BARBIEOLDNEWGREENREDO--JUST A GRANNY HAVING FUN WITH DOLLS< DIORAMAS STORIES AND DIY

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Trish's New Shop Part 2: Doors, Touch Ups and Fixtures


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I haven't had that much time with all the yard work. I finally decided on a lighter blue for the doors with exterior trim in a beige. The contrast with the old brick pattern was still too much, so I washed all the trim and doors with a combo of grey/sealer and water.

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Here you can see the kink in the cardboard on the left side support, one reason not to use cardboard for 1/6 scale buildings.

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Outside, I installed the doors with hinges from the 1.00 boxes from Michaels.  With a little bending they open fully and close flush. Here you can see where the overlap is on the front.
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The white contact paper edge was going to show...so I chose Sharpies to color up the edge.

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The red for the brick and then the silver and gold to antique the edges to blend with the bricks.
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Here is the finished edge, ready to overlap to the door frame.
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This is all the brick paper I have left after fronting the store.
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On the top and bottom of the hole for the cooler, I installed a double width of tracking. (This is plastic channel originally designed for paneling. It comes in lots of styles and is cheap and saves lots of time for moldings, frames and now clear doors on the 
front of the cooler.

The pink box I'm using for the cooler is a bit slanted on the top/bottom ends. So I matched the angle, cut two $1 box lids to the angle, attached a top the right width 

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I glued the pieces together with E-6000, and weighted it down. This support won't show, so I didn't paint it, but will straighten up the angled ends of the organizing bin that will be the cooler. Hubby cut two pieces of acrylic photo 'glass' to slide into the track and that will be the doors for the cooler.
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It's been four years since I made the garden center, so I used some random box pieces, two mini drawer and box sets, some small $1 box lids (will be shopping trays), the pyramid shelf from Target and some of  the older pieces a good wash of gray paint/sealer/and water. Not everything came out the same---but,
 are all in the same gray tones.

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I even made a new heavier shelf for the greenhouse and painted the existing shelves  with the same gray sealer wash.
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I really don't want to paint the whole greenhouse-now---maybe later.
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Here is a painted white spice shelf, I picked up at a thrift store ages ago. Painted white, then gray washed. Perfect for this wall.
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I found some mini lights on a greenery vine, and I have lots of the old pieces from the garden center.
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I'm going for a more finished/refined look for the center and the floral shop now. Hubby cut me some 3", 2", 1" pieces of electrical plastic conduit  for flower containers and vases. Some I sprayed silver like these.
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And a few white pieces to be used for floral containers.
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I also painted two pink atrocities to maybe use---but honestly---it's really hard to cover the 'Barbie Pink'.
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When everything was dry, I Tacky glued the cylinders to felt for bottoms. Now all I have to do is scissors cut them. 
That's it for now. Busy week ahead, still working on gardens and a friend's also. If it is too hot or raining, I will get the Floral Shop and Garden Center finally up and running. 

Does Yardwork interrupt YOUR Doll Designs? 

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Trish's New Shop Part 1: Cardboard Walls???

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There's always a first time for everything. I decided to build Trish's new shop from items/materials I had in the house. HA! Anyway, I'm on a few dollhouse sites---and they are all building from cardboard, so I thought I would give it a try.


TOOLS:  needed for Foldable Diorama Shop for 1:6 scale

SQUARE---absolutely necessary for 90 degree corners and straight lines.

Exacto knife or box cutter

Mitre box

Saw

Scissors (for paper cutting)

Heavy scissors for cutting plastic channel

Paint brushes



MATERIALS:

Cardboard box the size of your desired shop or cut

      walls from foam-core/or plywood, and tape together.

Acetate sheets or clear packaging/box lids for windows

Thick foam core or wood for the floor

Contact paper (I personally like being able to foam stick        decor and papers to contact paper walls, also                    cleanable--I use satin white contact paper the most.)

Decorative papers for floor or a paintable surface.

Decorative scrapbook or wrapping paper for inside or            outside of the shop.

Wood pieces desired thickness and width for windows          and door frames, (you can certainly used cut foam          core for this-covered in paper or contact paper)

Decorative wood trims for accents 

Acrylic Sealer - I use Liquitex matte sealer which I buy         on sale 50% off. It is very fluid and seals quickly             while also soaking into the wood, saving you paint.

Modge-podge for applying paper to surfaces.   (I use               satin or matte)

Acrylic paint for window trim outside

White acrylic dimensional fabric paint as caulk.

Luan plywood or wood for door 3/8" thick 

Cooler: Plastic channel open enough to allow two                  thicknesses of acrylic plastic to pass through or two        thinner channels

E-6000 glue or similar for all types of surfaces.

Double-stick tape for paper on front

Sealer for floor (optional) 


CONSTRUCTION

I had a very heavy 16x16 box that I figured would be a good start. Cutting thick cardboard is way harder than quality foam core. I had raggedy edges everywhere which I sanded off with a flexible sanding block

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Here's the first cuts made for the windows and folding
       to fit the shop into the corner of the 'garden center lot.'

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I cut off the bottom flaps---as I want the shop to be foldable for storage. At this point I decided to cover the entire inside in white contact paper. I knew if I had to paint this it would take multiple coats and I wouldn't have a tight surface because of the cardboard is just paper. This is up to your own vision.

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I was waiting for the floor to dry before making the last adjustment on the overlap in the front right of the door. I chose this shape as Trish really counts on her garden center grounds to display all the outdoor items. 

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Taking a photo of the inside, you get an idea of how large this shop is going to be.
In my fictitious world--Trish will have a large workroom and storage area behind the shop in the alley. I will make a fake door in the back corner.

FLOOR

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I squared the box up in the location it would be---and then drew the angles for the floor. The thick foam core floor is covered in 'planking' made from strips of scrapbook paper. Michael's has greatly reduced their paper selections---UGH---and no flooring but dark is available---and I don't shop at HL. 
Joann's is 14  and 18 or 20 miles away--city driving. So, I guess I will have to get more creative in my paper selections. The strips were cut 1" and 1 1/4" wide, just to mix it up. I was able to stagger the pattern by cutting the lengths varied. 

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I applied Mod-Podge to the thick foam core and then placed each strip down, then immediately covering with another brushed layer of MP to smooth out the wrinkles. Carefully glue down each piece as you go. Gaps I will color in with markers after the pieces do their shrinking.

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This is where the door will have a threshold-maybe...thing to think about.

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After covering the entire inside with contact paper, I tested the floor for shape and how much more I would have to cut off the one front edge.

In the back, I cheated on the cooler---I had this drawer tray for ages, and it will work for the cooler when it is warm enough to spray paint silver. 
Gosh, the pink is atrocious, I will use primer paint first for sure. I'll add a couple of shelves also.

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You can see the close up trim. I used some plastic channel on the bottom and top for sliding doors, and plain edging on the sides. The channel was hard to slip over the squishy cardboard edges even with the contact paper. A drop of gel glue inside the channels is enough to  hold the pieces in place.

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On the front overlapped pieces, I tried to use velcro to hold them together---and then had to pull them off as the cardboard bent too much when trying to open it. I'm opting for pinning the walls into the base, and something for the top for a tight fit.

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Not much wants to stick to that cardboard which probably has a waxy coating on it to make it moisture resistant. This is when I decided not to Modge-podge the brick paper to the cardboard and cover it in contact paper instead.

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I buy the big rolls of the white. The plastic (matte) surface I can easily tack papers to, change decor, or just cover up a multitude of sins, underneath. You can see the outline of the window through the plastic.

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Flipped over to the Outside: The second layer is cut right up to the edges of the window with an Exacto knife, leaving a clean edge.


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Here's the finished store frame. I'm still undecided of what to do with the roof.

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Luckily I had one piece of brick paper, and a bunch of scraps that matches Vickie's wall and where Trish's garden center is. The pieces are applied with double-stick tape. 

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I had just enough to cover the front, but that is all that shows, with a few strips left over. Next, some wood trim. All the windows were measured and the pieces cut on the diagonal in the mitre box. Craft basswood/pine cuts easily.

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I used wood I had in my stash. Save your odds and ends, I used up quite a few short pieces. I used a coat of acrylic sealer on all sides of these pieces, to help with warpage, and makes good surface for glue and paint to stick to.

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Again, I fished in my paint stash and decided the Ceramcoat beigy on the lower left was the best blend with the brick. It's ancient, so I won't give the color as I'm sure it's not available now.  One coat was all that was needed on all the pieces because I had pre-sealed their surfaces.

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All the pieces were glued down with E-6000 and cardboard placed on top and then my paint boxes to hold everything in place, overnight.

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Here is the inside moldings which are made from plastic channel that has been trimmed on one side. The plastic acetate sheets I did buy--as all my scrap packaging pieces were too short for these 10" or so windows. (Next time---I'll measure my scraps before I cut windows. )
More on channel moldings HERE on my OldNewGreenRedo blog.

First cut your Acetate sheets a bit short of the inside measurement of your channel from edge to edge. I put a dab of glue inside the center of each channel and on the ends. 
Fit your window frames together with the window inserted on a flat surface. Let set a few minutes. E-6000 gets tacky pretty quickly, add a small amount on the back side of your now assembled window all around the edge and then place on your holes in the walls. You have time to wiggle and adjust and make it all square. Weight down everything and let set over night. The gaps on the corners of the window frame can be filled in with acrylic dimensional fabric paint for caulk, squeeze some in the cracks and wipe excess off.  (Plastic channels are paintable, (wipe with alcohol first) if you wish to change the white).

Phew well that was four days worth....!
NEXT DOOR,  and ROOF
(weather is finally getting nice to be outside, so this may be awhile as my yard and garden NEEDS WORK).

Links on the Floral Shop
Floral Shop: Part 1Part 2Part 3

WHAT HAVE YOU AND YOUR DOLLS BEEN DOING/BUILDING???

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I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or products shown, or from where I shop. 






Chopsticks are for Table Legs

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Custom Tables

I've really been trying to use up some of the odds and ends I have around here. I've had a package of chopsticks on my table top for a few months---hmmmm, how about table legs?

Chris and Robb have moved into the Victorian Mansion---but Chris' esthetic is a bit more California modern. The bedrooms are small, and she really needs a quiet space to work at, so a custom desk is needed.

Intermediate Project (doable for ages 10 and up)

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Tools needed:

Mitre or coping saw
Mitre box
Removable tape 
Glue (I used E-6000 for this project and a gel super-glue)
Square for accurate measuring
pencil
Sanding block (I use the sponge type with multiple grits on the different sides)
Pliers to open the glue, LOL. (old hands)
brushes (1 for sealer, one for paint)

Materials:
3/8x 3/8" wood for braces.
4-5 chopsticks (depending on the design of your table
Basswood 1/4" thick and a piece-large enough for your table top.
clear brush on sealer
paint
(vinyl stickum paper) optional

First, determine the design of your table. I have two corner work tables in my workshop, and they are curved in the front and very comfortable to work at. The chair slides underneath and gives maximum walking space in the room.

A similar design was perfect for the cramped bedroom in the Mansion. Doll furniture is often too low, so I decided to make my table legs 4". Getting legs to exact lengths is the hardest part.

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My table was going to have 5 corners, so I needed that many legs. Aren't these twisted chopsticks cool. Anyway tape them together so the ends are even. Can't wait to use the other ends for some slick side modern tables.

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Place the entire bundle in the mitre box and cut them all at once.


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I only had one that slipped a bit.

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Lightly sand them together, and if one is larger sand that one down. This was better than cutting them individually because 4 of the 5 are all the same. 

Make a pattern piece of the shape of your desk, double check and fit it into your space. Then trace onto your flat wood. Curves are always interesting, and I use a hand coping saw to cut the curves, and the mitre box saw to cut the straights. Lightly sand all the edges and the corners. 

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Here you can see the curve on the table. 

The Chopstick legs will need some extra support, so I cut some 3/8x3/8" stock into lengths to go around the table edge (the skirt).  I left the curve open. These skirt pieces were super glued in place. Bare wood to bare wood glues nicely with super-glue, I use a gel type. 


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The ends of the chopsticks and the glossy finish really didn't want to take the gel glue, so I used E-6000 and created supports I taped the legs to to allow them to dry straight. My supports were bottles that straddled the skirt pieces or went into the corner. Scotch tape was fine for holding them in place.

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Angle the legs slightly for a more modern look, or straight.

Seal all your table pieces on all sides with an acrylic sealer. (This will prevent warpage on your table top as craft woods are very porous.) Allow to dry. 

You can apply a vinyl stickum sheet to the top. I had planned to leave the edge wood--but it didn't look right so I painted it and the skirt boards to match the table top.

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This shelving unit, was an odd Barbie piece purchased at a thrift store, I've used multiple times in 5 years. I added a single shelf to the middle and used white vinyl stickum to the back pieces to brighten this up and cover the pre-school background. It was the perfect size for this desk.

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After I took this photo, I adjusted the one leg on the right. Now it's perfect for installation.

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Chris now has the perfect work station in the small master bedroom.

Next Project: What's This???

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I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or products shown, or from where I shop.