A Thrift Store Doll Find!

I have not found any dolls thrifting for awhile,

but guess who I found today!?!

An 19" Madame Alexander Pussy Cat Doll.

Poor baby is very dirty and has a sticker on her face!

Her hair is very matted.

She came wearing this vintage

3 mos baby dress and bloomers.

I soaked it overnight in cold

water and Dawn dishsoap.

She is VERY dirty.

VERY dirty!

She has a tear in her crotch.

I used Fray Check all around the torn 

area. It dries clear. Then stitched 

it all up.  The Fray Check 

strengthens the surrounding fabric 

so the stitches dont just pull out.

I used the usual cleaning team.

The shampoo and conditioning spray

I get from a beauty supply.

It is synthetic hair shampoo, designed for

wigs and other synthetic hair.

Getting all clean!

I did use a leave-in hair conditioner 

after her hair was washed.

Here she is after her first hair brushing.

She already looks better.

And the back. Much better.

Here she is wearing a Kitty 

dress and leggings.

She is looking much happier.

(and much cleaner!)

Here she is in her dress.  I gave her

some satiny slippers and a

little baby bracelet.

Before  and   After

SO MUCH BETTER!!

She looks like a happy baby.

Vintage Doll Roller Skates Makeover

Awhile back I did a makeover on these 

tiny Patsyette oilcloth shoes.

Restoring Oilcloth Shoes

I always ask myself two questions before 

attempting to restore an antique item.

1. If I do nothing, 

will the item continue to dissintegrate?

2. Can I make it worse?

Usually the answer is "yes" to the first 

and "no" to the second.

This has helped me overcome my fear

of 'ruining' vintage doll clothes

and shoes.  I have found that

almost all these items are helped by

gentle cleaning and restoring.

Doll Dress Restorations

SO, what am I restoring today?

These 2 pair of skates for my

Mary Hoyer dolls.

The white skates were cracked.

They also had several stains.

The gold skates were darkened and the paint

was cracked.  

I started with the white skates.

First, I taped the wheels

Then I painted the boots with acrylic paint.

For the gold skates I glued

small gros-grain ribbon into the 

boot to reinforce the lacing area.

I use Tacky Glue for this kind of project.

It holds fast until it is dry.

Tacky glue is also good for re-gluing doll wigs.

I picked up 2 different gold paints.

The paint on the left is metallic.

The paint on the right is glitter!

I first painted the boots with the gold metallic.

The glitter paint I used as a second coat, it added 

sparkle, but it doesn't show in the pictures.

I thought the white skates were done, but

when I laced them up the holes tore!

SO, the white skates got the ribbon 

reinforcement too.

WANT TO SEE THE SKATES NOW?

Nina and Annie are very happy with

their restored skates!

"But mom, we wanted pom-poms!"

SO, after adding pom-poms the girls are ready to skate.

"Look I'm learning to skate!"

"Good job Annie!"

"OUCH!"

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, help me up."

"Remember use your arms for balance."

Here are Annie and Nina showing off their

cute summer outfits.

The outfit on the left was made by myself.

The outfit on the right was made by my friend

Janet P.

These are made from a vintage Mary Hoyer

halter top and short pattern that Janet was

kind enough to share with me.

Thank you Janet!

More Mary Hoyer Fun!

This is Nina my Mary Hoyer Doll.

Meet Nina

Nina is wearing a dress I found on eBay, 

made by this lady:

Shakeridge Doll Clothes

She makes clothes for the 14" 

and 18" Hoyer Dolls.

The quality and styling is amazing!

Here is Nina in the knit swimsuit

and carrying a matching beach bag 

made by my friend Janet.

Here is Nina in a pair of shorts Janet 

sent along with the pattern!

OOPS! Even the best skaters fall sometimes.

I was getting ready to cut out a new 

pair of shorts, when Janet asked me

if Nina would ever have any

Mary Hoyer sisters?

Well, as you can imagine

that started me thinking.

AND SHOPPING!

I saw this little girl on eBay.

I loved her strawberry blonde hair.

Here she is right out of the box.

She came wearing this outfit.

Her hair was quit messy, with old pins

here and there.

She got the usual Spa treatment.

Wig shampoo and magic eraser for

her body.

Her hair and body were all washed.

Here is what she was wearing.

(the red robe is forgettable, so

we are forgetting it)

Here she is in her freshly laundered nightgown.

I had been working on a dress from this pattern.

Here she is wearing the new dress I made

and showing off her newly styled hair.

Very cute, if I do say so myself.

"MOM! Enough pictures we want to skate!"

Here is Nina teaching her new sister to skate.

(along with their dog Buster)

"Use your arms for balance."

(Look at those cute shorts)

"I've got you!"

"You're doing great!"

WELCOME 

Anne-Alysse

(Annie for short)

to

The Savage Pea!