A little red Barbie fun

It is Wednesday is Rednesday and time to party with our hostess Sue over at It's a Very Cherry World. Today I decided to show a little red, Barbie style so I am also joining Twyla and Lindsey, a mother and daughter blog at Two Crazy Crafters for a little Barbie Wednesday.

As a young girl, I loved playing with my Barbies. I never was one for baby dolls and dish sets. I liked that everything would fit in my Barbie Doll case, all the dolls, clothing, and accessories, and be ready to be taken on a road trip, visit to my favorite Aunt, or to a friend's house.

On my little Singer sewing machine, I would sew outfits that at the time I thought were oh so lovely, but am a little embarrassed to show them now. I got my first pony tailed Barbie when I was 5 (please see the story of the naked Barbie in the Family Christmas Photo here). That was in 1965.

My next Barbie was handed down to me from a neighbor. She had no hair and came with 3 wigs, blonde bubble cut, long black hair with a flip and a red wig, which had been lost before being handed down to me. My last 2 dolls were both for my birthday in 1970. I was thrilled to finally receive a Ken doll. My brother's GI Joe doll just didn't cut it being Barbie's date. It was hard to pretend that they were at the prom, Barbie in a gorgeous gown and Joe in his fatigues.

The other birthday doll was Julia from the TV show starring Diahann Carroll. She played a widowed single mother whose fighter pilot husband had been shot down in Vietnam. The show ran from 1968-1971 and was one of the first weekly tv series to depict an African American woman in a non-stereotypical role.

The blonde doll is marked Mattel and is dated 1966 and was a lawn sale find for my daughter to play with. The reddish tint of my Julia doll's hair happened over time and I'm not sure why. Both dolls are wearing actual Barbie fashions.

Here is my Barbie with the black wig along with Ken, resplendent in his red tuxedo. This is the Talking Ken and he is buff, unlike the earlier version of the Ken doll that was skinny, pasty and the one-to-have-sand-kicked-in-his-face-at-the-beach-doll.

Barbie without her wig.

This is an actual 1970 catalog of Barbie fashions. This page shows "Francie Fashion Flings", but there are also fashions for Skipper, Barbie, Ken, Tutti, P.J., Brad, Christie, Stacey, Julia, and Casey.

Tops for Ken. The one on the right is the beach jacket that came with the original, dare I say, wimpy, Ken doll. Why is it that the Barbie doll had unrealistic proportions of bust and waist that no real woman could ever achieve and that the male counterpart being the original Ken doll looked like he just graduated from Junior High.

These are homemade Red fashions. The one on the right was made by my Aunt in the 60's. Unlike the official Barbie label fashions, this wouldn't sell on eBay; however, it is the most valuable one to me.

Please be sure to say Hi to Sue at It's a Very Cherry World and Twyla and Lindsey at Two Crazy Crafters. I am going to go play with my Barbies. Have a great day.

I got it at Goodwill
Sherrie

Vintage Christmas Monday - Makes you look forward to Monday

We finally had snow up here in Maine. Several inches fell on Saturday. Certainly put me in the mood to set up a few trees and to take some pictures for Vintage Christmas Monday. It has been fun setting up my ornaments for their photo opportunity .... it has given me a chance to record these treasures for my daughter. So thanks to Joan at anythinggoeshere.

Last week I shared my 1960's tree but forgot a couple of the pictures. So here they are:


Hanging as ornaments on the tree, are photos from my family Christmases in the 1960's. This photo shows me with my Barbie Doll that Santa brought me in 1964. Yes I am the adorable blond on the far right holding my naked Barbie Doll (side view). I remember that I was trying to quickly dress her for the picture; however, mom was giving me that look that says "Now". It wasn't until sometime in July when she had had the roll of film finally developed that she saw how the photo came out. Dad and I couldn't understand why she was so upset .... needless to say, we didn't have a family photo Christmas card that year. Underneath the tree sits childhood games and stories, Frosty and Rudolph, along with my Barbie ..... dressed this time.

The MUSIC is ready to play on the record player: Firestone presents Favorite Christmas Music with Julie Andrews (1965).
















The ORNAMENTS are hung.The Peanuts ornaments are from 1965 and the Raggedy Ann is 1973.






Now it is time for FOOD. I found this cookbook this weekend at a Church fair. It is titled "The Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking" 1953. I purchased it because the color of the book matches my set of dishes and looks great sitting on the shelf with the plates. Added bonus ...... the recipes are delightful!!! There is a large chapter on game that goes beyond venison, duck or even rabbit. This book includes recipes for Raccoon Pie, Squirrel Fricassee, Woodchuck Pot Pie and Turtle Soup made with real Turtle. Apparently, as the book states, "The main reason for the non-use of turtles for food is lack of knowledge of how to dress them." A diagram is included on how to dress a turtle ....... not the same way to dress a Barbie I might add. Sorry for the blurry photo of the book. I did check out its recipe for a Christmas Luncheon, and thankfully, no Raccoon or Squirrel on the menu.

As promised last Monday, here are some of my special ornaments. Many have paint worn away by time. I wouldn't trade these for any new ornaments. The fact that they exist today, after decades of use, by my family (see earlier post of tree + little oh so cute kitten = smashed ornaments) and my Dad's family and even his Dad's family, makes them priceless!! Thank you for visiting. Please be sure to see all the other participants' treasures for Vintage Christmas Monday. I already have something special for you planned for next week. See you then.