I suppose you’d like to know a little more about me, the lovely webmistress of Cherished Playtime. Well, all right then. First of all my name is Melissa. I am usually quiet and reserved, especially around people I don’t know well. I like both spending time alone and spending it with family and friends. I graduated college in 2008, with a BA in Communication and Theatre Arts. I’ve made some fun little movies with friends as both projects for school and for fun. I love acting because I think it’s fun to pretend to be someone else for a short period of time. I also love the creativity and work that goes into productions. In the summer of 2008, I interned at the Weston Theatre, which was a great experience.
I’ve played dolls ever since I can remember. When I was little, I mostly played with my many Barbies, making them go to the mall, have parties and such. I also played with my Cabbage Patch Kid, Martha Amy (aka Ms. Merriman) and my Raggedy Ann (aka Madamoiselle Ann), as well as my favorite stuffed animals and a few other dolls and stuffed animals that have come and gone. I also remember putting Martha’s dress on my first cat, Samantha, when I was little, hehe.
I got into American Girl dolls in 5th grade, through the books. Truefact: When I got my first Pleasant Co. catalog (in 4th grade, I think), I opened to the AG of Today page that showed all of the dolls; the way it was set up freaked me out, lol. Once I got into AG it didn’t bother me anymore. I bought my first American Girl doll, Felicity, when I was in 6th grade (1997), with Christmas and birthday money. When I got her, my play was doing her hair and reading the books and catalogs with her. For awhile, I didn’t think I’d get another AG and by the time I was in high school, I kept my love of AG on the down-low. In 2004, I heard about Samantha’s movie, while listening to the radio in my college dorm room. I had to watch it. In 2005, with Felicity’s movie premiere, I googled AG and found a couple of message-boards. I joined up, and soon after, I got my second AG, Susie, for Christmas. From there and with inspiration from the boards and other fan sites like ourdolls.net, my collection and doll play has definitely grown! I even got my mom into collecting AG.
Some of my other hobbies are acting, singing, making videos, photography, working on my websites, making art, making crafts, writing stories, sewing, baking, and playing Petz and Neopets. Most of them are hobbies I’ve found I can incorporate into my doll play, too.
Some of My Favorite Things: cheesecake, Hawaiian pizza, owls, carousel horses, cats, wolves, tigers, horses-especially clydesdales, friends, family, my cats, traveling, my dolls, David Bowie, Julie Andrews, Pirates of the Caribbean, Labyrinth, Disney, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Meeko, Pluto, Stitch, Shirley Temple movies, Harry Potter, Nester the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, Emily of New Moon, Anne of Green Gables, Punky Brewster, Full House, Lizzie McGuire, The Sound of Music, Rent, Halloween, Christmas, my birthday…
