Monday, April 11, 2016

My Very First Ball-Jointed Doll

My very first BJD was stolen.  Well, I said rescued.  And I received permission after the fact.

This is Danielle*:

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You can see she is not in the best of shape.  We're not sure if she originally belonged to my grandmother or great-grandmother, but my mother, the youngest of her siblings, remembers playing with this doll as a child.  She wasn't broken at that point. though her paint had been getting a little shabby.

Then along came a string of cousins, and without my grandmother around to teach them to play gently with poor Danielle...well you see the problem.  She is only composition, and that's not the sturdiest of materials!

I tried hiding her around my grandfather's house, lying on pillows and wrapped in blankets, but those boys always found her!  So I smuggled her home.

I did get permission once the deed was done, but honestly, I felt poor Danielle's well-being was at risk! LOL

So she has lived with me ever since.  She's wearing a hand-made dress, which was likely made by my grandmother, but no one is sure.  The Nephews think she's creepy, but Nieceling doesn't. :)

As you can see, her injuries have not slowed her down in the slightest!

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I don't believe her strings have ever been tightened, but there she is, standing on her own, steady as a rock.  And that is despite having lost about half of one of her feet!

I haven't had much to post lately.  Work has been very busy, and I hurt my back somehow.  It is getting better now though!  Perhaps I will muster the enthusiasm to sew all those snaps on Hope's clothes.  She keeps me company at my desk, but would probably enjoy being in some  pictures too. ;)

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*I'm quite certain that is not her original name, but no one could tell me what she was called earlier in her life.  Since I was three, and had a friend named Danielle, she became Danielle as well!  Actually, she's very lucky, since most of my naming choices around that age were things like "Pinky" "Browny" "Reddy", and "Mouse".  LOL  Mouse might have been taken as an expression of creativity, but sadly, Mouse was in fact a small stuffed mouse.  

8 comments:

  1. She's adorable - and I love seeing multi-generational family dolls like this - the stories are always great! :)

    Hope your back is feeling better soon!

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    1. Thanks! She's admittedly in terrible shape, but we like her anyway. ;)

      Back is getting a little better every day, thank you! :)

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  2. What a lucky doll that Danielle is! To have been rescued from those boys. And she seems to be getting around just fine for kind of a little old lady. Go, Danielle! And I hope your back gets to feeling better too.

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  3. What a little cutie, is she related to the Kewpie dolls as she has that mischevious look on her face like they do! I think it's amazing that she's kept so well, what a great 'keepsake' you have there :) xxx

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    1. It is a very similar esthetic! I tried doing a bit of research once, but we suspect she is not a "real" anything, but likely an inexpensive copy sold at rural fairs in the area. Whoever designed her did a great job at sculpting a mischievous look! LOL

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  4. It's so interesting to see older ball joint dolls like these. They are so very different to what we're used to these days. I do feel sorry for her though. She looks like she's had a bit of a rough time but it's really neat that she can stand on her own even after all those years and without any restringing done!

    Hope you are resting up and that your back improves soon.

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    1. When I first came across the "modern" ball-jointed dolls I was startled to hear them described as if they were a brand new innovation. LOL Obviously, the joints are much better these days, and much more numerous, but she has stood up pretty well from that point of view. She does rather look like she has bee through considerable trials though! LOL

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