This past week, I was visiting a friend
in Ridgecrest, CA. We both LOVE
thrifting. Guess what I found?
I found this basket full of Strawberry Shortcake dolls
The ORIGINAL ones from the early 1980s!
Here is everything that was in the basket.
Nineteen Strawberry dolls!
Three Sweet Scents Dolls.
This American Girl Doll
"Pretty in Plaid" dress.
And KEN!
He is a 1968 Mattel Malaysia doll.
Here are ALL the clothes and shoes
ready for a wash. BOY! were they dirty!
Twenty-Two DOLLS! All needing a Spa
and other repair work!
Ahhh, a nice soak in the doll bath!
(Or the sink to you and me)
Even after a soak, many dolls
had weird spots or grey discoloration.
A few of the first batch to get the
acne cream treatment.
A couple dolls had weird brown marks.
Others had this grey skin discoloration.
I hope I can get these stains out!
All these girls got acne cream and saran wrap.
Then they get laid in the sun.
Here they are sunning on my back deck.
These are the first six dolls to get a brush out.
The top four are Strawberry Shortcake dolls.
L-R Lemon Meringue, Strawberry Shortcake,
another Lemon Meringe and Raspberry Tart
The bottom two dolls are Sweet Scents dolls,
Bubble Gum and Grape. I believe they were
a competitor doll set to Strawberry Shortcake.
Here's Ken in some borrowed clothes.
I got this tux, but it was TOO SMALL!
Apparently the newer Ken dolls are not
as muscly any more.
BUT, This Ken outfit is on the way!
I had some repairs as well. This little cap
needed new elastic. Other hats I dyed pink with
vinegar water and food coloring.
This little Lime Chiffon dress needed some
repairs to frays. Other dresses were just missing!
A little at a time I started getting
dolls identified and redressed
Strawberry Shortcake
Angel Cake.
Blueberry Muffin.
A friend of Strawberry called
Elf Herself.
This is Berry Baby
Butter Cookie
This is Berry Baby
Apricot
As I was dressing dolls, I saw that
some dolls were missing their outfit.
I decided to make a couple replacements
Not popular with some collectors, but
I like them.
Lemon Meringue dress by me.
Raspberry Tart dress by me.
This is Lime Chiffon
Another Raspberry Tart
I have two Lemon Merigues
Two Raspberry Tarts
And two Blueberry Muffins
Well do you want to see them all now?
HERE
THEY
ARE!
A few dolls are still sunning away their spots, but
here is the majority of the dolls. Many do not have
shoes or their hats, but overall a very nice group.
Oh, don't forget Ken and the AG dress.
Ken looks great in his letterman jacket, jeans
and white tennies.
And here is Emma in the AG dress.
WHEW!
What a workout!
12 comments:
What a bunch of sweet cuties! I love the handmade dresses you did :-) Ken looks cool in his new jacket, jeans, and sneakers. And Emma is cute in the Pretty in Plaid dress!
Hi Mary,
Thank you! I could not pass up this basket of little dolls. They were popular when I was in High School, so not dolls I played with, but very sweet. I think I will be selling these off in sets. We'll see, at least they are now in much better shape.
Hugs
Brenda
What a fun find! My niece and I are about 7 years apart, these were popular in her age group growing up. She also had Charmkins and Rise Petal Place. It's really funny. I had gone through some doll stuff to sell and had this tiny green dress and low and behold here you are showing it, lol. Lime Chiffon. Glad I know now. I'd be curious to see if the dolls that were badly stained came out mostly stain free. That is such a bummer when the vinyl does weird things. I like the homemade dresses by the way. Really cute. And yes, Ken clothes today are way too small for the buff Ken we know. It's kinda funny. In his early days he was smaller and then got buff and now back to smaller. The outfit you ordered looks really good on him. Thanks for sharing!
Good morning Brenda, oh what fun you've had lately with all your cute finds. I had some of these cuties back in the 90s from garage sales for my girls. We were on a long road trip and I packaged them up for a fun present along our miles. Just the right size for backseat play.
Your outfit recreation is stellar,, so cute.
I also love the Ken and his new outfit.
What a great find. You're always getting lucky on your thrifty hunts.
Thanks for the fun memories.
Doreen in Arkansas
Hi, Thank you!
That is so funny about Lime Chiffon's dress. I am so glad to hear you like the little dresses I made. I was a little shocked by how small the newer Ken clothes were! I should have realized because you can look at he newer Kens and see they are slim. I forgot to show how the darkened dolls came out! I will make an addition so check back. Hey I think you have commented a couple times anonymously? You can still sign your name at he end of your comment so I know who you are!
Hugs
Brenda
Hi Doreen!
Thank you, I have been fortunate in my finds. As I mentioned to someone earlier, my husband and I travel around visiting family and friends so I have a wide range for searching. I do have dry spells though and then I have to think up something y'all might be interested in! I'm really happy with Ken and how his new outfit looks on him. He may have a new role in the doll room. hehe
Hugs
Brenda
Wow ... Angel Cake has had a severe transformation!
Good job fixing them all.
Susan in AZ
Hi Brenda,
Those were really great finds.I have not heard of using vinegar and food colouring as a dye before. Your little dresses you made are so cute. Did you embroider them on your machine?
I'm glad you rescued them. They all look so much happier!
Anna
Hi Susan,
Yes! I actually had 2 angel cakes. The one shown and another with a gold headband and a light blue dress. I got exhausted before all the little dolls got restored. I plan on adding them at some point. Thank you, these little dolls gave me a run for my money!
Hugs
Brenda
HI Anna,
Thank you. I made up the vinegar and food color thing and it seemed to work! I know you can use vinegar to 'set' color after dyeing and we use vinegar water and food coloring for Easter eggs, so I ran with it and it seemed to work!
I did not use my machine to embroider. The pink fabric had flowers already embroidered on it and I created a lemon by cutting one petal of a yellow embroidered flower. Haha! Thank you. I think I improved most of them, some did not lose their brown spots yet.
Hugs
Brenda
You definitely improved all the little dolls. They look adorable. What a good find. You did well with Ken and getting the American Girl dress too. I am always amazed at how much you know about dolls.
Hi Sandra,
Thank you! That is always my goal to make them look pretty again for someone's collection. The Ken and American Girl Dress were definitely a bonus! I really don't know how I learned so much about dolls. Weird huh? I used to say I Have a brain made for trivia, I guess I now have a Doll trivia brain.
Hugs
Brenda
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