Passing on Memories

I haven't saved too many things from when I was a child.  A few art pictures here and there, a few items of clothing, not too much.  But of all the things I still have from my childhood, there are two that I cherish the most - my old dolls Mimi and Gigi.  Truthfully, I can't take any credit for still having these dolls.  My mom has held on to them for me, sitting on a shelf in her bedroom since I stopped playing with them years ago.  And on that shelf in my mom's bedroom is precisely where Olive was stopping on a daily basis to take Mimi and Gigi from the shelf, wanting to play with them.  As you can see, they were still alive but have seen better days.

Gigi is on the left, Mimi on the right.  Now, my daughter, while very sweet, is not the most delicate.  I knew that if I let her play with the dolls, they would be destroyed in no time.  Both of them had holes in their body, hair falling out, clothing ripped, and were obviously a little dirty.  I really wanted her to be able to play with them but I wanted them to hold up, so I decided to give Mimi and Gigi a little makeover!  Here's how they turned out:

Gigi got a whole new face - literally.  New skin, eyes, nose, and mouth.  I also changed her hair, gave her a little head kerchief and front dress panel to match, reinforced her arms and legs, cleaned her dress and sewed up little holes here and there.  Mimi got a good cleaning as well as new hair, a re-stuffed hat and all her holes were sewn up tight.  I'm so happy with the way that they turned out!

Olive likes them better, too.  Except she keeps trying to pick off Gigi's nose.  :)  The best part is that I know that they are now better able to withstand her torture she sometimes inflicts on them.  It can go from hugs to "toss across the room" in an instant.  I love that she is able to enjoy a toy that I loved for so many years and I'm sure she will enjoy them for years to come, too.  (I have a picture of me holding them when I was about her age.  I think it's boxed up somewhere but if I find it, I'll put it up, too!)