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!!!

Shirley Temple - dressed for the ball

 I love playing with these old dolls.  This is her "after" photo.   She is an AE doll, 19" tall.  Ideal made the "real" Shirley Temple dolls in the 1950s, but numerous companies made what were known as "knock-off" dolls.  They looked nearly as good, but cost a whole lot less.  I'm going to guess that we had "knock-off" dolls at our house when we were little girls.

This is what she looked like at the thrifty store when I first saw her.  Quite a difference, huh?

Sometimes, when I turn them over and look at the back of their hair I just put them back.  Almost put this one back, but since I knew she was Shirley, I decided to try to restore her.  She has some pretty good sized bald spots.  But she was another good buy at only $2.99

She took a bit of work, but I think we have her hair back to normal.  One of the ways to tell a "knock-off" doll is that the hair in the front around the face will be long and normal looking while the back will be very short and look mostly like this.  "Real" dolls had long hair in ringlet curls all the way around.

She came dressed in her original dress, panties, shoes and socks.  I added this hat.  It was 79 cents and I added lace, ribbon and flowers to it.

The top is adorned with tiny velvet vintage flowers which add a bit more color to her all cream and pink gown.

For a doll from the 1950s - she is in quite good shape.

I looked these up and they appear to be original to the doll.  So cute.

Here's the whole doll put together.  I added flowers and ribbons at her waist.  Her dress also has a slip.  So for the price - not bad!

She's ready to go to the Marketplace Shops and find a new home!

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!

Restoring doll hair

This is an American Girl Doll - I think it is Samantha....and her hair was completely frizzed out.     I forgot to take a photo, but you can imagine.....  At first I thought I was going to have to cut it off.  But I decided to try an old doll technique on a new doll...and it seems to have worked!

I used old tiny permanent rods like Grandma used to set her hair.  Be sure to use the tissues for the ends.  I rolled them up tight...in the shape of rag curls.  Then I boiled water and using a measuring cup, I poured boiling hot water over each curl for 10 seconds.  It's important to keep her eyes dry.  A little tricky, but it worked out great.  Then I let her hair dry for 48 hours

When I took the rods out, she now has wonderful "rag" curls.  If you know your American Girl dolls, you will know that they have never had a doll with rag curls.  I think she turned out perfect and the heat "melted" the frizz away.  :o)

We have an American Girl store in Denver, so I went shopping while on a visit up north.  I bought this dress from Rebecca's line, but when I saw the crinoline and slip, I had to get them as well as I had just found an old dress form in a shop here in town.

I used just a little bit of Genesis heat set paint (from Amaco) to make her lips a little pinker....and I think she is just gorgeous!  A "remodeled" American Girl doll!  Now I'm on the hunt to find other dolls with frizzed out hair and in need of repair.  I'm going to establish a home for unwanted dolls.  LOL!!!  All the while using up my craft supplies to do the repairs with!

This bungalow came with a very nice shed in the back yard, about 8' x 12'.  I think it will soon become a doll's house.  But I have to come up with a name for it.  "The Doll Cottage" is what I keep coming back to, but maybe "The Doll Village" since "The Village" - the place where mom used to live is just 2 blocks away.  "The Village for Dolls" - meaning a retirement home for dolls?  Because people who live here know "The Village" is a retirement center.

I have started collecting ideas on Pinterest for ways to decorate it.  You can see them here.  It's great to have so much fun at this stage of my life!!!

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!!!

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!!!