Barbie's Halloween Party 2021

Barbie decided the groovy greens and purples of the original doll house livingroom would be perfect for a Halloween party! So we had one before I did any permanent wall papering. It was a busy night with guests floating in and flying out...

Bones provided the music.

An accomplished musician in a past life...

Rumor has it he (oh yes, I'm gonna say it) played his fingers to the bones:@)

Costumes were welcome, some dressed up more than others...

The bat people were well represented...

And there were a couple hippies from the 1960's-70's...

Peace, love, rock and roll!

A cute flapper outfit from the roaring 20's.

She even brought her saxophone to accompany Bones for a few soulful tunes...

And every party needs some food...

Barbie's Halloween tiered tray of snacks, (tutorial here):

Two little gremlins are hoping nobody sees them hiding under the table past bed time... 

One curious about what the grown-ups are doing, the other hoping someone drops some food.

The party went on long into the witching hours of the night,

when camera flashes were needed for pictures😈

After a while the snack table was pushed to the side for some dancing.

This time of year you have to be careful,

is he bending in to kiss her cheek... 

Or to bite her neck!

And of course there's always time for a little doll gossip...

Is Bones trying to hold Barbie's hand? ~Are they dating??~ Where's Ken???

Only the ssssnake knows for sure😉

Previous Barbie Halloween fun... Trunk or Treating here.

🎃We wish everyone a little spooky fun this Halloween season:@)

From our house to yours, have a happy day!

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How to Make a Fitted Tablecloth for Barbie (or any doll)

While I am truly pleased with my Barbie picnic table for pictures, I'm less enthusiastic that Mattel chose to make it... pink. Oh how I wish it was a nice wood-tone brown. And even thought I do try to stage props for pics, I'm also not too fond of the little indents they are putting in doll furniture. Flipping through the LTD Commodities sale ad one day I saw some fitted seasonal tablecloths and thought that would be an easy fix:@) Also like that they could be for any season or occasion by using different fabrics. The tablecloths would work great for kitchen or dining room tables too. 

This is a quick project that works for any scale, in case your girl is into 18" dolls.

It would be easy to make some bench covers using the same technique (note to self:@)

What I did:

1. Lay the table upside down on your fabric and cut about 2" out from the edges of the table.
2. Use a piece of stretchy elastic/string/thin cording. Mine came wrapped around Christmas candy and was just about as long as the circumference of the table.
3. Starting at the center of one side, fold fabric over the elastic a generous 1/4" and start hand sewing all the way around the fabric. Keep pushing the elastic up inside of the hem you are creating and don't lose both ends of the elastic.
4. When you go all the way around, pull both ends of the elastic to scrunch the tablecloth together, creating the underside.
5. Test it on the table. Once it fits securely and can easily be put on and removed, tie a knot in the elastic.
6. Trim excess elastic, tuck loose ends under the hem and finish sewing the hem closed.
7. Cover table, cut the watermelon, and grill up some burgers and hotdogs😎

My inspiration from LTD Commodities:

We hope everyone enjoys this last holiday weekend of summer!

🌼Make something just for fun and have a happy day🍉

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At the stores: Barbie 1:6 Scale Halloween Print Fabric

Popping in with a quick post to say I found some really fun Halloween fabric at both Walmart and Dollar Tree over the weekend. This first grouping shows fat quarters at Dollar Tree, the candy corn and black dots are closest to 1:6 scale and will work for Barbie clothes. But it's all great for colorful holiday crafting or backgrounds for pictures:@)

Walmart had both fat quarters and some pre-cut yards of fabric. 

I picked up the orange and black splotches last year.

But my absolute favorite is the ~perfect~ to scale calico print with flowers, spiders and bats-love it🎃

Sophisticated and spooky... 

It has Barbie written all over it!

They had a complete holiday end cap of fabric.

Fall, Halloween and Christmas. 

Unfortunately, the only true 1:6 scale prints are the few shown above,

everything else was too big.

Grab it when you see it and have a happy day😎

Barbie Halloween Tiered Tray DIY -Pill Bottle Caps and Beads

I love tiered trays and thought it would be fun to make a Halloween one for Barbie:@) My inspiration was some old plastic pill bottles I was given to craft with, and thought the flat tops with the raised words ~CAUTION Not Child Resistant~ were a perfect play on words to hold candy and treats... My base and risers are simply wooden beads from the craft stash. And embellishments could be anything you have, I used pom-pom ribbon and rick-rack trim. 

What I did:

1. Colored the raised letters with a black Sharpie, let that dry.
2. Super glued my base bead to the underside of the lower plate.
3. Super glued bead to underside of upper plate. I decided I wanted a little more surface area to hold the top plate onto the bottom one, so I glued a small wooden disc to the bottom of that bead, Aleen's Turbo Tacky Glue worked well.
4. These caps had a small tab to help open them, I cut that off as best I could to keep the sides flat and round.
5. Glued sewing trim around the edges of the plates, let that dry. You could use washi tape, glitter, ribbon, stickers. anything...
6. Glue upper plate to bottom plate. I ended up using Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue, it was neater than hot glue.
7. At this point you have the serving tray😎...
8. Further embellishments? Stickers, glue on mini spiders, maybe add a third tier, the options are limitless.

A close-up:

Is your Barbie having a Halloween party this year?

Here's another fun idea, skeleton serving utensils from a Dollar Tree skeleton.

We do acknowledge it might be a little early for Halloween...

But we believe in running with craft inspiration any time it strikes!

Also, Barbie says party planning takes time😉

🎃Make something just for fun and have a happy day!

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Gift Alert! Barbie Fashion Greeting Cards Christmas/Birthday/You're Special, etc.

I have to be honest folks... I ♥love♥ these cards! How special for a girl to receive a little extra gift from Grandmom in the mail (or Grandpop, a favorite aunt/uncle, Godmother, neighbor, you get the idea)... We all love surprises, well, a brand new Barbie outfit comes with these vintage/retro greeting cards. From what I read, Mattel marketed these in the mid 1990's and mine says 1995. Between Etsy and Ebay I've seen them for birthdays, Easter, Valentine's Day, Christmas and even an any-day "you're special". As with everything, prices vary, so you might want to pour a cuppa, get comfortable, and do a little internet searching. But if your girl is into Barbie, I'm sure you'll be a rock star by sending her one of these greeting cards:@)

Mine came completely factory sealed in a plastic cover and looked even better in person!

The card part is the small flap with snowflakes and there's a space that says:

Love, Barbie and ___________.

The dress is held onto the card with thread in three spots that is easily cut and discarded.

How the card looks once the dress is removed:

And of course Barbie wanted to model it for us...

Tip: Only want to pay for shipping/postage once? 

Communicate with the shop owner and ask them to sign the card for you 

and mail it directly to the recipient instead of you.

Best search words = Barbie Fashion Greeting Cards

*A word of caution* 

Etsy search may pull up some adult only listings... Ebay is pretty tame.

I did try to find one shop to share that had many to choose from, no luck so far.

Oh, and the dress does come with an authentic Barbie label too😎

The holidays are coming folks... 

Just sayin😉

~Have a happy day!

Barbie Reusable Grocery Bag from Recycled Produce Bag

Barbie tries to cut back on waste as much as possible and loves her new reusable grocery bags! They are made from the mesh bags that sometimes come wrapped around produce. I've seen them holding oranges, lemons, cantaloupe, garlic and onions, just to mention a few things. The open holes make it a great beach bag too. Or with everything clearly visible it could be a stadium bag for sporting events. And this one is kinda Eagles green:@) This project only takes a few minutes to complete, and it surprisingly holds quite a bit of stuff. Simply make it bigger or smaller by changing the length you cut it.

Barbie says she loves shopping but prefers that it be for clothes😉

How to make a three seam elastic waist skirt here.

Please stop by Happier Than A Pig In Mud for the instructions here.

♻Let's recycle creatively and have a happy day😊

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Chelsea (Barbie) Tiki Hut Playset Makeover into Doll Tiki Bar

As soon as I saw the Chelsea tiki hut playset I had a feeling it could look a little more grown-up and like a tiki bar with just a few extra touches. What I loved about it the most was the brown wood and tan thatched roof, a great starting point. Not as thrilled about the hot pink countertop, but I ran with it saying to myself "it's a tropical vacation look"... Not huge, but not a bad size at almost 6" across the front and almost 11" tall at the peak. Is it to scale for Barbie and Ken? No. Could I make it work for pics if they were sitting in low chairs? Yes. But I decided some risers would be best, that way a doll could stand, one could sit and one could be behind the bar. 

Wooden blocks that were glued together act as risers and add some height (could still use a bit more...).

A Dollar Tree hula skirt was perfect for the thatched roof and front of the bar.

Battery operated LED wire lights (Christmas clearance) create some party ambience. 

I wrapped them around a knitting needle to create a coil and laid them across the top, 

that way they can be removed and used for other scenes and seasons as needed.

Flamingo and coconut drink are figural erasers from Five Below.

Blender and hanging lantern are Christmas ornaments.

Ocean view is a calendar page.

What I started with:

The Playset Extras: 

The hanging chair is cute but the idea is for it to hang behind the counter... Would have been better with a hook off to the side of the hut as extra seating. I may use the chair for ~something~ down the road (maybe in the game room/fan cave). 

Also has a palm frond ceiling fan-love that idea, but it's hot pink? I also wanted to use bigger dolls, there's no room for the fan anyway. 

And the hammock and sandbox are cool (Chelsea size), I added them to my box of outdoor items to use as inspiration strikes me.

A peek behind the scene...

As you can see, there are limitations to what I can do with this sort of set-up...

Could only get one doll seated in front because my ocean pic is only about 12" wide:

But even relaxing alone...

Barbie says yes, doll life is good😎

Whether the tiki bar of your dreams is on an island paradise, 

at the shore, lake front, or in your own backyard...

We wish you a cool place to hang out for these last few weeks of summer😉

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Paper Birthday Hat for Barbie -Free Pattern

This birthday hat is a cute idea for your girl's birthday, maybe surprise her with her Barbie (or a new doll) wearing it. Or how about having a hat at each place setting, one for the girl, a little one for her doll... It's also a great craft for a party where the guests are bringing their dolls. Always nice to have a project planned that keeps the kids busy for a while:@) I'm especially fond of the idea of drawing the hats on construction paper (ahead of time) and letting the girls color and decorate them for their dolls. Crayons, Sharpies, stickers, glitter, pom-poms, fabric ruffles, sequin trim, anything goes! 

What I did:

Cut one from pattern. I used wrapping paper, I suggest something a little thicker.

Color hat or add stickers if desired.

Wrap hat into a cone shape, 

overlap the bottom of the hat about 1/2" and make sure you wrap it closed to a point at the top.

Glue the hat closed.

I then glued the tinsel pipe cleaner onto the bottom and pom-pom on top, 

(you can trim the point off for pom-pom).

Dipped the tip of my finger in white craft glue to create the glitter dots.

Let dry while having a piece of cake😊

And Barbie says it wouldn't be a party without ice cream🍨

How to make a top from a balloon here.

My inspiration from Dollar Tree:

Make something just for fun and have a happy day😎

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Summer Barbie: Posies and Pink

A small patch of weeds flowers started growing in the yard and I mowed around them for two weeks. Thought they might be a good size for a little Barbie fun:@) I wired some together into a wreath and decided to use my Fashionista Curvy Barbie with the bubble gum pink hair as a model. She was pleased to oblige...

It's been a while since she's been on the blog...

I just love the pretty color of her hair and fantastic curls.

The pics feel rather Flower Child 1960-70's to me...

Kinda groovy😊

Update:

They are putting out Halloween at my thrift store...

Ha!!!

🌼We wish you peace, love, and a pretty summer weekend☮

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