Downsizing Is Hard (Part Three)

 

I already mentioned that the adolescents in the classroom are either Harry Potter, Creatable World, or Claudia.  My dollhouse family males are hybrids, but the girls are not.  Jeremiah is a Fashionista and the twins are Finnick from Hunger Games, all three on MTM bodies.  Fred is a Kelly on a Zoe body.  Diana is Wonder Woman.  Belle and Hermione are from the recent Harry Potter line. Emma is the Hermione doll from the 90s.  Samara is a Babysitter Skipper baby.  

The children are mostly Chelseas and Kelly/Zoe hybrids.  Dan is the Harry Potter from the 90s.  Roxy is a Gymnast Stacie.  

The shoe holders house everyone else.  Most of the dolls pictured here are hybrids. 

MTM, Inspiring Women Susan B.  Anthony, and two wrestler ladies.  I'm pretty sure the wrestler ladies have the same body mold as Diana.  Divergent couple, Navajo Code Talker GI Joe (broken talk box), and Happy Family Grandma.

Cutie Reveals, Star Wars, and Barbie Extras.  

Fresh dolls, BMR 1959s, and two hybrids.

BTS, Barbie The Look, and a BRM 1959.

Harry Potter adults and a BTS.

Hiding in the bottom of my closet.  Wheelchairs, donor bodies, stands, etc.

Up top in my closet and neatly labeled.  Okoye's box (with all her stuff in it in case I decide to display her) and Western Fun Barbie in her box.  The Western Fun Barbie is notorious for not aging well and mine is no exception.

The display dolls are in the living room.  Two 18 inch Pocahontas dolls, Video Girl Barbie (who does work), Monster High Cleo and Lagoona, and Rusty.  I dress Rusty for upcoming holidays.

Downsizing Is Hard (Part Two)

 

First on the agenda:  All these kids sitting on the classroom floor bothers me.  The desks I have don't match since two of them are Monster High, so I'm not worried about that.  To buy enough for everyone, even at knock-off prices, will cost me at least 30 dollars and include things I don't want.  I decided to try making my own.

I knew the instructions on myfroggystuff would result in a desk that could not survive The Boy, and possibly not even my own use, so figured out a pattern to cut out of cardboard.

It held Tommy long enough to take this picture and make my hands cramp.   Another tactic was needed.

The desks already don't match, so who says everyone has to be at a desk?

Space is limited.  I managed to seat four at the tan table and the remainder on the long bench.  When playing, I'll remove the bench and spread the desks out a bit.  Not everyone has to be in attendance for every class.  At least nobody is sitting on the floor.

Next on the agenda is vehicles. My dolls have a few.  

I kept the two largest horses.  

Most of my doll play is family oriented, which required passenger seating.  My rule is that the car has to seat more than two adults.  Exceptions are made for the ATVs and Volkswagens.  And gifts.

Y'all know The Tank is staying.  It is the only one that's really a storage issue, since I use the first floor of the dollhouse and the space under the coffee table as parking.

Only two went.  The blue ATV and convertible Beetle were broken beyond my abilities or inclination.  I did group them by type when putting them back - here are the SUVs and the camper 

The Vespa got stored with the horse-related vehicles.

The ATVs between dollhouses.  Parking under the coffee table for the rest.

Third item on the agenda: Oven door.  I just cut thin cardboard to fit and covered it with contact paper.  Toothpick across the bottom to hold it in place.  I'll be keeping a lookout for something better.

Doll shelves are done. On top and bottom, set pieces.  DIY supplies in the attic, kitchen/pantry, playground and classroom.  The big clear bin is wardrobe. Part Three will show the finished (for now, anyway) area.  They still use more of my bedroom than I do!

Downsizing Is Hard (Part One)

 Since I came to the realization that Barbieville had gotten out of hand and decided to stop the soap opera, I have been really strict with myself about what can stay and what must go.  I started with the standing sets.

Here we see Bellatrix laying on the floor of Sulu's Greenhouse, the denuded hospital exam/waiting room, and a giant couch in the grocery store.  I'm sure you can guess that I had already started work before thinking to take pictures.

The exam room walls became a wall full of graffiti.  I kept the canyon sunset, as it can be either a mural (as it was in the waiting room) or simply the view.  Green felt for grass, and I have a permanent spot for the playground.  The children will hang out here full time.

Sulu's greenhouse and the Witch's Cove ticket booth combine with the grocery store to become a kitchen/pantry.  New wallpaper and the barn backdrop, cut to size.  (I need to construct an oven door.  Or make one of the refrigerators into a sideways-opening oven.) 

The grocery space is now the classroom for adolescents to hang out.  I kept only the Harry Potter and Creatable world dolls, with the exception of Claudia.  Claudia is a Babysitters Inc Skipper (Asian) on an extra Hermione body.  Classroom is obviously is a work in progress.  Ignore the phone charger cord.

Non-dollhouse-family babies will live in this crib. It keeps getting moved back and forth between kitchen and playground.

It really doesn't matter for the blog, since I'll be doing stand-alone stories with an ever-changing cast and characters, but for simple play off camera, this is the new dollhouse family.

These are the adults I'm keeping.  Before I reorganized, and purged, each of these pockets held two or maybe three dolls.  Granted, the third doll was often a child, but still...  

Honestly, I'm still waffling on a few dolls in the donation bag.  The top of the tall shelf is covered with things like the cash registers from both the grocery store and greenhouse.  But the hardest part is done.  

Funny story: I started my downsize and Sister Number One told me about a convention of sorts, buying and selling "collectables".  I playfully scolded her for undermining my efforts.   Then The Boy's mother made this quilt for my dolls.  So of course I had to playfully scold her as well. 

Then a friend of mine shows up with this! 

LMAO  

 

The End

 Federal Agent Carol Danvers meets with Maisie Barnes. 

Carol:  Are you going to deny any of this?  Your family, their possible ties to organized crime?  I know the incident at the dam is not related to any of this, but I find it alarming that you've moved into town and cozied up to the mayor. 

Maisie:  I have nothing to do with my birth family.  I don't even know how my mother keeps getting my phone number to harass me every time she gets in trouble.  I suspect she was involved with the fire back in the day, but beyond that I know nothing about that place or those people.  And as for cozying up to the mayor, I've known Rose-Grace since I was a kid.  I'm only here because I promised Dionne I'd help with Helena House and I'll be gone as soon as my husband is stationed stateside.  You don't need to worry about me.  

Carol:  Just know you're cleared on this dam business, but I'm going to be watching you.

*****  

After Maisie leaves, Carol meets with a motley crew.  

Hank:  I don't believe we've met.  I'm Hank Higgins, realtor.

Gage: I'm a private investigator.  I hope this meeting has something to do with my job because I just keep hitting dead ends.  

Gage:  Good afternoon, Mrs. Smith.  I hope your presence means Agent Danvers is going to help me find your father.  

Pocahontas:  I wish you'd just leave that deadbeat lost.  We're all better off without him.

Hank:  What is she doing here?  All this time, you've been riding me to avoid her, and now you call us into the same meeting?  

  

Gage:  Why would she tell you that?  Why are you answering to a federal agent about anything?

Pocahontas: You had no problem not-avoiding me when you sold me and John our house.  

Carol: Cash Nedakh entered the Witness Protection Program.  As part of the deal, he insisted on being put in Barbieville.  You remember receiving flowers at your office for a while?  It was him, unaware that your mother had passed away.  He hoped to reunite with her.

Pocahontas: After leaving us for damn near twenty years?  Not a chance.  Me and Nakoma both would've fought that idea.  We saw what she went through after he took anything that wasn't nailed down.  (She realizes.)  Wait a minute... are you saying what I think you're saying?

Carol:  Hank Higgins is Cash Nedakh.  Not for much longer, though.  Turns out the dam was sabotaged by the very people we were hiding him from.  (To Hank)  You're being moved.  

Hank: You can't do that.  You need my testimony for -- 

Pocahontas:  (Redacted for language.  This is a PG13 blog.)  

Carol:  Losing your testimony might hurt the case, but you have proven such a liability that the program is ready to drop you.  This is your last chance.  (She turns to the PI)  Unfortunately, your client is one of the people we're hiding him from.  They followed you here. 

Gage:  Oops?

Once she's seen Pocahontas and Gage out, Carol fills Hank in on his new life.  A life far from Barbieville.

Hank:  It's just as well.  There's nothing here for me, with Kida gone. 

This concludes my "soap opera".  Maisie (and Charlotte Jackson) will continue their own stories at Our Toy Story on Facebook.  Maisie in "The Sons" and Charlotte in "Nearly Famous".  

Please see my previous post titled Changing Things Up.  I've already begun reorganizing and rearranging my doll area, which I'll continue to refer to as Barbieville even though that show's been cancelled.  Stay tuned!

Changing Things Up

 

I will no longer be doing the "soap opera" continuing story.  I will do a final episode to tie up the loose ends, don't worry.  I'm not gonna leave y'all hanging off a cliff.  

Yes, I still have my marbles.  Here they are.

I stopped decorating the dollhouse for holidays because it hurt my brain to have several Christmases with no one aging.  I thought I could fudge the timeline by having no obvious seasons, and therefore what's five years in real time can be a month in Barbieville.  And that has worked well for me, for the most part.

During the pandemic, I did end the school year.  Graduation during a pandemic was an interesting story.  My fudged timeline worked okay... all this time and its only been a year or two in Barbieville.  When you go back and look there has been a ridiculous amount of drama.  Which I guess is cool, since it's a soap opera, but if I was one of these characters, I'd be leaving town ASAP.  Place is dangerous.

I'm still stuck on the lack of aging.  Maybe I just think too much for long-term Barbie stories.  I did a bit of research (duh) into how other doll stories work with the aging issue, but none of those work for me.  One I found even replaces the child dolls periodically!  Some of them do a hard reset from time to time.  Some of them can successfully ignore the time passage. 

I've decided that what I will be doing is stand-alone stories, using the dolls are a sort of theater troupe.  Silly little holiday tales (so I can decorate the dollhouse again).  Classic books, fan fiction, who knows? I just know I'm stressing myself out and want my doll play fun again.   

Zoe by Brooklyn Lollipops

 

MyFroggyStuff told me Five Below has a Chelsea-like doll with articulation.  Zoe, imported by Brooklyn Lollipops, and apparently exclusive at Five Below.

I found the Varsity Captain Zoe, who comes with working lockers and a soccer ball.  Her outfit is one piece with a separate jacket.  She's a cute little doll.  And, most importantly, sturdy.

Box Insert has a nice locker room backdrop.  Small, but possibly usable in crafting backdrops.

She comes with braided pigtails and I quickly found out why.  Rooted only at the hairline and center part.  Not that it really matters.  Anyone who knows me knows my plan for her.

Zoe with Fred (Kelly body) and Bobby (Chelsea body).  Kelly was originally marketed as a baby - with a crib and smelling of baby powder - and Chelsea is meant to be maybe kindergarten age, so the Chelseas are taller.  My last post talked about the challenges of their shared wardrobe.  

As one of the dollhouse family, Fred gets first dibs on the head swap.  

Bobby:  Dude, you're taller than me now!

Fred: And I can bend my knees and elbows!  Jeanie will be able to pose me better for the stories!

Fred: Look at me crossing my ankles.

Bobby: I wonder if Zoe's head will fit in the locker?  

   

The Chelseas, even without elbows and knees, pose more naturally than the Kellys.  And there's that height thing.  So Kelly, Jenny, and Wilma get dibs on the next Zoe bodies.  (Malachi does not appear in these photos because I forgot he exists.  He's a Chelsea.)