Save the Dolls - by Marilyn
How to Recycle Dolls

Create Dolls like these.....

.... from Dolls like these!

And donate them to children at Christmas!

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Pretty nice huh? So who is this 'Marilyn' and what's she doing with all these dolls? Let me tell you a bit about her, and then we have lots more to share with you!

Marilyn is my kid sister. Well, as her older brother, I still think of her as that even if she is a senior citizen! She loves to sew and she loves dolls. A number of years back she began finding dolls to rescue.  She took them home, cleaned them up, and sewed clothes for them. At Christmas time she gave them back to charities as gifts for young children whose parents could not afford a fancy Christmas. She hunts for dolls all year long at thrift shops and garage sales. Then she works on their outfits.  She first did this almost 20 years ago and has kept it up, off and on ever since, sometimes dressing 2 or 3 dolls, but more recently 25 or 30. 

She starts out with something that might look a lot like those in the second row above. Their hair is a mess, they have no clothes to speak of, and they look like they have been generally neglected. Then she does her magic. With scraps of fabric often given to her by others or picked up at various places, whether they are "babies" or "Barbies", she transforms them into things of true beauty! She doesn't stop with the clothes. There are the accessories (handbags, panties, quilts, etc.) to go with them. They then get wrapped in plastic in all their grandeur and delivered to charities that find new homes for them. 

That's what my kid sister does. So, I created this web page to brag about her and I asked her to add to it the secrets of how she does it all with the intent of encouraging others to do something similar. I'll now turn it over to her and let her provide that guidance...(with lots more photos to share).

To get started just click on a topic listed on the left side of this page.  The Photo Gallery holds most photos, the other pages discuss how to do what she does.

Disclaimer:  Savethedolls is not associated with any  store, charity or organization.  It has no commercial intent.

Ted -  Feb. 27, 2001 (Revised January 11, 2010)  

 

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