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Penthesilea
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Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Apr 14th, 2011 at 6:29pm
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Which is... collecting, redressing, restoring and generally "doing over to suit myself" Barbie (dolls) and all her kith and kin!
My first Barbie (a gift from my cousin who, at the time, lived in California and knew a woman who worked for Mattel) was one of the first "blonde, bubble cut" dolls and I still have her. I've collected dozens since, mainly dolls by Mattel but if another manufacturer's product caught my eye, I bought it but mostly, my plastic clan is composed of Barbies, Kens, Skippers, Midges and all the rest of the family and in the case of Skipper, I have her at several ages as well!

My current project is to "create" as many characters from my first novel using 1/6th scale dolls (that's the scale Mattel uses for their Barbie line) as I can. The dolls that I create to represent Our Heroine's Divine Relatives will also be used in the diorama I want to build to exhibit some of my "God" dolls. Some of which I've made and some that Mattel has put out.  The doll that will be Aphrodite is currently standing next to the computer. I've gotten a "Jane" doll from the Twilight movie series line to costume as Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, another doll (that I already had) to costume as Kore, the Spring Maiden, dolls for Hera and Demeter, three versions of Athena (including a One of a Kind) and a One of a Kind for Hecate in her Maiden aspect are all on hand. The guys are a little harder. I have an "Ares" from the Xena doll collection from a couple of decades back (the only one worth collecting)  that only needs costuming and a little cosmetic work to be good to go. I've got two good candidates for Hephaestus, maybe three as I'm still working on the character concept (black hair, blond hair or red hair?) and Hermes isn't going to be hard either.

OUR HERO, however, AND his brother are giving me fits!  For one thing, they are both brown eyed blonds, which is going to require some VERY careful eye repainting. For another, Our Hero has permanent black streaking in his hair. Because of the way that Mattel does the heads on Ken dolls, they are impossible (or nearly so) to remove for re-rooting so I need to figure out a way to add coal black streaks to the doll's hair. Another thing is that the blond Ken dolls that I have for Our Hero and his bro are several years old and lack that yummy new buff body that they created for the Jacob Black doll in the Twilight series. They are both warriors and consequently VERY fit (I go on at some length -- more than once -- on just how great Our Hero looks naked!) and the dolls "should" reflect that.  I may have to put off doing the two of them until Mattel starts using that body for more dolls, hopefully some of them with "dirty" blond hair!

Our Heroine and her daughters are a mixed bag.  One of the new Skipper dolls will do nicely for the Lady's Firstborn as soon as I figure out how to consistently pad her bodices so that she looks like a short but womanly adult instead of a barely adolescent girl. The other daughter might be more of a trial and require both re-rooting and eye repainting unless I can find the doll that would only require her hair to be restyled. I got one years back for Moonie and I'm pretty sure I got one for myself IF I can find her in the "thieves cave" that is my basement! Our Heroine herself has been re-rooted with a luxurious mane of red hair. Styling is all that remains and the only hold up there is my need for a tube of airplane glue that I need to repair a small crack in an inconvenient place on the doll's neck. One thing is for sure. Once that head goes back on, it isn't coming off again, neither the neck nor the head can take the strain. I've also got several dolls that will be redressed to represent minor but important characters and I'm always be on the lookout for dolls that can be redone so the collection will continue to grow.
« Last Edit: May 2nd, 2011 at 10:43pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #1 - Apr 15th, 2011 at 6:23pm
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Had myself a bright idea and the Gods favored me by letting me get the doll that, with costuming and some repainting, will make a perfect Zeus! It is difficult to find a mature looking male doll with a full beard but I have one in my collection -- which I didn't want to alter. So I went looking on Amazon and sure enough there was one available, doll and accessories but no box which really brought the price down. Since I really have no use for Never Removed From Box or Mint in Box, I really don't like paying the usually outrageous prices those command. So now I need to add "yellow blond" hair paint to my "To Order" list!
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #2 - Apr 17th, 2011 at 3:50pm
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I just ordered a bunch of paint and hair from restoredoll.com for my projects. I got everything that I'm going to need for a while since they were having a sale that gonna be over on the 22nd.
I've also found another site that carries tiny (as in doll sized) buttons, velcro and ZIPPERS! That is a MAJOR thing! When Mattel first brought Barbie out, her clothes were meticulously made. The dresses had zippers and where snaps had to be used, there were tiny buttons on the outside. Putting a four inch long zipper in a 1/6 scale dress is a trial but done right, it is worth it in terms of the finished item. They also have some adorable patterns, including one that fits the now out of production vintage Francie (one of which I have) and the 11 inch Teen Skipper (who is also out of production and has been replaced by a younger model. Skipper must have found the Fountain of Youth when she went away to Boarding School! Smiley ) So I'm going to have something to keep my fingers and brain busy while I wait for an agent to realize that I am their next client 'cause, much as I might wish otherwise, I can't write every minute of every day!
Besides, when it is time to put the Castle's cast out in 1/6 scale dolls, I'll have the prototypes all ready.....  Smiley
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #3 - Apr 19th, 2011 at 5:54pm
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Penthesilea wrote on Apr 15th, 2011 at 6:23pm:
Had myself a bright idea and the Gods favored me by letting me get the doll that, with costuming and some repainting, will make a perfect Zeus! It is difficult to find a mature looking male doll with a full beard but I have one in my collection -- which I didn't want to alter. So I went looking on Amazon and sure enough there was one available, doll and accessories but no box which really brought the price down. Since I really have no use for Never Removed From Box or Mint in Box, I really don't like paying the usually outrageous prices those command. So now I need to add "yellow blond" hair paint to my "To Order" list!

The doll arrived today. He has an interesting foot problem but I can get around that either by constructing him some "corrective" footwear or displaying him seated on a throne. Either way, once his hair and eyes are repainted, he should look just fine in traditional Greek male dress. He certainly has the build for it!  Smiley While I was rummaging around in the basement last night, I found a doll that is perfect to use as Our Heroine's Divine (and EVIL) half sister to partner with the immortal sorceress who also likes to make her life miserable. Between the two of them, our gal's life should be very interesting indeed.
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #4 - Apr 19th, 2011 at 9:08pm
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I pulled another doll out of storage, thinking that she might be a good Eris. I was thinking about using Elizabeth Taylor as a model for Eris but looking at the dolls Mattel put of of her back in 2000 I realized that the head mold they used (which is very beautiful) looks entirely too angelic to be used for the Goddess of Chaos! I was pretty sure that I had a doll that would work so I went looking, managed to find her and have been working off my low level nervous energy combing out her hair which was a disaster! It's an interesting blend of browns that works very well. Her eyes are brown too and so beautifully painted that I'm not going to attempt to change the color. I guess I'll just have to save the lilac paint that I ordered for use as eye shadow! Or perhaps someone else will need violet eyes. Anyway, the comb out proceeds and I've evened out her haircut a bit. Dolls in the "Pink Box" line frequently need to have their hair thoroughly combed once they are out of the box since it obviously isn't done at the factory! This isn't true of the more expensive dolls with styled hair but if the doll's hair is straight, you can bet it probably wasn't combed before she was popped into her box!
« Last Edit: Apr 20th, 2011 at 4:27pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #5 - Apr 20th, 2011 at 4:37pm
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I got an email this morning from restoredoll.com telling me that my order has shipped.  I'm hoping to have my goodies by the weekend. I also got a notice from amazon that the glue I need to fix the previously mentioned doll body has also been shipped so I'm hoping that by next week, I'll have the re-rooted head back on the body so I can get started on the cut and final styling! Right now, I'm trying to decide how many of those little bitty zippers to order. I want to get tons but I don't need that many immediately so I'm going to have to decide how many and of what colors I want to start with: pink, of course, for the Aphrodite gowns, and black. Beyond that, I haven't decided and I'm going to have to do that. I'm also going to be making/altering sewing patterns for the different sized dolls I have. The "Skipper" doll has gone through a minimum of four different bodies all with different measurements. I have clothing patterns that fit two of them sooooo..... I'm gonna have to get "creative" and come up with patterns for a basic wardrobe for those who don't have patterns already made. Yes, my fingers are going to be busy while my brain works on Book 3!
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #6 - Apr 21st, 2011 at 6:48pm
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Well, Amazon.com has saved me a trip to the fabric stores! It seems that they sell fabric.  The selection is rather limited but I found most of what I needed as well as a few patterns that have been discontinued. Not being able to get fabric and patterns at the local Wal-Mart is a pain in the butt!
Anyway, I was able to get some pink and white taffeta at a fairly reasonable cost and some useful patterns, including one for the formal uniform of the Order of Dark Knights. I already had one and now I have another. I'm still going to need some pink gathered lace (wide) but I have enough pink satin on hand to get me started on Aphrodite's wardrobe.
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #7 - Apr 22nd, 2011 at 6:32pm
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The supplies I ordered arrived today but I'm a tad unhappy. One of the paint bottles cracked in shipment (fortunately it DIDN'T leak all over everything) and it appears to have been filled with the wrong color to boot although the color number on the jar is correct. Another jar (white paint) appears to be completely dried out. So I'm going to have to go through the hassle, expense of packing those two jars up and sending them back for replacement or refund. I've sent the company an email and I'm currently waiting for a response. *sigh* At least I have the hair and I can get started on the re-root I have to do.
« Last Edit: Apr 30th, 2011 at 9:42pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #8 - Apr 24th, 2011 at 5:30pm
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The model airplane glue I ordered finally arrived yesterday and I glued the split in the back of the doll's neck last night. I didn't put any glue on the seams on the sides of the neck since I knew that I still had to get the joint unit back into place. That ingenious little thing is a circle made of a softer plastic with an "arrowhead" sticking out of it. The circle goes into the neck of the doll and the arrow head goes inside the doll's head. The arrowhead is shaped like an inverted "V" so that when the head is put on, the points of the "V" fit down inside a channel that is molded inside the head at the neck. This arrangement makes it a STONE PAIN to get the head off for re-rooting (hot tap water is a MUST to soften the plastics involved) but it DOES keep destructive little kids from easily tearing the heads off of dolls. It is for this same reason that doll's earrings have arrowheads on them as well since the "little darlings" WOULD remove them and either lose them or swallow them.  That isn't a problem for me. I know how it used to be done and if I want to put earrings on a doll that doesn't have them (and most don't these days) I can do it and change them at will.  Smiley
So right now, the doll that will be costumed as the heroine of my novels is in the kitchen, her head back in place and doing a headstand on some paper towels so the water that got into the head and body while I was softening the plastic drains out. Once everything is good and dried out -- and I get a few other vital things done today like dishes, laundry, wrapping Moonie's presents and baking her cake -- I'll get her in a stand, comb her hair out and start thinking about styling it. I made it extra long so I would be able to cut it back. I'll have to be careful though. It won't grow out if I cut it too short and this is the second re-root on this particular head and THAT is enough! I DON'T want to take that head off again.
« Last Edit: Apr 30th, 2011 at 9:41pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #9 - Apr 25th, 2011 at 2:36am
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I may FINALLY have this doll's hair looking the way I want it too! It still needs to be cut and curled but I wanted to get the front styled the way I envisioned it before I did that.
The hair is currently down to the back of her knees. I'm going to cut it back to just below her butt, maybe a bit shorter, and then curl it. And let me tell you, putting that much hair on rollers the size of soda straws is one time consuming and tedious task!
« Last Edit: Apr 30th, 2011 at 9:40pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #10 - Apr 25th, 2011 at 4:13am
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I have given up. I can NOT get the style to look like I want it too. So I'm going with a loose, unconfined style. I may have to design various hair ornaments to keep it out of her eyes...
« Last Edit: Apr 25th, 2011 at 4:21am by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #11 - Apr 26th, 2011 at 1:48am
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I have found the PERFECT doll to represent Our Heroine's Arch Nemesis! The only problem is that the doll's hair is considerably too short.
Smiley There is another re-root in my future!
« Last Edit: Apr 26th, 2011 at 1:50am by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #12 - Apr 26th, 2011 at 6:16pm
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I've been a little bit "bad" today. I went on amazon to check the status of a couple of my orders (on the way finally) and then went browsing and discovered three of the books in a series of fashion doll "makeovers" were available at fairly reasonable prices so I ordered them all. The books are mostly profiles of doll artists with photos of their work which is very inspirational but the last chapter in each book is about how to do a particular kind of makeover. The first volume (which I have) gives one method for doing reroots, how to set curls in doll hair -- either original or rerooted -- and how to permanently reposition arms, wrists and fingers. The fifth volume (which I also have) is about working with male dolls focusing on the use of acrylic modeling paste to change their features. Today, I got volumes 2, 3 and 4 each of which covers a different topic along with a lot of yummy pictures of finished projects! So I am a happy, semi-crazed doll fangirl at the moment.... Smiley
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #13 - Apr 26th, 2011 at 7:33pm
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I have successfully cut the hair of the doll I'm working on. Instead of being down to the back of her knees, it is now at the bottom of her butt. By the time it is curled, it should be falling about "mid-butt" which is a little longer than I'd planned but I don't want to cut on it any more. If I screw up setting the curls, I'll have to cut them off and start over so having a margin for error is a good thing!
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #14 - Apr 30th, 2011 at 9:38pm
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I got the doll's hair curled the day before yesterday and just "heat set" her part (that I've been working on -- off and on -- for DAYS) just now, earning myself a mild "steam scald" on my left hand for my troubles. Since I'm just setting a part and NOT curls, I "should" have had the part in the hot water long enough. Hope so, anyway.
Now that the hair is pretty much done, I'm going to start on costuming this one and making "hair plugs" for the next reroot.  THAT doll's hairstyle will be considerably shorter and I'm not sure yet how it is going to work out. Guess I'll find out. I'm also going to need to "touch up" the eyebrows on the one I'm costuming. They tend to get rubbed off during the reroot process. I'm also going to have to do some eye repaints but that's going to be left until the very last thing done on the doll. Need a steady hand for that...
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #15 - May 1st, 2011 at 4:24am
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The doll's hair is completely dry now and I must say, she's looking good. I'll have to take more pictures and add them to the thread.
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #16 - May 2nd, 2011 at 6:30pm
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I got one of the above mentioned books today and I must say it is inspiring! I'm particularly looking forward to receiving the remaining two since they both contain extensive instruction on various hair styles. I have no current interest in making dolls with beaded hair but I'll have the instructions on hand if I ever get the urge. What I'm interested in at the moment is short hairstyles which my next reroot calls for.
I spent some time over the weekend researching how to make doll shoes since Mattel has been a bit neglectful in that area. The new "downsized" Skipper doesn't have a clothing line yet and therefore no shoes or outfits. And the now discontinued 11 inch Skipper never had a lot in the way of shoes either so I'm going to be addressing that problem too. I did a little preliminary rooting around in my supplies and I have enough materials to get started. I just need to decide what to make and to get the sewing machine unloaded -- it's under a pile of dolls and patterns right now...
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #17 - May 2nd, 2011 at 10:55pm
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I've been down in the basement attempting to get things organized. I want to move my sewing machine to a more convenient location but before I do that, the "location" has to be excavated.  I'm also gonna have to get my dolls organized. Most of the older ones are out of their boxes so I need something to keep them in. The ones that still have boxes need storage too. I also need to do something about the dolls that are accumulating wardrobe and accessories. Ready made storage cases cost an unreasonable amount for the number of dolls we're talking about. The cases are made of heavy cardboard covered with plastic.
Smiley  Methinks I might be able to work with that.....
« Last Edit: May 4th, 2011 at 6:44pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #18 - May 4th, 2011 at 6:47pm
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My order of black satin (thin!) arrived today as well as those two books I ordered. I will now be able to style the hair on this next reroot exactly the way I envision it. I'll probably start making the hair plugs tomorrow. NOT looking forward to another wrestling match with doll hair though....
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #19 - May 5th, 2011 at 10:15pm
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My replacement paint arrived today. The good news is that I was able to salvage most of the red lip paint that they sent instead of the color I ordered so I get that free. The bad news is that after careful examination, "their" idea of "dark brown" looks more like BURNT ORANGE!  Smiley Smiley Smiley Now, the idea here is to create dolls to represent key characters in my books and several of those characters' physical descriptions are based on real people (Our Heroine's daughters for example) and several of those characters have brown eyes. NOT burnt orange eyes. BROWN EYES as in the "darkest dark chocolate brown" eyes. BROWN EYES as in "looking black in dim light" eyes! Like Skywise's eyes. Like Moonie's eyes. Like Spirit's eyes! Fortunately for my sweet disposition, they have a "dark chocolate brown" paint color listed -- under skin colors. *sigh* So I will order THAT along with the hair that I want to order and then MAYBE I'll finally have the color I want for these eye repaints!
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #20 - May 6th, 2011 at 1:36am
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The "red" lip paint turned out, once dry, to be the same burnt orange shade as what arrived this morning. POOP! So now I have about a "pot and 3/4ths" of this burnt orange. Oh well, if I ever need to paint a guy doll's hair that color or some other doll related project, I'll be all set.
I'm going to need to pick a blue shade. I know what I want, just don't know which one to pick. The site isn't that "precise" about colors. *sigh* This business with the "brown" has made me wary.
« Last Edit: May 20th, 2011 at 9:36pm by Penthesilea »  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #21 - May 20th, 2011 at 9:51pm
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I'm about halfway through my current re-root. The doll in question is one of the tall Teen Skippers from the mid-1990's.  She originally had pale reddish blonde hair but she's gonna look gorgeous with this brown hair that I'm putting in! She's one of the dolls that will be getting an eye repaint. Something that I am NOT going to attempt until I have my new glasses and have gotten used to them. A size 20/0 artist's brush would probably be good to have too!
Another thing I've discovered is that the bust measurement of this out of production Skipper doll is the same as the current Barbie doll which means that certain of Barbie's outfits will fit her and with a little alteration, I'll be able to make clothes for them (I have more than one) using patterns I already have.  Shoes are the only sticking point but I've found several places online where fellow Barbie addicts have posted their methods for making shoes so I'll be trying my hand at that at some point. The new Skipper that they started making in 2010 has a completely new body and, as yet, NO clothing other than whatever she has on at the time of purchase. Which means that all of her clothing including shoes, will have to be made from scratch. This doll isn't designed to wear heels so that will make that job a bit easier!
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #22 - May 30th, 2011 at 2:41am
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After approximately 300 hair plugs made and inserted, the second re-root is finished! Smiley Next up is putting the head back on the body and then styling and "heat setting" the hair.
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #23 - May 30th, 2011 at 4:19am
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The head is back on and the part in the hair is mostly parted. I've tied the hair down with a twist tie around the neck and that is where I'm quitting for the night. Tomorrow I'll "fine tune" the part and work on the rest of the style. Once I'm satisfied, I'll cross my fingers and heat treat it.
  

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Re: Penthesilea's Favorite Hobby
Reply #24 - May 31st, 2011 at 7:56pm
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Well, after much fiddling, I have heat set this latest doll's hair style. Hopefully, it will come out looking like I want 'cause if I messed it up, I'll have to take out the hair and do the re-root over again. [The hair can't take more than one dip in the boiling water.] The doll looks very sweet with the dark brown hair so I know I made the right choice of head mold and hair color. Now I just have to wait until it all dries so I can take it down, trim it out and see how it looks!
  

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