Some Past Doll Projects- Part 2

Okay, on to Part 2! This poor girl is a Gotz Precious Day Elisabeth doll from 2003 or before (in 2004, they started using a new face mold). I bought her on Craigslist for $38. I know you're probably wondering why I would spend that much on a doll in this sort of shape. In my defense, I knew her bangs had been cut, but I had no clue her hair was cut in the back, too. As it turned out, it worked out okay because I was figuring I'd have to rewig her anyway.

So here you can see some more "before" pics. Her hair was horribly cut, her neck strings were loose and some stuffing was coming out at her neck. She also had various smudges on her vinyl, the worst being a big black mark on her left hand (see the picture below). It really looked like permanent marker, so I wasn't sure how much luck I'd have getting it off, but I figured it was worth a try!

I got started with my trusty Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, like I had with Katie. Let me just take a moment to say, if you haven't tried this before, there's nothing more amazing than a magic eraser to take old dirt, grime, and rub marks off of vinyl. You'd be amazed what comes off of these dolls with a little elbow grease. I've even been able to use it on some of my daughter's other plastic toys. We have hardwood floors, so their dolls and toys are constantly getting rub marks! Anyway, once you use these guys, you'lll start stocking up on them. I think I have 2 boxes of Magic Erasers right now! :) And just to let you know, the off brands work okay, too.

After I'd finished with the magic eraser, I untied her neck strings and removed her head. Kinda
creepy looking, but now I could get that stray stuffing back in and tighten her neck strings. That alone did wonders. Retying the neck strings wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. You just have to make sure you get the strings tied as tightly as you possibly can!

Before I put her head back on, though, I worked on her hair.  I used scissors to cut as much of her hair off as possible. When I was done, she looked like she had a short buzz cut. I had a picture uploaded to show you, but this annoying blog program just deleted it and I'm still trying to figure out how to add a picture in a specific spot. So you'll just have to take my word for it.

Some people who re-wig dolls go inside the head and remove all the hairplugs. I've never done this, first, because I'm too lazy, and second, because I've found it still works (depending on the new wig) to use the doll with her short hair still on her head.

So here are some pics of Hailey (the new name I gave her).
As you can see from the picture to the left, the magic eraser took that ugly black spot completely off. She had quite a few
pink and brown marks on her hands and feet that came off
too. I didn't think her skin would clean up as well as it did.
Like I said before, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers will amaze you!

                                                                                                     Here's Hailey in her new wig. I used a "Denise" wig in auburn from the Monique company. I purchased it on ebay for a good price. The bangs are a little difficult to get right. Hailey's gone through several bang changes since I got her! Overall, though, I love the quality and color choices of these wigs. The Gotz dolls seem to have slightly bigger heads than some of the other 18" dolls, too, so these wigs work well because they run a little big. I used a size 12-13, which works great, but I've tried other brands of wigs in the same size that I couldn't get around her head.




Here are a few more pics of Hailey. In this one she's with her best friend, Danielle. Danielle is a Gotz Hildegard Gunzel doll I got at Tuesday Morning for $15!! Her original price was $169.99! She has the same face mold and all vinyl jointed body as the Gotz Sarah dolls. Just recently, they've been renamed the Gotz Hannah dolls, and are still being sold in Europe.

In my last post, I mentioned the different Gotz Little Sisters outfits. Hailey is wearing Tess's floral print meet outfit, so you can see the difference.

Here's a picture of Hailey with her two sisters, Tess and Ella. I thought it would be fun to make them sisters since they all have the same eye color and face mold. Also, I have 3 little girls of my own, so it's kind of a tribute to them. In case you're curious, Ella is another Gotz Precious Day Elisabeth doll that I renamed. I also put her in my extra Gotz Little Sisters Katie jumper so she would match better with her sisters! You can also see my pre-Mattel American Girl Felicity doll and my Alexander Girlz Maggie doll, made by the Madame Alexander company.

Here's a picture I took right after I got Hailey all fixed up. This was before I got Ella, which is why it's just the two of them in this picture.

So, I hope you enjoyed part 2!! That's all the past doll projects I have pictures of at this point. My next project will be a pre-Mattel American Girl Samantha doll I bought on Craigslist that needs some definite TLC. I'll keep you posted on how that project's going, too.