The Simple Life of Paper Dolls

I don't like just sitting and watching a movie. My hands need to be busy…

…hemming, mending, folding, mixing, sorting, cutting…you get the idea.

So, the other day, I wasn't feeling well and I stayed in bed to watch a movie. I thought I was good to go, but then my brain just kept going back to reminding me that I felt lousy. My hands weren't busy and therefore my brain had no where else to focus. And then my eyes fell on this old brown folder that I have had in my possession since I was about 9 years old.

Labeled simply, "Ginghams", what it contained was remnants of my childhood that I can't quite bear to get rid of.  Opening the folder, I was greeted by these four lovely girls, Sara, Becky, Carrie and Katie.
Paper dolls to some, but old friends to me.

And then, tucked into a side pocket was Amy Jo and her wardrobe, just waiting to be pulled out and remembered. My sisters, Kimmy and Roxie each had a companion of Amy Jo's and we had many hours pretending and making up stories that would become these doll's lives.

But, there was more. Two books of paper dolls that had never been cut out. One was a gift for Adrienne when she was about 5 years old. Hmmm, I'm only 17 years behind getting them cut out. Maybe my someday grandchildren can play with them.

Oh, but there's more. This young master and sweet lass were also awaiting a wardrobe. They had been too long in just their underclothes. Here they are, resplendent in their Sunday best.

 Remember how some paper dolls you could just punch out? Not these. I needed to go around each line, each curve, every detail just so. I tell you, it was therapy.

As I meticulously cut out various hats, coats and purses, I remembered that somewhere I have a Trixie Belden paper doll along with her best friend Honey Wheeler. But where? Those I definitely need to find again.

The little scraps of paper were accumulating on the bed, the movie continued to play, and my mind turned to wondering what ever happened to the homemade paper dolls we used to make, cutting out people from the Sears Roebuck Catalog and naming them after our favorite TV actors and actresses.
I had a folder full of people, arranged by age and gender, that I kept in a drawer of the little cupboard my Grandpa Bender made for me.

Somewhere in my attic, I think I have the last Sears Catalog made. Hmmmm. Maybe another day. First, I need to finish these other wardrobes and be thankful for the memories of something so simple but yet brought so much joy.




Love,
Dianne