How to Make Cute and Chic Barbie Art
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Let's create some colorful, nostalgic, 90's artwork for your walls with Barbie accessories, glue and a shadowbox frame. This is a simple and cheap DIY that leaves you with a really cute and fun piece for your home. Barbie's were a classic part of my childhood though my brother and I tended to blow my sister's up with fireworks rather play with them. My mom had some leftover Barbie shoes and jewelry in the attic and I had the idea to create my sister a piece. I ordered some extra pieces so I had a variety of colors and made my sister a pink, teal, white and silver piece. It turned out so well I decided to make some more varieties in various colors and sell them on my Etsy until I ran out of supplies.
Tips & Tricks
- I suggest using a gel glue because normal super glue runs and will get messy and not be as successful with the plastic shoes.
- My frame is 12" x 12" and my art is laid out at 10" x 10". I used a ruler to create guides so it could be as close to a square as possible. Having the white space on the outside helps balance the color out.
- I used a variety of shoes, jewlery, bags and random pieces (like roller skates and sunglasses). Make sure to be aware of how deep your shadowbox is as some pieces may not fit.
- Use the shoes as your main component, flipping directions and varying in sizes, and organize by colors. This time I did rainbow with 6 colors but other pieces I have done 3-5.
- Drop in some jewlery throughout for a metallic pop. For the crowns I had to bend the ends to get them to fit under the glass and also give me something to glue down.
- Here are a few places I shopped to get my Barbie supplies:
If video format is more your speed, I made a compilation of the DIY for you to follow. I am going to try this on more of my blog posts. Let me know if you like it! Subscribe to my YouTube channel to keep up with new videos or my TikTok @thegreenmadhouse.
Draw Guides
Mark 2” points in on all four sides. You will place your art within these points.
Layout Accessories
Start to layout your accessories. Place a ruler on the dots to serve as a guide and line up your art into a 10” square.
Glue Accessories
Start to glue your accessories down. Starting in a corner and working your way out. You may find your layout shifts from the previous plan.
Erase the Dots
Erase the points you made if they aren’t covered already by your shoes.
Frame it
Pop it in whatever shadowbox frame you chose and hang it on the wall!
Shop on my Etsy
I really enjoyed this DIY. There is something soothing about laying out the Barbie pieces like a puzzle. Making all the sizes fit together in a pleasing way is a relaxing exercise for me. I hope you enjoyed this DIY and all the possibilities. Let me know how yours turns out or by tagging me on instagram @thegreenmadhouse.
