Narsha arrived here in September 2006 and she was my biggest dolly purchase at that time. I could hardly believe that I'd spent so much money on a doll!! And neither could my dear husband when he saw the amount come up on the bank account! LOL Not that he was annoyed with me, bless him, he was just concerned to see this big dollar payment for a company in S.Korea, show up on the bank statement!
So Narsha arrived pale and beautiful, wearing a little white outfit, a very pale blond wavy wig and big blue eyes. She had long spiky eyelashes and I thought she was just perfect. Even though I'd not been sewing for long, I started making clothes for her straight away. A lot of them were a little bit 'hit and miss' but I kept sewing as I just loved this doll so much. I remember that she used to sit on the back of the sofa in the evenings when I was relaxing and at night I sat her on my bedside cabinet, it was just lovely to see her last thing at night and then first thing in the morning again!
Here are some of my first photos of her:
Wearing a Betsy McCall outfit:
With her 'friend' Bitty Bethany Kish:
My first attempts with photos of her in grey scale:
Narsha the Flower Girl:
However, very quickly Narsha started to yellow. I'd read about French resin yellowing with UV light so I was really careful with her, always bringing her straight back inside after photos or if I was sewing for her outside and needed her for a model, I was always careful to cover her with a big black cloth. What I'd not read though, was that French resin would yellow not just with UV light but with heat too.....so as a result Narsha did not remain this pinky white for long!
There were a lot of 'firsts' that Narsha and I shared. She was the first doll that I actually took outside to photograph in public...and you can see how rushed those photos were as I tried to take the photos as quickly as possible to avoid being seen 'playing' with a doll....
She was also the first BJD that I tried to knit for.....poor girl! This photo taken in Nerja show her wearing a terribly 'out of scale' roll neck jumper that I knitted for her. She looks like she has a doughnut around her neck!!!!
Narsha was also the first doll that I took on holiday with me. She traveled on the airplane with me to visit my family in England and I 'bravely' (read 'quickly') took photos of her looking out of the plane window on our journey....
She was even there with me when we adopted our first donkey at the local sanctuary....
As Narsha changed colour so my collection of BJDs grew and she took a bit of a back seat when I got my first MSD, but she's always been there in the background....and she interacted very well with my newer BJDs.....
Once Narsha reached a creamy yellow colour and her faceup got a few rubs from all the handling I gave her, I decided that she needed a new faceup and attempted to give her one myself. I believe this was the first faceup that I ever did...and it was quite dreadful but I was quite happy with her at the time!!
But eventually I decided to send her off for a professional faceup and thankfully she went to the US to visit Raven, who gave her a wonderful new look! I must admit that at first, having got used to her looking a certain way, I struggled to 'bond' with her again, but after a few weeks I just loved the new look Narsha....
Finally here are a couple of photos taken a few days ago to celebrate her 12th birthday!
Narsha may not be perfect, she is quite different in colour to when she arrived and she is only single jointed but I still think she's a beautiful doll and hope you've enjoyed seeing photos of her to celebrate her 'birthday'!!
Thanks for visiting, I hope you're all enjoy the rest of your weekend :)
Big hugs, Sharon xx
Dear Sharon, hello
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Narsha!
She is a real cutie. She does look different after her face up, but good different, like she matured.
I still have a few of my childhood dolls. I won't tell you how old they are (chuckle). They are still very special to me.
I love your choice of outfits for her. I don't sew at all so I am always amazed at how folks can make beautiful outfits in tiny sizes.
Here's to another 12 years for Narsha. I will still be the age I am now, however (laugh).
PS I just responded to you on ning.
Thank you very much Dorothy! It's lovely to hear that you still have some of your childhood dolls, I do too! I have my Patch (Sindy's sister), a couple of Pauls (Sindy's boyfriend), a Barbie (I think she is Malibu Barbie from the early 70s) and a couple of others....I also have lots of their clothes, including many that my mum and grandmother knitted and sewed for me.
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Wonderful memories! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I'm feeling happy that she is still with you :)
And Happy birthday, Narsha!
Thank you very much Ariadne! I know what you mean about feeling happy about Narsha, it's a funny feeling but when I look at her, despite her yellowing, I still feel very happy that she's still here :)
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Happy Birthday Narsha, 12 years is a good long time to own a doll. Such lovely photos you shared with us.
ReplyDeleteIt's always a worry when they have a 'face' change or new hair etc, it can be a time when a favoured doll becomes no longer liked. I'm so glad Narsha regained your attention after her face up.
How lovely that she's still with you , have a great week :) xxx
Thank you Auntie Dee :)
DeleteYes I have sold dolls for this reason, something is just so different that I cannot deal with it! LOL but thankfully Narsha's new faceup won me over because I do love Raven's work...it's such a pity that she's not longer doing commissions, as she was my favourite faceup artist at one time.
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She's a cute doll in all her looks.I agree,it's like she aged. She's a big 'tween' of 12 now, so she's bound to be a little different. (Luckily when a doll becomes a teenager you can just stick them in the closet!)
ReplyDeleteThank you Tam! Yes, she is different in a lot of ways, other than her face. It's funny how she's grown up as well as aged!
DeleteIf only it were so easy with human teenagers, eh?!!!
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Très touchante ton histoire avec Narsha. Bon anniversaire, la belle
ReplyDeleteMerci beaucoup ChiffonFon je suis heureux que vous le pensiez. xxx
DeleteHaha, I remember when I bought my first doll, and said to my husband that the wait is long and I have to put out the money first. He was not so keen on that and even said ”who knows, you maybe get a brick?” That made me a bit nervous, but all ended nice. Doll arrived! And I did some serious knitting and sewing, and as your Narsha I had mine at the bedside table.
ReplyDeleteI recognize some of the photos, not from this blog, but from the searches I made on the net when I was deciding over which doll to buy. The Flower girl, the ones with the cherry-dress and hat, and some others after those photos. Never visited the site or the photos, just looked at them when searching.
I am happy with my Narsha’s, even with the yellowing. Happy Birthday to your Narsha! Glad you shared these photos, thank you!
I was really naughty Niina and hadn't even mentioned to my husband that over $400 was just about to disappear from the bank account! He was fine about it though, he always says "it's OUR money, not mine!" I felt like saying "oh good, I'll add clothes to the order then!"
DeleteThat's funny that you saw my photos before you got your girl, that is exactly how I decide on who to buy. I love to see owner photos before buying because the company photos are often so posed and perfect.
I'm glad you enjoyed seeing these photos :)
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Happy birthday Narsha! What an interesting post to watch her over the past 12 years as she evolved and yet managed to stay close to you and keep her place in your heart. A beautiful doll and thank you for sharing with us her touching story. 😊 xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Ginger :)
DeleteIt is interesting to see how she has developed, isn't it? I have several BJDs now that have been here for some years but I believe Narsha is the only one to have changed so drastically!
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