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No such thing as too many porcelain dolls

@kirstenlarsons / kirstenlarsons.tumblr.com

Maks. he/they. 20

Addy opened the scroll and looked out at the congregation. She swallowed hard. She had never spoken in front of so many people before. Then she saw her family looking up at her, their faces full of love and pride. There was Sam, who had lost his arm in the war to end slavery. And Esther, whose babyhood had been lost to them all. She saw Poppa, and remembered the night back in their cabin on the plantation when he had first whispered the word freedom. She saw Momma, whose hope and strength had never failed. Addy started to speak, and the words came easily. Her voice was loud and clear as she read the proclamation, with its words that had changed the lives of everyone she loved.

Addy's Patriotic Party dress is another piece I have reproduced to add to her collection. The fabric was easy to find, and the dress itself was easy to make. I also made the ribbon sash and glued on the little portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

While I was making this, I thought about the moment in Changes for Addy when she first wears this, and how significant it is that she is specifically chosen to read the Emancipation Proclamation.

Addy learned to read and write very quickly, and she uses that skill to help her family when they were trying to find each other and reunite in Philadelphia. But Addy is obviously close with her church congregation, and many of the people in the church were like her and also escaped slavery, and undoubtedly a lot of them hadn't yet learned to read. I think it's likely Addy also wrote and read letters for other people trying to unite their families. And she was certainly very involved in the freedmen's society and at least once donated her own money to it.

When she stands in front of the congregation, reading to them the Emancipation Proclamation, she sees her family watching her, but imagine how proud everyone else is as well, considering all she has done for them. Addy in that moment is embodying the dreams every enslaved parent had for their own children. She's reading in public, something that is illegal in many states of the Confederacy. And not only is she reading in public, but she's reading the document that proclaimed her freedom.

Who could forget the twins, Agnes and Agatha, Samantha's favorite new relatives when Cornelia and Gard get married?

I love all the mischief these three get up to in Samantha's stories, so bringing them to life was really fun! ☺️

Meet Katie from the year 1978!

For my mom's birthday, I decided to make her a custom doll meant to represent her when she was an AG character's age, 10 years old, and I had a blast creating a collection of outfits and accessories based on her favorite things at that age, all of which fit with her inside her Kirsten-inspired trunk to keep track of all the little pieces.

Not to mention her beloved dog, Sugar (how fun is it that the white sweater literally has "Sugar" embroidered on it - thanks, AG!)

She was totally surprised when I presented it to her, and is thrilled with it all just as I hoped she'd be! 🥹

this is a detail that i actually didn't notice until this year, but i ADORE the fact that dan andreason's portrait of sam has her bow just a little bit crooked

like yes! that's sam as we meet her! she is trying her best to fulfill all the expectations that are set for her, but she already is feeling like she's not going to be able to be the proper young lady that grandmary wants her to be. she's trying so hard--her bow is neat but crooked--and she's about to learn that sometimes doing the right thing means following your heart rather than the rules

Went to my second doll show yesterday and it was amazing! I'm a bit too shy to make myself known or talk to other collectors. But getting to see all that AG stuff in one place is always magical. Anyway I came away with a haul that checks all my boxes. Although I wasn't expecting to be getting a collectors doll! Such a lovely suprise finding one there. I also got Lanies camper but that's tucked away right now. I can't WAIT to make a display with it, I've wanted it for long!

I also came away with a mystery, the 47 came in this box (excuse the weird cropping)

I dont have the top but its clearly an AG box and by the brown sides it's probably the clear front boxes or the doll came in a set but I've never seen this box before. I tried scouring the internet but can't find a match, maybe someone else knows where it's from? If it helps the doll dosent have perma panties

Couldn't find a better picture of it, but your 47's box came out of the school day to soccer play set that was at costco for a while! (Hence the lack of top and odd sides)

From what I can tell, this wasn't a set that would have come with 47 originally, but I might have missed a variation

Ah thank you!

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