(This post is dedicated to My Mommy Cupcake, who left us to go to Heaven two years ago this week.)
Dearest Friends of The Tearoom,
Today, I welcome you warmly here at The Gossamer Tearoom for the Haunted Halloween Tea Party, a fun blog party sponsored by Our Very Dear Friend, Mademoiselle Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist! After you have visited with us here, won't you also please visit with her
here at her festive party and then go on and visit with the other participants as well?
Today, Dear Friends, I introduce you to some of the members of my dear family of vintage dolls and stuffed animals! Some have belonged to me for a long time and some belonged to my own dear mother and were adopted by me!
Some people think old dolls and toys are creepy. I think they are lovely and even though they are no longer perfect, they are still beautiful to me. I am very touched by how much love they have received over the years.
A little over a year ago, I started a project. I gathered some of the members of My Old Doll and Animal Family together with My Mother's Doll Family. I had to scour through some of my boxes in the basement to find Teddy, my oldest friend along with Betty Boop. Darling Thursday was still in parts in a box in the basement as well. I found my mother's Dear Babies in an old suitcase behind one of the bookcases in our bedroom (yes, we have secret bookcases and hidden hiding places in our house, thanks to my Grandfather, who built the house and tended to be a bit eccentric!). I also found quite a few of the clothes that I had worn as an office minion while living in Washington, DC. They were either worn out or no longer fit me, so I selected the ones that were black or black and white prints and I cut them up for clothes for all of these lovely dolls! Now, they are all dressed in black and look quite sweet, if I do say so myself!
This is Bebé Agnès and Bebé Noisette
These two little girls were my mother's. She told me that she didn't think she had ever given then names, so I have now named them Bebé Agnès, named for her and Bebé Noisette, named for her sister Hazel (Noisette is French for hazelnut, something we occasionally called Aunt Hazel, because she had such a cute sense of humor!) Noisette wears a mask I made for her because the paint on her eyes is almost all worn off.
This dear little baby is now named Baby Petunia and was also once owned and loved by my mother.
Some of her poor sweet babies look very ravaged by time, not from lack of care on her part, but because they were given to her during the Depression by an organization that gave toys to poor families who were unable to buy Christmas presents for their children. Judging by the condition of them, I'm sure they were not new when they were given to her.
This baby, also one of my mother's dolls she loved as a girl, is now called Baby Adin (Adin is another name from my mother's family. It is my Dear Uncle Sherwood's middle name!). I made his striped suit from some fabric I found in Mommy's sewing boxes, his bowtie is made from the skirt of a party dress I owned in the 90's and his steampunk hat is made from various items I found around the house! You might recognize him from the
Halloween Party last year!
These little ones were probably bought by my mother at her first job. She worked at the toy counter in the dime store, here in her hometown. I have named them Cannelle and Clafouti.
(Cannelle is French for "cinnamon" and a clafouti is a French homestyle dessert and it often has cherries in it! Scrumptious! All you have to say is "cherries" to me and I come running!)
This is my porcelain Betty Boop Doll, with a black organza headband and chunky necklace, very speakeasy chic! She had a great adventure once. One of her arms had sadly come apart in pieces. I remembered reading about a wonderful place called The New York Doll Hospital in New York City. I sent them a letter, telling them about her and they asked me to send her to them so they could repair her. They did and sent her back to me! She travelled to New York many years before I did! Sadly, the hospital is now closed. Mr. Irving D. Chais was an angel of a doctor to the sweet little dolls he repaired. Betty is most grateful to have once been under his care. Now, he is retired as a doll doctor and is now just an angel. I wonder if my Mommy has met him in Heaven?
This is Teddy. He is my oldest friend! My mother got him for me before I was born. He was the first toy she bought for me! His very happy face never fails to cheer me! You may recognize him from
here, one of The Mad Tea Parties, now long past, where he appeared as "The Teddy Bear Bat"!
Here is Teddy again, with our Dear Little Girl Thursday...
...and here he is in a picture with Betty Boop,
from a time which now feels a lifetime away...
(Teddy is a much beloved member of our doll family.)
And so, who is "haunting" The Tearoom today?
My Dear Babies, of course!
Oh looky! It's Dear Bebé Agnès,
with the twins Cannelle and Clafouti!
They are in their most festive dresses
for the tea party today!
And here are Bebé Noisette and Baby Adin,
waiting for you at the tea table!
They can't wait to take tea with you!
Don't Dear Little Thursday and Sweet Baby Petunia look sweet?
They have been waiting for you to arrive!
Betty Boop is looking very lovely, swaddled in her dark shroud,
like something from an Edward Gorey book.
Teddy and Brownie McNutt are admiring her
fashion sense!
(As you saw in the picture above,
Teddy and Betty have been the greatest of
friends for a very long time!)
And what are we having for tea today?
In honor of that classic Halloween favorite the caramel apple,
the Saint-Honoré Pomme Façon Tatin.
It is described as such:
"Puff pastry and cream puff pastry with caramel icing,
smooth heart of "Tatin" apple, caramel custard cream,
caramel Chantilly whipped cream"
(A Tarte Tatin, which inspired this particular version
of a Saint-Honoré, is a French apple tart, made with
only apples, butter and sugar and sometimes a splash
of apple brandy, but not a bit of spice like our apple pie!)
And for even more yummy caramel,
(I had caramel tea at a beautiful tearoom in Paris
and it was lovely! I'm sure you will enjoy it!)
The Babies are so happy you have joined us
here in The Tearoom today!
A special note:
Our newest family member has not yet arrived,
but when he does, I will drop everything,
make him a new suit of black velvet,
and he will make his debut appearance
here in The Tearoom!
The images for this post are from the following sources:
All images of the dolls from photographs
taken by Mr. V and myself
Posts
