More Fashion Doll Cheap Thrills

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A post shared by Melva Hall (@melliesdolls)

A fellow collector who knows I love cheap (but well-made) fashion doll thrills shared the above Instagram post of dolls found at Family Dollar and Dollar General.

A day or so later I visited Family Dollar specifically looking for the two-pack of dolls the Instagramer posted and found them!

Family-Dollar-exclusive 2-Pack Trendy Fashion Dolls

It wasn't until I examined them outside the box that I noticed a slight difference in their complexions.

Still attached to the box liner, their clothing is as expected, made from shiny, paper-feeling material that screams synthetic.

Close up of their lovely faces outside the box reveals their ethnically-correct facial features. I appreciate the dark lip color that compliments their complexions.

If I decide to rebody or an attempt at it, this articulated Integrity Toys body that I purchased two of several years ago will be a perfect match.

Cons

I don't know which doll these shoes were made to fit, but it apparently was not for these dolls. I could barely force the front of one doll's foot into the shoes, and the heel is not all the way inside.

In addition to the improper fit of the shoes, the hair is rooted around the edges only leaving a huge bald spot in the middle. Restyling will be limited.

Additionally, the ends of the hair were jagged on both dolls. I thought I took a photo of the jagged ends but upon reviewing my photos, I did not. 

Another con is the stamped brand that is on the doll's back. Clothing with the back out won't be aesthetically pleasing.

The poor quality of the clothes, the shoes, rooted hair, uneven ends, and back stamp were bothersome cons. The doll's legs are hollow, but they are shapely and not pencil-thin like some dolls that have been sold at Family Dollar.

Redressing

Since the Christmas season is approaching, I decided to dress the twins in Christmas attire. I dug through my Christmas sweater stash and found two sweaters that match two pairs of leggings that fit these girls.

If you haven't noticed the complexion differences by now, the doll on the left is slightly darker than the doll on the right. Note: Their arms are very flexible and can bend in almost any position but will not hold the pose. The flexibility of the arms made redressing very easy.

The sweater worn by the doll on the left has a Snowman theme. There is a penguin carrying gifts on the other doll's sweater.

I had to cut a considerable amount of one doll's hair. The ends were very jagged and unruly and each time I trimmed, it was uneven (scissor-user's error). These twins do not like wearing their hair the same way, so it worked out anyway.

This final picture was taken after the girls had their ears pierced.

I used quilting pins to pierce their ears and to serve as stud earrings.

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Another doll purchase on the same day was made at Walgreens. 

While I waited for someone to meet me in Walgreen's photo department, I briefly scanned the toy aisle and found a playline Barbie that commemorates Barbie's 60 years of inspiring girls since 1959. 

The lower front of the box reads: Barbie 60 Inspiring Girls Since 1959

A facial close-up illustrates the persistent pink lip color that Mattel uses.

This doll uses the head sculpt that was first used by Pants so Pink, Fashionista #12 Barbie. 

Dressed in a black and white striped off-shoulder dress inspired by #1 Barbie's bathing suit, the dress has a side ruffle.

She has high-heel feet and wears silver high-heel shoes.

An image of #1 Barbie is on the back of the doll's box.

Why did I buy this doll? For the commemoration, I guess.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

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Giving Thanks

I give thanks today and every day

For

God's grace, mercy, love, and guidance

For

Life

Health

Happiness

For

A loving, living mother

For

A loving family

For

Caring friends

For

Having all my needs met

For

Answered prayers

For

A passion to enjoy

For

Blog readers

__________ 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Madame Alexander "Thank You" Wendy

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Straight-Legged Topsy Needed TLC

Three circa 1920s-1930s Topsy Dolls: 9-inch Topsy baby (a recent gift) and 12- and 16-inch Topsy toddlers

Seen in a comparison photo with a 9-inch circa 1930s Topsy doll gift and a 12-inch Topsy toddler, the 16-inch straight-legged Topsy arrived during the late 1990s with crazing issues that have progressed throughout the years. After her recent photograph with the 9- and 12-inch dolls, I decided to repair the crazing (lifted and/or missing composition).

Before Photos

Crazing was on the sides of the legs as illustrated here and in the next photo.

Some of the composition had lifted from a couple of areas on the head and the arms were crazed as illustrated here and in the next photo.

Layers of Mod Podge filled in or covered the crazed areas.

Mod Podge applies white but eventually clears.

The Mod Podge is still wet in this photo.

Painting and Sealing

In the following photos, the face, body, arms, and legs have been filled with Mod Podge and allowed to dry. These areas were then painted brown and sealed with Mod Podge. The lips were repainted red and sealed.

I used Chocolate Bar Brown acrylic paint.

Prior to painting and sealing the head, the three tufts of hair were wrapped with cling wrap. Mod Podge has been applied over the original paint on the head in this picture and in the next.

Almost Done

Except for the head and repainting the fingernails and toenails, all areas have been painted and sealed.

The head has been painted and sealed and she has received a mani- and pedicure.

She poses for a profile photo here and in different positions in the next two photos.

Fresh grosgrain red ribbons were added to her hair and to her dress.

She arrived with bare feet.

She now has socks and shoes to complete her refreshed look.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

An Offered Gift

A circa 1930s composition Topsy gift

I was offered a gift of a circa 1930s composition doll that had been owned by the grandmother of the kind person who offered. He shared the story of purchasing the doll for his grandmother in 2000 to replace one that her mother gave away when she was a child. In one of the email notes he wrote, "My grandmother was so happy to have Topsy back for the remaining twelve years of her life. She’s been stored safely for the past eight years."

Topsy arrived in well-preserved condition with a handwritten note:

18 Oct 2020

Dear Debbie, 

Thank you so very much for including sweet, orange-dress wearing Topsy into your collection ~ I can't tell you how happy I am that she will be part of a cherished collection within your larger, entire collection, and that she will be loved at a deep level by a human and doll companion!

After photographing my new-to-me 9-inch Topsy alone, I photographed her with several similar-sized dolls and finally with some that are larger. Those photos are shared below:

Topsy posed with similar-sized dolls. The one on the far left was also adopted. These two look like sisters.

Close-up of the previous dolls

Three other smaller dolls posed with Topsy. The one on the far left is a composition Topsy-Turvy--a doll with two heads that share one body. The doll head underneath Topsy-Turvy's skirt is white.

This is a close-up of the dolls immediately above.

These two 16-inch Topsy dolls are almost twice the size of the newest doll.

Here they are again in a close-up.

Topsy poses with two straight-legged Topsy dolls. The largest is 16 inches tall.

A slight imperfection in the composition had been described to me before new-to-me Topsy's arrival. This was just an indentation flaw in the composition on the thigh that was an easy fix with Mod Podge to fill in the indentation and a mixture of brown paints to match the doll's original tone. Before and after photos are shown next.

The thigh imperfection was filled with Mod Podge to level it with the surrounding area.

A brown paint mixture covers the Mod Podge.

Higher up and on the side of the same leg, there was another imperfection. Mod Podge to fill and paint to cover were repeated.

Finally, I hand washed Topsy's pink dress, hung it on the showerhead to dry, and redressed her.

Hand washed dress

Topsy posed for this final photo.

As I indicated to the sender, I am delighted I was chosen to care for Topsy. As illustrated by these photos, she is in good company.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. To contact me, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!