Virus-Free Valerie

Well, these are some crazy times, aren't they?  I've spent the last two weeks moving three sad and slightly overwhelmed kids out of their colleges and back into our tiny house.  We're having fun, but we rarely go outside.  I'd love to hear how all of you are doing--please tell your story in the comments if you feel like it.

I was photographing my next doll for the Etsy shop when it occurred to me that a better idea might be to hold another giveaway!  We all need something fun (and inexpensive) to cheer us up.  So this doll will be offered for $2.20 on Etsy to whoever wins my little raffle drawing (see the rules and how to enter at the bottom of this post).

I searched my doll stash for a girl who didn't need much work, and I found this lovely Rosemary.  I saw her on eBay and thought she was one of the most interesting versions of this face mold that I'd ever seen.  I named her Valerie because it means "strong and healthy," and that's what I'm wishing for all of us right now:

1997 My Twinn doll with the Rosemary face.

Valerie has beautiful, low eyebrows and a light sprinkling of freckles across her nose:

Her eyes are a gorgeous medium blue, without the purple cast that so many of these eyes seem to have:

In the picture, above, you can see that she has a small stain above her right eyebrow (I was unable to remove this) and she also has a few little factory imperfections in the vinyl around her eyes.  Neither of these things is very noticeable.

Pretty much the only other issues with Valerie's head were that her eyelashes were damaged and she had no hair.

Her body is in wonderful condition, with very few picks or stains:

Unfortunately, Valerie's white body has elastic-strung ankle joints, and these are loose.  She has trouble standing on her own.  I've stopped trying to correct this problem and now I just make sure that loose-ankled dolls have either a good stand or a nice pair of boots.

I didn't have to do very much to get Valerie ready for a new home.  I gave her a light cleaning and then I removed her eyelashes...

...which gives us an even better look at her eyes:

I did my best to clean away the old glue around the eyes, and then I gave Valerie some new, lighter lashes and a wig.

The wig I chose was from another doll that I purchased a while ago, and I think it's a 13-14 Timarie wig from Dolleanne.  I recognize the color (light ginger with golden blonde highlights) and the fit (perfect).  The wig is in great condition, and it is wonderfully full and curly.  It has a slightly thin area at the very top of the hairline that appears when the hair is flipped around into certain positions.  I think this could just be the design of the wig and not wear and tear.

The last thing I did was dress Val in a used My Twinn brand snowflake dress in fair condition.  

Here she is!

She's wearing new boots to help her stand up (although she still tips over sometimes):

And I also gave her some new white tights:

She's a lovely doll, and I like the way the dress brings out her blue eyes:

The old eyebrows match the new wig pretty well, too!

Here's her front-on portrait:

There's not much of a transformation to see with her GIF, but here it is anyway:

As usual, the after picture makes Val look brighter and more yellow than the before picture, but she's the same color as she always was.  I suspect she has an 02 skin tone (the most common skin tone among My Twinn dolls).

Here are some more pictures to show off Valerie and her new wig:

The wig can be tied back in a number of different ways...

...but--as always--the hair is the most fun to play with when it's down!

I think Valerie's factory eyebrows, freckles, and blue eyes make her pretty special.  The only things I had to do to fix her up were clean her, replace her eyelashes, and secure a new wig.  I can safely say that she's the easiest makeover I've ever done!  Because I had so little to do with her final look, she will not come with a locket.  That would be like me taking credit for My Twinn artistry.

Valerie's biggest flaw is that she has loose ankles.  The boots help her stand up, but she still has a tendency to pitch forward.  Her wig also has a thin patch in front, and she has some small vinyl imperfections around her eyes that look like they've always been there.

If you think Valerie might fit in well at your house, please enter for the chance to purchase her for $2.20 (with free shipping).  I will close the entries Sunday, March 29th at 12:00 noon EST and then do a published drawing for Valerie the same day at 5:00pm EST.

I might have found a way around the complications of anonymous commenters entering to win Valerie, so here are the updated rules and restrictions:

1. Comment below to enter.

2. Start your comment with the words "I'm in!" so I can tell who's entering and who is just commenting.
3. If you do not have an active account, please contact me through Etsy and I will enter for you or assign you a unique name to use in your comment.
4. Anonymous comments without a name from me will not be considered for the drawing.
5. If you are unable to comment for any reason, contact me through Etsy and I will enter for you.
6. A mailing address outside of the United States is disqualifying.
7. If you are under 18, please secure the permission of a parent to enter your name and for the $2.20 Etsy transaction.

The contest is now closed, results will be posted at 5:00pm EST!

Thank you for stopping by, good luck, and I hope you all stay strong and healthy!