Vintage doll treasure trove

 Hi guys! More pix of the vintage dolls we bought this weekend..ok..SORT OF pix of dolls. Mostly pix of boxes as that is were most of them still are. This was trip 2 and a view of the back of our Explorer. The USPS boxes are from where the former owner had bought them off EBay in the early 2000's. Some still even have the receipts with all the info on them..a big help to me!

 Ed, our 12 year old Jack and I loaded boxes at the auction house for almost 3 hours in of course the hottest part of the day..over 90 degrees! Ed got stuck loading the kiln and molds..over a hundred of them! Most went in the trailer, a few in the vehicle.

 Our trailer is 12 foot by 6 foot by 6 foot... and it was THIS full!

 I did not want to leave them in a hot trailer so we spent last night and this afternoon unloading.

 I wanted to go through every box but I did not have that time. They were just glanced at to separate the vintage from the newer bisque/porcelain dolls that the former owner had made and all the pieces parts. Then stacked in storage.

 It was SO HOT in there!

 There were some old porcelain heads and some old kid bodies too.

 OK..this one is a bit creepy. I do recall seeing some reeeally creepy ones when I was loading.

 Jack is a bit skeeved out..lol. (PS..these are not the creepy ones..they are still lurking in the boxes)

 Some of these will go on EBay and some to my Etsy shop and probably even some to my booth..divide and concur! (that is a Snow White head)

Some are damaged and going to the "creepy head" box. Some are missing a wig or the wig is a bit "Albert Einstein"..but who am I to judge! I am going to be researching and photographing for quite awhile! 

Totally random pic..I saw this albino stinkbug stomping up the garden hose while I was out there..the markings look like a little alien headed doll in a dress holding her hands in front of her! What a coinkydink! I'll be sharing more doll photos as I go along and other things too, so stop back! 'Til next time! Julia

Girls, Girls, Girls! Vintage doll apalooza

Oh . My . Gosh.  We went to an antique sale this weekend and I think I am now officially "The Crazy Doll Lady" ..or maybe my husband is! I bought a ton of vintage dolls. Most are composition and there are some others. We packed the Explorer and I have to back tomorrow with the TRAILER to get the rest. I don't eve know what all we bought. We went because the antique sale details said vintage dolls and doll parts. I figured I wasn't a doll expert so I'd miss out on most of the dolls, but I was hoping to get the rough dolls and parts to sell on Etsy for art parts or fixer-uppers. Holy Cripes.Did I mention I got a kiln and around 150 molds too? There were tons of Shirley Temple and Shirley Temple "type" dolls and lots more.

I know I got a couple Armand Marseille dolls. I also bought about 50 boxes at the end for one price that I haven't even gone through yet. The auctioneer said they were full of similar old dolls and parts to what I had bought and I could see into the top several on the pile that he was not kidding so I bought them. (yikes) 

This is a large Simon & Halbig baby (no hair or pate) I think they call this a "character doll". "He" reminds me a bit of my nephews as babies. Some find old dolls creepy. I did buy a few creepy ones,but from what I have seen on line, creepy sells..and the creepier the better for some people! I shall try to get some pix tomorrow. Stop back and see what I find..I'll be digging through boxes for weeks! Til next time! Julia

Paper roses

Hi guys! Back to work. I am currently making a bridal bouquet of paper roses. The bride is a reading teacher and provided the papers..Grimm's Fairy tales and Dick and Jane type readers.

The blooms are done and I am working on the leaves and need to arrange them yet. I think they are turning out pretty! We went estate sale-ing this weekend. I was not up to heavy lifting, but I did point and pile things up to buy! Poor Ed was the main loader. I shall try to get some pix of what we got..a few items are already in our local booth! It was fun to get out again. Ed has been yard sale-ing without me and bringing home some doozies. Yikes. Hope you are having a great week! Stop back and see what I am up to next! Til next time, Julia

I am cancer free!

 

I am home and recovering from my hysterectomy last week..riding the recliner mostly. So..here is my story. Earlier this year I had some post menopausal bleeding. I Googled and of course the internet told me it was cancer. I searched for friendlier answers and the general consensus was.."probably not cancer but get your cooter to the gynecologist". So I went. I found out while I thought it had been 2-3 years since my last exam, it had been EIGHT. (Still not believing that but whatever). I had a Pap test and since I had bleeding, a sonogram. The sonogram showed a spot that the Dr. said may have been a fibroid. The Pap test came back "abnormal inside the uterus". Apparently there are different kinds of "abnormals" with a Pap test. So I had a D&C and the results came back cancer. It was like getting hit with a 2x4 out of the blue. They lined up a gynecological oncologist surgeon for me. He told me what type of cancer it was and where it was located and scheduled a complete hysterectomy, uterus, ovaries, some nodes, the works.

 I heard my parish priest say in a sermon to "Ask God through the name of Jesus his son for help" so I did. I re-heard the story of the woman in the bible who had uterine bleeding and had touched the hem of the robe of Jesus and was healed by her faith, I could not do it actually, but I did do it mentally and through prayers. I re-heard the bible story of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof by his friends to see Jesus and how he was healed by his friends' faith. I prayed, my family prayed, my friends prayed..even friends of friends and people who never met me prayed

 I had my surgery last Wednesday. It was the robotic kind. 5 small incisions in my abdomen and my RN friend Susan assured me "You don't want to know the rest!" It went smoothly and since the cancer/surgery floor was full, they hauled me up to the maternity floor for a room. I wish I could have seen my husband's face when he got there. He said they gave him a floor number and he asked the nurses at the desk (of the obviously maternity floor) "Is my wife here?" They asked him, "Did she have a baby?" He said, "Nooooo?" LOL. They found me. The nurses were great and the room I assume was much more cheerful. I went home the next day.

I got a call yesterday from the hospital with my results from the pathologist. No cancer in any of my removed "bits". Zero cancer. Healthy uterus. The nurse said that is extremely rare. I could at this point believe that somehow the D&C "got it all" or that despite all the tests there was some sort of mistake. I prefer to believe in God's healing grace. I am by no means saying I am worthy of a miracle or healing and certainly not more worthy than others who have suffered and died from cancer. I am just telling my story.. that I believe that each of us have miracles happen in our lives daily and that for ME I cannot ignore it. Thank all of you who prayed for me and saved me by your faith. Bless you. Praise the Lord!

Back to work

 Hi guys! I have a week of waiting until my surgery, so I decided it was better to spend the time working than worrying.

 I am finishing up an order for an extremely patient customer. She had bought one of my "heads" for her hat shop and wanted 3 more.

 Today I am painting the hair. Please pardon my extremely messy work table! My cancer diagnosis has had a positive effect on me. I am now no longer going to put off making my "art" in favor of just making things to sell. I have decided that life is short and with no guarantees so I need to go for it now!

 I bought the book "Art at the Speed of Life" by Pam Carriker the other day. Mixed media and right up my alley. She has tips on how to MAKE time for making art daily.

 So I am finishing this order and cleaning my studio and clearing the decks and diving in!

I hope to be sharing my things once I get going, so stop back and see what I have been up to. (Please say a prayer that my hysterectomy "gets everything" and THANK YOU!)

Brushing myself off and carrying on.

I had my oncology appointment yesterday and the news was as good as you can get for having cancer..it is early, it is common and non aggressive, and it is localized to my uterus. If my hysterectomy results are good with clear nodes, no chemo needed. Thank GOD, and thank all my family, friends and total strangers that have been praying for me.Please continue to pray for good results, but I am now allowing myself to be hopeful and BREATHE. I got home from the appointment, went straight to bed and slept for 4 hours. The stress made me so tired!I am brushing myself off and getting back to business. Thank you all, bless you all..Julia

IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD A PAP TEST IN THE LAST YEAR, GO GET ONE!

When life deals you cancer

 

 Hi guys..a  lot has changed since my last post. 10 days ago I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. It was a shock to me to say the least. I had a bad pap which the Dr. said not to worry about but I should have a D&C to make sure everything was OK. After the D&C he sad everything "looked good" but you always send it to the lab. The lab said cancer. So this Wednesday I am off for a PET scan ( I think) and more tests and to schedule a hysterectomy and maybe more depending on what they find.

 

 I generally feel I am mostly taking to myself here, but if you are out there, please say a prayer for me or if you don't pray, send a good thought.

 

 I have gone from shell shocked to hopeful and back around again. I did not think one word could possibly run through your mind so many times in a day and night. I feel fine.. just super stressed.

 

I hesitated sharing this here, but I figure I need all the prayers I can get. Thanks guys! Julia