Ideal Tammy Gets A Make Over

About The Doll

The beginning . . .

(The above 'before' photo is from eBay auction.  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190324432962)

 "OLDER TAMMY DOLL ~ NEEDS HELP"

Honesty is my best policy.  Although I have a lot of dolls in queue that need help, every once in awhile I find something on eBay that just calls to me. 

The title of the auction read, "Older Tammy Doll - Needs Help."    The eBay seller was good and honest.  The doll needed help.

When I got the doll, the first thing I did was carefully removed the head from the body.  It is important to try not to completely tear the neck ring off the neck. 

The doll was cleaned with a little Dial soap and Soft Scrub.   The doll's hair was washed with Dial soap, and conditioned with Suave Cream Rinse.   All this was done under steaming hot tap water.

I got her to a table with a towel and the face, neck, and body were dried.

I gave Tammy a rubber head band to set her bangs.  Then, I set the head up to check out the damage, and get the neck ring surface to completely dry.

When determining how to fix Tammy's neck, I decided to use my nail glue (as in fingernails) to carefully re-attach the torn area of the neck to the base of the neck ring.  Nail glue makes for a strong bond that dries quickly.  (I've been using this method for more than ten years, and this method seems to work the best for me.)

I glued the torn area of the neck ring surface to surface to the neck without any overlapping, holding the neck and ring edge in place until the glue had set.  Once the glue set, the doll's hair was further addressed.

Based on the doll's hair and cut, my goal was to try to get the doll's hair as close to its original style as possible.

 Since the doll's hair had been creased from many ears of being in one position,  I styled her hair as best as it would allow, and secured her flip with a floral tie. 

The doll sat like this for under the hair dryer (my desk lamp) for three days.

  Once Tammy made it through the salon, her head was carefully repositioned back into place.

Tammy was then posed standing under the lamp for the next three days.

With the rubber band removed, Tammy's hair was styled for her greeting card  photo shoot. 

 Tammy's hair was restyled  again as shown above for her auction photo session.  The coordinated rubber head band and ribbon secures her hair style as she travels to her new home.

 This doll's makeup is all original.  There was no need for touch-ups.  With the exception of the neck repair, this Tammy is all original. 

Being pleased with her makeover, it seemed only right that she was given an original tagged Tammy Dress.

This doll looks great modeling the classic 'Travel Along' dress.

  This is a little look at Tammy fully dressed with her Travel Along Starter Set.

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As you can see from the photographs, Tammy's neck is repaired and her head turns properly. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  It is always a joy to find that a doll of this age can still be repaired, and it was a joy to see this doll turn out so well.   

The Ideal Tammy doll is a functional work of art, and a vintage toy worthy of both play and display, and I hope this information helped make your day.    

For those who would like to help this doll find a new home, you are welcome to visit Tammy's Auction.   Thank you for your interest.

The End