More cute dolls

It seems I go back and forth between paper arts and dolls.  I do love both!!!  This first one is a Sweet Sue from the 1950s.  She is a walker doll so her head turns as her feet move.  She is the first walker that I have restored and she came out perfect!  I failed to take before shots, but her hair was a mess and her dress had huge holes in it.  I think she came out great!

While the fabric repair is pretty good, I still covered the front with a vintage necklace.  Doesn't she have the sweetest face ever?

Then next to her is a 1970's Madame Alexander doll that I finished last week.  Her name is "Jenny Lind".  I've decided to keep both of these little cuties for the time being.  I just love their dresses!  The Sweet Sue has her original crinoline, shoes and socks and her floral headband is original.

This little girl is another Madame Alexander doll that I found at a thrift store for $2.99.  Her hair was an absolute mess!

But I managed to bring it back to pretty good condition...

and she ended up looking quite cute.  Original dress and hat.  She's missing her shoes and socks.  She will be going up for sale here pretty soon.

I simply got so busy I forgot to take photos.  I also restrung 5 dolls from the 1930s and 40s earlier this week.  Love it when life keeps me this busy and I get to enjoy these vintage dolls!

Our local scrapbook retreat is this weekend so stay tuned for photos of what I've been up to getting ready for a totally fun weekend!!!

Peddler girl

This is a 1950s Harriet Hubbard Avery doll that I found at a thrift store for $1.99.  Of course, I had no idea who she was when I first saw her.  

But her hair was a mess!  I think most people would donate a doll like this to the thrifty store!  Not me!  I love the challenge of trying to restore a doll to either it's original condition - or something completely different.   I did some research and found out that Harriet (in real life) lost her fortune several times, but re-invented herself each time and was a successful cosmetics manufacturer.  She went through great times of poverty and times of great wealth.  Interesting woman!

Remember Grandma's silver metal permanent rods?  Well, I still use them in my doll repair and I think her hair came out beautiful!

Hard to believe this is the same hair in the photo above!  The magic of Johnson's "no more tears"!  Yep - as simple as that!

I decided to completely alter her and turn her into a peddler girl.  Found the clothes on another doll at a thrift store for $4.00.  Yes, I paid more for the clothes than the doll....but I can't afford to sew them myself when I can find them for $4!

The little box is wood with holes drilled in the side for the jute around her neck.  Covered with paper and then distressed with ink.

I love all the little patches that came on her clothes - perfect for a peddler girl.

I left her barefoot - but she also has some vintage pantaloons on under her skirt.

I love miniatures and have been collecting them for years.  Went through my stash and came up with some totally fun things!  The "jack be nimble" is an actual working game - pull the lever and the ball bounces up to the top and  goes back to one of the little holders.  Had those as a kid but can't remember what they were called

Not sure you can see, but the little bear is holding a "Goldilocks" story book.  There's a ruler, pencil, scissors, and notepad on the edge of the box.  Lots of things to look at

  Harriet Hubbard Avery.  Restored. Remodeled.  Ready to be re-loved.  :o)

Setup day!

Today was my birthday and it was also the only day we could move into our new space at the Marketplace Shops here in Canon city.  So I started celebrating on Wednesday and did something a little fun every day this week!  We had 4 hours to set up and started out with bare "walls".

3 sets of white cases and a huge showcase, 2 tables and I think we have a good start.  All of the dressforms will be used to display jewelry.  We're going to have dolls, (doll repair), vintage doilies, lace, jewelry, stained glass, hand painted silk scarves, cards, oh - just a ton of things!

We'll be offering vintage fabric repair as well.   Tuesday, we'll be down there to add a ton more stuff and probably some white sheer fabric over the "walls".

and this is the showcase that we brought back from Arizona.  6' x 3' x 3'.  Very old, original glass, very fragile, but it truly shows off everything!

Vintage linens on all the shelves which we will fill up this week.  As of right now, there are 273 times in this space and it barely looks like there's much at all.  But to set out that many items in 4 hours, plus get all the cases in there, I think we did a great job!

So with my 62nd birthday, I'm starting on a new journey with my sisters.  We're calling it Moore Girls - more stuff, and I think the name is just perfect!  It's been a perfect day, and now, the adventure begins!!!

Located at 731 Main street in Canon City, Colorado.  If you're ever in town, come see us!  Open Tues - Sat, 10 - 6.  Be sure to friend the store on facebook here!

More ideas for your copic airbrush

On the third Thursday evening each month, we have a girls night out at the local scrapbook store.  I take a different topic each month and share ideas. I think using the copic airbrush system was probably the most fun night I've had!  Of course...it's "work" for me to come up with creative uses for some of the products I play with, but this was just plain fun!

I found this old wire basket at a thrift store - it was browns, greens, reds and oranges and I just do not like those colors at all.  I sprayed the entire thing white - using a 2 part primer and paint spray.  Then I "hit" spots with pink and mint copics and now I love how it looks!  I love how the airbrush fades to the white edges.   Yes....full of cards I've made in the past few months - great way to store them.

The airbrush is great for giving fresh color back to doll cheeks and skin....but not on this little cutie!  She's wearing a Bonnie Jean dress I picked up for $2.49.  I was able to trace the flower petal pattern, cut it out in white satin, airbrush the satin pink and make the matching flower to add to the hat.

Airbrushing fabric is so easy and can give added color to existing fabric (no you probably can't wash it but I'll never wash this dolls hat) or create matching fabric to any project your are working on.  What have you airbrushed lately?

Bitty Baby - found a new home

I love going to thrift stores!  And I can usually find fun stuff - like this Bitty Baby - for only $2.99!!!  Yes, she needed a little cleaning, but worth every penny!

So, if you're a mom with little kids and you don't have any time to sew clothes for either the Bitty Baby or any American Girl doll, here's my tip.....look for Carter's clothes in the new born size - look for labels that say 5 - 8 pounds:

Well, yes, the tops are a bit too long!

But just cut them off at the hips, which gives you enough room to hem the shirt (I don't even bother doing that!)

Just tuck them into the pants, add a hat, and you have a precious outfit that turns a naked doll into a tiny sweetheart!  Here, my new bitty baby is sitting with her "older sister" which is yet another doll I got at the estate sale and restrung, re-wigged, and added her to my growing collection.  They are sitting with a bear that my son gave me years ago, next to a pillow that was embroidered by a friend's mom.  It won 1st place in a fair!  Behind the dolls, you can just see the tips of a pair of pillowcases that my great aunt Nellie embroidered.  Obviously, I do not store things that are given to me - I put them out on display!

The shirt was $1.99, the pants were $.99, and the hat was $.59.  I cannot make clothes that cheaply!

Speaking of my son, here is the outfit that he wore when we brought him home from the hospital.  I've kept it all these years!  I think it's high time I find a doll that will fit into this.  Maybe even another bitty baby?  Jason was a premie by 6 weeks, weighing in at only 6lb.  Imagine how big he would have been had he been born 6 weeks later?  I still think the doctors were off on their calculations!  But this is one of those 5 - 8 pound outfits....so I'm off to hunt for the perfect doll!

Do you hunt your local thrift store?  Or are you more like Kerry who refuses to even consider going inside one of them?  Colleen and I just went to Colorado Springs yesterday and had a blast stopping by 4 thrift stores.  Sure wore me out....but I came home with loads of treasures!  I'll just bet my neighbors wonder how I fit all those shopping bags into this tiny little cottage!!!

What a wonderful find!

A few days ago, I posted this little scene that I put together using a vintage gown and Grandma Mae's baby shoes.  The wood frame that the dress is on is from a baby shop in Kingman.  It was what I had at that time.

So then I bought all these dolls, and this one just happened to fit into the dress as though it was made for her!

She's a turn of the century Armand Marseille doll  390, 26" tall - porcelain, with rocker eyes.  She did not have any hair, so I cleaned up and curled this vintage human hair wig.  She has a very old wood composition jointed body is pretty good shape for it's age.

I added some silk ribbon around a new hat - from Creative Impressions.  Used vintage flowers.  Draped some tiny pendants around her neck.

There are a lot of things I need to do to really fix her up and get her in mint condition, but for now, she can just sit on the dresser.  What a cutie!  And she just happened to have red eyebrows that match the red wig perfectly!

I don't know the history on her, but I have to wonder who owned her, and how on earth could anyone part with a doll this sweet?  Of course, she wasn't quite this sweet when she came to me.  I will have to start taking some "before" photos.  I paid $40 for her....so you can imagine how terrible she looked!

She's found a new home with me.  Now to figure out a name for her.  Why do I think she looks like a "Lindy"?  Could it be because I had a grade school chum named Linda who had red hair?   Or does she look more like a "Maggie"?   Going to have such fun naming all my "new" children!

doll repair

From about 1990 to 1997, I did doll repair while living and working in San Diego.  I studied under a master - Georgia Millan.  When I moved back to Colorado, I sold almost all the dolls I had.  But I did keep all my tools!  About 3 months ago, a dear friend gave me 3 of her dolls to repair.  I just had a blast working on these little cuties!

This is a Patsy doll from the 40s.  She is made of composition and here hair was cracked and coming off in huge chunks.  I filled it up, sculpted "new" waves, then used my copic airbrush to add color back.  You can hardly tell that her hair was repaired!  Gotta love the creative genius and multitude of colors that copic has....that allows me to create a variegated color in the hair from pale to deep reds and browns!  Worth around $200 even in her restored condition.  I'd guess she's dated from 1925 - 1930.  For her age, she's in very good shape.  She has sleep eyes.

I completely fell in love with this little cutie.  When I first got her, her dress was on another doll and quite stained. Her wig was nearly hopeless and she had no left cheek.  Once again, I was able to identically match the cheek color using Copic markers.  Her wig came off and was washed and reset.  I just think she has the sweetest little face ever!  I've also used Creative Impressions silk ribbon in her hair (helped keep some of the curls in place!)

She is c1928,  E.I.H. Co. Inc Rosebud doll - books around $250!

This little porcelain bye-lo baby had a chip in the porcelain under her left eye.  Again....copic to the rescue!  Silk ribbons in her hair and I literally took a baby sized christening gown and tied it to this doll's body.  You know - a temporary fix until I have time to resize the dress.  But for now, she has turned into a complete cutie!  She's a tiny 1920's doll with blue sleep eyes, so her value is $200 and up - even in her restored state.

When I started working on these little treasures (my friend is 72 and these belonged to her mom), I wondered why on earth I ever quit working on dolls.  I love taking something that is "trashed" and bringing it back to life....why wouldn't I just continue to do something that gives me so much pleasure?

So I checked on craigslist just to see if there were any old dolls.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that there was a doll estate up for sale!  As it turned out, I missed the first 3 sales the gal had.  I can't begin to fathom what she sold!  But I emailed her and asked if she had anything left and she said "a house full!"  So we arranged to meet and I sort of went nuts picking out terribly distressed, broken down old dolls.

Well, hang on, as in the next few days, I will start sharing some of the repairs I've made.  The estate was from a woman who had done doll repair for years in Colorado Springs and had passed away.  Her daughter started setting aside items, tools, wigs, eyes, parts, that her mom had used to repair dolls.  I made a second trip and purchased boxes of product to repair dolls with.  And then, she told me that they had taken everything left to an auction house in Pueblo....and the auction was that Saturday.  Dare I share that I filled my car up at the auction as well???

I think we can safely say that I am now officially back into the doll repair business!  I really love working on dolls from the 40s to 70s, composition or hard plastic dolls.  I love restringing dolls that have fallen apart.  I enjoy cleaning and repairing clothes.  When I was in San Diego, I could take a photo of a dress and make it for the doll - no pattern needed!  Well, that's been a few years now, but I'm going to give that a try as well!

Isn't it amazing how many craft supplies that I didn't have years ago - I can put to use today to make doll repair even more fun!!!

And the winner is

Well, you'll just have to read down through this to see who the winners are!

This first doll (the one with the fine print on the face) was designed by Sally Niemand.

This red headed beauty flew across the pond and was made by Coral Smith

This beach babe was created by Viki Banaszak

Isn't she just priceless? Designed by Kathy Watson who coordinated the whole thing

Margie Higuchi submitted this dol - with such a clever folded paper outfit:

Another submission from across the pond by Rose Wotton

Edie Evans Bisbee won "Most Variety of Materials Used" for this piece titled "PLAY" - so wish you could see it in person - just fabulous!!!

Donna Schaffer made this fun bride.

Most Creative use of Materials was won by this entry fashioned by Ron Perry. Ron - you rock!!!

And Ginni Selby submitted this cute ballerina girl.

And oh dear, looks like I didn't photo my submission. Will get that posted tomorrow with a few "group shots" or the McGoo Girls!

Congratulations to the winners - voting was done by those attending the Starving Artist's Playground. And a huge thanks to Kathy again, for coordinating the challenge.