First off, let me apologize for rarely updating this blog. Life caught up with me and I didn't have as much time to take pictures of my doll friends, thus why there have been very few posts over the past year. I do sometimes post doll photos on
my flickr account so you can watch for them there. Though it's not a paid account yet so my url (or that link? I'm unsure how it works) might change in the next few months. But, I'm going to make it a point to be better about updating this blog. I plan on moving this summer though, so bear with me.
Now, on to the real post. Recently I had the opportunity to customize an American Girl doll. Which is really exciting for me since I've not really done that before. I've done some "clean-ups" and added wiglets or clip in extensions to doll hair but I've never removed body parts, rewigged a doll or had an eye replacement.
I found a Felicity doll at a thrift shop in Columbia, MO for $15 and for that price I couldn't pass her up. Even though I already have a Felicity doll. I believe my Fliss is post Mattel take over but she came to me second hand from the UK and the owner didn't know much about her. I'm actually doing research on her to see if she might be a "factory fake" due to her ultra light skin tone or if that's just how Mattel made her. I'm not into collecting the dolls as "investments" and I like TLC dolls so Fliss is still just as special to me either way.
Back to this thrift store doll. The dolls looked different (This new doll had a GORGEOUS deeper more rosy skin tone), but I didn't want two red-headed, green-eyed girls in the bunch. Felicity #2 came dressed in the Mattel meet dress (the lavender one with the flowers), her white shift, one of her garter ribbons which was lacing up her stays (original ties were missing), a pair of homemade underwear, her pocket hoops (they still had the original packing tissue inside! lol), her white slippers with blue bows and all topped off with a white fur coat made by Fibre-Craft. Overall, not a bad find for $15! The clothes alone are worth that! I took extensive photos on my iPhone (all I had with me) in the hotel room documenting all of what she came with and what she looked like when I received her but my iPhone recently had to be remotely wiped and I lost all of the photos. She was in relatively good condition with minor flyaways and her ringlet curls had been brushed into her hair, along with a minor rub on her cheek which appeared to be some sort of ink stain. But other than that she was perfect, tightly strung, no marks on her body, no odor.
She needed a change, but her wig was still in fairly good condition, and lets face it, I'm a sucker for gingers. I decided that since I had SO MANY green and blue eyed dolls it was time for a hazel or brown eyed girl. I am still relatively new to
AG Playthings and
their boards but I knew my friend and fellow doll lover
Babs had customized a Marie Grace to be her
Bernadette (inspired by Bernadette Peters) so I came to her for advice. She pointed me to the lovely
Jodybo for an eye swap. I asked Jody if she had any hazel or brown eyes and she said she had some from a Julie on hand that she could perform the switch with. I also asked her to add some freckles in the style of Kit to her face. I shipped her off ready for her spa day. A few days later Jody emailed me the pictures of her with her new brown eyes and freckles.
And Flicka was born! I gave Jody the approval to ship her head back to me so she could be reunited with her body (This sounds SO WRONG). I couldn't recommend Jody more if you are looking to customize or repair your doll. She was super patient, helpful and kind.
I got her in the mail a few days ago and I've been waiting for a clear day (and preferably one that wasn't FREEZING) so I could take pictures of Flicka outside. While I waited I got the idea to condition her hair a bit and give her some rag curls, which turned out lovely and really helped separate her from her former Felicity persona. Here's Flicka for you!
Isn't she just GORGEOUS?! She's wearing a yellow Karito Kids long sleeved tee, a jumper I got from Joann's fabric store, a pair of Gotz tights and a pair of boots from Wal-mart's Madame Alexander line. Here are a few more pictures because I simply can't stop looking at her.
And, yes that is a real leaf. I stole it from my neighbor's yard and then "adheared" it to Flicka's hand with a little bit of good ol' spit! We do things the old fashioned way when I'm out of my sticky wax! haha.
I'm glad you've read all the way through this, and again if you have you are a trooper. Because as usual I was long winded! Have a great Thanksgiving and look forward to more posts soon. I have another custom doll to post about and I'll be taking more wardrobe change pictures. :)
