Of Penpals and Presents

Hi Everyone,

It's me Lena. Mom snapped this picture of me while I was writing this blog post earlier, so I thought it would be fun to include. (sorry the pic is kinda bad, Mom used her phone instead of her camera.)

I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine... her name is Raine, and her and her mom have a blog over at April's Sea of Dolly Sweetness.  Raine is the girl that Mom made that adorable Hello Kitty outfit for last month.  And if you think I looked cute in it, you HAVE got to see Raine in it!  It's just perfect for her!

Raine and I have decided to become penpals, so every now and again she and I will write to each other through our blogs.  I do hope you'll go check out her blog!

Lena

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Hi Raine,

Hope you are doing good.  I'm doing pretty good here, it's been a pj kind of day around our house.  It's been cold and windy here the last few days. What's it like at your place?  Mom says you and your Mom don't live too far from us, so maybe we can get together sometime in the Spring!

Mom went out this morning while we were all sleeping to pick up some Christmas presents.  She won't tell me what she got me, but I hope she got me something fun.  My human brothers got Nintendo 3DS's last year... that might be fun.  Or maybe Mom will get me a sewing machine, or some new books... heck I would even be happy with some new shoes! LOL  Is there anything you're hoping to get for Christmas?

Oh, well, Mom just called and asked me to come help pick out the decorations for the living room, so I better go.  Have a good night and good weekend!

Lena

Leaving the kitchen and heading to the living room

For about 2 months now, I've known I wanted to decorate a scene for my 16" girls for Christmas.  I LOVE Christmas and really enjoy decorating my own house and couldn't wait to set up a room for the girls.  While I love my kitchen diorama, and have scene several lovely decorated kitchens... I wanted to do something more. I decided to do a living room scene! After I made the Trick or Treat Baskets for Halloween, I thought it would be fun to make filled stockings for Christmas!  (of which I have made absolutely zero)  But I realized that I needed somewhere to display those for shots for my shop, hence the desire for a fireplace.  I finished that yesterday morning and got started right away on the next piece of furniture...a loveseat!

 While I didn't really use a pattern for this piece, I did use some knowledge I have from using the book Dolls' House Furniture. The book is written for making 1:12th scale miniatures, but I've scaled up the patterns in it for 1:6th scale and now 1:4 scale.  Sometimes the measurements need  adjusted, but that is why I always make paper models first.  Since I've made several pieces in this style in Barbie size, I kind of just winged it with this piece.  I started off by recycling a shipping box I got earlier this year as the base.  The seats are made from some packing foam that was in a cabinet I bought.  The sides and back are made from 1/2" foam core board.  I used a combination of glue and straight pins to keep in secure.  It is now a permanent piece of 1:4 scale furniture in my stash! :-)  I added 2 matchign back pillows I sewed as well as the white one, which I bought earlier this year.  I had intended to put feet on it, but forgot to take them into account when I made the seat cushions.  So the feet would have made the loveseat way too high so I decided to sip them. *shrugs*

I packed up all the furniture from the kitchen, and started setting up the girls' living room.  I've used the wooden shelving unit I had in the kitchen again here, but this time I turned it so it is standing upright.

The tree stands 18" tall and was purchased at Hobby Lobby.  I hope to start decorating it next week.  Of course there is the fireplace I made in the center of the room.  I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with all the open wall space in the room, but I am thinking about possible a decent sized framed mirror and maybe a large wreath.  Then of course I plan on decorating the mantle and adding some Christmas decor to the shelves in the wall piece too.  My other decorating dilemma will be what to put inside the fireplace.  I have 2 options right now.... a stack of 'logs' cut from branches that are the right scale. or I could make several candles in what ever color I decide on and do something like the rooms in this LINK.

Farewells and Fireplaces

Monday was kind of a sad day here as Lena, Lily, Nance and I said good bye to Abbie.  She's headed off for a little vacation, but will be back next month feeling better than ever!  (I actually sold my Plaid to Meet You Ellowyne Wilde doll to a wonderful gal in Minnesota, but Abbie is being reshelled onto a lovely Decadent Daydreams Ellowyne Wilde body that has nearly the same posing ability that Lena does!  She should be here sometime before Christmas!!! =D)

Abbie and I did one last photoshoot before she headed out on her trip.  This was the last shot we did and I like to think that she is contemplating her future!  :-)

I miss her already and can't wait for her to get back from her vacation!

(BTW I actually finished the PJ's!  I put tiny green buttons on the front of the top.  I used snaps inside for the actual closing though.)

Last night I made the hearth for the fireplace.  I took a piece of 1/2" think foam core board and cut it to size.  I then carved a bit off the edges to give it that chipped edge that slate so often has.  I then coated it with the paint I used for the fireplace interior.  (It's called Micaceous Iron Oxide from Golden Acrylics and it's a very thick bodied charcoal colored paint that has very fine granules of Mica in it giving it not only a slight shimmer but a light texture as well.)  After it dried I glued the fireplace to the base and weighted it down to dry.

This morning while pondering what to use for  the mantle, I noticed that the shelves in my CD cabinet were almost the perfect size. (Thankfully I had a couple extras! lol)  So I painted the raw edges and once those were dry I glued the mantle in place.  It's currently drying. :-)  I've started the next phase of my living room build by starting on the loveseat. More recycling being done here with more cardboard boxes, packing foam blocks and even some thin flexible foam sheets as padding.  No in-progress shots as well it doesn't really look like anything yet! LOL

Almost time to light the fire!!!

Yesterday I decided to set aside the case of The Fears I had and get to painting!
What are The Fears, you ask?  Well it's that feeling you get when you find yourself asking things like; What if I mess it up? What if it turns out horrible? What if I don't know what I'm doing?   The Fears are also known as What If Syndrome. And I think it's something that many artists deal with. Especially when trying something new.  But I decided last night that, this fireplace is only cardboard.  Worst case scenario I find a new box and start over.  So I mixed up a cream colored paint and painted the entire fireplace with is. I wanted to lighten up the original color of the egg cartons as well as cover up and writing.  Adding the paint also softened up the 'rocks' which allowed me to use a couple different blunt tipped tools to soften the edges of the rocks and add in a few subtle details.

I left it dry over night and this morning did the actual rock painting.  I used a palette of 5 different colors: cream, sage green, light tan, charcoal and a metallic beige.  I used a cheap brush that I dempened, then just started to pounce on the various colors.  I didn't clean my brush out.  If a spot was too dark I added more cream and tan. If it looked too light I added just a touch of black and green.  All in all it was actually pretty easy to do, and I am thrilled with the result!  I let that dry and then painted the inside of the fireplace with a rich charcoal color. 

Next step... the hearth!  I think I'm going to try for a slate look!

Shuffling along

It's weird, but every time I finish one commission I feel the need to take a few days off and just do nothing.  After I shipped out the Christmas tree from my last post, I did just that. I read and played silly Facebook games and watched tv.  But I think it was Wednesday I decided to get back to work.  Granted I'm not really working on the things I should be working in (i.e. photographing and listing loads and loads of doll clothes) But, eh, at least I was doing something productive. LOL

This outfit here is a culmination of several different 'experiments'.  The denim skirt was actually one of the first things I ever sewed in 1:4 scale... back in like March I think. The little white clutch I made with from scraps from the shoulder bag I made for the Hello Kitty commission. I simply folded the piece in 3rds, did a blanket stitch along the sides, pinked the top edge and added a snap. (Which I then covered up with a decorative charm-thing.
The Sweater is made from a toddler's leg warmer I found at the dollar spot at Target.  The piece didn't exactly turn out like I had planned, but thankfully it turned out better! =D
 Last but certainly not least are Lena's new shoes!  I found a tutorial online for making duct tape Toms for the American Girl sized dolls.  I simply resized the technique and used some wide satin ribbon that I added adhesive to the back to create fabric 'tape'.  I still need to refine the technique, but I think they turned out really cute!  I think I'll call them Dee's!

  My most recent project has been a fireplace for the girls up-coming living room set. I have been thinking about getting this Journey Girls Ski Lodge set from Toys R Us ever since I saw it.  From the 'compaints' I saw about it being too small for AG dolls, I realized that it really would be the perfect size for the 1:4 scale girls.  And at just $40 it really is a good deal.  I was all set to have my husband pick it up for me last week, but our TRU was out of it.  So I decided to get my craftiness going and just make my own! (and since I'm saving to buy my resin Ellowyne Wilde next month, that is probably a GOOD thing! LOL) 

I found this box among the stuff waiting to go out to the recycle bin, and after a little online research, decided that it was the perfect size for a rustic fireplace.   I had to finish up a couple of commissions before I could get started on it, but Thursday I was finally ready to get going.  The first thing I did was decide how large I wanted the opening for the actual fireplace to be. Once I did that I cut an X through that area and folded back the top and side pieces.  The bottom I completely removed.  I then used another large box I bad to cut out a long strip of cardboard that would fit inside that area and glued that in place.

 Yesterday I grabbed out the stash of cardboard egg carton lids that I have been saving for months. (I wasn't sure what I was going to use them on but thanks to this AWESOME blog, I knew they were perfect for making stone effects.

I did a little research online to get some inspiration for Fieldstone Fireplaces and came up with a design I was happy with.  I have spent the last 2 days (off and on) cutting and gluing on these fake stones.  My husband oh so helpfully pointed out that the wording kind of spoils the looks. *rolling my eyes, even though I knew he was kidding*  I'm totally finished with the front and one of the sides and once I finish this post I'll go back and finish the final side.  Tomorrow I will start painting and detailing the egg cartons to hopefully make them look like stone.  God willing I won't screw up the paint job!  I plan to make a cherry wood mantle and a faux slate hearth.  I think I will paint the inside black and cut some 'logs' from from small branches from the backyard.  I hope to have the girls fireplace finished by Monday or Tuesday, so that I can get started on their furniture! A fireplace isn't much good unless you have someplace to cozy up and enjoy it! :-)

Geesh, November is halfway over already!

Does anyone else think it's crazy that there are just 7 weeks left in 2013? This past year has just flown by, and each passing day seems to move faster and faster still. *sigh*

Well enough lamenting, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

A couple of blog-posts ago I promised to share the link to these fun scarves I have available in my shop.  I forgot. :-(  Sorry.  But better late than never I suppose.  You can find this lovely version along with 9 others in my shop HERE . 

They are 18" long and each version is a lovely array of shades and colors.  (and at just $2 a piece they are a steal! =D)

This afternoon I finished up, and shipped of the Barbie Christmas tree I've been working on for the past few days.  The tree stands about 13" tall and features ornaments in burgundy, blue, purple and gold (with some crystal ones thrown in for extra sparkle).  I sculpted a large gold star from polymer clay for the tree topper.  I also added a few subtle threads of gold tinsel.  The tree skirt is a lovely rich dark burgundy with a touch of gold trim.  I also added 8 wrapped packages in various sizes for under the tree.

My friend lives here in New York, so she will get her tree tomorrow.  I hope she likes it as much in person as she did in the pictures.  It actually looks much prettier in person as for some reason my camera hates purples. *shrugs*

I have several additional projects that I need to be working on, but can't seem to gather the energy to do so right now.  So I'm going to tend my virtual farm, then go read a book until Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes on. 

I'll catch up with y'all tomorrow!

Deborah

Howdy

Hey y'all it's Lena,

Mom's been really busy finishing up on several different projects and hasn't had time to update the blog this past week, so I figured I'd leave her virtual farm alone and come chat with everyone here!

Last week, we had our first snow of the year.  It was really pretty, I've never seen snow before.  Mom and Dad grumbled a bit, but my human brothers were super excited.  I wanted to go out and play, but Mom said she was too busy to take me, and the boys just wanted to play and wouldn't be able to keep an eye on me. (Stinks having little brothers who are so much bigger than me!) The temperatures started warming up and the snow started to disappear the next day.  I hated to act like a brat, but I really wanted to go outside and see the snow in person.  I was kind of bad and told Mom that I was going outside even if that meant I had to climb up tot he top of her work desk to get into my box of clothes for a jacket.  Well, I guess it worked because Mom set aside what she was working on to take me outside!

We bundled up nice and warm and headed out.  The snow was pretty much just in the shaded areas by that point, and my brothers said it wasn't good for much of anything any more.  But I liked it!  It was cold for sure, but so neat!  When we came inside mom ordered me a hat and a pair of mittens.  They are being hand made just for me, all the way in RUSSIA!!!  How cool is that!

Mom made us all some nice hot tea to warm us up.  The snow is now all gone, as a matter of fact it has warmed up quite a bit.  The weather has been kind of weird. But Mom promises that there WILL be more snow, and like my little brothers, I just can't wait!

The big project mom has been working on is a Barbie doll sized Christmas tree for a friend of hers.  It's coming along really nicely.

It's done in shades of purple, blue and burgundy, with gold accents.  Mom added some clear crystals to make it sparkle.

Today she added pretty gold tinsel strands and made a gold star tree topper for it.  She says she'll get some good shots tomorrow.

She still has to sew the tree skirt and wrap up some presents to go under the tree, but Mom said she plans to mail this out tomorrow.

Her next project is to make a fireplace for me and the girls.  She said that will have to be a break-time project as my human Gramma (Mom's mom) has been sewing clothes for the 18" American Girl style dolls and Mom is going to add them to her shop for Gramma. So she has to do photos for each outfit.  Oh and Mom say's she needs to photograph several outfits for me and the others girls to sell those too.  Looks like mom still doesn't have much free time, but I think she kind of likes it that way! lol

Well, I've chatted here enough for now I think.
Catch y'all later,
Lena