Get Messy and Paint

I've been a bit busy putting together some 1/6 scale furniture I purchased a few months back. I just haven't had an opportunity to finish these off until recently so I decided to get in there and finish everything all at once which meant a few days of painting and gluing and sanding.

But I'm glad I did. I feel like I actually accomplished something during my holidays. I only have a week left of it and as per usual, I thought I would be spending it doing way more doll related things than actually happened. Helena is my beautiful model again for this.

It's A Small Small World

Today turned out to be a pretty good day. I got a lot done, doll wise and was able to take some snapshots of the doll house and some new sets I made.

My Girl Friday

I've been a busy little bee this week on the days I haven't been rostered on at work. I've made some cushions and spray painted an old cane doll chair to bring it up to a more modern flavour. I also managed to sew a shirt!

First up is the given new life cane chair perfect for 1/6 scale dolls that I picked up at an op shop last year that I never did anything with. I didn't much like the really dark brown colour and hubby suggested buying spray paint and recolouring it. I love the results. And keeping with my new tropical theme fever, I added some plush cushions to finish off the look.

Almost a Tardis

When Xanadu told me of the phone box at Bunnings, I hadn't thought to use it for my fashion dolls but I realised it was a perfect size for my Nendoroid and Cu-poche figures (and Figma). So I got it and painted it blue. It's almost a Tardis because it's not an exact replica.

The Grind

Today, I want to share some photos from my Sims 4 game where I build what I imagine would be Deirdre's Cafe/Bookstore, The Grind. Now if only I could turn this into an actual diorama, then I would be happy.

The Grind is one of those places that have an old nostalgic feel to it with soft lighting and warm comfy seats. It has an ambience of mystery and one can't help but speak softly inside the walls. Deirdre bought the place and renovated it into a tiny little cafe and bookstore. She lives upstairs, above the shop. Let's just say Deirdre has a way with sweets. Her secret ingredient? She would never tell you what that was. Deirdre calls this place home. It's the one place she can truly be free.

The Force of Forward Motion

It's still early days of 2019 and I am hoping the new year is bringing everyone closer towards their dreams and goals.

I finally got a photo of my growing collection of what I call 'Christmas Babies' although there is an official name for them. I just can't remember what they are! The kind Niina sent these to me, two she sent last Christmas and another two she sent to me this Christmas just passed, among other thoughtful goodies.

They always bring such big smiles to my face and I really wanted to showcase these little ones together. They are very addictive. Although I get constantly asked, "Why aren't they wearing pants?" to which I always reply, "You just don't get it."

I debated whether to do any goals in regards to the hobby for this year. Initially I wasn't but then I thought it'd be nice to have a list to look back on at the end of the year to see if I actually set out to do the things I wanted for a change or whether life just got in the way as usually happens. So here goes...

2019 Hobby Goals:

• Take more photos of my figures
• Make dioramas for the figures
• Make more dioramas for the dolls 
• Really, quit procrastinating and learn to sew fantasy clothing (because I can't afford to buy them on my budget!)
• Save for a fantasy bjd (sculpt unknown - let's see what comes out this year)

That's it. I'm keeping it short and sweet for the goals this year. Nothing too complicated and convoluted. I'll end on that note with a snapshot of one of my Barbie dollhouse renovated rooms. I picked up some nifty pallets in doll size at a local hardware store and decided to play around with furniture designs.

Enjoy the weekend! Now back to Sims 4 ...

The Diorama Post

A few people have asked me about my dioramas so I thought I would post about them.

A lot of my dioramas I learned off MyFroggyStuff and all of them are designed for the 1/6 scale fashion dolls. I haven't made any yet for my bjds although my Yo-SDs and Tinies have been able to use some of these dioramas although the props are a tad too small for them. At the end of this post I do include a trick for bjds that I sometimes use.

Doll House Display

I've been having so much fun with my bjds that I've kind of neglected some of my other doll lines lately so I decided today was the day I would finish the interior refurbishment of the Barbie Doll House hubby got me for Christmas. I'm not sure if I'll do the exterior yet as it's not too bad and wasn't as cartoony as the interior.

Shade will be our tour guide. She's totally digging the new hang out.

Fashion Doll Edition

Time is still getting away from me for the most part although finally, today, I did get to work on my new doll house. Hubby bought me a massive Barbie doll house for Christmas but as I wasn't super keen on the cartoon style wallpapers and drawings, I decided to refurbish it so I'm slowly covering it with new scrapbook paper and bringing it more in line with my modern styling.

I can however share some random photos I took whenever I got a chance over the past few weeks...

Sweet Tunes

I finished my Urban/Industrial set mostly. I need to add in some black pipes which I ran out of time to do on the weekend and I still have to make some furniture to put in it but the walls are done. Right now I am using it as a set for Kelsey's sweet tunes.

Polka Dots and Partial Repaints

My first Poppy Parker girl from the Swinging London series has arrived but I will post about her separately next week. Today's post is about the new diorama I made yesterday which I like to call "The Polka Dots Room".

I've made it so it's easy to store with the wall and floor able to fold down and pack away when not in use. I made it with a more retro feel in mind.

Big World, Small Lady

It's been raining a fair bit so now that everything is green, I decided to squeeze in one more photoshoot before we have to close up shop for the impending cyclone (predicted to hit Monday morning).

I call this one, Big World, Small Lady featuring one of my cu-poche girls. The shoot was taken in my yard.

 Some music to set the mood: Tranquil Farmland ~ LawnReality

Walking through the woods ... the smell of wet earth assaulting her nose ...

Electric Blue Zoe

If I happen to be MIA next week, it'll be due to a cyclone and lack of internet connection/electricity. Right now, they're predicting one to hit the coast (and probably come through our town) early next week. Whether this will happen or not depends on the cyclone. It hasn't fully formed into one yet but they are expecting it to over the weekend. The joys of living in the tropics.

On to more light-hearted stuff ...

Zoe got a change of clothes and glasses today and a new addition to her household, Princess, her new kitten.

A Little Bit of Country

It always seems like there is never enough hours in the day when you are working on projects... and then you run out of glue at the most inconvenient times (after the shops close for the day!). 

Today's new diorama (for Momoko, Barbie and Poppy Parker) has a bit of a country feel. This seems to be a little normal for me as I really love the country style for interiors.

This one is another corner room with white wood floors, blue vintage style wallpaper with panel style trimmings. The table is my first attempt. I will have to remake this with four legs instead of three and perhaps a little lower.

Zoe and The Cat

Today's post mostly features Zoe with some small guest spots by two new faces I haven't posted about yet... I got the two new additions two and a half weeks ago.

A little splash of black

I've been wanting to make a diorama from a cereal box like in MyFroggyStuff's tutorials on youtube. I like the idea of recycling things you have on hand.

My enhanced girl, Zoe models a portion of the styled room.

A Christmas Room Cheat

This year, I've really had to think outside the box as I haven't really been able to get my hands on everything I need for every diorama idea I've had. So I've had to figure out little workarounds. Some of you may recall that I mentioned a while ago about the use of old magazine pages as backdrops which work particularly well for 1/6 scale dolls.They work similar to the vinyl backdrops you can buy for dolls except they're really only small enough to work well for smaller dolls.

If you're finding that time is an issue, particularly this time of year and you haven't been able to get a diorama together, the magazine page method is a quick solution. It's a no fuss, no frills version that can be put together in under five minutes.

Read on for instructions ...

The Max Makeover

An accident with hair straightening gone wrong led me to change Maxine's hair. It seems some older FR dolls had hair that wasn't suitable for boil straightening. I didn't mind too much though as I had been wanting to change her hair for a while anyway.

I had a tight fitting hat on her that left an unsightly bump and bulge on her hair which is why I was initially trying the boil straighten method. That of course didn't end so well. But it was a good thing to happen as it forced me to change her hair finally.

I used contrasting soft yarn that looks a lot like dreadlocks. I'm not used to how hard FR heads are compared to MH and Barbie so I wasn't expecting to break my needle trying to push it into her scalp. After that little mishap, I ended up having to heat up her head while re-rooting. It was a bit of a pain to do it this way but it did make her head more pliable and I didn't break any more needles.

Photo Sunday

Massively productive day today. I made three display stands out of foam core for my Pop Vinyl dolls, Nendoroids and Cu-poche figures following this nifty tutorial. I also added a window and curtains to my previous room box. And to finish the day, I made a 1/6 scale wooden bed. I'm still sewing the pillows, mattress and bed cover so I won't have photos of those until they're done.

I think this one will end up being my Momoko girl's lounge or front foyer. I'm working on her bedroom at the moment but it'll be sometime yet before it's done.

Photo Sunday

I've been really enjoying all the free time I've been having lately to do doll things. I know it won't last so I'm savouring the opportunity whilst it's here. This of course means more activity on the blog.

Today I got a few things done. I removed a few face screenings on the vinyl dolls (I actually find removing face screenings quite therapeutic for some reason), I got started on a new room box for my Cu-poche, Nendoroids and Picconeemo dolls, I got started on wig caps for one of my Barbie girls and a Monster High girl in preparation for the hair wefts I ordered today ... and I took some photos. All in all, a rather productive day.

On to the photos ...

First up is a room box I finished using a tutorial from MyFroggyStuff. I love how it turned out. It's not very wide but is great for shots like these. Here's Layla enjoying a relaxing afternoon. She's been newly transplanted to a Made to Move body. She was originally on the curvy fashionista body but I wanted more articulation for her. She goes so well with this room box, I might turn it into her bedroom once I make my pallets for a bed.