Crafting and Barbies

Two fundamental things about me:

I have had Barbie dolls since before I was two years old. They were a stable part of my childhood long past the age many kids played with dolls.
I grew up doing crafts. My mom and grandma taught me to cross stitch, needlepoint, and knit (although I have long ago forgotten that particular craft). I don't sit still and if I'm watching TV there's a good chance I have a needle and a project in my lap. (okay, let's be honest, it's 2023, there are definite evenings it's a mindless puzzle game on my tablet.)

Which means that while I have extra time on my hands I took the opportunity to combine those two aspects and created two Barbie cross stitch patterns this fall

Both projects are smaller than 4" square and are perfect for a crafter who has never done cross stitch. They're simple and can be finished in a short amount of time. But they also are quintissential to today's Barbie love and the resurgence of attention because of the movie.

I put together an Etsy store to sell digital downloads of the pattern and have spent many hours since around Thanksgiving getting the right color of floss, stitching the patterns, and figuring out how to finish them. Mom helped me pick out the perfect Barbie pink and she found the round hoop for the Barbie lover project.

Then I started playing with - and fighting with - Etsy. Let's just say, I appreciate they have a copyright policy but:

No one else follows it. There is SOOOO much Barbie content on the page that if anything that is Mattel adjacent is inappropriate then they need to do a very large sweep of the platform
The items I created I built from scratch. I am not wholesale trying to rip off Mattel.
I am such small potatoes that I can't imagine anyone making a small cross stitch pattern would run afoul of the Barbie/Mattel legal team.

Anyway....

If you are looking for a light, fun, silly cross stitch pattern, check out my etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheNostalgicStitcher

While it's still quiet I have a few other projects up my sleeve. I would like to add at least a couple more items before the end of they year, but we'll see.

Comments

Time to Let Go

I got my first Barbie doll when I was two and half. I asked Mrs. Claus for a "Boobie doll" for Christmas and never looked back. By the time I was in late high school I had accumulated more than 150 dolls of all stripes. Through the years my family was happy to support my doll love and bought me the 1970s Barbie Townhouse, the Barbie airplane, a Barbie McDonald's... You name it, I had it. During high school and college my mom and I became diehard Barbie collectible fans. I got the first Mackies when they came out and began to collect the limited edition dolls in earnest. A family friend who was cleaning out her parents' house found her 1960-61 dolls and gave me the chance to add them to my collection. That led me down the rabbit hole of vintage dolls and outfits. When I went to college my mom continued to grow my collection and we would scope out rare dolls at doll shows across the state. After college I worked for a short time at a local historical society and got th...

If you cross-promote it, they will buy

I spent my childhood as a die-hard Barbie girl. I played with Barbies throughout my childhood. I collected Barbies into adulthood. I have boxes of Barbies and Barbie clothes in boxes. I have at least three Barbies currently displayed in my house. However, the current generation of cross promotion has reached new levels. I get the girl power, hot pink items. But some of what I have seen lately belies my understanding. Naturally flavored gummy candy at Whole Foods: Yes, this year is Barbie's 65th Anniversary. And yes last year was the juggernaut Barbie movie. And yes femcore is in. And who doesn't love hot pink, nostalgic roller skates, and pink lemonade gummy candy. But, Barbie in every grocery aisle is a new phenomenon. The peaches and cream flavor on this one seems fitting, but they could have at least incorporated that 80s doll on the can. Plus, I'm not excited by the artwork here: This was the other food co-pro that made me...

I am Ken-in-Roller-Skates Years Old

This weekend a friend and I went through the clothes and the dolls that I played with as a kid (and she has an amazing memory on the clothes. This website is quite the resource if you're interested: BarbieWorld.it ). I had A LOT of Barbies and accessories. There was the Barbie pool, the piano, the three-story townhouse. I had an RV, an airplane, and a boat. And then there were the dolls themselves. Yes, I had lots of Barbies but there were also Skippers and Midges and Christies. But today, we have to talk about Ken. This is my first Ken Doll: Roller Skating Ken c.1980. The short tight shorts, the shiny purple jacket, the Addidas style roller skates. He's so retro, what's not to love? I can't pretend to remember why six-year old me needed a Ken doll at that point. I was never as gung-ho about the guys because for me Barbie was about Fashion shows and climbing mountains, and sleepovers. But there were definitely days Ken was part of their entourage. I didn't have Ro...

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