Minnie gets a make over!

I was honored last week when a dear friend of mine asked me if Id be willing to try and fix her daughters BFF Minnie who had been in her life since she was less than a year old, Mikaelas now 12. Im a doll maker, not a doll repair-er, but never one to give up a challenge, I accepted. So she arrived and although smiling, looked a bit haggered, probably the same way my guardian angel looks after protecting and comforting me for years

So I reinforced her tares, and kept having blow outs from the pressure of my previous stitches, so I decreased the size of my needle and used a finer thread and walaa. I replaced her cuffed lace with new bright white lace, better secured her head and then even gave her an ear lift. Minnie now has perky ears, and brighter eyes, (oh if it were that easy huh ladies?) I repainted her eyes, added a spot of glitter to her once dull and scratched glaze, and then came the skin graft. I knew although I had sewn her bare spots, she would continue tearing, so I dug deep in my stash and found a soft bleached muslin and cut small squares & rectangular pieces and handstitched them on to her lil tattered body.

Oh the Pressure.... Opie was sniffin sumpthin on this doll that he became obsessed with. he was sportin that look that said "I gotta have me some mouse...I gotta have me some of THAT mouse" so each time I would leave the room or house, Id safely sit Minnie on top of the fridge, tryin to keep back the visuals of callin my friend to tell her that although the surgery went well, she got eaten by a 13 pound dog!!!!

So now that the skin graft was complete and I painted my lil heart from all of my Scaredy Kat originals" on top of her neked body...I couldnt very well send her back home without new threads... Minnie was in dire need of some new digs....no pattern to help with sizing, I threw caution to the wind and started tracing and sewin away and I even made her a new bow to sit proudly between her perky new ears.

When I thought about the teaparties, tears and fears that this lil stuffed animal provided for this little girl, I thought they both deserved my best efforts. At first I was a bit leery, I knew this wasnt an ordinary doll, this was someones best friend forever.

How touched and honored was I, to think that her Mom trusted me enough to take this surgery on, she knew it wasnt even close to the realm of my experience, but believed in my personal mantra of trying to do the very best I can, in all I do. I learned that once I took the fear factor away, I was actually able to enjoy the process of giving Minnie a huge surgical make over. I pushed myself and am quite thrilled with the outcome. It opened my mind to embrace challenges that may first appear alot bigger than they may be.

So Minnie will be Florida bound on Wednesday. and shes "not" the only one that had recieved a make over.