Different Barbies

Dolls in my house are treated like art supplies. They are displayed posed and mostly dressed on shelves, but they still run the constant risk of being yanked out and used as mannequins, laid upside down for hair treatments or wrapped in toilet paper for other experiments. I can't imagine keeping a doll in its initial state (or even worse, boxed)! I have a friend though who likes her dolls just as they are. She doesn't have her playline childhood Barbie any more, but since then she moved to collectible Barbies of the 90's and early 00's. Only two dolls are in her collection at the moment and a third in her wishlist. She kindly let me take pictures and share them here.

Mood for Mods: A firm stand

Mood for Mods (as in "modifications") deals with ways of fixing or restyling factory doll outfits. Skirt too short or too tight? Shoes with floppy heels? No problem! Are you in the mood for mods? Let's see what can be done!

You have my husband to thank for today's Mood for Mods installment. Not only did he provide the dolls that participated in the experiment, he also insisted I deliver another post although I filled my self-imposed two-posts-per-month quota. I had this planned for some time and just needed some more pictures. Hubby walked in on me taking the above photo and exclaimed in surprise: "They stand by themselves!" Yes, yes they do, that's why we love Monster High dolls! These two, however, came with very unsupportive shoes out of the box. Today we'll learn how to fix gummy heels - it takes a minute of your time and makes a huge difference.

New faces

I went to a second doll meeting last week. It happened before hubby bought me Twyla but I never got around to editing the pictures for this post so now it's a good opportunity to introduce all the new acquaintances at once :)

Treasure Hunt from Hubby

I had a most exciting evening today! This post will be short and not informative at all but it's very special for me. First of all, I need to say that I have the best husband in the world and nobody dare contradict me. I've often talked about his contributions to my collection; it should come as no surprise that he decided to spoil me again. But he did it in a completely unexpected and ingenious way...

Another return from Strasbourg

I wasn't sure how to title this post. Yes, I travelled and yes, I'm back, but it's really about dolls. Dolls in trousers - what a rare sight! Hubby told me to bring home at least three dolls and such was my luck that all three were trousers-clad versions of characters from my wishlist. What were the odds?

Vacation doll wishlist

This post is scheduled to go live while I'm curled in a bus seat en route to Strasbourg :) I left hubby to take care of one feisty and one shy cat, and since he couldn't come with me, he gave me one assignment - buy dolls! I decided to write a list of dolls I'd like to find (now, ever). Judging by the assortment at toysrus.fr, I have very little hope of getting at least one of them, but there are several other stores without an online catalogue, so who knows...
All the following are official promo photos.

Inspiration is contagious

This week, my second Ghoulia was finally able to climb on the shelf after spending almost a year in drawers and bags, often in pieces or in an otherwise very sorry state. She was one of three dolls I bought nude with the intention of customising. I regret that purchase for many reasons. The lack of outfits didn't lower the prices enough to make it a good deal. Second, any outfit, no matter how lame at first, is better than nothing. At the rate I sew new clothes, my dolls have to stay in their original ones for a very long time. Lastly, I discovered that I enjoy factory clothes (and shoes!) a lot more than I thought I would, even if they don't fit my taste. Poor Scaris Ghoulia with ruined hair was deserted on an empty shelf to remind me of my mistake until one day I was able to fix it and I went looking for a dress to fit her newfound gorgeousness. Luckily, the solution was right here in my reading list. I'll leave the hair story for another day, but I'd like to talk about a little relay race I had with Barbielea that led to the creation of this dress :)

Froggy's summer contest +poppy tutorial

Hello! Many of you doll blog readers are probably familiar with My Froggy Stuff. She is now holding a summer giveaway that ends in a few hours. It was on very short notice (for me, at least) and very challenging but in the end I managed to create my entry. I'd like to share some thoughts about the experience along with a tutorial for the props I used - 70 doll-sized poppies.

Wrist surgery

I took some extra time to prepare this post because I wanted to turn it into a more global tutorial. I was just about ready when Blogger had this annoying glitch for a couple of days. What was up with that? It drove me crazy! I half prepared another post while saving this one for a time when people could actually see it, but now it's fixed, and I know I kept the suspense long enough. I'm happy to say I got to the bottom of the blackening issue, then made a new wrist replacement, and another one for a different (not broken) doll. I now present you a full tutorial for fixing broken wrists/elbows/knees on any doll that uses the kind of joint seen in the first picture. The beauty of it is that it uses common materials and can be adapted for any size and colour!

28th World Doll Day

Today was the 28th World Doll Day, a holiday started by a doll enthusiast, Mildred Seeley, to celebrate our hobby. I found out about this not long ago thanks to Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter's post. She included Mildred's letter to her friends where she described how she wanted this day to be (go read it!). I'm happy that we get our own holiday, but I was caught very unprepared this year. I have nothing to give, not even words of wisdom a tutorial. The best I can do is raise awareness about the fact that yes, there is a day for us collectors. I'll shut up now and leave you with a bunch of more or less artistic (read: edited) photos of my doll shelves. Enjoy!