Making time for Barbie

I have so many dolls that I can't count them all. I need to organize and get them out of storage and up where I can see them. Part of having a collection (for me) is making the time enjoy them. 

 

 I am starting with Barbie because I think I have more of them than any other (but don't quote me on this). Most of my of them are stored in plastic bins and a few are still new in the box.

I got this shelf awhile back and it's time that I use. I bought from Ikea. Unfortunenately, they only had it in black. I wasn't sure about the color but the shelves were the right height and I had to start somewhere. I like the open shelf over ones with glass doors. My dolls will be on display but not for display, meaning that they will be handled and played with and this type of shelf gives me easy access.

I tried out two different doll stands that I had. There is the ones made by Kaiser and the ones made by Mattel. I prefered the Kaiser stands because the dolls stood lower and were more secure from falling. But I chose the ones from Mattel because the black color blended in with the shelves. The Kaiser stands also come in black so I may purchase them at a later date.

It was also time to for a change of clothes. I've had these little summer dresses for a long time. I thought dressing them in summer outfits was a fun way to kick off summer. I keep the my doll clothes & accessories in little boxes (so I am somewhat organized).

I'm happy with how the display shelf turned out. I have shelves with five dolls across but technically I could probably squeeze in six. These are not all of my Barbie's of course, but a good start for displaying them.

My 18" American Girl Sized Brunette Dolls

The weather has been cooperating this week so I decided to grab a few dolls and head outside. These are my American Girl dolls and the compatible sized thick bodied dolls with the cloth bodies. To avoid bringing out to many dolls, I decided on just the brunettes this time.

 

This brunette girl is Alexandra. She is a Madame Alexander "Girlz". Some of these dolls are a half inch to an inch taller than American Girls and are as poseable.

 

This cute curly head brunette is April. She is a 2004 Our Generation Battat. You can recognize Battat dolls by the shape of their arms.

These spiral brunette locs belong to Amani. She is an American Girl #46. I just love her face.

 

This banged brunette is Tess. She is a Gotz Little Sisters Doll. She basically has the same body as American Girl. 

This is Mikaela with brunette Shirley Temple curls. She is an American Girl doll #26. She has Addys face mold and is just as cute.

All of my 18" Brunette Dolls

(Thus far :)