Barbie Series: That Moment When Barbie Has More Shoes Than You

This is 2014 DIY. I decided to make this since I keep finding myself having to find the right or left shoe of Barbie. I was walking by at Dollar Tree during a lunch that I have my car, and found a pillbox and thought maybe it’ll fit Babie’s shoes. I tested it out. Went home, covered it with duct tape and it worked.

But Barbie has way more shoes than these. It just so happens that ALL of the dolls are wearing a pair, and these are just the ones without a doll. So off I went to Dollar Tree and got a few more. For now, I haven’t glued them together since I am planning to build a new dollhouse, I will incorporate these in there. That’s when I realized that she has way more shoes than I do.

Until Then,

HAPPY DIY

Barbie Series: Barbie and Friends needs a home

My princess has a LOT of Barbie dolls, not counting Disney Dolls, and our new favorite-Ever After High Dolls. The ones feature in the picture is not even a quarter of what he REALLY has!!!.

I made this dollhouse for her birthday last September. Because I couldn’t find this dollhouse on Ebay anymore.
At the time, buying supplies from Home Depot is still out of the question. But a dollhouse is still needed. I contemplated, and looked around @ Goodwill for a bookcase, to surprisingly no luck. So – I bought about 5 foam boards at Dollar Tree and other Dollar Stores, and just started cutting and gluing pieces together. At the time I was building this, my intent was to make a duct tape dollhouse. After realizing that a section of the room takes exactly one roll and added up how much I would spend – that was scrapped, and I went back to using materials I already have at home. I finished the house right on time for her to come home from her dad’s. Let’s just say that this dollhouse topped her LEGOLAND weekend.

The dining room walls are covered with duct tape. The floor was made using construction paper weaved together and the laminate roll from Dollar Tree.

The living room is covered with duct tape. The couch is made out of 2 dinner boxes from Dollar Tree wrapped in last year’s wrapping paper. The carpet is real. I scored a huge roll from the carpet guys when they are replacing the carpet from the neighboring unit.

The second floor is when I didn’t have funds for duct tape and used leftover scrapbook paper from our Mother’s Day Craft. I made a new closet from left over foam board and birthday tissue paper.

The third floor is my lazy way of finishing the house. I found pink foam boards at my local 97c store and used tissue paper for the walls.

I thought that this would’ve been broken by now, I decided to blog about it now because I’m planning to build dorm rooms for our – err- her latest Ever After High collection. This time, I’ll buy the Balsa Wood one block at a time.

Until then,

HAPPY DIY

012013: The Style of Hanging

My daughter received a few packs of Barbie clothes the past couple of years. Before the DIY, I didn’t think of saving the plastic forms that came with it, until this past Christmas. Well, that kind of paid off, since after receiving the store brand Barbie closet, the hangers that came with it, could not be used with some of the clothes.

A while back, I made pipe cleaner hangers. I decided to just poke a tiny hole on the dress forms and add jump rings to the already made hangers. Too bad she fell asleep by the time I finished them. Oh well, she’ll see them tomorrow.

Until then,

HAPPY DIY

2012: Year In Review

What a year it has been! What started out as a thought of not spending too much money for a $75.00 pc of jewelry that a-soon- to- be- 6- year- old- girl- wants- to- have, turned out to be my personal accomplishment of the year.

I named the blog DIY OF THE WEEK to push me into crafting something new and post on Sundays like clockwork. I guess craftiness, not to mention- TIME and BUDGET does not work that way, thanks in part with this life called single parenthood. I will admit that there were times that I could not get inspired or motivated to work on something even though I had planned it, and had the materials to do it. To this day, there’s a DIY Barbie couch sitting under one of my tables, waiting to be wrapped in decorative paper, photographed, and blogged about. My daughter has been using it the way it is on a regular basis, which is the whole point of the DIY project to begin with. Still, one of the many purposes this blog is to keep track of what I’ve done and to motivate me to do more.

I honestly thought that after the jewelry frenzy, and a couple of Barbie furniture, that this blog was done and over with. My head was stuck on just working with jewelry pieces that I lost sight of what the meaning of DIY stands for. With 3 followers, including me – it did kind of bogged me down a bit. If it wasn’t for my co-workers who decorated for Halloween and we all got a “little” carried away, I probably wouldn’t have been re-inspired to make DIY’s not to mention DIY decorations.

Thankfully, the ideas didn’t stop with the Halloween tree. Thankfully, my kids became interested and wanted to get down and dirty with the crafts I’m making. Thankfully, they didn’t want to stop doing DIY. If it wasn’t for budget issues, I most likely would’ve come up with some Thanksgiving décor too.

So, let’s take a trip down memory lane on how I just wanted to make a similar necklace, to realizing that my daughter has too many Barbie dolls but no furniture, to getting inspired with DIY Holiday décor.

I would like to thank my children, Andy and Rinoa. If it wasn’t for both of you, my life would most definitely be boring. If it wasn’t for you guys asking for things I can’t afford this year, I probably wouldn’t have been inspired to try to make it myself. Thank you for finding what I do interesting, and want to be a part of it. Thank you for my co-workers who re-ignited my spark, and I was able to provide our department with a gift from my heart. Thank you for the 300+visitors that found this little blog, the bloggers who took the time to click on that like button. You guys [and gals] are also part of my motivation to keep crafting and blogging so that I have something to post on a regular basis.

Please keep checking in – there’s something always to DIY, ergo – it will be blogged!

Until then,

HAPPY DIY

091612: Crafter’s Block….

Still no new jewelry pieces, if anything I just added more beads/charms to my to do box. I’m just not as inspired as of late. My son and I scrapped the idea of building a doll house for Barbie, I mean my daughter. After realizing how much room it will take up in our home, not to mention all the other goodies that are coming for the holidays, and the plan on renting a room to a total stranger coming 2013- it’s now in the back burner.

Seeing how my princess still plays with ALL of the dolls on a regular basis, I thought, you know what? just build the furniture and save up for a shelf where it will go at the end of the day, make a platform of some kind and hopefully, she can make it work.

Off to Dollar Tree I go! I still have left over foam board so the wall and platform are underway so my princess can set up the furniture on it. At least for now, Barbie has a bedroom set, then all my princess has to do is set it up as she needs to.

Here’s Barbie’s bedroom set made entirely out of foam board, and left over gift tissue. The stool is made out of an empty sandwich box. I’m contemplating on buying a sewing machine at Big Lots, let’s see how if I can figure out a way to budget and be able to get this – then I’ll be able to make Barbie a bed sheet, and pillows.
Gotta tell you – I’m starting to like these foam boards!!

Modeled by: Fashion Fairy Tale Barbie

Modeled by: Princess Charm School Barbie

Until next time.

090612: Too many hobbies, so little time

I couldn’t make up my mind as to what jewelry piece to make. 9/22 is coming up and I still have not finished the piece that I’m making for my daughter. I just don’t have it in me lately.

But, I knew that I have to do something about my daughter’s Barbie clothes. I can’t for the life of me find time to figure out where the right shoe is, or where that top went. I already made the hangers – so why not make the closet?

So – I went to dollar tree and decided to make one out of foam board. My daughter thinks it’s a finished product and started using it. I’m letting her play with it for now since I made that as a prototype until I find the materials that I really want to use for it. It needs to be decorated—by her, but I still need to buy the embellishments for it. Tunrs out, I measured the closet based on the dress length and not Barbie’s height. So I definitely have to make another one-one of these days. My other hobby is calling me – a new Korean drama premiered today and I’ve only been waiting for this drama since December of last year. So Barbie will have to wait until she gets a newly made closet.

For now – here’s her closet made of foam board, pencil, and left over gift tissue.