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!

Doll Space Envy

A chat with some of my fellow doll people led me to consider the space I've dedicated to Barbieville.  Some of them have entire rooms!  And even outdoor spaces! 

This is Barbieville.  Not quite half of my living room.  Rusty (My Size Barbie) is the only doll that doesn't spend the majority of her time here.  Join me for a tour, won't you?  The large teal bin is Wardrobe and the pink thing under it is full of Lego blocks.

We start at the Pike's deck/carport.  A clip lamp on the neighboring bookshelf is used for lighting over here, if needed. (The table once held my grandmother's little television.)   

This shot of the Pike's house shows one of my lighting challenges. (It's a My Dolly And Me house, by Wicked Cool Toys.) 

Most of the day, I get natural lighting from the windows, which can create some lighting challenges.  I do sometimes use other locations in my apartment.  For hospital rooms, I use the kitchen counters. Anyplace that needs to look industrial, I set up in the furnace room. 

This old computer desk in the left-side corner is my primary shooting location.  The Guinness family portrait, for updating the census page, was the last thing I photographed and they're still there.  In all honesty, they'll be there until the next session.

Underneath is the rest of the Pike family vehicles, Pocahontas's Jeep, a play set piece, and an old grocery store display.  The display is crammed full of tables, school desks, and things to sit on.  Top shelf holds the pictures I sometimes use for backdrops.  Folding backdrops and play sets go between the desk and bookshelf next to it.

The bookshelf in the corner holds plastic bins full of accessories and one end of Albus's home.  This is also where most of the citizens of Barbieville hang out when not being played with.  (Those with established home sets, the Pikes and Albus, hang out in them.) There's also a "treasure chest" full of weapons.  My dolls are ready for the Zombie Apocalypse. 

That electric cord is to the wandering lamp.  So called because it wanders the area, providing light where needed. The iPod is hooked up to a portable radio, but those cords are tucked safely away.  You can see the lamp and radio in the first picture if you're really curious about them.

They generally hang out in family groups.  The Singles and Unassigned mix and mingle.  

The horses, horse trailer, sleigh, and golf cart share space with the day care's swing set and a tin full of headgear, including a space helmet.  The sleigh is full of decorative items.

My non-player dolls stand on the game shelf with my vintage VWs.  There are two 19 inch Pocahontas dolls, a Lagoona Blue, and a Cleo DeNile.  I'm not usually a fan of Monster High, but they were a gift - and ironically, I'd recently lost a feline companion of almost 20 years named Cleo!  

I have extra doll seating on the wall and right-side windowsill.  

That's my Behind The Scenes Barbieville.  None of my minions have complained about its utility as a play area.  I'm pretty happy with it, but just like Ariel....  (sing it with me) I want more!  So jealous of those with, like, whole rooms and yards to play in!

Serendipity

My family has a rule - after the beginning of October, no buying goodies for yourself.  I've been known to break it, and the purchase is usually doll related.  The last time I did it was when I found Rusty, in most of her original outfit, in gently played with condition, for ten bucks.  (Rusty is a redhead My Size Barbie, for anyone new to my Barbieville.)  

I did it again.  Bad Jeanie!  Found a Barbie car that seats more than two at a local thrift store.  The side mirrors and tailgate are missing.  The seat belts had been removed, but I do that myself, so no big deal.  It does look like someone spray-painted near it and it got drifted on, or maybe it's sun damaged.  I snatched it up for two dollars!

I'd never seen this particular vehicle before and assumed it had been produced during one of my lulls in Barbie play.  (The above picture is not mine, by the way.)  I researched it and found it listed as Sisters Cruiser and as Pink Passport Jeep.  

I figured it was a recast of the same mold like the SUVs, but I've seen it also listed as the Pink Passport Sisters Cruiser.  I'm pretty sure Pink Passport is the latest play line theme...  so I got a practically brand new vehicle for two dollars!

I brought it home and cleaned it up (ran it through the dishwasher) before my minion tested its durability.  The roof is three pieces that pop back into place fairly easily.  The only issue I have is the tailgate.  Without it, I've got the same problem as with the golf cart, and there are no handy rails to hold onto here.  Back seat passengers fall out!

I cut sturdy cardboard to size.  

       

A paper clip and electrical tape became the bottom hinge and the paint job - it matches almost perfectly!  Better than I expected, honestly.  

View of the underside of hinge.  The licence plate pivots for support, which is a nice touch even if it doesn't appear my DIY will need that help. Tailgate parties!  

As you can see here, it will stay vertical but won't stay horizontal.  Pocahontas claimed this vehicle and said Nakoma could have the golf cart for her teenage gallivanting.  Anakin's like "Why did it have to be pink?"  

Backdrops

The only backdrops I've had thus far in Barbieville are the scenic place mats.  They are fine if I manage to  hide the quotes behind dolls or props.  (You can see them, badly camouflaged, behind Finnick's head in the scene where Nakoma smooches him.)  So far I've managed to create passable indoor scenes, usually on my kitchen counters.  

I'm too lazy to do a full-on My Froggy Stuff, and my storage space is limited, so I've been keeping my eyes out for things I can use - only so many scenes can be set in their house and the school!  My local Wal-Mart had back drops for their line of 18 inch dolls (My Life?) and I kept eyeballing them.  They eventually went on clearance and I nabbed the one that would take the least work to convert for Barbie scale. 

 

 One side was the dressing room above, a scene I do not need or want but saw possibilities in.  (This is the insert from the package - I didn't think to get a photo before redecorating.) 

I used the lower pane of the arched window as a guide and wallpapered it.  I went with pink since it matched best the preexisting bright magenta.  A few bits peeked over the top, so I used mini post cards as framed pictures to hide them.  The top of the floor mirror was harder to figure out.  I used contact paper to extend the window panes that were "behind" it.  Now there's some weird pink thing outside the window!  The wallpaper has bubbles in it.  Now I know why Froggy uses glue sticks.  This will be the diner, which never claimed five star status.

The other side is meant to be a classroom, but I think it can work as Rose-Grace's office.  Since it's meant to be the background, the desk is actually to scale when I stand Rose-Grace beside it!  I haven't decided yet if I want to leave the white board as it or turn it into a window.  Windows I can do, as you will see in a bit.

This was the insert in the Camping Fun SUV.  It's not very real looking, but it makes for a great mural in the waiting room of the Medical Center!  The marble was added to hide the uneven bottom.

The back of the camping scene was blank, so I made Pike an ugly little office with a fantastic view.  The floral wallpaper is the back side of printer paper.  The bulletin board is another bit of printer paper cut to size.  The things posted are bits I had in the crafting supplies, from various sources. The window is skinny colored tape and a calender page.  Wall art is more of those mini postcards.   

The difference in size is obvious when they're folded to put away with the other backdrops.  The SUV insert is barely taller than the dolls!  There will be lots of sitting in those scenes.  Stay tuned to see what adventures go down in these settings... 

May Haul (part one)

May was another good month for Barbieville.  (So far my blog looks like I'm luckier than I usually am!)  Most of this month's luck came from town-wide yard sales and the flea market haul.  

 

Wicker chair from thrift store and Lego set marked WAY down.  Lego blocks are very handy for building anything the dolls might need temporarily.  Also, they're fun all by themselves! 

Craft supplies and a sleigh.  Giant bear for the girls' room.  I had a sleigh before - a thift store find that I tried hard to make work but ultimately failed.  This one I can already tell is going to be much easier.  It simply needs the bed lined and a seat installed.  The craft supplies will help me with that.

Scenic placemats with words on them, but careful placement of props or dolls allows use as backdrops.   They've already proven useful for the story-telling posts here.  

 

The "lollipop stick" was cut off and these two are novelty pillows for the twins.  The girls get bears and hearts.  The twins get the other shapes.  These came from a claw machine.

Cardboard covered in shiny gold tape as the bed liner.  I used wire from the edges of the decorative ribbon to make a web-like support for the seat.  Seat is made of skewers cut to length and covered with gold tape.  The back of the seat is a burp cloth I already had. (Burp cloths are the perfect size to be blankets on a single bed.)

SUV!  So glad Mattel is making cars that seat more than two!  Clothes and a new dude.

Close-up of the new dude.  I think he looks like Brent Spiner, so that's his name.  He's a World Peacekeeper.  Tanner totally mugged him and took the dog tags.  

I was pleased to find gold elastic for this.  It carries over the gold from the sleigh.  The traces are actually one of the wrapped-wire decorative ribbons, just looped around the sleigh runner. 

Blue button for trim and pink shoelace reins match the seat back. Peeta needs to bundle up before his sleigh ride, though.

Esmeralda copied Tanner and mugged a Flea Market Haul gal.  New ear ring to replace the one I took out.

New stuffies - most of which Fred claimed.  The girls claimed Ginger Snap.

New Residents of Barbieville, from the village of Flea Market. Pocahontas, Kelly, Nakoma, Callie, and Ricky in front.  Batgirl, Roxy, and Whitney in the rear.  There are other new folks in town but I guess I've exceeded the picture limit.  I'll have to do a seperate post about them. 

Glam SUV vs Camping Fun SUV

The best way to get me to buy a car for my dolls is to make it seat more than two.  Mattel is doing a really good job of that lately - the Glam SUV and now the Camping Fun SUV.  Both cars seat four!   The only difference in the body is the paint job.  Camping Fun is light teal with "mud splatters" and Glam is purple. (The Zombie Hunting License isn't standard!)  The doors don't open which means they have to jump in and out through the roof, but the car stands up better to rough use.  

Glam came with four Starbucks drinks to go in the console cup holders.  Camping Fun was a bit more and came with a doll.  She's only got the five standard points of articulation and a case of Vapid Face, so she'll be passed on after I mug her and steal that cute outfit.  

The interior of the cars is identical.  Most of the interior is tan, with a black speaker deck behind the back seat and a cup-holding console between the front seats.  The console is long enough, though, that back-seat passengers can still reach their drinks.  Stacie is grateful.

The dash is also black.  The GPS says we're cruising the coast! When all four seats are occupied by adults, it can be close quarters, even if none of them are muscle men.  One thing that bothers me a bit - Barbie is meant to take all her sisters along in this car, but Chelsea/Kelly should have a safety seat.  Like I should talk...  I'm going to replace the seat belts with imaginary ones!   

     

The only real difference in these cars is this:  Camping Fun has off-road tires and sits a bit higher.  Basically, it's the Glam SUV with 4WD!  

Both these cars are an excellent value.  Glam has already been involved in several wrecks!  Camping Fun is fresh from the box and hasn't been subjected to any minions yet, but I'm confident it will survive.