Happy Halloween

Have a safe and fun Halloween. This vintage image is from the extensive clip-art collection at Dover Publications.

Kwei-lin's Day of the Dead

Kwei-lin Lum created a paper toy based on the Mexican Day of the Dead. It is a colorful altar with paper doll figures, her vision of the holiday celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 in which the dead are welcomed back to the world of the living. You won't find this set on her Web site, but Kwei-lin said she is willing to take orders for those who are interested.

UPDATE: I've added a better picture of the sugar skulls on the cover.

Selling at the Convention

Some vendors enjoy opening their rooms for selling before the official salesroom opens--it's a chance to greet friends they see only once a year, and buyers get a chance to scope out what's for sale, and pick up an "early-bird" special.

One problem: Sometimes the rooms are scattered all over the hotel. Not many people get a chance to hit all of them. Some convention-goers find out about the open rooms too late.

Here's a solution that Embassy Suites has suggested: a block of rooms in the second floor south wing of the hotel designated for vendors. These rooms have shopfront windows, and some have connecting rooms. Room selling isn't for everyone, of course. Some prefer to wait for the salesroom to open. But if you do like to sell from your room, be sure to reserve in the second floor south wing.

Raffles are Helpers

David Wolfe got busy in San Antonio, purchasing raffle tickets at the convention. He and many others know that raffles help offset the cost of the convention. (In the Midwest, they call them "helpers" for a reason.) We need your donations for the raffle table to make sure raffle tickets sell like hotcakes!

In fact, in this lull before the holiday season kicks in (and it seems to start right before Halloween these days) right don't you review your collection for duplicates, or items that no longer fit in with your collection theme. We love donations of anything paper doll related. And note to paper doll artists: We especially love original signed art work!

Embassy Suites Reservation Link

Thanks to our friends at Embassy Suites for setting up this easy way
to book your room for next year's convention in Parsippany, NJ.

This link will also appear on the upper right of this page.

John Axe and Bruce Patrick Jones

Part of the fun of convention is being able to wander into the hotel bar and restaurant and sit down for a chat with your favorite paper doll artists. Collectors and artists hold court late into the night, catching up with each other, and discussing latest projects and purchases.

San Antonio hats

It really was ingenious of Joyce McClelland to have people decorate cowboy hats--and she provided mustaches, too! The group photo shows from left: Pat Motley, Carol Sullivan, Ron Fong, Marion Creamer, Deanna Williams and Sandee Fillerup. Hope I got all the names right--let me know if I didn't! The solo shows David Wolfe and his whimsically decorated hat.