I’m in love with them. Smitten. Have been for quite some time now….
I can’t help but think, as I look at them, hold them…who held them first? Who first gazed at them lovingly so long ago—long before I was born…
What little girl held this one or that one during a hard time? A scary night? Helping her through the loss of a loved one?
Which ones were held in happy times? A birthday party, perhaps…Probably each of them and their first girls experienced good times and bad—just as we do now…
Beautiful German china dolls…they crossed oceans, crossed prairies…some were even buried deep in the dirt for one reason or another…
…only to be found in our time…
…when we can love them once more. Gaze at them lovingly…appreciate them for their lovely imperfections…
They each have a story, you know--as is told by the marks they carry of their lives before…
And I love each and every rip, tear, rubbed off bit of paint and crack…every bit of old sawdust stuffing spilt…
A new project I’ve been dying to finish using one of my sweet German doll heads…
A large antique salt shaker is re-purposed for her new body…filled with glittering, iridescent mica…
…a bouquet of sweet pink posies held in her china hand…
…and she demanded plenty of sparkle, I can tell you—she’d always wanted to be a Duchess, she seemed to whisper…
And so she is.
{my little collection. All antiques except for the largest doll on the back left—quite a lovely reproduction, don’t you think?}
Here they all are again. Sitting together on my great-great-grandmother’s quilt. Just seemed to be the perfect place for such a gathering…
…and I’m absolutely smitten with them all.
Julie
{antique photos found on Pinterest}