...Can be broken, with love." - Other Mother/Coraline.
I have been working on a restoration, that has taken this whole month to complete... And today, I can finally say, I am done!! Whew! Yay me!! Yippee! Yesss!!
She came to me as you see her below, missing her ears, her hair, the gingham tie to her diaper, a safety pin, her bow, and she had permanent marker stains on both her eyebrows, along with some missing paint on her irises. She even had some yellow stains on her diaper. I first, washed her of course, and was able to get most of the yellow stains off her diaper. I handmade her ears, using white fur, wires, and founds some pink and white gingham fabric closest to her original ones in my bag of fabrics. I touched up her eyes, and added blush to her cheeks. I tried using alcohol, Magic Eraser, and even repainted her eye brows to try to remove the stains or cover them up. But, nothing worked... UGH!
So, I decided to use a method that worked for me back in the early 2000s, when I first collected Kiraz dolls from France. You see, I bought a Kiraz doll that had the signature of the original artist on it, but sadly, the signature turned into a blob of nothing, but a stain. So, I used the method most vintage Barbie collectors use for removal of permanent marker, zit cream!! Unless you have the fancy "Twin Pines" version, which I don't! So, I got the next best thing... 10% Benzoyl Peroxide or zit cream. What kind you ask? Any kind as long as it has 10 percent benzoyl peroxide, no extra oils or perfumes of course. But, warning the process takes 4-EVER!! Well, at least to most of us, including myself!! Haha!
I removed the paint and blush I put on with alcohol, cleaned up the area and waited til I found some zit cream. Sure enough my local pharmacy had some. And I got the cheaper version, at 8 dollars a tube. I began on a Friday, and took daily photos of the progress. Of course, the 1st day, didn't show any kind of progress. But, as the days went on, I started to see something. You see, you have to put the cream onto the area that needs the marker removed, mind you to be careful not to place it on the areas you don't want to be. After 24 hours, sometimes 12 hours, you wipe the area with a damp paper towel to remove the cream completely. Check your progress. I did this by taking a photo and comparing it to the day before, so I could see if there was any difference. Reapply the cream and set the plush down somewhere safe, as not to be disturbed. Preferable by a window, you need the sun's light to help the cream work its magic. But, I also found out from a fellow collector, that the cream staying moist, helps it work too. Thus the reapply within a 24 hours period is good to, and some cover it with saran wrap. But, I didn't use that method, just let it air dry and I kept reapplying at least once, within the 12 of that 24 hour period.
By last night, I was done. So, I began working on adding her curly hair she was missing. I had gotten those craft curls you can buy at a craft store or online. I chose pale blonde curls for her. I was tempted to find blue or even pink curls. LOL Maybe I still will do that! I painted her eyebrows a bit, and added the satin bow. TaDa!!
I am so proud of myself for trying the zit cream, now she is way cuter than I expected her to be! A lovely new addition to my collection too!!
Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls
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