My $5 My Twin Doll Rescue! My Yard Sale Gem!

This past Saturday, I stopped at a yard sale for charity and found this very loved and old My Twin Doll. The seller wanted $5 for her and I quickly agreed! Even in the shape she was in I knew she was worth more then that $5 to a child who will love her.

Some people rescue dolls for money, some rescue to collect,  I rescue to find the doll no one wants and turn her into a doll a child will love. I think my nieces will fight over this one.

 

Here she is before, her nose and forehead had dark scuff marks and her arms were grimy but her legs, protected by the tights she was wearing were in perfect condition.

 

To clean up a rescue doll you really need a few good tips and some great products. I use Heads Up Detangler from Twin Pines Of Maine,
I put it in a spray bottle and use it on all my dolls hair and it was a "God Send" on this poor dolly's wig. 
For her body I used Formula 911 also from Twin Pines of Maine    
The 911 can be diluted which I do for surface cleaning but on stubborn stains  I used it straight on the cloth and on the dolls vinyl. I was thrilled with how easily the marks came off with a cloth and straight Formula 911.

 

Her wig was a challenge for sure but with the detangler and starting from the bottom and working my way to the top of her wig I am thrilled with how her hair and wig turned out. 

Her hair brushed out was amazing and so long!

 Once her wig was combed out I had to find away to re attach her wig and I asked Char what she thought about which of my adhesives I should try and I am so glad she recommended Aleen's Fabric Fusion Peel and Stick Tape. This was so easy to use and it was the perfect size to run along the old glue line and hold the wig in place! You can find Aleen's Fabric Fusion Peel and Stick Tape from ilovetocreate.com
I think all dolls are worth a second chance don't you?

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

New Years Eve My Doll Restoration From My Ebay Bitty Baby Purchase

So a few weeks back my friend Dacia of Mini Me Dolly Divas let me know about an Ebay listing for a Bitty baby here in Canada.I was THRILLED!!! No one had bid and the auction was about to end. I put a base bid in and in the end got the bitty for under $10 and shipped for under $22 when it was all said and done. I was really excited, the photos were not great on ebay very blurry,  but the seller had good ratings so I took a chance.
It said in play with condition, when she arrived it was clear it was way worse then that.

What I got was a bitty baby that had been bought at a value village or a thrift store for the purpose of making money on Ebay Resale, it was filthy, scratched and looked like mold on the fabric body. No attempt to even wipe down this doll before selling and sending really rubbed me the wrong way. I simply can not imagine doing this to someone.  This left me with several choices... I could rate poorly the seller for misrepresenting the product and send the doll back at my expense, cause a great deal of damage to the reputation of the seller and expose them here on my blog,which I think is just poor karma, so I will not reveal who I bought it from, even though I did think and consider it. But I decided I could do my best to restore and love this doll to a "played with condition".  When I purchased the doll I was looking for a doll my niece would like to play with that was slightly different then the bitty baby I rescued from the church sale a few years back. I had no intention of selling or giving it as a gift so I decided to try to restore this doll to played with condition as I had expected her to arrive and add her to our dolly family.

Here are the photos of the process and how in restoring this doll to "Played With Condition" made me truly appreciate and learn to love this doll.  The dirt that came off this doll is not from doll play and love but rather neglect and ignorance.

I to clean the doll I used:
-A towel
-A dish scrubby
- Baking Soda
-Water
-Shout spot remover
-Clearasil Pads
-Pimple Cream

I started on the head and tried not to get any water or baking soda in the dolls eyes. I wet the dish scrubby and dipped it in the baking soda. I used circular motions, removing the grime, dirt and some of the "stains" as I went.

 The head alone was enough to gag the roto-rooter man! I was impressed at just how much came off this dolls head. Some of what I thought was paint or scrapes was actually easy to remove so I have no idea what was on this dolls head!

The dirt and grime washed away well and fairly quickly, but the mold spot on the dolls body really was a challenge.

 

What really bothered me and I think any normal person would be bothered by was the dolls cloth body.  The idea that it could be mold really weird-ed me out. I used Shout on the dolls body and the stain did fade after I scrubbed and re sprayed it three times. But I could not get it to disappear completely. So I undid the neck ties and removed the dolls head. I was worried that the stuffing might be moldy too, so I pulled it all out. I was thrilled to see there was no visual mold stains on the stuffing but decided to replace it to be safe. I rinsed the dolls body under the tap water to try to remove any shout residue and baking soda. Then I let her dry.

The price on the leg proved to be much more difficult to remove. So I left the cream on the dolls leg over night. Well the stain stayed on the leg and I hear that it will take more then a month to remove it using the cream every day.

Well the next day the body was dry and the stain mostly gone as you can see in the photos above. I re-stuffed baby and put her head back on. She is twice as stuffed as my other Bitty Baby! I found a 5lb baby sleeper at Sears for $5.99, it is Purple and Velour and fits just right!

Thea was thrilled to see our New Baby, all cleaned and freshly dressed. All in all I got what I had hoped another Bitty Baby for her to love.  Thank you for reading the journey of our Dolly Restoration. Even though she is not in perfect condition we love her anyway!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Another Doll Rescue! I found a Maplelea Doll at the Thrift Store

This makes my day to share with you this great find. On my birthday I went to a few thrift stores with my sister in law Janeen. I was so thrilled to find another 18 inch doll to rescue!

This one is a Maplelea Doll which if you are unfamiliar with  is Canada's version of the American Girl Doll. The Maplelea dolls are $99.99 in the catalog and their are only 5 types of dolls. When I got mine home I was thrilled to discover that I had Brianne, I think this is funny because I have a sister named Bre-Anne who also has blond hair and blue eyes like this doll.

 This doll was only $6.99! Such a savings from the orig. catalog price of $99.99! (Plus shipping)
When I found the doll in the bottom of the toy bin at our local Salvation Army I was over the moon. She was very dirty and needed a good clean and brushing. She does have a stain on her arm that I have not been able to remove but from here on out that is just her birthmark and we will leave it as is. I am thrilled to have found my own Maplelea doll espcially for the price as when I make doll clothes for my clients who have Maplelea Dolls I do not have to worry about borrowing one to fit the close on as they are slightly different in size.

*Dispite being 18 inches tall not all 18 inch dolls are sized the same for clothing. The Maplelea doll has longer thinner arms, legs and feet. I am thrilled with how Brianne turned out and she looks great modeling one of the dresses avalible from my Etsy Store.
This was a wonderful find made even more wonderful by the fact I found her on my birthday!
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Why not rescue a doll?

I have had the great fortune in the last two days to rescue not one but two dolls from different thrift stores where I live, one of them was the original Pleasant Company (American Girl before the name change) Samantha, who I picked up at the Salvation army in almost original condition, missing only her boots and hat for $9.99, this is almost a steal, as I live in Canada I am certain that the store had no idea what they had. I really am thrilled with the find, came home cleaned her up and introduced her to her new friends here at my house, sorry but I am not parting with her. The other doll I rescued is a Tolly Tots doll, They were made about 12 years ago, are 18 inches tall but their eyes do not open and close. They are very cute dolls and this one is about the 5th one I have rescued. I picked her up for $1.99 from Value Village, a brand of thrift stores where I live. I always get so excited to rescue a doll, I may not have the girl in mind for it right away but one always pops up. When I got this doll home, I cleaned her arms and legs, and started to work on her face and hair. This dolls hair was a mess as you can tell from the before shot but only took a little work to spruce up. These Tolly tot dolls have saran hair which is not anywhere near the quality of American Girl Dolls or Mapelea dolls but should be cared for the same way with a wired wig hairbrush.  I actually have been getting pet brushes with wire and ball tips like the American Girl doll brush and they work really well on this type of dolls hair. Always mist it first with water then work BOTTOM TO TOP, it took about 10 minutes to get the hair under control, I had to trim a small amount from the bottom and had to cut out the remaining tangled hair elastics BUT NEVER CUT YOUR DOLLS HAIR WITH OUT PERMISSION FROM AN ADULT, just so you know the hair will not grow back and if you have an American Girl doll it will have to be sent back to the Doll hospital to be fixed which is about the same price of a new  doll bed or 1/2 the price of a new Doll.
Then once the doll is cleaned up and ready to present, make or buy or reuse some doll clothes and she is ready to be given to a girl who would love her. I am not sure what will become of this little doll, she is blond with freckles and is just lovely. Any girl would love to have her. It is my goal to rescue and donate at least one doll per year. I will make a few outfits to go with the doll so she will make someone very happy. So next time you are at a yard sale or thrift store keep your eyes out for one of these gems and make someones day.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please email me at karenmowen@gmail.com or leave a comment here.