Dollies' favorite store: The DollsFashionShop

Never, never let your dolls around the computer, especially on Ebay....subject today is a featured store- The DollsFashionShop on Ebay! (user id: delightful79) My two outfits I purchased a couple of days ago- and WOWZA! the outfits were outstanding! Shipping was fast, and the clothes were great quality and a BANANAS price!! I bought two outfits that would coordinate with shoes and accessories I already had- one for my Going Public Eugenia in red, that would look perfect from the pics with High Tide's red platforms. Another outfit that was black would go great with the coat fashion on Blonde Ambition Vero. Ta da! They came today- and here are the pics! I loved how the purse of Eugenia went with her outfit. I meant to put her gold belt on, and maybe some gold hoops and gold jewelry, so she would look a la Boca Raton. Blonde Ambition Vero's outfit that was solid black doesn't show the snakeskin faux print on her pants, which are really cool. The strapless tops are little ribbed jersey, that are quite soft and durable and slip on the doll, and can be interchanged with other skirts, pants and outfits, which I really like. Vero's black jewelry went with her outfit perfectly, my hubby has said she needs a Harley now! lol. Her Randall Craig poodle Blondie Boy is by her side, I simply love this poodle.

No work accomplished on the dollhouse today, I've been distracted with some other things and family during the holidays, so hopefully will get focused back on the house later. I will be featuring another artist here later who creates awesome playscale handmade shoes, named Sylvia Rountree. The shoes you see on the bed behind Eugenia and on the floor to the left of her near the vanity chair are shoes that fit Barbie and Fashion Royalty dolls. I found that the strappy slippers will not fit the FR girls as well, at least this pair didn't, so they will fit my silkstones. I will feature her and the shoes here in another post when I have time for some silkies and the new girls to try her shoes on. Her shoes run reasonable, and some like the white pair on the bed have ribbon rosettes and tiny buckles! Enjoy the pics and The DollsFashionShop!

~LISA

To show how pleased I was with the outfits, as soon as I had them on my girls I went back and purchased three more! Plus, shipping was FREE! It couldn't get better than this. Check this seller's store frequently, and look for newly listed, the newly listed items are snapped up quick.

A New Silkstone Beauty IN the House!

"Santa baby, put a Silkstone under the tree...for me...been an awful good girl........."

LOL. Couldn't resist. Blue Soiree was under the tree, for me, courtesy of my sweet hubby. What a beauty. With the delay on the Moods dolls I counted them a very early Christmas present- they arrived this Tuesday right before Christmas! perfect timing! so I had a very wonderful Christmas. Hubby is no good at buying presents so told me to buy what I wanted from him....this way no exchanges as I hate to stand in long lines exchanging gifts that do not fit, etc. I think Blue Soiree is just lovely....one of the members of my Barbie club has this doll in pink I think she was available in both pink and blue, the pink gowned silky has blonde hair. These dolls certainly know how to dress! She will be a very elevated guest for Agnes, who simply adores tiaras. I'm hoping Her Highness the Baroness will not attempt to steal the aigrette in Miss Silky's updo, but we all know Agnes!

Daughter received one of the birthstone beauties, wasn't her month, but this birthstone beauty was lovely. (Agnes loves this dress and dog with the crown, I think she wants the crowned pug and lace dress more!lol.) All in all, not much to open, but a wonderful dolly Christmas!

~Lisa

Yes, Lisa, Chandeliers DO exist in 1:6 scale....

I thought that quote from the famous Christmas letter was appropriate.....for everyone knows how hard it is to find those items that are a given in 1:12 scale... but I stumbled across this novelty item that is a lit chandelier by LED lights on a battery pack. During the Christmas swaps on Doll Divas message board this year, one of the ladies received one. When I saw the picture I knew I had to have one for the dollhouse. Figuring out how I was going to hide the unsightly battery pack was something I would think of later. For a link to the Doll Divas board , see my new links section to the left- I have loads of links that are simply cool for 1/6 scale, and will be adding some more later.

Back to the chandelier. This is a pricey little number, and was designed by a designer for the website http://www.kikkerland.com/ where they are available, just not in the clear color that I wanted. The style that I ordered was available in clear, which resembles crystal like a real chandelier, pink, and black, the last two are much, much cheaper. This particular styles is about 4 1/2 inches or 5 x 3 x 5. Sounds a little large, but it is perfect for the bedroom. I am thinking of getting the black one for the kitchen, but may wait and see, or another one after I receive this one. I ordered my chandelier at http://www.unicahome.com/ type in mini chandelier by Chris Collicott, in a google search or the search engine of Unica Home. Adaptors are also available for these. Even if you don't have a monster dollhouse, these are great for dioramas for the girls.

I have added pics I saved here from Unica Home, which have the catalog numbers of the lights.

These are also available from my google search at a shop called www.Quincyshop.com that is a

little cheaper on shipping, but not much.

I paid for mine today- so will hopefully receive by next week! Enjoy the pictures!

~Lisa

Tile finished on bath tub dais...

I had meant to post this, but have been so busy! This is the tiling of the dais that the Bratz bathtub will sit on, along with the step. Remember the marble tile how to I posted a few posts back? Well I used those with caulk and my mdf pieces to create this. First, I primed the step and dais with two coats of primer. The primer will be the color of my grout. The bath will have a very regal French majestic look, and the color white goes a long way to making the room look larger than it really is, and offsets the golden faucet and fixtures that will be in the bath. Next, I took the tile pieces and laid them one by one with a drop of tacky glue on each for extra hold. Don'tuse superglue on the backs of these tiles pieces, it will eat into the material the tile is made of. After all the tiles were laid- I had to cut and alter a few because of the space and and the step, I began to grout. I used a cheapie tub and tile grout I bought at the dollar store, but you can also use Quik Seal or joint compound. I simply squeezed it out and spread it with a flat tool or popsicle sticks, which can be thrown away. It is good to have a damp cloth nearby to wipe off the excess off of the tiles when you have filled the grout into the spaces between the tiles. You may have to add two coats of the grout to completely fill the spaces, I used my fingers to smooth grout into the cracks, and washed my hands frequently. The loctite in the picture I use instead of glue sometimes, it really holds and dries quickly. After you have finished grouting your tile, let it dry overnight, then go over it with your hands or fingers to determine if you need to sand any rough edges, or add more grout. I have since taken venetian gold metallic paint and inca gold metallic paint (both Folk Art brands) and painted the legs, feet, and faucet and drain of the tub so it will look gilded and luxurious, and fit in with the 'marble' floors. I will post pictures of the finished tub, just have not yet taken them.

~Lisa

My Moods arrived! And more progress made...

My Moods collection finally arrived from Integrity yesterday! What a relief...I thought I may have had to wait until AFTER Christmas to open these lovely dolls and their fashions. I bought both Blonde Ambition and Body Double, plus two silver brillant gowns and one coat. I had also won a Randall Craig lemon yellow poodle from Doll Divas discussion board, and he arrived today! I have some wonderful pics of Blondie Boy who Blonde Ambition has claimed for her own. Vanessa's yorkie Smooches and her beagle dressed up for Christmas (Billy Boy) seem to be accepting him ok. lol. I have only had time since receiving in the dolls to put my tan Vero in the silver brillant fashion, she looks beautiful. That hat may have to go, I did not put her gloves on, but did place her bracelet which is lovely on her hand with that stole. Don't you wish you could dress like these dolls? I would love to own a mink or fox stole like this!

I have made ALOT of progress as far as the dais and steps for the bath- they are done, just some sanding and tweaking. I will also have to cut some more tiles more than likely, but not yet ready to apply them until I am sure about the wall placement. Today I worked on the prototype for the steps out of foamcore, though I do not know if this will be the exact measurements. My intention is to make the steps come down to a small landing, with three to four steps from the landing.......but will have to see. Sometimes what is drawn on paper will not always work when fabricating the item! lol.

This season has come so suddenly upon us...it has left me little time to really enjoy all the new dolls that have arrived here at the house! My dolls have been working on me for new clothes, and jewels...and luggage. So this has set my mind to work to create some small luggage, which I am also still playing with. It is easy to think of, but harder to create!

I have taken some pics of the new Moods...somehow calling them both Vero or Veronique just doesn't work for me. So.......I will probably be thinking of new names for both of these ladies. My blonde Ambition Vero is more of a biker looking chic, or a flapper type. Tan Vero or body double as she is called, looks like someone from the Cotton Club back in the 20's, very exotic. So am trying to come up with some suitable names for them both. I am thinking of calling Tan Vero India and Blonde Ambition Vero --well, I'm still undecided onher name. She has alot of edginess, and Veronique doesn't seem to fit her.

Though I seem to be posting about alot of different projects, this dollhouse has really inspired me. I have two 1/12 scale houses that still need to be finished, but this large dollhouse just inspires me to make it as perfect as my other standard scale dollhouses...or rather, the dolls are impatient. lol.

Enjoy the pictures, and from our small family of Eugenia, Her Highness Agnes, Vanessa, and both Veroniques, Merry Christmas!

Have a Happy NEW YEAR!

~Lisa

4 Days until Christmas!

I haven't had much time lately to do much in the way of working as much as I would like on the dollhouse...except finish the priming on the third floor, which will be the bath and the bedroom. I have been doing some sketching, and thinking of making a wall out of foamcore and do furniture placement, to see how much room I have to work with. The dais for the tub is already cut and sanded of mdf, so I could possibly begin to tile the floor in the bath and glue the dais down after it is tiled, but don't want to jump ahead of myself. I have made some more pillows for the Bespaq bed, and Vanessa won't give it up. lol.

Working on this house I finished the 2nd coat of priming on one of those beautiful days where the weather was simply balmy and breezey- 60 degrees, though the humidity was high. Since the weather has been bad, too cold to paint outside, I have had time to figure out some of the placement for the furniture, and especially the wallpaper and wall treatments for the bedroom- I'm still torn. I want it to look like an extremely elegant muralled Versailles- palatial type bedroom, of the kind you would find tucked away in those elegant French country manor homes. I have found a beautiful artists paper that matches the color of the linens and bedding, now it is just the murals and molding trims I have to match up.

I am hoping during the next two weeks to be able to move the dollhouse into the smaller garage office/studio, which we plan to be flipping into a full function office for my husband, so this will hopefully have a permanent safe dry environment for me to work on it comfortably, and my overwhelming collection of 1/6 Bespaq can be beautifully displayed with my dolls. I am beginning to lean more towards the Fashion Royalty dolls and away from Silkstones, even though I very much want the French Maid silky to wait on my FR gals. I'm impatiently waiting for my Moods collection, and underneath the tree is a beautiful Blue Soiree silky that my husband purchased for me, waiting to be unwrapped and invited by Agnes to the Manor for a visit. (Probably to steal that dress!) I have rejoined the W club again, so the next club doll Luchia and also Cruisin Control Vanessa will be added to our little family. We really need a man in the house other than Ken. I have included some pics of one of the greyhound statues in front of my house with bows on, Agnes posing with the new Bespaq desk I have on my website & Ebay store,and also one of the finished job on the bedroom/bath, and of Agnes decorating the fireplace mantel for Christmas. I may keep this up until I get the house finished- my target is to have it somewhat finished for next Christmas!

Enjoy the pics I have up. And have a Merry Christmas!

~Lisa

Beginning the priming & painting..

Just a quicl post on the beginning stages of priming the rooms interior on the dollhouse. Today the weather though a little chilly, was great for beginning the painting. The third floor room was the one I primed today- believe it or not working on this dollhouse is similar to working on a large 'real' sized house- only normally I don't bend and twist myself into a pretzel while painting my 'real' house. lol.

I bought a zinnser primer, that is really great. I liked how it went on, and may leave the walls of the bath this color since it goes on smoothly, if your brush strokes go with the grain of the wood. I was going to be quite ambitious today and also paint the 2nd floor, but decided against it until it gets a little warmer, plus I have some glue trails on the wall where I removed the tile medallion that needs to be chipped off.

~Lisa

Beginning dressing the Bespaq French bed....

I admit it..I love, love, Louis XV French decor.....so that is probably the inspiring theme for my sojourn to Joann's fabrics, along with a 50% off coupon...where I bought several fabrics that go perfectly with my Bespaq Louis XV bed. This bed also has an armoire, vanity with mirror, caned vanity chair, personal chest, commode, that matches it. This suite will reside in the dolls' bedroom in the dollhouse.

I have long wanted to alter and add some bedding and linens to this bed. Today I picked out some beautiful sari fabrics and satins to compliment the taupe silk upholstered headboard & footboard. This was difficult, but I eventually hit on a sari fabric with a gorgeous gold border that was pale pink with gold embroidery on one side, and a perfectly toned taupe on the other side. I also found a sheer pink sari chiffon with gold border too. When this fabric is flipped, it looks perfect as a comforter, sheets, etc. I got it home quickly and set to work. My first job was to cover the linen mattress, and also the rolled dowel that serves as a bolster pillow.

Eventually I finished one pillow, and the mattress. I covered the mattress with the fabric flipped, so the taupe silk shows. The pillow was covered with the fabric flipped the other way, pink showing. When I get the comforter finished, this will look stunning. I thought it would be fun to show you how Vanessa 'posed' on the bed, without her jammies on underneath the sheer cover!

I couldn't resist snapping these photos of Vanessa in the bed, who could believe a doll could look

so beautiful? Not yet finished by a long way, hope to make some tassels and cording, and some of that sheer sari fabric may be turned into a draped canopy with crown above the bed.

Part ll: Creating Ornaments for the Garland 1:6 scale

As promised, here is Part ll of the Garland tutorial, that is, creating the ornaments. I am going to do my formatting on this tutorial more better, I couldn't correct the inevitable scrolling down, which probably makes the previous Part l difficult to view, in getting an idea on the assembly of the frame and the limbs for the garland.

For those of you who have had previous trouble looking at the post, Part l can be found in my private webshots album : http://community.webshots.com/user/Barbietown

Let's get started!

Tools & Supplies:

Wire for the 'loops' on the ornaments

Pretty beads for the main ornament. I recommend testing the ornament beads against your doll's hand, to see if looks size comparable. Mine were from Michael's on a string of 20, Bead Gallery, and were silver with gold netting

Finishing beads, or crimp beads, for the top of the ornament.

Scissors, or wire cutters. I have those little condiment cups to hold the beads. Tweezers are also helpful too.

Glue- jewelry glue, or Duco cement- available at the dollar store.

Cut small pieces of wire, I recommend about 1-2 inches long. You will cut the excess off after the beads are strung.

Prepare your wire length- twist the wire midway into a small loop, then twist until you have a straight piece, with loop at the end.

As in the picture, take your toothpick and spread some Duco on the wire, then slide the gold final bead first. Add another drop underneath as shown in the

picture. After this, add your ornament bead.

Add your ornament bead, and again, add glue underneath.

After placement, your bead should look like this.

Cut off the excess wire, and add more glue on the end to

hold the beads in place.

Your Finished ornament

should resemble this picture to the left.

You should now have depending on how many ornaments you have made, enough to accent the branches of your garland. Pretty, aren't they?

When decorating the swag, I first strung some burgundy ribbon amongst the branches, sort of weaving it. This ribbon I bought long ago at Michael's it has thin wire in it and so it stays in place easily without glue. I strung the ornaments onto the greenery branches, then put a dab of glue on the branch to hold the ornament, again, using Duco cement. I did not take pics of this process, but figure you can probably figure out what I did. I do however, have plenty of pics of the finished garland decorated on the mantel!

I plan to add some more items to this garland, I chose gold, silver and burgundy accents to match my own Christmas tree, as you can see it is a small tabletop tree on a table in front of our dining room window. Agnes loves the garland and is insisting the house be finished NOW! so her friends the Moods girls can come for a nice holiday Christmas houseparty. DOLLS! LOL.

I chose a traditional elegant way to decorate the garland, but this greenery can be kept for a long period of time, simply wrap and store in a plastic container with your other dolly decorations, lycapodium (princess pine) lasts for a long time.

Merry Christmas!

~Lisa

How to Create a 1:6 Scale Holiday Garland Part l

1:6 Scale Holiday Garland Tutorial

~By Lisa Neault

In my last post I spoke about preparing another how to while stuck in the house on the cold weather, a 1:6 scale Holiday garland for my Bespaq fireplace, which will reside in the salon of the dollhouse. This will be a how to in parts, and I will attempt to explain how I create each of the items, what tools and materials are used, so hopefully you can create your own.

Above is the Bespaq fireplace shown, it is about 9 1/2 - 10 inches high. I have created a wire

form that will allow the covered branches to hang over the mantel so it will look large, and full like a 'real' Christmas garland.

You can decorate your garland any way you like, there are loads of options: miniature toys, candles (with 1:6 scale you can use those thin birthday candles, and have 'real' candles!) bows, ornaments, either handmade or bought from the craft store, and stockings. Sticks can be cut down for logs in your fireplace and orange metallic paper used for flames to simulate a warm fire.

Ok, let's get started.

You will need: Lycapodium (otherwise known as Princess pine) I ordered mine at http://www.kitz.com/ but you can also order it at http://www.minichristmas.com/ and also Hobby Builder's supply, (though fairly expensive there-) http://www.miniatures.com/ Debbie at Mini Kitz! is great to deal with, and sells loads of great supplies.

You will also need floral wire, 26 gauge, wire or florist's cutters, hot glue gun, and hot glue. You can use thinner wire if you wish, and cover the wire with floral tape. I wanted to do this step, but wanted to finish this part so I skipped wrapping my wire form today.

Start by taking several lengths of wire and twisting together. To create shorter limbs, cut the wire in half, and then twist around your main frame so to speak. If the wires are extra long, 'loop' them as shown in the picture to the left, and twist again. You will need a form for the hot glue to hold when adhering your princess pine to the wire. Measure your wire frame against the mantel and your fireplace, so it will fit. Fiddle with the wires and see how they drape.

When I was measuring the frame, I also layed it in front of the fireplace, and on top. I then added more wire limbs as needed. Long limbs should be at each end, shorter limbs should be towards the middle, so they will curve and meet each other.

Remember, you do not want any of the wires showing after the pine has been applied.

You should have a wire form similar to this, when finished with adding limbs to the frame.

Now, let's add the princess pine to your frame. You will need:

Princess Pine

scissors

hot glue

glue gun

something to cover your work surface, this will be messy

Let your glue gun heat up. While that is heating up, take your princess pine and cut small leafy bunches off. If you order from Kitz! like I did, it is already cut in small bunches, so you just have to cut it to fit your spaces.

Put a dab of hot glue on one of the wire ends. You will be building the garland, so you will start at the ends of the limbs. Put a blob of hot glue on each end, then press a small leaf of princess pine on each one. Be careful of burning your fingers, or glue strings.

When you are finished with each limb, it should resemble something like this. Don't worry, it looks simply awful right now, but will look presentable when you're finished.

Adhere more glue on the limbs, working your way up, with blobs of glue and more princess pine pieces, until the wire is fully covered. You will find that underneath it does not look finished. While adding pine on the top of the limb, you can also add a dab of glue on the bottom and 'finish' that limb with adding more pine. Build your way up each limb, and cover all exposed wire.

At this point there will probably be glue strings all over your limbs, wire, covered base, and also your hands and your clothing. Begin cutting the glue strings off, or any blobs of glue that dripped. Finish this, and adjust your wire limbs.

Here are some pics of the finished garland, now all it needs is lots of ribbon, bows, and Christmas ornaments to adorn it! Part ll will cover how to make the ornaments from beads and brass wire, and adhere them to the princess pine, and decorate with bows.

Vanessa & Agnes adjust the garland on their fireplace. My fireplace will reside for the holidays under our tree, which is small this year and sits on a table. The ornaments I create will be of gold, burgundy, w/ touches of silver to match the ornaments /colors on the tree.

Here is a better pic of the fireplace from the front, with the ends of the limbs hanging over the edge of the mantel.

The finished garland! Merry Christmas, and stay tuned for the ornament and decorating tutorial- here- part ll!

Progress on the house: Because of the cold weather, I haven't been able to progress much, it has been either too cold or too damp (we've had freezing rain, ugh) to paint or prime, or paper the interior or exterior. Because of that, I've been preparing some supplies and getting items together so when I start, I won't be held up looking for supplies. More later - and enjoy!

~Lisa