Lacey's Story (Glam 'N Groom Barbie)

I have to say upfront, some dolls might find this story a little disturbing. It doesn't make Treesa look very good either. But I still think it needs to be told, so that humans can learn from it.

This is the story of how I met Holly and Ivy. Holly and Ivy are two little girl dolls that were originally part of a Holiday Sisters Gift Set. Holly is a Stacie doll and Ivy is a Kelly doll. There was a third doll in the set, a Barbie, and all three of them wore matching red coats with white fur trim.

Keep in mind this story happened years ago, before us dolls started talking to Treesa. One of the first rules of being a doll is don't show a human you're alive if they're not ready to handle it. Most humans, even doll collectors, don't REALLY think their dolls are alive. They might joke about us being alive. They might even talk to us. But if they ever got an answer they'd probably freak out. Remember that scene in Toy Story where the toys 'come to life' to scare Sid. Or how about all those movies about 'haunted' or 'possessed' dolls. I rest my case.

To get back to my original story, Treesa bought all three Holiday Sisters Gift Set dolls loose at a flea market one fall. They were tightly packed in a clear plastic bag, and because of the way the bag was sealed it was impossible to take the dolls out and really examine them. This turned out to be important later, but at the time Treesa didn't think anything of it. She bought the dolls and brought them home, then she put them aside and sort of forgot about them. She didn't even bother to take them out of the bag.

It wasn't until that winter, when the snow started falling, that Treesa got the 'brilliant' idea to do an outdoor photo shoot with the Holiday Sisters dolls. When she opened the bag and started handling the Barbie doll, the poor doll's head came off. It turned out the Barbie's head had been shoved back on over her broken neck. Treesa hadn't noticed because of the high collar on the Barbie doll's coat. Treesa was upset and disappointed, but she still really wanted to do that photo shoot. So she went upstairs and started looking for a blond Barbie doll to use as a stand in. She picked me. I was brought downstairs and dressed in the broken Barbie's outfit. Then Treesa threw the broken doll in the trash.

Sometimes I wonder if a body swap could've saved her. Unless the doll's head is damaged, when a doll breaks her neck the doll's consciousness goes into a coma like state because of the shock. Depending on how long the undamaged head is separated from a body, the doll might wake up with amnesia after a body swap. In some cases the doll can remain in a coma even after a successful swap. Treesa has performed several successful body swaps since that winter, but at the time it didn't even occur to her to try. I don't like to think about that poor, broken Barbie too often. I can't change the past, and I know me feeling guilty won't help her now.

The photo shoot was set up in Treesa's backyard.

After snapping a few pictures, Treesa ran back inside to get a sled prop she'd forgotten. I was left outside in the snow with a stuffed reindeer and two traumatized little girl dolls who had been stuck in a bag with their broken sister for over a month. The whole thing was completely surreal. I did my best to comfort Holly and Ivy, but I was so overwhelmed myself that I don't think I did a very good job. Treesa soon came back out with the sled and set up the next shot. "Smile," she said.

It's a good thing our smiles were painted on.

After that I sort of took Holly and Ivy under my wing. With everything they'd been through they needed someone. And since they hadn't met any of the other dolls in the collection yet, I thought they'd be more comfortable staying with me for a while. It was difficult at first. I did my best to help, but only one thing can heal broken hearts and that's time.

Several years passed, and I'm happy to say that Holly and Ivy have both blossomed into the wonderful dolls they were always meant to be. Honestly, I can't imagine my life without them anymore. Even though things worked out in the end, a part of me still wishes that it hadn't happened that way. I know toys don't last forever, but if Treesa had opened that bag as soon as she got home maybe things would've been a little easier for Holly and Ivy. They probably still would've had to say goodbye to their sister. But maybe they wouldn't have had to watch Treesa replace her so quickly and easily, like a burned out light bulb.

Lately, Treesa has been trying really hard to understand her dolls' better. Ever since she started reading blogs like Belle's Bulletins, and others that were written by dolls themselves, her perspective has changed. There's still some things I haven't completely forgiven her for, and I know I'm not the only doll who feels that way. But all us dolls know that she really is trying harder now to keep our needs and feelings in mind.

I guess that's the end of the story, for now. Someone once said that there are no happy endings, because nothing ends. All I can say is that my family's life is pretty happy overall, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep it that way for Holly and Ivy for as long as possible. All we need is a little luck, and lots of love.

Holly, Lacey and Ivy





Dandelion's Story (redressed Fairytopia Dandelion)

 

I'll be honest, when Treesa asked how many of us wanted to write our memoirs for a blog I thought she was nuts. I mean, Treesa is always coming up with all sorts of crazy ideas so I'm used to that. But seriously, how many humans can there be out there who want to read stories from a bunch of dolls. It's not like they listen to what we say anyway. Well, some of them do I guess. But most of them don't.

 

Anyway, the only doll who really jumped at the chance to share with the world was Geena. I could tell Treesa was disappointed. She's got a terrible poker face. So I told her I'd give it a shot. It did kinda sound like fun.

 

I met Treesa at a flea market. I was in a cardboard box with a bunch of other dolls and Treesa was one of the humans who came over to check us out. Now, here's the thing about dolls and flea markets. Believe it or not, some dolls actually WANT to be there. Sure, lots of dolls panic when they hear the words 'yard sale'. I started out that way. But being in storage for a few years changed my mind. After a while ANYTHING seemed better than being stuck in that box. If I hadn't had a bunch of other dolls to talk to I would've gone crazy. I mean sure, sometimes having to LISTEN to all those other dolls drove me crazy. But I know I was lucky. I've heard stories from dolls who were stored in solitary. It does things to you.

 

Anyway, back at the flea market, it was actually Treesa's sister who saw us first. She looked in the box, ran off across the aisle, and came back with Treesa. I found out later the reason Treesa came over so fast was her sister told her there was a brunette, bubblecut repro Barbie in the box. Raven always was an attention getter.

 

Anyway, Treesa pulled Raven out, poked around in the box some more, then asked for a price. When she found out we were 50 cents each she really started digging. I wasn't too surprised when she grabbed the blond Barbie wearing Raven's original dress. But when she picked me up well, surprised doesn't even cover it. I couldn't believe it. I had kinda pegged Treesa as a collector and I'm a playline doll, not a collector's item. I didn't even have my original fairy outfit. To be honest, I was a little ticked off about that. I mean yeah, most of us had been redressed in whatever. We'd been played with for crying out loud. But the dress I was stuck with was this really ugly, bright pink thing with a letter B print. Treesa thought it was ugly too. But she told me later it helped her see my potential, whatever that means.

 

Anyway, when Treesa got us home she had her other sister help piece together a new outfit for me. Treesa told her sister she was going for sort of a trendy, high school look. Something with a skirt, so my painted tights would show. Mixing and matching all the different pieces to figure out what looked best took forever. I lost track of how many things I had to try on and take off. But I've gotta say I'm rocking my new look.

 

 

The peace sign necklace is a bit much. Treesa added that as an inside joke. Since my name's Dandelion, she's always saying my parents were hippies. Treesa's sister said if I'm going to high school it must be Xavier's, whatever that means. Treesa said it was an X-Men reference.

 

Anyway, my new look turned out so well Treesa said it 'inspired' her. Since I came here she's bought and redressed a bunch of other dolls with 'fantasy hair colors', her words not mine. I think there's six or seven of us now. It's hard to keep track in a collection this big.

 

Anyway, I guess that's about it. I'd better let Treesa know I'm done with her laptop.

 

Later, Dandelion