My All Time Top Ten Posts as of January 2020

  Don't forget to check our Facebook page,(Except for you Dorothy.) for the latest posts, which include a really cute stop motion felt video!
  A while back I did a post reviewing my top ten posts of all time. I thought it would be interesting to look at that again and see if anything has changed. So what are my all time Top Ten Posts?
  Well the number one post hasn't changed. It's my post on Mrs. Beasley,her history, my life long love, and a Yard Sale Tale.

My Beasleys.

Who would have thought Mrs. Beasley would still draw such a mob?! I always wanted a Mrs. Beasley. Apparently, I'm not the only one with that obsession.
  The second place post is even more strange,because they are dolls I think few people have even heard of. They're Violet Pickles and Ruby Buttons.

Maybe the creator of Violet and Ruby is the draw. He's E.J. Taylor,a doll maker who decided to write and illustrate a book series, Ivy Cottage, on Violet and Ruby,two live rags dolls who live with Miss Biscuit, the old lady who made them. 

E.J. Taylor makes beautiful dolls,with a  lot of personality.
 

Or maybe it's just the words 'Ivy Cottage' that are the draw! If you Google Ivy Cottage a lot of shabby chic stuff comes up.
   The third place goes to my post called Happy Beatles Birthdays Part 2. I covered various things including Christmas ornaments and figures. Oh. And Tammy's shirt.

Up at number four we have Little Miss No Name.

She was one of my favourite childhood dolls. I still love her, even if Ken thinks she looks like Ignorance and Want from "A Christmas Carol" and can't look at her!
  Coming in at number five is an Ai doll,Bee Balm.

I've done posts on several Ai dolls, but none of them have reeled in as many views as Bee Balm. I have no idea why.
  Number six is another doll few people have heard of, so his position on the list surprises me. He's That Kid.

That Kid and Mrs. Beasley are the two dolls I longed for the most as a kid. I have three of these boys now, including the one I finally got that still talks! I did a post with video so everyone could hear him, since I don't think anybody has posted his voice online. My video doesn't seem to work, but one day I'll get that fixed. He did come with his box and instructions, so if anybody is interested you can see that post HERE.
  Number seven is another of my childhood dolls. She's Newborn Thumbelina.

My newborn Thumbelina,me, my mom,and my sister,Christmas day.

I asked for this doll one Christmas after spotting her at the local Hart's store. I think Mom and Dad must have bought her that day behind my back.
  Number eight is a strange little kid. If you thought That Kid was weird looking, check out this Ratti Tjorven doll.

She's one of those dolls that you like, but, on the other hand... A lot of people seem to like her though.
Number nine is a real surprise. But maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe it's because a lot of people my age remember Topo Gigio fondly from the Ed Sullivan Show.
 

On the other hand, it could be because, unbeknownst to me, he has been popular all around the world since before the Ed Sullivan Show, and he still is in many countries.
  It has just occurred to me that I should have started with number 10 and been counting down. Oh well. Too late now. So here's number ten. Another fairly surprising one. It's my post on Penny Brite.
 

Penny Brite was a doll made in the 60's by Deluxe Reading, but I don't know of many people that remember her, or collect her. I have my childhood doll, and my sister's...and a boat load of others now. (That's the boatload above.) I have posted another Penny, and a couple of clones, but this post tops those by a long shot.
  So those are my all time top ten most popular posts. I last did this in 2016. Most of the top ten from that list are included here, even if some of them have switched their places around. At least one dropped off the top ten list. Penny Brite wasn't even on it the last time. I wonder what will be the Top Ten the next time I do this.

Doll-A-Day 194: Ratti Tjorven Doll

  A while back I showed a Ratti doll with a wicked grin.(Doll-A-Day 9, 9 January, 2014) I was told by one of our readers that she is a Tjorven doll, popular in Denmark and Norway in the 60's. Today's doll is her white-blonde cousin.

Here's what our reader said:  "This doll was very popular in Norway in 1960-1970. We really loved her.
Her Norwegian(and Scandinavian) name is Tjorven.She cames in light, dark and brown haircolors (and some other nuances), both long(most common) or short hair. And with orange pigtailes(Pippi). She is very popular among collektors in Norway and Denmark today."

I'm not sure if these dolls in the ethnic costumes are Tjorven dolls.For one thing, I don't know if Tjorven was the name of the character. Maybe it was, and the character appeared in different costumes. Maybe it's a different doll and just used the same molds. Maybe our reader Alice will give us some more information. Alice? 

I was stunned to find this girl at Salvation Army at the beginning of summer.

Especially since she's in her complete original outfit, complete with paper tag on the back...

...and her original price tag!

She has her bloomers, socks, and shoes.

There's even detail on her dress, under that lace shawl.

Her hat is stuffed with cotton to keep it's shape.

Her hair is a white-blonde.Her blue sleep eyes still have all their lashes.

Now that's a ton of freckles!

She has that same crazy grin as the other girl I showed, but her teeth are painted differently.

I think I like this doll's face better than my brunette's, but I prefer the other girl's hair and dress.

See you tomorrow for another doll.

Doll-A-Day, Day 9 : Ratti Tjorven doll

  The doll for today is this girl.

.

   I still can't completely make up my mind about her. Is she just too cute?

  Or is she really creeping me out?

Wanna come to my house?

 I don't know alot about her. I think she's from the early to mid sixties, and she was made by Ratti, an Italian doll company.I don't know her real name. I call her Creepy Ratti doll. If anybody knows her real name, please let me know. I know there was a doll with this face and blonde hair called Mary, (the doll, not the hair...) and a Pippi Longstocking with this face, red hair, and pigtails.I don't know if 'Mary' just came in various hair colours, or if all the different colours had different names.

I know where you live...

  She's about 12" tall, and has inset sleep eyes and 'real' lashes. I'm pretty positive this is her original outfit.Her mouth is molded in an open position and she has molded, painted teeth.
  I got her at an auction where I got LOADS of Italian dolls of various brands. Most were from this same era, or close to it. For example, I got several Furga S girls, etc. I got so many Italian dolls,just so many dolls in general. You may have read here before about the auction where I got so many dolls I am still trying to get rid of the last of them. Well that was her auction.I was literally having dreams where I was sorting through Italian dolls. More like nightmares really.Too many dolls! (Never thought I'd say that.)
  The creepy thing about her is her eyes, combined with the weird smile. You may have read me say that I like dolls with teeth. Well I do. Maybe these teeth wouldn't be quite so weird if they were all painted white. But these teeth have pink from her mouth paint on them. Looks like gums and makes her smile weirder.
 Her eyes look kind of like they would be the type that follow you but they're not...thank goodness!

  So far I like her enough to keep her. The kids say she's not nearly as creepy as my Baby See N Say.
 UPDATE: Thanks to a recent comment I now know that this is a Tjorven doll. See the comments for details. Thanks Alice!