Dolls! Mystery Doll Reveal

 

Here is the Mystery Doll; she is a Diva Starz Fashion Doll made by Mattel in the early 2000's. I just love her!! There is an interesting write-up about these dolls on Wikipedia.  I think this doll is Miranda. These dolls are 11 inches/28 cm tall, are battery operated and talk when you push the top off their head. Various personalities provided their voices to the dolls. They were discontinued after a few seasons as the sales dropped off.

Here are some of the op-shop dolls I got last week, including Miranda, waiting for their makeover.

Here they are having a good soak in the fabric softener:

 

 

 

No dolls were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Here is Miranda showing off her beautiful pink streaks. The hair was gossamer fine after her salon treatment. I am quite impressed by the quality of these dolls.

I was lucky to get three of these Diva Starz dolls, here is the second one that I made over, wearing a tagged Barbie dress that I got from the same op-shop.  Miranda is wearing a Barbie dress too. After researching these dolls, I realised when I went back to the op-shop that their shoes were also on sale. I am guessing that the 'people out the back' (Audra's phrase) didn't know that these shoes went with these dolls, so they bagged them separately. I was lucky to get three pairs!!

 

Finally, here is Tia or Nicki waiting for her make-over.  She does look rather forlorn waiting for her make-over next to those two stylish chicks!  I am hoping her hair responds as well as the others have to the fabric softener.

Thanks for all your guesses about this doll, it was a bit of fun.

Dolls! Mystery Doll Clue Number Two

Mystery doll clue number two is in the photo above.  She is one of the dolls I got recently from my favourite op-shop.

And here is yesterday's clue:

See if you can guess who she is!!

Happy Guessing.

Dolls! Last of the Bratz Op Shop Five Makeovers Done

Here is the complete line up of the 'Op Shop Five' that I have been making over during the last couple of months. Below is their before photo. I tried to compose them in a similar fashion so that the before and after was easier to compare.

Here are the last two dolls to receive their makeovers:

Wearing a Moxie Girlz outfit, trying to look punk in tartan and combat style boots.

Sightseeing

I know I have raved about how well the fabric softner worked on these Bratz dolls hair, but I am going to say it again - what magic stuff! I also gave a Barbie doll the same treatment, and considering this Barbie has quite bad quality hair, it came out well in the end. I will show you my latest dolly makeovers in my next post.

For now, here is a 'mystery pic' of a gorgeous doll that I got in one of the bulk doll bags at my favourite local op shop. I will blog about her (and the many other dolls I got in the bag) later on this week.

Mystery doll - can you guess who??

1950's and 1970's Vintage Clothing Patterns - Mother and Daughter

I have been 'missing in action' over the last month, but here I am at last. I had an operation a couple of months ago and I am fine now, but I have 'developed' another couple of symptoms that need looking in to. Nothing like everything happening at once!! Anyway, none of this has kept me away from the Op Shops, and I got this sweet little Enid Gilchrist pattern book for Women and Teenagers yesterday.

 

They suggest mixing and matching the skirts and tops to create many looks:

This pattern is for a slip to wear under a dress which '...fit(s) smoothly at the waistline, yet have ample fullness around the hem. You will like this pattern." I like the nifty panel insert under the bust and at the center back.

The advertisements are hilarious; one for the Commonwealth Savings Bank (an Australian bank which is still going strong) which advises teens to save up for their wardrobes with one of their bank accounts.

And this one for a Bernina Record sewing machine.

Going forward to 1978 is this cute pattern for little girls' dresses. I just love the artwork on these old patterns, and that is the reason I get them when I see them. This one has come all the way from Perth, by the looks of the shop stamp on the pattern cover.

I got a new follower recently; thankyou Nymphaea!

Dolls! Bratz Makeover Number Four

Bratz number four - before

Knotty ponytail

Here she is after her makeover with a new pair of Bratz brand pants and her washed and conditioned hair.

Back view showing green streak in hair

There are only two of the Op-Shop Five Bratz to have their makeovers and then I will show a group photo. I am keen to try this pattern to make some less trashy gear for the Bratz.  It also goes as number 0382; not sure why it has two pattern numbers.

 I am making a summer shirt for myself at the moment. It seems like it is taking forever!

Happy sewing everyone.

Dolls! Bratz Makeover Number 3

Here is Bratz dolly number three, she is one of the Op-Shop Five that I bought recently. To recap here is the original gang.  She is the second one from the right.

I did the usual thing of washing and conditioning her hair and then soaking it for a couple of hours in some water with a big dollop of fabric softner.  I also washed her clothes and she had a bath to try and remove some marks from her face and some on the back of her leg. I got the ones on her leg off but the ones on her face are stubborn and didn't quite come off.

Back view of messy hair

Now here she is post hair makeover and in a new outfit.  It wasn't made by me, just some left over Bratz clothing from an ebay doll lot I bid on recently.

Enjoying the spring weather, doing the gardening!

Backview of shiny hair after makeover



It's sunny outside!


Here are the two Bratz dolls from the Op-Shop Five that have had their makeover so far:

Now a word about that background they are standing on.  I have curtailed my fabric shopping quite well over the last couple of months but this was too much to resist when I was using a voucher in Lincraft recently. It is a cotton sateen with a little bit of stretch in it. I am thinking of making a jacket with it (for me). I had to lighten the photos a little so that you could see the hair on the dolls, so the fabric is slightly darker than it appears.

Dolls! 2007 Disney Mary Poppins from the Carousel Scene

It was auction day a couple of weeks ago, (a real live one instead of ebay) and I won this Mary Poppins doll. No-one really wanted her, but as you might know, I love Mary Poppins, and have the doll that I got from the stage play some years ago. My blogger is playing up so I can't link you to the Mary Poppins stories on this site, so just type her name in the 'search this blog' box at the top left of the screen.

Here is my other Mary Poppins doll from the stage show:

And some more views of the Mary Poppins from the auction. She is a Disney Mary Poppins, made in 2007 and they have made her look like Julie Andrews who played Mary Poppins in the famous movie. Even though she looks nothing like Barbie, this doll is part of the Barbie Collector Pink Label series. Not sure why they call her Barbie when she doesn't look anything like one. 

You  might not be able to see it, but the parrot head on her umbrella has a strange expression on it's face, as though it has been unwell or has a hang over after a few late nights out in a row.

The hat is turned up at the back:



 The back of the box shows photos from the carousel scene in the movie.

This is a close up of her dress from the movie:

Finally, a look at her from another angle, showing the carousel horse. She is a beautifull doll and I am glad that I won her.

Dolls! Bratz Hair Makeover, Number Two

Here is my latest Bratz hair makeover. I also washed her jeans and top, and she had a bath too!

To recap, I have a pic of her before her salon treatment.  What messy fly-away hair she had!

 I used the same shampoo and conditioner treatment, following up with a drop of fabric softener in a tub of water.  I rinsed her hair in the softner and water mixture and then gave it a quick rinse under the tap.

Letting the conditioner do it's magic

Beautiful glossy hair

Isn't that top a bit trashy? It is so tight and we can see your belly button!

What about trying on this jacket?

That's much better.

What else have you got in your wardrobe?

This hair makeover was a real success. I think it is the fabric softener that is doing the trick. I am not so sure I would use it on an old doll though. I wouldn't mind having another go at a Barbie doll to see if I could restore her hair, but I don't have any to practice on at the moment.

I am gearing up to make a shirt for myself, and maybe a couple more as the weather is slowing moving into spring mode.

Happy Sewing!

Dolls! Bratz Hair Makeover

Here is a Bratz dolly before her intensive salon treatment to improve her hair. I used a normal shampoo and conditioner (for humans, not dollies).

Knotty Bratz hair



This is the back view showing fairly knotty hair. I certainly couldn't get a comb through it. I finished off her salon treatment with a rinse in plenty of water in a basin with a big drop of fabric conditioner. I had read that  fabric conditioner is great for getting out matting and knots in doll hair. After her hair had partly dried, it appeared a bit greasy so I rinsed it again in some water. 

Here she is post salon treatment, sorting through her accessories. Her hair can be easily combed now.

Shiny hair again!

Pretty in her sparkles and tulle dress

I washed the pink sparkles and tulle dress that she came with and got rid of a lot of fluff that had attached itself to the tulle, along with her hair and what I think was her previous owner's hair.

 

Regular Bratz and Bendy Arm Eyelash Bratz


 Here she is posing with her new best friend, another ebay purchase, a Bratz with bendy arms and applied eyelashes. I have no idea what kind of Bratz she is, although I have heard of them being referred to as 'Eyelash Bratz'.

My blogger is playing up terribly, so sorry if this post looks a bit shabby in respect to layout (and typos!).