April Haul

I wasn't planning to do an "April Haul" since I started the blog in April and didn't expect to have much.  In fact, until Saturday, I had one item to share!  Saturday was a beautiful day.  It finally felt like spring, albeit a little chilly.  (We've actually had snow recently here in SW Ohio.)  

I decided to mosey up to the local flea market and see if  Barbie Lady had anything for me after raiding my piggy bank.  Usually she only has not-bendy ones, but sometimes I score.  Barbie Lady's booth was not  open (BOO) but I wandered around since sometimes other booths will have something I can use.  

The lady who sold me Rusty (still can't get over that she was only 10 bucks) didn't have anything, but unlocked another booth for me and OH MY GOD.  Two big storage bins overflowing with dolls for 40 bucks.  Well, I didn't have 40 bucks, but I plopped my butt right down on the floor and started digging through. 

Frankly, I'm tempted to go back up there when I have the money.  I'm a player, not a serious collector, but WOW.  We're talking Donny and Marie Osmond, in stage clothes and she's still holding her microphone.  Obviously some had spent most of their lives on display.  

WARNING NAKED DOLLS AHEAD!

Also, some off-screen carnage.

And some pictures I forgot to put upside right.

As usual, my first order of business was a good cleaning.  It's never a bad idea to clean anything used, even if it's a doll who still has box-gel in her hair.  (Looking at you, Wendy.)  That blue glow is the gem in Kida's chest.  More on that later.   

These three jumped into my "keep" pile all by themselves.  Kida (From Disney's Atlantis movie) is rather rare, but she didn't have any of her original gear and was well-played-with.  The "chain" to her necklace came off in the wash.  The gem flashes a few times and then glows steadily.  I think it was how she summoned her troops in the movie, but it's been quite some time since I saw the movie.  Kida has a face tattoo. I was planning to rebody her since she has no elbows and only click knees, but she didn't match any donor bodies. Wendy was still in her original dress and had box-gel on her sausage curls.  I though she was Clara from The Nutcracker at first. She's Wendy Darling from Peter Pan.  The dude I nabbed because of the hair.  He's John Smith from Pocahontas.  

Your eyes do not deceive you.  I now have twin 18 inch Pocahontas dolls!  In the back row we have Esmeralda, blonde donor body, Ballet Recital Barbie, and John's donor body. Front row is Kida, John, Wendy, and another donor body.  I was going to use Esmeralda for Kida's donor body but the skin tones were way off and since she doesn't suffer from Vapid Face, I spared her.  

My only existing click-leg girl who matched any donors was Kyra.  Sorry, Violet, Rose-Grace, and Raven.  It was now that I discovered Esmeralda did not match either Kida or Raven and she begged for mercy. John swapped heads with his donor.  I had no donors for Wendy, Kida, or the new big Pocahontas.  Kida and Wendy do at least have click legs.

Pocahontas, Wendy, and Esmeralda were wearing their original outfits.  Pocahontas was missing her necklace, but she did have a belt.  I'd never bothered to research this doll, assuming she was just a really tall version of the standard, but the belt got me curious.  RESEARCH TIME!  Bead So Pretty Pocahontas came with not only the missing necklace, but also a kit to put beads in her (and your) hair.  Esmeralda was wearing two bracelets, and anklet, and a single earring.  I took the earring out, meaning to give her the posts from a donor noggin, only to discover no hole in the the other earlobe!  The sparkly blue dress is what Kida was wearing.  But she was packaged in Atlantean armor, so that's not her original garb. 

The clothes the others were wearing.  I used to have the black dress and still have the witch hat that matches it!  

The new residents of Barbieville! I decided to name the duplicate "Matoaka", which was the historical Pocahontas's other name (muh TOE uh kuh). Kida lost her batteries real quick and I gave her a new chain for her gem.  Wendy, Esmeralda, and John were good to go.  Clara (she got The Nutcracker name since she's a ballerina) begged for mercy when Esmeralda did.  She had gum in her hair which meant I had to give her a haircut.  The others managed to largely avoid the scissors.

After visiting the hair stylist and having their clothes laundered, they are ready to play. Clara does have a mild case of Vapid Face, but looks kind and friendly if not real bright. Also her head is glued on so she couldn't be a donor anyway.   

Twinsies!  

I picked this up at a yard sale.  It's a hand-held drum, looks to be hand painted.  It says "Rep-Dom".  It's almost the perfect size to be a timpani for the dolls.  Now to figure out how to make the drum sticks for a timpani on Barbie scale!   

Story One - When Pike met Rose-Grace

Two years ago, Mayor Rose-Grace's work was interrupted by Rachel, from Doll County Children's Protective Service.  She was reviewing cases for Mayor's Court that evening and gladly took a break.  She only hoped Rachel was bringing good news.

Rachel: There's a family living out of a camper on the outskirts of Barbieville, behind the power plant.  With permission of the land owner.  We've gone out several times to investigate reports, but the only problem is somewhat cramped quarters.

Rose-Grace: I don't understand.  Why do you need me?

Rachel:  We have to go out there every time we get a call, that's procedure, and the father is talking about filing harassment charges.  He works, the kids get good grades, everyone's happy and healthy.  This family has done nothing wrong.  Apparently, there was a house fire during a divorce and the insurance company is stalling on payment.

Rose-Grace: Arson?  One spouse burned it to keep the other from being awarded the property?

Rachel: That's what the insurance company seems to think.  They're living in the camper as a temporary situation, but very few places will take both children and pets.  Is there anything you can do?  The county wants to avoid a lawsuit.

Rose-Grace: I have an idea.

Pike (exasperated): I've got nothing to hide, but I'm tired of the constant scrutiny.  We've got power and water - takes a lot of work to keep up with the tanks.  My twin boys sleep in the rear bunks, my little girl on the bench, the baby with me in the tent.  The dog's even had all his shots. 

Rose-Grace: I came to invite you to Mayor's Court tonight, so we can together address the situation.  You request that I intervene with CPS, publicly.  Your story gets into the newspapers without you seeming like the bad guy.  

Pike: At least then people will know the kids are safe.  I'm glad they're concerned for my kids, I really am, but...

Rose-Grace: I understand.  When my girls and I moved back here after my husband died, we had a similar problem.  There was at least one racist, but most of the people reporting me meant well. (Laughs)  The racist left town when I got elected Mayor.

Pike:  Good riddance, right?  I'll be there and even bring my kids so folks can see they're good ones.

A few days after Mayor's Court, Pike stopped by Rose-Grace's office.  Rachel did  bring good news!  

Pike: You're a genius.  No one else has called CPS and I even had one lady apologize to me in the grocery store.  A retiree saw the story in the paper and offered me a place.  She's converting her house into apartments, loves kids, and can tolerate the dog.  

Rose-Grace:  I know who you're talking about.  Signed all the permits, you know. (Chuckles)  My idea worked out for everyone.  You have a place now and a potential lawsuit was averted.  I guess I am a genius!

Pike: Can I take you to dinner Friday?

Rose-Grace: No need.  I was just doing my job.

Pike: I'm not asking the Mayor.  I'm asking the woman. 

Recently, on a joint vacation, they returned from a restroom stop to see this.  

Freddy: They forgetted to say pwease!    

Lazybones DIY

There are a couple of reasons I don't do a lot of DIY.  I'm not generally crafty and, frankly, things tend to break.  I do have a couple of YouTube channels I enjoy, but I use them more for ideas.

MyFroggyStuff is mostly focused on doll photography and gentle play.  She does a fantastic job and I would tell anyone who displays their dolls to follow her lead.  Since I'm hearing impaired, I also like that she speaks very clearly!  I don't have to rely on the captioning!  The only problem is... my dolls don't do gentle play.

The bleachers are bastardized from Froggy.  She did two projects - a movie theatre and a basketball court with bleachers - and I stole bits from each.  A local store gave me an old Mountain Dew display (thick cardboard) and I used the bottom as a frame.  I used the part I cut away to make the center support and the benches, covered it with Contact Paper, and added stickers for "graffiti".  The bleachers at my brother's little league games had metal seats, so I used gray duct tape for the seats.

The picnic table I've based on the ones at highway rest areas, with concrete posts for leg.  I had the wooden slats but what to use for the supports?  Then I saw this: 

I turned the round lampshades into supports for one bench and the square ones to supports for the other.  Tables became supports for - duh - the table.  I was a slat short for one bench and none of them match the others, but that's okay. That just means my dolls found a mismatched set (at a discount?) and painted the concrete blue in hopes no one would notice! 

Angus didn't have a bridle so I made this out of elastic and an old necklace.  When the connector on his saddle broke, another bit of the elastic and some super glue fixed it.

I don't remember where I saw this craft.  It's a double bed made from a simple storage box.  The headboard is cut from a colorful box and the sheet is a scrap of fabric, both glued on.  The "pedestal frame" can be used for storage.  I made this since double beds for Barbies are hard to find - then I found one!  

I'd like to also mention April Lilly.  Her YouTube videos focus more on the dolls themselves and on customizing the clothes.  It was April who taught me to use lace to hide my clumsy stitching.  Not that her sewing is near as bad as mine...  I do have to use the captioning with her, but that's because sometimes she gets excited and talks too fast!  

If you're into customizing dolls or this kind of DIY, April and Froggy are my recommended starting points on YouTube.  Froggy is also on Instagram and has a written blog (where you can totally steal her patterns and backdrops) but I'm not sure about April.

Next post:  Story Time!  I'll tell you the story of how Pike met Rose-Grace!  

Rusty and Pokey: The BOUSes

 Anyone who has seen or read "The Princess Bride" knows what an ROUS is, but a BOUS?  A Barbie Of Unusual Size, of course!  I have two of these, an 18 inch Pocahontas and a red-headed My Size Barbie.  Here they are, with a BORS (Barbie Of Regular Size) to show the difference:

Since these gals are so big, they can't play with the other Barbies.  I use them as decor (if you ask nicely, you may play with them) and dress them for holidays.  A holiday themed knee sock is easily converted (even by me!) into a tube dress for Poky and Rusty wears anything up to 2T.  The waist will probably need taken in.  Mattel's estimate of 4T is based on her height, so anything under 4T is going to be short.  She's Barbie, she can rock a mini, and the smaller sizes are a better fit because she's so slim.  (More on that in a bit.)  Oh, she she wears a size 4 toddler shoe.

Pocahontas was a gift.  She was used, but still wore her Disney halter-and-mini combo and her hair was reasonably salvageable.  The basketball uniform she's wearing here was on Frodo when I brought him home from the thrift store! It was HUGE on him!  

Many years ago, a pair of My Size dolls "lived at Jeanie's".  They were the standard blonde, but I wanted a redhead!  (I even wrote one into my novel, which might get me sued if I ever get published.)  Fast forward several years and I'm browsing a local flea market.  There she was, wearing the bridal gown she'd been originally packaged in, and with a ten dollar price tag!  Despite a family rule about buying for yourself so close to Christmas, I snatched her up and took her home.  With that hair, she had to be Ginger or Rusty, and I chose Rusty in defiance of gender roles.

WARNING NEKKID DOLLS  

DON'T LOOK, ETHEL! 

Poky has the classic Barbie body shape, with waist articulation.  Her hair needed a bit of a trim, but otherwise she's in excellent condition.  Standard five points of articulation, as is the norm for an 18 inch.    

Getting ready to write this post, I was musing on the long-standing controversy over Barbie's figure and wondered what Rusty's measurements would be as a real woman.  According to my admittedly rough math, she'd be 38-28-38.  Those are actually reasonable measurements for a healthy human woman!  

Rusty's hair, like Poky's, was salvageable with minimal trimming needed.  She does have two marks on her arm that don't wash off, but that's all. She has flat feet and can stand on her own, but her articulation is limited to the standard five points.

When you come to my house, Rusty can be found in the living room, but in different spots.  Sometimes I make her stare out the window to creep out folks who don't realize she's a doll.  I'm easily amused.  Poky hangs out in the window all the time, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows she's a doll.

Dollhouse and Residents

Most of my dolls don't live in the dollhouse.  They're friends and neighbors.  This is the dollhouse family:

Back row: Finnick, Rose-Grace (Mom), Tanner    Center row: Nikki, Stacie, Pike (Dad) holding baby twins, Front row Taylor and Fred.  Ash is by Stacie, Max and Soot on the floor.  They're a blended family.  You'll get that story later.

The house is a "My Dolly and Me" by Wicked Cool Toys.  It's made for American Girl size dolls, not Barbie, so the rooms are huge for these guys!  The only problems I've had are a bit of floor sag that wouldn't be noticeable on the intended scale and the fact that anyone shorter than Skipper can't look out the windows unaided.   I did add the center wall to divide on the third floor.

Most of the vehicles.  The purple SUV and the golf cart are some of the few cars made that sit more than two dolls.  The ATVs are dead RC vehicles.  I removed the battery case and as much of the motor as I could.  Fred loves it when his big brothers take him out!  As luck would have it, all these vehicles are street legal in Barbieville.  The trash can and recycling bin I found at Dollar Tree!  

The wall art in the living room is a decal meant for use on human walls and some stickers (on either side of the window) about traveling.  The television stand is a votive holder I've repurposed but most of the furniture is Mattel.  

The kitchen wall art is coasters (and one magnet) with food themes.  I removed the cork backing for better glue strength.  Again, the art on either side of the window is stickers.  One says "Pink never goes out of fashion" and one says "Good Eats".  The little metal shelf is glued.  

The girls' room is decorated mostly with Barbie wall decals meant for human walls. (The "pink" sticker in the kitchen came with these.)  There is a metal sun glued over the bunk beds.  The "Walking Dead" poster is cardboard, cut off a box.  The big peace sign is a decal.  The heart pillows and bear are small stuffies.  They use the ladder from the bunk beds to see out the window!

Mom and Dad's room is done up with travel stickers, bookmarks, and postcards of landmarks.  The small picture above the crib is the ticket card from The Wheel in Pigeon Forge.  Oh, and the dream catchers in both bedroom windows are key chains!  

Please ignore the mirrors on the floor.  They need mounted.  The tub was missing a shower head, so I repeated the earbud-as-a-hand-held deal that I used in the camper.  The tub surround is, of course, imaginary just like the front hall and stairway!  This floor was originally one big yellow room. Bathroom is done in "marble" Contact Paper and the boys' room in "wood".  

The twins have to share a double bed and Fred's toddler bed is tucked under the eave.  The wall art  again is stickers, bookmarks, and the like.  The pin up girls poster is the "index" of a calender.  The peace sign pillow has a little pocket on it (I think it was meant for Tooth Fairy use.) and the cookie pillow is a small stuffy.  Fred's pillow came with the Monster High bed in the girls' room.  

The deck/carport is an antique table that was my grandmother's.  The original top is long gone.  The Camper parks here with the bike and pram.  

Silver Stream and Angus in the "barn".  The upper shelves are general storage. The picnic table and bleachers are some of my Lazybones DIY - more on that in a later post - and the lighthouse tin is full of things like doll stands.   

Their wardrobe is stored in two drawers.  No pictures of that because it's just all jumbled together - clothes in one and accessories in the other.  Everyone shares!  

Naming the Nameless

Many of my dolls come with names, but sometimes they don't or there's already someone with that name in Barbieville.  None of them are named "Barbie". 

Samantha was Barbie and she came with two nameless puppies.  She was a gift, so I let the giver name her.  But not the pups - she was suggesting things like "poophead"!  One is light gray (almost white) and the other is darker gray.  Based on that, I call them Ash and Soot.

Kevin, Nikki, and Courtney were given the names of previous friends of Skipper with which they share traits.  I didn't have a "previous" name for Claudia so I named her after my favorite character from The Babysitter's Club books.  (You know, because the Skipper friends are Babysitters Inc)

Tanner was a duplicate Hunger Games Finnick.  He's named after the main character of Damnation Alley, keeping with that whole dystopian theme.   When I brought Dean home and asked my handy minion for a suggestion, the minion said he looked like a "Dingus".  I decided it was kinda mean to call the poor guy Dingus and shortened it to Dean.

Some of them just get their names altered just slightly.  High School Musical's Sharpay became Charmaine.  Because... Sharpay?!  Kyra was originally Secret Spells Kayla.  Zenobia was Zia. Rose-Grace was simply Grace, but she was wearing roses and I couldn't decide which name I liked more.  Candy was Candy Glam Theresa.

Sometimes it's about their physical features.  I mentioned in a previous post that my Flavas Tre ended up being Frodo because he was short and had big Elijah Wood eyes. Violet has a purple streak in her hair.  Midna (who was originally Fairytopia Sunburst) has red/orange hair like the character from Twilight Princess.  Rachel - one of my sisters suggested that name and it suited her face.

One of the horses is a thrift store find.  Soft gray, almost silver, with a lighter mane and tail.  I was pondering color-based names and that handy minion suggested Silver Stream.  If you read Warrior Cats, you might recognize the name!

Due to circumstances beyond my control, there are no photos this time. 

The Brats

The third and last in this series, showing you the variety of dolls currently living in Barbieville.  Today, we have those not of driving age.


High School Musical and Wizards of Waverly Place dolls share a body mold.  For some reason, Mattel didn't make them 11.5 inches but 10.  Due mostly to the height, they're not adults.

Skipper and the female Babysitters Inc dolls share a torso, but the Babysitter's left arm is bent and Skipper has click knees.  They're also 10 inches, but not as (ahem) developed.  That's okay with me because that gives Barbieville a bit more realism.  Any given Junior High class is going to have a variety of stages represented.

The male Babysitter (obviously) has a different body mold than the others.  Samantha is a Barbie rebodied onto MC2 body - I didn't realize the height difference until the job was done, but her face is youthful enough to work either way!

Stacie, the toddlers, and babies.  Stacie is eight inches, Three of the toddlers are the original Kelly and one is the new Kelly (renamed Chelsea for some reason).  The original Kellys are 4 inches and the new Chelsea is 5 inches.  The babies are Happy Family newborns.

WARNING UNDERAGE DOLL NUDITY

Everyone is only jointed at the neck, hips, and shoulders.  Except Samantha.  She's got the knees, wrists, and elbows as well!  The Kellys have the same mold for both sexes, using paint and hair styles to differentiate.  Which makes sense - our bodies are pretty much the same until puberty.

I've been keeping my eye out for better articulated dolls of this size.  The only one I've found so far is the MC2.  I do know some forms of Barbie's sisters have elbows and knees - and I just realized Stacie was too modest to pose here!  Stacie is the only doll I have in her size, so far.  I'm keeping an eye out for her some friends.  Samantha will vouch for the fact that I'm not above reducing someone's age through a rebody (Although in her case it was an accident.)

The Women

I love the personalities in all these faces!  The Female adult (past driving age) citizens of my Barbieville:

The first group (above) have click legs,  The second (below) have hinge-knee legs.  For the most part they are variations of the "belly button" Barbie. I honestly don't remember specifically which ones, but I'll explain the ones I do!    

Biggest difference in the click leg bodies is that Violet (in the green and black mesh) has a Disney Store body, and therefore jointed wrists.  Here she and one of the others compare wrists.

WARNING NAKED DOLLS  -- DON'T LOOK 
Again, the full monty so you can see the body molds.  One of each.

Tris is Barbie Collection, with no joint at the elbow or wrist but a tattoo above one breast.  She's shaped a little different in the hip joint.  Candy is a standard Belly Button Barbie with no wrist articulation.  Violet, as noted above, is Disney Store (specifically Pocahontas).  She has click knees, is jointed at the elbow and wrist, and has a tribal tattoo around one bicep.  Midna is a rebodied Fairytopia Sunburst.  She's got articulation at elbows, wrists, knees, and torso.  PJ's shaped more like the classic wasp-waisted Barbie, but the waist turns and bends.  She's got elbows and knees that bend, but not wrists or ankles, and flat feet.  Everyone, of course, has shoulders and hips.  Most have neck articulation, but an unfortunate few noggins had to be glued in place.  Zenobia has a Liv body and is fully articulated.  PJ's is my favorite of the adult female body molds.

A close up of "Sunburst".  I couldn't get a good photo of my doll, but I wanted to show her tattoo since I mentioned Violet's and Tris's, so had to track one down on the Internet.  It's part of her face paint, so not a body issue, and I'm talking about the bodies here.  But it just wasn't fair to leave her tattoo out!  If you've seen Divergent or Pocahontas, you know what the others look like.

The Men

I don't have a lot of men in my collection, because I can be picky about my dolls.  I avoid dolls with Vapid Face, a syndrome that seems epidemic in the already limited male doll market.  As I mentioned before, I prefer the jointed bodies, but a good face mold can always get rebodied.

First, my Hunger Games and Divergent men.  They all have the Barbie Collection body.  The Finnick twins (the topless one is named Tanner), Peeta, and Four.  You can see personality in those faces!  Four has a full-back tattoo, just like in the movie.  They like to lounge instead of sitting up straight, but who doesn't?

Ken has been rebodied - I think his body is My Scene.  Pike and Sulu are Playmates Star Trek.  Ken looks smitten (fitting since he's originally Sweet Talking Ken.) Pike and Sulu have a determined look to them.

The shorties.  Dean is a MG Toys action figure.  The guy in the middle is Tre from Mattel's Flavas line but I call him Frodo because he's short and got those big Elijah Wood eyes.  He's almost as short as the adolescents, but he's got facial hair and is kinda buff, so I've decided he's at least driving age.  Joe is a Navajo Code Talker GI Joe.  Dean looks worried, Frodo's daydreaming, and Joe is stern.

 WARNING NAKED DOLLS 

One of each body mold is doing the full monty so you can see the articulation.  Ignore the holes in Joe... he used to talk.  Almost everyone has the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and ankles. (I'm not a fan of the ankles.  Who wants backwards feet?)  Pike, Dean, and Frodo have torso articulation.  Pike's boxers and boots are molded on, and he is standing on his own. Ken and Frodo, like Pike, don't have articulated ankles.  The only issues I have with these guys is that Frodo has click knees instead of the hinge and Ken's elbows are stiff.

These are the adult* male citizens of Barbieville who are driving age or older.  Pike is the official dad of the dollhouse family and the Finnick twins are the eldest brats.  The Family will get its own post, eventually.  Next time we'll meet The Women. 

*For purposes of this blog, adult is defined as 16 and up.