DIY Laundry Stain Remover

I am always on the hunt for DIY stain removers. We have a pine tree in our front yard that is always dripping sap. 

I searched Google and came across several posts that said rubbing alcohol eats tree sap. I had some hand sanitizer that is 60% isopropyl alcohol. It also has a gel like consistency so I thought it would work great to apply on laundry stains. 

I applied directly to the sap and waited a few minutes. Used a tooth brush to rub the stain and it’s gone!!! It does eat the sap. Cue happy dance. 

Another mixture I use for stains a lot is dawn dish soap white vinegar and baking soda. I apply dawn to the stain scrub with a toothbrush and then apply some baking soda and pour vinegar on top and watch it bubble up. The solution works magic on the stain. 

My daughter got mustard on her cute dress. I waited too long on this one🤨 so as you can see in the pictures it didn’t work ☹️

Someone mentioned to try borax on the stain. It looks so much better. It’s not 100% gone but it’s less noticeable. 

Best I could do..

Do you have any cool stain removers? If so, feel free to share with me in the comments. 

Gift Baskets

 Here are a couple of gift baskets that I made. 

Super fun to make and surprise people.  A little random act of kindness gift.  I did themes for each one that matched the person I gave these to. 

Pineapple Party Bowl is now a cute basket

Minnie Mouse Trash Can turned basket

Goodwill Finds I Didn't Buy...

Have you ever gone to Goodwill and found some cool items but for whatever reason you left them behind?  Here are some things I really liked but did not buy.  Some other lucky person got these items.  This Doll house was huge and super cute.  I did not have the room for either at the time so I left them there. 

Goodwill does have some cool items sometimes.  It really is like treasure hunting.

Tinker Tray Fun-Construction Play

 I enjoy making tinker trays for Lil’ Miss. she loves exploring and playing. When I make them for her she calls them “our projects” and will ask “mommy when are we doing another project”.

I get a lot of my ideas off Pinterest. 

We got some construction themed cupcake toppers off amazon.  Some wooden sticks and some wooden blocks.  Added a few rocks, some trucks and playdough. Supplies a mix of amazon, dollar tree and stuff we already had. 

We had the book and hat and tonka truck.  She had so much fun with this construction themed tinker tray. 

Farm Small World Play

Lil’ Miss really enjoyed this Farm small world play set up I made for her. 

I found an old tray at Goodwill. We had some road tape we purchased at Target. Added some farm animals and different items. 

She played with it for at least an hour. 

Farm Sensory

Added some puzzle pieces. Fake grass. Rubber frogs and some dried black beans. 

Simple sensory fun

Bug Tinker Tray

Our latest tinker tray. 

My Goodwill Haul

 I have not been to my local Goodwill in quite sometime and was pleased with my haul I got.!!!

Check it out below. I paid less than $20 for all of this.  The pictures are not the best quality.  The shopkins robe is hot pink and looks brand new.  I paid $3.00 for the cash register.  I am going to clean it up and add some play money.  The Vans look better in person. I paid $5.00 for them. And Little Miss is starting school this year and they wear school uniforms.  I found these 3 pieces and paid hardly nothing for them.  I need to go to Goodwill more often!!!

My First Goodwill Doll Haul!!!!

I went to my local Goodwill treasure hunting and found the most adorable little jeans for Peanut. I decided to take a look at the toy section. I found this really cute pink plastic golf set. Peanut's dad is a golfer and I thought it would be cute to get her the toy. I decided to pass and just buy the jeans. Meanwhile....

I kept thinking about the little golf set. I decided to go back to the Goodwill the next day to see if they still had it. They did!

Anyways back to the doll haul...While getting the golf toy. I came across several dolls. I found three Disney Toddler Princess dolls. 

Rapunzel, Cinderella and Elsa. Rapunzel's face and hair had ink marks and her hair was very tangled and dirty. Her dress was torn in some spots. Cinderella looked in pretty good condition. Elsa looked good too. But she was missing her dress and had on a too big doll shirt fastened on her with rubber bands. 

I also came across an 18" doll. The doll had "Battat" stamped on her neck. I took my phone out and did a quick Google search. Found out she is an Our Generation Doll from Target. She is Targets version of an American Girl doll. I grabbed all four dolls debating on if I should purchase one. 

I have been thinking about getting a doll for Peanut. I was trying to decide which one to get and ended up taking all 4 home with me. (Along with the golf set).

I put Peanut in her baby swing in the bathroom doorway. She was happily swinging and watching while mom went to work on the dolls. I undressed and bathed all the dolls and washed their hair. I was very careful cleaning the Our Generation doll not to get water near her eyes. I read that their eyes can rust.

After washing and cleaning all the dolls. I worked on brushing and detangling their hair. Rapunzel's hair was in the worst shape. I started working on her first. (I have already wrote a few blog posts about her hair). 

The other three dolls are clean with their hair brushed. They are sitting on a shelf while I work on Rapunzel and can think and figure out how I want to fix them up! 

Peanut got four dolls for close to $17.00! Sometimes you can find the Disney Toddler Dolls on sale for $14-$17. brand new for one doll. So to me $17.00 for three Toddler Dolls and one Our Generation Doll is not bad. 

***Dolls are a work in progress will post more about them when I work on them some more. 

Elsa needs a new dress

Cinderella was in good shape

My Generation Doll.  After being cleaned up and a new outfit I got off wish for like $2.00

How My Doll Hobby Started...

I love to go treasure hunting at Thrift Stores for different things and kept seeing a lot of discarded dolls in need of rescue.


I started reading doll blogs about thrift store doll rescues. I know some people scored some really cool American Girl dolls and other neat ones in thrift stores.


I have not come across a doll like that. I have however found lots of discarded Disney Animator Dolls, Our Generation Dolls, Bratz Dolls and Barbies.


The reason I wanted to start rescuing the dolls....My little peanut is 8 months old and she is starting to really play with toys and dolls. I decided to learn about dolls and maybe rescue and fix a few for peanut. I also thought maybe when she gets a little older her and I can rescue and fix up dolls together as a hobby.


I have a lot to learn about dolls. The ones I want to rescue are 18" dolls. There are so many brands!!!! So much to learn!!!! I am a Disney girl at heart. So the Disney Animator Dolls will be rescued too.

Danny O'day Ventriloquist Dummy Spotted at Goodwill!!!

Check out what I found!!!! Jimmy Nelson's Danny O'day doll. I spotted him sitting behind the counter. He was for sale for $29.00!!!!!!  I decided not to buy him.  But I thought it was super cool to find him sitting behind the counter😀

For Sale for $29.00!!!!!

History behind the doll:
The character was created by famous television ventriloquist Jimmy Nelson back in the 40s. He had a doll named "Dummy Dan" The doll was designed and crafted by Frank Marshall, one of the most famous ventriloquist doll makers in the US.

Before they even made it to stardom the "Dummy Dan" doll was starting to show signs of wear. Nelson asked Marshall to make another, but as they were hand-made the new one didn’t quite match. Nelson kept the original and turned the new doll into a new character...and "Danny O'day" was born!

Jimmy Nelson and his Danny O’day ventriloquist doll first appeared on TV in the 1950's. They used to advertise Nestlé products such as Nestlé Quik alongside Farfel the dog, another Nelson character.

The doll I spotted behind the counter was probably made in the 60's or 70's.  You never know what you will find thrifting!!! "Happy Hunting My Friends".

What cool things have you found?  I would love to hear about it!!!

Doll Hair Care Tips

*Posting just in case there is a newbie like me out there in Google Land looking for information on fixing doll hair.

I am very new to and still learning about rescuing and fixing dolls and trying to revive their hair.  I recently tried to fix a Disney Rapunzel dolls hair by submerging in Downy Fabric Softener aka the "Downy Dunk" and by boil washing the hair.

I realized I still have a lot to learn and decided to do more research.  Here are a few of the tips I have gleaned from Google.

Using fabric softener knows as the "Downy Dunk" is a last ditch effort to fix a dolls hair.  Before giving in and re-wigging the doll.  "Boil washing" does help the doll if you don't leave it in the water too long and eek melt the hair!!!!

From what I have read doll experts recommend "Braid Spray".  Braid Spray is the generic term used for a variety of spray on hair conditioners that can be used to care for and maintain synthetic hair.  A lot of wigs and extensions are made from synthetic hair.  The Braid Spray helps keep the wigs and extensions soft.

A lot of doll hair is also made out of synthetic hair.  So to keep the dolls hair in tip top shape use products made specifically for synthetic hair.  Such as:

• Wig Shampoos and Conditioners
• Braid Spray
• Wire Wig Brushes used to brush out the wigs and extensions

You can purchase all of the above at places like Sally's Beauty Supply.

Braid Spray

Wire Wig Brush

It is recommended to only use a wire wig brush on your dolls hair.  Never use a comb or plastic bristle brush, which can snag or cause the hair to frizz.  

It is also recommended to only work on dolls hair after it has been spritzed with water.  To only work with damp, wet hair and never to brush it when it is dry.  

I am sure there are more tips...But this is what I have so far.

I am still researching and have so much to learn!!!!

This is definitely a work in progress.

Doll Hair Repair Gone Wrong

I am a newbie to doll repair.  Everything is brand new to me.  This new hobby of mine will be a lot of trial and error lol.

I have been working on fixing Rapunzel's hair.  When I got Rapunzel her hair was dirty, had marker ink in it, and was matted.

Recap of Rapunzel:

1. Thrift Store Rescue doll
2. Washed and combed out her hair
3. Tried the "Downy Dunk"
4. Attempted to "Boil Wash" her hair......

Boil Washing:

Dipping the dolls hair in hot water is supposed to soften and straighten the hair.  There are a lot of tutorials online about how to do it.

I decided to give it a try.  I boiled some water and dipped Rapunzel's hair.  You are only supposed to dip it for a second and take it out of the water right away.  I dipped for a second or so longer than recommended.....

I accidentally melted and fried some of her hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Picture after washing Rapunzel's hair

Picture during and after "Downy Dunk"

Pictures after "Boil Washing"

And a picture after her hair dried.......

Maybe Rapunzel will get re-wigged after all? Hmmmmm.....? LOL