Stuffed Dolls From Thailand.

Can't believe it's been so long since I last updated this blog, people wondering what happened to my doll collection will be pleased to know I have just discovered many more dolls I've inherited from my mother. As well as all the old dolls from my childhood that were previously stored in my fathers attic.
The first I'm going to share are these hand made stuffed dolls from Thailand. I recall they were purchased during the 80's from the Greenpeace catalogue so will have been fair trade. The cards that come with each of them read:

Akha call themselves A-kha, ethnically the Akha belong to the Tibeto-Burman branch of the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family. They live in the northern Thailand at an altitude of approximately 1,000m. The Akha are shifting cultivators. They cultivate dry rice for consumption and grow corn, millet, peppers etc. As additional subsistence crops. The most enjoyable event of Akha is, the four day swinging ceremony, held during mid-Aug and. Mid-Sep

Lisu - The Lisu inhabit the mountainous hinterland of Northern Thailand. They grow rice corn and vegetables as subsistence crops practising shifting cultivation and they also grow opium for sale. The Lisu have no political leader at village level this differentiates them from other tribes. They are principally animists and ancestor - worshippers and their reputation as individualists makes them quite distinct.

Yao- The Yao or mien as they call themselves, can be found in Kwangsi and Kwangtung provinces of South China, and North Thailand. The Yao are practise shifting cultivation growing rice and corn. The Yao have adopted many characteristics of Chinese culture, for example they hold the new year celebration on the same day as the Chinese 

Sadly the card for one of the dolls seems to have been lost, but they have barely been taken of the packaging, and apart from that are in great condition. Can't wait until I have Suitable glass cabinet to display all these dolls in. The detail in the costume and faces is really lovely, there limbs do move so could have pictured them seated but decided to leave them standing. 

New Early Eighties Sindy Annuals Arrived

The Sindy Annauls I won on eBay arrived today and I was pleased with the condition they are in, they don't have quite as many pictures of the Sindy outfits made that year as I'd hoped but they will still be useful. I did learn that 4 of the evening gowns for Sindy designed in the early eighties were designed by the Emanuels (the same people who designed pincess Diana's wedding dress) so I'll have to keep a lookout for those on eBay. :)

Please Help Me Identify These Dolls Outfits.

You might think because you aren't a doll collector you won't be able to help, but if you are 70's or 80's child who played with Barbie or Sindy you can as that's when they date from. Please check out this short slide show and leave a comment if you recognise anything. You can pause it using the buttons at the bottom of the picture that appear again when you mouse over and enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.
And they open in a new window so don't worry if you are using Blog Explosion it won't effect your surfing. Thanks in advance.

Still Working On The Last Dolls Hair, And New Additions To My Collection

I've noticed a lot of people on youtube making spoofs of the American show robot chicken with Barbie dolls. I was thinking of starting one myself using Sindy dolls, and using more British humour (which is not what you think it is if you still think we like Benny Hill!) Would anyone be interested in seeing that? Do you think it would be funny? I would make it with the same kind of humour they use in Robot Chicken, just with a British slant. Anyway here are some pictures of the latest additions to my doll collection.

I have got a new addition to my Sindy collection, from the markings on her head I can tell she dates from about 1983 to 1985, so she's nearly as old as me!
The other doll in the above picture is how far I've got on re-rooting the doll in the post below, she needs much more work I've just been really busy lately.

And this is a pocahontas Disney doll my friend gave me as he knew I collected Sindy dolls, sadly he passed away shortly afterwards. I intend to try and restore her hair but I probably won't re-root her as it's quite a tough job and if the doll doesn't need it we quite often don't we just restore the dolls original hair.

Sindy Waiting For New Hair.

Modelling on the new sofa that arrived today courtesy of eBay Sindy is just awaiting the arrival of her new hair which should come tomorrow, then I can begin re-rooting her. I think I may have damaged a few of the plug holes (the holes her original hair was threaded through) as when I pulled out the old hair some of the holes near the front of her hairline seemed a bit big. Apparently I can remedy this with glue when I put the new hair in.
Then I just have to get some more black hair so I can do her eye lashes and she'll be finished, sadly I got outbid on the 70's doll I was trying to get from eBay but I'll find more. This doll dates from the early 80's.
I'm also awaiting the arrival of a new sewing machine so I'll be able to start making new clothes for the dolls from the patterns I've had for a while now which will add a bit more individuality to my restorations.

About To Re-Root Another Sindy, And Bought A Paul Doll.

I just got a Paul Doll from good old eBay (Paul is the equivalent of Ken to Barbie), he's by Hasbro and is from 1987. The person I bought him from had dressed him that shirt and a pair of shorts that I think were meant for a Sindy doll so they looked like hot pants, making him look even camper than he does now.
I'm finally going to re-root the older Sindy I bought a couple of years ago now pictured here in the Horse and cart. I'll order some hair from retro dolls tomorrow and start as soon as it arrives, I'm planning to bid on a couple more older Sindy's from eBay too. I hope to eventually make some kind of youtube video featuring them all and telling some kind of story as there are loads done with Barbie dolls.

finished re-rooting Sindy.

I actually finished her a few days after the last post but have only just got round to posting the pictures.


I'm quite pleased with the result but if you are attempting to do a similar thing i.e make a doll that was blonde a brunette, I recommend painting her head a darker colour first. As the light colour of her scalp shows through the hair as you can see in this picture.



My next project will be the pedigree Sindy pictured below in the horse and cart who I will probably restore as a blonde as she is an older doll and it will be nice to restore her to how she used to look.