Sharon Golding Designs

 So I was given this poor little lady to restore as she had fallen apart, literally!  She is a Denys Fisher Jennie doll, a tiny little lady at 7 1/2 inches. After cleaning off the sticky stuff (seems she was glued at some point), I then set about restringing her. Removing the old elastic which had perished proved to be easier than I expected.  There was a tiny holed plastic pieces inside a tiny cup which the elastic was threaded through.  Could have used a finer gauge elastic cord to replace the original, but I went with what I had at hand and it seemed to work pretty well. Very pleased with the outcome!  Dressed in her original brownies uniform, Jennie is looking a lot more put together!  I’m busy now sewing some new clothes for this dear little doll. Feel free to comment or contact me if you need advice on restringing dolls.  I really enjoyed this little challenge. Until next time! Love Shari 💕

Hi all Yes it’s back to the Doll’s Hospital for an update.  Bear with me, this obsession will ease up soon, I promise. 😉 Beautiful girl - another throwback to my childhood dolls.     She was in need of a great deal of attention and in a bit of a sorry state when she arrived.  Firstly, she needed a pampering session to give her some much needed tlc.  After a bath and hairdressing session, she was feeling much happier. Her sticky eyes were fine after her cleanup. We then investigated what would be needed in terms of repair and the most obvious problem was that her voice box was missing, so I booked her a laryngectopy or replacement voice box. Next we picked out a lovely new outfit for after her procedure during this shopping expedition she let me know that her name was Kira and she was so happy to be home at last. The larynx was soon repaired and Kira’s voice is restored. Welcome Kira. Looking so much happier now. 💕 Thank you to all my followers/readers for shar...

 Hello all, Well the doll addiction has increased and it’s not over yet! I came across this lovely vinyl doll which reminded me of a favourite from my childhood.  Of course I had to have her.  She was a bargain price and I got her from a very nice lady.  However she needed some tender loving care, which I felt I would be able to give her. Her eyes were unfortunately broken and were in need of replacement.  This is a first for me, but I bravely took on the task.  I watched YouTube videos and read up as much as I could on how to tackle this.  With the advice of some lovely friends on FB groups I sent off for the replacement eyes. In the meantime, Susie was bandaged and given lots of hugs in the Dolls Hospital until her surgery. She was very brave and once she was sedated her surgery began. And the eye transplant was completed in very quick time, without any problems at all.   Susie is delighted with her new warm brown eyes and she is now joining her...

 My latest addition to the doll collection is this little beauty.  Happily no breakages on her journey, but she was in dire need of a wash and hairdo.  I also washed all her clothes.   This is her before her pampering session This is the end result.  I think I will call her Laura. I  feel I need to step back from the doll obsession now, just for a little while.  I have enjoyed this new interest a great deal and will return to it shortly. I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing my adventures. Best wishes Shari 😊

 Hilary’s story is a sad one.  This beautiful doll was travelling to live with me when she was terribly mistreated and damaged in transit. I was heartbroken. I set about trying to repair the damage to her face. Whilst she was hospitalised for her facial surgery, Hilary very kindly loaned her dress to Katy, but soon she will have her dress returned and Katy will have new ones. Using water based glue seemed the best option, in case I should ever need to reset (if and when I am more experienced).  I ensured the glue would dry clear as I didn’t want the repair to be noticeable. The repair is only noticeable if you look closely and I am very happy with the result. And that is the saga of how I got started in doll repairs. 😁 Look out for more doll repairs in the future. Best wishes Shari x

 Well, inadvertently I have now embarked on the mysterious world of doll repairs.  It’s a bit of a long story but anyway, I acquired a half completed porcelain doll without legs or hair.  I have absolutely nil experience in doll making or doll repairs, but she is such a beauty that I knew I had to try.   She has a soft body and porcelain face, chest, arms and legs.  After viewing many videos on utube to find out how these dolls are actually made, it became clear that the attaching of porcelain legs to the soft body is actually done before the head is attached.  You turn the body inside out, attach the legs with wire or string on the wrong side and then turn the body right way round so the method of attachment, i.e. wire/string is invisible and there is a neat join between porcelain and fabric. Ok… so a bit of a hurdle, but I’m always up for a challenge!   I could go one of three ways:- 1. Remove head, stuffing, arms and start again with inside out bod...