Rowan, a Dear Gift

Part one

I have been quite busy lately, but still enjoying my dolly world whenever possible.  In between everything else, I have been downsizing my doll stuff again.  Mostly to make more room, and to add a few things I like more.   And sometimes they just seem to appear!  

A sweet friend gifted me a beautiful Madame Alexander Wooden Wendykin doll.  I have wanted one for the longest time, but never bought one.  We were chatting about dolls and I mentioned wanting one someday.  I had forgotten that she had one awhile back but thought she had sold it.   She said she had removed her hair and tried different wigs on her but never bonded with her and didn’t really like her face.  So she sent her to me!  How wonderful is that!?!

She is made entirely of wood and is multi-jointed.  She has eleven points of articulation, so posing is fun. Her range of motion is not as good as resin BJDs, but she is still pretty awesome.   Her face is hand painted.

She arrived just yesterday and I adore her already!   I removed a wig from an older MA doll and put it on her.  It is a tight fit, and has stayed on so far.  And she looks so cute in it!  My initial plans were to lighten her lip paint and make her some clay hair to resemble carved wood like I have done with two of my other wooden dolls.  That may happen in time, but right now I am loving her in this red 

wig.

She told me her name right away, Rowan.  So it's a good think I named her that.  Rowan is Irish for red-haired

I had fun dressing her in pretty little dresses.  I think she will be quite spoiled living here. She is very close in size to the other Madame Alexander 8 inch dolls, but her feet a little smaller.   She can still wear the same size shoes, but they work better with socks.   The clothes fit well, which is great.   I can’t wait to see her in blue jeans and sneakers.
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Part Two

I made a few changes......Change is a good thing most of the time.  It seems like things in my dolly world change on a regular basis. Sometimes small changes make a big difference and other times, they are subtle while still being meaningful.
I mentioned in my last post about a friend gifting me her Madame Alexander Woodkin doll, that I named Rowan.   She has had some minor changes since I lasted blogged here.  I sanded the lines around her mouth and nose ever so gently.  The wood she is made of is very hard, so I didn’t sand as much as I wanted.   Power tools may have caused more harm than good, so I decided to stop before I ruined her. I also lightened her dark red lips.  I carefully removed the dust from sanding, repainted her lips & blush and then sealed her.   If the wood had been given a stain before she was initially painted, I could not have done anything as matching the stain would have been a major undertaking.  So I really took a huge gamble and prayed I was not making a big mistake.  I was very, very blessed to pull this off.  I think she looks more like a little girl now, which is what I wanted.
Below are before and after pics.

                        Rowan Before

                       Rowan After

I think she looks better, even though the changes are subtle.
Thank you, Michelle for your very thoughtful gift.  Rowan will always be loved!
 

Well. it’s that time again.  Things to do and people to see.  May your days be happy & blessed!
Until next time……..