Crissy and Velvet

On a recent driving trip, my DH and I stopped

at lots of thrift stores and antique shops.

You can see all the dolls I found in the link below.

Driving Trip Doll Haul

(recreated photo)

The first doll I found was Velvet.  She is a "Look Around"

Velvet.  She has a pull string in her back that makes

her body swivel.

(recreated photo)

The second doll I found was Crissy. I saw her feet

sticking out of a basket on the floor.

Velvet was in her box, but her hair was

really messy.

In every other way she was pristine!

Her pony seems a bit slim.

Crissy was wearing this awful crochet dress.

Underneath the green drss was a pretty

nice slip and pantalettes.  I may remove the 

green ribbon and save for later.

Her hair needed some TLC.

I started cleaning both girls in our hotel room.

Crissy was dirty, but not as bad as some

dolls I have come across.

Hard to see, but her hands were very grimy.

Velvet still has her blue eye shadow!

I washed her hair just because it helps 

to refresh her style.

All freshly washed. The red shorts and top

were in Velvet's box. 

Doesn't Crissy look relieved to be

out of that basket?

I picked up a hair straightener at

a local thrift store so I could begin

smoothing her ponytail.

How to smooth frizzy doll hair.

And here's Velvet.  I didn't want her taffeta 

dress getting wet so she is borrowing a

hotel hand towel for a robe.

I wanted to make a dress for Crissy so I

sketched this pattern on the back

of some scratch paper.

I picked out this fabric at a local Walmart

and bought some needles and thread. I thought

this fabric had a 70s vibe.

This is the handsewn dress I made with my 

hand drawn pattern.

Hmmm, not great, I'll fix it when

I get home, which I did!

When we got home, there wasn't much

more I needed to do for these two dolls

SO....

Want to see them now?

HERE

THEY

ARE!

FIRST Velvet!

Look at the shine in her hair!

Her hair is very long.

AND HERE'S Crissy!

 

I added sleeves to her dress and

made a matching headband.

The boots I already had.

Crissy Doll Boot Tutorial

Such a pretty face!

Her hair is also quite shiny.

Her ponytail is very full.

I like how these sleeves came out.

So pretty!

Before       and       After

 

Before       and       After

SO, I have a dilemma.  I have a rule, "No two 

identical dolls".  This keeps my collection

from getting out of control.

I already have a Crissy, but I've fallen for

this new Crissy. 

Just LOOK at that face!

What should I do?!?!

1954 Gerber Baby

On our recent driving trip I found this

Sun Rubber Co. Gerber Baby Doll

She is 17" tall.

Doll Haul Driving Trip

This is the original Gerber Baby sketch.

There was a contest held by Gerber Baby foods

to find the perfect baby for their advertising.

In the summer of 1928 the Fremont Canning Company

(later to become Gerber Products Company)

held a contest to find the baby face that would

be used on all their baby products.

Artist Dorothy Hope Smith entered a charcoal

sketch of her neighbor Ann Turner Cook, who

was about 5 months old.

This sketch became the trademarked image

for Gerber Baby products in 1931.

Here is my Gerber Baby Doll.

She is very dirty, poor baby!

She is very grimy and has some pencil marks

on her.

She is marked above her squeaker hole:

MFG By

Sun Rubber Co.

Berberton, Ohio, U.S.A.

Below her squeaker hole is her Patent Number.

This puts her manufacturing dates

between 1952 - 1956.

(And, yes, her squeaker still works!)

So grimy!!

Dirt and more dirt!

Poor baby! She needs a bath!

First her PJs.

This is the wash water just before the first rinse.

Here is a better picture of just how dirty her

PJs were! This is as I poured the water 

down the sink!

She got a bath with dish soap 

and a magic eraser. The magic

eraser did the best job of

getting rid of all that grime!

I used a toothebrush on her toes, fingers 

and in her ears.

Fresh clean baby!!

I repainted her lips and tongue.

Then I touched up her cheeks.

Refreshing Hair and Face Paint

Here she is! All fresh and clean.

A close-up of her new lip and cheek color.

I always add a touch of color on the nose

tip and around the forehead.

While her PJs are soaking I looked for

some outfits that she could model.

Gingham PJs.

She borrowed this dress from Sally Ann.

Pretty cute!

Lastly she tried on this vintage baby robe

Look at that embroidered kitty!

I love this little robe.

And here she is in the PJs she came in.

Pretty Cute! 

Before and AFTER Photos!

BEFORE         and        AFTER

And So MUCH cleaner!

BEFORE         and        AFTER

BEFORE         and        AFTER