Barbie 4th of July Crafts Round-Up 2024

When I was a kid, folks would decorate their bikes with streamers and balloons for the 4th of July and join the local parade. Do people do that any more? I think I even remember baby strollers being decorated. Here's my little wink and nod to what seemed like simpler times:@) 

We're only days away from the 4th of July and I thought it might be fun to post a Barbie crafts round-up of ideas... Most are no-sew projects that come together quickly using scraps and items from your crafting stash. Let's celebrate the holiday ~and~ help keep the kids busy:@) Click the links for tutorials and free patterns.

Hairbands:

**A round-up of all Barbie headband crafts, with instructions, can be found Here.

Clothes:

Headband Top with (or without) Dangle Earrings ~ No-Sew Hankerchief Top 

 Crochet Dress ~ No Sew Swing Top 

Bathing Suits:

Balloon Bathing Suits ~ No-Sew Ribbon Bathing Suit

Miscellaneous:

No-Sew Aprons ~ Felt Tie 

Uncle Sam Hat from Recycled K-Cup

These silly Pipe Cleaner Glasses whip up in minutes and you can glue on any desired embellishments. I used star sequins, you could use beads, rhinestones, buttons, felt, glitter, stickers or anything else from your craft stash.

 *You know it's hot outside when it looks like even Barbie is sweating😓 ...or is she melting???

✂What I did: 

1. Wrap pipe cleaner around a pencil or knitting needle (size 13 here), and twist to secure the circle.
2. Move over a bit and create the second lens.
3. Fold each side back to make the arms of the glasses and trim to size. 
4. Glue on decorations.

 A quick side view:

Links to Other Crafts:

Oversized golf hat  ~  Free shorts pattern for Ken  ~  Barbie glasses embellished with glitter  ~  Simple skirt from ruffle  ~  Barbie necklace

From all of us here at PIM,

We Wish You a Very 

Happy 4th of July -Enjoy!

ReView: Sweet and Sour Beef Stew-Instant Pot or Slow Cooker & Hooded Cape for Kid Dolls (Barbie)

Looking for a substantial meal that's a little different? Want a new recipe to try in your ♥Instant Pot? This Sweet and Sour Beef Stew was a big hit at Sunday dinner and just might be added to our menu tomorrow:@) It's a heartier, stick to the ribs version of it's oriental cousin and perfect for a cold winter day. Don't hesitate to give it a try folks, pressure cooker, slow cooker or stove top, this one's a winner.

A couple weeks ago I made a hooded cape for Barbie, I thought it would be fun to make one for Chelsea and Kelly too:@) Free patterns here.

Make something just for fun and have a happy weekend:@)

Saturday Re-BOO: Halloween Dyed Pasta, Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies & Barbie Costumes

Looking for some quick, last minute, fun ideas for Halloween? We don't have to spend a ton of money on specialty seasonal pasta folks... Simply add some food coloring as macaroni cooks and we end up with a colorful Halloween Pasta Salad:@) The kids will be tickled, and it's a meal grown-ups will enjoy too.

Or how about whipping up a batch of Variegated Cake Mix Crinkle Cookies. Just mix, roll and bake, gotta love that:@) I've added an eerie eyeball option too if that's more your style, you know your crowd... 

And I'm sure the kids would love to help Barbie dress up for Halloween! I'll provide links below for some cute costume ideas... You might be surprised to find you already have most of what you need in your craft stash, and the doll clothes you already have on-hand (hello doctor/nurse) can be a great place to start.

Links to projects:

 Hula outfit  ~ Cat ears headband ~ Frozen cape ~ Dia de Muertos Mask ~ Mermaid tail ~  Cheerleader pom-poms ~ Doctor or Nurse face mask ~ Jack-O-Lantern from Balloon ~ Dracula or Prince cape ~ Pumpkin Costume ~ More dollar store Halloween ideas for Barbie HERE.

Wishing you a weekend full of Halloween fun:@)

Easy Halloween Pumpkin Costume Ideas for Barbie (and Baby)

Back in the 1980's it was popular for fabric manufacturers to sell panels of fabric that were designed to be cut out into pillow shapes. And one year I made pumpkin Halloween costumes from panels for my sons too. I was reminded of this recently when I saw a simple Jack-O-Lantern poncho type top for women in LTD Commodities... So I decided it would be fun to create one for Barbie too:@)

And of course it's easy to add a cute headband from a recycled bottle ring, 

wrap some pipe cleaners for vines and glue on a leaf or two to mimic the stem. 

What I did:

1. Cut a 9" wide circle of fabric (doesn't need to be perfect). This will bring the top down to her wrists. It can be shorter or longer. I used pinking shears. 
2. Fold circle in half twice into cone shape. Measure down 1/2" from point, draw half circle, cut hole in center just big enough for Barbie's head to fit through. Glue sewing trim around the hole for decoration if desired. I used a string of sequins and Liquid Stitch.
3. Create the Jack-O-Lantern face, I used a Sharpie.
4. From here, you're basically done. You can continue decorating as desired😎

A few possible sewing trim embellishments:

And I thought it might be fun to make a little baby bunting from a balloon...

Oh my ~gourd~ they're so cute:@) Laying and sitting baby, same balloon.

Cut small hole for opening, draw lines/ridges, tie knot, cut roll off, color stem.

Stretch hole so baby fits inside, fit opening around baby's face.

More ideas:

Crochet Pumpkin Poncho free pattern and Jack-O-Lantern from Balloon for Kelly doll.

~Make something just for fun and have a happy day🎃

I'm Joining:

Creative Muster

Wonderful Wednesday

Party In Your PJ's

Favorite Things Thursday

A Morning Cup of Joe

Handmade Monday

Craftastic Monday

A Theme'd Link-Up for All Things Halloween

Saturday ReView: Freezer Dill Pickles and Felt No-Sew Jumper for Barbie

I know gardens are beginning to wind down now but wanted to share these Freezer Dill Pickles HERE in case you had some extra cucumbers to use up. They are nice because they don't require canning and can be frozen in bags, mason jars or plastic containers. It would be good to have a few of these tucked away for sandwiches on a cold day. This is an easy recipe that calls for dried dill and really doesn't require much work:@)

I always run through the Barbie isle at the stores looking for inspiration and I've held the Mattel outfit shown below in my hand several times. I like the bibbed skirt, but didn't really think I needed to buy the outfit to be able to make a simple pattern. Well, the other day it was at Dollar Tree so home it came! This is an easy project that comes together fairly quickly, one girls can most likely make for themselves. An added bonus, Barbie says bibbed skirts are in style this year, we see them in both the women's and girl's departments at the stores.

The kids dolls:

Chelsea has a little diamond mesh bling on the bib and as straps,

and Kelly is getting ready for Halloween😎

Mattel's version has side seams, mine is one piece, with one seam in the back and added straps. I used hot glue for the back seam, but it can also be sewn closed. The best fabric choices for no-sew are felt or flannel. As we're coming to the end of summer, I've made all four of mine from felt. The skirt is designed to be loose and slip up over the doll's hips, no velcro or snap closure needed. 

My inspiration:

Pattern for Standard (Belly Button) Barbie:

Curvy Barbie:

Chelsea:

(You might want to flare the sides a tad more.)

Kelly:

This would really be a fun project for a sleepover craft or birthday party... Felt is about 25¢ a sheet, you can get several dresses from one sheet. You could even make the dresses ahead of time and just let the girls decorate them.

Directions:

Cut one from non-fraying fabric. Aim to cut on the ~outside~ of the black line.

Using straps of choice (the same fabric, ribbon, cording, thin ruffle, or any trim embellishment), hot glue to inside of fabric.

Notes: These felt straps are approximately 5" long x 1/4" wide. The cording on the tan skirt is approximately 13" long and the center was glued to the top center of the bib, long sides left loose, cut ends secured with clear nail polish to prevent fraying. The cord gets tied behind the doll's neck. 

Best suggestion: Lay whatever you are using over the dolls shoulders and cut to length.

Glue or sew back seam. I simply laid one side 1/4" over the other. 

Dress doll, drape the straps over her shoulders, trim if necessary (but remember the idea for this is to be a skirt that lays a bit lower and looser on her hips). Hot glue to front of skirt.

For Chelsea I glued three strips of diamond mesh to bib, cut the middle strip out to create straps and laid them over her shoulders, glued to inside back of skirt. 

For Kelly: I glued the 1/8" ribbon straps to the inside of the bib first, then laid the ribbon over the shoulders and glued to inside of back of skirt.

Embellish as desired with buttons, sewing trim, hand sewn seams, add pockets, appliques etc.

Make something just for fun and have a Happy Weekend:@)

Emoji Dresses from Balloons for Chelsea and Kelly Dolls (Barbie DIY)

These Emoji Dresses from Balloons for Barbie play come together in minutes and make a cute little ~happy~ outfit:@) I used 12" balloons and they fit the Chelsea and Kelly size dolls well. I'm still working on projects trying to use up one package of multi-colored balloons so I drew the faces on. I did see packs of smiley face yellow balloons at Dollar Tree if you need several for a girl's birthday party or sleepover craft.

 
Directions:

1. Buy smiley balloons or draw emoji face on balloon. (I spread my balloon over a Christmas ball ornament to make a smoother surface to draw on.)
2. Cut neck off of balloon.
3. Cut two small 1/4" holes for arms.
4. Cut hole in opposite side from neck.
5. To dress doll: Stretch balloon open and start dressing from the feet.
6. I added the heart sticker eyes after the doll was dressed.
7. Optional matching headband on Kelly doll: Cut off the rolled part of the balloon and stretch it over her head.

Dollar Tree balloons:

Cute:@)

Make something just for fun and 

Have a Happy Day😉