Introducing our American Girl Dolls
After the last few weeks, it's high time that I posted an introduction to our American Girl dolls. I've already posted about our first dolls, but I took photos yesterday of all the old and new ones together. Plus, the story of how we've found many of them is quite fun . . . even Mom has some dolls of her own! We've been collecting lots of TLC dolls on Craigslist, which Elizabeth and I fix up for foster girls --- and we would like to find an orphanage to send to as well! So, we have lots of dolls in the house, but this page shows "our girls".
Our First Dolls
Originally, I thought it would be easiest to introduce them in order of arrival, however, as the page goes down here the dolls are not necessarily in order. Just a quick recap from the older post, but Addy and Kirsten arrived for Christmas of 1995 (when Elizabeth and I were eight years old). Felicity and Samantha showed up one year later for Christmas of 1996, and Josefina came for Christmas of 1997. Three years went by before a catalog arrived in the mail announcing the arrival of Kit. She was the first historical girl with short hair . . . so, Elizabeth and I took the proceeds we made from a garage sale and ordered two of them.
That was the extent of our collection until the end of March 2018. In fact, the dolls had been put away in their boxes and a dresser for years --- until March, when we decided to go through the closet. Originally, our idea had been to sell them off, but seeing them again --- well, we couldn't. We are going to sell Kirsten and Samantha, but that is merely because we have now gotten into looking at some of the newer dolls and prefer a number of others.
So, that is where we pick up the story.
That was the extent of our collection until the end of March 2018. In fact, the dolls had been put away in their boxes and a dresser for years --- until March, when we decided to go through the closet. Originally, our idea had been to sell them off, but seeing them again --- well, we couldn't. We are going to sell Kirsten and Samantha, but that is merely because we have now gotten into looking at some of the newer dolls and prefer a number of others.
So, that is where we pick up the story.
Kaya (now called "Leonor")
In the process of making the decision whether to sell or not to sell our dolls, I did some preliminary looking on eBay and Craigslist. Instead of selling a doll, I bought one! Actually, it's now Elizabeth's doll, because we found a Kaya for $20.00! She needs restringing, but she was so cute!
We brought her home, cleaned her, gave her a haircut, some modern clothes, and she's adorable! She is now named "Leonor" and called "Leo" (after a very special relative). More of her story can be seen by clicking here. Click on the "before" and "after" photos at left to see full size. |
Finding Leonor and pulling out all of our own dolls really inspired us, so we decided to plan for a real doll display. We are going to work on modifying a closet into a doll area --- building shelves at the height of our AG dolls and Gene Marshall dolls, and then putting some kind of special double doors. With a real area of display to look forward to, we have decided that we would like to add a few more dolls to our own collection . . . plus, we'd like to sew some clothes and fix some dolls as presents for some little girls. While I was plowing through dolls available online, Mom actually found one that she needed . . .
Nellie
Mom found a Nellie doll on eBay and fell in love with her. She wants to sew clothes for her but can't decide whether they will be 1950s or 1960s styles. Mom really loved this particular Nellie because of her beautiful hair and her really cute expression. We got quite a deal on her, because she had red staining on her arms from a dress the previous owner had displayed on her. Elizabeth and I have done two Oxy treatments on the arms, and almost all of the color is gone. I think that one more treatment will have Nellie back to normal and looking great again!
Click on the photos at left to see full size. |
Margaret (was Marie Grace)
The next doll to arrive at our door was a beautiful Marie Grace. This was Elizabeth's new favorite, because she wants to make Regency era dresses and 1850s styles for her. This doll is beautiful and barely played with. We found her on Craigslist for $85.00 with her original meet outfit and accessories. Talk about cute --- her little fan!
She is the only AG doll with this particular face mold, so she makes a beautiful addition to the group. She's definitely more beautiful in life than photos. Click on the photos at left to see full size. |
Jill & Sarah Camilla (were Grace & Isabelle)
Our next dolls were a really cool Craigslist experience. We found an ad for a group of five dolls that had belonged to a girl (now fourteen). They were all played with (ranging from good to very good condition) and loved, but still very nice looking! After some days of e-mailing, we came home with five dolls, the AG hair care set and a pile of clothes (some AG and some other off brands) for $185.00. We were thrilled! Elizabeth kept two of them: Grace and Isabelle. They have been renamed "Jill" and "Camilla" respectively. Jill is a big fan of Julia Child, so she is setting up an organic gourmet kitchen of her own . . . all she needs is the AG Gourmet Kitchen set and some free time!
Click on these photos to see them full size.
Alix (was Chrissa)
Another nice doll found her way to the house via a rather sad route. We found a really cool lot on eBay for three dolls, totaling $51.00 a piece, shipped. Not bad! Especially as two of them were Mia and Chrissa, two dolls that Elizabeth wanted to see. The seller said that one doll (Julie) had a small amount of magic marker on her body, and that Mia had a thumbprint size of red ink on her body. Nothing else on them at all. We bought it, and the seller was even willing to include bonus clothes. The box arrived, and although the dolls were all wonderfully wrapped and packed, it was a total disappointment. Chrissa had a large amount of purple dye in and around one ear, and the other two --- well, the bottom half of their bodies were totally painted, torn and marked in a disgusting and disturbing way. We initiated a return, and after two and a half weeks of rude e-mails from the seller and phone calls with customer service, eBay refunded our money when the seller refused to do anything. That left us with Chrissa and Mia (Mia has now had a body swap, and Chrissa has had her ear fixed with Oxy treatments.), and a spare Julie head and limbs! Elizabeth adopted Chrissa and turned her into a Russian ice skater named "Alix".
Click on these photos to see them full size.
From here down, the dolls are not in order of arrival, rather however I upload them! :)
Nanea
Read more about Nanea by clicking here.
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One of the most special additions to my doll family came just four days after our first-ever trip to the Columbus American Girl store, but it had started while we were still there a few days before. Elizabeth had fallen in love with the Sonali face mold, so she was busy choosing a #62. I decided to go back up to the front of the store and look at the historical displays again. Mom joined me, and we went back to Nanea's display. When we had arrived, I couldn't stand the doll herself, but the whole color palette of her outfits and accessories is just so totally appealing --- and after a few hours, the doll didn't look so bad anymore. But I didn't want her.
Then, while we were standing there, a lady came up to photograph the display. She started telling us how excited she was to see this doll. Her own daughter had one of the older AG characters, and they'd gone to the New York AG store to buy accessories. Now, that daughter is married to a Filipino gentleman and has a daughter of her own --- they live in Hawaii, and the granddaughter is seven years old. And she's so sad, because no one ever makes a doll that looks like her. And Nanea looks exactly like her! Wow! So, the grandmother was texting her daughter to find out about buying the doll. I certainly hope she did get it, because that granddaughter will be so happy! All of a sudden, the doll looked pretty beautiful. So, we went home, and I kept thinking about Nanea. I thought about her all evening, and by the next day, I decided to look her up online and see some pictures. Plus, I started going back over the pictures that I had taken at the store of the many different Nanea dolls on display (there are at least twelve of them!). I talked it over with my sister and my Mom. They laughed and said that they guessed I'd be wanting one. I guess they just know my too well! I thought about it, and by Friday evening I knew I would need to have my own Nanea. She would look like an adorable little sister for Josefina . . . and when something sticks in my mind like that, I know I won't change it later. So, when we set out on Sunday afternoon to visit the store again, I took Josefina along to see how she would look with Nanea. So cute!! Elizabeth says she knew that I'd be coming home with one. :) So, I brought Nanea home, and I couldn't be happier with her. She is SO beautiful! Her hair is the nicest wig ever. |
Benny (customized Nanea)
Ever since Nanea arrived, I had a hankering to customize a Nanea doll with a short-haired wig. I was really hoping that it would be possible to make a brother for her, but the face mold seemed to look so like a girl, that I was not sure it would work. What a thrilling day it was when somebody on a forum listed a TLC Nanea doll who was wigless, had eyes swapped to brown and the eye makeup removed. I tried all kinds of wigs on it, but the Monique Johnny in dark brown was the winner. Dress him up with a straw hat and a polo shirt, and there was Benny (Nanea's twin brother)!
Click on the photos below to see full size.
Click on the photos below to see full size.
Bessy (TM #62)
One really fun thing about getting into these dolls again, is the fact that we learned about there being an American Girl store in Columbus! After living here all these years, we'd never heard of it. Well, as soon as the weather turned nicer, we decided to go down one afternoon. We went on a Wednesday and spent more than four hours in there . . . plus, I took 307 photos! While we were there, Elizabeth fell in love with Truly Me #62. She is a medium skin, brown eyes, dark brown hair doll with the Sonali face mold. She just had to come home with us, so after looking at every #62 available at the store, Elizabeth found Bessy. She is named for a very special cousin on Dad's side of the family. She is from the Honduras and has a little Yorkie pup named Gigi. Bessy is best friends with my doll, Zaida.
Click on the photos below to see full size.
Click on the photos below to see full size.
Zaida (customized Lea Clark)
Zaida (pronounced Zie-duh) is a re-wigged Lea Clark doll. While it took a while to find the right wig for her (having tried her as a totally different character -- read her whole story here), she looks amazing with a dark brown Kemper Tyler wig. She is best friends with Elizabeth's doll, Bessy, and is named for a very special cousin from Cuba on Dad's side of the family. She has a little dog named Valentino, but she calls him "Vale". All of her clothes, and even her pajamas, feature Coconut illustrations, because he looks just like Vale!
Vicki (was Gabriella)
When we visited the Columbus AG store for the first time, there was a little display for last year's special GOTY doll, Gabriella. Elizabeth fell in love with her, but all of the dolls available for purchase had the new eyes. The display dolls were fine, but the boxed dolls were quite strange with those bright white eyes. So, Elizabeth came home and hunted on eBay for a new-in-box Gabriella with old eyes. She found one, and the doll arrived and is gorgeous! She's been renamed Victoria and is called Vicki. Her hair is amazing! She's definitely a doll that looks more beautiful in person than in photos.
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Harriet (re-wigged Marie Grace) & Eliot
Harriet is one of my rescue dolls and has a lot of personality. I wanted a girl who looked like real portraits of Regency-era girls --- not the so-not-period long locks of American Girl Caroline. Well, the MG face mold looks just like portraits that I wanted to recreate, and a Monique Johnny auburn wig was perfect!
Eliot is Harriet's brother, and a renamed Logan doll who likes to have fun (but is a little shy). He looks very like one of his "ancestors" and also takes after his personality quite a bit. Harriet and Eliot are from Cornwall, England, where they still live in their ancestral home. Together, they dress in costumes of all their ancestors and re-enact the family history. When they want a vacation, they ride Eliot's scooter to a tropical island and visit their other doll friends! If you'd like to learn a bit about their family, just check out my website here: www.EliotsofPortEliot.com |
Georgiana (called "Georgie")
Georgiana was a real rescue doll. She came as a throw-in doll lot from Craigslist, and I honestly thought we couldn't save any of her. She was a Caroline doll whose hair had been ironed and whose body and limbs had been colored with marker, Sharpie and pen all over the place! After a LOT of hard work, time, baking soda and Oxy cream (not to mention a gorgeous new wig), Georgie was restored!
To read the story of her restoration (and see before and after pics), check out her blog post by clicking here. |
Connie (was Ruthie)
Connie is one of Elizabeth's special dolls and was a fun Craigslist find (actually came with my Mckenna). Her personality has developed quite a bit. She's the proud of owner of an over-stuffed Build-a-Bear chair and an AG entertainment center and TV. She only wears pajamas (though she has a LOT of different sets and slippers) and enjoys watching old movies and shows like Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers, Little House on the Prairie and classic Disney movies.
Connie also has her very own Wheaten Terrier puppy called Albert! |
Jemima (TM #26)
This doll totally appealed to me on seeing her at the AG store. She's the paler version of Addy (having medium skin instead of dark) with long curly hair. I thought she'd make a great little sister to my Addy and was so blessed to purchase her from a forum member for $50.00 shipped --- including the beautiful "Lily Kay Collection" green dress! She couldn't be more perfect, and once I added the hair ribbons, socks and boots . . . well, she probably won't change for a long time!
She's called "Jemima" after a British Countess, by the way. Not the syrup. |
Violet (TM #80)
I've always loved the Josefina face mold, but I wasn't totally sure what I would think of her in the dark skin tone (even though I LOVE Addy, #58 and #77). The day after #80 was released, we decided to visit the AG store and look at her. The model in the TM case was not inspiring, but seeing her in a display with her hair done was totally convincing! Some of the 80s look very Indian (as in, from India), and I've always wished for an Indian AG doll. So, I looked through about eight boxes and found Violet. She's named for a a young English woman who died in Coonoor, India, in 1866. This is one of my favorite dolls!
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Jan (was Mckenna)
Jan is my 1970s girl and named for my Mom --- who looked exactly like this! I never would have guessed that I would fall in love with Julie's whole collection, but that's what happened when we saw it at the AG store. Crazy, because I don't like anything about the '70s usually. It just seemed such a shame that Julie's hair was too light for Mom's color, and she had brown eyes (where Mom has blue). Then, we saw a Mckenna and realized that it looked exactly like Mom during those years! So, I waited until a gorgeous one came up on the local Craigslist and turned her into my own 1970s beauty!
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Mina (TM #67)
Elizabeth picked this adorable doll out at the store in June (2018). She is a dark-skinned Sonali face mold with long black curly hair. I have to vote this one of the most appealing dolls ever. Wow!
She's a very self-reliant fix-it type of girl who likes to tinker with tools and build things. If you've ever played the Return to Mysterious Island computer game, then you'll sort of realize that this doll is named for the main character in there! She has a little sister, Daalny, who is a Wellie Wisher Kendall. |
Nachito (TM #77)
Mom's special little boy doll. This is one AMAZING doll! If she hadn't gotten one, then I know that I would have caved on him. He is so appealing, and the stock photos don't quite do him justice.
This fellow is the brother to Mom's brand-new TM #58. He likes to fish and owns his own little boat. He's one of the inhabitants of a tropical island where a lot of our dolls live, and he takes people out for rides in his boat. |
Masami (was Ivy)
This precious one came home via Craigslist. She is a beautiful Ivy doll, and she is about as cute as they get. Elizabeth has wanted an Asian doll for years, but so often they just don't actually look Oriental. Well, this one does and is perfect with her hair, the eye shape and the nice skin tone. She has been named "Masami" after a friend from Japan
The outfit she's wearing came in the mail the same afternoon, and she couldn't be cuter. She're ready for adventure. Elizabeth has decided that Masami is going to be a budding cook of all vegetarian Oriental dishes! |
Harold (was Logan)
This is Elizabeth's first boy doll. She's always been a fan of the Kaya face mold and loves grey eyes, so this seemed a natural choice.
Harold is named for one of Elizabeth's heroes, a local boy who was a gunner on bombers in Alaska during WWII. Sadly, he died in 1943, but she keeps his memory alive! Hopefully, this little fellow will have a play suit like the real Harold wore --- and he already has Molly's Aviator outfit! |
Billy (TM #74)
Elizabeth's second boy doll, Billy is named for our great-grandfather who was a fireman in Cleveland, Ohio.
Like our grandfather, Billy has his own little pie wagon where he sells the delicious (though somewhat resin-like) pies that he bakes himself! In his spare time, Billy plans to take up some major re-enacting as Almanzo from Little House on the Prairie. |
Marie-Simone (Re-wigged TM #26)
Hannah (was Jess)
This is a doll that Elizabeth was very excited to find. She really loved Jess, and we were able to purchase her from a member of one of the AG forums. This doll was special to her original owner, and that makes her special to have.
Hannah was one of our best friends growing up, and we've hoped to get a doll that suited the name. Well, this one does! She's definitely got personality. |
Well, that's our collection so far. I'll update this page as things change, because we are hoping to add some more dolls. Are there ever enough? . . .