Perfectly Imperfect: I Upcycle My Dolls By Giving Them A More Natural Look (Part 3)

I rescue and repaint dolls, and give them a new story and personality in the hope that somehow they will inspire young girls to be confident in themselves exactly the way they are.

I believe that God made each one of us perfectly imperfect and unique - so here's to us all (adults and children alike!) learning to celebrate and embrace our unique imperfections!

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Sunny by name, sunny by nature! Blessed with a cheerful disposition, Sunny chooses to see the good in everyone and everything. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time in nature.

Amanda loves to dress up in anything pink, with frills and flounces, and sparkles galore! She owns more tutus than a ballerina, and loves to dance and prance around the house to all kinds of music. Amanda is so good at handstands and cartwheels, and has competitions with her friends. She is kind, funny, always helping others, and is sometimes a little bossy - all indications that she will one day make an excellent leader (who will hopefully always choose sparkles and frills!)

Charity is obsessed with the weather! Mention anything to do with the topic and she is alert and engaged. She pores over weather books and charts and graphs the daily rainfall and temperature. She is constantly sketching details or jotting down interesting facts and observations in her journal and has even made her own sundial for the garden. Charity's favorite weather topic is definitely cloud formations. There are so many beautiful combinations every day, and she finds them all fascinating - even just their names feel beautiful when they roll off her tongue: cumulus, nimbus, cirrus, stratus, cumulonimbus! Charity's dream? To be a meteorologist of course!

Dear Child. Embrace your unique beauty (yes no matter what the world tells you, you are indeed beautiful in all your perfect imperfections!!). Be brave and remember that bravery doesn't always involve action - sometimes doing nothing at all is the courageous choice. Dance wildly in the rain - you will never regret it. Be kind always, for kindness is a universal language. Sing loudly, and with joy. Wear whatever you love - life is too short to care what others think, or to let "fashion" dictate your wardrobe. When difficult times come (and they will my darling) remember the butterfly - what seems like the end is often just a new beginning. Love. Breathe deeply. Spread your wings and be who you were made to be, my little butterfly girl.

Part of why I write my stories is because I want to be the voice I needed when I was younger. If I had read these stories as a child I believe I would have made some very different choices. Just small things, like reaching out to the child always on their own. Or speaking kind words to someone I see hurting. Or standing up for the voiceless, and seeing the "invisible" kids around me. Or feeling confident to be exactly who I was because I didn't have to be like everyone else.

Little things, with long-reaching consequences like a ripple in a pond. I never went out of my way to be mean or leave people out, but I fear that there were times I simply didn't think about my actions and their consequences, and unwittingly hurt people in the process - even as an adult!

Writing these stories makes me stop and think, and inspires me to value every single person around me as a treasured, precious individual! I wish I had these stories when I was a child, as a teenager, when I was teaching my beautiful primary classes, and when I first entered the realm of motherhood! I could have been so much kinder and caring and accepting and observant and patient and loving.

Well I have them now, and I'm sharing them with the world. If even just one person - child or adult - changes the way they view and treat others than I will be so happy!

Speak words that build others up rather than tearing them down. Love yourself and love others.

Tamara is energetic and boisterous. She loves to run and jump and move - all the time! She has a heart of gold, going out of her way to encourage her friends and to speak kindly to everyone she meets. Tamara wants to travel the world when she is older!

Laura is confident and strong; a born leader, with a bubbly personality drawing people to her. She tries to be friendly and kind to everyone around her, as she has noticed that her classmates often copy the way she treats others. Laura loves to spend time with kids who are bullied or left out, and finds ways to encourage and praise them. She has a unique gift of seeing beauty in the unloved, and of appreciating unique gifts that other people often just dismiss as weird or different. Laura is a good friend because she cares more for people's feelings than she does about how she might appear to others.

Bella is gentle, yet strong! She cares deeply for those around her, and loves to help others. Although quietly spoken and appearing almost timid in large groups, do not underestimate how fiercely passionate Bella can be, standing up for the defenceless, the voiceless and for those she loves

She is quietly spoken and shy, which results in her often being overlooked. However SHE doesn't overlook anyone - quite the opposite! Kylie watches those around her with her keen, caring eyes and thoughtful heart, and has a special ability to sense when one of her friends just needs a hug, or some words of support. She knows when to give an encouraging smile, and when sitting in mutual silence is all that's required of her.

Stella is fast and nimble and can climb a tree quicker than any kid on the street. She is cheeky and clever, having a funny comeback for anything.
Most of her time is spent dangling from her favourite tree with an irresistibly cheerful grin ready at the waiting to gift to any passersby.
When she wants to be alone she simply shimmies effortlessly higher up in to the hidden leafy branches and allows her thoughts to meander into worlds beyond this world, unseen by all but the keenest eye below. Stella says that sometimes fairies and elves join her on her travels.

Shy, unassuming and all too often brushed aside by those around her, Emily knows how much it hurts to be invisible. Her courage and strength of character shine through her pain as she quietly fights for the bullied, the hurting, the down-trodden - regardless of her own troubles.
Emily is determined to see the unseen and to love them into being. She may not realise yet, but her kindness and gentle nature make her so beautiful and loved.
The children she reaches out to will never forget her tender heart, and like a ripple in a pond they too will take time to show love to others because they know how it feels to be seen.

Melody has lived and breathed ballet from her first steps as a toddler. Something deep within her seems to sing when music plays, and her body cannot help but move! She finds classical ballet technique difficult, but works hard every day to improve. Melody's eyes are firmly fixed on her dreams of being a professional ballerina, and perhaps one day even dancing with her role model Misty Copeland.

Alana is a very talented tennis player - quick, strong, and capable!
She also has a limb difference, but as you will soon learn, her ability is stronger than her disability, and together with her coach they have developed an explosive serve technique!

She holds the racket with her left arm, tosses with her serving arm and then grabs the racket. She still needs to work on getting more height with the toss to allow the motion to develop but so far she is a player to fear! She has excellent sportsmanship and is well respected by her teammates and competitors alike.

Alana is yet to encounter an activity she can't do - she just figures out a different way to do things: sometimes challenging, but never defeating.

Meet Alison - a vivid reader with a vivacious and cheeky personality. Her heroine is Hermoine Granger because aside from the fact that they share the same thick, bushy hair, Hermoine is brave and clever and kind - all things that Alison tries to be. Alison wants to be a writer when she grows up.