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Mazed Mind

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Im inside a maze inside my mind, struggling for survival and i will always be inside, for the sake o

ThreeZero: 1/6th Scale Prometheus Collectible from Victor Frankenstein Available for Pre-Order

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The next release in ThreeZero's Horror Movie Heritage series has been revealed to be the 1/6th Scale Prometheus Collectible from Victor Frankenstein, and it is now available for pre-order. Click through for more details.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice MAFEX Knightmare Batman Figure

Toys, Books, a Globe and memories

Name That…Hunchback

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He’s not an animal. Well, maybe he is. Maybe it’s not a he.

DC Collectibles: Killer Croc Statue Detailed Images Released

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Following on from Boomerang, and Deadshot, DC Collectibles today released detailed images of their Killer Croc statue from Suicide Squad. Check him out by clicking on the thumbnails above.

Jorge Saenz: Travel Dinosaurs

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“Over the last few years we’ve seen several series where people use toys, pets, and unwitting

Lego Nexo Knights Globlins customised


Giraffe head

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So M came home from work with a little something for us to play with. He’d found it on the sid

worth 1000 words: flowers in your hair

Charlie’s Angels Hideaway House from Hasbro (1970s)

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Charlie’s Angels Hideaway House from Hasbro (1970s)

The popularity of TV series Charlie's Angels spawned a number of branded toys, including this Charlie's Angels Hideaway House from Hasbro.

For more stories behind some of your favorite toys visit Toy Tales.

Wooden Spoon Dolls and More - Past and Present

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The Spoon DollImage Courtesy of Deborah Darling's Tinchapel TextilesBlog.

As you're well aware I love dolls of all sorts, shapes, sizes, and made from just about anything including wood spoons.  I've made Santa's, Pilgrims, witches, bunnies, chickies, and snowmen from wooden spoons.

Wooden doll spoons have been around for quite some time and were a favorite plaything for many English and Colonial children. Today, wooden doll kits are sold by many museums, wooden doll spoons are a favorite craft for many children, and are growing in popularity amongst crafters.

Vintage sterling silver spoons are also gaining in popularity and are a favorite material for mixed media and altered art artists as well.

The Spoon Doll picture shown above is from Deborah Darling's Tinchapel Textiles blog.

She wrote about this doll in a blog post entitled "The Spoon Doll......beauty from simplicity....." and according to Deb the doll is from the Museum of Childhood.

While wooden spoon dolls have been around for hundreds of years pictures of them are not readily available. I've been searching the various museum websites and have yet to find an online image.

Image Courtesy of Joel Lane Museum House

Making wooden spoon dolls is a favorite activity of many museums and many of them sell Colonial Spoon Doll Kits, like the one shown in the picture above from the Joel Lane Museum House.

Here's what they said about their kit: Colonial Spoon Doll Kit contains fabric, spoon head, stuffing, yarn, floss, and needle. Cloth may vary from picture. You will need scissors, pins, and glue. (Hot glue works best.)  In the early colonial period, girls and their mothers made dolls of everyday household materials, such as spools, clothes pegs, yarn, buttons, and spoons. Kit measures 5 1/4” by 6 1/2”.Ages 8 and up.

The Historical Folk Toys website also offers a spoon doll kit for sale.

Here's what they said about theirs: The Colonial mothers made dolls for their daughters from a variety of items that were available around the homestead. A wooden spoon featured a ready-made head for a doll, which could be adorned with paint for the face and hair, or with yarn for hair, or with fabric for a bonnet. The body was formed around the handle of the spoon and was probably made in numerous designs because each mother worked with items that were available to her. If the mother had a little extra time and the supplies, she might make arms, and legs and use lace. If time was pressing, she might just wrap fabric around the handle in a way that it looked like a dress. For a young colonial girl, any doll was special.

The Ehow.com website has an article entitled "How to Make a Wooden Spoon Doll."

Here's what they said about their article:  Sometimes an object will inspire a doll - a button is just longing to become a doll face, or a scrap of polymer clay from another project says 'torso" all over it; an antique spoon only needs arms and some hair to become a figure, or a tiny charm is obviously a hand just waiting for a charm.

In Picture the Past: Art Ideas to Recreate History for Children Aged Five to Eleven By Joan Chambers, Molly Hood we learn: Poor people could not afford to buy toys so they made their own.Dolls were made from wooden spoons and rags.  Includes how-to for making a wooden spoon doll.


The Plimoth Plantation sells the Easy-To-Make Early American Folk Dolls pamphlet shown above which includes instructions for making a Colonial spoon doll.

There is a wonderful post on the Vintage Image Craft blog about "An Elegant Hankie Doll Ornament Can Display Your Vintage Handkerchief in Style."

In that post we learned:  A Victorian Hankie Doll was a child's toy, made at home from at-hand materials. A wad of cotton or fabric was wrapped around the bowl of a long-handled wooden spoon. A fancy hankie was draped over it, and the ball was tied off to form a head. Opposing corners of the hankie were tied off to resemble sleeves and hands. Yarn and buttons were added for the hair and face. A doll born of economy and creativity!

Given the simple form of a wooden spoon I wondered whether or not you can create wooden spoon dolls that are truly unique. More like art dolls. The answer is yes.

Image Courtesy of FolkArtByLinda

I just LOVE the beautiful Pamela Spoon Doll shown in the picture above. She was created by FolkArtByLinda and is for sale in her Etsy shop.  Isn't she just the sweetest doll.

Here's what she said about her:  The Pamela doll was designed and made by the artist. She is a medium-sized spoon doll hand painted with non-toxic acrylic paints. Pamela has a cloth body with black, high-top painted shoes that have sole. Her clothing includes her blue, floral dress with a triple-tucked skirt, lace neckline, slip, and underwear. Her brown hair is pulled back into a bun with a red ribbon. She is 16 inches tall. Chair not included. She is signed and numbered by the artist.

Image Courtesy of The Doll Maker

Spoon dolls don't have to be colonial looking.   They certainly could be sassy like the Spoon Dolls shown in the picture above from The Doll Maker blog.  They're fabulous.

Image Courtesy of NoRulesArt

Many mixed media and altered art artists love creating unique pieces with vintage silver spoons, like the beautiful "Upcycle Altered Art Vintage Silver Plated Spoon Doll with Vintage Hankie" shown in the picture above which is for sale on the NoRulesArt Etsy shop.  I love her face and headdress as well as the vintage hankie.

Here's what they had to say about her: This is a tablespoon size doll made from a silver plated spoon. The face is polymer clay. The spoon doll is about 8" in total length, she has a wire hanger with beads. She hangs nicely against the wall. Her dress is a vintage hankie. She is my own original design, there will be no other made like her.Will be well packaged with clean, recycled materials. : )


If you like how-to videos there are several on You-Tube for creating a wooden spoon doll, like the "Wooden Spoon Crafts : Wooden Spoon Crafts: Doll Puppet" shown above from Expert Village.

Image Courtesy of CraftberryBush

Children love creating wooden doll spoons.  Skip To My Lou has a Guest Post by Lucy of Craftberry Bush showing how to make the adorable "Fashion Wooden Spoon Dolls" shown in the picture above.  


The Complete Book of Dollmaking: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide to More Than 50 Traditional and Contemporary Techniques (Watson-Guptill Crafts) Paperback – September 1, 1997 by Pamela Peake has a how-to in their "Working With Wood" chapter for making a spoon doll. Plus, there is a wonderful project on Page 111 showing how to make an adorable mannequin spoon doll.  Very chic. Very Victorian.

The Chertsey Museum Education Service - Runnymede Borough Museum created a .pdf "Resources For...Victorian Toys"  that includes information on creating a wooden spoon doll.

Image Courtesy of Joyland on Rubylane.com

The vintage Spoon Doll shown in the picture above is from Joyland on the RubyLane.com website.

According to their description: This little old doll just called out to me on a recent treasure hunt because she is a unique spool doll. Made by a Mennonite woman in years past, she is assembled on a wooden spool of black thread and a wooden rod (or spoon?) plus has old covered wire type arms. She is primitive in her "look" wearing a prairie dress of red calico, a country type bonnet and accents of black ruffled trim. She is about 10" tall and shows wear to her outer garments which are faded in areas. Her silk type fabric face is melting in areas in the forehead and above one eye where batting can be seen. I considered putting another face on her but realize that collector's often prefer "as is". Her underskirt is skillfully sewn with cutwork and white on white floral designs. In her "Little House on the Prairie" Sunday Best outfit including purse, she is a neat addition to your doll collection.

Wooden spoon dolls have been around for awhile, have been adored by children for awhile, and I suspect will continue to be popular amongst crafters,and mixed media and altered art artists alike. Whether it's the past or present wooden spoon dolls are her to stay.


Bartholomew's Babies - Beautiful or Tawdry Dolls

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Bartholomew Fair as illustrated in 1808 - Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.com
Held in West Smithfield (1133–1855) on St. Bartholomew’s Day.

In doing research for wooden dolls I ran across a definition of a doll in The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue which defined a Bartholomew Baby as: A person dressed up in a tawdry manner, like the dolls or babies sold at Bartholomew fair.

A doll being associated with a tawdry mannered person. A showy and cheap doll? What? I had to know more.

So I checked out some other definitions.

According to The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia of 1889 under the definition for baby: Bartholomew baby a kind of doll sold originally at Bartholomew fair in London, and celebrated as best then known.  

It also tells farmers what manner of wife they shall choose; not one trickt up with ribbons and knots like a Bartholomew baby. Poor Richards Almanac 1695.

So, the doll is celebrated as the best then known, but still connotates tawdry.

According to the Dictionary of Early English By Joseph T. ShipleyBartholomew-baby, a gawdy doll; a puppet.  Poor Robin (1740) speaks of telling farmers what manner of wife they should chuse, not one trickt up with ribband and knots like a Bartholomew-baby; for such a one will prove a holiday wife, all play and no work.


According to Chapter XVII of Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair Published in 1857 By Henry Morley: Dolls, now so dear to all young daughters of England were not known by that name before the reign of William and Mary.  They were called sometimes "poppets" but more usually "babies." ....... Bartholomew Babies, elegantly dressed and carefully packed in boxes, seem to have been regarded as the best.

Another definition was: A Bartholomew doll. A tawdry, overdressed woman; like a flashy, bespangled doll offered for sale at Bartholomew Fair.

According to Wikipedia.com The Bartholomew FairThe Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer Charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted to Rahere by Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the precincts of the Priory at West Smithfield, outside Aldersgate of the City of London.The fair continued, after the Dissolution within the Liberty of the parish of St Bartholomew-the-Great.....

The fair was suppressed in 1855 by the City authorities for encouraging debauchery and public disorder. The Newgate Calendar had denounced the fair as a "school of vice which has initiated more youth into the habits of villainy than Newgate itself."

If you would like more information on the Smithfield and Bartholomew Fair the Old and New London: Volume 2. Originally published by Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London, 1878 excerpt contains quite a bit of information on the fair.

I couldn't help but wonder what the Bartholomew's Babies dolls sold at this fair looked like. Were they tawdry or of the finest quality?

Here's what I found out:

Image Courtesy of ObjectLessons.org

I didn't find anything on the various museum websites that were specifically called  a "Bartholomew Baby."  However, I did find a picture of a present day replica of a "Bartholomew Baby" as shown in the picture above on the ObjectLessons.org website on a Bartholomew Baby, Medieval - Tudor, Replica post.

According to their post: Many of the earliest dolls were made of wood – indeed even Roman children had wooden dolls. This one is a replica of an early English wooden doll, called a Bartholomew Baby. It is an accurate copy of a doll that would have been available in medieval and Tudor times. The name comes from the fair in London where they were sold, St Bartholomew’s Fair.

It is a simply but beautifully carved doll with no arms and no joints, though some examples had arms of leather. They were sold painted and dressed in the fashions of the day. Wooden babies, as they were known, were not called 'dolls' until the 18th century.

Okay, so all dolls, which were sold mainly at this fair and elsewhere weren't called dolls, but Bartholomew's Babies because of the fair they were sold at.  I still couldn't help but wonder why and when did the beautiful dolls become tawdry?

Here's what the  Bartholomew Baby, Medieval - Tudor, Replica post on the ObjectLessons.org website: Over time the Fair developed a reputation as visitors to the Fair often had too much to drink and sometimes behaved badly – so there was a slang term, Bartholomew Baby, to indicate someone who was drunk and not behaving well.

Image Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg

The doll pictured above is from The Colonial Williamsburg website and is included in the Babies, Balls, and Bull Roarers Christmastime or Anytime, Kids Still Enjoy the Toys and Games Their Forebears Loved by David Robinson article.

The caption on the picture was: Bewigged and begowned in lace and embroidered silk, this doll, now in Colonial Williamsburg's collections, must have been the treasure of some eighteenth-century girl. Photo by Hans Lorenz.

According to their article:  Sir Walter's gifts weren't "dolls." Not yet. Until the 1750s these little figures would be called "Bartholomew's babies" or just "babies," after the great Bartholomew Fair in England, where so many of them were bought and sold. Some weren't toys but style statements, stitched in the latest fashions to be copied full-size by seamstresses far from the big-city tastemakers in days before there were patterns and ladies' magazines. 

Certainly the doll above is beautiful.  Were they all beautiful?  Since I couldn't find any actual examples in the museum websites I decided to look at a few of the paintings of girls and dolls that would certainly depict how the dolls looked in the artist's time.

According to The Tudor Tailor Designer Dolls and Playful Popyns article: Dolls were cherished in the 16th century just as they are now and several are depicted in paintings of children. The 1577 portrait of two-year-old Arbella Stuart at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire shows her clutching a richly-dressed example, which is thought to have been a fashion doll before it became a plaything. An equally impressive doll from c1590 is at Livrustkammaren, Stockholm (search for ‘docka’). Dolls were not only owned by the children of the elite – simple wooden dolls were cheaply available at fairs too (those bought at St Bartholomew’s Fair were known as ‘Bartholomew babies’) or were made at home from scraps of cloth. 

Here's a few of the paintings I found and the "beautiful" dolls:

Image Courtesy of The Athenaeum

 Image Courtesy of The Hermitage  Museum 

Description: Author: Greuze, Jean-Baptiste. 1725-1805, Title: Girl with a Doll, Place: France, Date:
1750s, Material: canvas,Technique: oil, Acquisition date: Entered the Hermitage in 1922; transferred from the Academy of Fine Arts, Inventory Number: ГЭ-3689

According to their description: In the middle of the 18th century French painters began to depict the people of the Third Estate - the commoners - often artisans, working families and the poor. Here we see a small girl from some poor area of Paris, wearing her modest dress and with a serious expression in her far from childish eyes, clutching one of her few and thus treasured toys to her breast. The painting was taken from the life, or perhaps from a drawing taken from the life. Although the artist in fact put little store by portraiture as a genre, his portraits are works of great charm which yet seem to create a very truthful picture of the sitters.


Image Courtesy of Christie's Auction Catalog

According to the Christie's Auction Catalog the painting above is: Dutch School, 18th century - Portrait of a child, wearing a white lace dress and headdress, standing behind... oil on canvas

So, it seems the "Bartholomew Baby" was another name for a doll because of the fair it was sold at. And, because the people at the fair got out of control "Bartholomew Baby" came to be synonymous with their bad behavior.

So is the doll beautiful or tawdry?  As far as I'm concerned based on the the pictures above whether the doll was with a wealthy child or poor child, or was elaborately adorned or simply decorated it was cherished. So, in the mind of the child it was "beautiful" and could never become "tawdry."

BotCon 2016 - BotCon Over The Years: The Last Panel Of The Last BotCon

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We were on hand for "BotCon Over The Years," the last panel of the last BotCon! Pete Sinclair led the presentation, reminiscing through his personal collection of BotCon photos and asking fans to share their own stories about the 22-year history of the social core of the Transformers fandom as it came to a close. Keep reading for details!

Q&A with Hansa Creation

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The Toy Book spoke with Richard Martinez, president, Hansa North America, about what sets the plush company apart. Tell me about Hansa’s background. Inspired by our mission to educate today’s generation and future generations on the need to preserve and protect nature’s wildlife, Hansa’s artisans have lovingly designed and hand-crafted the world’s largest collection of [...]

Bean Doll

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For my school project. I’m now selling one Teddy doll. The doll is a merchandise from a part o

Hollow Threat and Authentic Counterfeit

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Artist Paul Shih will be launching a series of Hollow Threat clothing today (April 14th 2016). The line will features designs based on his toy characters. At the same time, he's introducing a new line - Authentic Counterfeit - where he has some fun with brand icons - inspired by shopping for his one year old son.

Cassette Movie Projector from Kenner (1973)

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Cassette Movie Projector from Kenner (1973)

For budding cinephiles in the 1960s & '70s, Kenner rolled out a whole host of toys for watching movies and cartoons of popular characters of the day. One of the more short-lived and quirky toy lines was the Cassette Movie Projector.

For more stories behind some of your favorite toys visit Toy Tales.

Jakks Pacific Launches R/C Vehicle Inspired by Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War

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Jakks Pacific launched the XPV Marvel Avengers RC Rollover Rumbler vehicle, inspired by Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War film. Kids can ride as Captain America or Iron Man and maneuver flips and 360 degree moves. It is available now at major retailers.

set database: LEGO 41562 trumpsy

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set database: LEGO 41562 trumpsy
image courtesy of brickmerge
image courtesy of amazon.co.uk
image courtesy of amazon

set number: 41562
set name: trumpsy
theme: mixels
year: 2016
pieces: 54
price: us$5
minifig: none
new mixels theme.
come with a poseable mixel character.
the character is trumpsy.
good playability.
overall design is good.
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