A New Dress for Katie

Hi guys!  Just wanted to show you the absolutely adorable dress I got for Katie on ebay for right around $5! :)  It's a dress based on the blue dress with "puffed sleeves" that Matthew Cuthbert gives to Anne in the "Anne of Green Gables" movie.  It even came with cute little white satin slippers.  I got it from the seller my18inchdoll.  She has a bunch of handmade items starting at .99.  I don't know that I'd recommend this for a young girl who plays a lot with her dolls.  It would be better for a collector, as the satin material is not very strong.  It might not hold up well to rough play.  Anyway, here's some pics.  Katie is so excited to dress up like Anne of Green Gables. :)

Here's the front...

...and here's the back.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! 

A Quick Note on Gotz Dolls

Hi guys!  Just wanted to give you a link to a helpful guide to Gotz Little Sisters and Precious Day dolls.  This is the guide that got me interested in them in the first place.  The ebay seller who created it makes beautiful hand-woven sweater and hat sets that fit both Gotz and AG dolls.  Be sure to check it out!  Here's the link:  18" Gotz doll guide.  Hope you enjoy it!

Doll Comparisons

Hi everyone!  Just thought I'd share some photos of some of the differences between the dolls I have and some info about them.  I took these a while ago, when I'd found an American Girl doll on Bonanzle.com for $20 including shipping!!  I ended up trading her for a Josefina doll for my oldest daughter (she'll get it at Christmas...I'm so excited!). :)

These first photos compare a newer Just Like You American Girl doll, a Gotz Little Sisters Tess doll, and an Alexander Girlz doll, made by the Madame Alexander doll company.  First, I'll show you some pics of their faces so you can see the differences.

Aren't they cute?  I don't know how well you can tell, but the Gotz and Alexander dolls have much bigger heads than the American Girl doll.  Now for some profile shots!

 

It's fun seeing the differences!  The Gotz Tess has almost no nose compared to the other ones, and she has really wide cheeks compared to her friends.  The Alexander Girlz doll has a much younger look to her face than the other two, almost toddler-like, at least in my opinion. 

Next, I'll show you the side by side body comparisons. 

  As you can see, there are several differences between the doll bodies.  Tess (the Gotz doll) has a much thicker body than the AG doll, although I know the dolls have gotten skinnier through the years, so she might be a little closer to the size of a pre-Mattel AG doll.  The main thing that makes the Alexander doll stand out is that she has vinyl shoulders as well as legs and arms.  Her head is also poseable; she can move it from side to side and up and down. 

I have one more picture to show you.  Madame Alexander also came out with a line of dolls called Friends 4 Life that were sold at Walmart around Christmas time last year.  These dolls are also very cute, but they have a different face mold than the Alexander Girlz doll.  Below is a picture of my re-wigged Alexander Girlz doll, Maggie (on the right), and a Friends 4 Life doll (left). 

Both faces are really sweet, but I must confess I like the Alexander Girlz face mold a little better.  The Friends 4 Life dolls heads are just big enough that they almost make the doll look out of proportion.  Like I said, both are still cute dolls though. 

In summary, here are some of the pros and cons I've discovered about each doll:

Gotz Little Sisters or Precious Day dolls (from 2003 or earlier):
[Just a reminder, Gotz Precious Day dolls are the same as the Little Sisters except they have rooted hair.  The Little Sisters dolls also seem to have slightly bigger eyes than their Precious Day counterparts]

Pros:
>They're very similar to American Girl dolls and can share most of their clothing
>They have sweet faces that provide nice variety from the toothy smile of the AG dolls
>You can usually get a decent Gotz doll on ebay for around $40 or so, making them a good choice if you don't have enough for an AG doll
>Their hair is comparable to AG dolls in silkiness and quality (at least when they're in good shape); Precious Day dolls have rooted hair that is still nice, but not quite as good as the Little Sisters' hair
>They're just so cute!!!!

Cons:
>The Little Sisters dolls tend to be pigeon-toed, which can be frustrating when you're trying to get them to stand; if you're getting them for a smaller child, it might be hard for them to keep them upright.  The Precious Day dolls don't have the same pigeon-toed issue.
>I've run into a pretty consistent problem of cloudy pupil with these dolls (as a side note, always ask whether the doll has cloudy pupil or not when purchasing on ebay!  Some sellers don't notice this, as I found out the hard way!)
>The Gotz company is no longer making dolls, at least directly.  Some Gotz dolls are being sold through a company called International Playthings.  This means there's no Doll Hospital to send them to.  Most fix it tips for AG dolls will work for them, though, since they have the same body style.
>My only other complaint is that they tend to look a little hunchbacked because of the way they're stuffed.  It's not too noticeable when their hair's down, but if you ever put their hair up it's pretty obvious.

I'm not really going to say much about the American Girl doll, because anyone on a site like this will be pretty familiar with AGs.  Let me just say they're cute and well made, but the main downside is they're really spendy for the average family!

Alexander Girlz doll:

Pros:
>These dolls also have really adorable faces, and they're great for photos because you can postion their heads in all sorts of poses, unlike the Gotz or AG dolls that can only turn their heads from side to side.
>While some people may not like their vinyl shoulders, they are great for sleeveless dresses.  These dolls look much more natural in a sundress! :)
>The main pro with these dolls has to be the price!  They sell at Costco around Christmas time for $25.  The Friends 4 Life dolls at Walmart were also sold for $25.  This makes them a great starter doll for a little girl who wants an American Girl doll.  We got each of our girls an Alexander Girlz doll to determine how they would treat an AG doll.

Cons:
>While these dolls have great faces, their hair is horrible.  It looks great at first but tangles easily and doesn't hold up to normal play.  It's comparable to the Target Our Generation dolls, also known for their low-quality hair.  Another thing I noticed with one of my daughter's dolls is that on her doll the hair was very thin.  You could see through to the scalp the day she got her!  In case you're wondering, these dolls have rooted hair.  These make a great project for a re-wig, though.
>The vinyl shoulders are nice for sundresses, but the different body style does make these dolls a bit thinner than AG dolls.  They can fit into most American Girl clothes, just be aware that they might hang on them a bit.  Also, the clothes made for the Alexander dolls don't always fit AG or Gotz dolls.  Not only are they smaller in the shoulders, they're a lot smaller in the rump, too.  The other day I tried to get a pair of Madame Alexander pants on my Gotz doll and couldn't even get them up around her bottom!
>These dolls can't be fixed using all the helpful re-stringing tutorials on ebay, because you can't loosen their neck strings and take their head off to do it.  I'm sure there's a way to re-string them, but it's probably a lot more labor intensive.
>You get what you pay for.  While these dolls are sweet and pretty and make a good starter doll, they're not made quite as well as a Gotz or AG doll.  Although I will say my daughters' Alexander dolls have lasted through almost 2 years of play, and the girls were 4 and 2 when they got them!  Their hair's pretty disastrous, but they're still all in one piece.

Well, I hope this gave you some helpful information, and maybe some ideas for some alternatives to an AG doll for a younger girl.  I love all three of these types of dolls.  The Gotz dolls are my personal favorites, just because I love their faces! :)

Picture of Hailey's haircut

Hey, just thought I'd show you the picture of Hailey's haircut that got deleted from the last post, so you could get an idea of how much hair I kept on there. Of course, if you're re-wigging an American Girl doll or another doll that comes with a wig, you don't even have to worry about this because all the hair comes off in one big piece...at least, it's supposed to! :)

The Gotz Precious Day dolls have rooted hair, so that's why I had to cut it off. As another point of interest, one way to tell the difference between a Gotz Precious Day doll and a Gotz Little Sisters doll is that the Little Sisters line had wigged dolls, while the Precious Day dolls had rooted hair.

That's all for now...keep checking back for more interesting stuff!

Some Past Doll Projects-Part 1

Hi guys! I'm working on getting some videos uploaded for you, but in the meantime I thought I'd do some posts on some of my past doll projects. Hope you enjoy them and get inspired to try fixing up some dolls of your own! :)

 First up is the sweetie above, my Gotz Katie doll. Katie was part of the Gotz Little Sisters line that was made in 2001 and 2002. She normally goes for a lot on ebay, but I was able to purchase her on ebay for $32.

I was so excited until she got here and I realized she was in much worse shape than I originally thought. She had white and sparkly red paint-like residue in her hair (it may have been colored hairspray), powdered makeup on her eyelids and face, and general markings on her vinyl. She also had one eye that stuck, refusing to close unless I used my finger to shut it manually. Her leg limbs were a bit loose, but she could still hold a pose if I positioned her just right. I was a little concerned that I had bitten off more than I could chew with this one! As I started working on her, I had no clue what I would end up with. Below you'll see some other "before" pictures of her.

 I started my project by cleaning her vinyl with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (thanks for the tip, stephenswodadancer!) :) That took most of her markings off and removed all of the makeup. The next big hurdle to tackle was her hair.

Before I started, I taped cotton balls over her eyes, as you'll see in the picture below. This helps protect their eyes from water damage and keep them from rusting. I also wrapped her cloth body in a towel to keep it as dry as possible.

I washed her hair twice with Johnson's Baby Shampoo (it took 2 washings to get all the yucky residue out). Just as a side note, I know it's not recommended to wash doll wigs, especially at the wig cap, but I figured her hair was in bad enough shape anyway that I had nothing to lose!

After her hair was clean, I gave her a downy dunk to condition it. Actually, to be perfectly accurate, it was a Sun brand "Cuddle Soft" dunk. This works just as well and is usually a little cheaper. She stayed in the "downy" overnight, and the next day I carefully rinsed all of it out, being careful not to tangle her hair again. I brushed through her hair, then laid her on her back on a bath towel and hung her hair over the edge of the washing machine. (that was the best flat surface available) :) I've dried the hair this way several times, which first was suggested to me on stephenswodadancer's tutorial video on Youtube. I like it because it helps the hair dry and you end up with some natural curl on the ends.

As her hair was drying, every once in a while I'd come by and brush through it again. It took almost a whole day to dry, but when it finally had, it was well worth it!

Aarrgh! I just accidentally deleted the after picture that was right here! Oh well, there are some more down below. She turned out so pretty! Almost all of the painty hairspray stuff came out, and I was able to remove just about all of the makeup, too. Below I've posted some "after" pictures, showing Katie with Tess and Lily, the other Gotz Little Sisters dolls, and one of Katie in her original meet outfit.

I absolutely love these dolls! They have such sweet faces. Tess is the brunette in the middle and Lily is the blonde. As you can see, I have Tess and Katie's original outfits, but I had to make do with Lily. Her original outfit was a blue striped turtle neck and a blue jumper. I'm not sure if these were the outfits from 2001 or 2002. The other year of production, the girls had floral print turtlenecks and jumpers in the same colors with a floral print decal on the front.

 

So as you can see, Katie turned out beautifully! It's so rewarding to start with a doll that is dirty and worthless by the standards of most people and make it beautiful again!

I really didn't think she would turn out as well as she did.
I was sure I'd have to rewig her, but the paint or hairspray
stuff came out amazingly well! :) She still has an eye that sticks, and her legs are still loose. Eventually I may re-string her, but I haven't been brave enough yet to re-string a doll. There's a great tutorial video on Youtube (once again by stephenswodadancer...I've learned so much from her!), but I'm so nervous to try it! It's not really an easy project, and I'm worried that I'll end up taking the doll apart and then not be able to get her back together again! I know once I've done the first one I'll probably be fine, so we'll see! :)

Check back for Part 2, when I show you my custom Gotz Hailey doll, a Craigslist rescue! :)