The Real Anne Estelle

Before Robert Tonner bought the Anne Estelle character, she looked a bit different.  She was 14" tall and a hollow plastic with painted eyes...she fashioned by Mary Englebright after a book character she created.

 I brightened her paint and gave her real lashes.

She is all original with a few tweaks from me. 

This is the Robert Tonner version in the 10" size. 

Syndee doll

I gave this doll to my youngest daughter in 1998.  You bought them in bags and then stuffed and dressed them yourself.  I couldn't find a brunette back then to go with her blue eyes so had to settle for a blonde. After my daughter outgrew her, she gave the doll back to me...time for some updating.

 the blonde hair had to go... she was pale...

 Just not that cute to me...

 she got scalped and then some face paint.

Now dressed and ready to face her dolly friends.

Magic Attic Doll

 I have a great sister who looks out for dolls. She never knows what she has when she finds them. I really lucked out when she brought in two dolls one evening. She had gone to a thrift store and got me a Magic Attic and a Bitty Baby as part of a bag sale...WAY TO GO SIS!!!!
Tonight for a relaxer I tackled the Magic Attic. She had a loose arm but I was not very successful in making it tighter but I don't look for it to fall off any time soon...when it does I will do both arms.
When sis brought her to me she was nekked.

 On a doll list I belong to, one of the ladies there gave me an original outfit for this particular MA doll... So for months she sat like that...

 till tonight when I decided to play

 scrubbed her up and took off her wig. It was kind of dry and I thought of doing the boiling water dip and might try that yet, but decided to go whole hog and change her hair.  I used sharpie markers to outline the eyes and accent her lips...then some regular make up blush...I used a clear sealer where I used the Sharpie

 Played around with a couple wigs and really liked how that set her off...then glued it on and redressed her...I love her even more.

Dianna Effner Dolls

      The doll that I find to be the most adorable out there is made by Dianna Effner and her associates. It is called Little Darling and is only 13" tall. Not a fashion doll but a little girl.  I wanted one so bad. They have a long waiting list and a backlog as they are handpainted. I wrote to the company and asked about other options. I was offered a convention model for far less then the hand paint. I jumped at it and that is how I came to have "Mary Jo".

Well was I satisfied?  Nope.  Factory paints don't have the depth and character of the hand painted ones... so I painted mine.

Then I played dress up... and take pictures

An American Girl Makeover

  I have this compulsion to re do dolls I see in need of some TLC.  I bought this American Girl Kit doll on Evil Bay. She had one eye and so floppy... not gotten too far...I keep busy.

She's got the floppies!

first step...new eyes. I could only find brown and green and afford brown, so she got brown

 first the eyes

 new lip color , some lashes and blush

 earrings!

 

Now to work on her body

It took all of a 1/2 hour to do the body joints.

legs and arms washed 

had heat the arm in the water and pull out

reheating all to install the joints that had new elastic tied to rings

what you see on the outside joint is the same as what you can't see INSIDE the leg or arm
the locking forceps were my third hand, hold the elastic really tight while I tied knots.

all ready to stuff

 No more floppy legs and arms, Only what came out in stuffing went back in. I had to make sure the areas around the leg and arm joints  shoulders etc were stuffed first, then the rest of the areas were packed  I now have a "new" brown eyed Kit American Girl doll.