#historical dolls
i need help with my newest doll!
hi all! i recently got a pleasant company felicity (one of my dream dolls) on ebay. she looked great in the pictures (shown below), but when i got her she was stained with neon pink marker (also shown below). i’ve tried every trick in the book to get it out: baking soda, peroxide, acne cream and sun, baby wipes, clorox wipes, whitening toothpaste, and magic eraser. it’s all over her legs, face, hands, feet and arms and stained the white nightgown she came in. other than that she is perfect so i’d love to be able to remove the stains. please help!! is there something else i can try ??? (i will follow up with better pictures of the stains tomorrow!)
all my dolls update: summer 2021
first are my girl of the year/contemporary dolls. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: lottie (tenney grant), kanani akina: goty 2011, sawyer (joss kendricks: goty 2020), jess mcconnell: goty 2006, and lanie holland: goty 2010
new to my collection since the first all my dolls update are tenney, joss, and jess. i picked up tenney at my local goodwill for $50! she is in almost perfect condition and came with her original outfit and accessories. my mom bought me joss as a late christmas present, and i renamed her sawyer (joss and jess are too similar so i needed to change one). lastly is jess, who i bought off ebay a while back. i believe she was around $40.
historicals!!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: kit kittredge, melody ellison (behind kit), ruthie smithens, samantha parkington (beforever), rebecca rubin, and caroline abbott.
new to my collection are melody, who i got for christmas, and rebecca who i got for $20 on shopgoodwill.com. rebecca was definitely a tlc, and i made a post on her a while back documenting the process. i think i’m going to send her to the hospital for a new head when i get the money.
last are my truly me/just like you!!
L to R: anne (#25), dahlia (#44), elliot (#24), reagan (#53), leila (#38), rose (#33), and april (#55).
new to my collection are elliot, dahlia, and regan. i made a post about elliot and dahlia and their backstory, so go check it out! i haven’t talked about reagan yet, but i got her in a bundle of 5 dolls for $10 each! (the other dolls were my life as dolls from walmart). she is in near perfect condition, the only thing wrong is her hand and leg has been chewed by an animal. i love her regardless and her hair is perfect !
that’s all my dolls for now! i’m trying to save for college, so i don’t know if i’ll be able to get another one anytime soon. i think i’ll spend my free money on sending rebecca to the hospital (i would love to get felicity or molly soon though).
i’m back!! i’ve been absent for a while because i graduated and life’s been pretty hectic. i have gotten two more dolls since last time so i will be posting an updated all my dolls post tonight. thanks for being patient !
happy birthday, rebecca !!!
what are some of your favorite things about rebecca? mine are her eyes!! i love the shade of green.
last part of fixing up rebecca !!
her hair was by far the biggest problem. it was frizzy and broken and had flecks of dirt (?) in it. here’s the before:
after washing and conditioning it and about 15 minutes of trying to brush through it (it broke my brush) i finally could see what i was working with. her hair is extremely thin btw, and the wig cap is visible at almost every angle so i tried my best
in the picture above, i had trimmed the uneven strands, brushed it, and took it under a flat iron to manage the frizz. all that’s left was to curl it with roller and be patient…
on the left was after i took out the curlers, and on the right is after i brushed and untangled. you can still see her wig and the thin nature of her hair, but overall i’m super happy!! it’s really soft now and is definitely an improvement from before.
here she is all dressed up !! thanks for coming with me on this journey guys !!! it was definitely worth it :)
continuing my last post…
thank you for your suggestions !! they helped a lot :)
here’s my progress so far…
this is what she looked like when i first opened her. as you can see, her face is really dirty and her hair is extremely frizzy:
i listened to your advice and used baking soda and water on the vinyl, then i washed it again with soap and water. it worked great! the only stains remaining were a couple ink spots on her arm and leg, but i didnt worry about them.
next time i will tackle her frizzy hair! she should be ready by tomorrow :)
also i cant tell if she’s a historical or a beforever..what do you guys think? her tag doesn’t have a date like most beforevers do which typically says 2014. let me know!
hey guys!!
i accidentally bought a major TLC prebeforever rebecca a couple days ago, and she just arrived. i might document the process of fixing her up!
i’ll do an updated all my dolls for the spring since the first one i did in the fall was when i had 10 dolls. 6 more girls have been added to my collection since then !!
(also, i think i’m done adding new dolls to my collection for now because i need to start saving up my extra money )
update: she’s here and well ….
she’s A LOT more TLC than i thought:
- her hair is matted and has dirt in it (i think it’ll be fine after a couple washes)
- her limbs aren’t insanely floppy but they aren’t tight either
- her face is COVERED in makeup and other mystery stains (none of which were shown in the listing picture)
- her limbs also have mysterious brown, red, purple, and dirt stains
- her body is fine from what i could tell, but she smells very strongly. like a mix of incense, potpourri, and other perfumed smells. it made my entire living room smell.
needless to say, this will be a huge project. i’ve never fixed up a TLC doll before, and i would love to have any input from you all about which methods work best and how to clean her safely. rebecca is one of my top 5 dream dolls so i’m just grateful to finally have her, regardless of the condition. she was only $25 so i think this will be a worthy process.
my next post will be the first stage in this process: cleaning her limbs.
stay tuned !!
ruthie <3
she’s enjoying spring by the houseplants since it’s too cold to go outside. she loves nature and can’t wait til it warms up !!
i wish there were more clothes for melody on the ag website…
i miss her birthday outfit and pajamas. i might have to scour ebay for her collection
my attempt at a period-appropriate (victorian) hairstyle for Dahlia!! i love her curls :))
here’s the reference pic also
some pics of melody i forgot to post on her birthday! happy (late) birthday!!
i think she looks gorgeous in purple :)
*mini* AG ask
- who was your first doll, and how did you get it?
- which american girl looks the most like you?
- which girl do you think you’d get along with the best and why?
- which girl is your least favorite and why?
- how many dolls do you have in your collection?
- which type of doll do you have the most of (ex. historical, truly me, girl of the year, create your own…)
- which girl’s story do you resonate most with?
- if you had to pick one AG character to get rid of forever, which would you choose and why?
- who was the girl of the year when you were born or which doll was most popular when you were a kid?
- which best friend character is your favorite?
if i did a q&a or something would y’all participate? i love answering questions especially about ag, and maybe it’ll help you all get to know me better. let me know !
