A Package Arrived!

I've been wanting to find a bench for my MSD's to put out by the pond for photoshoots and ran across this one in the Castaways Marketplace.  It's perfect for them!  It's also very solid but I'm not so sure that I'll keep the red paint though.  Will have to figure out what I want to do as far as painting it before the weather turns too cold.  Anyway, I took a few photos with Julian & Kess just to try it out. 
Enjoy! :0)

 

"Come sit next to me."

 

 

 

A Tender Moment.



Props & Accessories

So, ever since I can remember I've really loved miniatures.  What better way to enjoy them than to have dolls that you make room settings for and fill with tiny versions of what you may find in your own home?  I've added a few new items to Kess's apartment this last week:



I found the vase with the roses in the minature section of Hobby Lobby.  It's a smaller scale than what would normally be good for an MSD, but because it's on her nightstand it looks better smaller.  Besides, the flowers match her room perfectly!
I also bought the little glass bottle at Hobby Lobby.  I found it in the scrap booking section and it came in a package with several other bottles in various sizes.  I filled it with some beach sand from my collection and set the tiny sea shells (from my collection as well) next to it. 

 



This evening I made a little doggy bed for Kess's puppy Puff.  I found a pair of miniature baskets at Hobby Lobby (it's one of my favorite craft stores, can you tell? ;0)).  This is the smaller of two baskets.  I cut off the handle with a pair of wire cutters and made the cushion with cotton fabric and fiber fill.  It was a quick and easy project that took me about 20 minutes to make. I think he likes it!

 

Last week I worked on these canvas totes for MSD sized BJD's.  They are fully lined with a contrasting or matching fabric on the inside.  You can find them in my Etsy Shop. 

 



 

Here are Kess & Puff modeling one of the totes.

 

Kess's Apartment... A Little More Progress.

Today I worked on a few accessories for Kess's apartment.  I bought a plain wood trunk from Hobby Lobby and painted it, adding the filigree decorations which are actually stickers meant for scrapbooking as the decoration on the front.  I added the seat cushion made of one inch foam and covered with cotton fabric and made the pillows.  This is for extra seating in her apartment seeing as I don't have plans for a big couch or anything in her one room, one bath set up.

 

 

I also made the pillow that's on the rocker.

 

Next I worked on the night stand and lamp that is next to her bed.  The night stand is made out of a paper mache box also found at Hobby Lobby and square dowels painted and decorated with a brass Vintaj filigree.  The lamp is made with a wooden candle stick base that I painted.  The lamp shade is made with a cream colored card stock and white rose ribbon for decoration.

 

 

This side of her apartment is almost done.  I just have to paint and glue the baseboard around the bottom of the walls.  I want the apartment to have "hardwood" floors, but that won't happen till I know how big it will actually be once it's done.

~Louisa

Kess's Apartment: Part 2

So, I've made some progress on Kess's Apartment in the last few days.  Specifically the window and window seat.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent doing a lot of measuring, cutting, painting and glueing of the window frame.  It's tedious work but rewarding when you measure twice and cut once!  When the frame was all set I cut and glued in the window pane- a sheet of clear Acetate.  Now, when I bought the Acetate I forgot that I was working with an area greater than the 12"x12" size that it comes in.  Needless to say, I will have to go back to Hobby Lobby in the next few days to get another sheet as the top panes don't have Acetate in them :0/.  Ah well, live and learn...

 

I also painted and added the center medalian under the seat.

 

Today I worked on the window seat cushion, the curtains and a pillow for her bed.  The curtains are just basic panels that are hung on a dowel rod that is concealed in the cornice box just like real curtains would be.  I picked this Poly-Satin fabric in this deep wine color because it brings out the pink flowers in the quilt nicely.  I tied them back with some beads strung on stretchy cord.  The window seat cushion is a piece of 1 inch foam covered in some left over gold silk fabric from another project.  It's fairly neutral and seems to work well.

 

 

 

I just have a few finishing touches to add to complete this side of the room.  All in all, I'm quite happy with the result! :0)

 

 

OMAKE:

 

My dog Molly likes to hang out with me as I'm working on a project in my workroom.  Well, I worked on this project on the floor and she would come over and check in on me occassionally.  Here she is peaking through the window before it was completed.  She also enjoyed stepping through it to come see me :0)

 



 

Rainy Day Project: Kess's Apartment

So yesterday we felt the affects of Isaac and spent most of the day indoors because of all the rain.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that we got the rain- our yard REALLY needed it- but it made for finding something to do indoors a little challenging.

I've had this idea for a photo story in my head for about a year now.  I'm a very visual person and haven't gotten past the very general outline as far as characters are concerned.  Kess is by far the most fleshed out of the characters so I thought I'd start with her living space.  In the story she rents an apartment on the top floor of a renovated Victorian style house not too far from the university she attends.  It's basically one big room with a bathroom attached, but it suites her needs.

I had gathered up some of my supplies with a genral idea sketched out in my notebook and started by doing a lot of measuring.  Kess has had a bed since before she arrived home last year.  It's a second hand American Girl Doll bed for Samantha I found on Ebay while I was i the midst of the eternally long wait for Fairyland to get her to me.  I just bought the basic frame.  I made the quilt, pillows, mattress and dust ruffle.  Kess is a quiet girly girl and likes feminine things so the colors I chose are soft and nature based.  Having the bed and the basic color scheme really helped in my choices of paper and accents for the room so I just needed to find patterns and colors that leaned towards Victorian. 

Tri-fold foam core board (like you'd use for school presentations etc.) makes great wall material.  The larger sheets can be a bit pricy, but that's where my Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon came in handy! ;0)
I used a sharp exacto knife to cut the foam core down to size and cut out where the window seat would be.

Next I made the actual window seat.  I scored a section of the bottom part of the window instead of cutting it completely free and folded it out of the window.  Then I just cut pieces of foam core board and created a 'box' for the seat.  I used clear packing tape to adhere the pieces together.  It works great and I have a ton of the stuff!  I also added the side walls and the top to the window seat.

Then I started papering.  Scrapbook paper is awesome and it's even better when you can get each sheet for 50% off!  I used the larger 12"x12" sheets and started with the top and worked my way down.  Had to make another trip to Hobby Lobby because I miscalculated and had to get more paper. :0/  After that I mitered and painted my wood trim for the chair railing.  I bought the trim at Michaels in the wood craft section.  I got the medalians there as well.  Once the paint was dry I glued the trim and the medalians with Aleene's Quick Tack.  That glue is thicker than regular tacky glue but it seems to dry a lot faster and holds quicker.

I also added and papered the cornice piece over the window seat area.  I thought 2 medalians would be enough, but I was wrong.  Need to make another trip to Michaels....

                     Here's Kess enjoying some computer time on her bed in her in progress apartment.