Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

This month has been busy. But I finally have all the pictures taken of the goodies to show you. But before I get to a larger post, here is a quickie to say Happy Halloween!

My mom got me this beauty for my birthday. 

A generic Barbie with basic articulation but she is cute! And I love the fact that she has a plastic hat. Paperboard broom but that's okay.
 

I love the spider web print on the skirt!

And she has some awesome knee high boots!

 

Larger post with flea market goodies will be up in a few days! Until then, have a fun halloween with family and/or friends!

Barbie Collector Cards

Hi Friends!

Hope you all have been well! I just got over the head cold and now that my son is in preschool, I'm sure I'll be down and out with a lot more in the future. 

When I was home a few weeks ago, my mom picked these up at a garage sale for me. 

Barbie trading cards! Two unopened boxes! 

I have collected cards in the past. Not Barbie cards but basketball cards. I'm not sure how much these are going for secondhand but I do know that some unopened boxes of sports cards from certain years (like Michael Jordan's rookie year for example) can be very pricey. But I'm not like other people. 

So I opened them. :)

And they display just like a standard box of sports cards. With the cardboard cutout. 

The packs are pink and look like this. The titles of the cards are "Celebrating 36 years of Barbie" by the Tempo company.

The cards show dolls from 1959 to 1995. In addition to the standard common cards, there are also cards that form subsets like Sporting Barbie, Swimsuit Barbie, Barbie and Friends, At Home with Barbie and Christmas Barbie. There are also special insert cards like The Beginning, Bride Barbie, Ken & Barbie or Birthday Barbie. Those odds show that I'm guaranteed to get some of these special cards because I have the entire unopened box. 

So on my first pack I opened...busy girl...

...Quick Curl Barbie...

...Tropical Barbie from the Swimsuit subset...

...Solo in the Spotlight...

...City Sophisticate...

...Slumber Party from the At Home with Barbie subset...

...Uptown Chic...

...And the entire cast of Sun Sensation dolls from the Barbie and Friends subset.

Here is a card from the Sporting Barbie subset, Hot Skatin' Barbie. 

Here are some of the special insert cards from the special subsets like "The Beginning." There are 8 and I have all but one. This one is Roman Holiday. 

And this is Barbie-Q!

A Ken and Barbie card. I got all three of these ones. They have pictures on the front and back and they are numbered.

I love these Ken and Barbie ones. 

I even got one of the special bride cards! Unfortunately I got two of the same ones. 

They are individually numbered and have some kind of pop out on them. I couldn't figure out how to pop it up and didn't want to ruin it so I just left it as is. This is a pretty bride doll though!

Then I pulled this card. 

The card reads: Congratulations! You have just made history!! You are one of only 36 people worldwide to have the privilege of redeeming this card to receive the entire Barbie insert collection of the number below. To receive this rare limited collection you must send by "Certified Mail" this card and include a certified $2.35 stamped self addressed DL sized envelope to: Tempo Trading Cards (address). This wild card will be returned punched, with your 20 insert card collection. Number 16 of 36.

I laughed and couldn't believe my luck. This card is over 20 years old and I cannot find Tempo Trading Cards current email or anything anywhere (they are apparently in Australia.) I thought of just sending them a snail mail just to see if they might, still have something or if they have destroyed them all. Not sure but it doesn't hurt to try right? 

And being a former card collector, I do not like saving unopened boxes of cards....for this reason! 

It was so much fun to open these. I got the entire set twice over, now I just need some of my old sports cards pages to display them in. I could even use that binder I got in the Barbie Collectors Club kit. 

So friends, did you collect these cards back in the day? Collect other Barbie cards? (I have the larger cards that came out in 1990.) Let me know in the comments! 

Still working on taking pictures of all the fun goodies I got from my dad so I'll get those up in the next post. Until then!

Happy Haute Couture - October

Greetings!

Welcome to another fabulous doll from the Haute Couture calendar by the master of Haute Couture, Robert Best!

If you missed a month or want to see the glorious dolls we've featured so far, you can get them in the links below!

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September

October - Dream Often

Oh my. She is a showstopper. Look at that nightgown.

Presenting, The Ingenue

barbie.mattel.com

WOW! Look at her! Look at the shoes with the little pom-pom. She is so gorgeous! Just a picture of perfection and looks like she is from Old Hollywood. Want.

Here is the excerpt from the Mattel website:

"The storied Tinseltown gets a fresh perspective with the Barbie® Fashion Model Collection, beginning with The Ingenue™ Barbie® doll. Hollywood's newest It girl is equal parts sweet and sassy, dressed in the perfect ensemble for unwinding after a grueling day on set: a chiffon robe and lacy nightie, accented with pale blue ribbon trim. This beautiful starlet even relaxes in style, proving that in Hollywood, the glamour quotient is always high."

What do you think of The Ingenue Barbie? Want her for your very own or have her? Let me know in the comments!

Next up is November 1st!

 

The Barbie Collectors Club - Executive Lunch

Greetings!

The weather is changing. A little sad isn't it? I'm a summer girl and I get kind of grumpy when I don't have sun. I am a true victim of SAD - seasonal affective disorder. However, despite how cold it is outside, I have some really awesome things to bring to you in the next coming weeks. Its' going to take me a while to photograph them all so here is something that I've been wanting to share for a while. Just never got around to it!

Dad brought me this box. 

And inside was the fashion that they gave out to all the Barbie Collectors Club members in 1999!

On the left side we have a notebook with a photo of.....

...Embassy Waltz Barbie!

This was a brochure that was included with this kit. You had to hurry and get her "before she dances away." LOL

Let's get to the fashion! Executive Lunch. It was easy to open this and get some good photos!

Pearl necklace and bracelet and black and white shoes.

The purse is cute and has a red ribbon. I guess you could put this in the dolls hair or around her neck (or leave as is!)

Jacket and bodysuit

Skirt and real pantyhose!

On the Mattel website it said that this outfit was very Chanel-esque. The back of the box reads: "Designed exclusively for members of The Official Barbie Collectors Club. If there is one thing our Barbie collectors want, it's unique and realistic fashions for Barbie doll to wear. If there is a second thing, it's unique and realistic packaging that allows you to easily remove, replace and store each lovely fashion again and again. We heard you! We are proud to present Executive Lunch Fashion, another exciting ensemble with all he quality, realism and meticulous attention to detail you cherish, presented exclusively for you, in a completely redesigned package giving you: a place for every thing, and every thing in it's place! It's so simple to open and close! It's quick and easy to slip her tailored jacket and skirt on and off its fashion 'sleeve'. And look how beautifully her black and white spectator shoes, her pantyhose, her double strand faux pearl jewelry, and her purse display in their own separate compartments! We listened, and we will always listen as we continue to embody the highest level of beauty, quality and innovation to all our fashions made exclusively for you, the discriminating Barbie doll collector. Enjoy!" 

And yes, there are little cardboard cutout sleeves for you to slip the fashions back on when you are finished (easy to see with the pantyhose). And the plastic for the jewelry and shoes and purse can be easily replaced into the packaging for safe keeping. But to start they do have hang tags that you have to snip. 

I wish the box did come with the collectors pin!

This is where it tells us the use of the binder. 

There was also a poster detailing Barbies face mold through the years. 

And "It was 1959 when it all began."

And every year since, she has seemed even more beautiful, even more popular, and even more loved.

Wow, this is a huge poster! "Forty Years of Favorites."

I'm going to photograph this in quadrants. Some of our vintage favorites. 

Branching out into the Superstar Look

The fabulous 80's

Some some Haute Couture of the 90's

The back of the box features these two beauties. 

So friends, what do you think of Executive Lunch? Were you in the Barbie Collectors Club and if so, what fashions do you have? Let me know in the comments below!

More to come so until then!