Well, I'm not even going to begin to explain why I haven't written anything on this sorry little blog for so long! Guess I just got busy and then slipped into a pattern of NOT blogging. But I've encountered so many wonderful dolly finds this past year and a half, I just realized that I couldn't NOT share with you all again! Besides, with as crazy as this world is right now, I find that immersing myself in my hobbies and doll world just helps to keep me in a better frame of mind.
So, I guess I will break my blog silence here with sharing two dolls that I've recently acquired. Meet Effanbee Cuddle Up and Ideal Thumbelina with the rare Tabitha face!
The sweet, big girl on the left is 1954 Effanbee Cuddle Up Baby. She is a whopping 27" long! Her limbs are a soft stuffed vinyl and her torso is a vinyl coated cloth so that she can easily be wiped down. This was a selling point when this doll first came out--advertising suggested that Cuddle Up could be washed from head to toe! She has thick, rooted, Saran hair and pretty sleep eyes with thick eyelashes. She also has a "mama" cry box that still works! I already have this doll in my collection and I adore her. But when I saw this one come up for auction on shopgoodwill, I knew I needed to bring her home and save her, since nobody else seemed to want her. I don't know if I've shared her before, but here is my old one next to the new one I just acquired:
Same doll, but miles more grime and dirt on my new baby!
Everything about her is filthy...her clothes, hair, limbs, and head. You can see that her vinyl face is much darker than my other baby. But they are the same, I promise! The only difference I can see between the two is that my new baby does not have the two bottom teeth that my other baby has. It's possible that they were removed (fell out?) at some point in her life.
Here they are, laying side by side
So, let's start cleaning this little waif, shall we?
I started with the right arm. It took quite a bit more elbow grease than I anticipated. First I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, but then I also added Dawn dish soap, baking soda, and and an old toothbrush to get in all the cracks and crevices. You can really see the major difference against the arm that has not yet been cleaned!
Next I tackled her left leg--again, look at the difference!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get her face as clean looking as her limbs. There is definitely some darkening of the vinyl (which some people say comes from sun exposure), and some darker mottling on her forehead. I was still able to remove quite a bit of grime, though. I plan on trying to lighten her vinyl with an Oxiclean bath. Not quite sure yet how I plan on going about it, since I can't just submerge her head in a bucket of hot Oxiclean water for fear of damaging her eyes. I'm thinking of soaking some paper towels in an Oxiclean solution and the draping them carefully over her face for several hours/days and see if that makes a difference. I have been able to lighten darkened vinyl on other dolls with Oxiclean, so I'm hopeful!
Here she is, after getting her hair washed and all her limbs cleaned. The only thing that wasn't dirty was her vinyl-coated cloth body! It looks practically brand new, probably because it was protected by her clothing all these years.
Not perfect, but so much better!
The other doll I worked on today was this hard-to-find 14" Ideal Tiny Thumbelina with the Tabitha head:
Ideal wanted to cash in on the popularity of the "Bewitched" television show in the mid 60's, so they created an all vinyl baby doll and named it Tabitha, after the character in the show. However, less well known and definitely more rare is this doll, which is actually the Tabitha head on a Tiny Thumbelina body! She even has the knob in her back which caused her head to gently roll around, just like Thumbelina.
Just like Effanbee Cuddle Up, this baby was very dirty and needed a bath!
You guys...I found this baby in the bins at the Goodwill Outlet! I about had a heart attack when I saw her just lying there amidst all the other garbage, and shoppers were just tossing her out of the way to get to the "good" stuff! Ha! I couldn't believe my good fortune and I couldn't grab her quickly enough! I didn't realize it at the time, but she is even wearing her original dress! The original tag is missing from the front of her dress which read "Tiny Thumbelina".
Her cloth body is actually fairly clean, but it does smell a little musty, so I will let it air out for a while. I scrubbed her face and limbs with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and that seemed to get off all the grime and stains. Her cheeks have some paint loss, so I will have to see what I can do about that.
Here you can see her wind up knob...which works PERFECTLY!
She got her hair washed and conditioned, and now she's wearing an old, clean sock to make sure her hair dries correctly.
She is currently relaxing over a heat vent to help speed up the drying process.
Well, I'm off to gently clean Tabitha's dress, along with the original, one-piece taffeta undergarment that Cuddle Up Baby was still wearing. I'll have to look through my vintage clothing stash and see if I can find Cuddle Up an appropriate dress, bonnet, and booties!
Both of these sweeties will be for sale shortly after their restorations are complete. Stay tuned!
