Hi everyone,
Well, it’s Christmas this Thursday and even though I’m not as prepared as I would like to have been, I’m still going to enjoy what I have gotten done and be thankful for my family and friends and take time for the reason I celebrate Christmas!
I have a few ladies who have sent me pictures and I wanted to share them with everyone.
We’re starting off with some WONDERULLY detailed pictures of the North Carolina Museum of Dolls and Miniatures from Debbie, down in North Carolina. I hope you’ll click on the pictures and see them enlarged… I’m not sure if your comments disappear like they have in the past when you look at a picture and then comment. It seems like you have to look at the pictures by themselves and then remember what you wanted to comment. Sorry, I don’t know why that happens.
Hi Jeanne,
I found some photos on my phone of a recent trip to the North Carolina Museum of Dolls and Miniatures. You may use them on a day when you don’t have time to create a post.
A little background on the museum. This museum that is located in Spencer, NC (not too far north of Charlotte) was founded in 2012 in honor of the founder’s sister, a doll lover who died when she was a young adult. The sister’s collection of Barbie’s is one of the first displays. When so many doll museums are closing their doors, the North Carolina Museum of Dolls is going strong and has moved to a larger space. In addition to dolls, there is a collection of dollhouses and toy trains. For enthusiasts of real trains, the NC Museum of Transportation is across the street. Here are some photos of dolls I think your readers will remember.
There is a large collection of the Vogue dolls, particularly Ginny and Jan. A few Madame Alexanders are also on display.
I believe the large doll in the dome is an Izannah Walker.
I love looking at the antique dolls also.
The picture of Kit and RRFF Rebecca are two of my dolls dressed for the holidays and last is the photo of my bird themed tree that Sissy wanted to see.
Debbie
(How did that squirrel get in your Christmas tree, Debbie???) :o) He looks pretty mischievous to me! Thank you for your pictures! That museum looks like a fun place to get lost for a few hours! Your pictures were spectactular!
See everyone tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a fun post tonight–thank you, Debbie! When I saw the name of the museum, I thought, that sounds familiar. Sure enough, in the Nov./Dec. 2025 issue of Doll Castle News there was an article about the “Around the world” doll luncheon that was held there earlier this year! That article focused on the luncheon, not the museum itself, though, so it’s nice to see some of their displays.
The first thing that caught my eye was the “Ginger” purse on the doll in blue, on the far right of the first picture! I used to have a Ginger doll; they were very similar to Ginny, but by a different company. Mine, if I recall correctly, was in a fancy satin dress (long, I think).
Scrolling down, I see Jeff, Jan and Jill dolls; I have a Jill doll that I bought about 15 years ago. She has on a nice dress and a lovely hat!
Loved seeing that big cloth doll, too. I enjoy making cloth dolls, both the more primitive style, similar to the one shown, and the more modern ones. I’ve sort of lost track of how many I’ve made, maybe two dozen or so?
Your Kit and Rebecca are beautifully dressed and all ready for the holidays!
Love your bird tree, too. I’ve never done any kind of themed tree–mine generally have a hodgepodge of ornaments, some handcrafted, some not.
I am happy to report I’m feeling much better these days, and now am trying to play catchup on all the Christmas stuff that didn’t get done ahead of time, when I had the sprained foot and, later, the infections.
I am so glad to know that you are feeling better, Charlotte. Now you can start enjoying Christmas!
I am so happy you are feeling better Charlotte. I know you will have a lovely perfect Christmas!
I would love to see some of your hand made dolls.
If I can, after Christmas is over, I will try to get out some of the ones I’ve made and take pictures. I don’t have pictures of all the ones I gave as gifts, though, but may have a few of those.
I am glad to hear that you have recovered in time for the holidays. I would love to see pictures of your cloth dolls.
I will see what I can do after Christmas, Debbie, thank you!
I’m very glad to hear you are feeling better, Charlotte, and in time for Christmas!
So glad that you are feeling better. Take care on your rounds, Santa Charlotte. 🙂
Oh my goodness, what BEAUTIFUL pictures we have today! I could spend hours at that museum, and feel like I went to heaven! So many dolls, so little time!
The Ginny dolls took me back to when my three sisters and I all had a Ginny doll. Since they all had the first name “Ginny”, we gave them different middle names, Ginny Sue, Ginny Lee, Ginny Kay, and , get ready for it, Ginny Candy! My youngest sister was 5 at the time and loved candy! LOL. We had tea parties, fashion shows, and I started sewing clothes for my Ginny doll, by hand.
For some reason, I always loved dolls with ice skating outfits on and see that first one on the left has skates and a pretty furry costume! Several pictures down is a Ginny in riding pants, and I had some of those too, for me!
Then the Shirley Temple dolls! My youngest sister also had one, but with the white dress and red polka dots. I sure am aging myself, if the dolls from my childhood are in a museum!😊. I don’t go back quite as far as those antique dolls, but they certainly must have been a thrill to get way back then!
Oh, I love your tree! I wish I could have a tree like that, with a theme, but mine is full of ornaments dating back to 1967, that I collected on our travels, homemade ornaments that my children made, ones my grandmother made, and even candy canes from the 1970’s that never seem to go bad! We do have a good and crystal themed tree in our living room, but I love the simplicity of your tree! The different birdhouses and birds, plus that frisky squirrel make it a delight to see!
Oh my, Kit and your Ruby Red doll are dressed to the nines! What a beautiful dress Kit has on, it looks just darling on her! And the Ruby Red doll is dressed to perfection! Did you make both of those dresses? They certainly do look custom made!
Thank you so much, Debbie, for the wonderfully, clear, crisp pictures full of so many interesting dolls!, and thank you, Jeanne for showing them!
That’s funny about the riding pants for Ginny. I have them for my Tiny Betsy McCall. I never could figure out why women’s pants had to have those wide hips on them. I thought they looked so odd, and I still do. 🙂
I have a Ginny skating outfit too as well as the ski outfit. I saw the skis there propped up. 🙂
I always wondered about why jodhpurs had to have that wide hip thing going. I never had a horse but my mother thought they were so cute she bought me a pair when I was too little to protest. I’ve seen pictures of me in them. Not impressed. Would not buy a pair for my dolly daughters. They wear jeans to ride their horses.
My dolls wear jeans too. 🙂
Yes, Linda – hours! This is a short 45 minutes from my town, just a little too far for me alone as it is through a national forest. We have been twice and I have been promised another visit for my birthday in January.
Kit and Rebecca’s outfits are custom made by a seamstress in Washington state. When I own an outfit I wait until she has one in the same color family so I can display together. I only have two RRFF and 3 AG so this is within reason.
Thank you so much for your comments!
Only two RRFF and 3 AGs? Such restraint, LOL!! I tried for two or three max with PC/AG and failed. Tried again with RRFFs and failed again.
😂 That restraint leaves room for lack of restraint in other categories.
Linda, I understand your wanting to keep your special ornaments for your tree.
I did the same until we started having smaller trees, 40 feet tall on a table. Both my sons took the special ones for their trees, and our church bazzar took the newer ones that were not family. Some we saved for the green tree that hangs on the door. We really enjoy the sea shore ones now. All this happens because we are OLD. I think that, at 86, I am probably the oldest on the sofa!!
Heading off to the Y, talk to y’all later.
You’re only as old as you want to be. And you’re only ten years older than I am. 🙂 Keep it up!
I thought that I was the oldest here, at 83! Well, nice to know there are people older than I am! What is strange is all the people who were always older than me are now younger, like doctors, lawyers, politicians, news people and even the pope!
I’m right behind you, Linda–I will be 80 the end of January! I keep wondering how on earth That could be right?!! 😂🤣😂
Debby, your tree is really pretty! I love all of the treasured ornaments.
The squirrel is really cute. I adore the birds and the little houses. Just precious.
Thank you for sharing the pictures from the doll museum,. I would have been at that museum for hours, just looking at everything. What treasures with probably their own little memories.
I love your Kitt and RRF dolls. Their outfits are beautiful, Kitts dress look like velvet, very pretty color. Thank you loads for sharing all of your photos.
All of them make me happy
Monday again, happy Monday, thank you for a blog post Jeanne.
I am going to get my annual echocardiogram (yay so fun) and perhaps zip across town (35 minutes away) to my estranged daughter’s house and knock on her door. They will either be not home… or it might be uncomfortable. I made 4 ornaments for the kids – happy Gooses. and I found a cute puzzle and a weaving loom. She has a very controlling husband and he scares me a bit.
I have not done anything like this in 4 years, but … long story, my good friend Karen who is very bold and so wonderful and kind, urged me to.
I will let you know what happens.
I have several other things to do before Christmas day, but our Christmas will be quiet.
Love to all of you.
Oh just to add, my oldest daughter and her hubbs and two sweet fun girls are coming to visit for a few days on the 27th. They live in Richmond 3 hours south of us.
Oh, Rosemary, Praying for your visit to your estranged daughter and her family to be a good one. God bless you!
Hope your dropping by attempt works with your daughter and grands. Good for your friend. Those girls are missing out on a wonderful grand. 🙂
Thank you Joy.
Good luck, Rosemary! We prayed some Hail Mary’s for you.
Prayers for you, Rosemary. I hope you have a happy reunion. I’m so glad you are taking the initiative. Your daughter and sweet grands are missing out on a cherished relationship with you. I can’t imagine not having seen my loving grandparents.
Thank you Rosemary. This tree is our empty nester tree ( no pun intended 🙂 Hubby is an avid birder; our lawn looks like a weather station with all of the poles and hanging feeders. The squirrels have feeders also. Our family ornaments stay in the closet unless our children visit.
Yes, Kit’s dress is a soft velvet.
You will be attempting your visit as I write this. Prayers for healing rifts.
What a treat Jeanne and Debbie! This museum would be so much fun to go through. What a wonderful collection of dolls and accessories.
As I grew up, unbeknownst to my loving mother, I never cared for the type of dolls I received- several baby dolls, a bride doll and a few others- one was a rag doll type and a Miss Revlon, who I really liked. It wasn’t until the Barbies came out that I started to really love dolls. My best friend and I visited a toy store that had great displays where we discovered the Madame Alexander dolls. We would be in awe of them and as adults we began to collect them. We had a few Ginny dolls too. We would get each other MA dolls or Barbie’s for gifts to each other at Christmas or birthdays.
Seeing these dolls in this museum brought back such good memories. How unique these museum dolls are and with all the wonderful accessories.
Today, I’d have to say, nothing compares to the American Girl dolls and their accessories in my opinion. They are my most favorite dolls ever!
And what a great theme for your Christmas tree, Debbie. The birds and bird houses in a tree where they belong! Love the cute squirrel- so original!
What a fun group of pictures. Thank you.
And with Christmas Day approaching, I hope your plans, whether low key or bustling, work out well.
Paula, love hearing your memories of the dolls you received as a child. My best friend and I would take field trips to local doll shops and doll shows in the 90’s. The vintage dolls were out of our budget but the new dolls from Vogue and MA were reasonable so we collected and exchanged like you and your friend. One day in 1990 my friend was waiting for me in the parking lot before school started. Jan handed me a large glossy catalog and said “keep this over the holiday, I think you will love these dolls”. I returned it to her after the Christmas holiday. With great reverence I told her these were the best dolls of our lifetime and predicted they would be very collectible. Of course it was a Pleasant Company catalog.
Enjoy your holidays and your dolls!
Debbie, this is a funny coincidence – but my childhood best friends name is Jan! She and I got each other dolls throughout our adult life! We both loved dolls and could hardly wait to exchange them with each other. It’s not unusual to fo this now but in different ways. Sometimes it’s the just the fabulous accessories!
Forgot to mention I have 2 Shirley Temples with a few beautiful pictures of Shirley Temple herself.
Thank you for your stories! I enjoyed them.
What a wonderful Monday! Love Debbie’s doll museum photos. It felt like I was there visiting it myself. Loved the Ginny and Ginger dolls so much. I still have my 13 from childhood. All need restringing. And I recognized some Strombecker furniture and even some of the outfits. So fun. I also saw Jan/Jill/Jeff. I had Jill and always wanted Jeff, but that didn’t happen. He sure looks spiffy in his black tie suit. 🙂
And thanks so much, Debbie for sending the bird themed tree photo. What a grand idea. Now, I can collect something else. Bird ornaments. Love them.
Thanks so much Debbie and Jeanne for sharing photos today.
Around here, nothing but rain coming down. We’ve had a couple of inches in the last few days and it looks like lots more on the way through Christmas.
Saturday, was delivery day for the appliances. We were very lucky that we only had a few sprinkles so moving that big refrigerator across the lawn went well. Actually, the moving out the old was accomplished as well as ringing in the new. There were glitches, as expected. Other person had to take the waterline off the refrigerator and then reattach it to the new model because we don’t have a shut off inside. It’s down in the garage. Funny code now. And the dishwasher, we knew would be a problem. However, the wonderful installers managed to figure it out and put in a new shut off upstairs for the dishwasher and drill a larger hole for the plug to reach the existing outlet. We had two groups of delivery people. One with the refrigerator and range because there is no real install for those, and then another group for the microwave over the oven and the dishwasher. The first group spoke Spanish with an older lead guy who actually broke the Costco rules and finally helped other person reattach the water line on the refrigerator. So that went well. The second group spoke only Portuguese. They were all from Brazil. Nope, we didn’t know that language, but the first one there explained that he understood English, but couldn’t speak it very well. When the lead and another who spoke excellent English arrived, it went swimmingly. We had them down in the garage trying to find the shut off that I knew we did not have. Finally, other person went out and turned off the water to the house so that they could put in the shut off. I kept the cooler full of drinks and water and had lots of cookies available. That kept everyone happy. They used the airgap that we had picked up at Costco, but had everything else needed. The only charge was for the shut off valve. Now, let me tell you that AI can never do jobs like this. At least in my lifetime. And those coming from other countries are such great workers and very much needed here. So through, polite, and knew their jobs well. I actually thanked them for their work in Portuguese with the help of Google Translate. I got smiles. We were so glad that we bought our appliances through Costco. Definitely the best deal available. Now, I need to return everything back to where it belongs here. Oh, I’ll get to it at some point. 🙂
And in the midst of the appliance confusion I managed to order another Ruby Red doll. She’ll be arriving in January. Bad me. 🙂
Wow Joy, I am amazed it all went so well and very happy for you! Good thing the Other Person isn’t reading this blog and find out you have ordered another rrff!
I know. I’d be in big trouble if he knew. And tks on the appliances. We are really enjoying them. 🙂
You make me laugh Joy! Did you say “13” Ginny and Ginger. Well that explains why 2 RRFF are never enough!
Enjoy you holidays. Hoping for dry days ahead for you. Please do not send the wet stuff here. We are enjoying an unseasonably warm and dry Christmas.
Yes, I had 13 as a child. And I won’t tell you how many Ruby Reds are hiding out around here. 🙂
So wonderful, Joy! How sweet you used Google translate to thank them in Portuguese. I would have been able to communicate well enough in Spanish from my high school. college classes. I actually love that opportunity when we’ve had Hispanic workers for the roof or deliveries. They usually sing while they work which is great fun.
Haha, another RRFF. Well. with the stress of the delivery you deserve it. Too bad a delivery didn’t happen during the appliance confusion instead.
It was interesting listing to the installers communicate in Portuguese. Almost sing songy in a way. And while trying to practice saying thank you, I found out that depending on the speaker, the ending is different if you are a male or female. Guess I got it right as they were smiling. Or laughing behind my back. 🙂
It is great to see inside of a doll museum! Thanks so much for sharing! Your dolls are beautiful, too!
Debbie thank you for those great photos of the museum! All the dolls are after my time, as I was too old to even know about Ginny dolls and the others. I would have loved them! I really enjoyed looking at them and your two beauties in those lovely dresses! Your tree makes me want to have another one, it is so cute! What a great idea, thank you for sharing!
Thank you for the wonderful doll museum pictures, Debbie. It was so much fun to see the Shirley Temple dolls and that front Paris Bebe is so sweet.
Kit and RRFF Rebecca are just gorgeous in the fine Christmas frocks. I love that your cabinet is mirrored so the backs can be easily viewed as well.
Your bird tree is beautiful! I love all the birds as well as that sweet birdhouse between the blue jay and the squirrel. The squirrel is a cute unexpected touch. I have a couple of those same faux fur squirrels.
Thank you Laura! That lovely doll cabinet was a consolation gift for giving up my homes in Tennessee and Louisiana to move to North Carolina.
I began with the birds but those pesky squirrels keep showing up at my door so I made a spot for them on the tree. They think they are our pets.
Best wishes for a lovely holiday!
Not sure what to make of this. At the other house, there is a kitty that is there when we arrive most of the time. She lives up the hill. She wanders the neighborhood. Anyway, yesterday when we arrived, there was a cat bed on our front porch and a bag of kibble opened up in the middle. We’re not sure what to make of that? It’s not our cat. So, perhaps another neighbor thinks that the cat is ours?? Don’t know.
Thank you everyone for your comments and to Jeanne for sharing my photos. These are just a few of the many pictures I took on my two visits to the museum. The owner/curator of the museum informed me on my first visit that the focus of the museum is dolls that were once playthings, not collectible or artist dolls. They stay true to that mission with a very few Kish or John R Wright. I am looking forward to my visit next month because they continue to evolve and grow.
Happy last minute preparations all. I am off to the kitchen to bake cookies. It has been at least 25 years! Now why do I need cream of tartar???
Because it keeps the sugar from crystalizing and makes the cookies chewy. That’s what Google said. 🙂
For snickerdoodles. Google told me that. 😂
Happy Holidays everyone!! I was so happy reading all of your comments and shared experiences about dolls, childhood memories, doll collections, the doll museum, and appliance installers!
This summer, a Spanish lawn worker had arrived to work on the house lawn across the street from our home. I was outside working on our lawn and hollered across…”Ola!” And he responded with Cómo está? I hadn’t used my Spanish in a while so stood there for several seconds thinking of how to respond. And then it hit me: Muy bien! Phew!…I might have appeared rude if I couldn’t come up with an answer.
Loved the photos of the many dolls at the museum. I too, still have my first two Ginny dolls and a few of their outfits and also the Jill doll. The 18 inch Shirley Temple doll in the red and white polka dot dress had belonged to my eldest daughter so I returned it to her before I moved down here to Texas. Hopefully, she has saved it for a future Granddaughter someday.
I adore the lacey dress on the RRFF doll! A beautiful dress to admire!
And do I ever understand restraint, when it comes to just-one-more doll! Only my budget prevents me from ordering more as often as I would like to! Although I do want to order another Siblie “Bailey” doll sometime in the next month or so, but noticed recently that the RRFF company have sold out on Bailey currently! Hopefully more will be in stock after the holidays, or I can find her at another online location/store.
I sent my photos of the Siblie doll school room and the Santa’s I created to Jeanne today! Hope she can post them! I have just enough time to finish a transformation of a small two-story Barbie playhouse setting, that my daughters found at a scavenger-thrift store hunt my family participated in this summer. It has a very open concept, railings on the 2nd floor, all open at the front and sides, and had no furniture included. I have transformed it into a Siblie Doll Ice Cream stand/shop and will call it SCOOPS! The 1st floor has a curved counter to purchase ice cream cones, since the Siblie doll is not able to stand up in the 1st floor but she can on the taller second floor….which will be the “veranda/sitting” area with ice cream cone chairs or seats where Siblies can go to enjoy their treats.
I have made cookies in the past holidays….sometimes 4 or 5 different ones over several days of baking, but have not done so in a couple of years. Christmas is held at my youngest daughter and her husband’s home, and there is always a plethora of desserts and appetizers. And my middle daughter just made several batches of her Chex Mix…a spicey kind and a sweet one done with brown sugar, so we always take that to add to the munchies. I miss homemade cookie baking but it does require being on your feet and getting up and down frequently….guess I am just getting older! I do make cornbread or banana bread or a sheet pan cake but that just means getting up once to pull it from the oven!
Elizabeth I am glad you enjoyed my photos of the doll museum. I am so glad you still have your dolls. Mine disappeared during my 1st semester in college. I was unhappy about it for years. Happy Holidays!