New and Improved Barbie - And another addition

Hi Friends!

I am pleased to announce that I have joined the ranks of the Stay at Home Moms. I liked my job and I loved what I did however the stress was causing me some health issues for me and the new baby (we are both fine.) But it was just too much so now I get to have a few months to stay at home with my lone child. And (not surprisingly) finding I have a lot that I want to do. I'm more busy now that I'm at home all day. Actually all of these things were reserved for the weekend and after I got home from work. Now I can use my weekends to rest and spend time with the hubby.

Also, during nap times, this is when I get the change to blog! So here we go with today's post. 

Before I left for vacation during Thanksgiving, I cleaned up my new Ken's and the mod Barbie. Remember that Barbie was in sad shape. She had very dirty legs and torn vinyl on the ankle. I was not able to get her legs clean so I had to find an outfit that covered her legs and an outfit for the old body type. A LOT of the clothes I have acquired are for the newer body type. So I decided on this one!

This is Ballerina #989 first released in 1961. This was in the box of vintage clothing that I got for Christmas a few years ago. It was a complete set (except the cardboard tiara) and I even have the program which, according to the Fashion Doll Guide, is very rare. I know the black tights don't necessarily go with the tutu but it was a great covering for her legs. I loved this outfit and wanted to get it on her. 

If you want to read more about this outfit on the Fashion Doll Guide, you can click here!

It looks great on her but she is just a tad small in the bust. The zipper works perfectly so I got it to zip up all the way so it stays up pretty well.

I will also take the shoes off of her as they are not hard plastic like the newer ballet slippers but soft, pliable vinyl and bend when I stand her up like so.

In addition to the torn vinyl ankle, she also has a broken click knee joint. And in this outfit does not sit very well. I'll have to make a doll stand for her. I'd like to change her into a mod beach outfit someday but that would require more work on her legs. We shall see. 

I'm also going to get to work on the clothes that came with these dolls. They still have that old attic smell so I think the only way to clean them and get the smell out is to put them in the washer. (I know, I know...) However with my back and everything else I need to get done for the holidays, this is my only option. I can't bear to think about sitting and scrubbing each and every piece. All of these clothes are OOAK and handmade. I think they will do okay on a very delicate short cycle. More of that to come!

Now, for the new addition! I've had a backlog of items to post for you, most of them Ever After High. I just haven't gotten around to them yet. Well, here is one for today! 

The most beautiful (as her name suggests,) Rosabella Beauty!

Rosabella is the cousin of Briar Beauty (Sleeping Beauty.) Rosabella is an advocate for animal rights and her outfit depicts that (or doesn't because she's wearing fur? Maybe it's faux fur.) That is because her father is/was The Beast! She has an adorable outfit and I just love this doll!

She's a smarty pants and has some cute glasses with roses at the corners. She has a fur collar on her shirt and a pretty rose printed belt that is actually painted in two colors! Her earrings are a geometric shaped with a rose printed on the top of them. Her gold crown is molded in roses.

She wears the same ring/bracelet combo that has? You guessed it, roses.

I LOVE her skirt. Since this is a play on Beauty and the Beast they went with a yellow theme for the skirt and it's printed with gold roses. Very pretty! And as I mentioned above, she is a smarty pants and instead of carrying a purse, carries a book.

I love her hair. It's brown with some pink thrown in that's pulled back into a ponytail from the front. Her hair came out very good from the box and is soft and shiny and still has a curl rather than frizz.

The SHOES! These are great boots. Keeping with her fur theme, these are molded to look like fur. I bet her feet and legs are nice and warm. There are straps across the shin and each one is secured with a rose. But for some reason, only the first one was painted. I'll have to fix that. 

I just love these! As I've been saying, Mattel could make a KILLING if they paired with a shoe manufacturer and made these doll shoes in people sizes. How many cool shoes have we seen for both Monster High and Ever After High?

Well, that's all for today everyone! I'm still working through (slowly) getting all my pictures converted from the fallout that was Photobucket and their 3rd party hosting. So soon the blog will be back to its normal self. 

So, do you have Rosabella Beauty or the vintage ballerina outfit in your collection? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time!

New and Improved Ken - Part 2

I'm back with more Ken goodness! I just went ahead, did the laundry and got the Ken's all dressed up! Ready for it?

It took me so long to get everything clean. They had to soak for a few days. I'm positive that these clothes came out 3 shades lighter after washing them. And some didn't even come all the way clean they were so dirty (mainly the tan pants.) I also did a little repair work on the tags. I love these vintage tags but they are so prone to fraying. I had to cut off some of the ends and then hold them together with clear nail polish. 

So the original Ken clothes that I got with the dolls were these. 

Old Ken was wearing #785 Dreamboat

As shown in the photo below from the Fashion Doll Guide, I don't think these are the original pants that came with the outfit. 

http://www.fashion-doll-guide.com/ken-dreamboat.html

Most likely the pants came from the Corduroy Slacks fashion pack. 

And then the shorts that Ken originally came with! No red and white striped shirt though.

Also some hot pink shorts that came on the Mod Ken. Not sure where these are from.

And the Red Sweater vintage fashion pack. I have this one already as it came in my fabulous vintage Christmas present a few years ago!

Also included in that Christmas present was this outfit I put on the old Ken!

#784 Terry Togs!

I have always loved this outfit. Ever since I saw it in an old vintage guide my mother in law got with her vintage Barbie doll.

It did come with the shaver and soap (no comb though.) I didn't want them to get lost so I kept them in the package. And the towel, love it. I pinned it to him so it wouldn't fall off.

And the K on the robe pocket!

He also came with his slippers. These fall off too easily so I'll have to keep Ken put so they don't get lost. 

He also came with the underwear although the elastic is old and is cracking and falling off. But for the most part they stay up. The markings on this Ken are from the 1962-1965 Ken Doll with Painted Hair.

By these markings, he is not the Shortie Ken doll from 1963. 

Aren't they so cute together? Not sure why Ken's face is so discolored from his body. Anyone have any ideas? It looks like maybe he'd been rebodied but I tried to pull the head off and it didn't budge.

 
And now the other Ken! What do you think?

This Ken is wearing the yellow shirt from #782 Casuals and then Boxing from 1963. 

All I have from the Boxing pack are the shorts, towel and gloves. I would have put the gloves on but they didn't fit on the hands of this Ken. They didn't even fit very well on the hands of the other Ken. So I tied a string to them and put them across his shoulder. 

The shorts were a little tight in the thigh but they work very well I think! No shoes though so I'll have to find some for him. 

The markings on this Ken I believe are from the Sun Set Malibu Ken from 1971.

I also cleaned up the accessories that I got with the vintage dolls. 

Not all of these (if any) are original Barbie or Ken. I do love these boots though. And nothing says vintage Barbie like a record player!

I love that I have a tennis racquet now because I have the "Tennis Anyone" vintage Barbie outfit. 

There was a metal bell, oil lamp and a locket that says "This is your life." These probably aren't Barbie but they're cute.

And then we have skis! I love these. One is broken but I'm sure I can super glue it and then be very careful. I think they are off brand. All the ones I looked up for vintage Barbie or Ken were colored and these are white. 

I'll have to find a place for all these accessories. So fun!

And one more thing to show you today. I also washed the Barbie that came with the Ken dolls. 

She was super dirty too.

 

And I see her ankle had been taped. I thought it was to keep a boot on her foot. So I cut it off. 

Poor Barbie! Torn vinyl. I'm not going to put any more tape on it because it left residue and I had to use Goo Gone. So it's going to be a boot on or something so it doesn't show. And also long pants because this is all the cleaner I could get her legs. Time for come Clearasil at some point. She also has a click knee joint that has broken so she is in bad shape and will take some more work.

She is a really pretty doll and I think she is the Sunset Malibu Barbie from 1971 to 1977. 

I also washed her clothes she was wearing (which was a Skipper dress that was way too small) and I had to scrub out the boot she was wearing as the inside was sticky from the tape. 

OOPS. Oh well, I have a spare now instead of a pair. :)

I can't dress her yet as her hair is still really wet and I need to find an outfit for her. I think I have an idea of what I want to put her in. I'll have that ready for you next time! 

Well friends, do you have any of the vintage Ken fashions or the dolls? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time! 

New and Improved Ken - Preview!

Hi Friends!

Well, this post has taken me a while. Not because I haven't been busy on the Ken's (because I have) but they have taken me a LOT of time. 

But, I'll give you a preview! I've still got clothing soaking trying to get clean but I did manage to clean up the Kens!

I'm not kidding when I say it took a lot of elbow grease to get them clean. I had to use an (old) scotch brite scrubbie sponge to get the gunk off of them. (I say old because the scrubbie had worn down a little.) I think a brand new scrub sponge would be a little too harsh on the dolls.

So, here is the first Ken (dirty)

And clean!

I did not use the scrubbie on his face but he had so much gunk in his ears and nose that I had to use a soft toothbrush. It did take off very very little from his eyebrows but I can touch that up! He was much more dirty than his original pictures but you could not see it because it was covered up by his clothing.

 And, the other Ken. Dirty.

I found a nice pair of hot pink shorts under his tan pants and they left some coloring on his leg. And oops! Head popped off! See how dirty he was?

And...clean!

There are still a couple of spots but for the most part he is clean and they don't smell anymore either! 

I do have some outfits picked out for them from my box of fabulous vintage clothing. See which ones I chose in the next post!

Until then, here is what I'll be doing.

See you back in a few!