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the Barbie Castle

9/27/2021

17 Comments

 
Today is our daughter's birthday. Thirty two years ago, for her seventh birthday Jan built her an elaborate wooden castle for her Barbies. It's been standing in our basement for decades, but now that our daughter's daughter is five, and old enough to appreciate it, it was finally time to deliver it to it's new home. 
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Jan cleaned the castle and all the furniture, while I washed all the clothes and doll costumes in the five drawers in the base.

For Mary's seventh birthday I had made every single costume for every single character in Disney's 'Sleeping Beauty'.  For her eight birthday I made every costume for every character in Disney's 'the Little Mermaid'.  There was also lots of commercial doll clothes. It all smelled a bit 'musty' so I washed it all, ironed some, and sorted and bagged it all in sets.

After the castle and furniture was cleaned, we set it back up so I could take photos....
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We were planning on visiting for her birthday yesterday, so the castle had to be taken apart to be moved up the stairs and out into our two vehicles.  I thought, since it had to go outside anyways, why not set it up in the backyard so I could take some photos of it for posterity. It had stopped raining, but was still nicely overcast, so Jan agreed.

He set up just the castle itself in the backyard, with no furniture, and I hid the drawer base with pots of flowers, and got some of my small dolls to populate it...anyone who looked the part.....
just to take some photos......with no story.....
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So we delivered the big main floor yesterday, along with all the furniture, clothes and naked dolls (which still needed cleaning).  The rest will get delivered the next time we go.
17 Comments
Karen Collins
9/27/2021 08:19:50 am

Wow! How amazing for your little girl to have such creative talented parents! (along with a pretty amazing aunt). And now, how lucky now for her little girl to have such creative talented grandparents! What fun!

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:05:33 pm

Thank you. I'm sure Emily will love it.

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Elizabeth Anne Ayala
9/27/2021 08:36:37 am

Marvelous! Its a true Barbie Dream House!

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:06:04 pm

Pretty much how I would have liked one when I was little.

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Dorian
9/27/2021 08:50:17 am

Your talent always amazes me. The detail is so perfect, and girl would be thrilled to have this. I read your blog every day but mainly lurk.

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:07:06 pm

Thank you for posting. You are not alone in 'lurking'. At least 99.9% of the people who follow my website only do that.

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Jitka
9/27/2021 10:25:14 am

Wow, this is the most amazing house for dolls I have ever seen. You and Jan can really make Fairy Tales come true. :)
I am too old to play with it now :D but I would be ecstatic if I got such Barbie castle when I was young.

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:08:09 pm

It's been standing in our basement for decades, but both Jan and I felt renewed appreciation for it when it was photographed out in the garden.

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Donna
9/27/2021 11:09:35 am

It's fabulous, Martha and Jan! Emily will love it!

Seeing it with your dolls gives it scale. I had no idea how big it was!
Like Jitka, I would have been ecstatic to have such an amazing dollhouse. I still would, but it wouldn't fit in my apartment. :o)

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:14:49 pm

Thank you. I'm sure she will love it, although I think the part that excites her most is all the stuff in the 'Nursery', which is the smallest room in the castle. She may just have to switch it with the Master bedroom in order to fit everything in.

The thing is, the castle is meant to be played with in the round, and it is HUGE, so it needs a lot of space.

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Dorothy
9/27/2021 11:51:28 am

What a beautiful doll house! I was delighted to see Willie. She is a favorite of mine.

Jan and you are just incredible with your creations, a perfect team.

Is this granddaughter the one of whom you showed photos when she was a baby? I still remember a photo where the fairies were looking after her.

I think the story for this photo shoot is that we get to make up our own story. Mine stars Willie and Phairby.

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Martha
9/27/2021 12:10:26 pm

Yes, Emily was the one I photographed with my fairies. My son-in-law had asked me to, and I was only too happy to do it.

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Dagmar Nelson
9/27/2021 02:09:20 pm

Absolutely incredible!!! Your daughter and granddaughter are lucky girls!!!!

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earthspirits
9/28/2021 06:47:50 am

This is all absolutely marvelous! What a delightful gift - first for your daughter, and now for your little granddaughter. I

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Nicolette
10/2/2021 07:18:35 am

What a beautiful work of art!

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Barb
11/21/2021 05:47:17 am

AMAZING!! I'd play with it now. Did you somehow kerp it hidden do kids could not see it over a the years?

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Martha
11/21/2021 06:31:10 am

It was just standing in our basement. Our son's daughters played with it some when they were younger. But it belonged to our daughter, and her little girl was still too young for it until now

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    Author

    Martha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes.
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