Antique Store Find: MyAG #49

Today I went to one of my favorite antique stores with friends and about had a heart attack in the middle of an aisle.  There were two Samantha like trunks, marked $15 each (my friend and I both got one) and on top of the trunks was a MyAG (or TM?? I'm still not used to that so I'm going to continue saying MyAG) #49!  Best part of all?  She cost $12.  For less than the cost of a new outfit, I got a doll and a trunk.

This NEVER happens to me.  Before this, my best AG deal was a Samantha desk I found at a different antique store.  But after a very dry year in terms of adding to my AG collection, I have a new girl named Ramona.

She's in rather good shape.  Her hair is a bit dry and the curl/wave is gone right now, plus she has a mark on her knee as well as some fingernail paint, but those are all things I think I can fix.  But first thing I did when I brought her home was brush her hair and spritz liberally with water, and put some clothes on her.

I had long considered getting this doll and already had a character in the works for her.  She's the older sister of a doll I've had for years, and I've always been drawn to her because of her dark hair and blue eyes (my favorite combination).  Here she is with her sister Amira (MyAG #11):

Within the next few days, I think I'll try to clean her up some and wash and curl her hair.  As she is, she isn't far from factory state... I think I'd have probably paid at least $60 for her on eBay.  Some curls and she'll (hopefully) be almost back to this:

And here's more of the trunk.  It's in great shape... there's a scuff in the front, though it doesn't bother me.  I actually did think it was an authentic Samantha trunk, but now that I've looked at some pictures I think this is a convincing knock-off.  But for $15, I don't really care!  You can't even get a knock off for $15.  I've yet to pack any clothes into it to see how much it holds, but I may put Samantha's things in it tomorrow.

Meet Ellen

So, I've been talking about how I was going to post about my Christmas doll since like before Halloween, lol.  Here it is, after Christmas, and I'm getting around to the post!

Meet Mary Ellen Wainwright, or Ellen, as she prefers to be called.  She's a renamed Ruthie -- an original character, my first "created" historical.  Her stories (which I plan to actually write) take place between 1938 and 1941.

Here's a little background.  Ellen is 11 years old and her parents are Hollywood actors.  Her father is an Academy Award winner and her mother is an aging starlet.  Because her parents are so busy, she goes to a boarding school on the east coast.  She's shy and a bit quiet, and she hates for people to find out who her parents are because she's been used by fame seekers before.  Her best friend is her roommate at school, a girl named Nancy who is often teased by their classmates because she's a bit chubby and has a lisp.  Ellen loves animals, fairytales and romance stories, Mickey Mouse, tennis, movies starring anyone but her parents, and the Hollywood Stars baseball team (of which her father is part owner).

I'm planning to either make or commission a school uniform, a set of period appropriate tennis whites, and a Stars jersey and ball cap.

As for the doll herself, I think she's really lovely.  She has a really sweet face.  Her hair is really soft, but the hairnet and travel messed it up some, and a considerable amount of the curl has relaxed on one side.  I spritzed her hair some and tried to finger curl it back... it helped a bit, but it still doesn't look 100%.  But I'm not too disappointed... this character isn't terribly fussy so her hair wouldn't be perfect all the time anyways.

Well, here are more pics, including a comparison with Molly, my only other grey eyed girl.