Dolls

Dolls

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Marvelous Mackies

Greetings all! I have a bit of time so I figured I should get a new post up STAT! Because you know how we all love to read about and see pictures of beautiful dolls.

And I have one today!

Remember back in December when I had my 25 days of Barbie posts. Two of the holiday dolls (2005 and 2006) were by Bob Mackie.

2005 Pink Edition


2005 Green Edition


The 2006 Doll


I mentioned in one (or probably all) of those posts that Bob Mackie is my favorite designer of Barbie. When I was a kid I somehow (probably from something my mom put a mail order in for) I got a catalogue of collector Barbie dolls. I was always fascinated with this Bob Mackie creation. The Moon Goddess.

barbie.mattel.com
Friends, don't you just LOVE her? She is so so so awesome. I had an obsession with moons and stars growing up which made me love this doll just that much more. 

Well, for Christmas one year my (wonderful, amazing, etc, etc...) mother got this Mackie for me. I am proud to present The Sterling Silver Rose.


This is a creation designed especially for Avon and came out in 2002.

Beauty. Glamour. Perfection. Mackie. SO Mackie! She is a true example of perfection. 


I was always fascinated by and loved her purple up-do. It is regal elegance in its purest form. 


The dress is purple velvet. To Die For!!


The Barbie Collector website has a much better picture of the doll and a cute little write-up about it. 

"Bob Mackie brings his signature sensational flair to Sterling Silver Rose Barbie® doll. Wearing a glamorous deep purple panne gown accented with a single silver and lavender fabric rose and a lovely lavender bustle, Barbie® is a true vision of distinctive beauty. Her platinum hair is highlighted with lavender hues and styled into an intricate updo. Dramatic face paint and long lavender gloves provide the sparkling finishing touches."

barbie.mattel.com
She is and always will be one of the dolls that I love the most. Everywhere I live she is proudly displayed (in her box of course :)

So all, do you have The Sterling Silver Rose? Or other Mackie dolls? Let me know in the comments! Bob Mackie has many dolls and it would be amazing to see which ones you have!

Until next time!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Flexibility!

Ever feel like you can't keep up no matter what? Life has been throwing me a lot here lately and it's been taking everything I have to not fall underwater. This week is no exception but I am feeling a little better. I don't have physical therapy again this week and then friday I leave for camping! It will be a nice break.

So why am I in physical therapy? Two months before I started therapy I went running. My hip started hurting and hasn't quit since. That's all! No complicated medical condition or deteriorating muscles. Just tight in the hips! So I need this therapy to get me loose so I can continue to exercise pain free.

This Barbie knows the importance of flexibility. After all, she is a gymnast! The epitome of flexibility!


This is 1994 Gymnast Barbie and she is very posable and flexible. I got her when I was a kid. I didn't play with her much but I love her little pink leotard and gold medal!


This Barbie is different from other anatomical dolls. She is not jointed at the wrists or ankles but she is jointed at the knees and elbows. And her elbow joints not only bend, but also twist to create different positions. Also she is bendable at the waist allowing greater movement.


She also has really big feet. Her shoes do not stay on without her little socks. Now, it's normal for Barbie, especially the beach dolls to have larger feet but she was one of the only ones like that at the time. She also comes with her own logo gym bag and a pair of hand dumbbells so she can strengthen those arms!


So, since I am in physical therapy there are a number of stretches that I have to do to loosen up. Let's see if Gymnast Barbie can demonstrate some of these for me!

Pose #1: Kneeling Lunge


Pose #2: Kneeling Leg Extension


Pose #3: Seated Leg Extension with Hip Flexor Stretch


Pose #4: Full Cobra. Barbie is really good at this one!


Pose #5: Full Arm Circles. This one looks really fun with the arm ribbons.


Pose #6: Forward Fold


Pose #7: Superman. Okay, Barbie needed a little help holding this one.


Pose #8: Shoulder Stretch. Here is a funny thing about this doll. She came with her hair braided with the cute ribbon through it but it was not secured at the end. So that is why she has a rubber band in her hair.


Gymnast Barbie could have done more poses however, I realized I had glitter all over my pants from her leotard. I didn't want all the glitter to fall off so I thought that 8 was enough for one day. Thank you Barbie for providing a great demonstration!

I also have another very flexible doll. Unfortunately I can't get to her right now as the storage is a little full and I can't get to my dolls. Here is Olympic Gymnast Barbie from 1996.

www.liveauctioneers.com
I love this one. I was so into the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. I was very excited that they were in the US and I had tons of memorabilia. I had shirts, jewelry, collector soap, toys, you name it, I had it. So she is one of my most cherished dolls and she is still in her box. She has a little ring that you clip onto her waist and she can flip in circles! Cool!

Olympic Gymnast Barbie came as a blonde, brunette, redhead, and also in African American. 

I also have the leotard from this doll. I picked it up at the thrift store long ago. It's cute. I wish I had the set! She comes with a balance beam, a real working scoreboard, and a set of rings. And, can't forget that gold medal! She is 2001 Super Gymnast Barbie.

www.pinterest.com (via stores.ebay.com)
So friends, do you have any gymnast dolls listed or not listed here? I think they are super fun because it's so much fun to pose Barbie in a multitude of ways. That's why we are all fans of the anatomical dolls right? :)

Until next time! (which I hope won't be as long as this time!)

Saturday, July 13, 2013

New Post?

New post? Yes please!

But...not today. Tomorrow though! I've been a little off the mark as of late. I've been going to physical therapy after work which has left me little to no time to get anything done. But, this physical therapy has given me a cute little idea for my next post which hopefully will be going up tomorrow!

(But don't hate me if I get it up monday. :)

The new post will feature two very "flexible" dolls!

Until then!

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Barbie Playline Playtime!

First, a little story. :)

I started this site a little over a year ago. Back in February 2012, I was laid off from my job of 5 years. I was actually excited and a little worried as I think anyone would be when they are laid off. (Mainly, worried about money factors and so on.) One reason I was excited is because I could finish my masters degree without having to work. I was in my last class when I was laid off and the work I was putting into my capstone project could (and did) take up the better part of an 8 hour work day. I finished in March and now I'm the proud owner of a nice piece of paper on the wall with my name and "Masters of Business Administration" on it, all for a whopping $24k. And I am by no means disappointed, it was worth every penny and the job I have now contributed to that so I'm very blessed and thankful.

What to do with my time after the MBA finished? Here enters Barbie. I hadn't taken out my dolls in years. I think the last time I took them out was when I still lived at home after college and my 6 year old cousin wanted to have a Barbie slumber party. I had them here at my house now and decided to dig them out and research some of the vintage clothes I had from my mom's collection. It was fun to have all the time I needed without having to run off and do something else (besides job searching of course!) Then I started this site to share my love of Barbie with others and get answers to my Barbie questions (I'm horrible at trying to identify dolls). And I've met some other cool doll collectors in the process!

My mom got back into the fun of looking for Barbie at garage sales and since she is the master of finding a good deal, she brought me some used Barbies that needed a good home. In my research of finding out the identities of these dolls I revealed that I had some playline dolls. Here is where I bring them to you!

I think that playline dolls are fun and we've had a lot over the years. I don't know which playline was first or how it even started but I think this has started a new era of Barbie collecting. Girls watch the movie then have fun recreating the scenes with their dolls. Or maybe just imagining what they could come up with on their own!

We'll start out with this pretty doll. I love the crimped hair (probably because I'm an 80's girl) ;) This is Barbie from The Barbie Diaries.


My mom picked her up for me at a garage sale and she came to me in a very unusual outfit. In the box of dolls was also a mish-mash of clothing and I realized that these were her original pants. They seem a little big for her though but put them on anyway because the butterfly belt matched her bracelet. She needed a shirt and since I didn't have the original, decided to dress her in Really Rosy Christie's top. I think it's a good match for now.

Again, I love her hair and she has not been given a bath because she was really good already! I love her face though. The eyes are really neat.


I would love to put her together someday.

www.fanpop.com
Next we have this lovely which was such a score to find. My mom got as another garage sale buy and I am so lucky to have her with wings, shoes and the whole bit. This is the Pink Sparkle Fairy from Fairytopia.


Also with her, I have not given her a bath because her hair is still very perfect. She is clean and looked well taken care of. That can be told by just looking at her wings. Such a major score!


At the thrift store a few months ago, I found another pink fairy and also the blue one, who unfortunately looks like she has a case of hypothermia, poor thing.


So now we have pink and blue. Anyone know the other fairy color? Purple!


My mom bought this one for me when I was about 17 or so. I was not thrilled to get her because at that time I was not interested and just really didn't care about Barbie anymore, especially the playline dolls. I wanted my holiday one and that was it. But now I am really excited that I do have her. And she is really really pretty. I think I like the purple one the best.


I think that Fairytopia was one of the more popular ones. I remember everything being "Fairytopia! Fairytopia!" Also if you have been finding these regularly second-hand, then you know they were wildly popular. I've got three second-hand so far!

Here is one that I dressed in a beautiful ballerina dress because she really is a ballerina. This Teresa doll is The Fairy Queen in Barbie of Swan Lake. 


I wrote about her here and I really REALLY want her beautiful original dress.

www.pinterest.com
SoSoSoSoSoSoSoSo pretty. :) But this dress isn't bad for her right now. I love the red tones in her hair.


Now we have two more dolls that I had no idea who they were when I got them.



Included in that run to the thrift store I got these two skirts.


These two ladies are Aramina (in Blue) and Corrinne (in Pink) in Barbie and The Three Musketeers.

Aramina is very pretty but unfortunately her mask is broken off. Seems to me that this would be problematic in regular play. The fun thing about the skirts shown above is that they have a gold interior so they can also double as a cape for the dolls.

www.amazon.com
I don't have the boots for the dolls (I have one blue, pink and purple) or the swords but my Corrinne is pretty much complete so I'm happy.


This is another one that I had no idea who it was when I got her.


This is Princess Luciana from Barbie and the Island Princess. She is a talking doll and sings "A Love That's Always There." (You can find it on youtube if you want to hear it.) I like her but she is a bit shorter than regular dolls. So that is why I put her in Rapunzel's dress from Tangled. I wondered why her one arm was hinged but when you look at her in the box, you can see it is so she can hold her cat.

www.bidorbuy.co.za
Next is this little doll that I got about a month ago. This one my mom also got for me at a garage sale. She is Keira from The Princess and the Pop Star. 


There were a few dolls from this line. The other girl was Tori (the blonde) and there is a guy too. There were singing dolls, transforming dolls (from princess to pop star!) and this is the generic fashion doll. I like the outfit but hate the one bent, one straight arm. But I think that was so she could hold her guitar.

www.fanpop.com
I can't remember if I got this one or if my mom did. Either way she is cute. This is Princess Merliah in Barbie in a Mermaid Tale. She is wearing Surf City Barbie's swimsuit. I love how I got her with her crown still intact. And I love the name Merliah!


I would love to have her original outfit. This is one that I am considering getting someday. A mermaid tail that transforms into a snazzy beach hoodie. And the flip flops, how cute!


www.flickr.com

And last but certainly not least! A while ago (last year sometime) I posted that I found a little Barbie magic light-up wand at the thrift store.





I thought it would make a fun staff for one of my princess dolls. When I went back home to grab my massive collection of Happy Holiday dolls, I found a large box of three dolls.


The entire Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus dolls! I remember I got this group of dolls around the time I got my purple sparkle Fairytopia doll. I was not into Barbie Playline and actually never liked having these dolls. I can excitedly say that now I love having them!

First we have the BEAUTIFUL AA doll, Rayla the Cloud Queen. Love the dress, hair, necklace, and even her little Pegasus pony (with sparkly wings I might add!)


She really is a beautiful doll. And dressed perfectly for a Cloud Queen. The necklace reminds me of "wind".


Next we have Prince Aidan and his bear (?) Shiver which has a bobble head!


What do you think of this man head mold? I kind of like it.


And lastly, we have Barbie as Princess Annika. She is beautiful too.


I love her little sparkling eyes.


But what do I see in the box? The same wand I purchased at the thrift store. It was a major ah-ha moment! I like when I can figure out where Barbie items came from.


The fun thing about Princess Annika is that she has a transforming look for two fabulous princess outfits!


On the back of the box, it has the story of The Magic of Pegasus. Let's read about it:

"Barbie stars in a delightful tale as Princess Annika who refuses to marry an evil wizard. When he casts a spell on the King and Queen, a flying horse rescues Annika, and they fly to the Magical Cloud Kingdom. There, Annika learns that the horse is really her sister, Brietta transformed by the wizard years before!

With the help of Aidan, Annika assembles the Wand of Light that breaks the spell. She saves her parents, her sister once again becomes a princess and all celebrate in the kingdom of the clouds!"

Aww, no commentary on how Rayla helps out? But looking at the back of this box, you can buy Brietta the pegasus (which looks like she has a light up crown too!) and then there are three Kelly dolls with their own pegasus horses and they are Cloud Princesses. And the magic light up wand must be the Wand of Light (because it lights up, clever) ;)

Again, I'm really glad that I have these dolls. :) Thanks Mom! Even though I didn't like them before I LOVE them now!

So now that I have these dolls, maybe I should go online and search for some clips so I can see what the story is about! It might be kind of fun. 

So friends, I'm sure you have many playline dolls either new or second hand. Which are your favorites? Any one know what the first playline dolls would be? Maybe these 80's stars?


www.tumblr.com

Until next time!