On Sunday I was in a happy mood, wrapping Christmas presents and looking forward to going out for our anniversary supper in the evening....I also was enjoying a little bit of dolly time before having to leave them all to their own devices whilst I prepare for Christmas and the arrival from the UK of my mum and brother John.
Ellie, my lovely Little Darling, painted by Dianna Effner, was in need of a change of clothes. She's been modelling for me but was just in her undies :) I picked her up and thought her wig felt a little dry, so I went through my wig box trying different wigs on her. As I did this, I noticed that her eyes were a little dusty, so I picked up a piece of knit fabric that was to hand and gave her eyes a wipe over. Something looked a bit 'amiss' I thought, so I grabbed my 'reading' glasses to take a closer look. I noticed that one of her eyes looked 'cloudy', I touched it and it felt sort of 'rough', the only word I can think of to describe it really...so thinking something had got on it, I wiped again with a tissue....I didn't do it hard but it didn't make any difference, it looked like Ellie was getting a 'cataract'! I was horrified.
To cut a long story short, one of her eyes is damaged. I was so upset, I admit that despite her just being a doll, I cried. Basically, one eye looks fine and from the side is still shiny and domed, but the 'effected' eye is flat and lifeless, no dome, no shine, nothing.
I decided the only thing to do was email Dianna Effner herself and see if she could help. I also posted about it on the Little Darlings Forum in the hope that someone could help. A lovely Moderator on there emailed me with Dianna's email address and I sent her a message. I didn't expect to hear back from Dianna quickly, I appreciate she is very busy and gets lots of emails, never mind the fact that it was a Sunday. However, when we got back from our meal on Sunday night, there was a reply from Dianna, she asked me to send Ellie to her and she'll redo her eye(s) and will do so as quickly as possible so that I'm not without her for too long!!!!!! How wonderful is that?
I will be getting Ellie packaged up and shipped off to the US very soon....I'm currently debating on whether to send her this week or wait a couple of weeks until after Christmas....I don't think I could bare it if she went missing on top of this.
In the meantime, here are a few of my favourite closeups of my lovely girl.....I decided against sharing photos of her current state on here, I'd rather look at her how she was and hope you all will too.
Great you found help so fast. Your dolly will soon be cured and a beauty again!
ReplyDeleteOh I can understand how upset you are....
ReplyDeleteI would be inclined to wait until after Christmas to send her off....to avoid her getting mixed up in all the busy post. Wonderful help though and hope she will be back to her beautiful self.
Sharon what a shock for you! No wonder you got tearful ! Nothing worse than realising that something you treasure been damaged !
ReplyDeleteand what a wonderful person Diane is for offering to redo her eyes as quick as possible for you.
I'm sure that Diane won't do anything until after the Christmas holiday , so you may has well hold on to her until the new year, then pop her in the post and she'll soon return as good as new.
Big big hugs for the shock! Dee xxx
oh my gosh!, I totally can understand you!, it happened to me 2 times something similar with the face up of my girls, one of them was my favorite girl at home, my Charlotte!, her face up was damaged and I cried like a little girl for 2 days! after the shock I wiped her face up and tried to make it myself and was very bad. I could not stop crying , it was horrible!, a few days later I could leave her in person at Volks store in Tokyo ( I was on vacation there and it happened 3 days before going to Japan). So I know what you are feeling, but, I feel happy for you too because you were lucky too that Diane got to you and want to help you!, so your girl will look in a few days as new! *____*. Just to let you know that she is my favorite of your dolls!, I wish I could get one little and beautiful girl like yours one day!! Merry Christmas my dear! <3<3<3
ReplyDeleteOh S! So sorry to her your little girl needs a little surgery on her mince pies :) (Excuse seasonal pun!)
ReplyDeleteSending you both a virtual hug xxx
I find this a lot with dolls that I have stored - well the eyes go cloudy, but don't feel rough. They are all old so I can't send them back to the manufacturer. I just clean them with a little brass polish (shock horror) and that seems to do the trick. But I wouldn't do it if they were valuable...
ReplyDeletePenny
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Oh, that is terrible! I wonder what causes something like this? I'm happy for you that she will be restored! She is so adorable, and her eyes make her so realistic. Poor you, I understand how you feel, big hugs dear Sharon!!! xxx
ReplyDeletePoor Ellie and poor you. I'm glad you're getting her taken care of so she can be all beautiful again. She's by far my favorit of your new (as in not BJDs) dolls. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Lots of hugs and love from Denmark.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful thing to happen. It is quite distressing when our dolls are 'sick' despite the fact that we know they only LOOK like people.
ReplyDeleteI do hope she is home very soon. Dianna sounds to be a lovely lady and must know how long you hd to wait for her dols to be painted on order, so I'm sure Ellie will be home very soon. In the meantime, you have these beautiful photos to remind you of her - she is a very special little girl.
Jenni xx
What a shock about her eyes, thankfully they can be fixed but I wonder how they got damaged. I would hold onto her until after Christmas then ship her, fully insured of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the lovely and encouraging comments. I am lucky that Dianna Effner answered me so quickly and that she is happy to redo her at their expense....such a relief. And yes, I'm going to wait until after Christmas to send her, just in case. We all know what the postal service can be like at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Ellie will be back to me in no time and will be just as she was before.
Thanks again, big hugs
Sharon xxx
c'est vraiment dommage , mais je vois que tout va rentré dans l'ordre ...cette petite à un magnifique visage !
ReplyDeleteMerci. J'espère qu'il ne sera pas longtemps avant que vous la voyez ici cherche belle à nouveau. :) xxx
DeleteHow wonderful that Dianna was so responsive Sharon! I am so sorry for Ellie's clouded eye and guess these things happen from time to time? Your sweet Ellie will be good as new and back with you quickly I am sure! I have notuced that Christmas shipping here is most efficient and a good time to mail but you must mail when you think best. :) xxx
ReplyDeleteWow! That is so great! I met Robert Tonner at a doll kickoff party at the Tonner store in NY. I brought along my daughter's Hermione Granger Tonner doll that had a broken hand, hoping to buy a replacement hand. When I showed Robert, he left the table where he was signing dolls and went out back and fixed the hand himself at no charge! I love that these artists love the dolls as much as we do! CHeers from Boston!
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