Part 1: Another DIY Barbie Remodel

First of all, I really am not a crazy obsessive Barbie or Mattel collector. 

I'm a Grandma, who likes to play pretend 

with my granddaughter and a few other little girls. 

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Here is the Barbie Victorian house we have been using, that is a bit cramped for all the dolls and activities we have been doing.

My son texted me this from the local GoodWill. I had been whining that I was having a hard time finding a 'toilet' for the Victorian house, expensive, or only available with pieces I didn't need.

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My son texted me this from the local GoodWill. He said, "This one, everything works and has a full bathroom, the toilet flushes and has sound-it's $7.99, do you have room for it."

OF COURSE WE DO!

Without the furniture it was a steal, at $7.99. Everything functions, the elevator, a doorbell, a singing barbie/water sound in the shower, flushing toilet, roaring fire in the lighted fireplace, a timer in the kitchen the tick-ticks and rings, and two slots for lighted chandeliers 

which I can order from Mattel at $3.00 each. 

Only drawback was the color scheme of magenta, purple, and that horrid pink.

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Here is the Victorian Barbie house from the same GoodWill, I paid $4.99. 

We have been playing with this one,  but really isn't big enough

 for the 'family' (12) of dolls that are involved in our pretend games, or their wardrobes, 

accessories and pets, which has now grown to two dogs, and a cat. 

The boy dolls had been banished to two shelves on a printer stand, with the dolls wardrobes on top.

Almost everything used in the house is vintage, except a kitchen, a bunkbed set, and a tea cart. Everything else was purchased at thrift stores, online- or garage sales, super cheap. 

The rest is hand-made or 'pretend'. Double bunkbeds will be hand-made. 

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So, last weekend we had one gorgeous day---

almost 60 degrees, (in January in Chicagoland???) sun, and very little wind. 

Regardless of what else I had planned, I grabbed the opportunity to paint!

TIPS FOR PAINTING Barbie PLASTIC.

1* First I scrubbed the entire mansion down with degreasing kitchen cleaner--with attention to detail.       I used que-tips to get into all the tight places and inside the appliances.

2* Then I wiped ALL down with alcohol, very quickly and---wear gloves for this. 

3*  I spent 3 hours taping up the pillars, electrical connections, the lavender second floor, the clear shower door and the pink shower floor(where the switch mechanism worked by the doll standing on the tile for the sound, the toilet and bedroom/bathroom walls, fireplace small facing bricks(one-is the switch to turn the fireplace on) the sliding up and down large screen tv, and the kitchen appliances. (It has a very nice sink, dishwasher, stove, oven and refrigerator (refrigerator and dishwasher were things on the search-for list.

4* I sprayed light coats with sweeping motions ending past the surface you are painting-this way you aren't double spraying when you move back over a surface, starting with the ceilings first from every possible angle. Wait 10-15 min between coats on a dry day. We had warm sunshine and a very slight breeze.

5* After 3 hours I removed maskings or covered areas, where I could. Then, allow paint to cure for 12-24 hours depending on humidity. Touch up by spraying paint onto a non-porous surface and applying with a brush or que-tip. (still have do this), but I know this works from past projects.

Investment- 2 cans of ivory spray paint at $3.87 each, 1 roll of blue painter's tape- I used maybe $1.00 worth.

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The plan is to have this house slide up next to the other one. Sort of an inner city 

add on--mansion. 

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So 1/2 can of white gloss on the pink bathroom shower.

Hard to see, but the rafters were all HOT pink, the colors of the floor above. 

Not my favorite color, and certainly not realistic, plus it gave everything a hideous pink glow.

So ivory spray paint on the ceilings. The graphics on the walls are kinda cute, so I covered them all with paper to preserve the graphics.

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Here is the fireplace/TV above taped off. The Pink glow---is really mostly from the ceiling. But a second coat of white completely covered it.

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Here the is a shot of the downstairs floor and how well the ivory paint covered. LOVE the spray paints for plastic, as Barbie would say---Totally awesome! I use satin, though it doesn't look like it, the satins have a tight finish.

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The back side has lots of detail which we will eventually get addressed,

 but for now it is no longer magenta and blends with the Victorian Barbie house.

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The elevator was too hard to cover, though I blue taped the pillars and the guide rails.. I was afraid of running out of sun and warmth outside, so the elevator got dusted with some spray. This I removed with que-tips dipped in alcohol. 

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The elevator really works well and the grand can operate it. The crank elevator in the old house works, but is difficult for a child to use, so we will be placing a bunk bed right over the elevator space  on the second floor!

On the first floor a rug will cover that space. 

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The Barbie family can't wait to move into the remodeled digs, but as it is a project remodel, ya just have to live 'in' the mess.

We are planning on gutting that green bathroom and making a walk-in closet, and adding a 'hot pink' tub to the new bathroom in the Dream house. 

Maybe the green tub can become a hot-tub in the yard, 

Another project will be new floors for the second floor in the Victorian house, 

and the new first floor dining room

 and two new double bunkbeds! 

Lots to do, stay tuned for the painting reveal.

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. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

I will be sharing at these fine Parties!

Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Finding Silver Pennies
Amaze Me Mondays
 Creative Mondays
Best of the Weekend
Snickerdoodle Party
One More Time
Metamorphosis Monday

Sandi