Collections: Royal Doulton

As wedding gifts, my parents and gramma added to my collection of Royal Doulton Dolls (ceramic figurines), bringing my total to 6 (4 large, 2 small). I absolutely love these dolls - all but the small Amanda doll (in white) are antiques as the three of us agree that the older dolls are much prettier than the new ones. Hand-painted and beautifully crafted, they are timeless pieces.

Growing my collection meant re-arranging my glass cabinet - here's a better shot with the doors open:

It's unfortunate that these photos turned out so dark and grainy - it's really hard with winter lighting, but you get the general idea. On the top shelf you can see The Last Waltz (in yellow, with coordinating pitchers, also from my mom) and Amanda (in white). On the second shelf, from left to right, is Victoria (seated in pink flowers), Laurianne (seated in navy), Autumn Breezes (standing in red) and Goody Two Shoes (standing in red, the smaller one).

The wedding gift from my parents was Victoria:

She's absolutely beautiful - the pink flowered dress is breath-taking. My gramma has both Victoria and Laurianne in her collection - they look so cute together, sitting and chatting away. Laurie Anne is my middle name (and my gramma first child) and Victoria was the name of one of my great-great-grandmothers.

When gramma heard our good news, she immediately gave me Autumn Breezes from her own collection:

She's a perfect match to Goody Two Shoes, which gramma also gave me from her own collection - the red dress, the bonnet, even the purple-blue ribbon and green trim. They look lovely together! My gramma chose to give me Autumn Breezes since we technically got married in the fall (though at the very tail end of it!).

Each of these pieces holds special meaning and memories for me - I look forward to many years of arranging and re-arranging them!