The Flickr 1996Shareasmilebecky Image Generatr

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=saf-d1Vm7mQ

Dolls that Colleen and I shared over the years, or interchanged between us!

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTfNxthc_IU

This is the long overdue transformation process of the dollies we found on Memorial Day weekend. There were so many dolls who required special attention and extra care, which is what delayed the video. I hope you enjoy, even if it's very late!

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv-HVyNHW-4&feature=youtu.be

Dolls in photo, from left to right:
-1988 The Heart Family Schooltime Fun Coach Dad
-1996 Hollywood Legends Collection The Wizard of Oz Cowardly Lion Ken
-2003 Cali Girl Ken
-2003 My Scene Hanging Out Barbie
-2002 My Scene "Spring Break" Madison
-2014 "Signature" Mal
-2015 Genie Chic Evie
1985 My Little Pony Megan &
Sundance
-2014 "1st Edition" Casta Fierce
-2011 Skultimate Roller Maze Ghoulia
-2014 Monster Exchange Lagoona

Second row:
-1992 Disney Classics Gift Set The Beast
-1992 Disney Classics Gift Set Belle
-2009 Ballerina Princess Snow White
-2009 Ballerina Princess Tiana
-2004 Funk Out! Yasmin
-2003 Formal Funk Yasmin
-2005 Pretty 'N' Punk Yasmin
-2006 Super Secret Make-up Vanity Jade
-2013 Frights Camera Action! Black Carpet Draculaura
-2013 Art Class Draculaura
-2013 Scaremester Catrine

Third row:
-2015 Sisters Vanity Skipper
-1990 Barbie and the Beat Midge
-1996 Share A Smile Becky
-1988 Style Magic Barbie
-1988 My First Barbie
-1988 Dance Club Barbie
-2008 Then and Now Bathing Suit Barbie
-2010 Kohl's Walking Tawny Barbie
-2011 The Princess and the Popstar 2 in 1 Princess to Popstar! Barbie as Tori
-2014 "1st Edition" Darling Charming

It had been weeks since Colleen and I were able to go to the flea market. Due to the flakey weather, it seemed that every Sunday it would be raining, bleak and cold...not ideal for secondhand shopping. But sometimes only going once in a while works out. This Memorial Day weekend, we scored HUGE!!! First let's address the American Girl clothes. Those were not part of the flea market haul, but they arrived in the mail a few days before. AG ran a sale on some of the Beforever nightgowns, and I just could not resist. It has been nearly two years since we were able to order from American Girl, so we got a few things that I had been wanting for a while. Addy and Samantha's nightgowns as well as the Truly Me Star Spangled Fan Gear were on sale. I had no idea that this Fourth of July themed ensemble even existed, but when I saw it in the sale section, I knew it would look amazing on my GOTY Isabelle! It seems that the historical stuff is all being sold out (maybe they are getting rid of everything for new stuff, or they are mass retiring things?). I decided since I wasn't sure what was going to be permanently retired, and since I missed out on certain items that I really wanted, I nabbed Julie's New Year's Eve Outfit and Kit's Play dress. I'm so excited to finally have some new clothes for some of my American Girls!

On Sunday, Colleen and I embarked to the flea market, where we found several treasures. First, Colleen spotted this Share A Smile Becky for $5, still sealed in her box. We got this same Becky doll as kids, also boxed at a flea market. However, our childhood gal was played with for years and years. So of course Colleen was tantalized by the idea of getting a brand new version. We also found a boxed Pretty 'N' Punk Yasmin, but sadly her spare outfit was removed at one point. I was more than happy to buy her anyways, especially since my old doll is way scrappier! Last, but not least, there was a mini hoard of separately sold dolls we scored. I spotted Casta Fierce on a table with a pile of other dolls. I knew there were other Monster High dollies lurking in the same vicinity, so I immediately rushed over to see who was there. Sadly, it seemed as though many of the dolls were missing limbs. But regardless, we decided to hand pick a few, like Monster Exchange Lagoona, Scaremester Catrine, Art Class Draculaura, and Frights Camera Action Draculaura. They were all 50 cents each, which was a bargain (thus why missing appendages was not a big deal to us). As I was counting out the money for the dolls, the seller overheard Colleen pointing out to me that Catrine was missing several limbs. The seller felt terrible , and said we could have the rest of the dolls for free! This is where the 2010s Barbies, Ballerina Princesses, the rest of the Monster High, the two Yasmin dolls, and My Scene Barbie came from. We ended up with 14 dolls for $2 in total! The poor dears were wet for some reason, but at least that was an easier fix than the missing parts.

On Memorial Day Monday, the flea market was open again, so we popped in. I was hoping to find treasure, but usually on holiday Mondays, there aren't many vendors set up. But we found more goodies! The Classics Gift Set Belle and Beast set was just $5 too (weird how all the boxed dolls we got this weekend were only $5). Their box literally fell apart in the Jeep, but luckily none of their little fixings went missing. I also spotted some Disney Descendants dolls at another booth. This was a bargain since the dolls were barely played with (apparently the man who was selling them said they were his daughters, and that they were the duplicates she didn't need). We also found My Little Pony Megan in a bin on the ground at the same booth. Growing up, I found the 1986 version of Megan in a bin at the flea market, and was enchanted by her. Back then, I didn't know she was marketed for the My Little Pony franchise. The other loose dolls (Cowardly Lion Ken, Cali Girl Ken, Kidz Jade, Madison, Darling Charming, and Skipper) we spotted on our way out. A man had a huge tub of dolls on the ground, several scattered on a table, and a few stragglers strewn on the ground by some tools. Many were generic Disney Mattel/new Barbies or clones, but after some digging we found six dollies. The man offered to sell us the whole bin, but what we left behind was for the most part not worth buying. If there had been more clothes or less generic dolls, we may have bought it.

Due to the parade in an adjoining town, we had to go home a different route. Surprisingly the Salvation Army was open, so we figured, why not stop in? At first, it looked like a bust, because the toy section was bare. I'm not sure why, by the past few weeks, this store has not stocked any toys. Colleen, however, noticed a basket of minty looking dolls by the register--the 80s/90s dolls in the photo! They were marked at $2 each, so I originally was only going to by Midge and Happy Family Dad. But at the register, the cashier rang up both dolls for $2.11. Colleen asked on our way back to the Jeep if I wanted the My First Barbie I'd left behind. I admitted that if I doubled back, I would want to rescue all the remaining dolls. What can I say, I'm a sucker for this generation of Barbies! So Colleen went back inside and bought the rest of the crew...they were just $2.11 too, even though there were three dolls! I love how the cashiers at this store almost always mark things down when you go to pay. I'm thinking that these beauties all came from the same former home. Maybe they belonged to a collector, or perhaps they were someone's gently played with childhood dolls. Either way, I'm so grateful to have kept them all together.

Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2SZ9tZK0kg&feature=youtu.be

Dolls in photo from left to right (on top of boxes):
-2014 Monster Exchange Lagoona
-2013 Frights Camera Action! Draculaura
-2013 Art Class Draculaura
-2013 Scaremester Catrine
-2011 Skultimate Roller Maze Ghoulia
-2015 "1st Edition Re-release" Darling Charming
-2004 Funk Out! Yasmin
-2003 Formal Funk Yasmin
-2006 Super Secret Make-up Vanity Jade
-2015 Sisters Vanity Skipper
-1985 My Little Pony Megan & Sundance

Standing/boxed dolls:
-2014 "1st Edition" Casta Fierce
-1992 Disney Classics Gift Set Belle & The Beast
-1988 The Heart Family Schootime Fun Coach Dad
-2005 Pretty 'N' Punk Yasmin
-2003 Cali Girl Ken
-1996 Share A Smile Becky
-1996 Hollywood Legends Collection Wizard of Oz Cowardly Lion Ken

Sitting dolls:
-1988 My First Barbie
-1989 Dance Club Barbie
-1988 Style Magic Barbie
-1990 Barbie and the Beat Midge
-2015 Genie Chic Evie
-2014 "Signature" Mal
-2003 My Scene Hanging Out Barbie
-2002 My Scene "Spring Break" Madison
-2011 The Princess & the Popstar 2 in 1 Princess to Popstar! Barbie as Tori
-2008 Then and Now Bathing Suit Barbie
-2010 Kohl's Walking Tawny Barbie
-2009 Ballerina Princess Tiana
-2009 Ballerina Princess Snow White

These are the rest of my Barbie friends dolls I had when I was a child, plus the random Barbie sized dolls I had. It's pretty obvious that I was madly addicted to Generation Girls when I was younger, considering I had the six originals and a few other dolls. At some point, I also had a Dance Party Lara, but I gave her to my sister's friend not long after getting her; Luckily, I have a replacement I found in 2012. The Becky dolls were my sister's favorite Barbie sized dolls. Even though they were technically mine, I would consider them to be Colleen's dolls since she loved and cherished them far more deeply than I ever did.

Dolls in photo from left to right:
-1999 "Baby One More Time" Britney Spears (by Yaboom); 2000 Live in Concert "Oops!...I Did It Again" Britney Spears (by Play Along); 1986 The Heart Family Kiss & Cuddle Mom; 1998 Generation Girl Nichelle; 1998 Generation Girl Lara; 2000 Generation Girl My Room Lara; 1998 Generation Girl Tori; 1999 Generation Girl Dance Party Tori; 1998 Generation Girl Chelsie; 1998 Generation Girl Ana; 1998 I'm The School Photographer! Becky; 1996 Share A Smile Becky

Front row:
-1996 30th Anniversary Francie; 2002 Rio de Janeiro Lea; 1987 Island Fun Miko; 1991 Sun Sensation Jazzie; 2002 Mermaid Fantasy Kayla; 1988 Style Magic Whitney; 1975 Ballerina Cara; 2002 Mystery Squad Kenzie; 2003 My Scene Chillin' Out Madison; 2003 My Scene Jammin' in Jamaica Nolee; 2003 My Scene Jammin' in Jamaica Cruisin' the Boardwalk Jai

BOX DATE: 1996
MANUFACTURER: Mattel
DOLLS IN LINE: Barbie; Becky; Christie
IMPORTANT NOTES: Becky's dress was also sold with a blue smiley face decal instead of a pink one.

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: Though I had everything that originally came with our childhood doll, I still felt excited and nostalgic to open my adult purchased Becky for Memorial Day weekend 2019. I was surprised to notice, when I had both dolls in front of me, that my childhood dolls outfit was faded compared to the new one's. However, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. While I didn't think of her as shabby, unlike my childhood Photographer Becky, she did see a lot of play. We were older when we got our Share a Smile doll, so she did stand up to time better. However, her outfit most likely fell victim to being improperly laundered. Also, my childhood friend was boxed as well--until around 2002 or 2003. So, her outfit may have faded in the package like my Pet Pals Skipper's. I was still surprised though. Typically, with a doll who has been in a box for a very long time--in the case of my newer doll, 23 years!--you usually see a lot of fading. However, the only thing that was really faded on my new doll was her chair. One side has turned orange. Her overall coloring is amazing though--not just the outfit, but the doll herself. Shelly thinks her factory paint may have been higher color to begin with. Her headband is in better shape than our old Becky's too. Our old one is stretched. I really loved this outfit as a kid. I'm really into the 90s, the early 90s, because those are the first Barbies I remember seeing in stores. I also think the blue really compliments Becky's eyes. I would love to find one of the earliest releases of the outfit with the blue flower petals. I'm a nerd for variation. The leggings and shoes worked their way into other outfits when I was a kid. For some reason, I always loved the bottom of this shoe mold as a kid and really enjoyed staring at it. My favorite item in this set, by far, was the pink wheelchair. Pink is my favorite color, it always has been, and I longed for the pink chair when we only had the red one from School Photographer! Becky. Even when I was using my old Becky, I would often use the pink chair (though both were usually in her bedroom, one as a spare chair). Of course, this wasn't so much a choice--our red one lost its handles. I also loved the white backpack because of the way it fits over her wheelchair. I thought it was way more fun than the book bag that came with the Photographer. I used to play with ours all the time. I love how Becky comes with a necklace for her owner that matches hers. Shelly actually wore our old doll's necklace to school and was embarrassed when the school counselor called it "cute." Me being me, I probably would have told the counselor "I got it with a Barbie," and launched into a detailed explanation of Becky. Not Shelly though. I held on to my new doll's human sized necklace, thinking it would be cute decor in a dolly bedroom.

BOX DATE: 1996
MANUFACTURER: Mattel
DOLLS IN LINE: Barbie; Becky; Christie
BODY TYPE: 1993; articulated waist, elbows, & knees; over sized flat feet
HEAD MOLD: 1995 "Teen Skipper"; pierced ears

BOX DATE: 1996
MANUFACTURER: Mattel
DOLLS IN LINE: Barbie; Becky; Christie
BODY TYPE: 1993; articulated waist, elbows, & knees; over sized flat feet
HEAD MOLD: 1995 "Teen Skipper"; pierced ears

PERSONAL FUN FACT written by my sister: Becky is, by far, my personal favorite Barbie friend and I find her first release to be truly special. However, while this Becky was not our first Becky, I still find her to be Becky's signature look. Shelly was envious of a friend's School Photographer Becky when we were young. Shortly after, she went to Toys 'R' Us and bought her very own. I was instantly jealous. I've always loved wheelchairs. I actually scraped my finger one time trying to put my hand on a moving wheel on my stroller as mom pushed me because I was pretending it was a wheelchair. As I explain on School Photographer Becky, I was instantly jealous of Becky, whether I realized it or not, and more than a little intrigued by her, and finally found what I thought was a covert way to start playing with her regularly, long after Shelly tired of her. The Becky on the left of the photo also started as Shelly's doll that I coveted. This time, however, it didn't take me long at all to claim Becky. I literally watched (sourly) as Shelly played with her for, what? Two doll games or so? See, there couldn't BE two Becky's in one story and, by then, our old Becky was my regular character. There was a dispute in which Shelly said something like, "I'm playing with the new Becky doll first, you can play with the old one still" (to which I basically said, "LAME.") "or not. But it's my turn to play with the wheelchair doll." Fuming, I watched, not even making an effort to be nice, thinking privately that Shelly wasn't even "playing with Becky right" since she used the wheelchair but also selectively made Becky walk, which I had no interest in doing personally (you can take the doll out of the wheelchair, but you can't take the wheelchair out of the doll...). The moment Shelly said, "Okay, I'm bored of her" (which, knowing Shelly didn't take long at all...I'm sure, at some point, Becky turned into a bad housekeeper and I thought "Victory! She'll be mine any moment!") I scooped her up. Though I occasionally still played with the Photographer doll as Becky with a different hairstyle, a double basically, this girl basically became my Becky there on. When I think back to summer 2003, when what is now my room was vacated by Memere, but not yet claimed by me, and turned into a giant Barbie house, one of the first things that comes to mind is Becky. I can see Becky's room--an old french fry box (EWWW) with blankets being used as a bed, many cameras on an old doll box as a bureau, everything I considered hers. Her "room" was usually the first thing you could see when you came into the door and part of it was often in the closet, which was wide open. She is the doll I see as Leroy's disabled sister who he cared for. I made her ask him to do things for her 24/7. I made her the big sister to this fakie doll Shelly called Jade. While the Photographer holds a special, irreplaceable piece of my heart (and I love her just as much), this is who I think of when I think "Becky." I still remember Shelly making her answer the door in a doll game the day she got her as I sat jealously and I still remember making her play Caleb's (Hollywood Hair Ken) sister as a grown woman, putting her in California Barbie's bathing suit. I also typically think of her as Pet Doctor Barbie's girlfriend. (Caleb didn't know she was secretly dating Jessica.) Becky has had many wonderful adventures and I hope we have many together for years to come.
Therefore, when I saw the beauty to her right, at my local flea market, still boxed, for only five dollars in 2019 on Memorial Day weekend, I couldn't say no! Ironically, our first doll was boxed as well. We believe we got our first doll in either 2002 or 2003. This new addition was boxed far longer--about 23 years! This may explain why her limbs are actually looser than my childhood doll's. My first Becky still is fairly tight, as we were in our teens when we got her and played far more gently (and she was wheelchair bound 90% of the time...weird to see her standing in a photo). I think the new lady suffered like my boxed Homecoming Queen Skippers. I got my AA and a blonde together and I can easily tell that blonde apart from my ebay girl because her waist is jiggly like the AA's. I think Becky is in a similar mold--decaying in a box probably loosened her up. Strangely, while I would expect a doll who lived in a box so long to be faded, she and her outfit both literally outshine my older doll. My old doll's outfit may have faded due to play, laundry disaster, or because she was also boxed at one point. However, my new girl's paint leads me to believe she didn't just hold her coloring against the grain of time, but is a high color variant to begin with. Her coloring is positively stunning! Her eyes almost look smaller and brighter, if that makes any sense at all. She is truly a gem and I'm so glad to have her! I hope we go on many adventures together as well.