Doll-A-Day 2019 #324: Barbie and Teen Skipper as Vera-Ellen

  Today;s doll is one I made for Ivy. You may have seen my post the other day,where I talked about how Ivy's favourite movie, when she was small, was "Wonder Man". The movie was made in 1945, and starred Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, and Vera-Ellen. Ivy loved Vera-Ellen. She went as Vera for Halloween three years in a row. Two of the costumes were from "Wonder Man". The other day I showed you the one costume. The other costume from "Wonder Man" was from a song and dance number to a song called "So in Love". (You can watch that part of the movie HERE.) This doll is wearing the "So in Love"  costume.

 

  One year I decided to make Ivy a Vera-Ellen doll for Christmas. I started with a Barbie doll with similar hair.

 

Her hair was curled tighter back then! It looks pretty long now. It also laid differently originally.

She needs a good comb out, but if I did it there would be no curls left. I don't do hair.

She was far too busty for Vera-Ellen though, so I switched her head onto a Teen Skipper body.

I managed to find her shirt and one shoe, and she was wearing her skirt when I found her in Ivy's stuff. No word yet on the whereabouts of the other shoe.

I made her skirt, painted a pair of pink Barbie shoes red, and dyed a white Barbie shirt red. For Halloween I made the same skirt for Ivy, and got her a red shirt. (I couldn't believe how hard it was to find a red shirt!) I had to repaint her face. (Vera's, not Ivy's!) I gave her brown eyes and bigger teeth and eyebrows.

 

  Her red lips should have been painted with a better acrylic, because the redness has bled into the vinyl around her mouth. This has happened before when I've repainted dolls. I have learned my lesson now. I bought a better red acrylic paint.

There are so many things I see I could have done better. If I remade her now I would make her skirt out of a thinner,more flowy fabric and make it less narrow. I'd take in her shirt so it's not so baggy. The shoes need better paint that will actually stick. I'd redo those eyebrows too.

  That's the doll for today. Tomorrow we'll see another doll.