Belle 2

As a follow-up to my Disney version of Princess Belle, who you can see here, today I'm going to show you my interpretation of the historical version of the same character.

The earliest recorded version of the Beauty and the Beast tale, called La Belle et la Bête, was published by French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (what a name!) in 1740.  A more popular, abridged version was released in around 1760. Wikipedia has a nice summary of Villeneuve's story, and it's quite similar to the version we're all used to--with a bit of Cinderella-like siblings thrown in for good measure.

In my discussions with Leah, the talented and lovely seamstress who made all of the historical princess gowns, we decided to cheat a bit and make the historical Belle doll from 1770 rather than 1740.  Leah already had a beautiful pattern for a 1770s gown, and hair from that time period was really cool.  There were plenty of popular versions of the Beauty and the Beast story that emerged in the 1770s, including an opera (!), so it's only cheating a little bit.

2000 My Twinn doll with medium vinyl and the Madison face.

Belle 1

Sorry for the long delay in between posts, but there was a lot of back-to-school chaos around here recently, as I'm sure there was for many of you!  My son said to me the other day that he loves the fall and the beginning of a new school year because of all the possibilities that this time of year holds.  I feel exactly the same way.  Something about the cool air and new schedule makes anything feel possible.

I'm full of extra optimism today because the Belles are finally done!  Between the long stain removal process and lots of interruptions in my work schedule, it was starting to feel like it would never happen.  However, the princesses are now stain-free and ready for their royal debut.  

When I ran my poll last summer to see which My Twinn face fit which princess best, there was not a clear answer for which face should represent Belle.  Many of you thought Lenora would be a good fit, and many of you opted for Madison.  Madison ended up winning the role, mostly because more people thought Lenora would work better for Cinderella (who's up next, yay!!).

Here's the pale Madison who I chose to be the Disney version of Belle:

1997 My Twinn doll with pale vinyl and the Madison face.

Amy

Well, this girl took a while to show up, didn't she?  Two things are responsible for the delay, the first is just that moving is hard work, and it's taking up more and more of my time.  The second thing is that Amy is one of my troublemakers!  Her makeover was not a smooth ride.  However, Amy March's personality has a bit of sass and troublemaker in it, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

Amy was one of the two characters in this series who I thought had an obvious My Twinn counterpart (Madison!).  The Madison face is beautiful, like Amy, but Rebecca and I also agree that the face looks a bit haughty.  I don't know if Amy March is haughty, per se, but she's certainly proud and likes luxurious things.

With all of this in mind, I chose a pale-vinyl Madison from 2001 to play the part:

My Twinn doll from 2001 with the Madison face.

Two-Dollar Tula

I know I posted Layla just a day or two ago, but my house is becoming overrun with little unicorn girls!  I wanted to get the last two dolls posted quickly so that this happy herd can find their new homes.

Today I'm going to share the third doll in my series of giveaways.  These giveaway dolls aren't completely free, but I offer them for $2.20 on Etsy to the winner of a drawing here on the blog.  If you're interested in a chance to buy this particular doll for a super-low price, just follow the instructions at the end of the post--and good luck!

This doll was a fairly generic non-Denver Madison when I first got my hands on her:

2006 My Twinn doll with the Madison face.

Loose Ankle Lilac

As usual, my week was slightly busier than expected (with both kids heading back to college this month, I should have known...) but I'll show you my second pair of matching dolls today, and then hopefully get the last two photographed by the end of the weekend!

The big girl in this pair is a Denver Madison with very pale vinyl.  I found her on eBay with a super short haircut that made her even more appealing to me.  I love her pixie-like appearance!

1997 My Twinn Madison.