Sharon Golding Designs

 Life for me is about staying alive, keeping active and learning new things. Latest thing to catch my attention is sewing.  Never really a sewer (or should it be “sewist”?) in my younger days, I find recently a strange draw to the sewing machine and fabrics.  Well, to be perfectly honest the fabric came first, became a bit of an obsession even, so once I had a fair stash I really needed to use it.  Enter the self learning of how to sew. I’m starting with simple things first, a pillowcase.  What can be more simple? Straight stitching.  Not a problem… I thought! My dolls are all laying around waiting for a new wardrobe of clothes, grumbling about their lot, but tackling a pattern is not yet on my agenda.  I’ve had to talk them into being patient. ;). First things first, straight things… simple makes that will be completed fast to keep my interest alive! Choosing the fabric for my new pillowcase is my first task.  Out comes the stash. Several hours l...

 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 💕

 Hello all,  So sorry I’ve been away so long!  Many things happening around here so little time for my hobbies, but I’m now getting back into things. My interest in doll collecting has exploded into a kind of mania 😂 but I’m trying to slow things down a little. I moved from porcelain to baby dolls and then to American Girl and Our Generation before returning to my first love of Barbie! When I was young I didn’t have many dolls, but I did have Barbie and some Barbie clones.  I never really took to Sindy, I don’t know why.  Then recently I discovered Sindy and wow! Have I been missing out!  First I bought a few vintage Sindy and I love them.  Somehow I find their faces so expressive and they move and pose so well.  I always did like the Sindy furniture.  It was always much better made than Barbies trashy stuff.  But now I must admit I’m rather taken with Sindy herself. As a child I hated Ken and Paul, they always seemed so drippy.  A...

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...

 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...

 Never quite sure if this is upcycling or recycling, but I have taken a child’s styling head toy and repurposed it as a Nature Goddess. First I took one old styling head that had seen better days - her hair was matted and frizzed.   After hair and makeup removal, I set about painting her green using acrylic paints.  I then decorated her with artificial flowers that I had left over from another project. Now I will paint the hessian fabric and her eyes (which will be closed as in meditation).  I’m toying with the idea of adding a little butterfly to her shoulder to finish her.  What do you think? Another item saved from landfill 😊 Best wishes Shari x