Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Missing Dolls

      I feel like I mentioned that I had some 1:6 scale dolls that went missing. I did not remember selling them but I could not find them in any of the places I searched for them. The other day Ethan found a box with my name on it that said book shelf dolls and awards. Well that sounded like it could be something. And it was. The awards were NAMSHA merit awards and a live show trophy. The dolls were 2 of the 3 missing 1:6 scale dolls. One of them was my Fashion Royalty doll. And I was very displeased to see she developed this huge weird stain on her face. Fashion Royalty dolls are pretty expensive so I did not take this lightly. It looks like she did not either.
     Everything in the box smelled musty and gross so I dumped it all in the sink to give it a bath. Dawn dish soap has fairly magical properties so I was hopeful that it would help. 
     I wrapped all the clothes in a towel to get as much water out as I could. They still sort of smelled. The skirt that the FR doll came in was ruined. It had a bit of mildew on it from storage and the bath was apparently just too much for it. The faux leather started shedding every time it was touched. Though I have not thrown it away yet. Maybe I can at least save the zipper. Or maybe I can get the shedding parts off and have a distressed leather skirt. Who knows. 
      I tried laying out the clothes and spraying them with a stink remover. That didn't do it either. So I threw them all in the laundry and figured they could take their chances. When I went to the laundromat I did manage to get most of the clothes out before everything went in the dryer. The few things that I missed didn't get ruined. They also finally don't stink anymore. 
       I looked on line to see what people had for tips for removing stains for the FR doll. Kyori needed something done after all. One of the most common recommendations was pimple cream with at least 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. So I picked some up to try it out. 
      The first recommendation was to put on a thick later of the cream and warm it up with a blow dryer on medium for about 5 minutes. This did nothing. So I repeated the process. Again, nothing. The next recommendation was to put the cream on and leave the doll in a sunny window for about a week. So now she is hanging out and hopefully the sunshine we are supposed to have for a few days will actually be a thing. 
     One of the little treasures I found in with the dolls was this little lace skirt. I made this, all by hand, one day while sitting waiting for Elecktra at a piano lesson. That is just rows and rows of lace hand stitched onto a base. I really like how it turned out. 
      My Barbie managed to survive storage with nothing too horrible. But her hair felt gross. And it too smelled really musty. So I washed it, first in the Dawn bath (didn't help the smell) and then with 2-in-1 shampoo.

      After I rinsed her hair really well I put in a few spritzed of Hask coconut oil leave in conditioner. Now her hair is not all dirty and icky (I can feel the conditioner, but I will survive I guess) and I can comb through it. It doesn't look dirty either, which is did before I started. I feel like at this point this doll might need a new body. I swapped the head (which was from a Barbie Basics doll from 2009 I think) onto an articulated body. But the joins all seem very loose now. And the skin tone was never a perfect match. So maybe I will get her a new body. I have done much stranger things.
      I don't remember selling the other Barbie I had, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I did really like that doll though. And the Barbie Basic dolls are astronomically priced on ebay, so I can't just replace her. Anyway, I am glad to at least have found 2 out of 3 of my missing dolls. And hopefully I can save Kyori's face!
 

1 comment:

timaru star ii said...

What a cool peek into the life of a doll dresser... On the subject of an unsightly streak of stain or mold, I have two words to offer: rubbing alcohol.