Do I Hear Music?

Sisters are for sharing, 1, 2, 3. Sometimes I share with you. Sometimes you share with me. This was a little ditty my girls would sing when someone wasn't sharing properly. Imagine this: Two sisters sharing a sealed box. Old friend Stephanie would say as I was shipping a doll order, "What? No air holes?" I can just hear the muffled jingle.

View imageA very sweet grandmother visited in May and was very excited tocustom design dolls for her granddaughters. She knew just what she wanted, sharing pictures of the two sweeties. We matched eye colors, and we wrote down the style, color and texture of the hairdos. The clothes were easy. Frankie gets Eva's in her colors with big brown Madelyn eyes. Brooklyn gets pinks and blues in Mimi's outfit with Abigail's blue eyes and Eva's mouth. Like a real friend Silvio visited these dolls day after day as they gradually came together. Visitors to the gallery through the summer commented on their progress on the work table. We had to place our special "Sold" buttons on them! The hair became the ouchy part for the doll maker. Yarn vendors reported discontinued or out of stock. Not available in that color. Wrong texture. Everything has to be perfect. All through this bedlam the customer was patient and polite. Finally the yarn in hand, the sisters spent the better part of the last two days in the beauty parlor with our calico cat, Camilla. Now she is their new best friend.

You can see these girls, ready for the photo shoot and journey, are gorgeous. I swear I could hear them talking last night. "Bonnie said Silvio cannot leave home. Period." said big sister Brooklyn. Frankie tried to convince Brooklyn that she could persuade Bonnie to let Camilla make the trip to Pennsylvania. They don't know they are going into clean white bags-- just in case. Who knows, they might take that dark chocolate bar with them or they might switch their nametags just for fun while in route. I stuck two Calico Paper Dolls in the box for the sisters. Perhaps the cloth sisters are deciding who gets what. Even Jeff at the post office tried to imagine what could happen inside the shipping box. I hear singing.

Yes, it is fun to imagine. And to write using silliness and wit. That's what we will be doing on this Saturday, August 24 from 10 to 5, Creating Doll Stories. By then, these two beauties in a box will have arrived and will be safe in grammie's arms. Yes, we will write, illustrate, and photograph with those experts who are able to join the fun, with food all day long. Already Lew and I have firmly decided this activity will fill at least two summer event dates in 2014 when our professional experts are lining up to be the support team. Recognizing the mural is more than we dreamed, we hope to replace the weathered one next summer.