The LifeBoat Project has begun, and there are those that made the lifeboat, those that are clinging to the sides, and sadly those that just couldn't reach it.
Having to thin down a beloved doll collection out of necessity, and one that has helped distract from various issues over the last almost 10 years is very hard indeed. A lot of soul searching and head over heart has had to take precedent which is not easy to say the least.
Starting with the Sasha dolls: At present I am hoping to keep all my boys. I have quite a few dressed in costumes in a permanent display. The others I hope to use for my stories should I eventually get back to writing them! I have also got my permanent Sailor display and my Mini Me and Mini Sister pair. I would quite like to set up the 'Rose Hip Chicks' in a display as well...but that might need rethinking who is staying and who is leaving! I am also hoping to keep my toddlers at this stage. Two are involved in a couple of the above displays and the other two I hope to keep incorporating in my stories.
A lot still rests on just how many appointments I will need for treatment and the mounting costs involved.
A lot of props will go as well - partly to continue to raise funds, and partly to just give me more room to breath! As mentioned in previous posts I have two sale pages - one for
Dolls for Sale and the other for
Props for Sale. This is still a work on progress and going is slow as other things also need to be done. Plus I keep thinking 'but I might want to use that'.
I am planning on going through my doll clothing and of course have quite a bit of my own handmade clothing available in my Etsy Shop '
Muriel Makes'
I have already sold all but three of my American Girl Dolls. Two I am keeping, one of which was a very special surprise gift from my son and few years back and the other whom I use for modelling the dolls clothes I make for my Etsy Shop '
Muriel Makes' . The third, Kaya, is for sale.
At present I am planning on keeping all my Schoenhut dolls if I can - they are hard to get in the UK and it is a relatively small collection.
The Other Dolls: I need to really start reviewing these as well - they should have taken precedence in some ways, but value wise they are generally not on the same scale, so an awful lot would have to go to make up the equivalent sadly. But I will be reducing them significantly, as all funds raised will help.
I also plan on keeping most of my 'other' (in other words non-Sasha) boy dolls.
If only we could win something on the lottery instead! But with my track record of never winning anything even when I put all my raffle tickets in one pot, there is not a lot of chance of that.
I do know that aside from my childhood dolls, there are five dolls who will never leave:
Henry
Peggy Sue
Lewis
Hitty Madge
Hazel Bleuette
I want to get back to my stories as well, but at the moment it is just not especially likely.
Just so this post isn't completely picture free...
Peggy Sue seems very relaxed about it all, secure in the knowledge that she isn't going anywhere!
