Thursday, September 18, 2014

Barbie Fashion Fever Build a Room Kit

Dear Readers,

I have been wanting to build a roombox for quite some time so I can take pictures of my dollies.   I even chose the wood planks at the craft store but I am no good at this.  Fast-foward 4 months and still no roombox so I decided out of desperation to try the Barbie Fashion Fever Build A Room Kit.  It was a whopping $25 dollars on Amazon.  I told you I was desperate >.<


The outside box looked so promising.  It included two different wallpapers and ridges on the floor (which means I could re-use it for other wallpapers of my own),   There was also a thin shelf and a few accessories like yellow stickers for the floor and other non-memorable plastic items. 

The walls are made of two cardboard pieces that you can insert in the ridges you see on the floor.  One side is covered with a rather hypnotic and annoying pattern of pink and red roses. The shelf is super thin and could probably carry only a frame or other light objects.

On the other side of the wall is another equally hypnotic pattern composed of white, green and blue diamond.  Notice the gap in between the two walls?  That's a design flaw.  The miWorld mall store solved that issue by providing a small triangular plastic piece that connected the top of the two walls.  I used tape on the back to do the same trick in this case.

The Barbie doll shown on the front of the box looks small but I think it's because she is standing in the middle of the room and the angle of the shot made her look that way.  In reality, a Barbie doll is very tall for the walls of this room.  See below for a comparison photo.  From left to right: Barbie, Liv, J-Doll, and Licca.


I think the J-Doll and Licca dolls would be suitable for the height of this room because Barbie and Liv would look awkward in the shots unless they sit down. 


In the picture below is J-Doll Marche.  She is a beautiful doll with an awesome outfit.  I changed her into a more comfortable attire.  She is dressed in a white and green summer dress made by Re-ment.  She was blessed with gorgeous soft hair so I did not have to rewig her like I did for J-Doll Esplanadi Katu.  


The chair, footrest and table are from my Hannah Montana Malibu Beach House.  The flower and vase are accessories from a Barbie blue kitchen set. 

J-Doll Esplanadi Katu was invited for an afternoon tea.  Her grey shorts and white top with blue polka dot are also made by Re-ment.  Shelf, chairs and table by IKEA and all tea cups and plates by Re-ment.  The scones and muffin are from Re-ment  Bread and Butter Collection.  They look amazingly real and the texture was even well done!  It was just too much fun to set up this scene!  But that red line on the wallpaper corner annoyed me to no end!  


I had to take a shot from another angle to hide that red line.  Don't you think it looks less distracting now that it is no longer there?  That's another design flaw.  The red line is from the other side of the wall covered with the roses.  What an unprofessional finish to leave it there for the other wallpaper! 

The floor is meh.  The yellow stickers were ridiculous and I would have preferred another cardboard insert to show a proper wood floor or carpet or something actually less tacky than huge pink tiles but hey, this is Barbie stuff so getting pink is rather the norm.

I do love that Mattel actually came up with a roombox but it could have been so much better.    Sadly, they didn't improve on the initial design and it fell out of production.  I hope they will eventually release something close to that idea but with better walls and floors and maybe allow for a window or door to be added.  That would be AWESOME!  

I think I overpaid for this and it is really not worth the $25 I spent.  I am still biting my hands over that but it may have possibilities and I will look into creating my own wallpapers... preferably without hypnotic patterns or a red line smack in the corner of the room!



23 comments:

  1. Hello from Spain: I read that you do not like this decoration Mattel. I find original and beautiful. In my country it was never for sale this sort of decorative elements. Keep in touch

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    1. Thank you Marta! I like the concept but the wallpaper did not please me.

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  2. Your own wallpapers and flooring would make the room look even better! I think you could do something with it. You could even cut fresh pieces of cardboard with cut-out window and door. I think this was a good find, even if it was overpriced. You can make a lot more of it. Good luck! xo Jennifer

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    1. Thanks Jennifer! I hope to make it work! I have some cardboard pieces at home that I can cover with scrapbooking paper. Hopefully it will look better! :D

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  3. The room itself is a great idea! I like the bottom :). Like Jennifer said, I would wallpaper the wallpaper :D. Than it looks perfect :)

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    1. Thanks for your encouragement! I will try a new wallpaper this weekend!

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  4. I think the size of the diorama is perfect, big enough to have two or more J-dolls. Size is important, you can DIY other things anyway. Changing wall paper and adding wainscoting (if possible) will make it look better. I think that to use simple wallpaper (light-color, non-distractive) and decorate with wall pictures or other decoration is a good idea. It looks better than you thought, dear. Adding a window is not so hard. Plus in a diorama it’s better to add a window frame (you will find a lot on eBay) with a printed background (a beautiful windowview) attached to it so you won’t need worry unrelated things outside the roombox pop into the window when taking pictures.

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    1. Thank you for your advice Chloe! Getting the window with an image is a fantastic idea! I'll look into the the wainscoting and see what I can do :) Thanks so much!

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  5. Thanks for showing this! The design isn't sadly so good one would expect, with red lines and small for advertised doll. But make it yours with new wallpapers and flooring, and it will much better :)

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    1. I have hopes it would be better because the existing design does not please me at all.

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  6. Whoa. I think these rooms look swell! It's like the Barbie club! I want to have tea in this place. :)

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    1. A Barbie Club is a good idea :) I think I'll try to create another tea room with a different wallpaper this time!

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  7. Je la trouve pas mal, même si elle n'est pas parfaite... il est vrai que la ligne rouge n'est pas super à voir, j'aime mieux la deuxième photo que tu as faite en la cachant. Je suis certaine que tu feras toi même de très beaux décors à l'avenir. En attendant tu peux toujours mettre une petite moquette sur le sol, comme ça tu ne verras plus ce rose " Barbie". ;)
    J'aime beaucoup les petites scènes que tu as faites. Tes Dolls sont magnifiques dans ce décor.

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    1. Merci ma belle. Le design n'est pas terrible en effet et je vais sûrement changer le plancher. Je n'aime pas du tout les dalles roses! Mes poupées te disent merci pour le compliment! C'est qu'elles sont coquettes!

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  8. I really like the green and blue wallpaper, but like you say, the red line is annoying! I'm sorry you aren't really happy with it.. But I hope it will work for you any way, I'm sure you can fix it and make it better =)
    Hannah

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    1. I just wished it was better to start with. I wouldn't mind so much the green and blue wallpaper but that red line just ruined it. I hope to create something better!

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  9. Maybe not perfect, but with a little imagination, I'm sure you will solve all the problems that you see. At least you have the bones to build on now, and it will be fun to do I'm sure.
    Good luck with your little room!
    X

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    1. Thank you! I hope the bones as said perfectly, will be good for future projects!

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  10. I thought your room box has been so very good and very modern. I really like the floor. Good luck whit change it.
    Thanks for your comment on my blog, I am so impressed with all the post you get to do, and all the fine scenes you always show. With me, time really flies.
    Hugs
    Wyrna

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    1. Thank you Wyrna! My displays cannot compare to your beautiful scenes :)

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  11. Thanks so much for the honest feedback! In regards to the floor I had the same problem with a Barbie Dream House (1980s) floor section so decided to have my husband spray paint it shiny black - now it looks like polished marble.

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    1. Thank you for your comment! It's a great idea to spray paint it! I will try something too as the pink is just not working with any of my furniture now :)

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  12. Hii
    Would you happen to have the Room measurments?
    Thank you

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