My Story of Barbie Collecting - how it started and where it is now

 Barbie collecting for me has had several rounds. (Seems like that is the case for many of the collections that I still have...) The first round of Barbie collecting began for me way back in 1999. It started one day while browsing in KB Toys - why I was in there, I really do not recall. But they had one of those specials which they would offer when they needed to clear out a bunch of stock. It was spend X amount and get a Ballerina Barbie for $1. The first Barbie I got was the beautiful Marzipan Nutcracker Barbie. Oh, was I ever enamored with her! And hooked on Barbie. I waited for sales as money was very tight in those days, and with time I snagged Swan Lake Barbie (another bargain doll) Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. I opened them all, but kept them stored in their boxes, only to take them out to admire them, and then back they went into their boxes and into my closet. A few more dolls joined the family. I remember Butterfly Tattoo Barbie and Kira. I don't recall the exact timeline, but for whatever reason, I didn't end up keeping the dolls. Perhaps that decision came when preparing for an upcoming move, I don't really remember. To this day I do miss Snow White and Marzipan Barbie. I've never replaced them.

Phase 2 of Barbie collecting came in 2002/03. I got a couple of dolls at K-Mart, and then more came on eBay. I didn't have many at this point, and the only ones I can really remember were Western Stamping Tara Lynn, and one of the 90's Beach Kens, who was my absolute favorite doll that I owned. I know I had others. This collection was sold when I branched out to collecting other things, such as G3, and then G1 MLP and American Girl dolls. I didn't look at Barbie again until.....

Phase 3 started in probably 2019. (These last few years have been a blur, and sometimes I can't remember what happened in which year. I know many of us can relate to that disconnected feeling when we look at 2019 onward.) I found this stunning birthstone Barbie Topaz, NIB at a Flea Market. I really wanted her, but I thought to myself "Self, you already collect enough stuff. Do you really want to try Barbie again?" I decided that the answer was "No" and left the market, only to turn around, go back and buy the doll. I did open her (her box wasn't super, and I am simply not a NIB collector) and then just had her tucked away in a container to occasionally get out and admire. About a year or so later, I found a fantastic deal on facebook MP where someone was selling holiday barbies for a great deal. I got 2 different rounds from her and was over the moon. One was Millenial Barbie, others were 2002, 2005 holiday Barbie, and so forth. I did open them and kept them in a container. Next I found repro Totally hair Barbie at Ollie's and a Caboodles Barbie from someone close to where I live,. And then came the real fun. I started finding cheap - usually nude and in need of cleaning up - 80's and 90's barbies at Flea Markets. This was the ultimate. Unfortunatley, I no longer have those dolls and its a regret that I have to just get over.

Here's the story behind that. To sum it up quickly, I had been living in a very stressful situation, halfway in boxes, with much of my stuff in town in a storage building. Things would get hauled back and forth when it had been too long since I had seen it. After so long, that gets extremely old and endlessly depressing. Sometimes you don't make the best choices in those situations. We were cleaning up and organizing the building to prepare for the upcoming move, and I was tired and worn out with it all, and basically just bagged up a lot of my stuff and simply donated it. Most of what I donated I really have no regret. But boy, I wish I hadn't tossed all my Barbies!! I'm just incredibly relieved that for some weird reason, I saved all their shoes and also kept the pack  of 40 pairs of shoes I got at a Flea Market. 

And now here we are in Phase 4. I really missed my Barbies, so I decided it was time to revisit some old friends. These dolls might have been new to me dolls, but Barbie herself is an old friend. First I got Earring Magic Barbie. I did buy her NIB and trust me, I felt incredibly guilty for opening her. But she also had her bag of shoes loose across her face, so she wouldn't have been ideal for NIB collectors. Then I found Earring Magic Ken for a very good price. And then came Paint and Dazzle Barbie who I got for so cheap, I was shocked. I found a Nude Caboodles Barbie and won her. (I still had her Caboodles case and shoes from my previous one.) My intent was to stick with those for awhile and then eventually add maybe one or two other dolls. And you know just how those plans go! I started thrifting again and while I still mourn for some of my past dolls, I have been able to find some wonderful treasures. I got a repro Barbie (nude, with her bangs not so perfectly removed, but not a problem) for Christmas, and I have since been going strong with the hunt! 

What I find amusing about looking back at what was important to me in each of these phases and where I am now. Phase 1 and Phase 3 (in the beginning) was all about the holiday or collectors Barbies. Phase 2 and my present self, it's all about the playline dolls. I started out only thinking about the early to mid 90's dolls,  and then I got interested in the 80s, then the 70s and now I have 60s dolls on my Dream List. One of my recent finds was an early 80s Ken that I  in previous phases would never have bought. I sure do love him now though!

I have no intention of ever parting with my collection again. I feel pretty confident in that assessment since I am finally in a far less stressful, much more secure phase in my life. I know we can never predict these things, and while I expect my collection to have adjustments periods, I intend to keep Barbie as a very close friend. 

Vintage Ginny has come to town

 I seem to have been on a vintage doll kick. Over the past couple of months I have found while thrifting at either the Flea Market or Goodwill Lesney Ginny (AKA Skinny Ginny,) 1971 Malibu Barbie, Tuesday Taylor, Madame Alexander Little Red Riding Hood, and finally, Ideal Doll Tammy. Malibu Barbie has shoes that she can wear and my little MA came with her shoes. None of the other dolls mentioned above came with shoes. I figured that I could just slowly gather up shoes for them. I found an auction of 4 pairs of shoes for my Skinny Ginny and won them for cheap. It was while I was looking for shoes for her that I really got to looking at the earlier versions of Ginny.

And that was when I found the most adorable little Ginny doll that had a starting bid of $5.00. In the listing, the seller described her as having such terrible hair that she almost threw her away! Thankfully she did not. I figured I could handle bad hair and the next day, I won my very first 50's Ginny for a whopping $8. 

I was so excited for her to get here, and the seller shipped her at a reasonable time. She arrived yesterday! I was a little horrified to see that she was simply wrapped in bubble wrap and put in a thin shipping envelop, but she was fine. Upon examining her, yeah, her hair is pretty much shot. I'm assuming her hair is mohair as it feels more like mohair than some of the other materials mentioned that they used on early Ginny's. It was tangled, balding and yeah. Pretty bad. It didn't deter though from how absolutely beautiful and magical this little dolly was! Her eyes were shut upon opening her, but I was able to very gently move the lids up. Her body is practically perfect. No real major stains or blemishes. No cracks or splits. Her walking mechanism works flawlessly. To say that I am madly in love with this dolly is an understatement!!

Now, for her hair. Her hair was meant to be in braided pigtails. You aren't supposed to saturate mohair with water as it is glued on, and you don't want to soften the glue and have the hair fall off. I also read that you aren't supposed to brush mohair, but this mop of a disaster desperately needed detangling, so I very carefully combed through it to get the knots out. I did get it damp and conditioned it, but not on her actual scalp. Maybe that was inviting danger, but it just needed a little cleaning. It didn't cause her hair any more hurt than she had already suffered, thankfully. Now, the bald spots are not possible to hide, but I did my best. I tried to comb it into place to cover up as much as I could, and then I braided her hair. Her bangs are pretty thread bare. My solution was to dampen a comb and then comb what little bit of bangs that remain to cover as much of her forehead as possible, and then I secured that with a paper towel and plastic wrap to hold it into place. It worked pretty well, and while her age and wear hasn't been fixed, it's so much better than it was. I think she looks pretty darn good for a gal her age!

I'm really enjoying gathering as much info as I can on these dollies. Here is what I have learned thus far from other collectors. My Ginny has the painted lashes and is a straight leg walker. This doll was only made in 1954. She also has GINNY on her back. Dolls with painted lashes who are strung (non walkers) are earlier - I think 1952/3, and have VOGUE on their backs. After 1954, the painted lashes were replaced with the molded lashes, and the walkers became bent knee walkers. I'm thinking the bent knee walkers are more like 1957. I'm still learning! I can see the appeal of the bent knee walkers. The knee joint must allow them to sit, as I see that the straight leg walkers are permanent standers. 

With my collection - yes, I am definitely planning on expanding my collection eventually, ha ha - I want to focus on the dolls with painted lashes. I've been looking for a friend for my Ginny, hoping to find another steal. We'll see how that goes! A couple have caught my eye. 2 on my watch page are the 1954 dolls, and one is from earlier. Fingers crossed I can find a friend for a good price for my Ginny!

Awesome Market Finds - some of my BEST yet!

I started this post on April 7th, but I just got around to finishing it today. 

We ended up going to the Flea Market today as 2 of my party had a craving for DQ, and the only really good one (out of the 3 we have here) just happens to be by the Flea Market. And so 2 of us decided to take a quick walk around and see if anything jumped out at us. I keep hoping that the Dollhouse booth there will restock some more furniture kits, and before today, she hadn't.

I always like to approach the Flea Market the same way - start all the way to the right and make our way up and down each row. I know where the good spots are, but if you only go there, you might miss out on a randomly placed treasure. 

 I was surprised that we came across a dollhouse in the furthest side of the Market that was really cute. But with a price tag of $125, it just wasn't worth it to me. It wasn't in bad shape, but the inside had wallpaper, carpet, etc. etc. and would have all had to be redone any ways. I found a Moxy girl for a family member who has started collecting them (and her hair was an utter disaster! I'll post before and after pics of her hair repair later.) I was so excited to stumble across 2 of those big 24" craft cows made in the 90's by Wang International. I know, it's an odd thing to love so much, but I have dearly missed my beloved Sorcerer Moo since I regrettably sold him off many years ago. These cows were in dreadful shape. And I mean dreadful! Covered in layers of dirt and grime, with discoloring on the hooves and mildew stains all over the muslin body. The price was a little higher than it needed to be, but I wasn't leaving the Market without him. I picked out the one I deemed in better shape (which really wasn't by much, if any) and was feeling so pleased. I have great confidence in the possibility of cleaning anything up.

And finally, as we made a loop towards the end of the Market, there it was. I, of course initially missed it, as my focus was really on spotting Barbie dolls, so luckily my eagle eyed companion saw it. A dollhouse! This one had most certainly seen better days, and whoever put the house together didn't exactly do a stellar job. But for a price tag of $20? Oh yeah. It was coming home with me. I actually got so excited I just grabbed it and started to take off towards the check out before I even looked at the inside. 

The house was painted on the outside, and the color palette screams mid 90's. (I later found out it is the Brookefield made by Duracraft in 1992. I have no idea how long the kit was available.)  It smelled really musty, and it started to quite literally fall apart on its journey home. Not that anything was all that securely glued into place to begin with. Trim fell off. The inside wall divider fell out (and somehow ended up in a bag - I truly have no idea how!) And upon closer inspection I noticed that the outside wall is also coming apart. I think it was put together with hot glue. Never a good idea. Hot glue should only be used to hold pieces together while the wood glue dries when not even copious amounts of tape do the trick. (I had to do that with my Orchid. Just put a dab of low temp hot glue on a couple of places, and then peal off carefully when it's job is done.) 

I know they say that if a house has been put together like that, you need to take it apart and re-glue it together with wood glue. I am not doing that. I would most certainly destroy the dollhouse in the process. What I will do is go in there and carefully reinforce the pieces with wood glue. 

I'm now officially out of space for dollhouses, and getting this fella to fit is going to be interesting. But I am so thrilled to have it. I didn't have a house for the 2 little resin dragons that I got specifically for my Orchid - which didn't work out. Dollhouses have a mind of their own, after all. So this one is absolutely perfect for the Dragon lair. The dragons are the perfect scale and the plans I have are going to be epic! Now, if I could just feel like working on any of my many, many plans, I'll be a pleased panda. 

The 4 Horsemen of the Bearpocalypse

Here's a couple of my horses. Lousy shot - I'll try to get a group shot of them later

 If you aren't familiar with the Build a Bear floppy horse (they came out with 3 different types) they can actually be just a little creepy. I didn't like them at first, but then I found one at the Thrift store in Newburg in excellent condition, wearing a dress and boxed up in what had to have been a Valentines special cub box. I almost didn't get it, but something about that face I just wasn't able to resist. So my very first Floppy brown pony (released circa 2003) came home. I was a little hot and cold with it. Part of me was like "Why did I get this?" and the other part of me was like "but he's so cute in an almost disturbing way." 

I found a second one at one of the local Goodwill's. It wasn't in the best shape - nothing too terrible, just thinning mane and was the earlier release from 1999. I debated about getting him, went back and forth for a few weeks, and then finally brought him home. The employee at the check out counter picked him up, looked at him and said "Now that's creepy." And then shook his head. I sure got a laugh out of that! I believe that was when I had the ingenious (if I do say so myself) idea to have.....

The 4 Horseman of the Bearpocalypse! 

It took me awhile, but I was finally able to find 2 more horses at the Goodwill (at least one of those final 2 if not both, the same employee checked them out for me and once again commented on how creepy they were.) I ended up with 2 of the 1999 release and 2 of the 2003 release. It was perfect.

(Just a quick side note - I'm not intending to make them evil or cursed. They don't actually bring any of these things about. They in fact, bring just the opposite! A bear is not feeling well because he played too long out in the snow and got chilled? Enter Pestilence and pretty soon, poor sick little bear is feeling much better. Is there an unresolving conflict, such as a stubborn mess that won't clean up or boxes keep crashing when the bears try to organize the attic? Enter War, and pretty soon, everything is humming in harmony. A bear is hungry and can't find something to satisfy his craving? Famine will fix you right up! And Death is the best as bringing life into anything that is languishing and not flourishing. He is a whiz in the garden. And now back to my original line of thought...) I went back and forth on what to name them, trying to be a little too creative and coming up with nothing that stuck. In the end I decided to just go literal and have Death, War, Famine and Pestilence. 

I ended up getting 4 of the little dark green Christmas frog from a couple of years ago. 1 I got myself originally. 1 I inherited from a family member who didn't bond with their's and then the final 2 I grabbed on clearance. After my most recent BAB down sizing, I was able to start to group the bears that I was keeping into family or buddy groups, and that's when I had the fantastic idea to move these 4 little frogs to being the 4 horsemen's little buddies. It seemed kind of funny that each horse would have a frog - especially being that frogs are associated both with witchcraft and also pestilence. Fitting right?

Naming my 4 tiny frogs had me stumped for a bit as well. Tonight though, I finally figured out what I would call them. They are as follows:

Famine has a frog called Fames - Latin for Famine

Death's frog is called Mors - Latin for Death

Pestilence has a frog called Pestis - Latin for Pest, which I went with instead of Pestilence as  that would have been Pestilencia, which is too long of a name for a little fella. (I'm thinking the scientific name for the Black Plague is Y. Pestis, which is fitting to go with as Plague is a synonym for Pestilence.)

And War's frog is an obvious one - Bellum. (I thought about going with Proelium - which means battle as my frog is so small, and one battle makes up a small part of an entire war. And that was probably overthinking it. Bellum it is.) 

Of course, I had to go with Latin. Why not use the language you spend so much time studying any way, right? 

For their outfits, I plan to make each horse a tunic that is influenced by medieval style. Pestilence will have white, War red, Famine black and Death is pale. What color is pale exactly? I'm thinking a pale sickly green. And I know for a fact that I cannot find anything that resembles what I am picturing. So whatever I can actually find in fabric that doesn't need an explanation that it's the Pale horse is going to be one hell of a challenge. I'll probably just go with a super pale grey. Over their tunics, each horse will wear a vest - not really a vest, but more of a sleeveless doublet that closes in the back. On the front, I intend to paint the horseman's symbol. Bow and arrow for Pestilence, Sword for War, Scales for Famine and nothing at all for Death. 

(In case you are wondering like I did as to why Pestilence has a bow and an arrow, here's a quick explanation. Pestilence is also known, and probably originally known as the Conquerer who brings about Pestilence via battle. I just read that briefly on google. Interesting stuff.)

The little frogs will have a coordinating tiny romper with matching colors and matching symbols. I also thought it would be cute to make at least the horsemen masks that resemble a plague doctor's mask out of white felt. Just another one of my many, many plans!

I'm not sure how many people will see the humor and enjoy my 4 horsemen of the Bearpocalypse as much as I am, but I really, really love it! And I really, really love them. :)

Newest Barbie thrifted finds!

The week of Christmas has finally arrived. Most of the shopping has been done, but there's always that last hurrah to ensure you have everything you need for Christmas dinner. The last thing I honestly wanted to do yesterday was brave the 39 degree weather (I know, I know. It wasn't that bad.) and the pre-holiday crowds and traffic but we all gotta do it. The trip wasn't going to be too terribly demanding - just Wal-Mart, Meijers and Hobby Lobby. Goodwill is right next to Wal-Mart, so I wanted to quickly run in there to see if I could find some little treasure.

The toy aisle there is pretty much 2 rows of toys, and then the stuffed animals have been moved to an idiotic corner where you can't actually find much. Which is better because I am OUT of Build a Bear room! They keep the barbies in one or 2 big plastic totes on the bottom shelf. The last few stops in there have been a bust, but the sight of them overflowing with dolls was promising! Most of the dolls you will find are the recent dolls from the last few years, a great deal of Disney princesses and some knock off sort of dolls. Yesterday, however, I unearthed some goodies. :D First I found the 1997 brunette Christmas barbie. She had her crown and jewelry and seemed to be in pretty good shape, even though she had some spots on her face that I was doubtful as to whether or not they would come off. I've always preferred the blonde version, but seeing her then, I had to have her. 

Next, I spied the Tropical Splash Barbie from 1994. Her earrings were broken off and her hair was messy but other than that, she was in good shape! Next I unearthed a Pearl Beach Barbie with a broken neck. Her head was shoved down low on the neck, which is always quite a sight to see. I knew I could switch the bodies if I could find a suitable replacement. I have a serious weakness for the 80s/90s (especially the 90s) beach barbies, so when I find them, I have to grab them. Her hair was a fright - ratty and tangled, but her face was clean and she still had her earrings. I set her on my growing pile of To-Get dolls and went back to searching through the containers. Lo and behold, there was a second Tropical Splash barbie! Perfect match. Finally, I found a Scarlett O'Hara doll in the burgundy dress. My final find for the day was an unexpected non Barbie find - an early release brunette Bitty Baby, for a whopping $1.79! Yay!

The rest of the trip went as expected. Busy aisles, annoying traffic. But we got pretty much everything we came for. Gifts were completed, food and necessities acquired. Well, except for the over bags. Darn it all, I finally found some and didn't bother to notice that they were only for 8 lb turkeys. 8 lbs is not going to suffice for our 19 pound turkey. It was all Wal-Mart had, but if I had just paid attention, I could have gotten the right size in Meijers. It's always something though, right? :)

I was really excited to get my dolls cleaned up, so after dinner I got out the kitchen Lysol and Magic Eraser and wiped my dolls down. This is a winning combination. Just spray the dry sponge with Lysol - it is second to none for removing grease, grime and surface stains. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely remove the 2 small stains on my brunette Barbie's face, but it's okay. They aren't bad. I was really nervous to remove the second Tropical Splash barbie's head to do the head swap. I heated the head up with a blow dryer and with much trepidation, went through the process. What I discovered was that there is a time to be careful and then a time to just pull hard. Otherwise, you can run the risk of splitting the neck or breaking the ball joint. The head swap went well. After that, I decided to take off my other Tropical Barbie's head so I could take the broken earrings out. With both dolls put back together, it was time for the hair treatments!

First, I washed them with shampoo and then slathered on a good amount of condition. And then, I combed. My first project was the Pearl Beach barbie. It took some time to carefully comb it all and untangle the tightly coiled hair from around her earrings. Once I felt pretty good about my initial comb through, I got out my flat iron. The lowest setting on mine is 100 C and it is perfect for doll and pony hair. It took me awhile to get through her whole head, going 1/4" wide and very thin sections at a time. But once I was done, wow! She looks almost as good as new!

My Tropical Splash Barbie's hair was okay, but I figured I would go ahead and use the flat iron to tame any remaining frizzies. I haven't decided yet whether I want to put her hair back in its original style, or curl it. 

My Christmas Barbie's hair was such a horrible rats nest I thought I would have to use the flat iron on it. Surprisingly though after several reapplications of conditioner and lots of vigorous combing (I really couldn't be gentle - it was that bad) it seems like it'll be okay without the flat iron. Which is better, as I hated to lose the original curl (which is now more like a gentle wave) and I don't quite feel confident with curlers as I know I will be with more practice.

Right now, all 3 dolls are waiting for their hair to dry before they can meet the other dolls in my tiny collection. I set Scarlett aside for another day's spa, as her hair is going to take a different approach to clean up. 

Sorting the Rainbow Highs - where are the missing ones??

Desperately needing a break from the Critter sorting, I was determined that today would be the day that I would find the Rainbow High clothes and accessories. I knew they were out in the storage building *in some box.* That's all I knew. Last time I was in the building, it wasn't all too happy and threw 2 stacks of boxes on me. The building must have been in a better mood today as I only had a little crashing today. :) It turned out to be most profitable. Not only did I find the RH stuff, I also found my missing G3 ponies!! But there was one small tragedy. Somehow one of the RH Poppy Cheer dolls - this one happened to be my absolute favorite - had gotten separated from all the others. I had kept her out while I was working on a little sewing the last few days before I moved and unfortunately for her, she had then been put into a box of random debris. And then that box of random debris - which included screws that had spilled out of their box -  had a heavier smaller box put on top of that box's contents. As I was stacking the boxes I intended to haul inside onto the ground out of the building, I just happened to glance down see a pair of RH legs sticking out of that debris box. With a sinking feeling I pulled the doll out. She had been face down on screws and those screws had left serious indentions in her face. And her head was squashed! I was pretty upset. Even if my intention was to sell off these dolls, I in no way want them messed up or soiled.

I just left poor Poppy outside in a different box while I went inside and began sorting through the RH clothes and accessories. I unfortunately still have no idea where the stands are. I only have 2 stands ATM, and I know I had stands for everyone. I had wanted to sell the dolls as complete as possible, though it's actually okay to not include stands. And here we find the next tragedy of the day. Dolls have gone missing. Before we moved I had stuck 4 dolls into a container. I cannot find it. I couldn't find it before we moved, and I still cannot find it. I am hoping it shows up, but at this point, it's a total mystery as to where it could have gone! And now, to add to that, we have dolls missing that were recently accounted for. They had been moved into the To Go stack. Now, where are they? Did they mistakenly get put by the side of the road and picked up with the Critter houses? Or did they get mixed up with trash? I really don't know. I am hoping that they show up, but at this point, once again, it's a total mystery. That's about 16 or so dolls - maybe more - just gone. I've been a little sick over it, but what can you do? There's always stuff that disappears in moves. The good thing here is that I wasn't going to keep them any way.

Even with the missing dolls, I had a LOT of stuff to sort through. The pic here looked far better on my phone - it really doesn't show the extent of the pile whatsoever. The dolls had all been separated from their clothing and shoes, and while it wasn't in the state of the Critter stuff, nothing was put together. So I spent quite a few hours sorting the original outfits and their extra outfits that go with each doll, dressing each doll and sealing her and her extra outfit in a gallon storage bag. The extra clothing that no longer has a doll to wear it all has been sorted and bagged up as well. It was honestly a blast. The smell of RH dolls is scrumptious and sitting there surrounded by piles of dolls was fun, even if towards the end it was feeling extremely tedious. 

I have to confess that I did end up keeping some of the dolls. Ha ha, it's what happened the last time that I went through the dolls to sell them. I kept 4 Violets - 2 Cheer, 1 Series 1 and the Jr.; Series 1 Ruby and Jr. Ruby; 2 Cheer Jade and Jr. Jade; Cheryl; Daphne; Margot; Series 1 Poppy, Jr. Poppy and Cheer Poppy. I, of course, had to keep her especially after I maimed her. :'( I got all of them dressed in their original clothing even if I do redress them in my own clothes when I can finally think about sewing doll clothes again. I am so tired of clothesless dolls, there are truly no words.

And now we come to some excellent news! Cheer Poppy ended up having a miraculous recovery. I brought her in to re-inspect the damage and amazingly enough, the smashed head and deep indentions were gone!!! She still has a couple of very light indentions and scrapes, but I'll take it. I'm so relieved that she is okay. I really wish that I had taken a picture of her before she somehow fixed herself - it was truly a sight, I tell you.  I guess being out from under all that weight she just naturally recovered her previous shape. Who'd have thought?

Now I just have to figure out where in the bloody blue blazes I am going to store these dolls. That's one reason I was so encouraged to part ways with them. At least the numbers have been dramatically reduced, so there's that. I'll figure something out!