Doll Makeover, update with photos

I recently bought 3 AG's (Kirsten, Molly and Felicity) at a garage sale. I'm going to re wig Molly and Felicity and do some customizing. How many of you have made dolls over? How did you like the end results? I'm a little nervous, but am excited also over this project. My wigs have arrived, so guess I'll bite the bullet and dive in this weekend. All three dolls are very nice, except Molly had a hair cut and Felicity's hair is totally fried.

<font color="#051E50"><font size="1">[ August 05, 2005 02:19 PM: Message edited by: AG Dress Designer ]</font></font>

Album link
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2122738320

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ August 05, 2005 07:26 PM: Message edited by: AG Dress Designer ]</font>

It is shame how some dolls get abused! It makes me sick!Good luck with your girls and their makeover. Poor little "sweeties"

PS: I wish I could find a doll at a garage sale!

I'm almost finished making over my Kit, just waiting for her wig to come in. Getting her old wig of was so easy. I used a metal serving spoon a little smaller than the ones used for cooking. When I put the new wig on I glue all but the outer edge. After it dries, then I go back and spot glue the edges. That helps keep the glue out of the hair. I have not tried long hair yet. I think I would put it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way. I put a little pink blush on her cheeks and wiped it with a tissue when I was done. Then I put a little pink lipstick on her lips and wiped it with a tissue also. Makeup stains the vinyl. I got these tips from other board members. I don't know what else your dolls need but if you need anymore advice I'll be glad to help. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I've made over 2 dolls and been very pleased with both. It was scary but really fun. Now I'm always looking for dolls in need of TLC. Watch out you'll be hooked. Good luck and please post pics.

I would love to find a doll at a garage sale, ot anything AG for that matter...

I am still in the process of the mini-me doll makeover, but am scared that I am going to screw up the glueing process of her wig. I hae put her on hold and am just working on clothes right now.

Ashley's Mommy, I think I am going to use your method for getting her wig on, it doesn't sound as "messy" as the other ways I have seen.

Lindy, Good Luck!!!!!

Several of my girls came to me pre-loved, and I've done loads of work on them. So far I've done...

Rewigging
Rub/scratch removal
Stain removal
Facial repaints
Wig cutting/styling
Restringing
Eye transplant
Wig conditioning/steaming

...with great success. I've found that restoration work is a great way to really bond with a doll and make her your own. If you have any specific questions, just LMK and I'll do my best to answer them.

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ August 05, 2005 05:43 AM: Message edited by: kitschywoman ]</font>

I was just given a felicity to restore. She is very old and has tons of problems. She needs a new wig, anyone know a good look-a-like felicity wig? She needs cleaned, new face coloring, re-strung.
But here are the things I don't know how to do.
She has a rip in the fabric that meets the vinyl neck and the fabric that is attached to the leg joint is becomeing unsewn. How do I fix those?

With help and encouragement from kind folks here, I've rewigged Gotz dolls to turn them into friends dolls for my AG girls. That worked out beautifully. (So much so that my AG Nellie is a modern girl and I'm passing on Elizabeth). I'm amazed at how much of a difference the right wig makes. Enjoy your girls. I'll bet you'll be delighted with the results.

Quote:

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Originally posted by dolldreamer:
the fabric that is attached to the leg joint is becomeing unsewn. How do I fix those?

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have had this problem...If you want to remove the leg, it is 10 times easier than trying to sew it back together with the leg in the way. If you remove the leg, get a really strong needle, tweezers and quilting thread. Then, just follow the old stitching, it is that simple. If you don't remove the leg then you have to hold the leg away with one hand, while trying to get your needle in there and sew it with the other, which ultimately loosens the elastic and you have to restring anyway, so IMO it is SO much easier to remove the leg in the first place.

Hope this helped!

After posting this last night and talking with Cherry, I took the old wigs off the dolls. Molly's hair came off very easily. I had a hard time getting Felicitys off. Molly now has black hair, with no bangs. I absolutely love her. Felicity has a carrot red curly wig that's parted in the middle also. I darkened their eyebrows and put a little blush on the cheeks. I'll post photos later today. I stayed up until 3:15 AM working on the dolls. LOL I'm thrilled with the way the dolls turned out. Now I need to find an old Samantha to turn into Elizabeth. By the way I bought the wigs from Tallina.com. Our Cherry told me of this place. The wigs are beautiful. The dolls were very clean to start with, except some white marks on Felicity. The marks came off easily with the baking soda mixture.

how do you order from tallinas without haveing to buy in bulk?

It's not necessary to buy in bulk from tallinas. I bought a total of 4 wigs from them. I'm a sucker for a sale, so I bought 2 of the wigs that are on sale for 3.00 each and the 2 wigs I used on these dolls. Here is the link to the album. What do you all think of Molly's eyebrows? Do you think I need to lighten them some.

Now I have to name the dolls. Any suggestions? They will be added to my Felicity group.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2122738320

wow!!! Which wigs are those? They look fantastic!! And molly looks awsome! I don't think I'd lighten her eye-brows. Or if you did, not too much.
I love felicity's hair! She looks so good and still looks like felicity to me!
And your possable elizabeth, I don't know what doll she is, she's cute, she has deer eyes!

Felicity's look came out fantastic! [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] I love Molly, too, but I really love the new Lissie. Good job on both of them! Hope you can find names for them soon!

The wigs are from Tallina. They are both W-TA3, size 12.

Great job! They both look beautiful and so do your dresses. Watch out now - makeovers are addictive.

Oh, they are both so beautiful! Are those curls hard to take care of? How to you brush/comb them?

So cute! Love the dresses also. I am not sure who the last doll is though. I am very interested in knowing myself. Hope someone on here knows.

Lea

[img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

I was going to post that my method of gluing a wig down is to apply Aleene's craft glue liberally to the top of the doll's head -- there's a flat circle there -- and a narrow line of glue along the existing glue line if the cap of the new wig is at least as large as the original one. I turn the new wig partly inside out, so there is an indented section starting at the crown of the wig, and push all the hair into the indentation. The outer edges of the inside of the new wig turn out when you do this and I run a narrow bead of glue around those, too. With the hair all folded up inside the wig, I place the crown of the wig against the crown of the doll's head and unroll the edges around the face first, starting with the bangs or forehead area. I try to keep the back of the wig with the outside edges turned up until the last possible moment, while I gently tug the front and sides down into the proper position. Then I roll down the back edges of the wig and make final adjustments. I usually do get a little glue on the back hair but it comes off with water if you catch if quickly. Finally when the wig is in place, I press the heels of my hands down hard on the crown, smoothing the wig down on all sides so the glue I put on the top of the doll's head can spread more evenly inside the wig.

Good luck, Lindy! I'm sure everyone will be very happy with their new Do's!

I can't wait to see picutures of your new dolls!!
And thanks on how to resew!
Now I just need to find the perfect felicity wig!
I'll have to go look at Tallina's, thanks!
And if a wig comes up in a style is the wig bald underneath the style? How do I find out if a styled wig is like that or if it has all it's hair?

Tallina's has a very nice customer service staff, so you can call and ask them.

Fascinating! When you told me about the wigs you'd chosen, I didn't realize that was the style. It works really well for your girls, doesn't it? Now Molly looks a little bit like a young Elizabeth Taylor. And Felicity's hair is a much nicer style and color than the original.

So where's the photo of made-over Elizabeth? (Not Felicity's Elizabeth -- the older Kirsten Lindy started out with)

Re: buying from Tallina's -- you can order any number of items, even if it's just one. But you get better prices if you buy lots!

WOW your girls look grat. I LOVE the dresses. I wish that I could do that. I would love it if AG made any of their dolls with a wig like that!

You should be extremely proud of your dress as well as the great job you did on the girls hair.

Lara