Evangeline's New Ride, or, a Midnight Outing at the Cemetery

I'm finally getting around to a long overdue project I've been wanting to do.  Two years ago I found the American Girl carriage on Craigslist for a really good price.  It was listed by a diabolical mother who was selling it out from under her daughter's nose, probably to buy a new fur coat for herself.  Or some jewels.  One can only hope.  It was an ugly mustard yellow with a sickly sweet flowery trim that just did not work for Evangeline.

First I popped off the hubcaps, then removed the wheels.  I wanted the interior to essentially stay the same because I like the pink velvet curtains and the tufted seat cushion.  Plus, when the canvas roof is on you can't see much of the interior anyway.  So I added two layers of blue painter's tape over each of the 6 windows, one layer going horizontal, one layer vertical.  Then I trimmed up a plastic garbage bag and used blue painter's to secure it in place over the roof opening.  Then I sprayed the entire carriage in flat black spray paint I bought at Lowe's for $4 a can.  It took 2 cans to cover the whole body.

I thought flat black was the way to go so it didn't look to "new".  I was wrong.  I hated the results.  It looked awful in flat black.  Even though the wheels were not yet painted I hoped maybe it would look okay once I tried the wheels on?

No.  So, I went back to Lowe's and got two cans of gloss black. I let each coat dry for 24 hours after applying so the paint could cure properly, an annoying but very important step with gloss spray paint.  I was much happier with the glossy finish.  I moved it into my basement craft space to dry for several days and cure completely.

While that was drying I spray painted all of the wheels with flat black.  I was sure they would look best in flat black and I was right.  Then I reassembled the carriage to get a peek at what it would like.

The carriage originally came with a brown horse but I replaced it with another AG horse that is all black with a white stripe on his face.  This carriage needs a black horse for sure.  The saddle and ugly green blanket went into the trash and things were starting to look more Ghastly.

Next I had to paint the spokes on the wheels.  Originally the wheels were yellow with black accents.  I chose to use Golden's Fluid Bronze acrylic to hand paint the detail back on to the spokes.  This bronze acrylic matches the bronze lanterns which I liked the way they were and did not want to paint.

Then, I found some brass bat stampings at BSues Boutique (google it, all kinds of cool crap) and I had to decide how they would look best as ornamentation on the carriage. I presented three options to my fabulous friends on Facebook: the original brass, a version that was painted flat black and a version that was first painted flat black and then had some of the same bronze acrylic dry-brushed over it.  The majority of us felt that the version painted flat black with bronze acrylic dry brushed on to it looked best.  Of course!  The most labor intensive always looks the best.

I adhered the bats to the carriage and Evangeline was ready to go to the red Masquerade in style!

There will be more pics to come of the carriage set up in my new display space with it looking pretty ghastly next to the Ghastly Mausoleum in the Ipswich cemetery. 

Display for Disney LE Alice and Queen of Hearts

I haven't written on this blog in two years mostly because Facebook is so much easier.  The downside to FB is that it's a PITA later on to find what you're looking for and you can't actually show the evolution of a creative process in a cohesive format.  So, since I'm on vacation and have the time, here's a blog post on the display I put together this morning for Disney's Heroes & Villains LE Alice & Queen of Hearts set.  If you leave your dolls in their boxes you are missing out on the fun!  Take them out, play with them.  Free Alice!

To begin with I started with a space in an IKEA cabinet.  This cabinet is actually turned on it's side which allows me to move the shelves left and right to adjust the size of my individual displays.  I cut a piece of model train grass for the base:

Then I took a fake boxwood that I cut apart until it lay flat and I  used floral wire to attach a battery operated light pack with 8 LED lights.  I attached it from behind and poked the lights through the boxwood.  This gives the display some light and a little magic.  This is also the stage where I should have used floral wire to wire in the Cheshire Cat but I forgot so I had to go back and add him in later. He can be seen in the final pic.  He is actually the cheshire cat that came in the Mini-Animator set.

Then the garden background was ready to be put in place:

Then, using miniature topiaries I found at Michael's and some small silk roses also found at Michael's (in the bridal section) I made two topiaries for the display.  A red rose bush, and a rosebush that the Card Guards had not yet finished painting so it still has some white roses on it.  Off with their heads!

The topiaries are ready to be added to the display along with the dolls and tea set.  Check out how gorgeous Alice's hair is.  If you never take her out of the box you will never see it because that side of her face is facing away in the acrylic box:

And here's the finished display.  Although none of my displays are ever really finished if I come across a new prop it will be added.

Pimp My Playset

I finally got around to pimping out Briar Beauty's playset.  I found some paper mache roses in the scrapbooking section of Michael's and I hot glued them to the one-dimensional roses on the background cardboard pieces.  I used gold glitter glue to light the candles on her chandelier and I added some dangling crystals for effect.  I cut up a fake ivy sprig from the fake flower section at Michaels and I squished them down the cracks in the wall joints so there is some added 3-dimensional effects there as well.  Then I took two graduated sizes of crystals and pimped out Apple's chaise lounge and I removed the hideously fake paper DJ sound-system thingy from the right side of the playset and turned that into Apple's dorm room.  Briar Beauty and Apple are my two LEAST favorite characters in the entire EAH world but for whatever reason they are the characters Mattel is pushing so we have cool stuff for them.  I found the "Getting Fairest" dolls on Amazon for $11 each and their arrival, along with their little side tables, is what inspired this episode of Pimp My Playset.  Pics below.

1) Briar Beauty's rather boring dorm room before pimping:

2) paper mache roses from craft store:

3) pimped out playset:

4) Apple's blinged-out chaise in her converted dorm room:

5) Finished playset with Evangeline in the background saying "could you please get this cheap plastic crap out of my bedroom?":

Pirate Booty & Candelabras, or, how I spent my Saturday

I had a long list of things to do today, 98% of them were non-doll related tasks.  Most of them went un-done because I spent the day making candelabras and pirate treasure.  And doesn't that sound like more fun than washing the deck furniture and preparing the herb garden? 

I am still working on my Versailles-style Salon for Anne de Legere and I have several cake top candelabras that I have been meaning to finish.  These candelabras run about $10 each and can be found at many online stores, including Amazon.  This is what they look like when they are new:

They have a spike on the bottom to hold them on the cake.  You probably won't be able to cut it clean off but use a strong pair of scissors and it will weaken it enough that you can then snap it off.  Once you have the spike off you will want to prime it with a spray primer, any color is fine.  Alternatively, they do have spray paint now that bonds to plastic so you could use that.  Once you have it primed you can spray it with gold spray paint.  I used 24K Gold Spray Paint found at Michael's, for $4 a can.  Next you need the candles.  I used regular birthday candles and used an old serrated steak knife to shave off the colored diamonds:

once you get the color off them it's best to stick them into the candelabra with a dab of super glue.  You could be done at this point or you can bling it up.  After Christmas I found these dangly sparkly things on sale for 75 cents each.  They had perfect little crystals on them so I bought a bunch of them:

I used wire cutters to remove the crystals I wanted for the candelabra.  I then attached the crystals to the candelabra with a dab of superglue.  In process:

You should light the candles once so they have a burned wick, it will add to the whole look.  I forgot to do that and will go do it when I'm done writing this.  Once I was done I put the candelabra in the salon.  I have not yet constructed one of the walls so I apologize for it looking unfinished:

Then I was left with a pile of un-used crystals.  I remembered an old "salesman sample trunk" that I bought on ebay:

 I had intended to use it as a prop in Evangeline's attic but it was too big for her and looked out of scale.  These trunks don't come cheap.  I got a major deal on this one at $35 because it's in poor condition and missing the inner tray but pristine, complete, ones will run you upwards of $100.  Shop around and be patient.  

I got the trunk out of my attic and filled it with the extra crystals.  I must have stripped at least 15 of those dangly ornament things, my hands are killing me.  The trunk was the perfect size for my Iples.  Queen Doria would love a trunk of pirate treasure.  My Italian grandmother had half a dozen Infant of Prague dolls  that she would light candles in front of.  At some point the dolls went missing but the crowns were saved and I happily took them knowing they would come in useful some day.  Here Doria is admiring a crown of gold and jewels brought to her from the New World by an adoring explorer.  These crowns are quite expensive on the secondary market but they are truly works of art. Still I probably would never have spent the money on them but I do have these from my grandmother.

I filled the trunk with all kinds of mini treasures and am currently using the gold spray paint to spray tiny metal washers to look like gold doubloons.  This will take a long time but I enjoy the process and the gradual filling of the trunk.  The candelabra, by the way, is an excellent size because it can be used with 16" - 24" dolls.  Here it is with the pirate treasure:

Doria is so thrilled with the haul that she has asked me to find her a pirate to go out and get her more.  She has heard tell of a very sexy pirate named Leonard who always brings back a ship full of treasure.  She told me that if I don't acquire him she will be most displeased.  I guess the only question now is....would she prefer him to be light brown skin, or normal skin?

Building Amelia's Fairy Garden Part 1

I know I said I would be building a salon or boudoir for Dejavu but I'm taking a detour first to build a fairy garden for Amelia.  At the after-Christmas sale at a local nursery I found a terrarium that had been marked down from $70 to $14 and I knew it was time to build Amelia her garden.  Here is the terrarium after I got it home and cleaned up:

It's a good scale for Amelia.  Next I made a trip to Joann's and a trip to Michael's to get supplies:

The large package in the center is sheet moss.  It's moss that has been dried, preserved, and then "color enhanced".  I cut the sheet moss to the size needed to fit in the terrarium:

I had to leave a border in the front exposed so the doors would still shut.  Next I made the tree which will be the focal point of the garden.  I made the tree using a lighted branch set from Michael's:

It's very hard to see in the pic above but the package in the center is the package to the lighted branch/tree thingy ($9.99 at Michaels, bring a 40% off coupon) and the tree is poking out the bottom and not really in the picture.  The tree is made of floral-tape-wrapped wires so it's easy to bend to the shape you want.  Choose a fake floral spray from the floral department at Miachel's or Joann's and mesh the two together to form a lighted tree.  I used green floral wire to secure the floral spray to the branches of the lighted tree form.  I used the following floral spray to create my tree:

Once I made my tree, I bent the lower half of the brach into an L shape and I cut a slit down the moss mat so I could slide the tree a little ways into the terrarium with the lower part of the "L" under the mat.  I secured the lower part of the "L"with hot glue to the base of the terrarium and then secured the moss mat down over it with hot glue.

I then took some wall pieces made by Department 56 for their Dicken's Christmas village:

and a bag of moss:

and I hot glued moss over the snow detail on the wall pieces because this is a spring fairy garden and not a winter scene:

I then hot glued the wall pieces in place:

next I wanted to build a flowed bed.  I did this by cutting floral oasis to the shape I wanted:

I hot glued a preliminary round of moss to the top of the oasis bed.  I then chose a floral spray that had tiny flowers on it and cut the flowers off and inserted them in to the oasis:

on the left in the pic above you can see the spray as it looked in Joann's and then on the right you can see the bed made up of the cut flowers.  I then put the bed in the corner where I wanted it and secured it with hot glue:

Next, to finish off the bed, I hot glued small stones around the base of the oasis bed and then added more moss to cover any remaining exposed oasis and to soften the lines of the stones:

Here's are some shots of the fairy garden so far, but this is just stage one:

here's a view from the back:

I still need to make the garden gate, the tea area, more floral beds, and add in the chandelier so stay tuned for part 2!

Finished Attic, Final Shots, and Moving On

Well, the attic extension is officially finished.  I was lucky enough to have it featured in the Winter 2013 issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly!  I am very excited about it and thankful to Pat Henry at FDQ for doing the spread, it looked great and she is a wonderful and kind person.  Now we can leave Evangeline, to pine away for Mortimer in the solitude of her attic.  Below are some final pics of the attic before moving on.

and now it's time to move on to my next project, with a new muse: Tonner's Anne de Legere!