Here is an ensemble I recently made for the Mini Maru & Friends Doll Luncheon hosted by the Mid York Doll Club in Liverpool, NY.  Who is Maru?  Well, let me start by telling you about her first cousins, the Little Darlings…..

Dianna Effner’s Little Darlings dolls are some of the most sought after (and expensive!) dolls around right now.  Unfortunately, they are hard to get (think about long wait times for hand painted dolls) and they are very expensive (you can expect to pay well over $1,000 for just one doll).  Well, here is a beautiful solution!  If you want a doll that was sculpted by Dianna Effner, consider the Maru Mini Pal dolls.  At 13 inches, they are very close in size to the Little Darlings.  The torso on the Maru Mini Pal is larger than the Little Darlings and the arms are a bit longer, but they can still share lots of clothes.  At $89 each they are so wonderfully affordable you can buy the entire collection for a fraction that it would cost for one Little Darling.  What do you think?

Now, about the outfit for Maru.  I’ll start with the headband which crowns the entire ensemble.  It is a metallic gold asymmetrical band featuring heavy gold lace and tiny metallic floral blooms accented with rhinestones.

The gown is iridescent orange and pink silk.  The skirt has deep box pleats, is lined in bright pink silk and has a shaped hem which is higher in the front.  A delicate gold net petticoat with ruffled bottom shows beneath the skirt.  Gold lace, more netting, and tiny gold flowers accent the bodice.  Iridescent pink and orange seed beads and rhinestones add a little sparkle.

I hope this gown finds an appreciative home!  Thank you for looking!