Anyhow, since I totally blew it, here is a recap video from AP that will give you a bit of an idea of what I missed.

The Barbie Convention is an annual event, but this year’s event was so much more special as it is Barbie’s 50th birthday. Here is more coverage of the event I missed…

• Ms. Cavanaugh Goes to Washington has plenty of pictures from the Barbie Convention posted already.
• Deacon Does DC has a good summary
• 2009 Convention Souvenir Barbies
• SouthCoast Today on the Barbie Convention
• KansasCity.com has a gallery with a few gorgeous photos from the convention
• If you look on Flickr and do a search for the 2009 Barbie Convention you will find 1,000s of photos from people who attended the convention and all their goodies

Note to self – pay a little more attention to these events happening in your own “backyard”!  So, it you or anyone you know went to the Barbie Convention and have photos, stories, or experiences to share with us, please do not hesitate to send it in to share @ dolldiaries.com!

The desk is plastic, but it is a sturdy plastic that is not too big or too small.

Marisol offered to be our model. She fits comfrotably in the desk which has a shelf underneath to hold her books. The desk comes with a readable math book, folder with worksheets, and a pencil case. The backpack has a water bottle, a planner, Homework Smarts book, library card, a three ring binder and is just perfect for the dolls!

I think these two items are great values – especially from the play standpoint. What do you think? Cute?

First up we have Lilly’s dolls having a backyard July 4th party:

From Taelyn…

Our Bitty Baby wearing her patriotic cheer outfit…

Stephanie’s Kaitlyn is ready for the parade…

Rachel’s dolls are celebrating…

And from Starr…

AmericanGirlFan97 has a wagon full of cuties…

And Anne may have simply the most stunning photos yet!

Who’s next?

P.S. – I know there are some more non-July 4th pictures in the queue to get posted. Be patient with me, I’ll get them up there soon.

Ivy, Kaya, Addy, Julie, Kirsten, Jess, Rebecca, Nellie, Samantha

Addy and Julie

Ivy and Kaya

Rebecca and Nellie

Samantha

Bitty Twins Maggie and Max plus Bitty Baby

If you want your photos featured on our site, please send them to share@dolldiaires.com. It can be any dolls – American Girl, Barbie, My Twinn, Webkinz, Build a Bear, or any other doll line. If your dolls are all dressed up for a special holiday or scene, we’d love to see those too!

Dolls made before 1998 are considered “pre-Mattel” since Pleasant Rowland sold the American Girl Company to Mattel that year.

While Pre-Mattel dolls are hard to find, they are still available regularly on eBay and if you are lucky you may find one at a yard sale or even a thrift store.

They are even big enough to hold doll lunch!

We only saw them in Coca Cola or Sprite designs, but there may be others. At $1 they were too cute to pass up.

I love these vignette’s they do for each of the historical dolls. It really helps tie together the actual history and items of the time period with the dolls and their stories.

More of my photos coming soon!

The Twilight movie phenomenom is coming to the Barbie collection. Toys “R” Us will being selling exclusive Bella and Edward “Barbie and Ken” dolls in October 2009. The Canadian TRU already has the dolls available for pre-sale but they won’t ship until late November.

Characters Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are dressed in their trademark outfits and they have done a great job with making the Edward doll’s skin tone and facial features true to the movie character.

What do think of them? I think they are gorgeous and would be a must for true Twilight fan or movie doll collection.

The doll on the far left has the Wendi face mold from the 2003 China era. She has fair skin, light blue eyes, and golden brown hair. She is wearing a hand-smocked dress that was bought on eBay for $25 that included the dress, half-slip, and pantaloons.

The doll in the middle also has the Wendi face mold from the 2008 Virginia era. She has dark brown hair, green-brown eyes, and fair skin. She is wearing a one piece jumper dress from eBay that cost $16 (including shipping). I added the hoop skirt for extra fullness.

The doll on the far right has the Audrey face mold from the 2003 China era. She has very fair skin, blue eyes, and light blond hair. She is also wearing a hand-smocked dress that I bought on eBay for $25 that included the dress, half-slip, and pantaloon.

I like the My Twinn dolls because they’re more lifelike and larger than American Girl dolls at 23″ tall. Finding handmade outfits for them is enjoyable. They’re more expensive than American Girl, but it’s fun to have a doll that looks so much like you. Guess which one is Mini-Lily!

American Girl Kit and My Twinn Audrey look like sisters in this picture. Again, it was a complete accident that they are wearing similar dresses and look so much alike. In the background is a Seymour Mann Avery doll and to the right of Kit is Molly in her birthday outfit.

Felicity and Elizabeth are posing with their My Twinn counterparts. I custom ordered the My Twinn dresses from an eBay seller who makes girl and doll dresses for AG. They were $15 apiece (not a typo!) and included the dress, hoop skirt, mob cap, and purse. I honestly didn’t intend for the dresses to match Felicity’s and Elizabeth’s; I just happened to like those fabrics.

You can find retired My Twinn dolls, clothes, furniture, accessories and custom outfits on eBay.

***These photos are beautiful, Lily! Thanks for sharing them with us. If you have photos of any of your dolls and want them featured on the site, email them to share@dolldiaries.com.

The Vanange line of multicultural dolls are wholesome 7 year olds from different countries whose stories encourage friendship, helping others, and global understanding. The dolls have vinyl limbs and soft bodies and stand about 19.5″ tall. Each doll comes with a book and retails for about $100.

The dolls in the Vanage collection are (descriptions from Amazon):

Vanange Analisa red-headed doll from Italy who loves to play soccer. Analisa is a happy and smiley red headed seven year old Italian girl who loves to play soccer. She enjoys helping her mom cook the most delicious foods in the kitchen. They chat a lot while they cook and Analisa likes to discuss everything with her mom. Analisa is a real multi-cultured girl! Her best friend and neighbor of five years, Kristelle moved back to Paris where she was born. They are both heart broken and they miss each other. They write to each other all the time. Analisa is learning a lot about the French culture, including the language from her friend Kristelle. So both girls speak French, Italian and English! Analisa found out that she also has a cousin who leaves in the Seychelles Islands. The two of them write to each other too and they are learning so much from each other.

Vanange Apolonia Latina doll from the Dominican Republic. Apolonia has the most exciting and heart-wrenching life experience for a seven-year old track-and-field runner! She was born in the Dominican Republic where she had a normal and quiet life. But one day, her dad announced that he has accepted a job offer to be a Marine Biologist in the Seychelles Islands – a place far, far away. Apolonia thought that she would die from the heartache of leaving her home, her Abuelita and Abuelito, and her friends behind. Not knowing the language or anything about her new home, Apolonia had to travel across the globe to get to the Seychelles. On her first day of school, she was frightened and she cried because she did not know anyone at school. However, little did she know that her life was about to change for the best! She was about to meet her new best friend and fall in love with her new home.

Vanange Bella the Multi-Ethnic Doll from Roosevelt Island New York City. Bella is a beautiful multi-ethnic girl from Roosevelt Island, New York City who enjoys to roller blade with her friends along the East River. She has beautiful cascading curls. Bella’s mom is African-American and her dad is Caucasian with blond hair and green eyes. Bella knows all about the beauty of cultural diversity. In her book, she also talks about the event that happened in her beloved New York City and changed the whole world: September 11, 2001.

Vanange Kristelle doll from Paris. She is also a great tennis player! She was born in Paris and moved to Italy with her parents when she was two years old. That’s how she and Analisa became best friends. Kristelle is now back in Paris after five years and she is discovering the city of Paris for the first time.

Vanange Luz Philipina doll . Luz is a quiet and loving seven year old girl from the Philippines. She has a yellow belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. Luz believes that you should never give up on your dreams, no matter what! She loves to spend quality time with her family including her grand parents. Luz loves to help her mom prepare foods and serve them in the Soup Kitchen. This is a place where people who do not have foods can go and get fed warm foods from other caring people. This experience gives Luz a new way to look at the world.

Vanange Marybelle doll from Atlanta, Georgia USA. Marybelle, (MB) is a real southern belle beauty who loves to play basket ball. She is seven years old and lives in Atlanta Georgia in a big mansion with her mom and dad. MB thought that all children around the world had the same privileges as she.

Vanange Vannah doll from the Seychelles Islands. Vannah is a seven year old girl full of love – who lives in the Seychelles Islands with her family. These are some of activities she enjoys: dancing ballet, running up and down the hills of her islands, playing beach volley ball with her friends and family and rope jumping. She knows that when she grows up she can do anything she chooses to because she believes in herself.

As of now I do not see any additional outfits or accessories for the dolls besides their very cute meet dresses. They do look like they might be able to wear some outfits from American Girl or possibly My Twinn doll clothes.