Re-root: Nora

Dolly friends, it's been forever since I've posted!

This isn't to say that I've done nothing doll-related. Actually, just the opposite. I've bought a few new dolls, including one of my very first non-Mattel dolls. I've worked on a few re-roots. And more than anything, I've taken photos. Literally hundreds of them.

Today's photos are from one of my earliest photo shoots, and they're of one of my favorite dolls. This is Alianora, also known as Nora, and she's been in my collection for over twenty years. She's one of the few remaining from my original collection.

Nora is a Western Stampin' Tara Lynn. I was immediately drawn to her because of her bright blue eyes and jet black hair.

However! After years of adventures in the stream by my childhood home, baths, boil perms, boil straightenings, and just about every crazy hairstyle you could imagine, the jet black had faded to slate gray. It looked a little like wool.

Nora got a re-root in a nice, glossy nylon. She also got one more bath to remove the Mod Podge I'd put on her face years and years and years ago... for whatever reason.

Here she is with a change of costume...

And here she is with some jewelry. Like the dress, it was made by yours truly.

And last but not least, here's my favorite photo of her so far. I really like the styling of this one.

When I was younger and she was part of my original collection, her character was a bookworm. I would always place her on a bookshelf or in a corner of the room with a doll-sized book in her lap. Now that she's been around for awhile, I think of her as the advisor to the other dolls.

She had me keep a lock of her old hair as a reminder of all we've been through together. She's thrilled with the re-root, though, and has told me in no uncertain terms that there will be no more swimming in streams for her.

These aren't my best photos, but I thought I'd share them anyway. They were another experiment in lighting, and also in photo staging. And also in photo editing, which I haven't really gotten the hang of just yet, but which I'll continue to play around with.

Stay tuned for more photos! Things have been rough for me lately for a number of reasons, and I've realized that I need to throw myself into something creative again. To focus on one of the best parts of my life, namely my plastic family and the people who appreciate them.

Much love,

Sarah J Sequins

(And dolls)