Father's Day Project: Grandfather Clock

I won a small grandfather clock on e-bay for $12 or so.  It actually works and it's pretty cool.  It's not quite tall enough for Evangeline scale so its been hanging out in the doll room waiting for it's moment in the sun.  In honor of Father's Day I thought I would tackle the clock and give it to Mortimer for his study, which is a diorama that I am starting for him.

Here he is next to the clock before I did anything to it:

As you can see, it's not quite tall enough for him.  It need about 5 more inches.  So I've been throwing this one around for a while trying to figure out how I would make it taller.  Yesterday I was cleaning my attic and I found a box filled with cigar boxes.  No I don't smoke.  I used to do altered cigar boxes so I have a stash of them.  There was a cigar store next to our place in the city when we lived there and the guy who worked there used to save the empty boxes for me.  I could never bring myself to throw them away because I like the smell of them.  I'm so glad I didn't!  I found one that would make a perfect new base for this clock.

To start, I had to remove the original legs to the clock.  This was easily accomplished with a good whack from a hammer:

Here's a pic of the clock with it's soon-to-be-new base.  The finish on the box is very similar to that on the clock although in this pic it looks very different:

The one problem was that the cord to the clock needed the elevation from the legs.  I could have just cut the cord but I didn't want to lose the ability to have the clock work, which is a very cool detail so I had to drill some holes in the cigar box so the cord could pass through.  :

I glued the box shut.  Then I glued the clock to the box:

And here's Mortimer with his new grandfather clock:

Once I build his study (hint, hint, of what's to come) and get this in place, you won't ever be able to tell it was a cigar box!  As a side bonus the box still smells of fresh cigars so it scents the diorama with a very masculine smell.  Let's peek in to Mortimer's study but we can't stay long.  With this recent bout of Spanish flu going around, he's very busy indeed.

The Finished Attic

Construction of the attic has been finished!  Now for the fun part....decorating!  I'm the type that eats dessert first, and last, so let's go right for the panoramic view of the furnished attic:

If you click on the picture it should enlarge it to real size.  Now let's go on a tour of the attic!  First, Evangeline enters through the door:

She hangs her keys on a nail next to the door so she doesn't forget them:

Once she has safely locked herself in, she puts away her hat and her shoes:

Then she scopes the place out to make sure she's alone:

She takes some comfortable clothes out of her armoire:

and goes to her desk to write in her diary:

On top of her desk are some mini cloches I found at a store that specializes in "shabby chic" stuff.  I put a mini seahorse under one and a tiny handmade birds' nest under another.  The books on the desk are from Facet's by Marcia.  The bookend/bust is a doll head I spray painted with make-it-stone spray paint:

When she's done writing in her diary she might practice the violin:

and of course she remembers to feed Romeo and Juliet, her two blackbirds:

I have two different lighting options that I can change depending on whether Evangeline is feeling Gothic Glum:

or Gothic Glamour:

Both lights use battery operated tea-lights and so are easy to use.

Now that the attic has been built I can spend time doing what I like to do most which is figure out how to create miniature versions of things.  So, plenty more to come!

PROJECT: Hat Boxes for Evangeline

When I was in AC Moore yesterday buying more balsa to finish the attic walls I saw a display of these mini boxes that are the perfect size to be hat boxes for Evangeline.  They were only 99 cents each so I bought 3 and thought I'd give it a go.  In addition to doll collecting I am also an avid paper crafter.  Altered books are my favorite thing to do so I have a stash of "stuff" to pull out for a project like this.  Still, all you really need are the boxes, some scrapbook papers to cover them with, some trim, and you're good to go.  But here's what I gathered together to make these:

1. paper mache boxes
2. vintage-themed stickers
3. ribbon of all widths and colors
4. scrapbook papers
5. German Scrap (that's the gold stuff in the upper part of this stash.  Google it and you can find many online resources.  It's excellent trim for this kind of thing
6. other assorted embellishments

To start I gave the boxes each a heavy coat of white gloss spray paint.  In this case I had to paint the boxes because they were brown but even if you find white boxes I would spray them with white glossy paint because you really want that glossy layer on the  bottom.  As you can see in the picture I didn't bother with the inside of the lids or the bottoms of the boxes but I did spray paint the inside of the boxes.

Next cut your scrapbook papers, or ribbon, to the width of the box.  For my boxes I chose to use pink paper for the pink box, and ribbon for the red and black & white boxes.  Adhere the strips to the box.  I used a Xyron machine because it's way easier but you could use glue or double-sided tape.  In the picture below you can see the strip of pink paper after I cranked it through the Xyron machine.

Then cut paper to fit the top of the box.  It's easiest if you put the lid to the box on the paper and trace around it and then cut it out.  Trim as necessary to get a nice edge.  Adhere to the top of the box.

The first box I did was a pink box:

I followed the instructions above and then added some ribbon trim to the lid.  I used glue in this case because the  lace-like ribbon would not do well in the Xyron machine.  I used a power drill to quickly and cleanly drill holes in the sides of the box and then inserted an 8 inch piece of pink silk ribbon into each hole and tied knots inside the box.

The second box I did was a black and white box.

I happened to have a gingham ribbon that was the exact width of the box so I decided to try that out.  It worked very well.  I ran the ribbon through the Xyron machine (this one was okay to put through a xyron machine because it's flat, the lacy one above was too textured) and then adhered it to the side of the box.  I would not recommend using a ribbon that is larger than the width of the box because you can't really trim the ribbon or it will fray.  I then decorated the lid with vintage-looking rub-ons, I drilled holes in the side and ran black ribbon through each hold and I glued some black trim to the lid of the box.  I think this one came out awesome, much better than the pink one.

The last box I did (for today, anyway) was a red and gold one:

For this one I really wanted to use a piece of crushed red velvet ribbon that I saved from a christmas present but it didn't look good against the white so I spray painted the box gold.  I ran the red ribbon through the Xyron machine, adhered it to the box, added some gold German Scrap the rim of the lid along with a gold charm to the center of the lid.  For now I used a carpenters nail to make a handle for the box, I spray painted nail black, but as soon as I find something better I will switch it out.

This was a really fun and inexpensive rainy day project and now I have some great hat boxes for EG's attic.  I will definitely be making more of these.  Here's a look at all 3, with a brown one in the back to give a before and after:

At the top of this post you can see a pic of Evangeline reclining on her chaise, admiring her new hats that Mortimer sent her.

Finished Walls and Family Portraits

It's a rainy day here outside of Boston and I spent the day finishing the walls and ceiling.  The attic structure is now 90% complete!  All I have left to do is the support beams.  It is very stable on it's on so the beams will just be decorative but I need them for an owl that I have and for, eventually, Bella.  I think I need to get a Bella to put up in the rafters so if anyone out there is ready to part with theirs, drop me an email.

Here are two finished pics of the interior:

Once I got that done I started in on a project I have been wanting do.  I found some Evangeline-scale picture frames at an antique store here in MA.  I figure the attic has to have some old family portraits in it, cracked glass, dusty frames, etc.  So here's what you need to do this project:

1) small frames

2) color photos/print outs/copies (yes, I "borrowed" pictures of EG and family from the WI site.  I hope I don't get in trouble for that.  If anyone from WI is reading this, I am using these for personal use only. I am not selling them.)

3) glue

4) Mica Tiles 

You can find Mica tiles in most craft stores now.  You need to find ones that are big enough to use as the glass for your frames.  If you can't find them in stores you can find them online, just google them.  They are actually a mineral.  Mica in it's natural form looks like a rock but is a series of thin layers much like filo in baklava.  You can buy the separated layers to use in crafts and they look like old glass, kind of smoky, kind of dingy, sometimes cracked.  You need to cut the mica layer to the shape of the frame to use as the glass.  I rotate the mica layer around until I find a cool position that has cracks or missing pieces.  Once you're happy with the position of the mica and you have cut it to fit just go ahead and glue it in.  when the glue dies, cut your picture to fit, replace the backing and you're done.

Here are pictures of Evangeline's mother, father, and grandparents.  Perfect props for the attic!  You can't see in the photo really but the mica looks really cool.  There are cracks and missing pieces in the portrait of EG's mom.

here's a close-up of EG's mom's portrait, you can see the cracks and missing pieces:

These will look great hidden off in the corner of the attic, collecting dust and spiders.  Coming up I have a few more projects on deck to make props for the attic.  stay tuned!