Doll Clothes Makeover

One of my latest finds is Sofia who is

a Baby so Beautiful by Playmates.

She was dressed in this denim overall and red gingham top.

Nothing to write home about, SO

I decided they needed a makeover!

Denim overall, pretty ordinary.

AND, here it is now.

 

 I added this big bib pocket in pink gingham, and a smaller 

pocket on the right front.

I added rick-rack over the straps and along the waistband.

Some buttons and a ribbon rose,

I had this unfinished tee-shirt lying around and decided it would 

make a cute baby top, I just added a little pink ribbon on the collar.

And a flower on the bum.

The red gingham top was really sad.

Again, nothing special, but this one really made me think.

What can I do with THIS?

This is what I came up with.

 I decided to make a dress out of it, but I really 

had a hard time finding the right fabrics.

 There was lace around the collar and around the sleeves, 

but the collar needed something to pull it together with the new skirt.

 I used the collar from the AG Molly pattern.

It made a nice wide peter pan collar for this dress.

I put new elastic in the sleeves and added a spotted

red button. The lace on the sleeves will need replacing, but it's ok for now. 

I am quite pleased with the results of both these new outfits.

Baby so Beautiful

I found this little girl recently while thrifting.

 I almost walked by, but something stopped me.

 At first I thought she was a china doll, but she is vinyl.

So, I picked her up. Only later did I really examine her closely.

Look at those eyes!!

Poor baby is SO dirty.

I couldn't find her mark in the store, but here it is.

She is a 1995 Baby So Beautiful by Playmates Toys.

 Her wig was very loose.

So I glued that first.

I decided to use a magic eraser on her body and not wash her hair.

She did not have any odors and I wanted the wig glue to cure.

 The clothes she was wearing were not great.

There were no tags so I am not certain they are her original clothes.

After investigating further the Baby so Beautiful dolls had very pretty clothes, 

so these are most likely not original. 

 Here she is all cleaned and brushed.

She has a section of hair that was meant to be in a ribbon.

She has very cute baby toes.

I had this vintage baby doll nightgown that fits perfectly!

 

I borrowed a dress from another doll 

until I can make something just for her. 

 Such a sweet face!

 I think I will keep her!

I will call her Sofia.

Doll mystery from my childhood - update!

I have mentioned before that I had a doll as a girl, that I loved!  I have determined she was an Effanbee doll, and until recently I thought it was this doll.

Doll search History

I have since purchased this doll on eBay.  But when I got her something didn't feel right.

I knew my doll was from the mid-1960s and was wearing a green velvet dress. 

THEN

I was surfing the web and came across this doll.

She is from 1965 and her face looked right to me!

She is an Effanbee Miss Chips 17" doll.

I then did a search on eBay and found this doll.

She is also a 1965 Miss Chips Doll.

This is definitely the face I recall my doll having.

I also saw this doll another 1965 Miss Chips.

Something about this doll interested me.

I think it is her dress I really like.

SO, now what to do?

Do I really need another doll?

Or should I just be happy to have finally solved the mystery?

Cloth Doll Makeover

As you may already know, I enjoy doll makeovers.  

This is one of my favorite doll makeovers.

Cloth Doll Makeover

This inspired me to take home the dolls below.

I found these 2 in a thrift store.

They are about 5 inches tall.

 They are a remnant from the 1980s when we 

all had cute country things in our houses.

Here they are out of their basket bed.

Not much to them. But I thought I would see if I could make anything out of them.

They appear to have been tea stained to give them a vintage look.

I washed them a couple times and got some of the tea staining out, but not all.

I knew I wanted an India doll for Naija, so I thought one of these dolls would work.

 So, here is doll #1.

 I made her a choli and saree.

Next I embroidered her eyes and mouth.

 Lastly I embroidered her hair.  Just long straight stitches all over the back of her head.  

Then I looped through several extra threads for her braid.

Doll #2 did not turn out quite as well. I feel that I made her eyes too wide apart.

But here she is anyway.

 I made the curls around her face with an elongated french knot.

I'm sure you embroiderers out there may have a better name for this!

I think she may need a flower for her hair or something...hm.

Then long stitches all over the back of her head.

 I used the same looped threads to make her braid.

Here are all 3 of my makeover cloth dolls.

Thrift Store Doll Beds

As you may already know I love thrift store finds!

My latest treasures are these two doll beds.

 First is this spindle sided rocking doll cradle.

 It was dusty and needed some wood polish.

Second is this wood four post doll bed.

 The headboard is slightly taller than the footboard,

Both these beds are solid wood.  The first seems to be

from the 1960s or earlier, it's hard to tell.

The second seems more recent, (I may be wrong) but nicely made.

Here are the after photos!

 I found some fabric in my stash and made a mattress, blanket and pillows.

The wood polished up very nice.

I added this crochet baby blanket and a vintage doll flannel.

Baby Juliette in her new bed

Finding Juliette

I made a mattress and pillows out of a lavender stripe fabric for the second bed, 

but the blanket and crochet throw I made awhile back.

And here are the babies all snug in their bed.

(The Bitty Baby cup and book were also thrift store finds!)