Recently, while thrifting...

How often do I start a blog post with,

"Recently, while thrifting..."

Well I am doing so again because look!

She is a 1977 Madame Alexander

18" Pussycat doll in her original dress!

I also found this Shirley Temple doll.

She is 12" tall and was made between

1957 and 1963 by Ideal.

Whenever I find vintage dolls like these

in one place I assume they both came from

someone's doll collection.

I always want to freshen them up so

I can find them a new home!

I will start with Shirley.

Her hair was a mess, but otherwise she

is in very good condition.

As I washed her hair, her curls 

tightened up in front.

The curls in back needed some brushing

back into shape. I brush the hair around

my finger or a pencil if the 

doll is very small.

Looking much better.

Next is the Madame Alexander baby doll.

She has a very sweet face.

Her hair was very tangled and slightly

matted in places.

I thought this was a little strange, she 

appears to have two different shades

of blonde hair.

Shampoo and conditioner.

All fresh and clean!

I put her in a borrowed nighty and

brushed out her hair.

I put a curler in her top curl and let it dry.

Her hair came out very shiny and silky!

I will be replacing the elastic in her dress sleeves 

and in her bloomers.

When I picked out the old elastic I discovered 

it was also holding the lace!

I reattached the lace before I add elastic.

I am not coordinated enough to do it 

at the same time.

Shirley had a couple more things to do

before she was ready.

I found this little dress in my doll closet.

The sleeves need to be adjusted.

And she needs shoes.

I noticed her lashes had some color

rubbed off the tips.

I used a sharpie to darken the white spots.

Her lashes are solid plastic molds, don't

try this with fiber lashes.

Well, both girls are all done!

Want to see them now?

HERE





THEY






ARE!

Shirley's final photo. I did another search

in the doll closet and found her some shoes!

I added elastic to her sleeves. If you look

above the sleeves were straight.

Here is the back of her hair. 

The curls are not as tight, but

much improved.

Here is Shirley, before and after.

Next is Madame Alexander Baby doll.

Here she is in her original dress.

All the elastic has been replaced.

I added a bow on her bodice.  

It was SO plain!

Here she is before and after.

Just a couple of blue gingham girls!

A Precious Moments Doll

 My daughter has discovered "Precious Moments" 
figurines. She loves their soft pastel colors and 
sweet childlike features.  

Precious Moments were created by artist
Samuel J. Butcher as a way to share his 
Christain faith with family and friends.

Samuel J. Butcher

1939 - 2024

Later he worked with the giftware company 
Enesco to turn his 2D art into 3D figures.

Precious Moments figurines were first released

in 1978, their popularity grew throughout 

the 1980s and 1990s. 

These figurines are having a comeback 
among younger collectors.

Recently my daughter found a 

Precious Moments doll in a

thrift store.

She sent me this photo asking
"Can you fix her?"
Does she know me at all!?!?

She is in good condition, just dusty. She

just needs some freshening up.

As you can see, she has these weird puffy

bows that were glued to her hair!

Her neck says "Tell me the story of Jesus"

and the number 3849 A.

The dolls were made by 

The Hamilton Collection

for Precious Moments.

The dolls were a later addition to 

the porcelain figurine collectibles.

Her hair has lots of glue spots holding

her style. Some of the glue was white, 

some was this brown glue.

(ICK!)

Her hair appears to have been 

styled in a chignon.

Her head and hands are porcelain.

Her body is cotton stuffed with wires for posing.

She has a wig cap. The hair is so filled with 

glue I removed the wig for washing.

The wig is being soaked until the glue

is released. I keep soaking and rinsing so 

the glue does not reattach to the hair.

Here she is de-wigged.

Her clothes all got washed, including

the puffy bows that had thick glue.

And laid out to dry.  Yes, that is my daughter's 

'Hello Kitty' towel.

The puffy bows remind me of Hello Kitty.

This is a dress and bow I made for one of

my daughter's Hello Kitty 'Build a Bear'

 plushies that came without a dress.

Find the Hello Kitty Pattern Here

Finally all the glue is soaked out.

I laid the wig out to dry after 

conditioning and brushing.

Look how pretty this wig is!

When regluing a wig, turn it out like this.

I always use 'Tacky Glue'.

Using the Tacky glue make a spiral

pattern on the topmost part of the wig cap.

Place the glued part onto the back of the head,

then adjust the wig position while the glue is wet.

Very carefully add glue along both sides,

underneath in back and along the forehead.

I hold the wig tight with a large ponytail 

holder until the glue is dry.

After her clothes were dry, I removed all the old elastic.

I stretch the elastic and zig-zag.

Everything has been pressed.

And now all is ready.

Want to see her now?

HERE

SHE

IS!

As you can see I added some details to

her apron.  I liked her hair down, so I

didn't try to recreate her original style.

Bloomers with new elastic.

I'm very happy with her hair.

It's silky and full of curl.

Here is the back. So pretty!

So sweet!

Before and After!!

My daughter loves her doll.

She says she feels lucky to

Have such a crafty mom.

Love you Sweetie!!