A Few Little Crafty Tasks....

Hello and welcome back to my lockdown world!!  Things remain the same here except that the lockdown is now being extended until the end of the month....I suspect it will be extended again after that, but I'm fine with it, as long as it keeps us all safe.

I have spent so much time on the internet and chatting on social media, but I have managed to read a few books on my Kobo and now I've actually done a few dolly things too.

Firstly I finished an outfit for one of my Kaye Wiggs girls that I'd actually cut out back in January.  I put it away when my son was coming to visit and had every intention of actually sewing it when he left on the 7th February.  Well that never happened but finally I started and finished about a week or so ago.  Here it is being modeled by Layla....

The outfit consists of a knit fabric hoodie with separating zip, a cap sleeved striped tee shirt and a skater skirt with attached leggings.

Another job that I've been meaning to do for ages is some partial re-rooting to one of my Sashas.  This girl is called Destin and she has been with me for almost 6 years, she is a Gotz Sasha Slate Eyes made in Germany in the mid 1960s.  She has nice thick hair at the back, although the ends are a little dry, but at the front on top it was a little thin.  I just happen to have here the perfect match in hair for her.  It comes from a modern Gotz doll that I used to have.  I cut off her hair and kept the hair before wigging her.  So the hair has been waiting to be used for this particular Sasha for maybe two years!!!  So I did that a few days ago and the hair really is the perfect match for her existing hair.  I didn't do too much, as I said above, her hair was thick at the back and I didn't want to overdo it, but I filled in some thin hair plugs and added just a few more.  Here she is before:

And here, showing you her new look:

Beautiful spring outfit is by Sarah Williams AKA Vintage Sasha
Orangutan is from IKEA
Socks by me and
Beautiful leather shoes by the late great Jean Jensen.

Finally,  I took some photos of Bailey, my 1971 wider faced brunette (rewigged) as she'd not been in front of the camera for ages.  I used my friend's camera to try it out....I didn't take many photos but thought these show her as she actually is....

Well that's all for now, so I will sign off and hope that you all remain safe and well.  

Big hugs

Sharon in Spain xx

For Sale: Nautical outfit for Sasha! SOLD

Yes, I finally did it!!!  I sewed an outfit this weekend to sell!
I hope you like it, it has taken me a lot of "kicks up the bum" to get myself back to sewing outfits to sell, but hopefully now that I've made a start, I will make some more :)
Now I just hope that people will remember me and like what I sew!

The outfit consists of a two tiered ra-ra skirt in cute lighthouse pattern quilters cotton, with lined yoke and tulle underskirt, white knit tee shirt with intricate detailing to the front (both skirt and top close with metal snaps at the back), white cotton sailor hat with gold effect anchor adornment and 'rope' detailing around the edge of the brim, (hat crown is NOT lined), light blue and white striped socks.

All items made by me in new fabrics.
Doll and shoes NOT included.
Price: £30 plus postage from Spain.
Paypal only, Friends & Family or please add 4% to cover paypal charges.
Thank you.
dambuster0662@gmail.com
Please email me if interested.

And now for the photos....

Thank you for looking, I hope you like it. 

Please pop back to see my next outfits which are partly made and hopefully will be completed in a few days!

Have a great week ahead!

Big hugs Sharon in Spain xxx

Bailey Survives 'The Cull'....

It has been a very busy month and my blog, as well as my dolls and my sewing machine, have been seriously neglected.  However, having finally made a good start on my selling, I feel a lot less 'overwhelmed' and there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel...even if it's only a tiny glimmer, it's definitely there!!!

In the last week I've listed quite a few dolls on Ebay and as a result, I've sold a small Schildkrot Wichtel boy, my one and only Sasha baby, and my little Toddler Erik.  I wasn't too concerned about the Wichtel boy or the Sasha baby as neither of them have had much attention here, but I was a little sad about Teddy, my Toddler, because he was a real cutie, but he will be going to live with a nice Sasha collector in the US so I'm sure he'll be well cared for and have a lot of fun in his new loving home.

Bye bye boys!!!  Enjoy your new homes!

I will be continuing to add dolls and other items to Ebay, so if you're interested in seeing what I'm selling or who needs a new home, please click on the link below:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/dambuster01/m.html?item=233147670425&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

I hope to be adding more items at the weekend, if not before!!!  

I also had a lot of dolls here that I'd bought on impulse over the last few years.  There were several Barbies, a Fashionista Ken, a Santori Gorjuss doll, some Spanish dolls by Asi and Paola Reina, a couple of Disney Animator dolls, as well as, four Journey Girls that I bought from Toys R Us.  Most of the dolls were either brand new in their boxes or had been removed and undressed and then put away.  I didn't want to put them on Ebay as I felt the postage for them would be more than the individual value of each doll.  So what to do?  I made some enquiries and found out that a local group of ladies collect donated dolls for a great cause that really did appeal to me!!!  So I gathered the dolls, there were around 25 or so in total and met with a very nice lady who told me all about their work.  Some of the women sew, others knit or crochet clothes for the dolls and then they're donated to a charity, Ángeles Malagueños de la Noche, a non-profit organisation, based in Malaga.  The dolls and their wardrobes will eventually go to children who's circumstances mean that they don't get much, if anything, from The Three Kings on the night of the 5th January.  I was invited to attend the next meeting of dolly outfit makers so I may go and see if I can help by sewing some clothing.  Wish me luck!

So now that I'm getting a little more organised on The Dolly Cull, as I've started to call it, and can actually get into my doll room properly, I decided to take one of my girls, Bailey, out with me today when we went to visit Lake Viñuela.  Bailey is my rewigged Brunette Sasha from 1971, and is one of my favourites of my Sashas.  So I thought I'd share some photos.  She is wearing her lovely Ruthdolls dress with brown leather boots also by Ruth and brown socks by me.  Sorry if the photos are a bit repetitive, I just think she looks cute from every angle!!!

 

Well I hope you enjoyed my little update and photos of sweet little Bailey.  I will try to keep my blog updated more regularly now that I'm feeling a bit more positive about my dolls.

Thanks so much for visiting, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week ahead!!

Big hugs Sharon xx

First sewing of 2019...

Today I finally got to doing a bit of sewing for my dolls, having spent the first month of the year doing all sorts of other things apart from dressing my dolls.  

So I thought I'd make a knit dress, with hat and socks for Dylan, my Robin by Little Cosmos Dolls.  I chose this blue knit fabric which is printed with little fox heads because I think blue looks lovely with her tan skin tone.  The fabric is actually from a pair of pyjama trousers which I bought from our local Lidl late last year.  The striped fabric is from a baby onesie and fortunately matches the printed fabric perfectly.

In other news, I've sold 4 dolls in the last few weeks but still have a way to go....and am still dragging my feet.  My son is coming over for a visit from Wednesday but when he has left again, I promise that I'll pull my finger out and get dolls listed on Ebay, there can be no more umming and ahhing, it has to be done 😟

Although I've not sewn for her in ages, I thought I'd share a couple of photos of one of my favourite Sasha girls, brunette Stella from 1969-70.  She has falling hair so I've never washed or brushed it, but there's plenty there so she's doing fine.  Here she is in a dress by A Passion for Sasha, which I'm ashamed to say she's been wearing since the day she got it....which must be since the spring of 2016!!!!!  Ooops!!  (Socks by  me, shoes by Noreen Walters).

 
Apart from that I've nothing much else to tell you for now, except to say thank you for continuing to visit and comment on my blog!

I hope you all have a great week and that the weather is not too bad where you are!  

Big hugs, Sharon xxx



 

If you go down to the woods today.....

I've been meaning to buy some photographic backdrops for years....I mean literally YEARS!  And finally about a month ago I decided to have a look on Ebay and see what is available.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the price has come down considerably....when I first started looking many years ago, I'm sure the prices started around the mid $20 mark and because I thought it would be nice to have several, the price kind of put me off....after all, $20 is $20 more towards a new doll, right?!  🌝  Anyway, having had a good look at the hundreds of different designs available, I decided to buy a couple showing natural environments and the first one arrived today.

Firstly I was amazed at how small the package was, I was expecting a big fat envelope, but it was a reasonably small flat plastic bag and inside, the 3x5 foot backdrop was folded down to the size of a greetings card!  Of course all those folds meant a whole lot of creases, but could it be ironed as it was quite 'plastic-y'?  I took a chance and ironed it on a hot heat setting but using steam and not letting the iron rest in any one spot at all.  The creases came out quite easily and the backdrop wasn't damaged, it was now ready to use.

Because I like taking my photos outside in natural light, I guessed the best place to put it was over the gate on our deck.  I put the 'decking' part of the backdrop flat on our existing deck and the 'forest' part up and over the gate.  As soon as I did that, so the breeze picked up and the darn thing was blowing all over the place.  On to Plan B.  I stuck it to the gate posts with several pieces of 'poster tack'......had the dolls all ready,  posed them quickly and got the camera ready.  The wind then pulled the backdrop away from the gate and the poster tack, straight over the dolls, throwing them face down on to the floor.  Thank goodness they were sturdy vinyl Sashas, so no damage done.

On to Plan C.  This time I went outside the back door and fixed the backdrop to the closed door, using the poster tack to stick it to the doorframe.  This worked much better as we were out of the breeze, however we were now more in the shade so my camera wanted to use the flash!!  

Finally I got some photos of various dolls, I used several sizes so that I could see which dolls worked best with the backdrop. 

Firstly I took two of my lovely brunette Sashas, Stella (1969/70) and Willow (1969).  I think I took about 20 photos of these two girls but most were deleted.  Here is one of the better ones:

Next I took some photos of this tiny little Mariquita Perez Mini, she's approx 6 inches tall, made of hard plastic/vinyl, and has a shiny face....for those of you who've not heard of Mariquita Perez doll, they appeared on the market in 1940, being the best known doll of the forties, fifties and early sixties in Spain, Portugal and in some countries of Latin America. Nowadays it is still made in vinyl in normal version or mini, she also has a brother called Juanin. 

Finally I tried it with my two tallest ball jointed dolls, Hope and Layla by the Australian artist Kaye WIggs.  These two girls are 45cm tall, so I thought they'd be the best size for this backdrop:

I was quite happy with the photos, but learned from my mistakes.  

1)  I need to find a position for the backdrop that is in good light but out of any breeze;
2)  I need to position it so that the back edge of the 'decking' is straight, not seeming to curve upwards as in these photos!!!!!
3)  The dolls should be further forward away from the backdrop so that the photos have more depth;
4)  Definitely don't use flash!
5)  I must experiment with my camera settings so that I get less definition on the backdrop and more emphasis on the dolls themselves.

I'm sure I've learned more, I just can't remember at the moment!!!

I've come to the conclusion that the size of the doll is largely irrelevant with this particular backdrop.  I think the tiny 6 inch doll doesn't really look out of place with the tall trees in the background, I just need to work on her positioning in the photo.  Also, I think once I have worked on my camera settings, I can blur out the background a little so that the eye is drawn to the doll rather than the backdrop....I now know how to do that so will work on that for next time.

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little 'learning curve' and hope you'll pop back again to see if I can improve on these first attempts at using a photographic backdrop....maybe the other one will have arrived by then and I can share that one too :)

Big hugs
Sharon xx

My Sashas get a dusting off.....

It's been ages since I photographed my Sasha dolls so I thought I'd rectify that yesterday and take some photos of a few of my girls....my plan is to photograph all of them over the next few weeks so that they all get a bit of attention. 

Many of you probably thought I'd sold my Sashas as I haven't 'played' with them for a while, but no, they are all still here and still loved!  I had a count up and to my surprise I have 21 Sasha/Gregors, one Toddler and one baby (Oooops! I could have sworn I had less than this!!!).  I sent my brunette baby to the US as a surprise for a friend of mine, she's always so good to me and I'd rather she enjoy the baby than me sell her....so I just have my blond Alberto, who to be honest, is living here on borrowed time!  LOL!  Baby dolls just aren't for me.

So here are a few of my girls.  The first photo is also a photo of 'firsts'.....Millie (named in memory of Milly Dowler who I was reading a book about at the time of the dolls arrival) was my first Sasha and came here in November 2012 from Shelly in the UK.  She is from 1971 and has lovely thick blond hair and a very full fringe.   Her blue eyes were a little bit faded so some time after she arrived, I sent Millie's head back to Shelly for her to repaint her eyes.  I wanted them painted brown and love the way they look now. 

Here is another 'first', she is Bailey, my first wide faced brunette Sasha, as well as my first 'mistake' in that I washed her falling hair.....yes it all fell out, and she became my first wigged doll too, if I remember rightly!!  Bailey is also from 1971 and arrived here, again from Shelly, in June 2013.

I really love Bailey, she has been one of my favourites for some time, but don't tell the others!!! 

Here are Millie and Bailey together, wearing their Ruthsdoll dresses:

And a close up of their faces side by side:

In the next photo are my two blond Gotz Slate Eyes Sashas from the 1960s.  Left is Destin who I bought on Ebay in June 2014 and on the right is Lyric, who I adopted as a 'waif' from Shelly in the UK in August 2013.  Lyric's hair was breaking off at the roots and sadly she lost it quite quickly after she arrived here.  So she was my first Gotz Slate Eyed girl and my first Gotz reroot as I finally got around to rerooting her in April last year.

The two girls in close up.  Destin has a slightly concave face which I love, but I've always struggled to take photos that show how cute she is in 'real life'.  I like how they are quite different too :)

After having struggled with finding the perfect wig for her, I was really pleased with Lyric's reroot as I was able to use original Gotz doll hair from a later doll and I feel it was the perfect shade of blond for her.

Destin, below, often stands like this, as if she has a cute little sticky out tummy under her knitted sweater!!

Next we have three of my brunettes, from left to right, Eden, Willow and Stella:

Eden is the youngest, she's from 1970 and came here, along with her sister, Stella (1969), from a lovely friend in the US.  I had asked my friend if she knew of anyone selling a Brunette and she told me she had two herself that might be looking for new homes.  Of course once she showed me their photos, I just couldn't choose between them....so they traveled to their new home here together, I was going to say "last year" but on checking my records, I was surprised to see that they've been here nearly two years, having arrived in April 2016.

The middle girl, Willow, came from Shelly's the very same month, so all three girls have 'grown up' together here in Spain! ;)   Like Stella, Willow is a 1969 girl, although as you can see, they are only superficially alike. 

Sadly all three girls have some degree of falling hair, but having learned my lesson with Bailey, my first older Brunette, I have never washed their hair and just style it using my hands.....fortunately they all have quite a lot of hair too :)

Eden (1970)

Willow (1969)

Stella (1969)

I hope you've enjoyed seeing a small selection of my Sashas.  Hopefully I will have more photos for you again soon of some of the others :)

Have a lovely weekend!

Big hugs Sharon xx