timetravelingcourtney - Tumblr blog

[timetravelingcourtney]

Molly’s gonna do some mystery stuff today and I think it starts with that shadowy figure lurking in the background ☂️🔎📕

This outfit is made from leftovers of incomplete sets and I’m enjoying seeing the red sweater out of its original problematic context.

[timetravelingcourtney]

🍰🍓Strawberry Shortcake🍓🍰

Meet my newest OOAK; you might recognize our old friend Strawberry Shortcake.

Her and Custard are baking strawberry sweet treats. Yum.

She’s a Caroline whose wig had been severely cut but was in otherwise lovely shape. I ordered the wig from Za Zou Custom Dolls and I’m so happy with it!

[timetravelingcourtney]

Spring Has Sprung Doll Photo Challenge Week 4: Pets

We live in San Diego county and have taken loads of trips to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. I have always imagined Kira (aka Outback Julie) as a junior volunteer at the Safari Park. So, here she is helping a her koala friend find a suitable eucalyptus tree to much on at the park.

If you’ve never had a chance to visit, it’s a pretty amazing park that focuses on conservation and education.

TBH, the koalas are not actually at the Safari Park but I’m taking artistic liberties 🐨. You can learn more about their habitat at the SD Zoo here.

Thanks for the inspiration @agrosehamada

[timetravelingcourtney]

Came home today with a big lot of Pleasant Company Molly things and I’m pretty sure this is an early Bennet!

He came with the collar and leash that matches early Bennet dogs.

No PC tag but he has a Made in Germany sticker.

And omg he is so dang cute! That wee little nose (boop).

[timetravelingcourtney]

Tenney got a bed!

I’ve been imagining using Molly’s Jenny Lind bed for Tenney for years.

When this beautiful handmade quilt came into my life I thought it would be perfect for her.

I made the stripe pillow from a Kirsten mattress that had been almost totally destroyed. The green pillow came with the quilt.

I feel honored to take care of this quilt for whomever it was originally made for ❤️

[timetravelingcourtney]

Last but not least, here is Beth March. She is an American Girl CYO, purchased gently used on eBay. She looks exactly as I have always pictured Beth, who has always been my favorite of the March sisters. She is wearing a dress by Etsy seller Threads of Silk and is pictured alongside Josefina’s English square piano. Her kitten is from Kirsten’s collection, and her china head doll was purchased on eBay

[timetravelingcourtney]

Meet Jo March! In “Little Women”, Jo is described as having chestnut hair and gray eyes - not an easy combination to find in American Girl dolls! I have chosen to use a Blaire doll to represent Jo. Her coloring is not quite by the book, but I do think the red hair suits Jo’s personality. I love this outfit for Jo. The skirt and blouse are from Etsy seller LolasAndSewOn. Her key necklace is by BrownDaisyDesigns, and her hat is from American Girl - maybe from a gardening outfit?

[timetravelingcourtney]

Meet Amy, the youngest of the March sisters. Amy is described in “Little Women” as having blond curls and blue eyes. To represent her, I chose a gently used Just Like You #22, purchased on eBay for a fairly reasonable price. In addition to having the right coloring, this doll has a relatively youthful-looking face. I attempted to add more curls, without much luck. I may try again, perhaps with smaller rollers. Suggestions are welcome! Amy’s school jumper was purchased from Etsy seller SewWitchy, and she is wearing a duplicate pair of Addy’s navy boots

[timetravelingcourtney]

Here is Meg March, or at least my interpretation of Meg. She was the eldest of the March sisters. I chose American Girl’s Just Like You #121 to become Meg because of her beautiful dark eyes and hair, and because her eye make-up helps her to look a bit older than the others. She is wearing a beautiful ball gown made by Etsy seller RuthieLovesToSew, along with an American Girl crinoline. If I am remembering the story correctly, she should be wearing just one kid-leather glove. ( Jo had ruined her own gloves, so the sisters shared one pair). Unfortunately I don’t have a doll glove that looks right.

[timetravelingcourtney]

A little show around Molly’s display

[timetravelingcourtney]

I support my insane doll habit by buying large doll lots that have pieces I’m searching for and reselling the rest on Mercari. Here’s a pretty white body Sam I sold a few weeks ago. I keep my prices very reasonable because I have no reason not to, it’s just to support my hobby. But, Mercari changed their TOS overnight last week and I’m considering leaving the platform. So, question, where do you buy your dolly things? Is there a platform you feel confident using? Please let me know 🧐

PS: I do sell my handmade items on Etsy and I love that platform but it’s not supposed to be used for reselling and I’m a rule follower by nature.

[timetravelingcourtney]

Each piece in her room is so lovely and special!

Kirsten's bedroom renovation

It's a sunny spring day in Minnesota Territory, and Kirsten is stuck indoors, helping with the spring cleaning. Her first task is to sweep the upstairs bedrooms--she shares one with her three siblings, and so it gets messy very quickly. But Kirsten doesn't complain--she remembers her previous home, a one-room log cabin on her aunt and uncle's farm. That was easier to clean, but it was hard sharing such a small place with six people. After a fire burned that cabin down, the Larsons bought a much larger house, the beautiful home they dreamed they'd have when they left Sweden two years ago.

As for my part in this, I created a bedroom for my Kirsten doll a few years ago, but I recently renovated it to make it look more like the illustrations in Kirsten's sixth book, Changes for Kirsten.

The walls in this illustration look like they've been finished with plaster, which was common in houses at the time. The light color would have come from local sources of limestone.

So most of the changes I made were to the walls and windows. I used printed photographs for the windows, and added the twelve-pane window frames over the images before printing. For the walls, I took down the boring white wood paneling. I imitated that plastered look using tissue paper stuck to the first layer of pale yellow paint, and then I painted another layer over the tissue paper.

The furnishings are basically the same, except for the trunk on the right side of this photo. She used to store her clothes in the top half of Felicity's clothes press, which I mentioned in my recent post about moving the clothes press into the parlor for Caroline to use. After I did that, I knew Kirsten would need a place to store her clothes, and what better piece than a smaller version of her trunk?

Most of the things in the above picture are not from Kirsten's collection. The bed was made by my grandpa when I was eight and first got my Kirsten doll. My mom made the quilt on the bed and the one on the rocking chair, the pillow and mattress on the bed, and the two darker gray cats. The foot stove next to the bed is Pleasant Company, and so are the shoes (including snow shoes) lined up next to the trunk. The rocking chair came from an antique store. I made everything else: both rugs, the cradle, the nightstand, the candle and book and stuffed cat on the nightstand, the cross stitch hanging on the wall, the shelves and everything on them, the painted round boxes at the foot of the bed, baby Britta's dress, and Kirsten's quilt square in the embroidery hoop.

This is a little wooden trunk I found at a craft store. I painted it blue and then painted on the decorative designs using stencils.

That's Kirsten's straw hat hanging on the wall, from her collection. My mom made the two sunbonnets.

I gave it a weathered look by lightly brushing on white and red paint.

The trunk can hold all of Kirsten's clothes. It has room for a few more dresses too. I have almost all of Kirsten's clothes; I'm only missing her baking outfit, skating coat, and promise dress.

I also made the gingham curtains for the windows. There's a lot of blue and white going on in here, so I wanted them to match the color themes.

Next to Britta's cradle are the round boxes I made to hold Kirsten's socks and ribbons, which are all Pleasant Company things. Her lunch box and bucket are from craft stores.

I remade her honey crate and the jars of honey. They now contain clear glue dyed with food coloring. I made her little gnomes too.

The rocking chair was an antique store find. It's perfect for her to sit with her baby sister Britta.

I also painted a little flourish on the end of her bed.

This definitely isn't all of Kirsten's collection--I have a few pieces hidden away underneath her room that won't fit here. That includes her actual big trunk that my grandpa made, her Saint Lucia wreath and tray that I made, her dishes set from her official collection, and some other small things that she doesn't need in her room.

[timetravelingcourtney]

AG Taylor’s Version

My daughter and I made another Taylor Swift doll. So we’ve done Lover and Midnights. Which era should we do next?

[timetravelingcourtney]

With Courtney joining the doll family, I had to make a place for her in the doll room, which is always a fun challenge to tackle. But I promised Caroline that the next AG doll to move in will take her place on the wall shelves. If that sounds like a punishment, I promise it isn't, because it's definitely an upgrade!

Caroline is one of four dolls who have their own little corner in my living room, furnished with their accessories and furniture. Josefina, Kaya, and Kirsten are the other three.

Longtime readers might remember when I built Caroline's parlor back in March of 2020. Newer readers will not, and maybe this is your first time seeing the parlor. It's modeled after the one in Caroline's original collection, only mine is bigger and more proportional, not to mention cheaper. I spent only about $10 on the supplies. Buying the real deal would cost at least $250.

I've furnished it with little bits and pieces I've either made or found secondhand. Nothing here is from her or any American Girl doll's actual collection.

This weekend I installed some new lace curtains on the window seat, seen at the right of the second picture. I previously had a single curtain with some pretty embroidery on it, but I love the romantic look of the lace and the tassels.

Because I have a bit of space left for it, I also brought in the clothes press!

This is also not AG brand, but a piece my grandpa built for me when I was 8 or 9. It's modeled after Felicity's clothes press from her retired collection. My mom always called it the tea cabinet because that's what she thought Felicity had in her collection, but I only ever used it to store the few doll clothes and accessories I had.

The top part is removable, and until now has been in Kirsten's room to hold her clothes. The bottom half with the drawers has held some of my Calico Critters extras. But with Caroline moving in, I really wanted her to have this gorgeous piece of furniture. Kirsten moved all her clothes into a new wooden trunk, which I'll show once I'm done painting it.

There's plenty of room for Caroline's dresses, even with the additional outfits I've sewn for her.

The top drawer holds her clothing accessories, like her shoes and bonnets. I made two pairs of her stockings and a pair of gloves. Her ice skates are also here. And the bottom drawer has her non-clothing accessories, all of which I've made, including her carpet bag, lantern, slate, lunch bag, and her father's ledger.

[timetravelingcourtney]

Worth it

I just spent the last 2 weeks of my life on the search to get the full American Girl story collection set.

[timetravelingcourtney]

Spring has Sprung photo challenge Week 1: Reading

Courtney is my newest doll and I'm having so much fun with her. I couldn't resist posing her like the covers of the early Pleasant Company catalogs, with girls reading to their dolls. My Courtney has Kirsten until we obtain a mini Molly.

[timetravelingcourtney]

Hi everybody this is my photo for week 2 of @agrosehamada ‘s AG Spring has Sprung 2024. The theme is theatre. I am an avid theatre goer and I am particularly fond of musicals. For this photo I delved into my theatre merch collection. Emily is admiring a selection of musical theatre keyrings from various shows that I have seen. I hope that you like my photo I can’t wait to see what everybody else has done. Pic 1 Image Description: a photo of an American Girl doll standing behind a table with an assortment of musical theatre keyrings on it. The keys are from Sunset Boulevard, Drifters Girl, Sister Act and Matilda the Musical. Pic 2 Image Description: a photo of the tabletop with the keyrings on it.