This is the last photo I took and I think it's my favorite. Tom Tierney and I, both trying to look our best. I had a chance to talk to Tom for a few minutes during the Artist Showcase. He was looking at everybody's work and he said that he just loved seeing all the different styles and techniques. "But then," he laughed, "I just go back and do my same old thing."
On Saturday night Lori was able to show a little more "skin" than I was. After all, her skin IS 20 years younger than mine. But we both had fun glitzing it up for the banquet. Earlier that afternoon we had purchased some gaudy necklaces from a street vendor down on the strip. My necklace had great big dollar signs on it and Lori's had a silver disco ball. Fun!!
Sorry for the glare on this one, but of course my relatives want to see the original art, and plexiglass doesn't photograph so well. "Baby Sarah" won a 2nd place ribbon in the category, "Original Art, Professional, Done by Competitor." Of course I'm NOT a professional artist, I'm a teacher by profession. But since I have received $$ for my work I have to compete as a professional. Baby Sarah is slated to appear in Contemporary Doll Collector in their April/May issue.
"Let's Play with the Baby" received a 3rd place ribbon in the category, "Babies and Children Paper Dolls, uncut, 1900-1950." The artwork was done by Louise Rumley. The set was published in 1948.
Joan and Bobby received a 3rd place ribbon in the category of "Babies and Children Paper Dolls, cut, 1900 to 1960." Queen Holden was the artist and the set was published in 1928.
David Wolfe gave a workshop on making headdresses or masks for the Saturday night banquet. Here we see a lively group totally immersed in the creative process. David passed out oodles of materials....feathers, sparkles, glitter, etc. Then he told us to "go crazy." It was an anything-goes kind of workshop and as you can see, we had a great time!
Meet Catherine Dobson, age 8. Catherine and her sister Isabella were special guests of their grandmother at this year's convention. And like me, they got to skip three days of school!! I met Catherine and Isabella during the Artist Showcase. They are both artists, too, and were interested in how I go about creating my paper dolls. On Friday morning Catherine came to my sales table and told her mother that she wanted the "ice skater" paper doll. Her mother made a mental note and Catherine came skipping over to my sales table later that afternoon with a big smile on her face, waving a $20 bill (my sets were $15). Let this remind us that sometimes paper dolls really ARE meant for children. Thanks, Catherine. You made my day!
Beverly Micucci and Elaine Paulson at their sales table on Friday. Elaine had a bunch of Betsy McCalls priced very reasonably. But of course I had left my list at home and didn't know which ones I had/needed. Hopefully we can get together via email and I can take some of them off her hands. 
Kwe-lin looks up from her sales table for a moment. It was exciting to see her first Dover publication, "Day of the Dead," which I purchased, along with her PD deck of cards.
Jan and Sam McKay are a special paper doll couple. Jan is an avid collector and we can always expect to see something unique from her in the competition. Sam is the ever supporting husband. He is known to load his van up with Jan and her PD friends and haul them all off to an antique mall or craft store. We love you, Sam!!
Pamela Brittenham has been to many conventions and PD parties, but I had not met her before. She is sweet and fun and is one of my newest paper doll friends. I had fun with you, Pam!
Lori is rooting through the crates on Friday in the sales room. Lori and I walked through several casinos on Saturday afternoon. We realized that we are exactly 20 years apart. She's 33 and I'm 53. But of course age doesn't matter when it comes to paper doll collectors.
Kathy O ' Tierney is married to Tom Tierney's nephew. She handles all of Tom's internet sales and of course his sales table at the convention. This allows Tom to mingle through the sales room like a celebrity---which of course he is!!
There are LOTS of boxes to root through in the sales room on Friday.
Normal Lu Meehan and her daughter Mary Firtl have been coming to conventions together for the past few years. Here they are at their sales table on Friday.
This is Samy Odin. He is from France. He and his father run a Toy Museum in France. His father is also an artist. Sammy was selling some of his dad's paper dolls in the sales room on Friday.
Here are Kwei-lin Lum, her husband Greg, and Arabella Grayson. They were into a deep deep discussion when I took this photo.
This is Marian Creamer and her mother. Marian gave the program on Ethel Hays. I had a nice visit with Marian's mother. She said that she has gone to conventions with Marian for many years. "It's been a great way to see the country," she told me.
Sam McKay mans a sales booth on Friday. Sam and Kathy O ' Tierney and I went up in the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Casino. The view was awesome and Sam held up really well, even though he had informed us that he was afraid of heights.
Here we find Sylvia and Jenny at Jenny's sales table. They both look great, don't they? For me, one of the high points of the convention was Jenny's program on Thursday. She told us the whole fascinating story of how she wound up in the paper doll publishing business, making quick trips to LA and signing contracts with big movie stars. We heard about some of the ups (Phyllis McGuire's Closet) and the downs (Doris Day Disaster) of publishing paper dolls. And even though I had heard most of Jenny's story before, having her tell it first hand was highly entertaining. Jenny charmed the audience with stories and anecdotes. And Jenny, you really DID kick butt with that power point presentation!! Now, everybody go on over to Jenny's website : http://www.paperstudiopress.com/ and order some of those paper dolls!
This is Jim Howard at his sales table. It was Jim's first convention. He is a professional fashion illustrator (I think) and his paper dolls reflected this. Of course I bought his least sophisticated paper doll---his Raggedy Ann and Andy!! Jim is from Colorado. Nice guy. 
Here I am at my sales table, which I shared with Katherine and Grace Keene. I am holding my newest set called, "Sierra....A Skater." Sierra is all ready for the Winter 2010 Olympics, with four skating costumes and her Team USA uniform.
Here are some PD friends at Happy Hour. Lori Lawson (left) is an old friend.....I met her in Cleveland in 2003. Lori is from Virginia. Catherine Soares (middle) is a new friend. I met her on Wednesday during Kwei-lin's walking tour of Vegas. Catherine is from Baltimore. We struck up a conversation with Barbara Bigelow (right) during Happy Hour. Barbara is from Denver.
Presenting Mr. Paper Doll himself, Tom Tierney. Tom is a very friendly and charming man. He carries himself like a celebrity---which he is!! Here he is at Happy Hour on Thursday. Notice that he is wearing one of my buttons!
Here I am at the Artists Showcase. Yes, my hair is longer and darker. And you know what? Every day in Vegas is a "good hair" day!! My hair just fell into place. I'm sure this is due to the lack of humidity. Anyway, at the Artist Showcase I showed some sketches, some sources for costumes and some finished paper dolls. And I had some buttons made which said, "Making the World A Better Place.......One Paper Doll At a Time." I gave one to all artists who participated in the Artist Showcase.
This was my favorite of Marian Creamer's collection of Ethel Hays artwork. This is one of Ethel's daughters as a baby. I really coveted this one.
I attended a program put on by Marian Creamer, which I enjoyed immensely. The subject was Ethel Hays, an American cartoonist, illustrator and paper doll artist. She did many paper dolls, including Baby Sparkle Plenty, Cinderella, and Raggedy Ann and Andy (check Mary Young's "artist" book for more examples). Marian had many examples of artwork done by Ethel Hays. This was one of my favorites--a picture of Ethel's two daughters.
The first people I ran into at the hotel were Katherine and Grace Keene and Ron Fong. I met Katherine and Grace at the first convention I attended which was in Charleston. They are from Texas. Katherine is a long-time collector and Grace is her daughter-in-law. After Grace became part of the family, Katherine recruited her as a paper doll collector. They always come to conventions together. They are nice people and easy to be around.
