With a new shift in how Barbie is reaching girls, they are designing career dolls that have a very interesting range. When they asked me to make costumes to match this new line of dolls, I was very excited to see this construction builder as one of them. A job that most think is held primarily by men, girls are now learning that women are more than capable of this type of career path.

What you’ll need:

• White t-shirt
• Yellow t-shirt
• Jeans
• Orange duct tape
• Orange paint
• Paintbrush
• Cardboard
• Scissors
• Thin black duct tape
• Thin silver duct tape
• Black marker
• Pink construction helmet

Toolbelt:

1. Cut 7” tools from cardboard and paint them orange.
2. Adhere 2 strips of orange duct tape face to face to make the belt.
3. Cover a sheet of copy paper with orange tape and fold in half lengthwise. Cut up the middle to create to 5.5” by 4.25” rectangles. Tape up the two open sides to make pockets.
4. Fold over a strip of duct tape to make a 1” tall strip. Glue to the front of each pocket to make a loop to hang tools.
5. Hot glue pockets to the middle of the orange strip, insert the tools, and attach in the back with a piece of duct tape.

Vest:

1. Draw a line down the center of the shirt and two curved lines around the sleeves.
2. Adhere a piece of black tape down the center and silver tape on the side panels to match Barbie’s vest.
3. Cut up the center black tape line and cut off the neck of the t-shirt.
4. Wrap black tape around the cut edges.

There was a time, and it wasn’t too long ago, that we only associated Barbie dolls with beauty, fashion, shopping, and let’s not forget Ken. Barbie has pivoted in a big way to teach little girls that they truly can be anything they want to be.

When my friends at Barbie asked me to create DIY costumes based on these new career dolls, I was excited to help promote this positive shift. Check out this intelligent and respectable scientist, with not just matching necklaces, but matching lab flasks, too!

What you need:

• White costume lab coat
• Lavender t-shirt dress
• White felt dot stickers
• Ruler
• Pink pom-poms
• Pink string
• Needle
• Scissors
• Science goggles
• Plastic lab flask

1. Adhere white felt circle stickers to dress. Use a ruler to line them up.
2. Thread pink pom-poms onto string to make Barbie’s necklace. Knot in back.
3. Fill plastic flask with water and add food coloring to match.

At some point in our lives, we all dream of being an astronaut…of floating around in the space and sticking a flag on the moon. Barbie is now turning those dreams into dolls in their new line of career dolls.

For Halloween, they asked me to design DIY costumes based on these awesome dolls. Super easy, this costume will thrill any girl to match her mini-me.

What you need:

• White helmet
• White pullover sweatshirt
• White sweatpants
• White neck gaiter
• White gloves
• Blue tape
• Silver tape
• Red, blue, gray, white, green felt
• Blue rhinestones
• Scissors
• Hot-glue gun
• 2” white dot stickers

1. Apply blue and silver tape to the legs, following the pattern on Barbie’s suit.
2. Cut off bottom cuffs of sweatpants.
3. Cut out dials and patches from felt to match Barbie’s suit and apply with hot-glue. Glue on blue rhinestones to add details.
4. Cover holes in the bike helmet with 2” white dot stickers.

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You will need

• Large bucket or bowl
• Measuring cups
• Wood craft sticks for stirring
• Alginate molding powder
• 2-liter plastic bottle with the top cut off
• Casting plaster
• Craft knife
• Sandpaper (100-grit)
• Acrylic Paint
• Paintbrush
• Fine-tip paint pen
• Chisel

Step 1: Scoop alginate compound into a large bucket or bowl. To cast an adult hand, you’ll need 6 cups.

Step 2: Add an equal amount of room temperature water to the alginate powder.

Step 3: Stir the ingredients together with a wood stick. Then eliminate any remaining lumps with one hand, making sure to keep the other hand clean for casting.

Step 4: Quickly pour the paste into the 2-liter bottle.

Step 5: Insert a clean hand, held in the pose that you want to cast, into the mixture. Keep your hand submerged and in position, remaining as still as possible, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Step 6: Tap the top of the alginate with your free hand to make sure it’s fully set. Once the alginate has hardened, gently wiggle your submerged hand and fingers to get them loose. Carefully remove your hand. Congratulations—you’ve just made a mold!

Step 7: Set your mold to the side and mix up some plaster according to package instructions, stirring thoroughly until smooth.

Step 8: Pour the plaster into the mold you created. Depending on the humidity, it can take 30 minutes or longer for the plaster to set.

Step 9: Once the plaster has set, tap the top to loosen, then begin cutting away the plastic bottle using a craft or utility knife. Continue cutting carefully, now through the alginate, being mindful not to cut into the plaster fingers you’ve made. Keep removing alginate until your plaster hand is revealed. If there are any air bubbles or mistakes, use extra plaster to fill in the holes.

Step 10: Let the hand dry for at least 12 hours before painting, and sand off any rough spots before you begin. You can also sand the bottom of the hand into a flat base so that it can stand upright.

Step 11: Paint the plaster with an opaque acrylic paint and let dry.

Step 12: Using a fine-tip paint pen in a contrasting color, follow a palmistry diagram to draw markings on the painted hand.

Step 13: If you want to make a flat plaster hand into a candle holder, use a small chisel or a flat clay sculpting tool to carve out a hole in the plaster to fit the candle. Work slowly, carving just a little at a time, until you’ve made a shallow well that matches the candle’s diameter.

After many failed attempts at making cake pops (how are there so many bad instructions out there?), I finally watched Kris Galicia Brown’s Cake Pop Decorating Class on Bluprint. It was not only super informative, but it had debunked so many false “rules” of cake pops that I had been using…the biggest being that candy melts should only be melted in silicone or plastic (that’s the true statement).

When Bluprint asked me to make these Jack-O-Lantern cake poppers for an article on their site, I used all of her genius tips!

I swear they are easier than they look!