Re-root: Rashida

Hello, dolly friends!

Today I'd like to introduce Rashida, one of my latest re-roots.

As you may know, I'm a huge fan of thrift shopping. I love to find well-loved dolls and adopt them, giving them a new home, plenty of brothers and sisters to make mischief with, and of course, a makeover.

Rashida, named after my girl crush Rashida Jones, was a Princess of India Barbie. I found her nude, with matted hair, at Savers. I tried de-tangling, but there were too many broken strands, so I re-rooted her with Black Orchid, one of my favorite colors of saran hair. I also gave her an articulated body, and wow! Quite a transformation.

Rashida is wearing a sweater, pants, and necklace that I made. I love the look on her, but confession? The above photo almost didn't happen. You see, she saw the Batik Quilt set up with all its pillows...

And she decided that she would much rather take a nap! "This is comfy," she said. "So, so comfy. I'm never getting up."

I tried to get her off the bed, but she wouldn't listen. She pretended to be asleep, but her snores weren't all that convincing. And so I enlisted the help of a friend, Ellie the elephant. "Wake up, Rashida!" Said Ellie. "It's snuggle time! Come on... pleeeeeease????"

Nobody, no matter how tired or stubborn she is, can resist the charm of a tiny blue stuffed elephant. So after a few minutes, Rashida groaned and sat up. "OK, Ellie. I'm up. Just stop giving me the sad eyes, will you? It's heartbreaking."

I let her enjoy some Ellie time, and then I pounced. "Since nap time's finished," I said, "I guess you can get that photo taken after all." Ellie, being a good helper, nudged Rashida off the bed, and Rashida mumbled something about us being devious and evil.

Guilty, as charged. But a girl has to be clever when dealing with dolls! I should never have let her see the bed, but it was set up for another photo shoot -- I really wanted to show off that quilt. It and the pillows were made with Idea Store fabric, which was one of my best fabric finds to date -- batik is so expensive in fabric stores! The sequined pillow was made with felt and embroidery floss from the very same place. It was going to get a post of its own, but dolls happen.

And that concludes today's post! Stay tuned for more re-roots, more dolls with attitude, and perhaps... more stuffed animals to help with doll wrangling.

Much love,

Sarah J Sequins

(And helpful elephant)