Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The table has been set for the arrival of guests.

On the eve of Christmas...

May your hearts be filled with gladness...

Peace on earth...goodwill toward man...

embrace the love in your heart this season...

May all your Christmas wishes come true...

Happy Crafting!
Stephiejo

Flashback: Fall Tablescape

Let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit last year's Fall Tablescape shall we?

An intimate table for two. There is nothing I enjoy more than an enchanting dinner with my husband. Cozy and warm inside by the fire while taking in the views of the crisp autumn scenery outdoors.

This meal offers a very simplistic set up. Enjoying the fantastic view of the patio.

An ornate silver charger grounds each place setting. The second layer is an elegant white plate with black and gold filagree detail.

 Next is a salad plate with gold ivy border.
On top is a ceramic pumpkin bowl with stemmed lid.
A small soup toureen, clear goblets, and fine silverware complete each seat.

The centerpiece is a simple pumpkin perched atop an antique urn set on a bronze pediment. The gold candelabra offers a romantic touch.

Thank you for letting me reminisce.

Credits:
Chargers- Imperial Silver circa 1970
Plates, bowls, silverware, goblets, candelabra- Re-Ment Japan
Pediment: Clock parts
Urn: repainted Barbie piece
Lg pumpkin: Hobby Lobby floral craft
Table/chairs: Barbie
Windows: Barbie cottage
View: my patio

Happy Crafting!

Stephiejo

Barbie Dollhouse Project: Upstairs

The upper level of the dollhouse posed the greatest challenge in this remodel. I had no idea how I wanted to use the space. At one point I envisioned a large closet but quickly scrapped that idea when I realized it would completely block the largest window. The rooms just evolved as I pulled furniture out to place in the space.

The first space to come to fruition was the bathroom. I wanted to use the 2007 Mattel bathroom set but the layout was a bit tricky. In the end I removed the pedestal sink from the tile wall so that it would take up less space.

 Once I determined the position of the sink the other pieces fell into place. The mirror above is a refrigerator magnet with a mirror tile glued onto the back. I removed the sconces from the Mattel sink unit and attached them to scrapbook tiles. The lights and mirror are adhered to a foam core wall papered in a light blue.

 Across from the mirror is a piece of framed art that I printed from the internet and glued to black foam for dimension. The potted plant was removed from a terra cotta pot and placed in a painted Barbie urn. Every bathroom needs a little greenery.

The toilet lid and soaking tub lost the hideous pink in favor of classic black. The toilet paper holder was left as is. Flooring is a piece of scrapbook paper.

The floor under the tub was non-existent in the original house. Why it was made this way is beyond me.

In order to make this niche functional I simply cut a piece of foam core to fit snuggly into place. I made it a bit larger than the opening in the floor so that part of it rests on the dollhouse floor and part is free floating. Eventually I will glue supports in place to hold the floor better.

I so wanted to include the adorable little rubber ducky in this vignette but its location at the moment is alluding me.

A large bedroom takes up the middle portion of the second floor. The bed came first. I used the headboard and footboard from the My Scene Party Pad play set.


The bed itself is simply foam core wrapped in black fabric. It is nestled in the bay window without being permanently attached. The throw pillows are sewn from various fabric scraps. The blue pillows are from the Modern Luxury decor set. A Christmas ornament chandelier is the focal point in the sleeping nook. Keeping the installation looking clean took some creative thinking. I decided to treat it like a real chandelier.

The large ceiling medallion is a resin picture frame painted white. I filled in the center of the frame with a piece of foam core. I looped a piece of wire around the top of the chandelier and thread it through a decorative scrapbook embellishment. This piece is plastic and required a small hole to be drilled using my Dremel tool. Now I had a second ceiling medallion. Then the wire was threaded through the center of the foam core and taped securely to the back to keep everything flush. The whole piece was glued to the ceiling with my handy E6000 glue.

The hounds tooth area rug is a piece of scrapbook paper. I took my ruler and measured a quarter inch border all the way around which I colored with a black permanent marker. (must have craft supply!)

A vanity table dressing area utilizes the final window niche. Clean lines of the Jonathan Adler side tables positioned side by side contrast with the ornate antique mirror. I removed the silver bases of the tables in order to create the illusion of a vanity. They pop on and off rather easily.

The stool received upholstery in a funky zebra pattern. A few accessories complete the vignette.

The final room in the house is the stylish nursery. The focal point is the wrough iron crib whose canopy mimics the arch in the window. A mousepad area rug anchors the furniture and unifies the color scheme.

The furniture was part of a 2004 Barbie Play Set.

The furniture received a paint job and new knobs for the dresser. A corner lamp, small wooden rocker and a few baby accessories are the finishing touches.

That completes the tour of the newly renovated Barbie High School Musical Play Set into Barbie Mansion. Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Crafting!
Stephiejo♥

Dollhouse Transformation: The Kitchen

I have to say that by far, the kitchen is my favorite room on this project. Why am I so obsessed with tiny kitchens? It really was a challenge as this "room" had no more than french doors and a teeny partial wall.

 Fortunately I own more than a few Barbie size kitchen sets. I think I pulled each and every one out to test in the space to determine what would work best. Yes, I believe I have 8 kitchens. Not including a custom set that I am in the process of building from scratch! You'll see that in a future project.

 The base cabinets were part of a pink Barbie kitchen from the 1990's. I acquired it second hand and it did not have the backsplash or range hood (or any other pieces for that matter). Unfortunately the cabinets are molded into the piece and are not functional. This is what it looked like when I started.

 I primed the unit and gave the cabinets a cream colored base highlighted with raw umber glaze. Silver spray paint updated the stove. I used black permanent marker to give the oven glass and knobs a more authentic look. The countertops and backsplash are cream and covered with a cream/gold marble paper.

The upper cabinets were built from scratch using laminated cardboard (heavy duty) for the frame, back and shelf. I trimmed them out with scrap wood to make them look more substantial and painted to match. The outside of the cabinets were glazed as well. The ornate corbels underneath the cabinets are scrapbook paper embellishments that I bought a few years ago. I wish I had bought more! I absolutely love these. I gave them more presence by adding strips of wood where they meet the wall and cabinet. Then painted to match.

 

The cabinet section of the kitchen is actually an addition of sorts. Walls here did not exist in the original house. I added a box bay made from foam core. It is not a permanent piece should I ever decide to "remodel". Rather than adhere the cabinets directly to the foam core I used a piece of the heavy duty cardboard instead. It was cut to fit snuggly inside the foam core box. I covered the upper half with the marble paper. Glued the upper cabinets and corbels directly to it. The base cabinet is loose and can be removed or changed if desired. The refrigerator is part of the My First Kenmore set.

 

The kitchen table came with the High School Musical play set. I appreciated that I didn't have to alter this piece. The white top and silver base went well with my overall color scheme. I like to mix and match finishes in a room. Cream with white. Silver with gold. My style is completely eclectic and fun. The Gloria furniture dining room set provided the chairs. I painted the frames black and chair seats white.

 The zebra rug is a piece of printed felt and what house is a home without a few furry friends?

 I made hanging pendant fixture by deconstructing a Christmas ornament. I attached a plastic bowl to the bottom of it to look like the light shade.

That is the kitchen portion of the dollhouse in a nutshell. I hope you are enjoying your tour so far! Stay tuned for the next installment-the upper level.

 Happy Crafting!
Stephiejo ♥

Nevermore

Happy Halloween


Stephiejo ♥

Barbie Dollhouse Project Transformation

If you recall back in June I embarked on a project of converting the colorful High School Musical play set into an elegant home. You can review the project from its' beginning here. After painting and papering I hit a major creative block. I played around with a few different furniture arrangements but nothing clicked. I sadly put away my mini-mansion for the summer. With four boys running around the place I figured it would be safer tucked away.


Late in September I finally organized my studio enough to have a landing spot for my beloved dollhouse. Out of storage it fit perfectly on one side of my L counter workspace. Slowly the rooms came together and the final product is nearly done! Wait. What? Nearly done? Yes, in my rush to get a final "product" I failed to complete all of the fine details. A few unfinished edges. Some missing baseboards. More artwork needs to be hung. Oh and I'm not completely sure how I will address the bar area. Is any house ever really finished?




Ok. Enough talk. You are all here to see pics. Unless you stalk my Flickr page then you have seen them already. But this is my blog and I will post them here anyway. Bonus content here is a description of my project in details and a few extra photos not available anywhere else. Juicy inside info you can only read about here!




First...let's look at where this journey began. I knew that this structure had potential. Good bones. Great architectural detail.

Phase 1 entailed painting the entire house white and adding accent walls throughout. My number 1 goal in completing this house was to not purchase ANYTHING new. I could only use what I had on hand. The wallpaper accents are scrapbook papers. They came together in a book. Love the coordinated paper packs! Fortunately I collect scrapbook paper like I do doll furniture. But enough about my issues.
Phase one photos:

Then the fun began. Space planning and furniture placement. Excuse the yellow cast of these photos. My studio space is in the garden basement with very little light. I had to use a single lamp for these photos as I still do not have outlets in there! Ugh!!! Luckily I could run an extension cord from the boys room next door..but I digress.

Overview of the whole house:

The living room houses a chaise style sofa and baroque coffee table. Originally blue, the sofa is a Mattel piece. It fits perfectly in the niche. The coffee table is a Christmas ornament that was originally pink/gold. I still need a large piece of art for the accent wall. Colorful pillows accent the built in window seat and tie in with the bead embellished Mattel chandelier.

Decorative pedestal lamps are a combination of elements. Resin columns were Christmas ornaments that matched the baroque coffee table. I painted silver and aged with raw umber glaze & white highlights. The tulip shaped shade was a plastic Christmas bell ornament. Between the two is a decorative plastic bead. All pieces were glued in place. E6000 glue is fantastic. If in doubt a great source is http://www.thistothat.com/. Tells you what type of glue necessary for what type of material.

Nestled in front of the built in window seat a small table is perfect for resting a beverage or snack. The base is a plastic egg cup and the top a wood disk painted white.

The center of the living area was a real challenge. I had tried to use my remaining modern black & chrome picture frame chairs in the space but they were not quite the right scale. Although this play set was created to use with Barbie dolls it really isn't the right size. If you put Barbie in the house where there is a built in ceiling her head touches it! Ouch! But it would be great for a shorter doll. Great. Now I need to buy a new doll to habit the house. Just what I need more dolls. :-)

For now I am leaving the middle space as an open concept foyer of sorts. The Asian style table was an eBay purchase five years ago. The horse statues are resin and from my favorite discount closeout store Bargain Bills. They originally looked like real horses so I just gave them a couple of coats of white paint so that they resembled statues.

The foyer walls have sconces that were made from deconstructed light fixture magnets. They looked like typical carriage style lights with a brassy gold finish. I removed the top piece, glass panels and faux bulb. Sprayed them silver and mounted them upside down for a modern look. The new faux bulbs are round plastic beads!

Originally intended to be a wine cellar the bar area nook is the least finished. The bar counter was from a Barbie store playset.

 Let me just tell you that the green plastic was a huge pain to turn white. The nooks & crannies were the hardest. Since the spray paint did not get into all the spaces I had to hand paint which then turned into a faux finish because I can never leave well enough alone.

Haven't figured out the backs of the nooks. I contemplated using mirrors but I don't have any that fit. I am still mulling that one over. Inspiration will probably come one day at 3am. Isn't that how it is for you?

I want to cover the odd shaped wall that started out as a soda machine. It houses some electronics for the house. I think a faux stone wall would be a nice touch. We'll see! Oh and the fabulous mod stools. Those are from a Bratz swimming pool set.

I bought the whole set JUST for those stools! But it was on clearance so really could I pass it up? I know. Crazy. But I sold the pools at my garage sale & made some little girl happy. Her dolls don't drink so they didn't need barstools.




Ok...I think this post is LONG enough. I will address the kitchen in a post all by itself and then the upstairs!

Linking to: Transformation Thursdays-The Shabby Chic Cottage, Before and After Party Savvy Southern Style




Until next time..

Happy Crafting!
Stephiejo ♥