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!

PROJECT: Making a Doll Armoire out of a Jewelry Armoire

I can't seem to stop buying jewelry armoires from my local "antique" (read: junk) shop.  They come cheap, too: $8 for small ones, $12 for large ones, $15 for the best ones.  That's pennies to the dollar compared to what real doll armoires cost.  They aren't outfitted for dolls though but the potential is there so I keep buying them. (I know you can all relate to my OCD tendencies)  They have been stacking up in my doll room and I have finally decided to figure out how to convert them.

Let's get started.  Here's what you need for this project:

1) jewelry armoire
2) wire clothes hanger
3) small screwdriver set (I got this one at The Dollar Tree for...$1)
4) wire cutters

and you may need:

5) small wooden spools, found at Michael's in the wood craft aisle.  Here's a close-up:

That's a pretty small list of supplies!  Here's a jewelry armoire I bought at said shop for $8:

It's just the right height for Poppy Parker.  I know this is supposed to be about Evangeline but Evangeline's official armoire is too big for my attic scene so I need to make some of my own.  Evangeline's backstory says that she lives in an attic filled with armoires filled with old clothing.  You could just as easily get a larger jewelry armoire and do the same thing for Evangeline.   In fact, I have several that will work for EG but I am practicing on this one for Poppy first.   Anyway, the inside of these armoires usually look like some version of this:

They have little spin-y things that spin around and you hang your necklaces on them:

You need to remove these first.  This is easily done.  Put your thumb and index finger at the bottom of the spin-y thing and push it up.  This will expose a little plastic knob that is holding it in place.  Use the wire cutters or a strong pair of scissors to cut off the knob and then the spin-y thing will just fall off.  Once the spin-y thing is gone you will be left with the vertical rod that it was attached to.  It will look like this:

The little rods are held in by screws.  Use a small screwdriver set to easily remove them.   Next, take your wire cutters and your wire hanger.  Hold the long straight part of the hanger up to the armoire.  You want to cut the wire hanger ever so slightly larger (like 1/16 of an inch) than the width of the inside of the armoire.  Using your wire cutters, make like you're going to snip the piece of hanger at one end.  You'll never be able to cut through a hanger with normal wire cutters but just keep squeezing as hard as you can.  After you have squeezed hard enough to have cut little notches in the hanger you should be able to snap the piece of hanger off.  Do this for both ends and you will have created your clothing rod.

Most of these jewelry armoires are lined with velvet and that's good because then you can just push the rod into place and the velvet gives the rod something to hold on to.  In other words,  you don't need any glue, screws or other hardware.  Just be sure to cut the piece of hanger ever so slightly larger.  I did it by holding the hanger up to the armoire to get the correct size, I did not use a ruler for this project at all.  This project took about 5 minutes.  Here's a pic of Poppy's new armoire:

The little earring dividers on the bottom make perfect storage for gloves, purses, and shoes!  I have about 6 more of these things to go.  I will post pics of them in later posts!  By the way, I have seen armoires like this at Walmart, Target, yard sales, everywhere!

NOTE: If your armoire is smooth wood or glass inside then that is where the mini spools come in.  Paint the spools if you wish to make them a more appropriate color or stain.  Glue one of them into the armoire where the clothing rod will meet the armoire wall.  Once it is dry insert the piece of wire hanger into the hole in the spool.  Then slip the other spool over the other end of the piece of wire hanger and then glue that spool to the opposite armoire wall.  Once that dries, you're set!

Building the Walls

I'm very happy with the progress I made over the long weekend.  With the floors finished the next thing I did was create the door.  The question I get asked most often on my dioramas is "how did you make the door?" Well, I take the doll I am making a diorama for and go to Michael's or AC Moore and walk up and down the frame aisle until I find the correct scale "door."   Here is a picture of the finished door next to an identical frame that I used:

  Wait for Michael's to have a 50% off frames weekly special.  This frame retails for $40, it was 50% off on weekly special and I had a coupon for an additional 20% so I got them for $16.  When making a door out of a frame all you have to do is rearrange it.  Remove the cardboard backing, the matte, and the glass from the frame.  Put the matte in first, then the paper, then the cardboard backing, then the glass and then close it up.  You have to put everything back so it doesn't jiggle around but you want the matte up front to give you that paneled-door look.  I then spray painted it with a brown gloss spray paint and used scrapbooking doo-dads for the knob and keyhole.  I then glued it to the wall where I wanted it.  Obviously this trick doesn't work if you need a working door.  Well, I suppose there must be a way but that's to be figured out another day.  Hmmmm....I wonder....

I then moved on to the wall boards.   I used 4" wide balsa planks and cut them in half longways.  This is in contrast to the floorboards which were made from 3" wide balsa before being cut in half longways.  So each wall board is 2" wide and each floor board is 1.5" wide.  This contrast makes it more visually appealing and also more realistic.  The wall boards in the attic in my house are 12 inches wide and the floor boards are 8 inches wide so the ratio is good.  

Two people emailed me and told me I was nuts for making wall boards and that the bare walls, spray painted walnut, looked great as they were.  So this next pic is for them.  Really, look at the difference that a relatively small additional dollar investment and a, well, okay, HUGE, time investment makes:

I won't lie, these individual boards are a labor of love.  Each board has to be cut individually, spray painted on all sides, and mounted to the walls.  But you can't beat the realistic look, imho.  The above photo shows how I cut the boards to fit.  The long back wall was easy because it's a rectangle.  The two side walls were more time consuming.  Here's what you do:  first you cut a board and you snip the end on the diagonal until you get the right fit to the angle of the slope of the roof.  Then you use that piece as a template to cut the ends of all remaining pieces because the slope of the roof is equal all the way up.  Once you have a bunch of boards cut with the correct angle for the roofline, you trim the non-angled end to fit.  Glue them all in place and you're good to go:

And here's a pic of the left side:

and here's a full-view pic of the finished attic walls.  There were a few extra boards so I also started the left side ceiling.  I still have to do the rest of the ceiling and the support beams, which aren't really needed for support, they will just be decorative:

and here is The Queen, herself, stopping by to check on my progress:

Yes, Evangeline, it comes with central-air and parking.

Laying the Floors

Today I (mostly) finished the floors for the attic.  I bought 30 two-foot by three-inch balsa planks at Michael's and cut them all in half longways.  I cut the planks into various lengths and then laid them on the floor in an uneven pattern to make them look natural.  After I got them all laid out the way I wanted  I mentally divided the floor into three sections and then removed each section one board at a time being careful to number the back of each board to make it easier to put them back the way I wanted them.  In this picture you can see the left section is painted and glue down, and the middle section is ready to be marked, painted, and then glued:

Here is a pic of the boards from the middle section.  I started in the back and worked my way forward, numbering each board as I picked it up:

I should add in here that if you're thinking about doing this you should create a budget.  You might think the most expensive part of this project would be the wood but it's actually the spray paint.  The Walnut Tone spray paint is $7 a can at Michael's and I've gone through about 8 cans so far and will need about 8 more before I'm done.  I am very diligent about using Michael's coupons to help keep the cost down so keep that in mind as well.  They usually have a 40% off one item coupon so I pretty much buy a can of it every time I'm in the store.

Once the boards were dry, and this spray paint dries completely in about 20 minutes, I glued the boards to the base.  Let's discuss glue.  Hot glue has a fast drying time and sticks fairly well but wood glue creates a stronger bond and is preferable in my opinion.  Wood glue, though, has a longer open time (the time between when you place your objects together and when the glue sets) and is therefore more difficult to work with.  So I used a combination of the two to make this easy.  I ran a thick bead of wood glue down the center of each plank and then put dabs of hot glue all over the board.  You have to work really quickly here because hot glue sets fast but as long as you have all materials together and you are working very close to the project you should be fine.  The result is that the dabs of hot glue held the boards in place immediately while the wood glue dried.  That beats standing around holding each board in place waiting for the wood glue to dry!

Here's a look at the finished floors (well, I still need to do the half board at the front end):

and here's a landscape view:

In this picture the far left section isn't painted yet but you get the idea.  As I write this I have finished all of the floors and actually moved on to the walls so you will see a wall entry tomorrow!

one more thing for today, though.  Michael's (can you tell I go there all the time?) has golf-ball display cases in their frame/shadow box section that look like this:

 The glass-paned door is held in place by two hinges and is easily removed.  Once removed, you just flip it upside down (all sides are finished so it looks fine upside down) so that the golf ball indentations are now on the bottom of the shelves and not visible.  I will eventually use these in the library at Barkley but little books are expensive so until I get enough of them, it makes an excellent shoe rack for Evangeline: