What Have I Been Doing Lately?

Not writing, as you can tell. I've had projects lining 2 crafting tables. I've had a friend to help with editing. And cleaning up the clutter around the house. But I don't regret not blogging so much. These projects have been filling my time meaningfully. I feel accomplished when I get another one done. Take this one for instance....

My daughters wanted to have characters from the older Batman movies. The two with Michael Keaton. Then those two from the 90's. They learned about Cat Woman and Poison Ivy. So it didn't take long for the request to make a Poison Ivy dress came about. I have to say that for my first time making something like this with the sewing machine, it came out pretty nice. Now I want to attempt to make another for my own doll...

I've learned to make doll capes too. They wanted their own OOAK Attack on Titan dolls to be dressed like the Scouts. 

Not everything was doll related, however. I did finally create this marble art that hangs under our back porch. The kids had gotten a ton of marbles from a friend. They used the ones that would work with a marble run and the rest ended up in my room somehow. So I got to thinking... How could I use them?? Ta-da! This is what came from such a question. I used a round wooden charcuterie board, painted black. Wire for crafting, I suggest 16-18 gauge if you are making something for outdoors that has to withstand winds. I used old necklace chains from broken necklaces to hang them down.

It came out so well, that one of my sons even asked me to make him a pendant to wear as a necklace in the same style of the wrapped marbles for this project! Then he wanted to give some to friends and wanted some for the upcoming fundraiser. So, I made more. It was fun and has given me the know-how on making other projects! 

I promise more blogging will happen. Just not so frequently while projects are getting done! But I will share some of the better ones with you. 

From Amazing Hair to Video Game Character - Barbie Doll Transformation!

My youngest has been learning to play Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2). She plays with her siblings and with her Dad as often as she can. This is the kid who fell in love with the Jurassic World, and then Jurassic Park movies. Who thought Disney princess movies were scary. Yep, she loves zombie movies and games. This is my kid! But don't worry, she has her girly side too. She still plays with Barbies with her older sister. What I've started noticing, however, is that her Barbie dolls are pretty much all characters from a movie or game she is currently in love with.

So... Rochelle and Ellis from L4D2 are her absolute favorite characters! She loves how Ellis talks, usually rambling in that southern hick accent about some memory he has of pre-zombie life. And Rochelle is the sweetheart healer that looks after the team. She found clothes among her doll collection and turned one of the guys into Ellis. I was so proud of her! But! She didn't have a doll that could be Rochelle. That is where Mama comes to the rescue. I started to look for a doll that could have potential in being her Rochelle. Since it is an intense zombie game, the characters are pretty simple. Rochelle wears a pink tee shirt and jeans, clunky boots and hair is up tight to be outta the way from the reaching dead hands. But I did have one specification that had to be met. She had to have at least one hand bent at the elbow if she couldn't be fully articulated. Rochelle needs this bent arm to better carry her weapons that she uses to fight the hordes. Personally, I prefer the Made to Move dolls. They are just hard to find and SO expensive.

But don't despair! I found this Barbie Amazing Hair doll at our local Walmart on clearance for $9. Quite the deal! I've wanted the accessories for my own dolls for a while. And the fact that she met my requirements to be turned into a Rochelle for the Megabits, made it even better. 

Now for the transformation!

I could show you all the cool things in this set, but I'm sure if you know dolls, you know this set. So let's skip that part and just dive into the doll itself. I hate the hair on this doll! No, seriously. Why did anyone think that tinsel in the hair is cool? It is annoying! So that had to change. Rochelle has these braids (?) that are pulled back into a tight... bun? No... not quite.

I'll let you describe it and just show you what she looks like. This is one tough cookie! I prefer to play her when I play too. Though there is one thing that bothers me about her. Zombie apocalypse and you were those huge hoop earrings?!  Um... Hello?! That would be extremely painful if they get grabbed, don't you think? Besides, the idea is that you don't want more things they can grab onto. But that is just my opinion. I suppose some ladies still wanna hang onto the bling and fabulous even after the world has come to an end as they knew it. 

Enough of my rant on her looks. Let's make this doll look just like her, shall we??

Starting From the Top

I had to cut the dolls hair, pull off the head and the pull out the remainder of hair from the very roots.

Rochelle is not a rainbow-haired kind of gal. So I had to get her down to bald and give her all new hair. From yarn! As you can see in these photos, I also needed to wipe the sparkles from under her eyes. I use 100% acetone nail polish remover on a Q-tip. Then I painted the head where the hair would go, black. This way, even if it shows through, it wouldn't be too noticeable. Something I forgot - you should add a clear coat to seal it. Otherwise you risk the paint rubbing off. Granted, only if you think the hair won't cover it well enough. 

If you can get a re-rooting tool for putting the doll hair in, that would be a great idea. I didn't get one in time. So... I improvised with some floral wire. It was an incredibly difficult task that took long enough to stiffen my neck and give me a headache. But I managed to make a solid line down the middle of her head at least.

Once I had the yarn through the holes, I knotted the end and pulled it taut. From there you trim to the desired length. And, lastly, you have to undo each strand of yarn.

Time consuming, but totally worth the end result and even the reactions of my little one! I then used a clear rubber band from doll packaging to give her hair a pony tail. Afterwards, trim to the right length. Ending up with a look like this!

What to Wear?

Her clothes are a lot simpler. A pink shirt and some dark, maybe black, jeans finished off with some boots. The accessories are something I will have to put a little more effort into, but even with that I'm feeling like it won't be too much trouble. 

I found this top at the local antique shop we frequent. They have a new booth that has baggies of sorted outfits. I knew this was the perfect shirt as soon as I saw it! 

My daughter had some blue jeans to use. I had this Barbie bracelet that just needed a silver paint job to look like her bangles. My youngest told me she didn't like Rochelle's earrings (she hates hoop earrings), so we won't be adding in that detail. 

I noticed that she had a big bruise on her arm. Not like you get into a fight without a single mark, you know? So I gave the doll one too! 

I painted her silver bangles and painted her a shiny pair of boots. I even made her a thin belt!

What will she fight with??

In the game, there are various weapons you can grab to take out the hordes as they come. I decided to give her a couple.

The fire ax is a great melee weapon. And then there is the MP5 which my husband suggested as he thought that was a favorite gun. I found some I could 3D print for her.

Afterwards, I gave them a paint job! I didn't go all out on the paint job. As my husband reminded me, the girls are bit rough on their dolls and accessories. But I did add in some black paint and then a clear coat to make it shiny. It became Ellis' gun. 

What do you think? Leave me a comment below and let me know! I can't wait to get started on the next doll transformation.

Giving Barbie a Cozy Christmas

I've been slowly making things for the eventual doll house I want to put together for my own doll scenes. One thing I have always wanted was a fireplace. I love fireplaces! That is one of the downsides to the house we bought. It has no fireplace!! So, the dolls will have one instead. I pulled out various wood pieces that I had stocked in my crafting bin. My husband engineered them together to give me a gorgeous fireplace. 

I knew I wanted a ledge to serve as a seat. The closest we got to making it work was this. I covered this with printed out brick patterned paper. It reminded me of a fireplace we had at one of the homes my parents had bought.

After we had this built as the base, I used some Dollar Tree wood cubes on the sides to make depth. I had originally thought this would be painted to look sorta like bricks, but it came out a bit messier than I planned. These blocks are not even close to all being the same size.

So I ended up covering it with the brick paper as well. It worked out so much better this way! There also had to be a mantel on this creation. After all, where would I hang those stockings and set up decorations?

Pillars on either side were a beautiful bonus. My husband even made it realistic with a chimney piece on top. It has depth so that I can add some faux wood and maybe even an electric tealight candle. Underneath, I can store more wood pieces. 

Lastly, I painted the front piece a lighter color for contrast, the inner part is a darker color that resembles soot.

I love the end product! Now, I have the perfect place to hang stockings and decorate for the winter time. 

Doll-Sized Christmas Celebrations!

Christmas is one holiday I don't mind celebrating. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite, but Christmas comes in second. Of course, that means that I want to create doll-sized fun as well.

Creating the tree

My daughters have wanted a Christmas tree. Especially since my husband bought me the Legend of Zelda one that I use for my doll room. But those doll-sized trees can be SO pricey! Thankfully, we found one at Hobby Lobby that was only $3.50 during a half off sale. My first thought was that it was very much a Charlie Brown Christmas tree! But my oldest daughter fell in love with it. 

We had been given these decorations, mostly for Valentine's Day, but there was one with clear stars hanging from it. I pulled one of the stars off and attached it to the top of the tree. My husband fixed it when he saw that it was "crooked" and nearly "upside down".

Included in those decorations were these little foam balls, covered in red glitter. I was able to add little twine hooks so they could hang them, but my daughter also wanted to just shove some in between the branches. Turns out, they only work with the hooks, when they hang from the bottom. 

 

Next, we grabbed this mini string of bulbs from Michaels. Normally priced at $3.99, they had an online coupon for 25% off that brought them to $1.79. It is a yard long and we managed to wrap it around the tree pretty nicely. 

And finally, my daughter created this 'skirt' to go around her tree with a scrap of shiny red material.

Tiny lanterns for the dark winter

I picked up these tiny lanterns that were also half off. They are ornaments, but if you tighten the string, it is the perfect size for the dolls! And to make things better, my engineer husband wants to attempt to make them actually light up. I told him I would be so excited if he can manage that! So we will see. But the pack had 4 lanterns for $4.99 (but they were half off when I bought them). I laughed when I read the warning at the bottom: Decorative use only - Not a toy.

They haven't met Barbie collectors and photographers! These are perfect "toys" for us.

                  What goes under the tree? 

I can't afford to buy a bunch of those Mini Brands Toys capsules. So the idea came to me... why not make some? I had been looking at toy packaging that the kids were ripping open. There was a tiny LEGO logo. So I printed out a box outline that I folded into shape. I painted it blue and cut out LEGO themed things from a magazine that came in the mail. Voila! We have a LEGO set for Christmas. 

But you don't typically put unwrapped gifts under the tree anyhow. So I printed multiple box templates out that were of a variety of sizes. I printed them on recycled paper, but then I cut cardboard from packaging to make it more solid. Then, after they are put together in the box shape, I decorate them. Scraps of wrapping paper can be glued on. 

I found this cute bag template I could print out too. I had some tissue paper that came from the Shadow/Rainbow High Fashion packs that can be stuffed into the top to look like a wrapped gift. Or even wrapped around a tiny jewelry box.

My daughters thought that wreaths were a great thing to have around Christmas. So they made some! You can use pipe cleaners and beads or I found these gift tags that came as miniature wreaths and added some beads with hot glue. I think they came out really well.

I have a few other ideas percolating. Stockings to hang. Maybe a fireplace with a mantle to hang them? And if I'm really adventurous, I might attempt to make them some Christmas hats! But for now, I leave you with some ideas to try on your own. Enjoy!

My World in Miniature - Gamer Room!

While the kids were away, Mom will play! Okay, not really. But I had some fun moments while the kids were gone. And I have been trying to complete some of the started projects since then. Finding the will to want to has been hit or miss, but I like to think I've made great progress. 

What I started with

I started with creating a Barbie room. This is a space that I can rearrange and take photos in. I wanted to make it more gamer themed. But I had to do some repairs. Starting with the back wall. This was an old entertainment center my husband had before we got married. We didn't need it for that purpose anymore, so I decided to make it for the dolls. I glued paper to two of the walls that made it look like it was covered in bricks. This was a free printable from My Froggy Stuff. The Backgrounds, Nature, Windows, Room Stuff is the link you want to click for the walls. The flooring is contact paper from Dollar Tree. I repaired the back wall by inserting a foamboard piece from Walmart. I found they are only .98 in their craft section while Dollar Tree is, of course, $1.25 now. I also cut strips of the foamboard to create baseboards. This gives it cleaner seams. 

Finding supplies: Dollar Tree has great supplies. But don't despair if you don't find what you are looking for there. Check out the craft stores, especially in the scrap booking section for stickers and paper to do walls, floors or ceilings with.

Contact paper makes for amazing walls and floors! As do things like place mats. Which can be found at thrift stores and yard sales. 

Cleaner seams

But there are cracks that you can see between the sides and back. So I decided that since this is going to be a gamer room, I'd create some shelves to put in the corners that would cover up the seams. The red one is for my DC figures that are so tiny, they are perfect for Barbie to have her own nerdy dolls or figures.

I used triangles cut from left over foamboard to make the shelves. And yes, I went ahead and glued the figures to the shelves to keep them solidly in place. 

One wasn't enough to cover just one corner, so I made a yellow one too with Mario themed decorations from cardboard packaging. This one has more of a variety of figures on it. Including a handmade Demogorgon my daughter made me from Stranger Things. Another dragon guards the corner under the shelves. I'm still trying to decide how to do something like this for the opposite wall corner. 

Now for the walls! 

Walls aren't meant to be blank. I really believe that. So I made this tiny framed poster. I usually find these little frames at thrift stores or yard sales, but I know the Dollar Tree typically has some too. The quote comes from the Portal game. The second one, I think. And I hung an X-wing as though it is flying from the wall. 

At first, I thought I would leave the back wall white and not glued in. I had the thought that I might want to change things up from time to time. However, I started to change my view after arranging things. So, I painted. But when I painted the wall red, I found that it bowed inward. So then I had to try to attach it and keep it upright in the back. I also learned that this is not simple when the wall was kept in place by the bordering pieces that I forgot were attached at the baseboard level. So... yeah.  

As you can see, I had these shelf-like pieces that had come as supports to a 3D print job I did. I didn't want to throw them out. And now I'm glad I saved them! They were the perfect additions to the main wall. Now, I can start adding more fun finds there. 

And a Harley Quinn poster.... I have some ideas to even make a smaller sized shadow box next. Yes, another Froggy idea! This time on a much smaller scale to fit inside the doll room. But to hold the Doorables figure still. I'll post about it next if it works out.

Furniture

Every room has furniture, yes? Mine is no different. The DVD shelf was made by my husband. He even designed the file so I could 3D print it, using dimensions from the DVD's I made!  

But you know what I'm most proud of?? The gamer chair! I have these capsules from Mini Brands. And I hate to just toss them out. After seeing a video by My Froggy Stuff on making chairs with them, I was inspired. But my husband really made it better for me. He designed the file so I could 3D print the base. You have to prime the the capsule before painting, tilt and attach to the base. Inside is where you can cover a piece of cardboard with material to make the seat.  

Using pieces from a wood kit that I got from Dollar Tree, I have made an entertainment center too. I took pieces from headphones that didn't work to make the built-in speakers. As for the game consoles, they were tiny boxes. I either painted them or covered them with black construction paper. Then added details. I have been thinking to 3D print some in the future so I can have better shapes and more of a variety. But these work well for now.

You know those little boxes with a slide-on glass lid? Well, I turned that into a shelf. I meant to make it a curio cabinet, but one of the shelves was a little too wide. The wood for the shelves came from those Dollar Tree kits too.

But it's all good. Because! I'm adding nerdy things little by little as I find them. Or make them. Curious about my knickknacks? The horse was a chess piece. Next to that is a triangular dice I found. The head? A Transformer pencil topper. I had 3D printed a weird shaped thing that didn't work out well, so I added a dice bead to make a sculpture. On the next shelf we have another thing I attempted to 3D print and then added a clear marble to. Just looked cool. The Minecraft pickaxe came from a toy set my kids had. The little jar with a pink ball inside is Navi, the fairy I made, for you lovers of Legend of Zelda. The R2-D2 came from a board game. The other bottle has a tiny treasure map. It is a charm from the craft store. And finally, the lamp. This was 3D printed! I can't wait to find other things to add. 

Time to add some windows!

A room with no door or windows comes off strange. Now, while I haven't decided about the door, I knew I needed some windows. I chose a beautiful fall scene and printed some window frames.  You can get the file HERE. I resized to 134.8% of the original file.

I printed out a lovely fall scene, added some clear plastic from toy packaging, and you have the finished look of beautiful windows! 

Not finished! 

This is where I end the posting on the blog. But it is not where I end the room. Little by little, I'll add more things as they are found. And maybe I'll let you know about it. I just hope you got some ideas for your own creations. Which - I would love to see if you ever want to share!