Barbie Related Stuff

Toronto Toy & Doll Collector's Show

2011-11-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

I went to the Toronto Toy & Doll Collectors Show yesterday in the hopes of finding some Barbie shoes, and my hopes were more than met! A lady was selling pairs of shoes and boots for only $1!!!! I was so thrilled! She had a whole box of them, paired together in tiny zip-locked bags. I ended up getting 10 pair. I was also able to replace my Hollywood Nails Barbie that I had (as shown in the photo below on the right) but my daughter destroyed as a toddler. I also saw a ton of other replacement dolls for ones I no longer have.....but I was short on money...or believe me, I would have come home with a few more. I even bought a tiny "Dawn" doll like one I used to have when I was little. The chameleon Beanie Baby in the above photo was purchased for my daughter to go with her Rapunzel costume I'm making her for next Hallowe'en. He was only $1 too! I couldn't believe some of the great deals at the show!

Fab Faces Find

2011-08-13T12:03:00.001-07:00

Today I had the urge to seek out abandoned Barbies....at the local thrift store. I found one that had a "My Scene" face, but she had these weird buttons sticking out of her back....like the "vent ports" sticking out of the back of H.R. Giger's Alien.
Anyway, it seemed when I pressed the buttons, her face changed, like a little animatronic puppet. I couldn't see her very clearly because she was in a plastic bag with another doll. For $1.99 I felt I should get it. Here's how she looks now that I cleaned her up a bit and dressed her. Of course she was naked when I found her, and her hair was messy and it looked like someone had taken scissors to a part of it. Her hair is still wet in this photo because I used the boiling water method to style it....(so it's all flowing in the same direction.)

I'm going to take her to work and sit her on my desk. Since I work at an animation studio, I figure she'll fit in perfectly.
I did some research and discovered she was called Fab Faces Nolee. There were 4 in the series, made in 2006. I don't think they sold very well......mostly I'm sure because of the long buttons sticking out of her back.
The above photo by the way is one I found off the internet.....in which it is apparently VERY rare to find this doll...new in the box. I'm sure most of them are naked in Thrift Stores by now.
Below is a photo of the weird buttons.

Abandoned Barbie Project Photos

2011-07-28T18:11:00.001-07:00

Every morning, on my way to work via the new bus route I have chosen, I've been passing this little theatre with a big store front window full of Barbies. This morning I brought my camera and got off the bus to photograph them.
I discovered they are a "found object" artpiece. It's called The Abandoned Barbie Project. I think it's fascinating! Enjoy the photos!

I just learned more about the Abandoned Barbie Project here

More of my Collection

2010-03-04T17:20:00.001-08:00

I was recently looking up "African American Barbies" and I was reminded of my "Asha" dolls. These dolls were made around 1994 as a series with 3 dolls in total wearing different African styled clothing. I was lucky to find all three in the same store, so I bought them all! I took them out of their boxes, which I sometimes wish I hadn't because their hair and outfits are dusty.

I found this next doll about a year ago at a used clothing store. She has fabulous hair! She was a beach Barbie doll, because she has those big (normal) feet. (Ever notice how unnaturally tiny Barbie dolls' feet usually are?) I'm going to make her into some sort of Tribal Belly Dancer.

Speaking of great hair, this doll on the left has great and hard to find hair. A lot of African American dolls have straight hair, like the one on the right. The left doll had her hair pulled back tight into a "pony tail" kind of thing....but I wanted her to have more of an Afro. I have her wearing just a bathrobe right now until I decide what new clothing she should wear.

Bride of Frankenstein Barbie with Improved Dress

2009-09-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't had any time for Barbies lately, but a little while ago I started redoing this one's dress.
I just use white Jersey Knit fabric and used a piece of card to support the shoulder pads.
I haven't sewn the hem or anything yet, but I felt that since Hallowe'en is fast approaching, I should post her.

Bride of Frankenstein Barbie

2009-05-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

I have been fighting with this &*#%! satin to make her dress, but it's just not working. It's too stiff for this scale, so I'll have to try again with rayon or something, but at least she's mostly done.

Here she is without her dress. I wrapped her pretty much like a mummy, but I left the top of her chest bare to show off a big scar which I thought would be an interesting touch.

I mostly patterned her after the original Elsa Lanchester Bride of Frankenstein.

Since this doll had earring holes I gave her earrings. I tried to find something that looked machinery related. I wish I'd had little wristwatch cogs.....they would have been perfect, but these sort of do the trick.

I had a terrible time with the face paint. Rerooting, no problem, but trying to get the old face paint off with nail polish remover smudged it more than removed it. The doll on the right has the exact same face my "Bride" did before I went to work on her. The way I closed her mouth was by filling in her "teeth" with a waterproof glue. I manipulated it with a toothpick so it sat right while drying.
If I ever do a repaint again, I'll have to invest in an airbrush and better paint brushes.
Oh well, this was an experiment. Very fitting that I chose "Bride of Frankenstein" don't you think?

A Sneak Peek

2009-05-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the next doll I will have completed. She still needs her dress, so I'm finishing that up. I will also show a "before" photo of her face.

Ukrainian Barbies

2009-04-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

I didn't make these dolls, but I thought they were great, so I'm showing off their images. I originally came across them on a Ukrainian website that said they had been custom made for a fund raising event to benefit orphans. That was the only amount of English on the website, so I can't go into any more detail than that.
I'm posting these because I was going to try to make one of my own someday ....... someday....

Also, here's another doll that someone else beat me to...a Yulia Tymoshenko doll! I'd love to own this doll! But I don't.

Memories of Barbie

2009-03-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the only images I could dig up of my early experiences with Barbies. This was in the 1970's and I only had one doll, but I was so thrilled to get a ten-speed bike for her and a horse one Christmas.

I've recently seen the original yellow ten-speed on eBay and I would have loved to have bought it....you know....for nostalgic purposes. Unfortunately, the Barbie I had didn't have bendable legs, so it was hard for her to sit on the horse. My sister was the one who had the Malibu Barbie who's legs were bendable.

BUT after searching the internet, I discovered that THIS was the doll I had. She's classified as a "Foreign" Barbie because she wasn't available in the States. She's officially a Malibu "Steffie". Wow, this one is selling for $195....I should have hung on to mine. Oh well.

I really loved that horse though.
Just look at that roomy corral that came with him! I think I ended up using the fence parts for hurdles for him to jump over.

The Barbie Runway Show

2009-03-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

What kind of a Barbie enthusiast am I? I'd been virtually unaware of the Barbie Runway Show until today! It happened 2 weeks ago! Luckily, some nice people posted it on YouTube so I got to see it anyway. These were my favorites:

This dress was designed by a newer designer called "Three As Four":

I unfortunately couldn't find the name of this designer, but I thought it was cute and babydoll-ish and I LOVE the hat!

This pink corset-dress apparently weighed 25 lbs on its own! It was designed by "The Blonds".

This zebra striped outfit, inspired of course by the original Barbie doll's famous bathing suit, was made by "Patricia Field":

I love this sweater dress! I want to make a little one for one of my dolls. Its designer is "Twinkle":

These last two are gorgeous....and I believe "Tommy Hilfiger" was responsible for this 20's flapper meets Blade Runner creation. The clear cape is great!

Now, I shouldn't have been surprised, but this glittering extravaganza is the work of none other than "Bob Mackie". I should have known. I want to see Barbies available in all these outfits!

Before And After

2009-03-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a neglected Barbie doll that I got at a thrift shop. She was dirty and had messed up hair. But she had beautiful green eyes....so I "rescued" her.

I used the hair detangling method linked in my sidebar, (Barbie Hair Rescue) using a high quality hair conditioner. I coaxed the tangles out of her hair and ended up with only this small amount pulled out. An inexpensive comb like this works fine.... just use the larger teeth.

I washed her body with liquid dish soap...which made her legs feel a bit sticky until they'd fully dried. Then I stood her up in a glass so her hair would dry while hanging straight. I gently patted her dry with a towel first to get rid of the excess water. I let her dry overnight.

Now she has a lovely one-of-a-kind crocheted dress and matching beaded handbag.
Her gold shoes were a very lucky find at a toy store. YES! You can still get packages of Barbie accessories that include a few pairs of shoes if you just look around. The pack I bought cost about $4.

I felt simplicity was best, so I kept her hair straight. It turned out to be very silky. The sparkles in the dress added enough glam.

A Canadian Barbie

2009-02-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I've had this idea for a long time, and I finally did it! I made what I feel is a true Canadian Barbie. The official one made by Mattel many years ago was of a doll with a similar face to this one, but they dressed her in an RCMP uniform. Okay, that's like dressing a doll in a New York State Trooper uniform and calling her New York Barbie.

I had to bring out a few stereotypes though......the tuque, the Lumberjack Jacket,

the Mukluks.

I made her Mukluks out of sheepskin, but authentic ones are usually made from sealskin. Sealskin is quite hard to get and VERY expensive....so I went with what I had on hand.

Her mittens are sheepskin also. Her tuque and scarf are handmade by me out of alpaca wool. Alpaca wool is becoming very popular here where I live. It's softer than sheep's wool and every bit as warm. If I had lots of money, I'd move away from the city and raise alpacas for their wool.
I'm sure that's something Canadian Barbie would do too!

A Valentine's Box of Chocolate

2009-02-14T19:22:00.001-08:00

I decided to make a miniature box of chocolates today to match the one I received as a gift, and I felt I should show it off on this blog because I used a Barbie doll for scale. This particular doll is named Leah, and she's one of my daughter's favorites. When I bought her, she was wearing a kerchief on her head . We removed it only to find that at the factory, they decided to scrimp on the amount of hair she had, because they never planned for the kerchief to be removed. Well, the resulting bald patch ruined her otherwise lovely appearance, but my daughter played with her nonetheless.
But my son started making her act dumb and my daughter soon imitated her brother. Then poor Leah became abandoned at the bottom of the basement stairs. So I scooped her up and put her with my "to be altered" Barbies. I just recently re-rooted some hair for her, and now she's right back up there among the "to be played with" Barbies.
So I felt it was only fitting to use her as the model for the Valentine chocolates.The chocolates are made of "Sculpy" and the box is cardstock, carefully covered with velveteen and ribbon.

More ReRooting Info

2008-11-16T17:14:00.001-08:00

After getting a fair amount of hair into my doll's head, I became quite concerned about how it wasn't laying flat. I'd experimented with styling doll's hair using hot water and even boiling water in the past so I decided that THAT'S what she needed.

I boiled the kettle, then poured the water gently onto her head while holding her hair down. I held her at an angle so I didn't get the water on my fingers. I could just as easily have poured the water in a cup and dunked her head in, but I like to live dangerously.
Well anyway, now her hair is laying flat, so I just have to wait for it to dry and then I'll continue. When I'm finished I'll do the same to the new hair and then go onto cutting and styling it.

Dia De Los Muertos Barbie?

2008-11-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well, you know me........or maybe you don't......but I just HAD to put a Barbie dress on a toy skeleton.

My First Re-Rooting Experience

2008-10-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here are my basic re-rooting tools. A "hank" of synthetic hair, a needle that has had the tip of its eye snipped off, and a doll's naked head.

(okay......I'd been working on her already, so it isn't exactly naked)

The modified needle is probably the most wonderful tool idea for this purpose ever! This idea came from an article I have linked in my sidebar. I tried re-rooting with a needle and thread, but I couldn't find a needle long enough with an eye big enough that was slim enough to fit through the already existing hair holes.
So I took a regular sized needle with a large eye and snipped the very tip off with wire cutters. Be careful doing this because you don't want the tiny piece of metal to fly off into YOUR eye! It's also wise to wrap the sharp end of the needle with masking tape, like I did.
You will end up with this tool that looks like a tiny tuning fork!

Next, you'll need to wrap some strands of new hair over your finger quite tightly, then slip the tiny fork over them, so that they're caught between the prongs.
I apologize for the poor quality of these images....but I had to take the photos myself while doing this.

When you have the strands firmly held between the prongs,(use your fingers to keep tension on them) stick the little fork right into one of the old doll-hair holes.

Push it in, then pull it out. Voila! The hairs will stay inside the head! (This is for OOAK dolls that won't be played with by children by the way)

This is as far as I have gotten today. Stay tuned for more!

Another Thrift Store Find!

2008-10-20T15:10:00.001-07:00

As if I didn't already have enough Barbies to work on! Today I found this batch.

Starting from the left we have "Baby Spice", most likely from the second release of Spice Girls dolls. Then this one with weird arms and pale skin...(which I have OOAK plans for), and the brunette next to her that looks like Tura Satana, and a honey-blonde with subtle auburn tones.

Oops, I repeated the honey-blonde, then a two-tone haired belly-button bodied great find, a version of "Skipper" and a platinum blonde. I'll be making most of these into One Of A Kind dolls......and good hair is definitely an asset. But I've been getting very curious about re-rooting.

The batch I bought were bagged in 2 groups of 4. In the one bag was a cheap Barbie knock-off made in China. I decided to sacrifice her first, (head on the left) learning how to remove the head properly and take all her hair out. I read to run the head under very hot water first BEFORE attempting to pull it off. The body on the right belongs to the "good" doll.

I used hemostats to get inside the heads and get the hair plugs out. I fully expected little rubber "plugs" to be on the ends, but there weren't. Just U shaped hair. I became a little impatient on the Chinese one and found you can still successfully get them out from the outside, but the vinyl on the Mattel doll was softer and I didn't want to risk tearing the hair-holes. Here she is holding her precious head which will sport black hair in the very near future. (And new face paint) Stay tuned to see who she will become.

My Latest Purchase and Why

2008-10-18T16:47:00.001-07:00

I was at a big toy store downtown last week and I saw this Barbie, part of the Birthstone Beauties Collection ON SALE! That wasn't really the reason I bought her, it was because her face reminded me of Sarah Brightman!

Here's a better image to help make the comparison. I know with the right hairstyle and costume, I'm going to have my very own One-of-a-kind Sarah Brightman doll. Just wait until she's done....you'll see.

Now this image here has NOTHING to do with Sarah Brightman. It has to do with my understanding of the "Model Muse" body-type of Barbies. The hips are SO slim, that the "Belly-button" Barbies can't wear the "Model Muse" clothing. I know because that's what I tried to do with "Miss Garnet's" clothes. I'm just going to have to make some adjustments. This one is going to get an entirely new costume and hairstyle anyway.

A New Halloween Barbie!

2008-10-03T13:47:00.001-07:00

I just received this 2005 Halloween Barbie in the mail today.

The first thing I did was set her free! Also, she was dying to show off her knee high black boots.

I ended up switching her boots for regular shoes and gave the boots to one of my many barefoot Barbies. I also thought this one should pose with a cute Japanese cat! I'm going to change her outfit a bit, but she's keeping the hat!

Muslim "Barbie" Dolls

2008-09-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, I'm sure you want to know all about the different unique "Barbie style" dolls that are available in the world. I find it fascinating. I learned about these dolls a few years ago....Razanne dolls. I believe she was the first Muslim doll available. As you can see by the packaging and stiff pose, she looks pretty "low rent". I read that the plastic of her body wasn't the greatest quality either.

Then came Fulla, which means flower. The packaging looks a lot more like Barbie packaging.

And now there's Salma, which means peace. Salma is manufactured in Indonesia, where I noticed a lot more Barbies are manufactured recently. It's no wonder that Salma looks identical to a Barbie. They probably used the same mold. She is by far the most appealing looking doll of the group, and her clothes look more finely crafted.

Here's a photo of them being dressed in Indonesia where they're made. I have to admit, the outfits are really cute!

You can see in the lower left-hand corner of this shot that the undressed dolls seem to have the more "belly button" bodies of modern Barbies. In my opinion, that body style is by far the most appealing style to shape a doll as.

You know, Mattel should have come out with a Muslim Barbie when Razanne first hit the scene.......because now it's too late. I read that under Muslim law, copyrights mean absolutely nothing. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this. It's a shame....because these Salma dolls are really cute! (Not like "Brats" which I think were ugly to begin with.....and if you wanted to change their shoes you had to take their whole FOOT off!)

Re-Posting Old Pics

2008-09-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

You may have already seen these images from my other blog, but I felt I should re-post them here on my Barbie blog. This is my customized Xena Barbie, whom I made back in 1996 from a Kira doll, (from the Barbie line). I sold her to a friend from Nelvana who wanted her for her daughter, who was probably a big Xena fan at the time.

And of course my "Burqa Barbie" who is actually a "Teresa". The burqa could fit over any Barbie, but this is the one who wears it for now. I have some other bellydance Barbies in mind and Middle Eastern styles ready to put together. I'll post them as soon as they're ready.

Also I need to do some more research on burqas, because I don't think they come right down to the feet in the front. I KNOW they do in the back....but I think they only come down halfway in the front so the woman can use her hands. So, realistically, I don't think she could get away with wearing an Egyptian cabaret bellydance outfit under it.

A Warning About Catalogue Shopping

2008-09-21T14:53:00.001-07:00

I was browsing the internet, bringing back memories of dolls I'd had or wanted, when I remembered an incident that happened to me back in 1997, or early '98. I had ordered a Tangerine Twist doll through a mail order Barbie doll supplier based on the image in the catalogue. Well! Was I disappointed when I got the real thing. Her face was so different! Her whole head seemed smaller and her eyes were too close together. Compare these images....the catalogue image on the left, the real doll on the right. I remember I had to return her and exchange her for a different doll. (I recall they didn't allow refunds). It was such a hassle wrapping her up and sending her back, then waiting for the other doll to arrive. I believe I chose the Thai Barbie instead which was just fine.
Another disappointment is the Dutch Barbie. Based on the photo on the left, her costume looks great and authentically Dutch....but when they manufactured her, I guess they couldn't get the darker fabric and she turned out like the image on the right. She looks like she's been left out in the sun and faded! I crossed her off my wish list after discovering that.

What I do now is only shop for Barbies in person.....or by eBay photos of the ACTUAL doll being bid on......not the catalogue image.
This is just a friendly word of advice.....because it happened to me. I'm very fussy about the dolls I buy......but it's funny, because I couldn't care less about the box. I'm just interested in the doll.

Some of My Current Collection

2008-09-19T14:28:00.001-07:00

Here's the Malibu Barbie...most likely the re-issue because her face and hair are in such great shape....all cleaned up. I washed her and her bathing suit in the sink with dish washing liquid. A bit of conditioner helped smooth out her hair.

Here's a "Brandy" doll that I want to dress as Cleopatra. I fell in love with this doll's hair!
It's done in tiny braids! I have no idea how I would go about restoring it if it got messed up. I've kept this doll pretty much out of reach of my daughter with a stern warning not to wreck her hair. Her original outfit has been lost, but I don't mind because I'll be making her a new one.

This is my Oshugatsu Barbie that I bought in Arizona. She was one of the first expensive ones I bought. I got her for a bit less because her packaging was damaged.....but I'm a "box remover" so that didn't matter a bit.
I have her shoes but I didn't bother putting them on for the photo. I find they don't stay on very well. They're little sandals with a strap between the big and small toes and the doll doesn't have a gap for it. Also, she's wearing those little Japanese socks which I am told Japanese women wear to keep their feet warm to boost fertility.
I'm just repeating what I was told by a Japanese friend!

Now here's a face from the past.....Scary Spice. At one time I had all 5 Spice Girls dolls, but I gave them away to some nieces. Well, Scary showed up in the toybox at my Dad's house and since the kids are getting older, my Dad wanted the toys thinned out. I ended up grabbing this doll because she was originally mine ....and boy was she a mess! I had to restyle her hair and make an outfit for her. She has no shoes because her feet are larger than Barbie's and I have no idea where I will find Spice Girl shoes. Oh well, I may have to custom make a pair.

Here's my only doll that is still in her original packaging.....Romantic Interlude Barbie. I've done this because she's dressed in black velvet and I need to keep the dust off of her.
I bought the African American model because she has such a beautiful face.

And here's the custom made deerskin dress complete with tiny moccasins. I don't care for the design of the Pocahontas doll's face, so I put the dress on a "Teresa" Barbie. This outfit was made by a Native lady who lived in Sedona Arizona.

Barbie Bodies

2008-09-18T10:59:00.001-07:00

Here are a few different Barbie bodies. By the way, ALL of these dolls came from thrift shops. The one on the far left had me very confused because of her strange arms, but now I know she was a "Poison Ivy Barbie" from the Batman series. Her arms are supposed to be more poseable, but I think they made a mistake with that idea. Her arms make her look like a Gumby figure! Also I thought I had found a vintage Malibu Barbie, but after doing some research, I reasoned she may be the 2002 reproduction.
The two on the right have the newer body which some people refer to as the "muse" or "belly button" body. The one in the middle has the old body which is pretty ugly....and she has perma-undies.

On Malibu Barbie's bum is imprinted 1966, MATTEL INC. U.S. PATENTED U.S. PAT. PEND.
MADE IN JAPAN. At first I thought that the originals were MADE IN TAIWAN....but then I saw a listing of 1971 Malibu Barbie having the MADE IN JAPAN marking. So I honestly don't know if she's an original or a repro, because she had no packaging or accessories except for her blue swimsuit. If anyone can clear this up, I'd be grateful. Yeah, you can't really see the writing in this photo, but I thought I'd try anyway.

My New Barbie Blog

2008-09-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make this blog because I am a Barbie doll enthusiast, and I am not alone. After searching the internet for Barbie restoration and identification information, I felt there should be a place where a lot of these sites and blogs should be linked. So I took it upon myself to oversee a blog where other Barbie enthusiasts like me can comment, question and learn. Important things like "how to restore a thrift shop Barbie" etc.
I'd just like to begin with these images of an old collection of mine. Some are now gone due to having children and moving many times.
I started the collection in 1996 once I discovered the "Dolls of the World" collection. They were some of the most beautiful dolls I had ever seen! I was living in Phoenix Arizona at the time, working at an animation studio, and I was thrilled to see how many dolls were available at the local Toys R Us! They were quite affordable too!
I still have the doll of Anastasia, although I don't think she was made by Mattel. That was the film I was working on at the time, therefore, I HAD to get her.
The Pocahontas wearing the real deerskin outfit and matching moccasins is from Sedona Arizona. A native woman there made the outfits and sold them for the dolls.

The only dolls I have left from the bottom shelf are the Thailand Barbie and Mulan....as well as two India Barbies at the far left.