Because it can't hurt to ask

[cleolinda]

Y'all remember Christina, right? Well, she emailed me the other day to ask if I would pass a request on to y'all:

Since my mom died in 1997 I have been slowly working on a project with my dolls to raise funds for cancer research. It is also I hope going to get more people, especially children to read since many of my dioramas are based on books. I will also be adding a teaching component to the exhibit to teach people viewing the exhibit why we wear the clothing we do and how history influenced what we wear.

Here's my dilemma. I have put every penny I could get my hands on selling custom doll clothes over the years to buy repaints (back when it was just Gene and she needed to be repainted to look like a specific person), then I was able to get some Tonner dolls that did not need to be repainted, plus they are articulated so I can pose them in the dioramas, and some like Pirates of the Caribbean don't need to even be redressed so it saves me some time getting this together. I have asked every year for Mother's Day, my birthday and Christmas for dolls, fabrics, items for props and anything else to see this dream of mine come to fruition. I am so close but I need some more dolls.

I especially need some male dolls. I need Edward and Bella dressed, I need Ron and Hermoine in their Hogwarts uniforms, and Dumbledore. I need a nude Edward for another display [Cleo note: dolls are resold "nude" because people keep the clothes but don't need the dolls--for example, there's three different dressed Harry Potter dolls, but people might want to keep only one doll and all three costumes. Others then buy "nude" dolls secondhand in order to dress them differently or repaint them to look like something else. I am fairly certain Christina's exhibit will not involve sparkleporn ], and I was hoping maybe you could see if any of your doll followers would like to donate any of the above dolls or nude male Tonner dolls. Hair color on nude male Tonner dolls do not matter because they will be wigged or rerooted. There are other dressed dolls that I would like to add to this collection if people would like to donate them but most dolls I am getting are nude and will be dressing them myself.

If anyone wishes to do this just to help get kids especially to read, or donate a doll in memory of a loved one that has passed away or is a cancer survivor then I will put a plaque in front of the doll with their name on it or the name of a loved one.

I have a local museum that is going to host this exhibit October 10, 2009. I hope to have someone from The American Cancer Society there to speak because my best friend was diagnosed in February with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Now we women know to check for lumps but IBC does not have lumps it spreads in "sheets" and has other symptoms. But most women do not know these symptoms and by the time it is diagnosed properly it is at stage 3 or 4. This is a deadly and very aggressive cancer. I want to educate people at the luncheon that day about IBC and what to look for in all cancers.

I know the economy is bad, in fact Larry was laid off 5 days before Christmas and I had hoped to do this completely on my own but I am needing help to see this dream be as great as I imagine it to be.

[Museum contact info redacted so 500 people don't go harass them.] I painted a mural there back when my mom was ill and finished it after she died so they are going to let me do the first fund raiser there. I am also talking to people at Haute Doll and Doll Crafter and Costuming magazine about doing a feature article on the exhibit so we can get it displayed in other cities.

If you would be willing to ask your readers if they would be willing to donate any of the above dolls I would be extremely grateful! I am sewing from my bed doing this project so I'm not as fast as I used to be but I'm still getting quite a lot done considering the pain and fatigue from all the health issues not to mention the ongoing depression related to the bi-polar illness I have for which I can not take antidepressants.

If you can help by asking your friends list if any of them would like to help I would be extremely grateful.

As a follow-up, she also sent me a link to a sample doll--a costume from The Age of Innocence (scroll down)--in case you wanted to see what her handiwork looks like. Christina's not on LiveJournal anymore after a bad trolling incident, so if you're interested in helping, I can get you in touch with her. If you have questions, I'll be happy to get what answers I can.

Comments

[blackwiidow.livejournal.com]

do they have to be tonner dolls? i don't have any of those, but i have male ken dolls and i also have 8" harry and hermione dolls, but not in their uniforms.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but I'm guessing she's going to want to keep all the dolls at a 16-18" height so they'll all look consistent.

[sapphire-etoile.livejournal.com]

I don't have any dolls or else I would donate them (want some Breyer models?) but you might want to tell Christina about Alex's Lemonade Stand.

www.alexslemonade.org

All their info is on their website but they're an amazing organization and would probably be useful in something like this...especially if she wants to exhibit this all across the country. Just a thought.

[darkfrog24.livejournal.com]

I am not a collector myself, but if there's a fundraiser involved, I'd care to hear about it. Support Stacie did pretty well.

[dramedy.livejournal.com]

I'd love to help with a small donation but I can't really help doll-wise D:

[padawansguide.livejournal.com]

I don't have any dolls that would work for her, but wow, her Age of Innocence doll is spectacular!

[nicolars.livejournal.com]

Yes, whoever did the repaint was very talented.

I cringe when I see some of the Tonner repaints on Ebay -- there was a Bella one recently that was truly nightmare-inducingly hideous.

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Holy cow, that is beautiful!

[angelene.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I can't be of any help, but that AoI doll looks stunningly gorgeous. =o

[suitcasegnome.livejournal.com]

Seconded! That is some incredible handiwork. Her dedication and talent are inspiring. :)

[jettcat.livejournal.com]

*adds to the chorus of those wishing to send a cash donation*

[gwynnywonk.livejournal.com]

I also can't help with doll donation, but perhaps your doll-stituents could drum up some cash for her on paypal?

You've already seen this dude's RPattz repaint, I presume? http://ncruz.com/ (I presume that because you said something about his excellent Elizabeth Swann repaints once or twice)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

And I'm slightly creeped out by it, yes.

[esperion.livejournal.com]

Eek, that is slightly creepy...

And I just *had* to click on the "hand painted genetalia" link for the Lucien doll, didn't I?

ARRGH, MY EYES!!!

[lisa-zj.livejournal.com]

Uummmm, I think I'll just take your word for that one. I'm slightly creeped out by the fact that he would even bother.

Some of the repaints look a little funny but for the most part they look great. The Elizabeth Swanns are wonderful, I like the ones of Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter too.

[edda.livejournal.com]

That's two of us.

*wails for lost innocence*

[nimlotbradamant.livejournal.com]

What stunning work! I wish I were a little less insolvent :(.

Miss Cleo, something for the next linkspam--there's an annual romance novel cover contest that goes on every year over at Cover Cafe (http://www.covercafe.com/) and voting is currently open on their tenth annual contest. They always have some pretty, pretty covers so I thought you might be interested.

[lisa-zj.livejournal.com]

That is a gorgeous doll and the costume is amazing. I wish I could help, I'm totally broke and my kids keep me that way. I wish her luck though, a great project.

[aficat.livejournal.com]

There are some nekkid Rons and the school uniforms for sale on eBay, which would go for under $80 for both, and a plush Scabbers, if someone wanted to send her some dolls.

There's also some super-scary Edward repaints, and a freakin' awesome Alice, but LJ has eaten my comment like 3 times and I'm not retyping the links again.

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

I've been collecting dolls for years (in a small way), but I don't remember hearing about repaints before. Intriguing . . .

[iczer6.livejournal.com]

I wish I could help.