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)

Pink and purple quilt!

Dolly friends, I had so much fun showing off my blue and white doll quilt, I thought I'd share another one. Introducing... the pink and purple quilt!

This is the second quilt I made during my quilt-making frenzy last year. It and the pillows are made of Idea Store fabrics, and most of the pieces are leftover scraps from doll dresses. The felt pillow is also made of Idea Store materials and stuffed with scraps of fabric that were too small to sew -- waste not, want not, right?

The bed skirt is just a piece of lace I pinned in the back, and the bed itself is a plastic storage container that used to hold beads; at the moment, it holds all the matchless shoes I keep finding in thrift stores. The bed goes in the pink and purple room with a nice faux-wicker chair and tiny vase of flowers -- both incredible Idea Store finds. Besides dolls, it's also a resting place for one of their stuffed animals, a tiny blue elephant. Ellie was originally on a key chain I found at Joann's. I wanted to show her off, since she's very cute, but she was feeling camera shy.

At the moment, I have seven quilts left to show you. A tame number, compared to all the ziplock bags full of interesting fabric combinations, lurking in my closet! I hope to show them soon, but until then, I have photos of some new dolls to share. I'll post them in the next few days.

Much love,

Sarah J. Sequins

(And quilts)

World Doll Day tag!

Dolly friends, did you know that earlier this month it was World Doll Day? Yes, there is a holiday devoted to celebrating, and to giving, dolls! This year, there is also a World Doll Day tag, and I was chosen by my friend the Fashion Doll Stylist to participate. Today I'm going to name my three favorite doll purchases from last year, as well as three Holy Grail dolls that I haven't yet added to my collection.

Since my dolls are in charge of... pretty much everything around here, they decided that for this post, there had to be Rules, so as to minimize hurt feelings. I could not feature a doll who had already appeared on this blog, and I could not feature a re-root. The dolls featured must have their original hair. However, since the girls are nothing if not reasonable, they said I could re-dress my three dolls any way I want.

So I did just that, and then I had an idea. I would not only feature three dolls, but I would skip the boring white background and do something a little more fun. Each doll got to pose in this setup:

The end table is from the Idea Store. The little rotary phone is from Sally's Army. The tiny bear is from Goodwill. The quilt and the pillows were made by me, with Idea Store fabric, felt, and beads. The bed itself is just a square cookie tin -- that way it has a storage function. The rug and wall paper are from the Idea Store, too. 

Here's my first doll, Gianna (Gia). She was originally a Spanish Barbie, and I bought her off of eBay after literally dreaming about her every night since I was a child in the 1990's. I took her earrings out and re-styled her hair, and she's wearing one of my favorite dresses. She's snuggling with Cedric the bear.

The next doll is one I'd been wanting since around 2000, when I saw her in a collector's book. She's a Japanese New Year Barbie, and I've named her Mirabelle after my favorite bakery. Because I'm eccentric, and I often name my dolls after favorite things.

The final doll is Tessa, who was originally Secret Spells Kayla. I wanted one when they first came out, but the line was pulled after some silliness. So I had to wait. It was worth it, though! Tessa is wearing a dress made out of hand-painted fabric, and you probably can't tell in the photo, but it's sparkly. This is Tessa's dress -- other dolls can borrow it, but it has to come right back to her or she gets fussy. Most of the girls love swapping outfits, but a few of them get territorial. I can't deny that she looks pretty.

As for my Holy Grail dolls, My Melody used to be at the top of the list, but now I have her. So now I'm after Uhura Barbie -- not because I'm a Star Trek fan, but because she's just so darn gorgeous, and I'm a fan of Nichelle Nichols. I'm in love with Tokidoki Barbie because of her fierce pink hair and tattoos, but she's way out of my price range, which is why I customized a doll to look like her. And then I want this red-haired Barbie Basics doll (or this beauty). But of course, I love almost every doll in that line.

Before I go, I have to say that the dolls did not know about World Doll Day until it was over, and they wondered... where was their celebration? Where were their dolls??? Allison has had her eye on Divergent Ken for a year now, and she says it's about time that I buy him for her. To make up for my oversight, they want me to start planning for next year... now. They've decided that there will be a doll ball with new clothing galore, and I have a sinking feeling that means more jewelry, too. And bags. And shoes. I heard something about a marble dance floor, but I'm pretending I didn't hear that bit.

Maybe I can just buy the hot guy and call it even? I'll have to see what The Bosses have to say about this.

Much love,

Sarah J Sequins

(And dolls)