The current state of my dolls: Barbie & co.

Hi there!
Many of my craft projects are related to fashion dolls. I'd like to describe my dolls and my plans for them. Having my ideas laid out for the whole world should motivate me to organize my work, and hopefully I'll be able to look back and see some accomplishments.

My collection started with a single Barbie at my 17th birthday

and started growing rapidly after someone special found out that I like them :) If only I had more energy and resources to work on them already! I spend so much time planning, reading tutorials and looking for supplies that it takes me forever to get anything done. All my dolls are either untouched or works in progress. I'll try to present them in the order they came. Here they are:

California Girl Barbie (1)

My first doll. Modeled my first good attempt at sewing and making shoes. Here is an older picture with the dress in its former glory:

The shoes didn't survive. The heels never stuck and they tied with a thin thread which was a pain to handle. Then I tried to paint the hair blue and green when I grew tired of the blonde, which turned into the disaster you saw in the beginning. A kind soul brought me acne cream that cleaned the blue, but not the green. I'd love to reroot it, but it would cost me more than a full doll to buy the hair and the shipping. I'm stuck with this mouldy colour I guess...
This doll needs repainted again (the paint was ruined by cleaning attempts), more clothes and shoes, and hair, ideally.

Fashion Fever Courtney 

A gift from my friend. It got here about the time I found out repainting was a thing; together with Barbie 1 it became my first victim. Initially I was going to change just the horrible pink mouths, but my unsteady hand erased too much of the face and I had to repair it. My first try actually had hazel eyes:

I can haz weed?

Now I think it looks a lot better! In fact, it's my favourite doll. I fancy putting the head on a Fashionista body, but I don't know which of my Fashionistas to sacrify, I love them too. In any case, I'm not touching this face again. Well, except for some matte varnish on the eyeshadow, if I'm ever going to find one.
I got lucky with the hair as well - I painted some strands black and didn't have any smudges like poor Barbie 1.

Needs shoes, flower on the skirt remade, earrings adjusted, more clothes and jewellery.

Barbie 2

Has poor articulation and hands that look like shovels. I repainted it and it's great for modeling stuff I'm sewing.

Needs lighter lips, maybe complete repaint, hair kink straightened, hands refined (no idea how), second boot made... More about the boot in a different post.

Barbie 3 with pink hair

This and Barbie 2 were the first doll gift from my husband. I love the hair, it's very soft and behaving. I changed all the face paint except the eyelids and repaired the old white dress for it. Needs shoes, jewellery (which is half completed) and a button in the back.

Summer Fashionista

My first jointed doll. Hubby bought it because of the kitty on the dress. I repainted it, but I don't really like the result. Needs new eyes, hair arranged (don't know how), boots repainted.

Teresa Fashionista

Needs new lips and jewellery. I haven't done anything yet.

Barbie 4 Fashionista with closed lips

Hubby says he hates this face, so urgent repaint is required. I love the face mould. Needs clothes, yadda yadda...

Ken

Needs rerooted and something done about that horse mug.

TNT Barbie

Flea market find. Rerooted with thread. I want to dress it in a traditional suit like this:

It consists of an embroidered chemise, underskirt, skirt or double apron, sash and shoes. Needs a lot of work.

Nikki with flat feet

Flea market find. Hubby's favourite doll. Needs shoes first of all.

Pale Barbie knockoffs

There is no merit to any of them except the different skin tone. I wish Mattel made more diverse dolls! Both need new faces, hair fixed and clothes that cover everything. I'm not tempted to work on these dolls; right now I'm drawn to the wonderful articulation of MH dolls.

Muse Dori

The body is smaller than Barbie, so nothing fits. I started sewing for it with no success. Needs new lips too. I love the face though, it has a Native American thing going on.

Unknown doll with flat feet

Has the biggest feet. Needs more shoes and new lips (if not an entirely new face)

Bag of Barbie clothes

Need repairing and adjusting, nothing seems to fit right. Some shoes need fixing too. All my dolls need more new clothes, shoes and jewellery - there can never be too many! The idea is to make a big wardrobe because most of these have the same body type and can share clothes. I like to change the looks of my dolls often. So far I have made a dress, a shirt, a skirt, a boot and a few pieces of jewellery. There are plans for more shoes (especially for the dolls with flat feet), a parasol that opens, purses, hair pins...
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These are all of my Barbie sized dolls. I only hope to get a nice Raquelle Fashionista and until Mattel starts using more skin tones or interesting faces, I think I'm done buying Barbies, they are pretty much all the same.

How do you like my collection? I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. If there's a project here that caught your attention, tell me and I'll write a separate story about it.