Gotz Happy Kidz Emilia...A New Custom!

Last week I bought a Gotz Happy Kidz Emilia because I both liked the sculpt and wanted to do some customising.  I got Emilia because she has an interesting face sculpt, not the prettiest of the Gotz Happy Doll sculpts but a face that I find I'm drawn to.  I liked her on arrival but always like to make my dolls 'my own' and she was no exception.

Emilia before:

I've always liked Gotz dolls as their quality is very good and they're great as play dolls, being made with very safe and well tested materials, and for adult doll collectors too.

Firstly I removed the factory makeup and the acrylic eyes.  The eyes were not bad quality but I prefer them to be more realistic so they had to go, along with the eyelashes.  Here she is with her cleaned face, but eyes and lashes still attached.  I felt these eyes were also a tad too large for her eye sockets too.

The hair on these dolls is rooted so I covered her head with an old shower cap to protect it from the chalk and the sealant.

The hardest part was getting her head off.  I had to soak it in boiled water until the vinyl was soft and then pull it off.  The eyes are seated in little 'pockets' inside her head but the back of these are open so you can easily remove the eyes through the neck hole.  Here she is will her default eyes and lashes now removed.

 

I then gave her a new faceup using watercolour pencils and artist grade chalk pastels.  I wanted her to have glass eyes but I found that the ones I have here (and I have quite a few pairs!!) did not suit her or were the wrong size.  In the end I decided that I would stick with acrylic, so these eyes are by Glastic Realistic, unfortunately I have no idea what the colour is called.   As acrylic eyes go, I think these are a great alternative to glass or resin eyes as they are very detailed and natural looking. 

Between layers of chalk pastels, Emilia is sealed with several coats of Mr Super Clear Flat sealant. 

I hope that I've bought her more 'to life' and less dolly looking.  I enjoyed working on her, customising really is one of my favourite parts of the doll hobby to be honest!

She's wearing an outfit that I made for my Zwergnase dolls, I thought the grey of the outfit went well with the grey of her eyes.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you're all having a very nice weekend.

Big hugs and stay safe!
Sharon xxxx
 

The Girl With Golden Freckles....

I've been having a bit of a sort out in my doll/sewing room and trying to decide on what I want to keep and what I want gone!  Same old same old, I hear you shout....and I know that several of you will relate to this because you've also blogged about it!  However, this didn't immediately have me sorting out things to sell because I came across another Disney Animator doll that I'd bought with the intention of customising, so instead of carrying on with the sorting, I decided to give her a makeover! LOL I'm so easily distracted.  

Anyway, I took this little girl from her box and she had such a cute face I thought maybe I should leave her alone, but then I remembered that either way I wouldn't want to keep her, I really do not want more vinyl dolls, I want to get rid of some, not add to their numbers.  So I decided to work on her.  

Here she is in her default state, she's a cutie but her features are stamped or printed on and I wanted to make her 'different'.  I love her quirky eyebrow, although I'm not sure if it was intentional for her to have that or not!

Firstly I removed all of the factory face paint, you can see that her eyebrows haven't completely come off as the dark paint stained the vinyl, but that's actually quite useful to me for positioning of the new eyebrows.

And here she is with her new look.  I apologise to anyone hoping for 'in progress' photos, I never did them, but maybe will do that with the next Disney Animator doll I customise, if anyone is interested.  Her cute dress and hat set are by a seller on Etsy, her socks are by me and her lovely white sandals are by Marti Sanders. 

Here is a close up of her eyes which I did using several different watercolour pencils, I wanted them to have the same variations in colour that real human eyes have, I hope I've achieved that.
 

You can also see her 'golden' freckles here, they were just an afterthought really, I wanted them to catch the sun and the ones I'd put on first with regular watercolour pencils didn't show up enough for my liking.  They're just tiny dots of golden acrylic paint put on with a cocktail stick!

She also has applied human sized false eyelashes....

I think she looks like she's full of mischief, don't you?!!

Her lips and blush are done using artist chalk pastels, I grind them down and apply with soft brushes of various sizes, then seal several times with a clear matt sealant.

 These dolls have the cutest profile, they are so sweet with their little ski lift noses!

You can see that I also cut her hair before washing and conditioning it.  It was very long hair, right down to her ankles almost at the back, and full of some sort of sticky white styling product.  Now she has a shorter, more manageable bobbed style.  Much better suited for playing in the garden in the sunshine ;)  

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this little Elena of Avalor.  She is now going to live in the UK with the 2 year old granddaughter of a special friend of mine, as I would rather gift her to someone who might enjoy her than have her collecting dust here :)  Hopefully little Sally will have fun with her new 'one of a kind' dolly!! 

Have a good 'rest of the week' and thank you for visiting!

Big Hugs Sharon in Spain xxx