I’m still working on the big box of Op Shop dolls and today I will show you a batch of smaller dolls. A couple of them are Kelly/Chelsea, a couple are Simba and the rest are mostly clones.
I know these little dolls are popular with small children so we can either sell them on their own or pop them in a bag with a Barbie and a couple of outfits. Although they are small some of them have thick hair and they will take as long as a larger doll does to detangle.
I didn’t take “Before” pictures of all these dolls but they had no real issues apart from their hair and a lack of clothing for some of them. I did a little swapping around of outfits as each doll was finished. Some still need some work.
Kelly
I knew that Kelly had gone through a few changes since she was first issued in 1994 but as I have never collected her I didn’t realise just how many versions there are. I think that is worthy of a post on its own some time. This doll is Kelly, not the more recent Chelsea. She is shorter than the current doll. When I looked up Kelly faces on Kattis Dolls I thought that this one might be an early “bottle mouth” Kelly from 1994. What do others think?
Evi Love
There are two Simba dolls, one blonde and one brunette. Simba made this doll as a little sister for their Steffi Love doll. Her name is Evi. Evi was sold both separately with her own playsets and with Steffi. She is a little chubbier than original sized Kelly but well made. The little blonde one has articulated legs. She will be going with Steffi for a “Happy Family” type set. The other little girl still needs a dress. I made her panties and those of Baby Love from a balloon.
M&C Paula
This little brunette doll with crazy curls I first thought was a Kelly friend but when I checked her out she was marked M&C China. I don’t usually expect to get much joy researching made in China dolls but it turns out that M&C make a lot of fashion dolls and they had an excellent page of examples of their Kelly sized doll Paula. Paula comes with all sorts of different playsets and frankly I thought they were nicer than anything Kelly/Chelsea has had lately. I could not see a Paula with hair as curly as this one but I am certain that she is Paula. I’m not really sure what to do about her hair. It is very tangled but if I comb it out too much the curls will come out and I’d have to reset it with tiny rollers. I do have tiny grips (bobby pins) but it would be a time consuming job. I’m still thinking about whether I want to do it. Originally I’d thought about a reroot as well but I don’t have the tools for it at present and I like her hair. It’s just messy. I’ll tell you what I decide later.
Generic Kelly Clones
This brunette with bunches is also a Kelly clone but no markings I can check out. She needed a spot taken off her face as well as having her hair tidied and a new dress.
The blonde is a cheaply made Kelly clone. Her hair is quite sparse so I put it in a ponytail.
Now here are a couple of dolls who are not Kelly types.
The redhead one has a cloth body and is a Strawberry Shortcake doll, she is about 16cm tall and I think she was made about 2012. She is marked American Greetings and Hasbro. Her little friend is also marked American Greetings and I believe she is a Strawberry Shortcake friend Lemon Meringue. Strawberry had some scratches which I tried to smooth out with an emery board but she has lost a bit of paint from her lip. Their larger friend has a similar look but is not Strawberry Shortcake, probably a knock off. Her hair was very frizzy so I gave the ends a trim after I’d finished washing and conditioning it. I didn’t have an outfit for her so I made one out of a balloon.
The next doll is a strange one. She has a body the same size as Kelly but with a huge head and big eyes. I quite like her face but I don’t like such a big head on such a tiny body. I feel like she’d fall over when she tried to walk.
Apart from Paula who obviously needs a lot of work and the couple of dolls that need clothing these gals are just about ready to head back to the Op Shop.
Dolls, Dolls, Dolls 
I believe that the Strawberry Shortcake friend is half of a set of twins. They’re names were Lem and Ada. I think you have Lem. He is much older than the Strawberry Shortcake doll. Definitely from the 1980’s
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I’ll have to have a look for a bit more info. So Lem is a boy? The hair was longer before I chopped off the frizzy part.
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Some very cute dolls, I agree the curlie head doll w/bib does look familiar..he is rare usually lost to the set.The chocolate one can’t tell if she’s a clone but is a good one if she is..her face paint is very consistant w/ these dolls.Still looking for a good book on them as my daughter had a lot of them she played with her cousin.
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Actually she is more likely orange blossom the AA friend..or it’s copy..Like I said still looking for good guide on these.
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The big eyed doll has me puzzled looks like a cross between a Mini Blythe and Pullip doll..?
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Yes the eyes are very startling but they don’t move. She has no markings unfortunately.
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Saw Chesie in blog; toyphilosopher.com
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*Chelsie
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As always, your dolls turned out so nice. That first little doll has a sweet, appealing face. The balloon outfits are very creative!!
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There are loads of tutorials on YouTube on how to do them so I thought I would try.
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Hi! I agree that your Strawberry Shortcake friend is most likely Lem. I have 2 books on these dolls Strawberry Shortcake Collectibles by Jan Lindenberger which has a picture of the twin dolls on page32, a Kenner doll c 1983 and More Strawberry Shortcake by Jennifer Bowles. The really cheap Kelly clone looks like one I got from the Dollar Store a few years ago. Mine is made with very cheap plastics, legs don’t move, arms and head move some. Cute face though! The Evi Love blonde doll with articulated legs, I have 2 that I bought from Toys R Us with came with a bike and Helmut and they could peddle the home-based I have 1 blonde and 1 brunette. They are very cute! Clearanced at the time I bought them last year. I actually have a few more, one is a brunette Evi and she came with plastic balloons she could hold. One princess one that came with her own little castle. I almost love the newer little dolls better than the barbies! Almost. I hope this helps! Helen
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It does Helen I don’t have access to those books.. The Evi sets are nice aren’t they. There is one on eBay at present with Evi and a pony. I am tempted.
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I hate spell check! I was talking about the doll’s bicycle.
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I know. Spell check thinks it knows what you want to say but doesn’t always. I argue with it all the time because I use British English not US too.
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yes.American slang gets it’s fair share of wangdoodling..and I’m about to get paniced, .. so will be messing about with a new to me ,haven’t got a clue ..but my daughter got a new phone so out of pity upgrades me. Hoping the pics get shifted over..btw..yesterday on a vintage toy site shipping to U.S. $6..shipping to UK $57!!..really!that was more than the items cost!
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Panicked?
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I thought that was what you meant. I simply could not do all my blogging on a phone. It’s all I can do to read posts and comment.
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with a fair bit of younger nieces/nephews I try to do both..but finishing on husbands mums estate this week had to rely on phone and a back up battery as the internet was shut off at mother in laws place.Your blog has been a great escape as we navigated all the extreme changes. Plus lost two senior pets in two months.And my wish list keeps popping up..I kept loosing everything for so long..and now it’s like Christmas! Scored a Mary Poppins paper doll in box..Can’t wait!
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I used to have a Mary Poppins paper doll set as a child. I’m sorry to hear about your pets. It is never easy to lose them even the seniors. A co worker and I were talking about past pets in the Op Shop yesterday and we both got teary.
I’m sure you are glad to have finalised the estate or nearly. That is a stressful task too.
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Everything finally done..The house sold in four days..but that was the easy bit.Very strange having bo barking around here lately. Looking for dolls pets..noy winning too many of them.Do have a Krypton for Superman but out of scale for most sets.
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Hi, I’ve read articles on your website a couple of times and really enjoyed them. I collect 1:6 scale figures/dolls (and other toys) but am currently trying to thin out the collection as my house is too small to accommodate them all. I’ve picked up items over the years, particularly during the eighties and nineties. Some older toys and figures are my son’s toys that he looked after and treasured. He’s now in his forties and living overseas so all his old ‘stuff’ has been left in my care. I was interested to read your histories and wide interests in this field. One doll I have is a Simba Kids Collection doll (eighties I think) that I bought new and couldn’t bear to get rid of the box. These are the dolls that were called Expression or Ugly Face dolls. The one I bought had a much nicer face though and I finally found another one like it on the internet, but never one with its original box. Do you know much about these dolls? I could put up a photo if you like.
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Hi Alison. I’m so glad that you have enjoyed reading our posts. I had a quick look and I have seen photos of the Simba Expressions dolls but I’m not familiar with them. Iam betting that some of our regular readers are though. If you would like to send a photo or a link to one I’ll post it so others can see and comment.
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