The Ever Amazing LaVern Reinvents!!

Since I made you all suffer through another 'my life' post, I have decided to treat you all this morning with some eye candy provided by yet another very talented friend.  The doll below is just one of many of LaVern's recreations.  LaVern favors dolls from the 30's through the 50's.  She loves composition dolls made during this period, such as the sweet blond below. 

One interesting thing about this doll is that LaVern not only dressed her, she made her wig.  The wig is made of mohair, a common material used in doll hair of that period. She had to sew the mohair onto the backing, but it was the setting of it that was very, very time consuming, with each row of curls having to be complete before the next row was begun.  Isn't it beautiful?

When one sees the faces of dolls from this period its not surprising that LaVern loves them.

This is the doll's complete outfit.

This doll is one that LaVern found at the garage sale of a fellow doll collector.  She too is Composition and cost less than $5.  When LaVern dressed this pretty little girl she thought she would look good with red shoes.  Being a fan of red myself, I totally agree.  The problem is that LaVern didn't have any vintage red shoes, though she did have some that fit, so she flattened them out and figured out the basic pattern and then made these shoes from a fairly stiffed back velvet.  When I saw them I asked if they were vintage or new, I had no idea that she had made them!!

Here is a close up of the shoes.

Composition Nancy Ann Story Book dolls are a common interes of ours, in fact we have done a bit of trading back and forth.   I love this dolls outfit, another that LaVern made, because of the adorable apron, which LaVern fashioned from an old hanky. 

These little plastic dolls are made by Knickerbocker.  They are of a similar vintage as the Compo dolls LaVern favors, overlapping during the 50's when the final compo dolls were being produced, they are made of early plastic.  Lavern crochets outfits for them, by themes, such as holidays, nursery rhymes and children's stories.  I am always on the lookout for them for her and have contributed a fair number to populating her displays.

These two are birthday partiers!

This is the Queen of Hearts, from Alice in Wonderland, hobnobbing with Humpty Dumpty!

Now we can take a look at some of the design elements that LaVern has used in her family room.  She loves vintage, and like so many of us, has decided on an accent wall in 50's green.  (which color I might mention was also popular in the 30's and even in the 1890's)

The vintage pastel colored vintage pots add some fun to the room, playing off the great green color of the accent wall.

Last of all is the inspiration for LaVern's room.  It is a block from a quilt made by her grandmother, that never actually became a part of the a quilt.  This quilt block ties her to her predecessors and makes it the perfect background for a focus on the most important thing in LaVern's life, family.  She is the mother of 11 children, the youngest of whom is now 12, and runs her own, very creative, pre-school.  This woman has more energy than any other three women combined, as you can see. Thanks LaVern for allowing me to share your talents!!