The Comic Book Store project...

This is a project that got started early last year and never got finished. I am only just now picking up where I left off and getting it in gear, and pursuing my dream- completing the diorama of Comic Book Central from THe Big Bang Theory where Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj all hang out. 

So far, I have Sheldon and Amy. Finding a suitable head sculpt for Stuart is going to be difficult. I may have to resort to Shapeways where I have found head sculpts of Raj and Howard. Sometimes you can get the artist to do a special sculpt. Leonard is harder to find. I know what dolls I would use for Penny and Bernadette, just have to acquire them. 

The store is made out of 1/2 inch foamcore and I used magic brick to do the sides, only I messed up last year on it. So I decided to make the mistake into a design decision by making the building look run down and planned to do graffitti on the building. That will come on the sides and back later. I have not yet sculpted the brick on the front with the windows. Originally this was supposed to be a Honeyduke's store for my Harry Potter and Ron Weasley figures. But then I thought how cool would it be do a comic book store. I got the idea when I saw all the collectible arcade and superhero miniatures in Target and Walmart that fit Sheldon. 

Here are some of the progress photos so far. I need to decide on what color flooring I'm going to do and how to stabilize the front. Originally I was going to hinge it. I may just have it so it is put in place when not in use. 

The figures on the shelves are made of metal and came in single boxes for .97 cents, one large box with about 10 for $9.98, and a box of 4-5 for $4.98. They are made by DC Comics and Marvel and measure about 2 inches in height. They look similar to Hot Toys and pass for the figures you see in Stuart's store.

On the sides of the building you can see the problems I had with the magic brick. This is why I was going to do advertisements and graffitti on the sides of the building, to make it look run down and like the adds on the sides of the building were peeling. The front of course, would be different. 

I am almost tempted to do a silver floor in this scene. It would really make everything pop, and I have some silver paper. Wood grained flooring looks odd with this blue. 

I want to think outside the box since comic book stores , the modern ones, usually have bright colors and alot of edgy artwork. 

Lisa 

Custom 1:6 Sheldon Cooper

This is a custom figure/project I've been working on a while now. One of my favorite TV shows is the The Big Bang Theory and I have always wanted to re-create Leonard and Sheldon's living room/apartment, as well as Stuart's comic book store. 

But first, I've always wanted to re-create the custom characters, starting with Sheldon. The hardest part was finding a realistic artist sculpt, which I found, on Ebay. I also customized Amy from a Barbie Basics the look doll on a LIV doll body. 

So here he is. Dr. Sheldon Cooper, and his girlfriend, Amy Farrahfowler....

Amy has wanted to do something nice for Sheldon and give him one of his Star Trek/Star Wars model things, as she puts it.  He is needless to say, overjoyed. 

Sheldon's head and body, and entire outfit was sourced from Ebay. I used a Kumik body. Amy's outfit was a variety of Barbie pieces. The Star Wars model was from Target. 

I am pretty sure what dolls I will use for Penny and Bernadette but I am still looking for heads for Raj, Howard, Leonard and definitely Stuart, and Will Wheaton. I may have to go to Shapeways for those heads. 

Blythe, Blythe, Blythe.....

I love dolls. One doll I am drawn to and go away from is Blythe. The big head, the eyes on the string that 'switch' ...she is ultimately fascinating and intriguing and sometimes can be repulsive with the big head, little body and adorable and cute and beautiful all at the same time. I remember wanting one in the 70's as a kid when Kenner made them and my mother simply hated their big heads and eyes. My mom had this thing about dolls with weird eyes, and not letting them in the house. (I think it had something to do with her 6th sense and being able to see spirits, but that's another long story, lol. ) 

But back to Blythe. One of the things on my long to-do list this year was to finally to something with the factory Blythe I had purchased on Ebay a few years. I had purchased her with the intention of doing a faceup and getting 'into' Blythe. Regular Takara Blythes cost as much as a bjd- up to $99-300 dollars, depending on edition size. Kenner Blythes run about $2000.  'Factory Blythes' are for the most part, essentially 'fake' Blythes and are made with parts from the Chinese factories. They are great for customization, body swapping, etc. 

My factory Blythe has a great wig, so I didn't take her wig /scalp off to do any work, just a light sanding on her face which was easy to do and I did the faceup on her brows, and lips and cheeks with watercolor pencils and chalks. I have not sealed it yet because now and then I occasionally add some color to it here and there. Here is a photo shoot I did this morning with her. I really need to get her a new body and some clothes.

Here she is on a Saturday morning adventure going exploring with Marigold Finch, Mr. Tickles the bear and Minuette Mouse. I have shown her here and I don't have a before picture but before, her face was extremely shiny and now it is more 'matte' finish. I want to swap out her body for a jointed Obitsu body so she will stand more easily and get some better shoes for her than the barbie ones I have. Her eyes are so big and 'all-knowing' ...one of the things that draws me to these dolls when they are customized is the look of intelligence in their big eyes. 
NEWS...AND UPDATES...
So, I am currently beginning work on the staircase set, Set B, and it is hard going. I did some cleanup from Christmas in my workshop yesterday and hopefully I can get over there today.  I have several irons in the fire, so to speak and really want to get the staircase set done so I can do a whole host of new dioramas done. 
I also got a new phone! It's a samsung and the camera is awesome, even more better than my little cannon, which I may now have to upgrade.......it takes great pics. I took some pics of the Gothic mansion yesterday with it, and they were really sharper than my camera pics. Simply amazing. 
Enjoy!Lisa

OOAK Steampunk Butterfly Barbie unveiled...

I have finally come to a point after working on this project for a few weeks that I have taken photos and I am satisfied with it. Introducing- my OOAK
Steampunk Butterfly Barbie!

"Steampunk Butterfly" is an unusual doll. Her coat is a design based off of a revolutionary jacket design, lined with green taffeta, using a Tim Holtz world map fabric, and heavily beaded on the world map lines using gold and steel grey beads. The seams are finished and edged with cream lace inside and out. Her grey taffeta bloomers are also beaded with the same color beaded design. A leather corset accents her waist and a jaunty cream lace jabot is secure at her neck with a jeweled butterfly toned accent, that matches the one in her black tricone hat accented with paper roses and huge white feathers. 

This doll just came about as I started sewing the outfit and the outfit 'morphed' into what you see now. The jacket and the pants took the longest to do because of the beading, I would say the jacket did as I had to cut out two pieces and re-bead them because they were cut incorrectly from my draft. I have long wanted to try my hand at working on one of kind dolls and this isn't bad for a first time, though I am still stuck on her earrings. I was thinking of pearls but wondering if that is too formal and maybe gold hoops or chains would be more 'edgy' ...I'm not good at edgy. lol. I was also thinking some sort of walking stick with a butterfly on the end of it might be a great finishing touch and some bling on her boots. I can never just do something but must always keep 'tweaking'....

So those are the only tweaks on this doll I would do and possibly paint her fingernails and lips a darker color , like bronze to match the coat. I already have the next OOAK project I want to do, it is a duo/set of dolls and it will be a little more in depth and quite fun. I am having fun doing this, who knows where it might lead. I also have the next custom doll projects in hand as well. 
Enjoy!~Lisa

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. 

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!