Update on Doll Room-September 2019

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Hello there, Doll lovers!

Sorry I have been so AWOL. 

I'm finally down in the doll room for a bit of time the end of August. I've been gone long enough, so long I need to remember where everything is. Sigh---I lost all of Spring and most of Summer. So, I'll just have to try and catch up. 

Stairs are an issue, with three times my max...in a day.

I've been an opportunistic collector---I seldom buy new dolls, unless it's something I need (articulated bodies) or an incredible deal to add to my HFIM family. I've been fortunate to win several dolls online groups and at my Windy City Collectors BDC group.

Doll I won at our WCDCollectors Party

My plan this year was to diversify my doll 'family' to more reflect the community (Chicago) where they live. I live way out in the burbs...which is a bit boring.

I really appreciate the effort Mattel has made in the last few years to diversify their dolls and make every child able to find a doll which reflects what they see their own mirror. The career dolls for the 60th anniversary have been interesting, but I have managed to pass on them.

NOW, if we could only get Mattel to do a few 'Aged' ones for us old farts...that would be great!

Speaking of which, I plan on aging a few dolls and having them live in a refurbished cottage, a bit of old-fashioned fun. Next year, maybe!Where will I ever put that!

I realize in changing everyone for a swimsuit series, that I need to find a better way to store my dolls' clothes.

Swimsuit Post

 I seldom buy new, but I pick up 'lots' or 'bags' of used/vintage clothes. These deals seem to be farther apart now. Three and four years ago I was coming home with bags of clothes, and dolls were being sold nude in thrift stores. NOW, the thrift stores are being lazy and not undressing them, bundling dolls in bags of 3-4, so fewer clothing deals are available. 

Here's the girls I still need to assign names, switch bodies, or find homes. Such a dilemma. They were all skipped in the swimsuit shoot.

The boys---are half GI Joes and half Mattel Kens. I have a few Kens in baskets with molded hair, which I really don't like.  They have such thick legs which are sticky. Well, the Kens are less varied and until they make articulated Kens worth buying, I probably won't buy any. 

Emily on the left, I finally stripped from her sewed on outfit (She's the Greyhound Girl). and she has that really small waist, so dressing her isn't easy to go with her personae. When I have my knee replacement in October, the plan is to have a whole bunch of clothes machine sewn, and then do the handwork while I'm recovering.

The doll in the middle (1992 50's Barbie poodle skirt Repro) 

has the disintegrating legs occurring on dolls in the late 80's and early 90's. She had been boxed since the early 90's and was very bad--the oils leached from the plastic all through her socks and underwear, luckily the skirt was fine.  I'm trying to find an articulated match for her, reasonable. I think I will name her Sandy (from Grease).

I won this doll as a prize giveaway. I've named her Babs. She is a 1995 Reproduction of a 1962 Titian. I love her bangs and the soft no.2 face. She has really red lipstick and attached Pearl earrings which is nice. Her hair needs a bit of a recurl on the bottom, which shouldn't be an issue. 

I'm calling this sweet girl, 'Faizah'. Not sure of her story yet, she is a standard playline and has really silky hair. I'm not sure there is an articulated body out there for her, but maybe sometime in the future. I may retouch some highlights on her face, because with normal light source, she is hard to photograph. I had to use a direct spotlight to get her to show up+the huge overhead LED light system in the craft room.

I picked this pretty gal up for the clothes she was wearing, an adorable Tweety Bird shirt and matching drawstring pants which are in the wash. I've named her Kennedy. Her hair is a bit of a fright, so I'm planning on a shoulder length perm...we will see. she has very pretty green eyes, and that courageous lipstick.

I've named this tiny girl, Nour. She has gray eyes and already has had a haircut, which I just evened out. I haven't tracked her down yet, but she has a petite body or teen Stacie body. I don't know if she started out that way, or has been switched. She will join the teen crew as an exchange student from somewhere exotic.

I want to add this American Indian girl to the HFIM storyline. Her braid was still intact. I'm having a hard time naming her. I found her for $1.00...in a tee-shirt and icky shorts.

She's a 1995 American Indian Barbie. The small baby is 'Blue Feather', her cousin which she cares for. Photo from pinterest, untraceable.

I got very excited to find this small book online(Amazon)sold with all the pages shown---thinking she would be named in it. However, she is only referred to as American Indian Barbie. The photos show painted tee-pee's and designs on her costume as beadwork, typical of the Northern Plains tribes, many of which came from the moved Midwest:Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan tribes. When I figure out her background and story, I'll do a post on it.

Another doll, I haven't dealt with is this Katniss Doll from 'Catching Fire'. She will be Kat or Jennifer---and I'll see what I have after she is removed from the box and de-costumed. I know she is articulated, and has thick hair. I really like her realistic body, I'm hoping she doesn't have flat feet! (Sindy--my chef, is the same face mold, and her hair is a disaster...so we will see if they are related or not?)

Last, I have this exotic girl from the Jazz Baby series. She has three wigs, and the skinniest body and is fully articulated. Totally exotic and a very strong personality--she will need a specially 'designed' wardrobe(home sewn)

So far, 'Diva', her stage name, will have a great backstory and reside in the largest apartment in the hotel. 

Speaking of the hotel, we left the Hotel Project waiting for the exterior window to go behind the stained glass. All the doll story original plans for the Hotel, had to be scrapped and redone---after finding this window intact from 1892 behind a wall.

This was the twist on the story---but then I blew out my knee in early May...and I haven't been able to get back to the project!

Tutorial post Here. 

I am going down into the doll room today and try to wrangle the Hotel, and get it ready to paint, so I can move forward

Way back in February we were at this stage

Link: Grand Hotel Floors and Walls 

Apartment 1

Apartment 2

Foyer on the first floor

I've seen front doors available, but I'm not willing to pay the price, 

so I will be making some.

The new tiles had been installed on the first floor.

I need to get everything painted soon, while the weather is reasonable. Which means taping off all those windows! I'm planning on gray/white on the outside and all white on the inside, keeping the windows, blue. We will see. 

The Beauty Salon, Foyer, and Bakery/Coffee Shop need to be finalized and I'll install lighting on the ground floor and the finished two apartments upstairs. later, I'll add the adjacent kitchen, 

The Hotel (in my head) will have six floors. LOL. (There will be other residents coming from fictitious 'other' apartments which will be out-of-sight. With lots of tenants, the story possibilities will provide many photo ops. 

Side and back walls, will be removable for photos. I will definitely do a post on that.

How are your doll stories, 

dioramas, and dolls doing?

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barbieoldnewgreenredo

Barbie Craft Room part 3

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Okay, it's been a little over a month---and both of us having the flu for over two weeks---to get this far. Post Three, but maybe---5 weeks or so.

Entering the NEW craftroom, on the right we have standards up, some electrical showing. We chose this light colored wood paneling, with pegboard for most of the room.

This wall continues for 16 feet---my goodness, my first impulse is to counter this whole wall. But, we are holding off until I decide what I really need the space for. The plan is to have all moveable pieces on locking wheels. So I can configure the room in multiple ways. 

Down at the west end is the 10' wall where a sink will be---plumbing is already there. We will be using an ejector pump to get the waste water to go UP and out. Our sewer pipe is really only a few feet below outside ground level. Originally, in the clay shop we we ran a pipe sixty-feet into the sump pump well. We aren't allowed to do that anymore. 

It's a good idea to follow codes---a GREEN thing to do.

This niche corner is all paneling. I think it may be a great location for Vickie's Vintage 

or a photo area, for closeups.

The two sides facing out of the room. are also all paneling with heavy duty standards for shelving. 

My OLD geniuses, hubby and friend checking out the heavy duty standards for NEW storage shelving. Their week's plan: flooring and preliminary plumbing. 

I will keep organizing and take some photos of vintage for my Etsy shop.

The new standards hung in the shipping room wall. 

I removed the huge plastic shelving in here. I had become a 'packaging hoarder'! 

Here is the scaled down version of boxes and packaging.

Now under control---my packaging shelf is now by the desk. I downsized everything...but still hoard small boxes, the work horses for shipping online. My GREEN thing is trying to reuse bags, boxes and clean paper. I'm careful to save any packing envelopes and reuse them. 

In this day and age, we all need to reuse or recycle mailing refuse.

My work shipping station is almost clear. There are still two jewelry boxes that will be put in the craft room for a REDO.  My goofy OLD vintage lamp---which just makes me smile--has been rewired. I will probably use that in a corner of the craft room, for mood when overhead lights are off.  I'm anxious to use some of my own 'collection' pieces in there for decor.

The shipping room wall is a work in progress. 

Sometimes you have to live with a space for awhile, before deciding on a final configuration.

 I have another wrapping station to hang at the other end. 

Miscommunication---between 'Mars' and 'Venus' led to hubby 

hanging the big standards all the way across. 

The space underneath the shelves will be for only the bins I am working on. 

Plan for this week:

New floor in the craft room. 

Electrical. 

Look at lighting---I'm happy with what is there, 'Mars' isn't. 

Work on at least two bins for listing in my Etsy Shop. 

HOW are YOUR projects going!

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts, or any products shown or where I shop.

Please do not use my photographs without my written permission--Thank you for your cooperation. 

 Sandi Magle

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Sandi

Barbie needs a new Craft Room

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Okay, I have been having issues posting this month. This is why. I made some great vintage doll purchases, but I have this mess in the Barbie/extra bedroom right now.

I've been banished from the kitchen table, except for sewing. So, we are working on a craft room in the basement.

The HFIM house is in pretty good shape---but the rest is a disaster. I can't find anything despite things being in Vickie's Vintage and sorted in bins. 

There just isn't enough room, to store, play, work or photograph. 

This is actually a duplicate post,  from my Somethings:OldNewGreenRedo BLOG.

thought you might want to see what we have been doing.

Here is where we left off on the NEW CRAFT ROOM in the basement last week. 

Lots of OLD stuff, tons of mess, and trying to work around it. 

oldnewgreenredo

Good news! I sold my wheel a GREEN thing to do and all my ceramics magazines, tools and a big butcher block counter.
Also sold a kiln, that would have been a real hassle to recycle.

The other kiln and miscellaneous has been moved out. 

It's in NEW condition for sale,---we are also hoping to find buyers for 

100+ ceramic molds, anyone interested in Chicago area or surrounding states, mail me.

oldnewgreenredo

My Etsy shop is open again. This is the now scrambled shipping room. We are going to REDO some organizational things in here. I use a lot of GREEN-RECYCLED materials for shipping, but storing it had reached unmanageable proportions. 

I also photograph my OLD vintage items and craft items in here for listing. My bins of stock under the bench are currently inventoried and organized. That was a big project this week. I donated a bin worth of small unsold goodies to charity thrift stores, another GREEN thing.

Where I am standing, I turn around and below is what will be the NEW craft room. 

oldnewgreenredo

The ugly 1980's paneling had been chosen because it was the color of the clay and really cheap. lol. We are going right over the top of it, with a nice light barn-board paneling. The below hole will be an open doorway after removing three cement blocks.  On the other side is another huge 'craft workshop' storage room, stuffed with STUFF. 

oldnewgreenredo

It's organized over there, but very tight for working. I will---donate or sell at least half. Watch for some real bargains in my Etsy stores in the coming months. 

I worked for M'S and HL, so my craft stashes are monumental.

oldnewgreenredo

Back in the NEW craft room. 

The outside walls are waterproofed, insulated with 2"thick foam board, and studded. 

I can't believe how warm it is down here, now. 

It will be really cozy. I can't wait to have crafting parties in this space.

These two walls will be white pegboard on top and paneling on the bottom with chair rail. A long counter will run across the right wall. The left wall will have storage--we are talking about barn doors sliding there. The ceiling may stay undone for quite awhile as we have some first floor bathroom fixtures to REDO sometime in the future. All the water pipes and heat ducting run through this room. 

 The NEW subfloor is 2'x2' Dri-Core (name brand) panels. On the bottom side is a thick plastic grid for moisture proofing, the top is thick plywood. These inter-lock and provide a solid base for new flooring on irregular concrete surfaces. We use vinyl plank on top---which we love and have in most of the house.

 Hubby's goal this week is to get all the paneling and pegboard up, the trim and start the electrical.

My goal, is to reorganize the shipping room. To go through more bins and purge excess or photograph and list it. 

The Grand will be here again the end of next week, and the Barbie room upstairs and family room are a disaster. It's always "Fruit Basket UPSET" in your home, when you do Old-New-Green-Redo....anything!

How are your projects coming? 

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions,

 posts, or any products shown, or anywhere I shop.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Sharing at these Ad Free blog parties-with ads not in the middle of the blog (I'm going to try and see if this is possible)

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi