(Just a quick note… I DID get Rebecca’s Civil War dress set all finished, the pictures are taken and cropped, and I just have to get it listed on Ebay…I’ll do my best to get it on Saturday evening!)
I’ll be showing you three different dolls today. Two of the dolls are real… one just turned 4, and the other just turned one month old…
Let’s start with Gaterah… my Haitian friend’s new baby. I showed you a post on her when she was first born… (HERE)
I found out her name is pronounced Get Truh… only 2 syllables… with the accent on the first part… “Get” Truh…(almost like “truck” without the “ck” on it.) I had it wrong on that first day’s post. Anyway, she turned one month old on Thursday… I thought you might like to see an update of her…she is one living doll!
Bithar said she has just started smiling… I caught one!
Okay… MOM, WHO IS THIS LADY??? She’s scaring me!!! (photo session is over for her!)
The next doll I want to share with you is Esther… Gaterah’s big sister… only 4, but bigger than her! She had a birthday and I surprised her with a doll, like I did her sister, Deborah… My pictures aren’t the clearest… (there was lots of action in the room!)
She’s definitely got mom’s smile!
…her big sister, Deborah had to get in the pictures too…
The last doll was a poor little thing that Deborah brought out to me… She said Esther had marked on her with markers… and her hair was a total wreck.. I don’t know what it was supposed to have looked like… style wise…
I wondered if I could fix her, and asked them if I could bring the doll home to try to get the marks off. I was surprised myself at how sweet she turned out with a little scrubbing and a dolly wig brush… they had braided little tiny braids in her hair and I did my best to undo them… and put the hair in pig tails…
Here’s what she looks like now…
Much better, don’t you think? I’m going to have a little talk with Esther about not marking on her dolls anymore… :o)
Well, that’s my three doll stories… I hope you enjoyed them. They LOVE my corn casserole, so I doubled the recipe and made one for them… Bithar was so excited…no cooking!
See you Monday,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a beautiful baby Gaterah is with all those wonderful expressions to share her feelings with. You sure caught them well. The sidelong glance is my favorite. Her sisters are just as pretty.
So now you are the Dolly Miracle Worker! I can’t believe the difference. I’d love to watch you do whatever it is you do to the hair. It must take a lot of time and patience. The doll must feel like it has been rescued. No excuse for me not to mess with my dolls’ hair. Thanks for sharing your day and your generosity with us.
I got my flu shot yesterday, FluAd for people over 65, a little stronger version. Now’s the time if you do get flu shots. Don’t forget the shingles immunization, a one-shot deal.
Thank you Susette,
All the dolls are truly beautiful… even the “non-living” one…now!
NO, I’m not a dolly miracle worker… it wasn’ t that hard to get it off.. a rag, warm water and a Q-tip for the lip cracks and the nostrils and ears. I think maybe it was washable markers..,. the hair was the biggest challenge.
I hope you haven’t had any side effects from your shot… :o)
Thank you Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a delight this morning to see these 3, or 4, or 5 dollies, Jeanne!!! I can’t get over how very pretty Gaterah is at one month! Those chubby cheeks, big brown eyes, and curly black hair ——-adorable! You certainly did capture her expressions well, as Susette said.
What did you use to get the marks off the doll face? That is just amazing! I think that when Esther sees her, she will be much more careful from now on!
Your corn casserole IS good and it looks like you had something for everyone in the family! No wonder they love you!
HI LInda,
I totally agree, Gaterah was beautiful on day one, but now she’s turning very sweet and cute as a button. She was good the whole time I was there visiting… I love the smile shot… she did it several times… but I caught only one…
Like I told Susette, I think maybe the markers were water soluble… it wasn’t that much work… just getting it mostly out of the crevices on her face… I just used warm water and a washcloth… then a Q-tip. I think I’m going to take it in the morning and surprise the girls (and Bithar) with the doll… they’ll be surprised… probably like “I” was. I didn’t think she would turn out so cute!
I did have something for everyone… Samuel LOVES marshmallows so I tool him and Deborah a bag….and told them they had to share with Esther… but she got a gift…
Bithar and Jean LOVE the casserole so that was gift enough for them…
Thanks so much Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
What a pretty family. I think Gaterah has a future in film. What an expressive person she is. Look at that perfect skin — and she already has all that thick healthy hair. The whole family is beautiful.
Is Gaterah’s outfit from her shower? It’s certainly becoming, but anything would be on that pretty little girl.
Now Bithar is in trouble — Esther and Deborah are going to want their hair styled like their doll. Next time you’ll have to bring a box of hair ribbons, one set for each girl. I’ll bet Deborah is old enough to learn to tie bows. You’ll have to put the newly cleaned doll in a box with a ribbon and take a picture when Deborah opens the box. A reclaimed doll is as good as a new one, and often better.
HI Marilyn,
I was noticing how expressive Gaterah is too! She is a girl with many looks! :o) I can’t remember if this little pink number came from her shower, but I bet it did!
I think I’m going to put the doll in a box and give it to them in the morning… I hope I’m there when they both see it! I’d love to capture their expression!
Thanks so much Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Babies of all ages are adorable. Thank you for sharing. On the doll, if you have any blush, powder or cream in a coral tint or similar, you can rub that into the cheeks, back of hands and elbows and knees and tops of the feet for a blush affect. It will soak in and after a couple applications it will stay for a long time. So test it, but you will be surprised at how much it does for the looks of the doll.
HI April,
Thanks for the tips about the blushing on dolls. Actually the doll does have pinky cheeks, but for some reason it doesn’t show up in my pictures. Thanks for your information… maybe someone else can use it! :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
What a lovely transformation you’ve performed on that wee doll, it looks like new, and what chubby cheeks it has, I just want to give them a little pinch. 🙂
Cheers,
X
Thank you Xanadu,
The doll truly looks 100% better with her new face and hairdo. I’ve been practicing what I’m going to say to Esther about not marking on dolls. What a shame it would have been if I hadn’t been able to get the marker off…poor little dolly…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
Maybe you should just suggest that Esther “ask mommy” if something is okay to mark on. That would cover a lot of possible situations!
Beautiful, Jeanne. It’s wonderful that you have such happy friends with happy dolls.
Blessings.
Hi Becky,
What’s fun for me is I have HAPPY READERS, who like to read my happy stories! I’m so glad you’re a reader! :o)
Blessings to you Becky,
~Jeanne
The baby and her two big sisters are all adorable!! The doll turned out great. Good work! 😀
HI Christine,
It was sort of fun to take a break and do a fun dolly project that challenged me a little bit! Thanks so much for your comments,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh my goodness…Gaterah is ADORABLE!!! What a perfect and beautiful baby and wow, the doll the girls brought you looks brand new after you worked your magic. It’s beautiful and I bet they were thrilled! I hope Esther learns not to mark her babies anymore 😉 The main reason I’m writing is because I don’t get to read your blog every day and I can’t find the corn casserole recipe anywhere. If it’s not too much trouble, could you email it to me? I sure would appreciate it. I’ve loved all your recipes and wish now that I’d have put them in a separate folder so I could go back and find them without going through every blog. The shed looks fabulous, the latest civil war dress you did was gorgeous, like all the rest. I was wondering what you decided on for a name. Blessings, Jeanne!
Thank you Bobi,
I hope seeing the new look on the dolls face will certainly help Esther remember not to mark on any more dolls. I don’t know when the doll was marked on, but Deborah got her for her birthday last year, in October, so if Esther did it back then, it was quite a while ago… maybe she didn’t know any better…
I’ll put the link to the casserole here for you… but you can also go to the little box at the right sidebar, just under the Ebay listings. It’s a little white box with a green box that says “SEARCH” beside it. If you type in anything there, and click the enter button, if it’s mentioned in my blog post somewhere, it should come up… So you should be able to type in Corn Casserole recipe and it will come up.. if it’s mentioned in more than one post, you may have to search that post to find the link to the recipe.
But I’ll put it here for you now…
Corn Casserole Recipe
Now, watch out, because in my listing, I think my picture of the sour cream is the big container…I’ve doubled it…so if you only want to make one batch of it, just read the directions…
The name I decided on was “Apple Butter Sweet”… somehow that one just stuck in my head and I was thinking of a story almost immediately. I knew it was going to involve apple butter somehow…
Thanks Bobi,
I hope your corn casserole is wonderful…
Blessings, Jeanne
Such a sweet little bundle is that Gaterah.
Dolly miracle make over. Quite amazing I’d say.
Speaking of dollies, Maru & Friends has a special new doll called Raven. A new sculpt. Won’t arrive until probably November, but she is very cute. Same size as the LD’s, and so much less expensive.
Absolutely love the apple butter first place! Such a great story. When is that book coming out? The one of the dolly dresses/stories?? 🙂
HI Joy,
I haven’t had a chance today to look at the new Maru doll, but I’m going to before I go to bed!
You certainly keep me on my toes, Joy! If you were here, you’d have a whip after me, “get that book written, get those cabinets painted, get that window trim up, make more pantalettes, sell more fabric…” I know you would! :o)
Thanks for making me smile this late in my very busy day, Joy!
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne,
One of the things that I love most about you is how you let your light shine for Jesus. You are always looking for ways to be a blessing to others. Your testimony to this family has made a difference in their lives. Loving on the family, especially their children has had an impact since they have come to the US and do know alot of people or alot about our culture. The baby is just beautiful as are her two sisters; thank you for sharing the pictures.
You were so kind to take the bewildered baby doll and give her some TLC. What a difference you made in that doll; she cleaned up beautifully. Yes, I agree, you do need to have a little talk with the girls to take better care of their babies just as their Mother takes care of their baby sister. 🙂
Thank you for your very sweet words, Laureen. I’m very humbled at what you wrote. I just want to be a blessing to those around me…and if it’s fixing dollies, and making corn casserole and finding furniture for internationals, so be it! :o)
I’ve been thinking all day how I can share with Ester about taking care of things that are special… I think she’ll listen to me…
Thanks so much Laureen,
Blessings, Jeanne
Gaterah is one beautiful baby! Her sisters are just as pretty. They must love it when you come..yummy food and presents.☺️
You can see why I love repairing dolls….you receive a dirty, messy doll with matted hair and cleaning and a new hair do make all the difference. I love using “no more tangles” on dolly hair. It will clean hair if it is just dusty…I saturate a piece of towel and clean an area at a time. ..then blot with a dry towel. It smells good and of course helps with tangles.
Have a good weekend!
Thank you Kathie,
I can see why you DO enjoy it.. I had no idea what to expect on the dolls face and was quite pleased with the results.. taking out that tiny braids they had put in her hair took the longest, I think. There really wasn’t much else to do besides put them in pony tails… I think she looks pretty cute now and I can’t wait to see the girls faces…
I’ll give the No More Tangles a try next time I need to fix some hair problems..
Thank you Kathie…
Blessings, Jeanne
All three of those girls are just beautiful, Jeanne!! Thanks for sharing pictures of them.
Yes, I would say that Esther probably used water-based, or “washable”, markers on their doll. Otherwise, soap and water wouldn’t have budged them! I remember a Cabbage Patch Kid I bought in the thrift store one time–the body was in excellent condition and I think still had the original sleeper on, but someone had taken a Sharpie pen (definitely NOT water soluble!) and outlined all the features of her face, and brought the marks around the back of the head, too!
I got them all out, but it did take time, and several applications of Oxy 10 (acne treatment–get the plain kind, not the tinted one). I applied it with a Q-tip and let the doll sit for two or three days, washed off the dried stuff, and repeated. Every mark came out! I later sold her at a doll show, and no one knew that she had been such a mess!!
As Kathie said, it IS fun to be able to restore a doll, whether it’s removing marks, restyling hair, or just a general clean-up!
Thank you Charlotte,
What a great story about your Cabbage Patch Kid save! With a little work, just about anything can be saved.
I’ve never used that Oxy 10 but really should get some and see what I can fix on my dolls. I’m sure there are stains on somebody!!!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne