Recently I was getting something out of the top of my closet,when I spotted this:
This container, from some 'Chantilly' by Houbigant powder my mom had in the 60's,is full of small toys I've been keeping in there ever since Mom used up all the powder and gave it to me.
Today's doll is a group of small dolls that were inside.
These dolls are made using pipe cleaner,wooden and plastic beads,with 'spun cotton' heads. (Somewhere I still have a spun cotton Jack O'Lantern on a toothpick that was in a Halloween cupcake I got in elementary school.) They're all somewhere about 4" tall,or slightly shorter. I found this one in another box of my old toys. He's from the same set as these.
They're from a kit my sister and I got for Christmas one year.
Seems unlikely we got a joint present, or that my sister would have let me make part of the dolls in her set. Maybe we both got one. I only remember one set, but I could be wrong. I was pretty small. I know we got it in the 60's though.
We used up the entire kit that day!
Spun cotton was used for a lot of vintage figures, like Christmas decorations.Some of those vintage decorations are quite valuable. They're such popular items that reproductions have been made,and are still being sold.
The art of making spun cotton items began in Germany in the 1800's. Cotton batting was hand molded around wire forms, and later on a lathe,using molds. During the Victorian era cotton fruits were popular Christmas decorations. Today,what is called 'spun cotton' is actually made of paper. Blank 'spun cotton' shapes can be obtained from craft suppliers,if you get the urge to make some decorations yourself. I found a site called Spunny's that has all sorts of spun cotton shapes for sale.
That all for today. See you again tomorrow.
You were practicing being a doll person then and you didn't know (laugh).
ReplyDeleteWhat cutie dolls. What a fun kit. It encouraged kids to use their imagination.
I hope you are better.
Thanks for the January doll information. Please don't give us a quiz (laugh). My old brain can't remember what it used to.
Kids need to use their imaginations more these days,don't they? The left shoulder seems to be back to normal, and the right one always bothers me, so I'll get by. More information to come. Maybe you should start taking notes! (Grin) Stay around. We'll get you through. I'll grade on a curve!
DeleteI hope you're on the mend now! The cold in your area cannot be helping, I'd be tense as hell in such temperatures!
ReplyDeleteAs for these spun head dolls, I remember my mum and dad having something similar on the Christmas tree when we were little. I distinctly remember a white snowman and a red Father Christmas, both of them had round heads and round bodies to match, I think they had arms but don't recall any legs. I'm sure there were others too, maybe some white angels with little gold paper/card wings perhaps?
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I do find myself with my shoulders hunched because of the cold. I learned at physical therapy that I need to be conscious of doing that and keep my shoulder relaxed. My right shoulder was so bad I could hardly use it for a couple of years. That's when I ended up going to physical therapy.
DeleteI occasionally find the old spun cotton head Christmas figures at yard sales. There were a lot of decorations and figures made. I have a vintage one that is an elf or gnome with a spun cotton head and a pine cone body.
They are really cute! I love seeing handmade things like these. I misread it and thought you said they all had spun cotton HAIR so I have spent five minutes going over and over the pictures to find what it looked like. I went to the website you posted and went OH, THAT'S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! And then I read heads.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I saw some dolls like these just recently, and she said, "Remember those we had..." I said yes, I still have them. She hears that a lot!
DeleteI think its fantastic you still have all of your things. Some people are okay getting red of their stuff, I wasn't, but some people aren't sentimental. I have my grandma's doll collection because she knew I was the only one that would enjoy them. Mom too, but since we all live together, Mom and I have them. I don't have a ton of dolls, but I am thinking of making a blog just to have an inventory since all of mine are either still in boxes or buried behind yarn totes. I have WAAAAAAY too much yarn.
DeleteMy mom did manage to throw away some of my stuff. Some of it I retrieved from the trash more than once! Some did actually get past me though. She threw away my Tammy doll, my first Thumbelina, and our inflatable Beatles!
DeleteOh wow, she threw away the Beatles!? That's a major crime. And poor baby Thumbelina!
DeleteAnd I collect Beatles stuff! We had two of them! They're worth a load these days. I can still see my Thumbelina on top of the trash pile. Pretty traumatic.
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