Everything on this website is for your enjoyment ONLY!
Do NOT use them on another website without written permission from me.
Please DO print them and play with them. DO NOT SELL THEM.
For printing instructions, click here.

Happy Autumn... almost!

For my family and me, Labor Day has always marked the end of Summer,
whether the calendar indicates that or not. When our children were living
at home, school would be starting and we'd be plunging wholeheartedly
into their myriad of activities.
Without them for quite a number of years now, we still cling to the
"end of summer" feeling that begins early in September.

The paper doll that appears on this Welcome page is one I designed and named
for a charming doll in my antique doll collection.
I revised the paper doll for this page, though, because of one of the
best experiences I had this summer.

In late August, Chautauqua Institution's Opera Company presented
Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" on the stage at Norton Hall in
the institution. I just HAD to attend, for a VERY special reason:

When I was a sophomore at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana,
I performed the role of "Casilda" - one of the leads - and really enjoyed
doing it. When the local newspaper reviewed the show, I was amazed
to read that "... Miss Cunningham, in the role of Casilda, has a bright
future in musical comedy."

Well, as I told the good friend who attended with me, "My life has been anything
BUT a comedy, but it certainly has been musical." And it has.

The question that arises is: "Why did you name this paper doll Casilda?"
Answer: When I attended my first United Federation of Doll Clubs convention,
summer of 1970, Detroit, Michigan, I found a lovely Schilling composition
doll wearing the little crocheted tam on which there was a small paper tag
with the name "Casilda" written in pale ink.

Of course, I had to buy her, and told the seller about my performing this
role in the operetta. She replied to me, "Didn't you ever perform a role
named 'Bru' or 'Jumeau'?" naming two French dollmakers of
absolutely gorgeous and very expensive dolls. I told her I hadn't,
but that if I ever did, I'd certainly buy one of her dolls.

Note: That has not come to pass!

Nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy this paper doll in a varied form from
an earlier version I presented on the website.

It's been a difficult summer for my husband and me, with his health
still very precarious following last November's open heart surgery.
I was diagnosed in July with skin cancer and had an operation to
remove it. However, I'm clear now and hope to stay that way.

Please keep visiting my website writing to me!
I try to answer every e-mail, though it may take me a while
since most of my time is filled with caregiving.

If you have written to me and not gotten an answer, please try again!

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Please consider the possibility of GIFT CERTIFICATES for family and friends.
Just send me the amount of the gift, the name of the recipient
and I'll send a certificate and printed catalog to that person.
What a surprise to that special person who loves paper dolls!

To make things convenient for you, I take payments through PayPal
which allows me to accept Credit Cards -- Visa/MasterCard -- making the payment immediate.
Go to the catalog pages; you'll find the information as a clickable link.