My First Custom Barbie Part One

I have always wanted to redo a Barbie doll so that she would be exactly what I wanted, but was too afraid. The truth was, I didn't have a clue where to even start. All I could figure was that acrylic paint was probably involved, but that was about it. So when I discovered the amazing Youtube videos of doll makeovers by Dollightful and AkameruKawaii, I was entranced. It looked so tricky and yet so doable at the same time. When I found some Monster High dolls that, to me, needed a little work (their wasp waists needed fixing for a start!) I decided to give it a go. So I saved up my money for a long time and eventually invested in the tools of the trade. See Dollightful's video for the list!

I was so psyched, but when I looked at the dolls again doubt and even panic set in. What if I screwed up? I decided that for my first custom I would not work with Monster High cat-girl dolls. I would go to the thrift shop and get a plain vanilla, bleached blonde, dime-a-dozen Barbie doll to start my customizing experiments on. Fortunately the first thrift shop I went into had the perfect candidate. This Barbie had SEEN THINGS.



Her legs were permanently bent to one side. One leg had a red stain. The other had grey paint on the back. Her face paint was garish. Her hair was of very low quality and to top it off, there was something *gulp* STICKY in it! UGH! Nobody was going to want this Barbie. Nobody! So I didn't feel guilty making her Test Subject #1. I mean, in the state she was in, I could only make her better. And she had only cost 25 cents!

Following Dollightful's very helpful video Your First Custom I prepped my doll as follows.

First I gave her a bath in hot water with some Dawn dish detergent. I washed her hair over and over and over even though it was coming off. I just couldn't abide the thought of what that sticky stuff might be! Then I scrubbed her with baking soda and water made into a paste, and the grey paint came off. Unfortunately the red stain is indelible, but at least she was finally good and clean. I let her dry and then chickened out for several days.


Finally I got up the nerve to cut her hair. I have never cut a doll's hair in my life, not even as a little girl, so this was a little traumatizing and liberating at the same time. I whacked every bit off, as close to her head as possible. To me, she already looked better. It was as if she had taken a load off!




Next I got out the acetone (100%) and some Q-tips and removed her face paint. What a satisfying experience that was! Until I realized that the acetone was melting her back, that is. Maybe next time I shouldn't use 100% acetone after all? Trying to get the nooks and crannies of her lips clean was a major pain.

Then it was on to the head-boiling stage. I boiled water on the stove and shoved her head right in, guesstimating as to how long to keep it there. I used tweezers to gently remove her head (boy have Barbie neck plugs changed! It used to just be a bead and now it's this great big spiked thing!). I learned this technique from this video right here. It worked really well so I highly recommend removing Barbie heads this way.

With Barbie's head detached I could remove her stubble. Using a pair of (jewelry) needlenose pliers that I shoved inside her head gently, I closed the pliers on bits of hair and glue and pulled them back out through her neck. It took a lot longer than I expected (now I know why they always do a time lapse on Youtube videos) and it really made my hand hurt, but Barbie sure looked a lot better at the end! Popping her head back on was super easy.





So now she's all ready to be sprayed with Mr. Super Clear a couple of times and then I'll be able to start the face. The problem is that I can't decide exactly what I want her face to look like. As I'm planning to make her into a gothic lolita warrior (I found this huge bag of toy weapons at the thrift shop too for only fifty cents!), I know I want her to have long lavender pigtails and a darker purple dress. But I can't decide if I should go with an anime face or a more realistic face. Any suggestions?

Part 2 coming as soon as the weather cooperates for the MSC and as soon as I can make my mind up about the face!

Edit: Sorry this has taken so long. Not long after this my mother had a stroke and I had to drive long distances a lot and take care of her until she died. Since then I've not felt like doing much of anything. I really do want to finish this project though. Maybe it part 2 will be soon.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield is The Best Book I've read in Ages!

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


First off, I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thanks so much! It made my day when I received it, as I love The Thirteenth Tale and enjoyed Bellman and Black though I found it disappointing at the end. I believe Ms. Setterfield is one of the great modern storytellers, a female counterpart to Neil Gaiman perhaps. So I thought myself one of the world's luckiest people to receive this ARC.
As soon as I began reading I felt even luckier. The story of Once Upon a River has all of the pull of a strong current; you cannot escape it, but you do not want to. You want to drift with it and let it take you to all of the places it needs to go. From the miraculous events on the darkest night of the year to the farmer of aristocratic and African descent (my favourite character, and such a breath of fresh air in the usually all-white English literary world) talking to his pigs and mourning the loss of his favourite, to a young couple bereaved into desperation, to a poor woman who lives more simply than she must because a malign presence will take anything good away...there are such well-drawn scenes and characters that you are almost certain that Daunt's photographs are real and are probably sitting in a dusty museum basement somewhere awaiting discovery.
I think my favourite part of all is the use of folk/fairy tales to explain and tell the story and echo the emotions of the characters. The myth of Quietly is especially powerful, and as a parent it is one I can understand completely.
It also must be understood that the Thames is its own character, and its presence hangs ever over the story like a miasma. Reading this, I felt the dampness of the river, smelled the mud of it, and was often reminded of my own river, the river that flooded my house several times as a child because we lived too near, the Choctawhatchee. I think that anyone who has ever lived near a river will probably enjoy this book even more than those who have not, but this book is for everyone.
I will put one warning though, and that is that this book could be very difficult reading for people who have lost a child. There are some heartbreaking scenes that were difficult for me to read as a mother, because my mind put my own child's image into the story no matter what i did. I think this is a book that will make you go check on your child as they sleep just a little bit more often, or hug them harder, and of course that is a good thing.
I didn't want Once Upon a River to end, but when it did, it ended perfectly. I know I will read it again and more than likely will loan my copy to my mother to let her read it. If I had a book club, this would be the book I would choose for us to read. I guess I'm just saying that it swept me away and its pull is on me still.
To both the publisher and Goodreads, thank you again for giving my this fascinating world wrapped in paper pages!



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