Restoring a Rushton Valentine Happy Bear...

 I had the amazing opportunity to adopt a fellow collector's vtg Rushton Valentine's Happy Bear! She was an early birthday gift to myself and I am so thrilled that he arrived safely to me last week!! He arrived with so many cute extras, I was very touched by my dearest friend, Alvina. My heart is definitely full and her kindness was just truly amazing. I feel so blessed to have her and her family in my life! Along with some really amazing collector friends via Etsy and Instagram, you know who you guys are! 

ILY always. ~ ggsdolls

Now onto the restoration!! I actually didn't have to do anything to him as far as his fur or washing him. Alvina kept him as is and she is one I know that is very good at making sure her plushies or any vintage item is clean and safe. At first, I thought I may try to wash him still. Mostly because, I wanted to refresh his fur. But, that would mean me having to undo his seams, take off his wings which are delicate as it is, remove his felt feet, his stuffing, etc. Ugh. I didn't want to do that. At least for now. So, instead I just simply wiped him down and used Mr. Clean eraser on his face, just to take off a bit of the aging. His facepaint was immaculate underneath. He only needed a touch up to his nose and hair. I did add some blush to him!

After sealing his face, I simply allowed him to dry and he sat for the past week. I was trying to decide, how to move forward with the other items he iss missing. He was missing the bow and arrow, and of course his felt heart with the message, "H-O-N-E-Y, I Love You." Hmmm, how is one to create something like that... I went to my local School and Office Supply Store, and picked up some foam sheets in colors, and also found a gold poster paper sheet! Yay!

The idea was to take the foam sheet and cut out a bow and arrow shape. Then, take the gold poster paper and glue that onto the foam sheet cutouts. I began that work yesterday and within just an hour, I was done with making his bow and arrow. I basically printed out a bow and arrow printable from online images. Then, cutout the shape, used that to cutout the shapes onto the foam sheet, and also the gold poster paper and glued both together.

I added a foam loop so that both the arrow and bow can be placed onto his paws without me having to staple or sew them onto him. You see, Rushton Co. either glued the props onto their plushies or stapled them on. I didn't want to do that. Staples will eventually rust and cause spots on the fur, and glue, just damages it. That's a No-no to me! So, now the task was to create the felt heart that is stapled onto his red satin bow... hmmm. In the end, I basically took a screen shot of a Valentine's Rushton online and cropped and enhanced the felt heart photo. Next, I printed it out, and blue the image onto the foam sheet I already had. I could've made it using felt, but that would take me way too long to do. Sorry, I was lazy, and then I sealed the heart with gloss spray paint. I sewed the heart onto the rest satin bow I had on him.

On a side note, sadly, I could not find a thicker red satin ribbon roll, ugh. Mostly were only 1 inch or smaller and sold out because of yup, you guessed it Valentine's coming up. The ones they did have were in white with red words. Ugh. Oh well. Next time. In the end, he turned out just lovely. His bow and arrow may not look exactly like the version the original bears had, but hey they are decent enough! Haha!

 

 

 

Now, he's ready for Valentine's Day! I hope to upload some spam pics when I do a set up scene with him soon!! He has the same face as my pink Happy bear, just taller and in red and white. He is a huge bear too. Not as huge as Papa bear, but definitely the largest I own now in my collection!

 

 Thanks again to Alvina for allowing me to adopt him! Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

 

 Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls

Check This Out!!

 My dear friend Kewtkitsch on IG was interviewed by Themothballpropheciess!! Yeah, don't ask, just listen!! You're welcome! Haha ~ ggsdolls

New Cuties and Finds!

 It has been a decent start to the week! A few goodies I found through out the end of December into January and her they are...

This lovely Artist Bunka doll from Japan. I found for my shop. She is a lovely version of Bunka and even has saran hair. She is already listed in my Etsy shop. I have been wanting this lovely pin caddy, mostly because of the colors. So, I found one with its original box!! It came with 3 safety pins too! I will be using mostly to display the bead pin dolls I've been making. More on the bead dolls later in this post!

Shaped like a rooster, the pin caddy is cute! You push down on his crown and his beak releases the safety pins. Its tail part can be used to undo the pin or redo the pin with one hand. Helpful when you are changing a diaper. You might've seen it often. I know I do. Haha! Next, this lovely Lucite jewelry box, I found recently, is from Japan. In Japan auctions they can cost a lot, but outside of Japan, they are very nicely priced, and it still works too! I may keep this one? Haha.

Then, this vintage Toho Bussan pink plush bunny, is similar to Sekiguchi plushies. She has sleep eyes with eyelashes and just reminds me a lot of Twin Stars or maybe Joan Anglund children? I was going to keep her, but she's big and I just don't have the room! Already listed in my Etsy shop! Back in September, I found out that a these adorable Rune Naito mascots were going to be released in December. So, I was able to preorder one set. It arrived safely and they are just like the ceramic versions!! Smaller to the ceramic ones, they can also twist their heads! A set of six and all are available in my Etsy shop!

While doing my usual searches, I found this lovely art print. The seller listed it as a silhouette of girl with bird cage. It reminded me of something whimsical. I bought it straight away! Now, to find a companion! A doll collector via IG announced the release of her porcelain doll Sleeping Sylvy!! I was fortunate to snag one and she arrived to me safely. Oh my goodness, she is just the sweetest artist doll. If you love Frozen Charlotte dolls, Leledolls are perfect! Made in S. Korea by Leledolls.

I was able to snag this rare "Ooh Bunny" girl Rushton in red and white dots. Definitely worth it. I originally got her to sell, but oh my goodness, I fell in love with her! She is just too cute! All original and still has her original tag. I only added a red ribbon, and the daisy in her hand. Back in October, I found this lovely Rushton "Crying" Kitty too! I lovely condition as well. I will add her to my Etsy shop sometime soon! So be on the look out or keep your notifications for Etsy on!

This Rushton "Cuddle" bunny needed help. I snagged her for a good price, and knew I could probably restore her. So, it took me about 2 weeks. I had to wash her twice. Sadly, the stains couldn't completely come off. But, most did get removed. Her face had caked on dirt and dust. As soon as I used the Mr. Clean eraser, I was so happy to know that it would work. Because at first, I thought I would have to repaint her whole face. But after using the eraser, I found she just needed a touch up of her eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth only! Yay! I found a vtg doll skirt in red and added a satin red bow. She is just too cute and would be lovely for Valentine's Day. I hope to add her to my Etsy shop soon too! Just check out the before and afters...

Okay and now to talk about my recent handmade cuties... I decided to try my hand at making bead dollies. I made them to be similar to nursery rattle dolls. But, these versions you can wear as a pin, on a necklace or even a key chain and take them anywhere with you! The first batch I made below, sold in one day!! I was thrilled and so thankful!! I decided to make more in other colors.

2nd Batch of bead dollies above, are listed in my shop! I worked on a 3rd batch, and this time used "Swarovski" crystal beads at the center of the flower. I literally paint their tiny bead faces similar to the vintage Japan wood beads you see in craft supplies, and then pick and choose certain colored beads to make them look like doll rattles. My favorite colors of course are the pastels. Haha, can't get enough of em'!! I add a colored safety pin and TADA! A brooch to wear!

Above, are flower brooches which are a work in progress. I was testing out the beads, a bit heavy so I need to figure out a way to put the pin at the back side, so that it will be stable. Sadly, my first attempt, they want to fall to one side or the other. Still needs work for sure... Last, these pics Taby sent me while she was out Thrifting. She found me a cute Posedoll. But sadly, it has stains, so I will not be able to fix her. So I told her I'll pass. It's nice to know that my local thrift might have some gems like this though! Yippee!!

I hope your January is off to a good start! Hugs all around!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls