Amazing Nails Make For Amazing Dolls

     In 2000, Mattel introduced two new friends for Barbie, Lea and Kayla. Usually, they didn't appear in a line together. Lea might be in one line while Kayla would be in another. As far as I'm aware, they only showed up in one line together and that was the Amazing Nails line in 2001 and what a beautiful line this was!
     The set only consisted of four dolls. No extra clothing. No playsets. Just four dolls, but what gorgeous dolls they were! They were so simple, but they were stunning. Joining Barbie, Lea and Kayla was Christie. They each had the belly button body with the ballerina arms. 
      Each doll came with the same outfit and accessories, but in different colors. Surprisingly, Barbie did not wear pink. Kayla wore that color and it looked good on her. They each wore a long dress with cutouts on the sides, most likely to emphasize the belly button waist, a plastic vest, which the fake nails could be placed in, and shoes, which were a new mold. They also came with stampers to put decorations on the nails. That's it. That's all they came with, yet they were so beautiful, it didn't matter. 

Amazing Beautiful Dolls!

     As you can see Barbie is in blue, Christie is in yellow and orange, Lea is in purple and pink and Kayla is in pink and orange. The makeup on these dolls is very simple, which only adds to their beauty. 

Barbie

Christie

Kayla

Lea

     These dolls were definitely made for play and they redress beautifully. For me, these are definitely some of my favorite dolls!

Rain or Shine?

     One of the cutest dolls in my opinion, is the 2000 Rain or Sun line of dolls. I think it's the braids, but the make up looks adorable on them as well! This line consisted of three dolls, Barbie, Teresa and Christie. They came wearing a rain jacket, rain boots, floral print capri pants and tank tops. They also came with a bathing suit bottom, an umbrella, which you could make "rain" with an included squeeze bottle, a backpack which turned into a beach chair that the umbrella could be hooked onto and a "magazine". 
    In the 2000s, Barbie veered away from pink, so she actually was in light blue, while Teresa had purple and blue and Christie wore hot pink and yellow. All three dolls wore braids and they were adorable! They also had the "Belly Button" style of body, which was the smaller bust and larger hips. Their right arms were permanently bent, to hold the umbrella. 
    One of the unfortunate things about late 90s - early 2000s dolls is that their legs start to break down. They get sticky wet beads on them. When I pulled out these dolls to take their pictures, both Barbie and Christie had this. One solution I've come across (although who knows how temporary this is) is to use baby powder on the legs to help control the stickiness. So, I washed away the stickiness and used baby powder on their legs. I've had to do this with other dolls from this era as well. Such a shame.
     Anyways, on to the pictures!

Barbie in her rain gear

Barbie on the beach

Teresa in her rain gear

Teresa on the beach

Christie in her rain gear

Christie on the beach

     As you can see in the picture with Christie, she has baby powder residue on her legs. I'm hoping this will stave off any future leaking, but I have my doubts. I have a feeling this is just a temporary fix and I will either have to find another body for her or just get rid of her altogether. Only time will tell!

A Childhood Dream Realized

     So this post is going to be a little different. It's not about a line of dolls, but about a Barbie playset. Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted the Barbie A Frame Dream House. This doll house was HUGE! It divided into three parts and was just so neat! I never got one though. 
      Fast forward to a couple of years ago. My husband and I were helping out my mother-in-law with some yard work. It was a hot day and we did a lot of work. I noticed she had a Barbie Dream House in her screened in front porch, so my husband asked if we could have it. It was incomplete, pieces were broken and faded, but it was something I could redo. I'd finally have my Dream House! She said yes, so we loaded it up in the car.

You can see how dirty and faded it was as well as the broken roof. 

Another view of the dirt and roof

A final view before it went into the car

       To be honest, I thought it might be the original 1978 Dream House, which was yellow and orange. That is how bad the fading was, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the 1985 version, which is pink. I am now working on restoring it.
       So far, I've had to buy new roof pieces and a couple of floors, due to them being broken. I've also had to buy a couple of the walls and railings, the balcony and the closet. I'm also looking for the windows, doors and planters as well as the coverings for the corners.
       I'm in the process of repainting them. I've got the walls, railings and balcony painted. The floors will actually be a very light pink as I couldn't find the right color to match the original color, but I like the new color. Besides, this will make it my creation. I'll post more updates as they happen!

One of the walls being repainted

The floor prior to being repainted

        

The floors repainted a pale pink

Stardoll by Barbie

     Now I admit, I had never heard of Stardoll until I ran across these dolls in Target. The first one I saw reminded me of Barbie, so I was interested. Picking them up, I discovered a new line of dolls I wasn't aware of previously. I hesitated to get them as I wasn't sure what they were about, but some of them were just so beautiful, I had to have them.
     Since the dolls came with currency for the Stardoll website, I had to check that out as well. I discovered the dolls were associated with some of the different stores on the site. The site itself is like an online paper doll with practically unlimited clothing and accessories. You create a doll, dress her up and can decorate her living area. The site also allows interaction with other users. It's pretty fun to use and it's still going, so check it out!
      As I mentioned, the dolls themselves were associated with the different stores, two for each store. Three of them, I recognized, which are Fallen Angel, Pretty in Love and Bonjour Bijou, but the fourth, so named Dollspace in an online article, seemed to have disappeared before I joined. The giftcards the dolls came with also gave clothing to your online doll in the form of the outfits the dolls were wearing, except the two "oddball" dolls, which gave repeats of the others if I remember correctly. Three accessory packs were also released to correspond with the Fallen Angel, Pretty in Love and Bonjour Bijou dolls, but not the Dollspace ones.
      The first doll I saw was a blonde wearing a black, white and pink outfit, which I mistakenly believed was Barbie, but it was actually one of the Dollspace dolls. The dolls themselves aren't very articulated, since they are supposed to be like the online paper dolls, but they were still beautiful. They had rooted eyelashes and came with stands for displaying. 

Dollspace doll #1 - I thought it was Barbie at first

Dollspace Doll #2 - She has a really cute smile

     The Dollspace dolls had no extra fashion/accessory pack, which was kind of a shame, since there wasn't a whole lot of mix and match for these dolls. Luckily, the other dolls had extra clothes to play with.
     The Bonjour Bijou dolls seemed more fashion oriented. They make me think of France, of course. I picture them as high fashion models or something along those lines. 

Bonjour Bijou Doll #1 - You'll see her shirt in another picture

Bonjour Bijou Doll #2 - I love the red hair

Bonjour Bijou fashion pack - the scarf, skirt, shoes and purse were included. The shirt is the doll's original. 

Bonjour Bijou fashion pack - everything else included

     The Pretty in Love dolls are just that, pretty and flowery. They make me think of small towns, sweetness and romance. I can just imagine soft Southern accents on these dolls.

Pretty in Love Doll #1 - Very Barbie like with her pink color scheme

Pretty in Love Doll #2 - Hearts and flowers. She has such a gorgeous face!

Pretty in Love fashion pack - the shirt, sunglasses, necklace, boots and purse are included. The skirt is the doll's original. 

Pretty in Love fashion pack - everything else included

     The final set of dolls is my favorite. Probably because I love the goth look. My Stardoll on the site is very goth looking. The first doll I bought was the doll in the red dress. She is my absolute favorite. So gorgeous!

Fallen Angel Doll #1 - so gorgeous with her pale skin and dark hair with the red stripes!

Fallen Angel Doll #2 - I love her bangs!

Fallen Angel fashion pack - I didn't put the pants on her since I wanted to show it was a bodysuit

Fallen Angel fashion pack - the dress, shoes, silver shoulder pads (which are separate from the dress) and hair accessory are the rest. The gloves and tights are the doll's original. 

     There was a second line planned for Stardoll, but it was never produced, which is a shame because the dolls were GORGEOUS and the accessory packs were adorable! I was able to find pictures online of them. They were all apparently from the Rio store.

Those boots are to die for and that purple dress! I also love the blonde hair with the dark stripes. 

I love that blue dress!

These fashion packs were just adorable! 

     I think a lot of people didn't like the fact that the dolls weren't very articulated, but for me, that was the beauty of these dolls. They were like the original Barbie doll, a paper doll, but in 3D. They were posed like the website and they were perfect for modelling fashions. 
     Even though they were made by Mattel, they didn't have the same body as Barbie, nor the same feet, so they couldn't share clothes. Some other dolls' shoes can fit these dolls, though, so that does open up other possibilities for making fashions for Stardoll to wear and model!
     

Teen Time Skipper

     In 1964, the Roberts family was blessed with another daughter. Barbie's younger sister, Skipper, made her debut then and has gone through just about as many changes as her older sister! She has gone from a little girl to a SuperTeen (more on her later) to a younger teen to a 16 year old (more on her later) to currently, a younger teen again. 
     This post is about one of the younger teen Skippers from 1988, Teen Time Skipper and her friend Courtney, as well as a playset for the two of them, the Sleep and Study playset. I believe, and I could definitely be wrong here, but I believe this is the first time Courtney was introduced. 
      The girls came with accessories for both school and a sleepover, which is one of the best things about these dolls. The skirts of their outfits were pulled up to create nighties for them and they came with fluffy slippers for their sleepover party. Each girl also came with punchouts for school and sleepover. 
       The playset is just awesome! It has so many things to customize the looks each time you put it together. Each piece can also fit inside the bed, which snaps to the walls so it can be carried. It can be a bedroom on one side and a study area on the other. The walls allow for items to be hung on them, so you can move them around and create the look you want. 
      

As you can see, her leg is spotty. 

Her accessories - she also came with a phone, a soda and a popcorn box. I've misplaced those items.

 

Courtney - the glasses are adorable! She also has spotty legs

     

Her punchout accessories - two slices of pizza can be removed

Her accessories - I love the "clipboard" front of her box

The study room

The sleepover side - the slippers are adorable, but don't like to stay on their feet

The rest of the accessories - the mirror is the back of the chalkboard

Almost everything is tucked in the bed. Those pieces on the walls are securely on it, so I didn't take them off. 

     This set is just too cute! I do recommend it for others, even though the dolls' legs are breaking down, which is a fairly common problem for dolls made during the late 90s. Still, these are some of my favorite dolls!

Mix 'Em Up Fashions Barbie

     I have a little secret and you may have already guessed it. I LOVE dolls with extra fashions and if they can mix and match, I'm in heaven! The first doll I can think of which had this feature (for me at least) was Pink and Pretty Barbie. She came with a top, skirt, pants, overskirt, fur stole, and hat/short skirt. I loved how you could change her looks with all of these different fashion pieces. 
     Then came fashion packs sold with multiple pieces which could be mixed and matched. I have a few of them and am looking to get more. Also, there were fashions which were sold separately which looked like they could mixed and matched because they were made with the same fabrics (more on this later). 
      Finally, there were dolls made specifically for mixing and matching. One of these dolls was the 2003 Mattel Toy Store Exclusive, Mix 'Em Up Fashions Barbie. I purchased this doll online and have been pleased with her ever since! The doll itself is beautiful. Her make up is soft and she has a dreamy look to her face. She comes with a strapless gold top, long gold skirt, fur stole, black top with half sleeves, reversible skirt with one side black and the other shades of gold, a white reversible sleeveless shell with gold dots, dark gold "leather" pants, denim capri pants and a black jacket with a fur collar. She also comes with a pair of black heels with a strap, gold heels with a strap and a pair of black ankle boots as well as a red crossbody bag, gold drawstring bag, black sunglasses and pearl medallion necklace. With all of these pieces, the mixing and matching possibilities are practically endless!
       This first picture is of the boxed doll. Since I've taken mine out of the package, I've used two images from the internet to show how she was packaged. The box itself was interesting as it was "latched" and opened like a book. I can't think of another doll I've seen this on. 

In the box

Everything still attached to the liner. 

The back of the box 

Her dreamy look

The gold skirt, top, stole, purse and necklace. 

The dark gold pants, reversible shirt, gold shoes and red bag

The white shell reversed, reversible skirt and gold shoes

The black shirt, reversible skirt, sunglasses, black booties, bag and necklace

The gold top, denim capris, black jacket, black heels and black sunglasses

     I am really pleased by the versatility of this doll set and am glad I bought her! The doll is lovely and the outfits are some of my favorites! More mix and match things to come in future posts!