DIY Barbie Boutique

The one thing about Barbie – she loves shopping! These fashion displays are easy to make from re-purposed or re-used items and are sure to be a hit with your Barbie enthusiast.

Whenever possible I try to make my projects from recycled or salvage things or I up-cycle, restore or re-use found items. I  like the idea of inspiring others  to turn something old into something new!

Jewellery Counter Display

How To – Jewellery Display
Start with a box that is the right height for Barbie and cover it in scrap-book or wrapping paper, add a bit of trim and bling and you’re good to go. For the counter I inserted some pink paper into an old picture frame and glued it on top and now you’re ready to make some jewellery! You will need some old jewellery for this one that you can deconstruct. I dug out a few small ring boxes and decorated them with ribbon, paper and trim and then used my bits and pieces of jewellery to make a new miniature sized pendant necklace and bracelet. Glue your jewellery to your decorated ring box and Barbie will be pulling out that credit card in no time! The mannequin with the larger necklace was made by cutting a cheap plastic Barbie in half and removing the head and arms. I covered the exposed arm holes with tape and then spray painted it a glossy black before gluing on a little section of an old bracelet to create a stunning necklace. Finally I cut up a gift bag and cut and folded pieces together to make a few gift bags – add a little tissue paper inside and your jewellery store is open for business.

Mannequin

How To – Mannequin & Accessories
This is one of those necklace hangar that you can find in all sorts of styles at the Thrift Shop. This one already had the skirt and top, so I made a hat, purse and scarf to go with it and give it a little more of a high fashion look.  The scarf is a little piece of stretchy fabric that I wrapped around the neck and glued – I cut a slit in the  hanging pieces to give it a little style and design. The hat is a pop bottle lid covered in fabric glued to a cardboard brim that is also covered in a different fabric then added some ribbon and bow. The purse was another easy accessory and is simply some sticky back sparkly foam cut and folded to size with a stick on jewel.

Clothing Display & Accessories

How To – Clothing Display & Accessories
This clothing display shelf was originally a little girls jewellery box. I added some design zebra tape and it makes a perfect retail display shelf. The dresses I purchased from a dollar store – the packaging had a plastic molded shape over the outfit so I cut that out and put the dress over it and glued it to the doors. This adds shape to the outfit and makes it appear more like a retail display. The mannequin on the top shelf is a cheap plastic Barbie cut in half with head and arms removed and spray painted silver. Beside that is a leather purse made from a piece of an old purse strap – I folded it  over and added some zebra patterned tape with a stick on jewel for some bling. The shoes are Barbie shoes that I coated in glitter – easy way to add some sparkle.

So dig through your old stuff and see what you can come up with – this is a great way to teach kids how to re-use and re-purpose. If you don’t want to make the accessories you can always just make the display elements and then your little one can use her existing accessories.
Happy Shopping!

See More Barbie Doll DIY Projects Here