Knock, knock...

 Who's there?

Not me,  I forgot all about this blog!

It's a boy!

I've decided that if my niece is old enough to find and read this blog, then she's old enough to know that Santa lets humans help at Christmas too (not just elves).

This is Austin. He was purchased many years ago when you could customize your dolls eye, hair, and skin color. As a girl he had a hard life; an unfortunate run in with scissors, glitter nail polish on her eyes and teeth, orange highlighter markings everywhere, and Sharpie!

Removing the wig was first... I found it easier to remove the head, both for cleaning the limbs and removing the wig. (For fun I put the bald head on my mother's dresser. She cannot stand having dolls staring at her when she sleeps. Am I not a treasure?)

Next, a major body scrub using Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser, followed by glitter removal with non-acetone polish remover. He was looking pretty good... except that the polish remover had removed some of his teeth... and the highlighter eyeshadow and Sharpie marks were still there. Two weeks later and a bit of Oxy10 (benzoyl peroxide) he was clean!

I could have left the teeth missing, but it was bugging me! So I got out my acrylic paints, the smallest paint brush I could find and some toothpicks (great for getting into cracks and crannies). As I was painting I felt he needed better eyebrows. So I gave him some. It took forever! They were so lopsided, and my niece 'C' and I kept laughing at how bad I was doing (did I mention I have a BA in Studio Art). Finally I calmed down long enough to get something that didn't resemble a Picasso.

Once I had his face done it was time for the wig.. only I couldn't find my craft glue. I looked for two weeks, nada. When I don't need it I find one or two bottles constantly in my way, of course now that I did need it, it could not be found. I figured I could steal him away the following night and he'd be fine for one day...

Poor little girl was dressing him Christmas morning and his hair came off. Fortunately I'm an expert fibber (I lie like a rug) and convinced her that AG dolls were not the elves usual job and that sometimes the assembly instructions didn't translate correctly. She liked the explanation.

Now that hair has so much glue it will take a jackhammer to get it off.

Doll salon now open

I have recently started repairing and fixing up old/used dolls! My first repair was a project for Santa Claus, so I won't discuss it here... But fortunately I have a steady stream of dolls belonging to my nieces that are in major need of a spa day.

First is a Kirsten I got off of eBay. Listed as "large rubber doll" I was actually looking at a porcelain doll in the lot and nearly fell out of my seat when I realized it was an American Girl doll. Not just any AG doll, but a First Generation Pleasant Company Kirsten!

 After a vigorous scrubbing, her limbs and face are nice and clean... But her hair could use some help. It's a little dry and her short hairs are out of control, but at least her bangs aren't wonky... There are some thinning spots in the back and her wigging shows through on the very top.

See the crazy short hairs?

What a lovely bald spot.

Can you see my wig??

All in all, not to shabby considering she's at least 24 years old!! That's right. Pleasant Company began producing all their dolls with beige colored torsos in 1991 when they released Felicity.

Coming down from the attic, out of the closet and off of the shelf.

Greetings and salutations!

This blog will be dedicated to my addiction to American Girl Dolls. I don't know what I'm going to post, or how often. It is an unknown adventure!! Recently I found all my girls, spiffed them up and found a place I could display them. No more will they be relegated to dusty corners, or hidden in cupboards and closets. I will state, loud and proud, 'I love my American Girl Dolls!'

I recently joined a forum that makes me feel proud to be a member. They don't just talk about how things aren't right or fair, they take steps to repair damage and make things better. Recently a young girl posted a picture of her 'Our Generation' doll on a different forum. Certain people decided to rip into this little girl because she could not afford an AG doll,  the doll that she loved and was so proud of was not good enough. My fellow members stood up for her love of her doll, and severely "chastised"  the perpetrators. They have also taken up a collection and  are providing an AG doll of her own as a friend (never a replacement) to her OG doll, Evelyn,  as well as doll supplies.

Julie