Project Dolls

 I was able to go to a second hand doll sale a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing, I am so excited about the dolls and doll accessories that I got there!

I got a bit carried away and bought five project dolls. These were all well-loved dolls that had amazing low prices. Tenney was $6.50, Samantha was $7.50, Ruthie with super short hair was $4.50, JLY 81 was $4.50, Kit was $8.50.

They had a lot of issues. Many had fingernail or toenail polish and were dirty. Wigs were in bad shape. Kit and Tenney have marker in their wigs. Ruthie's hair is cut short like a boy's. Kit doesn't have any freckles for some reason.

Then, on the same say, I went to Goodwill and found a JLY 5 for $5. 

Six new dolls in one day. Whoops. 

At least I know that all six dolls cost me a total of $36.50! That is just incredible.

So I have been working on fixing them up. First I tackled the fingernails and toenails. I tried using non-acetone fingernail polish remover. It didn't work, so they had paint and not actual fingernail polish on them. I then scrubbed them with rubbing alcohol. Then I scrubbed them with brush cleaner. I got all of the paint off, but some of the vinyl of the fingernails were faintly stained even after the paint was removed.

Next, I scrubbed all the vinyl limbs with Magic Eraser. This got SO MUCH dirt off, and a lot of marks as well.

Kit has a mark on her leg that may need acne treatment, and maybe the stained fingernails could use acne treatment as well.

I thought that the JLY 5 was going to need a new eye. Her eye looked scratched. But I used a paper towel dampened with rubbing alcohol to wipe the surface, and that fixed it. The eye was only dirty, not scratched.

JLY 81 had a wig that was completely fried, as well as cut at the front. I removed her wig. I had a wig on hand that was waiting for a new doll. I am not totally sure that this will be her permanent wig, but she looks so much better! I have serious Buttercup vibes from this wig.

This is an ongoing project. The dolls aren't totally fixed. Some of the things can't be fixed- Tenney's body is greenish, and unless I replace it, or remove all limbs and stuffing to wash it, there's not much to do there.

I am hoping to use some of these to practice eye swapping on. If I do not have the courage to eye swap a $5 doll, then I will never brave it. LOL.

Sewing Doll Sweaters

 I went to a thrift store where they sell clothes by the pound and looked for clothes to cut up and use for doll clothes. I am really excited with what I found there.

I feel like getting the texture right is important in making realistic doll clothes, and using real clothes is one  way to do that!

I used the Liberty Jane T-shirt Variations Pattern.

Here is sweater # 1, modelled by #62, Stella: 

And here is sweater #2, modelled by Tenney.

I am really happy with both sweaters! My wallet would be in much more danger if AG made more realistic everyday clothes like these.

I love pretty dresses, but sometimes a doll just needs to relax and stay warm.

Tenney's Guitar and Picnic Outfit

 I ended up getting Tenney's guitar and her picnic outfit.

I have never had any interest in the character that AG created for Tenney as a country music singer. It just sounds unrealistic and privileged and I don't like it.

I got Tenney because she is pretty and she was really discounted at MCM. I was also curious about her hands.

Now my Tenney is Saige's best friend, Tessa. Tessa is also an obsessed musician, but at least she is not on the path to fame.

I decided to get the guitar because I wanted to see how well her hands worked for their intended purpose, and it's pretty. I got the picnic outfit because it's pretty and because the shoes seemed like sometime I could use in a  lot of different outfits. 

It is pretty, but the shirt doesn't seem to fit as well as I'd like, and I worry about getting the shorts dirty. The shorts also pull down in the back when she sits in them.

I didn't bother to put batteries in the guitar and make it play its three recorded songs. I am hard of hearing, I don't care about that.

I really didn't like the guitar pick. It's flat on one side. The other side is sort of rounded to make it easier for Tenney to hold it. To me, it looks uncannily like a tooth, especially because it is mother of pearl.

Tenney really does hold the guitar well, it's fun. The hands don't work as well for holding other things, sadly.

Tenney is a lovely doll, and I am really warming up to her. I am glad that I have finally found a new character for her that I like better. She's now Saige's best friend who plays the guitar. 

I think I am even going to make it part of their story that Saige painted the guitar for her.

Product Review: S'more Fun Camping Set

 I found that I could not resist the S'more Fun Camping Set from American Girl.

I was in Girl Scouts, and I really loved it.

Also, in the past long, cold winter with social distancing, the one thing I really wanted to do was to invite some friends over to toast marshmallows, but they lived too far away.

The set comes with a tent, a sleeping bag, a campfire, a s'more, marshmallows on a stick, a camping pie iron, and pie.

Here are pictures of the box. I don't keep boxes, but I take a picture for the blog.

Here is the tent. It can hold two dolls easily. It requires minimal assembly. The tent poles are already in there, you just have to pop them into their sockets.

The fire is pretty cool, you can put batteries in and it lights up and crackles. I don't care about the sound effects, I am too hard of hearing to tell the difference.

You needed a screw driver to put the batteries in to make it light up, so I didn't bother. I also worry about batteries corroding inside of toys.

I love the marshmallows on a stick and the s'more. The paint and size on them is very realistic. The s'more looks different on all four sides, and I love the realism.

If they ever put the s'more in a new series of the food blind bags, I would want at least two more.

And I think that this set would have been better with two s'mores and two marshmallows on sticks.

That would make it more fun to play with a pair of dolls.

A note on Anne: the doll on the right is my childhood doll Anne, A Girl of Today #6. I rarely fix her hair, but it was so hot and humid that I couldn't bear to see her hair loose, so I put it in a ponytail.

This picture shows the pie iron and the pie, which is interesting.

I consider myself a reasonable experienced Scout and camper, and I never saw a pie iron like this.

It seems like it would not be totally user friendly, especially for kids.

It's nicely made, but I would rather have more marshmallow sticks and s'mores in the set.

Or hot dogs.

Something more common and kid-friendly.

Tenney showed up to lead the campfire sing-along.

I never intended to keep Tenney as her book character. I think now that she is going to be Saige's best friend Tessa from the book, who does play the guitar. I am going to have to re-read Saige's books. 

But it fits! Tessa plays the guitar, I think she's blond in the movie, and I wanted to give Tenney a new name that starts with T as homage to her canonical character.

I love this camping set. It's not for year-round usage, at least not where I live, but it's very nicely made and it folds up to be smaller for storage. That's always a plus.

I think I will be using it for more doll shoots for sure!

As you can see, I didn't photograph the sleeping bag in this shoot, so I need to do that as well.

Spring pictures

I got some very cute spring pictures that I am happy to share!

Anne

Tamsin

Stella

Melody