When Damaged Goods Arrive...

I was so proud of myself for finding this cute vintage silver ceramic Bunny money bank through an online shop, in Japan. I've seen these cute bunny banks sold through Milbee's Online shop here. I was very close to buying one, but someone else had bought the item before I could. So, my next best choice was to buy the other one I found... Fast forward to today.

Sadly, when my friend sent the item to me, the seller she ordered it from for me, didn't pack the ceramic carefully. Yes, yet another disappointment of an item arriving damaged. I am definitely learning that collecting vintage ceramics is often a hit or miss, especially, if the item gets damaged during transit. I'm finding that USPS.com is not necessarily at fault, but those airlines that handle the cargo after it leaves the hands of the mail companies, who do know how important items are to their customers!! Ugh. Probably why, I need to stick to buying plastic or vinyl items... Note to self. Ha.

Anywho, I was able to salvage this damaged item. Yay me!

 She was in pieces. Mostly, the damage was from the neck up. I wasn't sure if I could put her back together, at first?! I started with the neck area and worked my way up. gluing small sections at a time.

I worked on her for 3 days or so... When I completed her, sadly, the last section (The top head part with ears) I had to glue on was a bit off from where some sections were already glued to. Darn. There was only one very tiny piece that was missing in the neck area, which probably caused it to be off. So, I managed to replace it with putty.

 She is a silver version of the same bunny. I figured when I got her I could either flock her or paint her... Her facepaint was worn off from age, with just a bit of her original eyes still there.

 The back side you can see is a bit off.

 I painted her first, using Milbee's bunny pics, I was able to recreate her eyes, minus the eyelashes and eyebrows. I repainted her dress, cheeks and ears. Then, I added a red bow. I decided not to do flocking. Though that would look good on her as well.

 You can still see where the opening for the money is a bit off, and the cracks from the damage.

 Here's a photo of before and after... Not too bad right? LOL

 

Also, I worked on this cutie too! I reflocked him in areas where he had permanent marker ink on him. Also in areas that was missing flocking.

 Finished product! Good as new!

A comparison photo, so you can see the permanent marker ink. Also, at the top right ear, where there was a chip. I'm proud of myself for trying. Now, these cuties can still be around to love!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls