my old name books, or “petite and feminine” according to a newer one.
What cute pictures of your girls, Charlotte. What neat gifts too. Everything was perfect for your little girls and some neat things for you!
What a fun package. The purple jammies are look like they’ll keep Mariko warm at night. Love the Christmas items!
Also, thank you Jeanne concerning the Shirley unmentionables. Looking forward to them!
Hi Paula,
Its always fun to be a part of a doll swap…I have participated in a couple and enjoyed. I stopped because there usually is a deadline to get your gifts finished and my life has been too unpredictable for the last 2 years or so.
Glad you enjoyed seeing Charlotte’s girls and their goodies.
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you, Paula! It took me a few tries to become familiar with getting the pictures from my camera to my computer, back when I first started doing that. Now it’s pretty easy, as I’ve done it often enough!
Charlotte…Thanks for sharing your Little Darling swap with us. Juanita was my little darling swap person. I had so much trouble trying to load the pictures on the Ning site when it wasn’t working. I finally gave up and I think Dorothy loaded them when it was working again.
You have some really cute Little Darlings. I have one of each of the first three and my favorite by far is the smiling one. The nicest dresses I have are the ones from either the Christmas or Spring Swap too. Guess it is time to get out the Spring and St Pats day outfits!
Thanks for sharing them Jeanne😉
Thank you, Kathie,
I need to get back on the Ning site and check out some of the swap gifts… I’ve seen some incredible things from the ladies on there.
It’s time to “dress” your dolls in green, but too late to “make” anything and sell it. I better concentrate on Easter dresses!
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you, Kathie. I had trouble loading my pictures on ning at first, also, but I waited a few days and then tried again, and it went well, so apparently ning had had a glitch in the system. It actually was okay, as we were still dealing with frequent doctor visits following the implantation of Ron’s pacemaker on 12/26 (how I spent my Christmas….sigh). It’s working just fine and only needs to be checked every 3 months or so now.
I think my favorite LD changes from day to day! Of course, I have special attachments to Patty (who had belonged to a friend who died) and Heather (my #3/smile), who is made to represent and named for a special baby in my life (the daughter of friends; she died before her 3rd birthday, having been born with three heart defects), but, really, I love them all!
Thank you everyone for your kind comments! Yes, I do have 7 Little Darlings….the one with the black top/red plaid skirt/gold bow dress I rehomed from another collector, and the one in the red hat belonged to a friend of mine; when she died, her husband told me he thought she would like me to have her doll, so he gave Patty to me. I treasure her. The others are all ones I ordered from the artists and each has a story, but that’s for another day.
I should add, Mariko was also rehomed from another collector. Forgot about that for a minute there!!