Floppy Leg Syndrome

First I would like to say that I absolutely love these dolls.  I think they are gorgeous and I have no complaints except one…their elastic joints. 

Actually it’s not that I’m wholeheartedly complaining, the elastic joints make them articulate, which I like, however, it’s simply that I realized the beauty of these dolls after the fact and none of my dolls are new.  A used doll most always has some issue to contend with. 

Floppy Leg Syndrome (FLS) is a term I coined for the affliction that plagues Teen Trends dolls.

Not one of my dolls are brand new.  Every one of my girls has been played with, some gently, some enthusiastically.  With the elastic joints there is no surprise that the elastic will stretch the more the doll is played with.  I am a little surprised that the arms of my dolls have been spared the suffering.  There is always a fear that this affliction could spread and the doll may have Floppy Arm Syndrome as well.

Of my girls, Summer, Amber and Rowan suffer from FLS.  The more I use Rowan as my model, continuously fitting on the outfits as I make them, the worse her FLS becomes.  I knew that Summer and Amber would require surgery to fix their legs as soon as I examined their bodies.  When I got Rowan I didn’t think that surgery would be needed.  Now I know that she will need to be fixed along with the other girls.

All but Wiccah and Tierra have the elastic stretched in their legs to the point that they are floppy to some degree.  Floppy legs equates to trouble sitting without falling over; and standing alone is sometimes difficult to set up correctly.  One of the things I like about the dolls is they are able to stand without a doll stand.  Their feet are perfectly formed and as long as their joints are tight, their balance is very good.

I have spent many evenings examining their legs; trying to determine the best way to fix this problem.  I searched the internet for instructions on restringing them but there are no sites that deal with restringing Teen Trend dolls.  I even wrote to Mattel and actually got an answer.  Not one that helped me out, but at least they took the time to write me back.

The problem with restringing them is that the end of the elastic is sealed in the lower half of the leg from the knee down.  I took a photo of what the problem seems to be.  

It appears that the end of the elastic has a stopper (larger than the hole) and was glued (?) in the hole.  I cannot get it out.  On a couple of the dolls the glue has let go in one or both legs and the stopper is able to be moved about.  Still, because of the stopper the elastic is attached to, I cannot remove it.  To make matters worse, the elastic has gone hard.  At some point it may break.

Because I am not “playing” with the dolls in the conventional sense, the elastic may last a very long time and not break.  That still does not solve the fact that the remaining elastic is stretched and the legs are floppy.

I have asked my sister and my mom (who make porcelain dolls and no stranger to ball jointed dolls) what their thoughts were on fixing the floppy leg problem.  They are stumped as well.  The biggest hurdle seems to be that the elastic is sealed in the legs.

At this time my girls are living with the affliction of Floppy Leg Syndrome and I am always thinking about how to fix this issue.  If anyone reading this has any experience in restringing these dolls, I would sure like to know what you did.  I know I will figure out a solution but at this time, I am stumped.  One day soon….

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

And Here We Grow Again!

At least once a week, I get a feeling that I should head over to my favorite Goodwill store to see what treasures they have for me.  The main things I look for are quite standard - Teen Trends Dolls and anything I can use for them, Barbie’s I don’t have and anything I can use for my Barbie village, the plastic stacking shelves I use for organizing my craft supplies and various other items, and books from my favorite authors.  I rarely veer from these categories.  Ninety-nine percent of the time I find all of these things on a regular basis except one.  Teen Trends dolls.

On Saturday, 06 February when I woke up, I listed in my head the household chores I had to do before I even got out of bed.  I had great plans, but the one thing I felt strongly about before I started my chores was to head over to Goodwill.

It was early enough that I knew I would be one of the first customers to check out the newest items on the shelves.  I headed straight for the toy aisle and as I rounded the corner I spotted a stacking bin and a 3 drawer shelf.  Good find, I thought.  When I turned my head to the left to look at the toy shelf, there lay a treasure that had my heart just a pumping!  She was Mattel’s Teen Trends Deondra.  My heart skipped a beat as I realized I found another one of my girls!

As I looked her over she was dressed in an original outfit, no shoes, and as far as I could tell her joints were in passable condition.  Her hair was terribly matted but that didn’t matter as I already knew I would re-root her hair when I decided what representation she would be in the doll family. She was $3.00.  I couldn’t believe my luck!  As I walked around the store I went back a couple times just to confirm there were no other dolls to be had and when I finally paid for the items and left the store, I was totally elated.

Since thirteen dolls are needed, I mentally assessed which dolls I still had to find as I drove out of the parking lot.  I figured that if I collected 4 of each that gave me 12 dolls and I could give them the makeovers to match their different representations.  Currently I had (including this new one) 3 Kianna’s, 2 Gabby’s, 3 Deondra’s and 1 Courtney.  If I wanted 4 of each doll type, I still had 4 dolls to find to complete 4 sets.  The 13th doll could be any one of the doll types.

As I pulled onto the street I thought of the Value Village thrift store that was only a few blocks from the Goodwill.  Often I think about going there but they rarely end up having what I’m looking for so I pass by and don’t bother to go in.  Today I decided I would go and check it out. As I was driving I noted I really needed to find the Courtney doll as she seems to be the hardest to find.  I still needed 3 of her and wondered if I would ever find one more, let alone three.

When I got to the Value Village store I systematically checked the aisles and did find one of the stacking bins I needed so that was good.  Usually this store is overpriced.  I have passed up a few things because I didn’t think they were worth the money they asked for.  This new bin was the same as one I just bought at the Goodwill store, but twice the cost.  Still I bought it as I did need it.

As I headed over to the toy section nothing caught my eye until I walked down the doll aisle. There I saw a foot sticking out of a pile of dolls and I knew instantly that that was a Teen Trends doll foot.  I swear you could have gotten sucked into the vortex I created when I grabbed the doll out from under the pile.  And shock of all shocks, there staring back at me was - yes you guessed it - a Teen Trends Courtney doll.  I couldn’t believe I was holding her in my hands.

Here it was, the entire drive over to this store I was thinking of this doll and now she was in my hand for the price of $4.99.  The crazy thing about it was she was dressed in the same outfit as Deondra I found less than a half hour earlier.

This doll was not in the same condition though and I had a little pang of a collectors fear that I wouldn’t be able to bring her back to her original beauty.  Someone had drawn all over her face with what I thought was pencil, which I did test to see if I could remove and the little bit I tested managed to come off her face.  There was also a very light scratch on her face where the plastic had come away.  The last thing I noted was 3 of her fingertips was slightly chewed (?).

Upon inspection I believed I could carefully sand the tips of the fingers with a very fine sandpaper to smooth and shape them.  Her joints seemed passable.  The truth will come out once I take off her clothes to see what other possible wear and tear there is.

Still I was elated as I had done the impossible, I had found 2 of the dolls I was really hoping to find and both in one day, a half hour apart.  Unbelievable! (grinning from ear to ear lol)

The next steps for these two girls is to give them a good bath, check them over for damage and other troubles, decide on which representation they matched best and then give them a name. Then I take their current photo and begin their profiles.  They will be introduced to the other girls, assigned a carry case and notes made for their makeover to give them their own identity and unique look.  

Since they are the first two girls in the Chapter of the Universe, this is very exciting for me.  The Chapter of the seasons began with Wiccah, Rowan, Summer and Amber.  The Chapter of the Elements began with Kindell, Raven, Genevieve, and Teirra.  Now that the Chapter of the Universe has begun, we are on our way to the completion of the Silvervale sisters as a family of little teen witches.

Where I started with one, I now have 10 little girls to enjoy.  I will continue to collect these amazing dolls until the first set of 13 are complete.  If I am lucky enough to find more of these dolls, I will continue to create new chapters representing more fundamentals of my beliefs.  

I am excited to continue the journey through collecting my girls and creating a world in which these dolls can come alive.

Thank you for coming along for the ride.  But hang on tight, there is no slowing us down now!

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

Troubles in Posting

Lately I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time for new posts.  I had a tragic incident happen (or so it feels tragic to me) which is also holding up my posts.  My SD card, which I keep my documents for the blog, crashed.  I back it up every other day but I hadn’t in a few days due to a busy schedule and during those few days, quickly jotted things down in entries I was preparing for the next few posts. With that and some of the photos gone, I have an outdated backup that I must now rewrite.

But it doesn’t stop there!  Oh no...

Many of the posts I’ve pre-written for the blog.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who does that since you must have some sort of outline of what you want to add as you go along.  I am a writer and I edit until it says exactly what I mean to say.  As a writer, I know that your reader cannot see into your head.  They don’t know the background or the supporting information you know.  Everything must be crystal clear for your reader to be able to ingrain themselves and participate in what they are reading to enjoy the experience.  Needless to say I try to be quite thorough.

And then it happened.  I am moving into a new house.  I am very excited but now many of my future posts do not apply anymore.

I’m an extremely organized person and I wrote several posts on how I organize my dolls and craft supplies.  Organization is very important to me.  With all I do with my dolls, if I wasn’t organized I’d be in real trouble.

In my new house I have to set up a whole new program because the layout is much different.  I’ve thought about still posting my old way to inspire those that can use the ideas I’d implemented in my old house.  After 15 years I have to make this big change.  But being as organized as I am, I started to dismantle everything as soon as I got my new house and began moving things over the moment I took possession.  I have two months to move everything but knowing me as I am, I had to begin right away.

However, after realizing that I should have taken photos of the way I organized things, I had already cleared out a lot of the stuff.  I quickly got my phone and snapped a few photos but they are not that good.  Still when I do post them, one should be able to get the idea of what I had set up prior to moving this all.

So needless to say, with all the activity of moving and preparing my new house (painting and so on) as well as cleaning my old house, I am crazy busy and don’t spend much time on my dolls.

I haven’t had any time to update the outdated materials I lost from the SD card crashing and so I know that the next posts on the girls are going to be few and far between.  I think about this all the time but it’s fleeting because I get immediately pulled away with all the other activity going on.  And I do get very depressed when I think about all the updated data lost from my SD card crashing.

I know there are many worse things in the world but currently in my world, my SD card was my lifeline to my doll world.  Sigh….

Through this I have implemented the next tool which I hope will work better for me in the future.  I now immediately email myself a document when I create it or update it (this includes photos).  And when I create new documents from scratch (as I am doing with this post) I have created it in Google Docs.  I can access it anywhere and I don’t have to worry that it will crash (at least I hope not!)  Then I copy it into a Word document (which is emailed to myself).  I keep a word document of all my posts which include the pictures in the document as it was originally posted.  All posts are labeled and filed in my Teen Trends Dolls hard drive.  This way if I ever need to access the information as I posted it when I am offline, I can with ease.

I think I’ve solved the documents problems and I know that once I am moved and settled in my new house, I will be able to resume the posts on my blog on a regular basis.  I will have set up my craft area, my doll area and the space I will use while creating the Magic and Mayhem series.  Yes, things will get back to normal and I’m looking forward to that.  

All is not lost...just delayed a bit...

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

Bathroom Toilet

The bathroom toilet proved as eventful as the sink.  Try as I might, I just can’t successfully bend and shape foamcore. (grin)  However, I was starting to like the contemporary boxy look.

I measured and cut the foamcore to the dimensions I thought the toilet should be for Wiccah’s size (measuring her first in a sitting position).  Using the top half of the tin shell butter dish as the toilet bowl, I traced the shape and carefully cut it out of the base of the toilet.  I covered all the pieces in MacTac and glued them together, opening the hole for the shell bowl to sink into.

Prior to sinking the toilet bowl into the base, I traced the shell onto foamcore, rounding out the scallops for a toilet seat and lid and used a bit of tape for the temporary hinge.  The foamcore seat/lid is very lightweight so in the future I may cut a new one out of sheet foam instead as it is a little heavier and sits better on the toilet bowl.  I then sunk the shell toilet bowl into the base and secured it with hot glue.  I still must affix a flushing handle when I decide on all the bathroom fixtures but you get the picture.  (grin)

.

The finished product turned out nice.

 

 

And the bathroom looked like this in the end!  I liked it (grin)

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

Bathroom Sink

The next piece I made for the bathroom was the sink.  To be honest I didn’t know what I would do for the sink.  I looked at pictures on line but I didn’t think my talents were able to bend foamcore into the sink parts I saw in the pictures.  I came up with an idea based on the finished tub/shower and began to cut the foamcore into the basic sheets I needed for the base, counter and back of the sink.  I didn’t want just a straight up box for the base so I angled the front inward to accommodate my doll’s feet as she stood close to the sink.  

I used myself as a guide by standing at my bathroom sink and seeing where the counter came up to my body and then stood Wiccah up and measured the counter based on this visual measurement. I covered all pieces in marble MacTac and glued the pieces together, finishing them with the black bump ribbon.

 

  

Thinking about what I would come up with to use as a sink bowl, I rummaged through a box of odd kitchen stuff and found a tin shell butter dish I had from years back.  It is silver with a shell glass dish that nests inside.  I took it apart and used the base as the sink bowl since it had small protruding feet and was stable as it sat on the sink’s counter.  I thought about dropping it flush with the counter like the bathtub, but I liked the look of it on top so I left it for the time being.  What’s nice is I can always cut the hole in the sink counter and drop it down if that is what I want in the end.  That’s the great thing about foamcore.  You can modify it without much trouble.

I had a bunch of ideas for the mirror but in the end went with a jewelry box I bought at the dollar store.  The lid is the mirror and is wood framed.  I took it apart and later used the divided box for a shelf in the bathroom.

  

As per the other pieces, I still have to make the faucet and taps and I think I will paint the mirror frame either black or silver to tie it in with the rest of the trim.  Otherwise I liked the look of the finished piece so far.

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

The Bath & Shower

Since I never thought I would find much to furnish my girls’ house, let alone bathroom fixtures, I knew I had to make them myself.  I admit I was a real amateur in making stuff for this size of doll so everything was a big learning curve.

To make the bath and shower I needed the tub portion and searched many stores looking for the right oval “thing” to use as a tub.  I found my answer in the dollar store…a plastic oval casserole dish.  It was large enough for Wiccah to sit with legs stretched forward and if she wanted to lay down, her knees bent up like we all do in a bathtub so I was pleased with the fit.

Armed with the standard foamcore and some really cool white marble looking MacTac I went to work creating the first bathroom piece.

The tub-surround pieces I cut from foamcore the length and height I thought would work well when I put in a shower head. (approximately 18 inches high)  Using the casserole dish as a pattern I cut the hole out of a separate piece of foamcore for the base of the tub and slid the casserole dish tub in to work the fitting.  I wanted it snug inside even though there was a very slight lip on the casserole dish to hide imperfections.  I covered all pieces with the marble MacTac.

Since the hole for the tub was now covered with the MacTac, I made cuts in the MacTac starting at the center in triangle slices and carefully bent them over the hole.  You can see in the picture how it went.  Since MacTac is really thin you have to be really careful when folding the strips over so they don’t rip.  It’s a tedious but worthwhile procedure and works great in the end.

 

I trimmed the edges of the base of the tub with a pretty black bump ribbon to finish it off and I think it turned out great.  The only thing left to do was put the shower head, faucet and taps on.  I have not made the fixtures yet because I don’t know quite what I want them to look like yet, but the below picture shows the semi-finished project.  I was fairly happy with the results…but you be the judge…

Plants always add a certain amount of class to any room.  I placed these in to give color but really they are to enhance the whole bathroom.

As always, let kindness and positive energy

 fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!

The First Bed

When I made Wiccah’s first bed my idea was to cover it in velvet – a rich royal purple, to be exact.  I wanted the upholstered padded look for the bed trimmed with gold braid. 

With a basic and simple design, I made the frame out of foamcore to start with.  The bed was about 19 inches long and 5 inches wide, a higher headboard – about 12 inches and lower footboard about 8 inches and the height of the base about 4 inches.  Wiccah is 17 inches long so she had enough room for a pillow and foot room.    When Summer joined the family I duplicated the bed for her.

Finding the velvet proved troublesome and I abandoned the idea of finishing the beds until I had the fabric I really wanted.  I had many different pieces of purple fabric but not the shade I wanted and not velvet.  It was a little disappointing.  In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t have everything needed because I ended up changing my mind a few times on how I wanted the beds finished.  (grin)

The picture below shows the basic un-made bed.  It’s not the best picture but you get the idea.  It served its purpose for Wiccah and Summer until Rowan joined the family.  My focus on their homestead began to expand and the look of their house was changing from what I had envisioned when Wiccah was my only girl.

I will keep these 2 beds in case I need them in the future but at this time they are stored away in bins.  I know I will probably use them, someday….

And this is the unfinished bed in the first bedroom I made for Wiccah.  It doesn’t look too bad even as plain as it is.

As always, let kindness and positive energy

fill your mind, body and soul.

Blessed Be, My Friends!