The mailman brought a box to my front door today… It wasn’t a surprise. I knew it was coming because I won what was inside on Ebay. It was a tall box about 20 inches long, and about 8″ wide. Anyone have any guesses what comes in those size Priority boxes? A doll, you say? Well, you’ll have to see…
Normally I’m fairly civil about opening my boxes, but as you can see, this one got totally emaciated. Part of it was the tape was really stuck.
The mailman just missed my hubby being gone by about 5 minutes… When the box came I went outside and got it, and another box… and when I came in I sort of put the longer box in the nearest chair and the small box on the table. I thought maybe my hubby wouldn’t see box #1, but he did! “What’s that????” he said with sort of a drawn out questioning tone… I said, “Well, if I like it, it might be my birthday present!” “Really?” he asked… then he watched me open it. *sigh*
I’m sorry to say I got so engrossed in opening the box, I forgot to take any pictures…
This is what was inside… (or should I say “who” was inside…)
She’s a very early Felicity doll by the Pleasant Company. [I have been stalking Ebay looking for one to replace the two I used to have. There are many many dolls on Ebay but I wanted one of the older looking dolls, but so many of them have issues… faded out eyebrows and lips, wonky eyes, missing eyelashes, dry hair, cut hair, missing pincurls, loose legs, shine or rubs on their faces,… and the list goes on.]
Her irises are smaller than the dolls that I have on my shelf at the moment. They are a very pretty green, but not that neon green that the Mattel Company manufactured after they took over The Pleasant Company. Actually as I look at the pictures on here, they aren’t even that green… just really nice!
This is the 3rd Felicity I have owned. I had one that had the wonky eyes and a wig that was so much like straw, you could almost use it for a broom. Here she is…I almost cringed every time I took pictures of her where those eyes looked crooked.
My other Felicity was the very first doll I sewed clothing for and she was just sort of plain looking…nothing special. Her coloring wasn’t great and she has sort of a slick finish to her skin which made it difficult to photograph. I sold both of those Felicity’s and started using Elizabeth for my Colonial dresses.
This new Felicity came in a “Made for Pleasant Company” dress with the tag saying so. She has the pretty copper colored eyelashes instead of the harsher black ones. Her socks were riddled with holes…
Her wig has the little ribbon like part that hangs down in the back and you can see the words Pleasant Company in the block lettering on the back of her neck.
Her hair was a wreck, but the pictures I took of it didn’t turn out. It wasn’t dry so much as it was dull looking. It was sort of coarse feeling and needed to be washed really badly.
Her face was very different feeling…almost like felt or fuzz on a peach. I guess it was just a sort of matte finish I didn’t remember was on some of the earlier dolls. I was worried that if I tried to wash her face, it might all wash off, so I started with her legs and arms and worked my way up. I used one of my face cleansing cloths that have no perfumes, or chemicals, or alcohol in it.
I made it up to her face and washed the back of her neck first, just to be sure. I did under her chin and it seemed like it was going to be okay. I washed her face and it was pretty dirty.
I gently brushed her hair first to get all the tangles out as best I could before I decided to wash it. I used a gentle shampoo and she loved having me scrub her head. The water made her little ringlets pop out better and there are 3 of them… 2 are fairly curly and the one the right side is a bit stubborn and a bit “uncurly!” I may have to train it with some bobbie pins.
Well, I really hate to do this to you, but you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see if she turned out beautiful… sorry…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, Jeanne, you DID find a very pretty Felicity! She looks a lot like mine, although I don’t have an early one. Mine is from 2008, so I guess I have one of the newer ones with the neon green eyes, but they don’t look it to me! I was new to AG then, so didn’t know there was a difference. That poor box! I think you will have a lot of fun sewing for her, and she will make a lovely model for you.
Yes, I know how hard it is to get a doll from the earlier PC days that still looks good. What gets me every time are those horribly faded faces and the straw-like hair. Just not pretty! However, some of the newer dolls made now have too much face paint in my opinion. They might look good 10 years from now though—LOL!
Well, congrats on your new doll and I can’t wait to see what you do for her next and how she turns out after her spa treatment!!.
HI Linda,
Yes, she is a pretty one and I’m so happy! I want to put some curlers in her hair and another lady just emailed me with a tip of putting just a little bit of armour all on your hands and rubbing it in the dolls hair. She said it makes it shine and look very pretty. I may try that.
Well, my sister is coming and all I’ve gotten done is… FELICITY! Yikes, I need to step it up!
Blessings, Jeanne
Congrats on your new girl. 🙂
HI Christine,
Thanks so much… she’s going to be a fun doll to have around… I love her.
Blessings, Jeanne
Congrats on your new Felicity. I thought that was funny about the box because that’s what my arrivals end up looking like! Too much tape. (Except your boxes – they are easy to open yet secure and I always open them with such care!) I just love the color of her hair. It’s a pretty color of red. The clean up you did on her is already amazing. It is so much fun to clean a doll up. Her face and coloring looks really good too.
Can’t wait to see her finished. She will love being with the your other girls.
Blessings!
HI Paula,
I am thrilled with her now that she’s all cleaned up. She will get lots of pretty dresses if she sticks around here… I’m glad to have her as part of my doll family.
Thanks so much…
Hey, I see you got the Paula F. thing changed??? Wonderful.
blessings, Jeanne
Hi Jeanne,
Yes, you found one of those 1991 copper haired ribbon wigged beauties. The green eyes on those are much softer and those gorgeous coppery lashes and soft vinyl. That is exactly what my Felicity is. I bought a NIB PC 1991 one and was lucky that she had three pincurls on each side and came with three complete early PC outfits including her Christmas gown for $150. I nearly fainted when I saw the BIN. I know you usually sell the meet dresses, but if your Felicity came in her original tagged Made in West Germany like mine did you may want to hang on to it and besides she looks so pretty in it. She has my favorite and IMO was the prettiest doll Pleasant Company ever made.
Congratulations on your lovely new girl. I can’t wait to see what you make for her.
The best thing to clean those early girls with is baking soda mixed with water. That is what PC marketed as their “Cleansing Powder” long ago.
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for your comments. Once I took my time and really looked over the dolls I could see the differences and was more than willing to wait for one to come along with all the things I wanted.
Do you know if you can pull a little sprig of hair down, and make a new pincurl? just wondering…
Yes, her dress is the older version made in West Germany…
Thanks for all your tips, Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
You can try to make a new pincurl, but first have you pulled her hair back and looked all around the hairline? Unless someone cut them off, one may be hiding since they are put on separately under the wig Look about 1/2 inch down from her part, then caddy-corner up from the corner of her eye and then right above her ear.
those are the three places they are attached. It is true that some Felicity dolls only came with four pincurls like my daughter’s has. I held out for one with six. 🙂
Have a wonderful weekend.
HI Laura,
I can see where the one on the top right side has been snipped off. They left about 1/8″ of it showing… I’ve looked and don’t see the other ones…
I might try doing one on the back side of her neck to see if it works or not…
Thanks, Jeanne
HI Jeanne,
She is a beauty…lovely hair and eyes! It does pay to keep watching. Can’t wait to see her final look. Cleaning up an old doll is instant gratification! I swear they smile afterwards! 🙂
When you get Mary Ellen take a picture of them together ..just to compare the original with the new ones.
Have a wonderful weekend!
HI Kathie,
Thanks so much… there’s nothing like other doll lovers to egg you on to get more dolls… Of course, I did buy Felicity on my own…without any coaxing from anyone…
But…. I did see that line of yours where you said, “When you get Maryellen…” now Kathie…
I never said I was getting her….but….
Oh dear…
Blessings, Jeanne
He He He…
Jeanne, it is very nice when an AG doll arrives and is in good shape. AND as described in the auction. Your Felicity is going to be lovely when you are done with the cleaning and hair do work. Her eyes are beautiful.
I also ordered a Felicity off of eBay and was terribly disappointed. She was described as being owned by a “doll collector”. Her hair is nice and she was clean but her legs and arms are totally wonky ! Almost to the point of being ripped off. I am going to just give her to one of the grands who will enjoy her as is.
I am trying to decide if I should just buy on of the red head/green eyed Just Like Me dolls and let her be Felicity. I am tired to AG dolls with loose limbs.
I am sure we all are looking forward to the new creations you will make for Felicity. This should be fun !!
Thanks Jeannie,
I’m so sorry you got a “not so great Felicity.” Are you afraid to tighten her legs and arms yourself? It’s not that hard to do and there are lots of tutorials on the internet that you can watch as you do it. You can’t really make it any worse than she probably already is. Just a thought…
Felicity will have to wait on some dresses as I need to get some other dolls on that list you all voted for finished up. It’s nice knowing that she’ll be waiting for me though….
Thanks Jeannie,
Blessings, Jeanne
I sent 2 of mine to the AG doll hospital. Directions are on the AG site. They definitely are able to tighten their legs and they clean them and sometimes work on the hair. My Lindsay had loose legs, which are common on those dolls, and they said it was an AG problem, not one I was responsible for, and they sent me a refund. I think it’s worth a try.
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn,
That’s great news about your dolls legs being their problem and getting a refund back. Wonderful news in fact! I might think about it…
Thanks Marilyn,
blessings, Jeanne
Felicity is very pretty, I love redheads and her eyes are lovely. I do love the colonial dresses that you make for your dolls. Just wondering if you have an August birthday.
Hi Regina,
Yes, I love redheads too… it’s a good thing since I HAD 2 redheaded kids. Thanks for the compliments on my Colonial dresses. I have missed making them… maybe Felicity will spur me on to make them again. I hope so…
And yes, I have a birthday on the 29th of this month…and it’s not going to be an easy one…it’s the last of the 50’s for me… I’ll turn 59!!! UGH!
Thanks Regina,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, Jeanne, she’s already beautiful!! Her eyes are lovely, and those coppery lashes–wow!
Interesting, Laura’s comments about the pin curls, and Marilyn’s, about the loose legs.
I keep learning things!
I also have a Felicity, mine is from about 2000, I think, and I’ve rarely had her out of the box. She was my anniversary present from dh when we were on a trip to the midwest, and we stopped at the (then) only AG Place in Chicago! I bought so much stuff, I had to have some of it shipped to my house! LOL
Molly had gone along on our trip, and she dressed up in her best vintage-looking dress (which I made), ruffled anklets and black patent Mary Janes, and I carried her all around the store. Several employees stopped and complemented me on her outfit!
However, I’ve gotten sidetracked with other dolls (most recently Little Darlings) so I haven’t done as much with my AGs and some others recently.
Charlotte
Hi Charlotte, thanks for the compliments on Felicity! I really am excited to sew for her again!
I know what you mean about getting sidetracked with other dolls. I was just talking to my sister tonight about how to fit sewing for all of them into my schedule. It’s hard to figure out.
Someday I hope to make it to an AG store!!!
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, Jeanne, if you ever Do make it to an AG store, allow plenty of time–I think we spent at least two hours in the Chicago one all those years ago, and I could have spent twice as long, I’m sure! LOL But….dh was along, and Trying to be Very. Patient. so I didn’t want to overdo! LOL
Now, however, there is an AG store less than 15 MINUTES from my house!! Yes, I have been there a “few” times!! LOL My girlfriend Marika and I have lunch in their bistro at least once a year (she works full time, so didn’t have a lot of time, but will be retiring soon….), and of course we each bring a doll!! They have treat seats for our dolls to sit in, and if someone hasn’t brought a doll of her own, they offer “loaner dolls” to sit at your table! Fun! (The food is good, too.)
Charlotte
Charlotte
Jeanne,
She has turned out just beautiful. Her hair is amazing…
Have fun with this new girl..
Judi
Do you have a Samantha?