She's clearly what I would (very un-politically correct) call Indian, but since the English language is very confusing at this point (Indian from India or Indian from America? Or Asian American from India or Native American from the US? Or maybe Asian from Asia or... Confusion all around here.) I'll clarify with the politically correct term Native American (and I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that she's NOT from Asia). No telling if she's supposed to be anyone in particular or just a generic beauty. Either way I liked her bones, so to speak.
You know thrift stores very rarely delivers you anything in a ready-to-use shape and this was the case with Pocahontas, here. Looked like someone had "colored her in" which made her look kind of creepy (blank black stare, anyone?). And she had a few little nicks here and there as well. So my thought was to paint her a classic black or white. After some pondering and a quick inventory of my spraypaint options on hand I went with a glossy white.
Ah, much better! The glossy bright white makes her look a little more "modern" as well.
All the little nicks are now perfectly hidden as well and she looks brand new.
When thrift store shopping you have to be prepared to buy something great on the spot because you know full well it's not going to be there the next time you drop by. This lady got purchased without me really having a great spot for her in our house because I didn't want to pass her up. So for now she hangs out in our bedroom where she gracefully holds a beaded necklace (which incidentally makes her look more like one of the other kind of *ahem* Indians, from Asia, you know. And what do I know, maybe she's got a little bit of both in her? :) The more of a mix - the merrier, right?).
I assume you all already know to go to the thrift store with the spray paint option in mind for everything you see there? If not you should start doing that from now on. I always take my sweet time combing the isles at my favorite haunts while this mantra goes through my head "What could this be in a re-imagined state and how would it look with a coat of spray paint?". Re-purposing or re-painting something someone else has discarded can completely change the look and feel from outdated, boring and trashy to chic, elegant and surprisingly useful.
And THAT'S what the whole thrill of thrift store shopping is all about (for those of you who haven't tried it yet).
So, which of Pocahontas' three looks would you prefer if she were yours - original, all white or bejeweled? (Psst, there's no right answer since we're all different. I'm just curious :)) I happen to be very happy with her new look. The necklace may or may not be a permanent thing, though. We'll see.