Quest for Doll Heads Never Rests

A quick Halloween lunch stop in Union City, Indiana, not far from Dayton on the Ohio border, netted me this humongous old doll head. I placed the other ones for perspective, and even though the dark-haired one is four inches, the comparison really doesn't do it justice.

This old gal is a full five inches high and five inches wide at the shoulders. She must have made for a pretty big doll. It appears she was played with because the shoulder has clearly been broken and glued. The clerk seemed amazed I would buy it (it was verrry cheap). "You know this is cracked?" he asked. A statement so obvious I couldn't believe it was a question.

When I told him I liked to make altered art with doll heads, he disappeared for the longest time and came back with a box full of cloth and rubber dolls. A doll collector might have gotten faint, but since usually only porcelain heads do it for me, I couldn't even take his $2 box off his hands, although I probably should have, if for nothing more than to be polite.

In the car I noticed the hollow head was stuffed with something strange-either old wool or old doll hair-lots of it- and as I struggled to pull it out, I had momentary imaginations of either baby mice or a million dollars, neither of which fell into my lap while driving. The head does have an old tag on the back-stuck on at one time-but so old now it is almost embedded into it and impossible to read-even with my new Sarah Palin-esque readers. Not sure what I will do with this big head, but right now it waits patiently with its sisters.

But one head and a couple of pieces of old cold type later I was out of there and on with my work, proving again that "Wander Indiana" is an excellent state marketing campaign slogan.

Driving around all the time for work also lets me see all the campaign signage in my state-something I will be very glad to see gone and soon! Doing my part for that, I voted Saturday. That was a first: Saturday (not voting). The absentee voting process was smooth and convenient, since I will be out of town for election day, wandering another state. I was amazed to hear some states are even offering voting this Sunday-truly the sign of a landmark election. So, don't miss your own opportunity. Go vote.

Speaking of wandering-or shopping- you don't have to leave your house or your jammies to do some great holiday shopping. If, like me, you don't want to think about that, well don't! But when you do, there is an outstanding holiday gift guide from http://www.vintageindie.typepad.com at http://www.vintageindiemarket.typepad.com. There are tons of categories for all sorts of handmade gifts and gift ideas as well as discounts galore. I am proud to be a vendor member in this guide as well as a contributing editor for the wonderful Gabreial who runs VinatgeIndie. Vist my etsy or my Flickr for goodies to gobble up: from jewelry and altered art to Blythe doll clothing and furniture and publications for the collector. Even if I don't feel like shopping yet (when did summer end?), I always feel like selling!