Almost done- Doll Room organization progress!

I have had a great morning, no, a GREAT DAY today.I have accomplished so much in my doll room. Much better pictures- not complete, but the massive work of moving items side to side is almost over with. 

This morning I went and purchased a 6 ft folding table for the dioramas that were on the floor. Now they will be on the wall as you enter the room, with the plastic bins of extra dolls underneath, the dollhouse in the middle, another table for temp dioramas and photo ops and my two sets of plastic crayola shelves - one in front of each other for deeper shelf space for dolls and props. The room is coming along. I also went and stopped by Michael's and purchased a roll of that blue sky cloud paper. It is 4 ft wide by 8 ft long, and that is applied to the wall with packing tape. Here are some photos so far of my progress. 

I have one little corner without cloud paper, this is extremely hard to unroll and tape at the same time. I may hide that part with trees and foliage. So far I have the bakery/patissiere on the table along with my contractor tiles and cobblestone sheeting for the sidewalks. I straightened up LaBelle's and took all of the old displays out which were done way early in this year. I am really hyped about this and hope to have more progress photos for you by this evening or tomorrow!

More incoming props in the collection for the Chateau Project. I sold many of these 1:6 sets of Bespaq bedroom furniture long ago, in 2008 when I first began selling.Unfortunately, I sold the walnut and mahogany. Recently I was able to snag four pieces from a private collector- a mahogany armoire, night table, chair and vanity table! Thank you Twisty! 

As you can see, Louis is quite happy! For storage purposes, I may keep these pieces in LaBelle's when not in use and that can be a large salon for the two of them. Now that we have Marie Therese, and the Princesse de Lamballe, it will look normal for them to be in a room together. 

More dolls are incoming- I am literally being pelted with dolls! I have ordered Mistress of the Manor from Barbie Collector and she is backordered until October 1st. Today I am expecting two club dolls from the W club- Victoire and the online Event doll Agnes! Convention will be here next month and then- more dolls! 

I haven't been adding many items to the Etsy store as I have been so busy with working on the doll room. I still have way more work to do, but it's such a feeling of accomplishment after so much clutter. Feel like I have made headway so I can enjoy my dioramas now. 

More Chateau project cakes & Introducing his Majesty, King Louis XVl

I have been busy of late, and only just had time to work on my custom doll that just arrived from Dawn of One Sixth Sense you can see him on this link page. 
I had decided when embarking on this project that I needed a companion for Marie Antoinette (Lilac Frost Poppy Parker, restyled by me). I looked at portraits of Louis as much as I could find, including ones I had never seen. I wanted Louis to be a young, Romantic looking Louis before the cares of state had burdened him down mentally and physically. I think Dawn pretty much succeeded in her commission.
Louis is a Mattel Twilight Emmett head, re-rooted and re-painted and switched to a London Calling Kyu body. The shirt is from Rock wedding Romaine, and I made his hose and breeches. His shoes were purchased on ebay and will be altered with rhinestones and buckles. I am currently working on the pattern for his coat and his lace collar. 

I recently finished some new miniature foods - a 3 tiered pink cake with handsculpted rose petals, and a plate of white chocolate 'Capezzoli di Venere' otherwise known to us as 'Nipples of Venus'. I even handpainted the plate so it would look like the plate from the Marie Antoinette Kirsten Dunst movie, where my cake inspirations for this project are coming from.

The only thing I forgot on my plating was the two orange flower petals under the truffles. This recipe was made famous in the 1984 'Amadeus' Mozart movie. 

Marvelous aren't they? Decadent white chocolate over a cake, wtih sugared pecans or chestnuts, there are various recipes out there. 

Here are some more photos of the finished foods...

Louis and Antoinette are getting their fill of 1:6 scale cake! Some of these items will be listed soon on my Etsy shop (link at the top) if you would like these for your tea scenes with Victoire Roux. 

Catching up. Chateau project, Fashion Royalty convention....

I haven't posted much in the last few weeks. This past week has been so busy I have barely had time to do what I do- run all over the place, then eat, sleep and start all over again. I have been working on the beach house project with the design, and I need a few more items before I can begin that diorama. !

I have signed up just in time for the Gloss Fashion Royalty convention and I am so excited! I was afraid I would miss out and luckily, I got my payment in just in time. I will be traveling with my doll buddy- Karon Montague or KaronNVa on the Doll Divas board and her son. I love going to Florida and am so looking forward to my first FR Convention! 

Some items arrived yesterday for the Chateau project..and I have many updates on that!

First up, these lovely chairs by Bespaq, designed by Jim Coates Miniatures on Ebay, arrived. He also designed and made the fireplace, screen, base. His work is authentic and too scale, and I highly recommend him over others who claim 'Bespaq-like' quality. Marie Antoinette loves her chairs...

I am almost ready for Louis, customized by Dawn of One Sixth Sense to arrive after I make the final payment on him. One thing I realized was I needed Louis XVl,  so I researched what the 'young Louis' would look like. I find it hard to believe that he was ugly, so I wanted a 'romantic' version of his youngest portrait found in Google search, which I sent to Dawn. Louis is a repainted and re-rooted Twilight Emmett on a Kyu Dynamite boys body. It was important his skin tone match as close as possible with Lilac Frost Poppy who I had customized into Marie Antoinette, based on the Kirsten Dunst portrayal in the Marie Antoinette movie. Here are some photos of the finished Louis Dawn sent me and that are on her website and facebook page...

Isn't he dreamy??? The jacket is by Gwendolyn's treasures and it was a Nehru jacket that Dawn put him in. So lovely. He won't be coming home in that outfit...I am currently working on his suit and have purchased his shoes, which I hope will fit. His hair will be tied in back with black silk ribbon. Dawn really captured the look I was hoping to achieve...Enjoy!

Chateau Project: the Princesse de Lamballe

Marie Antoinette has been lonely in her lovely salon in progress; so I decided to work on one of the dolls that would resemble one of her greatest friends- the Princesse de Lamballe.
In real life, the Princesse de Lamballe was one of the first ladies who Marie Antoinette met at the Court of France when she was a young Dauphine, newly married. Her tragic death came much later, but she was one of the most loyal friends of the doomed Queen. 
Here is a portrait I worked from to determine what doll to use. My dilemna is I was not necessarily going for a carbon exact copy of the person in question, but a doll that would be a more mirror image and fit the scene I was and am trying to replicate- of the Queen and her friends and family when they were - to coin a phrase of Suzi Orman-'Young, Rich and Fabulous'...which they must have been in the 18th century- Louis was 20 and Marie Antoinette was barely 18 when they came to the throne.

I looked around online at different dolls that might fit her face mold or look, and found nothing that satisfied me. I then decided to look through the dolls I had and settled on this Star doll I had purchased last year on sale. I realized her hair was perfect and the only thing she needed was a new body- which I swapped with an extra Frank Sinatra Barbie I hadn't deboxed. (I purchased two or three of those dolls for body donars from walmart and Tuesday morning when they went on sale) I may do some cosmetic work on her lips as her lips are an unnaturally dark red, the portrait I worked from the Princesse was very pale and delicate looking, which fits in with her gown.
I still have a few touches to add to her gown. Her 'Pouf' cap or hat is made of sheer chiffon, gathered with sage silk ribbon bows and streamers. I made the paper roses on the pouf and in her hair. I could not find pink satin in the color the princess is wearing, so I used a pale pink broadcloth muslin that I had on hand along with some delicate lace. I may still add some bows to the sleeves and the ruffle. The silk ribbon is also on the back of her lacings on her bodice. 
I am still looking for a doll to be Gabrielle - the Duchesse de Polignac. Louis will be a custom repaint and reroot of a Twilight Emmett doll by Dawn at  One Sixth Sense. I am currently looking for a Kyu Dynamite boy body for Emmett as I will need him to be articulated. 
Right now, here are some pictures I took this afternoon of the two friends having tea with a daughter of one of the ladies who has stepped out of the room.

Here they are having tea in the Salon, near the french doors.