As perfect as new fallen snow - Crystal Splendor Barbie

Merry Christmas!

Well, not yet but close!

This time of year has been hectic and especially for me this year. Lots of good (and unfortunately bad) things going on so my time on this blog has been scarce as of late. So no new updates of my Benny doll, but I do have a doll from my personal collection I would like to share.

We just had a lot of snow fall here the last couple of weeks. Then add in sub-zero temperatures and it kind of stuck around. Luckily it was on the weekend so I didn't have to drive anywhere. It's all melted off now, except another dusting came this morning. Every time I think of, or we have snow, I think of this pretty doll.

My mom got me this doll for my birthday last year I believe. She is the Special Edition Crystal Splendor Barbie. She is dressed all in white and silver, just like snow. She sparkles and shimmers...again, just like snow. She is one of my favorites. And don't you just love the bell sleeves?

And as always, I love dolls with the typical 90's head mold. The ones I grew up with.

I'm dying though. Her box is not friendly. It does not allow me to take her out, fix her head and collar and put her back in. It's been killing me so I try not to look at her that much when I go into my office. But regardless she is one of the prettiest dolls I have.

Here is a picture of the back of her box. It reads "Barbie looks dazzling in a gown that shines with beauty and elegance!"

Okay, now I REALLY want to take her out of the box! Fluff her dress, fix her hair, etc. :)

So friends, do you have Crystal Splendor Barbie? What do you think of her?


This may be my last post before the end of the year. Things are just a little crazy right now so the new post may be after January 1.

To everyone, have a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Ho Ho Ho, and Happy Holidays! Spend time with family and loved ones, be safe in your travels, enjoy and find time to relax! :)

Love, Teresa

The Benny Project Continues!

There is nothing better to do on a snow day than stay inside. It snowed all day Friday then yesterday and today it's been in the negative temperatures. Like, -13. Brr! So in between playing some video games, I got a chance to work on the Benny project!

With my sewing machine in good working order and watching the youtube videos again about how to attach a sleeve, I was ready.

And this is all done by trial and error. I'm not very fluent with sewing so I'm going at this blind. No notches to line up the patterns, no dots to know where my stitching begins and ends. I don't want to jinx myself but I do have to say that I've been pretty good at making sure my projects don't turn into a Pinstrosity so I'm very pleased with how this has come together so far!

I started by sewing the left front and left back together to form the hole for the sleeve.

Then I took the sleeve and doing exactly what the video said, I sewed a stitch and gathered it so it would fit in the sleeve hole. Then I sewed the sleeve down the side and turned it right side out.

With the sleeve right side out and the body right side in, I put the sleeve through the hole.

Now (obviously) this sleeve hole is not going to fit around the end of your sewing machine so it's stitching by hand.

Lots of teeny tiny stitches.

I also had to make sure that my gathering stitch on the sleeve was in my seam allowance so I had to keep adjusting. I didn't use pins, might have helped if I did!

After turning the body right side out, attaching the sleeve was a success!

Unfortunately I got a little pucker in the sleeve but it's easy to rip that out and re-stitch.

Model? Can you please come forward to try this on?

Hey, not bad! If I get the sleeve a little shorter it will be the perfect length to add a cuff.

This was my trial run but I'm pleased with how well it turned out. I just need to make the side seam a little bigger so the shoulder seam will be where it's supposed to be. I don't think I did too bad for just eye-balling it. I have lots of this fabric so I can make another pattern if I choose. Or maybe I'll just use the same ones! (That might be easier actually.)

Until the next update!

The Year of Haute Couture - December

Well friends, the year of haute couture has come to a close with our final doll of the year. If you are just tuning in to the blog, welcome! Last Christmas I got a calendar full of Barbie fashions from the master designer of Barbie Haute Couture, Robert Best!

If you would like to catch up on all the posts through the year, just click on each of these links and it will take you right to the page.

January/February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November

Here is our lovely December Haute Couture doll.

December - Trend Setter Barbie Doll

*gasp*

Hot Hot Hot!! What a dress!

The chandelier earrings, the plunging neckline, the gloves. Amazing December dress!

To me, green seems to be more of an "elegance" color while red screams "look at me." But this dress pairs elegance with dazzling color perfect for the holiday party. Ken will be the envy of all the dudes at the party with Barbie wearing this dress!

The fun of this series has been seeing how the drawings match up to the real doll. I present to you...

........

Nothing!

I cannot find this doll anywhere. Does anyone know if it was made either into a doll or just a fashion? I can't imagine this beautiful dress not being made. Boo!

So I will present to you another red dress by Robert Best! Here is "Go Red For Women" Barbie.

www.barbiecollector.com

Pretty!

An excerpt from the Barbie Collector website:

"Barbie^® doll goes red for women everywhere, and so can you! The American Heart Association will receive $100,000 from Mattel in support of its Go Red For Women movement. The nationwide Go Red For Women campaign spreads awareness of the fight against heart disease, the #1 killer of women in America, and celebrates the passion and power of women to make better choices for happy, healthy hearts. Because of this movement, the color red and the red dress have come to symbolize the ability all women have to improve their hearts and live stronger, longer lives.
Designed by Robert Best, Go Red For Women Barbie^® doll shows solidarity and support for this vibrant movement in an appropriately red dress, inviting women of all ages and walks of life to Go Red — in style!"

This doll was released in June of 2007 and is no longer available from Mattel. She was priced at less than $30.

So inexpensive for such a pretty doll and dress! I love the mermaid style skirt. So elegant. :) And the star on the bodice adds a beautiful sparkly touch.

So friends, what do you think of either Trend Setter and Go Red For Women Barbie dolls? 

Well thank you all for this fun series! I had a great time researching all of these fun and gorgeous Haute Couture fashions. Maybe I'll get another calendar and get to do another fun series. We shall see what Christmas brings for me!

If you want to review another fun series I did, click on December of 2012 in the blogger list to the right. You will see the 25 days of Barbie posts. Each day features a different holiday doll, all from my personal collection. Enjoy!