Before I forget, my Etsy shop is back up and running. I’ve spent the last several days taking photos and writing and posting descriptions of each piece. I think I had 13 or 14 pieces of pottery and I’ve already sold 3. After I finish this post, I’m off to find some boxes for packing. I have boxes, but they’re not the right size for these 3 smaller pieces of pottery. I’ll be adding more items over the next couple of weeks. The problem with Etsy is that they charge fees and that takes a chunk out of any profit. But of course, they’re a business and they have to. The shop, by the way, is ScoutHarper. It’s the same shop that Mere and I used to run together when she was making things and and I was crocheting tons of scarves. My right wrist has never recovered.

Right now, the inventory is mostly McCoy pottery. There’s a piece of Hull there as well.

My Christmas present arrived last Friday and since I have no will power whatsoever, the package was opened immediately. As was Don’s banjo, so we’re even.

Meet Chloe.

She was customized by MissEdith Dolls. Edith lives in Canada – Quebec, I think.

Here’s the back story. I’ve long wanted one of her girls because she’s a very talented artist (she also does portraits) and I love what she does with eyebrows and lips and all the subtle shades in the face up. In the past few months, my friends Susannah and Catherine have adopted MissEdith Dolls, which, let’s face it, made them even more attractive to me because I really got to see them up close. Catherine got hers secondhand, and by that I mean not directly from the customizer but from the owner. I adopt most of my dolls this way because the price is usually less than it was originally. Not all the time, but often. All my Ferro dolls have been adopted by previous owners, for example.

Anyway, I was messaging Catherine (who adopted my doll Mei) recently, and I asked her to keep an eye out for any MissEdith Dolls that might be up for adoption. A week or so later, she wrote me saying that she had just adopted another MissEdith but one of her dream girls had just become available at the same time and now she would have to sell the MissEdith doll. Did I want her? It was a doll that I had been watching for several months and one that I loved. I asked her to give me 5 days to decide. I showed her to Don. Don went a bit gaga for her. Anyway, long story short, we decided she would be my Christmas present and the banjo would be Don’s. Catherine lives in Singapore, by the way, though she’s from Ireland. This doll was picked up at Catherine’s home in Singapore on my birthday. FedEx shipped her on the following day – Wednesday – and she arrived at my house on Friday morning, Pretty darned fast.

Anyway, Catherine has adopted a girl from me and I’ve adopted one from her.

Chloe’s base doll is “Simply Lilac.” As it happens, another of my girls is also Simply Lilac.

And here they are, meeting for the first time. Hi, Olivia and Chloe!

It’s fascinating how different customizers come up with completely different faces from the same base doll.

Both of these girls have chin clefts though Chloe’s is more pronounced.

New girls are now having to perch on the shelf in a sitting position. There’s no available space for standing. I have to brace them from behind with various items; a piece of pottery for Chloe, a candle in a ceramic holder for Pru.

I made a trip to Target yesterday to look for boxes and bubble wrap, etc. I found some neat little Christmas trees and some adorable deer. So now, the girls’ shelves are being decorated for Christmas. I also found some of those sweater ornaments that I used for the girls last Christmas as well as some ornament parkas. I’ll share them with you tomorrow.

Now I have to get off my tush and figure out the box/package situation and get them in the mail.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.