Progress!

You all will be so proud of me. I actually made some real progress on my dolls and projects! So, here are the updates!

First, just a minor change to one doll. Remember this doll with the REALLY bad haircut?

And then I dressed her in the vintage dress from the Orange Blossom wedding set and gave her a super cute vintage wig?

So the change was to cut her hair a little shorter so the wig will look better and the ends won't be sticking out. So that was the first thing I did. Honestly, she doesn't look any different except that you can't see the blond hair underneath. So I didn't get a fresh pic.

Next. Prince got a BATH!

Prince was super dirty. But I headed to the sink with my awesome smelling shampoo and conditioner and gave him a scrub. (Not that Prince needs color vibrancy or anything) :)

However, the shampoo wasn't working well. I quickly realized that Prince is not synthetic but cloth (similar to a stuffed animal) so I grabbed the Woolite and scrubbed him again.

 Much better, and brighter!

After bath time was done, I wrapped him in a towel and gave him a brush and a quick rundown with a warm blow dryer.

I gave him a little touch up on his nose and lips with a sharpie and adjusted his beret.

Lastly I reattached his collar. Perfect! He is ready to be displayed on my shelf with Day to Night Barbie. :) I love how he is so French!

Now, remember a while ago when I got this doll? (The one in the middle.)

I thought she might be a doll that has an intricate hair-do because her hair was so stiff. Well, thanks to Andrea, she informed me that she is Cool Lookz Trendy and Bendy Barbie.

www.pinterest.com (via www.ebay.com)

So the reason her hair is so stiff is because she has special hair which you can bend in any style.

Well, to start it's impossible to comb. Because of the little "white" hairs (which are the wires) you cannot get a comb through it. If you try, the wire will separate from the rest of the hair so then you have to find a way to stick it back in the hair section. So I figure that the best way to go about this is just to style her hair differently sans brushing. And Barbie hair is so fun when it's in ringlet curls right?

So I started the task of taking each section, smoothing it out and twisting it around a pencil. If there were any straggling ends, I just cut them off as shown in the pic. If any locks were really matted and flyaway, I gave them a quick touch with some hair smoothing spray.

The curls are really magic, they just stay in place!

It was definitely a chore to try and separate all those pieces of hair. Someone wanted twisties so I had to un-do all of those then curl them. This took forever!

Okay, all done! Just kidding ;)

I didn't bathe her in the last batch of dolls because I wasn't sure how that would be on the wire hair. So I just wiped her body down and cleaned her up. And also adjusted the hair so they are no longer Medusa curls. :)

And she is so cute so she needs an outfit. A cute dress will do the trick. What do you think of Trendy and Bendy Barbie?

The curls are SO cute! And not too many flyaway ends either. For how horrible this hair was, I think that's a definite win!

Okay, time for the last project. Remember when I made these shoes a while back and I thought it would be fun to make a pair for Barbie?

Well, I FINALLY started!

Here we go, Mod Podge, fabric, and Barbie shoes. We don't need a lot of fabric for this project nor do we need two of the same color shoes. This was the perfect time to dig into the bag of mismatched shoes and grab a couple (make sure they are the same shape!)

I didn't have an old paint brush (or one small enough for that matter) to apply the Mod Podge to the shoes so I just used my fingers. I don't recommend this as Mod Podge is not like glue and does not wash off easy. It sticks to the fingernails something fierce!

After you apply the Mod Podge to the shoe, press the fabric over it and make sure it's smooth. Then you want to cut off some of the excess fabric and the shoe opening. But make sure you leave enough to wrap around the heel.

Then after it sits overnight or so, you can start gluing down the ends that did not get stuck. I used a toothpick to apply the Mod Podge here. Much easier than the finger!

I'm not completely done with them yet but I just had to try them on a doll. What do you think so far?

The other side

And the front!

The reason why there is still a chunk of fabric is I haven't yet wrapped it around the heel. :)

Want to make a pair of these shoes for yourself? Check this post at Love Maegan. She gives a great tutorial. The best part is you get to personalize them! Make them all YOU. I wanted to wear mine to a luau in Hawaii so I chose Hibiscus print.

http://www.lovemaegan.com/2011/11/houndstooth-shoes-diy.html

Hopefully I'll continue my creative streak in the next post.

Until then!

There is nothing better than finding a treasure

"There is nothing better than finding a treasure." True, no? Who doesn't love a little hidden surprise every now and then? I know we all do especially when it comes to dolls. You see that one you have always been wanting but then when she comes with a rare outfit? Even better right?

I found a few hidden surprises when I went to a garage sale last weekend and found a box of Barbie things. This diaper box was chock full of surprises :)

First, at the very top of the box I saw this lovely fellow.

This is Superstar Ken. Remember when I did a post about my Superstar Barbie? You can read about it here in my collection showcase post. She was one of my favorites growing up. I'll make a confession. I always wanted Superstar Ken for this ONE reason.

This little academy award for Barbie. I guess my mom was not too keen on Ken because I never got a ton when I was growing up. But I was even more excited when I dug into this box and saw the little award for my Barbie doll.

Also in the box was Ken's match....you guessed it, Superstar Barbie! (With the shoes still attached. How did they not come off? haha)

Now I have two! But the main difference between this doll and mine is that this one has the earrings still attached. But I like the face and hair of mine better so I don't want to switch heads.

Help! How in the world do you get the earrings out? I tried to gently tug on them to no avail. I'm thinking that they have a larger piece on the post so they don't come out (kind of like the end of a fish hook.) I don't want to break them but I want to get them on my doll. So? :)

While the box was still at the garage sale I was looking through it seeing what else was in there and I saw this  pretty gal.

SKIPPER! The third one of my collection. This is Wet n' Wild Skipper. Now I knew I had to have this box. Marked at $3 I was in luck as I had only $5 in cash with me. I knew who she was just by looking at her bathing suit. However, it was cold outside so when I grabbed her the warmth of my hands started to make her suit change. So my thoughts were confirmed. Wish I had her when I did my last post!

I only saw the Ken and the Skipper before I grabbed the entire box and hurriedly ran my purchases home to check the other surprises.

I did find this amazing gal. Perfume Pretty Barbie! Alas, she is not scented anymore but her dress is in amazing condition. I always loved how you could make her dress be long or short.

And...another Kira!

I did get some clothes in the box and while I was researching this bathing suit......

I found out she was Beach Blast Miko. She even came with her original sunglasses! (But did not come with her color change hairpiece.) What a score!

Well, that's all for the dolls. 5 dolls is great for me! But we did get some clothes too!

First, the outfit that Miko had on in her first pic. This is Barbie Fashion Fun Perfectly Pink. No shoes though.

www.pinterest.com

Oh, and we got this gem of a find! Barbie and the Rockers outfit!

I searched Google for Barbie and the Rockers and saw that this was from Real Dancing Action Barbie of Barbie and the Rockers.

www.pinterest.com

I wanted to put this outfit on a doll right away. This is one I purchased at the thrift store a few weeks ago. I figure she would fit the outfit because she has little "z"s in her eyes. This is 1991 Hawaiian Fun Barbie.

But the top does not seem to fit her well. Or maybe it's supposed to fit like that? And it still needs a wash so that will have to be done. And the leggings are not very silver anymore. Not sure if I can fix that. I could always make her new pants!

Another outfit, I'm not sure if it goes together or not. White sparkly tank, white sparkly boa, white leather skirt. Fun outfit but I don't know if the skirt really goes with the rest of the outfit.

I'm hoping someone might help with this one. My first thought was it was from 1991 Pretty Hearts Barbie. But her hearts and skirt look different than the one pictured. I posted a pic of Pretty Hearts Barbie but I don't think this is her outfit.

www.flickriver.com

I got a red jacket and two cowboy hats. A red and a teal. The teal might match my jacket from Western Stampin' Barbie.

Here is an outfit for Ken. Maybe the red jacket goes with this?

A colorful halter dress in a nylon material.

A denim cape (looks homemade) and a pair of denim shorts (looks not homemade.)

Lastly, I got this swimsuit. It's kind of a camo print? I put it on Stacie but it's a little big for her unfortunately. I'm itching to display my cute Stacie but have no clothes! But I also am getting the sewing bug again so she will have some clothes soon. BUT! In researching Hawaiian Fun Barbie I realized that this is the suit for her. So I guess another doll will have to wear the Rocker outfit and she will now wear this one! I need to fix her hair though to make it more like the original. I love matching dolls to their original outfits!

Well, well. Look here! Day to Night Barbie clothes!

I put them on my Working Woman Barbie (who was wearing Day to Night ensemble) but the pink felt on the "day" side on this set matched better than the pieces I had (and the coat contained snaps where mine didn't.) It's a little dirty but I think I can clean it up with a lightly damp cloth. I realized that full washing the felt makes it turn a different shade of pink.

Here is Working Woman Barbie in her new Day to Night clothes.

Want to know what else goes with Day to Night Barbie? Prince, Barbie's Poodle Dog!

Prince is cute and came with ALL his accessories. Two dog bowls, his bow tie collar, a belt (not sure where it goes on the dog) leash, and beret. SO French! His beret is the same color as Barbie's jumpsuit under her day to night blazer. Love him!

And a pic of Day to Night Barbie with Prince. Just like the box shows. :) So cute together!

www.flickr.com

I also got some accessories in this box. A couple pairs of sunglasses (I believe the blue ones go to Wet n' Wild Skipper), a camera, pictures of Barbie, ballet slippers, a yellow stereo, the charm that came with Superstar Barbie and a plastic record.

The record has some slits in it and is flimsy. Maybe a prop for Barbie and the Rockers?

Want to know what else I found at the bottom of the box? Remember my pool post a couple of months back? Remember this set?

www.barbievalues.com

Look at this!

The chairs and table! No pool though. But I love the chairs! (and so does Skipper!) Mine are purple so it differs from the picture but this is so cool! I am seriously going to have to make a beach/pool Barbie setup. My swimsuit dolls are growing in numbers!

Also there was the coffee and end table from this little set.

www.pinterest.com

I also got two of the reversible throw pillows. But no couch or chairs. Does anyone know why the top of the table opens up? There is hardly enough room for storage.

I also got this couch, bed, and 6 chairs.

So MOD! On the bottom was printed the year "1973" so I searched and saw that they were from the 1973 Barbie Penthouse! I saw a few posts that said that some of this furniture came from the penthouse and sometimes the couch was orange, not yellow. Can anyone confirm?

These will work so perfect with my original TnT Barbie and my other doll with the mod doll head. Can't wait to get them washed and set up!

Finally I got this little hand shopping cart. Too bad I don't have any Barbie groceries to put in it!

In the meantime, I also dressed another doll. I put my Splash and Color Skipper swimsuit on my Sun Sensations Jazzie doll. I then took the sunglasses from Beach Blast Miko and put them on her. Love!

What do you think?

Until next time!