Vickie's Vintage DIY: How to make the store fixtures and displays,

We took a mini-vacay this week, so I'm still catching up. 

When work was still being done on most of the shop. (originally posted 2018), I'm hoping to continue this long as we have readers. Below, you never know what you may find in a thrift store---definitely peruse the frames...I've picked up windows, doors and even a bench...from frames.)

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Vickie found this great door at a thrift shop (it's a photo frame) and the scale is perfect.

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We Painted one coat of silver over the red...left it blush just a bit.

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Then I added some gel-medium (you can also use watered down modge-podge) to some Charcoal Gray acrylic paint(think craft paint--I avoid Apple Barrel--it's thin and pigment lacking) and then quickly painted and then immediately wiped it off with paper toweling, and let it sit over night. This technique is called glazing.

The girls put on sticker letters and Victorian flourishes. Here, Vickie cleans the residuals off the glass. 

In the Bridal Boutique, the closets are ready to set up.

Tutorial on painting plastic doll closets is here.DIY Doll Closets.

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The girls filled the spaces with color grouped clothes---The full skirts really eat up the floor space. Hose, shoes and accessories were added to the shelves. Everything a party girl may need, well we need more accessories here.

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Where the handles were on the top of the closets, were two raised screw holes---I put a piece of bent coat hanger into the holes to display dresses on. Double- stick tape holds shoes on small squares of white cardboard, easier for moving around and not permanent. Luckily my basement walls are gray and extend the 'look' of the shop. We are just a foot from the real basement ceiling and the vent is above, so I block the whole shop off with a piece of foam-core to keep it clean, when not in use.

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The first cabinet on the left ended up being all pink/maroon. Goodness, Mattel's heavy on pink. 

The Mirror guy--WAS still slacking off. (lol, me)

(In 2023 and now this area on the left and along the stairs holds Tuxes and Ken's seasonal dress clothes-below)

Carpet on the second floor was cut from new placemats. Other furnishings,... 

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 the benches were cut from an existing deep box thrift store frame. These were made so easy, two cuts for Hubby's mitre saw and then I used silver spray paint.

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They benches were supposed to be for customers to sit, but Vickie crashed and took a nap---sigh, what a slacker...lol.

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Original 2018, these were odd thrift store finds---the desk/pencil cabinet, added a top, (a fairy garden fence), and the body jewelry stand was perfect fashion doll size.(This poor doll tipped over and broke---and eventually replaced by 2  Gray doll Mannequins,) 

(The DIY post for mannequins HERE.)  

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This cabinet is still handy for jewelry, hair accessories, mini purses or fill the cabinet with toiletries. It changes with the seasons. (We still use this and it what it holds is always different)

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The Jewelry doll form had a few purses and a low profile wedding dress. We added some bling and it was fab! (I was limited as to what I type of dress I could display on this.)

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Another thrifted jewelry stand----white and holds everything.  

2026 note: This piece was purchased second hand. But, they are still available reasonable on Temu in black and for $$$ at Michaels, but just a spray away makes it a perfect fixture in your color choice.

And it still works wonderfully, I can have multiple shoppers around it, spin for photos, and usually has a seasonal display on top with three separate outfits.

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This 'First Display' was color and style coded and filled with fashions, purses and belts. Even some room for  suitcases below.

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Carly kept busy cleaning the last of the construction dust. The cabinet behind her, held swimsuits, underwear, and camisoles. (This cabinet has been replaced with acrylic box designed for real life organization.)

as shown today below.

It's fabulous for a seasonal displays---mixing clothes and accessories! (Last Fall). It was a thrift store makeup organizer.

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I freshened this checkout (thrift store) with some silver tape, black contact paper, and some white stickum paper in the cubbies.

(It's still the perfect counter with a working money drawer, phone, and charge card 'bings' when it is used.)

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 The Grand loved it. I didn't do anything on the back. ($1.99 was a steal). Oh, the girls store bags in the holes below.

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The shoe shelves was two shadow boxes with glass covers, I pulled off the covers and reset the hinges so the cubby parts are hooked together and it can be used straight or cornered.

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Eventually the corner set up was perfect for the shoe shelves. Here, Zoe straightened all the shoes and purses in here. (Now I only keep shoes in here), purses are designated in this display, below)

The bottom piece was thrifted and has 5 shelves, which  switches out. Fall and Winter has lots of boots, so we need more room. The second shelf was purchased from $ store and works great as most purses fit inside) .

The whole thing is taped together and stuck to the wall.  Or, one bump and you get a cascade of accessories on the floor. 

No space goes unused, so top of the accessory shelves are these hat mannequins and coordinating clothing hung on push-pins through the foam core upper wall.

(2026 This is still the favorite of my doll blog. We switch it out maybe 3-4 times a year...and it's great having shoes and accessories easily accessible for quick changes.)

(back to the story)

Upstairs hums with an Undetermined Sound: Zzzzzzzzz-Zzzzzzzzzz-Zzzzzzzzz.

 

Zoe: What is that! (She looks around)

Zoe: Carly can you hear that noise...?

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Zoe: Never mind, I think it is coming from upstairs! I'll check.

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Zoe: Vickie---it's time to wake up----we open in a couple of hours. 

Vickie: Uh, ....oh...? What time is it? 

Zoe: Almost 5, you had better go home and change! The Grand Opening Party at 7pm.

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Vickie: Okay, Ladies----hold the fort. The flowers still have to arrive and the mirror guy. I'm going home to take a shower, um...everything looks great and thank you so much for everything you both do!

Carly: Sure, hurry back and please bring coffee. We sure need some.

Vickie: Anything for my team. If Joe calls, tell him I'm on the way home.

(Next---I think the Grand Opening...and tour)

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Sharing at these fine blog partie! 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi

Bridal Shop Closet Redux

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Hi, Dolly friends. Following the last post (Vickie's has always been popular in the last few years, thought we would go back to the beginning.) This is the second of the 'new' Vickie's...my husband built the box for me and the stairs...and the rest is me and my crazy imagination. I'm also a dedicated thrifter and many things are made from items saved from landfills...hence the name Barbieoldnewgreenredo! Enjoy---PS this is one of my most visited posts from Pinterest.

 (I will edit and ad bits here and there, Sandi)

NEW NOTE 2026: I never mentioned in the original post that this upper floor will be a Bridal Boutique,

perfect for Tuxes to Bridal and Party dresses! 

Mattel and other companies have issued so many closet carrying cases for fashion dolls, they now float around the thrift stores for pennies. (They can still be picked up for under $5 in 2026)

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I picked up 4 of these in perfect condition, minus a couple of shelves and a small door. They are still being sold new in stores for roughly $15-20. (Now $25-50-2026) Crazy huh!

I suspect they are being purchased for their included fashions rather than the case itself. This is the one I didn't use, but sabotaged parts from.

I paid $1.99 to 3.99 (2018) for each of these. Really much easier than building all kinds of shelving for the new Vickie's Vintage Boutique.

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First thing was removing the stickers from the outside, and dismantling the doors and handles. The handles were a piece of cake only two easily reachable screws. 

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The doors were something else though. I have successfully removed lots of silver pegs from Mattel channels/hinges before. But, these would not budge. Normally a couple of taps with a hammer and screw driver and they begin to slide out---not these. After an hour---of trying on various sets of hinges--I declared a truce and grabbed my coping saw.  

Normally, I would use a Dremel tool saw, but this plastic was very flexible and soft---so it would gum up----as a high-speed tool would melt the plastic, rather than cut it. The coping saw made quick work of removing all the hinge tabs, though not as neatly as I would have liked. I used a file to clean the edges. The doors are all still intact---so, I may be able to use them for another project. And, nicely they are a full 12" tall and can be used for diorama doors!

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I fitted the cabinets in the unfinished room----and yes, they will work perfectly. Now, that PINK, ugh.

I had some serious issues removing the paper decals on the right sections of each cabinet, despite soaking the areas with alcohol. The rest came very clean. 

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I make it no secret, I really dislike pink. Not pink in general---but the continuous use of pink on items that would never be this PINK in Real Life, ie ---a pink stove??? However, there are lots of wonderful textures on the panels of these closets. After a thorough cleaning and wiping down every surface with alcohol, (this is truly necessary for good paint bonding). I removed all the shelves and doors. I decided the hanging bars will stay black---so there is no chance of the hangers scraping paint off them. I may eventually replace them with metal---we will see how they hold up.

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We finally had a moderate day, that was dry, to spray and paint-spray and spray. (Recommended temperatures are important when spraying...I got some nasty leathering of surfaces in too hot temps). 

The three closets and shelves all took three coats of white satin spray---for plastic. I used a little over one can. (I still recommend Rustoleum Spray Paint for plastic, satin for Barbie and other manufacturers).

After spraying them all white, I covered the straight bar sides with shiny silver stickum from the scrap book section. I opted for a roll designed for those cutting machines that was on sale, instead of buying sheets. This was my first experience using adhesive backed plastic made for cutting machines. The quality was better than anything else I have used before.

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The girl's worked very hard on these cabinets....getting them installed with a little help.

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I left the little translucent shelves pink. A little pink goes a long way. The detail trim on the drawer fronts were done with a store brand oil-paint pen in silver. A perfect match for all the other silver.  (Acrylic paint pens are now very available and just as good.)

I have to figure out how to secure these two units together, might try some white plastic corner molding?

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The backs of the problem sections were covered with silver adhesive plastic, like the kind you use in scrapbooking cutting machines. I have smoothed out most of the bubbles since these pics. But, it was very easy to work with and didn't stretch like other products, and it was on sale. 

It does add a bit of bling, and the store is basically gray and white, so silver is a natural choice.

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(Here you get a view of the layout of the shop...It was designed to fit ontop a certain size dresser. The walls are thin plywood, the bottom floor a bit thicker. the stairs are wood. 2026)

The shop is coming along. Vickie is wondering if she needs to use a different rack now, since the stairs has used up some floor space. We will see. 

(2026 I did use a new rack, and note...I still pick up these cases, and still reuse the doors.) Every bedroom has a closet of some sort, and having a particular dolls clothing accessible instead of buried works well, unless you are looking for a particular outfit and don't know who is hoarding it at the moment!) LOL.

Supplies and Tools for this project:

Existing plastic doll closet(s) or carrying case(s).

Screw driver 

File

Hacksaw or coping saw to remove parts if desired.

Alcohol to clean all surfaces and remove any sticker residue

Spray paint for plastics-1 can almost did 3 units, front and back- 3 coats (necessary to not have pink show through)

Paint pens- I used silver or desired color for details (and white for touch ups) Oil or acrylic based pens work well

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Scrapbook paper or metallic self stick paper for inside or doors if you choose.

Exacto knife--to cut paper or adhesive paper

Square and straight edge for cutting papers

Double stick tape if using scrapbook papers for wall paper. Paint for stairs and walls, 

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Sharing at these fine blog parties!

Thanks for visiting and  for your cooperation, 

Sandi

Vickie's Vintage...and how it was built, Part 1

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Hi, All. Some things going on with the dolls, slow but sure!

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Finally, the girls empty Vickie's Vintage for the construction of a second floor for a bridal/formal salon. Holds on construction have been due to typical Chicago building code snags and decisions.

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Back at Vickie's townhouse---

Richelle presents storyboards for choosing surfaces for the new construction.

Richelle: This board I call 'pearly'...with a bit of dull gold trim.

Vickie: I like the flooring, it looks to be the similar to the HFIM house. 

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Vickie: This pearlized paper would be pretty in the dressing rooms. 

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I love the flooring

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Ah, this will be a great blend with the existing silvered cement floors on the main level. This model really gives me an idea of what it might look like.

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Richelle: Well, this is the 'silver' board, all dulled surfaces, except this glittered paper.

Vickie: Oh, that is too much glitter, I like this softer one below though. I see you used the same flooring. I really the like the look of the silver palette.

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Richelle: Yes, this goes well with both palettes. And is durable and luxurious.

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Richelle: Here is my suggested layout for the upstairs with display closets and racks along the back wall, with seating banquettes at the railings. A center dais in front of a huge tri-fold mirror. Two massive chandeliers should light the entire balcony and will show through the exterior windows.

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Richelle: (Holding her breath) I hope you like it, so we can go forward. I actually have a source for the closets. We can decide on the details, as we go along. I have to check with BMR Ltd. and see what will be considered as building improvements and to get their okay.

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Vickie: Can we make the closets portable, or is that impractical? I've had three changes since the shop started. I've really learned to be modular. 

Richelle: The source closets I have in mind are pretty flexible. We could put them on wheels under the kick plate, but we will have to anchor them to the walls then for safety, maybe with a locking mechanism.

Vickie: So many decisions. What were you planning to use for railings?

Richelle: Clear acrylic to keep it nice and airy. I was hoping to find clear banquettes, also. 

Vickie: Hmmm, I really like that idea. Nothing to obstruct the view of the new level. Great, whatever is feasible and okay with the building codes. BMR has been super---Ms.Roberts wants to do renewal on this entire block. Richelle, you've done a fabulous presentation, I love it all. Let me know when I can see these closets. 

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Richelle: Well, I'm so thankful for the referral to work for you and BMR, it's a great start for my career.

Vickie: What about your wedding? I thought it was going to be next month?

Richelle: We are both so busy with work, we've bumped it to sometime in fall, maybe October. My Dad and Uncle are both really busy from now on until then. (Sigh)

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Vickie: If you haven't found a wedding dress, maybe you can be my first customer.

Richelle: I hope so---! LOL, if we get all our projects, done!

Vickie: Now, l love the board you made for the for the townhouse. I can't wait to start on at least the floors now, and cover the couch with that turquoise fabric you brought. It's perfect.

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own. I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown or anywhere I shop.

Thanks always for visiting. 

I will try and respond to every comment and answer every question.

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Sharing at these Fine blog parties!

Love Your Creativity

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Sandi