Kayla's New 'Do

Fashion Fever Kayla's head on Alexis LIV's body wears Limbe Dolls lingerie.

In addition to needing new clothing after she allowed Prettie Girls Lena to wear the Stardolls for Barbie fashion that she had been wearing, Kayla needed her hair restyled.

Kayla illustrates her thick, unruly mane.

Kayla's hair has always been very unruly.  I have tried restyling it after giving her a boil perm, but it failed to hold the curls.  I decided to do another boil perm by first doing double-strand twists and rolling these onto end paper-wrapped pipe cleaners before dipping her head into a cup of boiled water followed by a dip into a cup of cold water.

Kayla's hair was saturated with water before double-strand twisting and rolling was done.  Wet hair is easier to grip and roll.

One of Kayla's double-strand twists before rolling onto an end paper-wrapped pipe cleaner is illustrated above.

I removed the head from the body prior to dipping it into a cup of boiled water.

Before dipping the head, I decided to remove it from the body after noticing there was too much side-to-side movement.  This was caused by the neck knob of her new LIV body not providing a perfect fit.  I closed in the gap between the neck and the knob by wrapping braided cord underneath the knob, similar to the fix used for the Janay head on the SIS Kara body (seen here.)

This out-of-focus picture illustrates my technique of wrapping braided cord underneath the neck knob to close in the gap between the knob and the neck.  The excess cord is trimmed with the end tucked into the neck.

Rollers out, finger combing next

With the rollers out, Kayla's hair was finger combed.  This achieved a huge curly 'fro, as illustrated below.

Kayla has been redressed in LIV Alexis' original fashion, which is very becoming on her.  I made the gold dangle earrings she wears after first piercing her ears.

Kayla is ready for prime time now... I love her new look!

Kayla is even more beautiful now and reminds me so much of a girl who attended my high school, Sabrina (whose last name escapes me).  Sabrina was a year my junior.  She wore her hair in a huge Afro and was voted most beautiful during her junior year by her predominantly white classmates.  I did not know her personally, but from what I saw of her, she possessed the ultimate beauty -- from the inside out.   Even though she's just a doll, Kayla has always had the same inner and outer beauty but even more so now.

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Kayla's boil perm was inspired by the My Froggy Stuff video, "How to Curl a Doll's Hair."  As seen in the video below, I never dip a doll's head into a pan of boiling water.  I always boil water in a tea kettle and pour just enough of it into a coffee cup or mug before the head is submerged. Instead of single twisting, also seen in the video, I double-strand twisted Kayla's hair before rolling.


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Re-Bodied Determination

The reader is referred to the recent makeover given Fashion Fever Kayla.

LIV's Making Waves Alexis and Fashion Fever Kayla prior to the body swap

I found a LIV Alexis for a decent price online with free shipping to replace Kayla's non-articulated body.

After her new body donor arrived, Kayla examined her from head to toe prior to giving consent for the surgical procedure she was about to undergo.  I had already explained the risks, benefits, alternatives, and possible complications of the procedure to Kayla. The risks included but were not limited to improper neck joint fit, neck joint damage, scarring, shorter stature, and the possible need for a different outfit and/or shoes. The alternative was to do nothing and remain non-articulated.  Kayla felt the benefits of articulation outweighed the possible risks and gave her full informed consent to undergo the procedure.  I did not bother getting a consent from Alexis because she understood her fate. 

The procedure was conducted in a day surgery setting and took less than 30 minutes including recovery time and redressing.  Photos of what took place follow:

The body exchange has taken place in the above image.  Kayla is recovering nicely, waiting for her clothing, and hoping her Limbe Dolls black lace lingerie will fit her new body. 

The Limbe Dolls lingerie is a nice fit on Kayla's new body.  She and I are both happy about this.  The Stardoll ankle boots that she was wearing before are also a better fit on her new feet without the need to Saran-wrap them.

 

Kayla thanked me profusely for performing the procedure.  She is thrilled that she can now either sit or stand and position herself in several other poses if desired.

As for Alexis... well, I thought her over-sized head was destined for the doll-head cemetery, but she had other plans.

Determined to remain in doll world, Alexis wanted and now has Kayla's former non-articulated body.  She borrowed Moxie Teenz Bijou's Afro wig, dressed herself in a Barbie Fashionistas pink print dress, and found shoes to match.  Now that's what I call determination.  



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Kayla's Reveal

The rollers are out and Kayla has donned her new clothes (formerly worn by a Mattel Stardoll).  See how she looked originally in the first two pictures of my post on July 25, 2012. 

Kayla's feet were wrapped with several layers of Saran wrap to increase the girth and prevent her new shoes from wiggling and/or falling off.  She may eventually get a new body, but for now, she is keeping the original.

By rolling the loose ends of her ponytail to the front, sides, and back, I attempted to create a loosely curled, upswept style.  It lasted for about 24 hours until some of the curls loosened more than others causing an asymmetrical effect.

Kayla and I thought she'd look better with her hair worn loose.  I removed the rubber band.  There are no visibly uneven ends thanks to the Eco Styler gel and rod rollers.  She now has a nice, slightly curled-under 'do.

Kayla looks ready for a business meeting or perhaps a lunch date with a friend.

How do you think she looks?
 

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No, Danielle Has Not Left Morristown for Texas

After "meeting" Danielle Harper through Fashion Dolls at Van's Doll Treasures in November 2010, I have followed Vanessa's well-written stories and videos about Danielle's courtship, marriage, honeymoon, and her most recent return from honeymoon.  Through these photo and video stories, I was able to really "get to know" Danielle as a charming woman, single mother, and now wife.  I liked her and wanted to add my own Danielle to my collection.  I kept forgetting to ask Vanessa to inform me of Danielle's manufactured name.

Her origin was unveiled after I read Ebony Nicole's April 29, 2012, "for sale" post for Fashion Fever Kayla.  From there I immediately went to eBay and quickly found my own Kayla never removed from box, (whose name will remain Kayla).  Kayla arrived in May of this year.

I've been so busy with life, work, and real-world stuff that I had not taken the time to redress Kayla or do anything with her long, but rather uneven hair until this past weekend.  After finding the perfect fashion for her, I decided to give Kayla a makeover, which has not been completed, but I wanted to share the first steps of the makeover now.

Below are two pictures of Kayla taken after she arrived in May.

Did anyone really ever wear bell-bottom camouflage pants with orange jersey inserts?

Kayla's hair has now been pulled up into a ponytail, held by a rubber band.  I applied olive oil Eco Style Gel to the loose ends and curled small sections with tiny rod rollers.  I had to use end papers in order to get the uneven ends of her hair to curl evenly.

Kayla is waiting for her hair to dry.  She and I are eager to know how her curls will look.

Next, I dressed Kayla in a lovely matching black lace bra and panties designed by the tremendously creative Limbe Dolls.  Kayla and I love it!

Kayla, still waiting for her hair to dry, is dressed in black lace lingerie ensemble courtesy of Limbe Dolls.

As soon as Kayla's hair dries and is styled, an additional post will be published to share more details about her makeover including why I wrapped plastic around her feet (as shown in the image immediately above).

Until then...

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