11/12/2022

Cheer Me Up! Poppy Parker

Call it the PP Club. It seems as if almost every doll is Poppy Parker and so many of them look the same. It's time for a change.

The Third PPClub doll of 2022 is, you guessed it, Poppy Parker, AGAIN.



Ho Hum. She does not cheer me up. 

Cheer Me Up

Poppy Parker® Dressed Doll 

The Poppy Parker® Collection

2022 W Club Exclusive Doll


Edition Size: TBD

Expected Ship Date: Summer 2023


Head Sculpt: Poppy Parker

Body Type: PP 1.5

Foot Sculpt: Articulated ankle with flat feet

Skin Tone: FR White

Hair Color: Auburn

Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied


Sales method: These dolls are guaranteed made-to-order for 2022 W Club members only- 1 per membership.


($50.00 NRD deposit due now, $95.00 + S & H due in approximately Summer 2023);

<<In other words, they get to keep your $50 for about 9 months and you get nothing.>>


Included:


  • 12-inch articulated doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes;
  • Light blue cheerleader sweater with embroidered "P" varsity letter detail and separate sleeveless striped turtleneck bodysuit;
  • Pleated short cheerleader skirt;
  • Knee-high white socks;
  • Light blue sneakers with ribbon ties;
  • Ribbon cheer pom poms;
  • Matching light blue earrings;
  • Light blue hair bows;
  • Pair of "Poppy Parker" hands;
  • Alternate pair of "grip" hands;
  • Doll stand;
  • Certificate of authenticity.

11/08/2022

New Kingdom Doll Photos (Mine)

 Nimue modeling an ultra-limited fashion from the Baker Street Convention. The wig is by Ilaria. Jewelry is by Kingdom Doll.


Marconi modeling "Engaging" by Munle


 Eira in Antonio Realli





11/07/2022

Around London: a continuation of the trip to York only now we're in London on our own.

 Around London...

I'll start off with the most wonderful sight I've seen in London in all the times I've been there - the recently restored Big Ben aka the Elizabeth Tower and the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster.  It's always been covered with scaffolding. The chime testing is going on with 'silent testing' but no announcement has been made for when it will be back in full operation. It will be open to visitors in 2023.  

It took my breath away as it looked like a tower of gold standing out against a sky of puffy clouds. You have to see it to believe it. 


 


Parliament Square contains 12 statues of people who symbolize freedom, statesmen and other notable individuals.   It is a beautiful green space surrounded not only by statues but also by famous monuments. I would have liked to get photos of all the statues but it wasn't to be.

Millicent Gerrett Fawcett - British Suffragist Leader

Mahatma Gandhi - Anti-Colonialist, Political Ethicist, Nonviolent Civil Disobedience.

Nelson Mandela - Fought Apartheid and other human rights violations, Won Nobel Peace Price alongside So. African President, F.W. de Klerk for having led the transition in South Africa from apartheid to a multiracial democracy.


My next stop, once I could get going, was the British War Museum. (I was still weakened from being ill the day before.) It used to be called the Churchill War Rooms. After having read so much about this place in all the books I've read on Churchill and WWII, I finally got to wander through, unhurriedly, and enjoy the life-sized dioramas in which the actual rooms were populated by amazingly life-like figures. It really looked as if there were people working in there. 

As I approached the entrance to the museum, I recognized the concrete reinforcements that were added during the war. It's interesting that they remain. So much history. 

The entrance.



Another level below the main underground level!



I don't know what this award is for.












By the time I got out of the War Rooms, Westminster Abbey had closed except for services.




I did, however, get into the gift shop. Yay! I had fun in there as you might expect. There were a few things I am sorry I didn't pick up but who knew QEII would die in 2 days, while I was on the British Air jet, over the Atlantic, going home? Our pilot announced it. It's not that I thought she would live forever but it came as such a shock.

My favorite collectibles were the embellished pillow-like ornaments.




See those rows of queens?
I'll be back.




10/26/2022

MetroDolls Charity Luncheon to Benefit Toys For Tots October 23, 2022

 My husband and I traveled to Red Bank, New Jersey on Saturday, 10/22, in order to make a weekend of our attendance at the MetroDolls Luncheon which would be held the following day.

It was a beautiful day so we went for lunch at a bagel place. Their bagels are the size of small loaves of bread! Scrambled eggs and crispy bacon on a delicious bagel were to be the best thing I had all weekend. FYI, the name of the place is Bagel Station.


It was not this big.

I had to be down at the room in which the luncheon was to be held at the ungodly time of 7AM. All I'll say is that the members of MetroDolls are hard-working, efficient and well-practiced in setting up a banquet room. The tables looked beautiful and all around were the helpers, vendors' tables, auction items and John Davey's vintage Hollywood costume display. Since this was my first time at the luncheon as a member of this club, I was very impressed at how it all came together. 

Behind the scenes, members also did so much to make the event a winner. We raised more than $10,000!                                                       


A little information about Toys For Tots

MISSION: The basic mission of the Marine Toys for Tots Program is to collect new unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to less fortunate children at Christmas.

GOAL: The primary goal of Marine Toys for Tots is, through the gift of a new toy, help bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America's less fortunate children.

OVERVIEW: In order to better execute the Program, in 1991 the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation was created at the behest of the Marine Corps.

FOUNDATION OVERVIEW: The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, is an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity which was created at the behest of the U. S. Marine Corps in 1991.

FOUNDATION GOVERNANCE: The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is governed by a board of directors, all of whom are veteran Marines and successful business leaders from throughout the nation. The Foundation’s professional staff is headquartered in the Cooper Center, which is located just outside the Main Gate of Marine Corps Base, Quantico, about 35 miles south of Washington, DC.

FOUNDATION MISSION: The mission of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation is to assist the U. S. Marine Corps in providing a tangible sign of hope to economically disadvantaged children at Christmas. This assistance includes providing day-to-day leadership and oversight of the Program, raising funds to provide toys to supplement the collections of local Toys for Tots Campaigns, to provide promotional and support material and defray the costs of conducting annual Toys for Tots Campaigns. Other Foundation support includes providing administrative, advisory, financial, logistic and promotional support to local Toys for Tots Coordinators; managing funds raised and monies donated based on the use of Toys for Tots name or logo; providing other support the Marine Corps, as a federal agency, cannot provide; and conducting public education and information programs about Toys for Tots that call the general public to action in support of this patriotic community action program.


In most cases, I would have many photographs of the event but as a result of some responsibilities, I didn't take the time to do so. However, many of my photos of auction items and those of others are on the MetroDolls website at http://metrodolls.blogspot.com/p/2022-auction.html. 

Open Auction

Open Auction

Open Auction

DAE Centerpiece

Ed Ferry

Part of Ed Ferry's Vendor Table

Robbin's Vintage Style Handbags - Doll-Sized, Of Course!

Robbin Atwell

Helpers

Helpers

Marine Representative from Toys For Tots

John Davey's Display

John Davey's Display

Jeff Lega

Marcia Friend

Dorene Zebarth (standing) and Sue Gollihur

The outfit on the far left was a gift to every attendee. The other outfits were optional purchases. 

Aretha McCrary-Tennessee Setting Up

Robert Tonner talks about the steps in designing and creating a doll.

Robert Tonner talks about the steps in designing and creating a doll.

Stateroom Trunk created by MetroDolls 

Part of our "Garage Sale"