Giving a new look to a BJD-sized wooden dresser

The finished dresser

I started with a $5 wooden doll dresser (about 10" high) from a garage sale. I think it might have been a jewelery box at one time, but it needed a little aesthetic help.

You don't need a fancy workshop for this project - the entire thing was done on the balcony of my apartment with things I already had, or picked up from Home Depot. Safety first, though - remember to protect your mouth and eyes from sawdust and paint fumes. Oh, and don't hammer your thumb, either.

The dresser: before

Step 1: Peel off yucky gold velvet lining from the inside of the drawers. Throw velvet in the trash and hope never to see it again.

Step 2: Remove hardware from drawer fronts. A flat screwdriver worked well for me, but feel free to use a crowbar if they're not cooperating.

Step 3: Sand old paint off. (In retrospect, I would have just spraypainted right over top of it to save time - and arm muscle.) Wipe off sawdust for a clean painting surface.

Step 4: Spray paint surfaces with white glossy spray paint, to give it a smooth coating. Let dry. (I know it's hard, but be patient and let it dry.)

Step 5: Spray paint over with matte black spray paint. Let dry. My paint crackled as it dried to reveal the white paint beneath, which I actually like. If you don't want this look, you'll have to ask somebody else because I don't know how this happened!

Step 6: Spray paint hardware. If you want to spray paint the nails, push them half-way in to a piece of styrofoam or corrugated cardboard to told them upright.

Step 7: Re-attach hardware to drawer fronts.

Some "before" shots:

The inside of the drawers, rid of their YUCKY velvet!

Before shot of the detail on the top.

The dresser without its drawers - oh my!

Back of the old dresser

Some "after" shots:

The beautiful carved edges.

A beautiful pattern that looks like it's stamped into the wood, but could be carved.

A close-up of the entirely unintentional (but delightful) "crackle-effect"

The original dresser had 2 drawer pulls the large drawers, but was missing a couple of them, so I moved the large drawer pulls to the center, so that I only needed one per drawer. One nail was missing, so I found a similarly-sized screw in my glasses repair it!

Showing the replacement screw.

 Now, it's ready for one of my BJDs to store their stuff, use as a photography prop, or a display. And all for less than $10!

Adding a French manicure or pedicure to your doll.

This technique works well with resin BJDs or vinyl dolls--I've done both. It's more permanent on vinyl, when you seal, so just be careful that you like the effect first. You'll want to start with a clean, blushed (if applicable) and sealed (with Mr Superclear, if she's resin) doll.

Supplies:

• Sharpened water color pencils (white, maybe pink or nude also)
• Very fine brush (#1)
• Liquitex gloss medium or Tamiya X-22 gloss

Technique:

1. If the doll is very small, you'll only need the white pencil. For larger dolls, you may need or want an additional shade.
2. Drag the side of the white pencil along the edge of the toenail for the perfect moon shape. To add more dimension on larger toes, you can add a tiny bit of pink or nude to the base of the nail.
3. For the hands, repeat the process. Use the sculpt of the hands and nails as your guide. Wipe off any excess with a paper towel. Remember, this is a watercolor pencil, so it will all wipe clean with water at this point. Add pink or nude to the base of the nail for larger hands, if desired.
4. When you're happy with your results, seal them with a thin coat (on the nails only) with the gloss medium. Wipe off the tip of the brush if you need to, first, so you don't drip on the rest of the doll's hands or feet.
5. Let dry. Vinyl usually takes longer to dry than resin, so don't rush.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Clean, blushed feet, before the pedicure.

Clean, blushed hand, before the manicure.

Result of dragging the pencil across the left toenails.

Closer view of toes.

Fingers before adding Liquitex gloss.

Small brush with Liquitex sealer.

Finished toes, sealed.

Finished fingers, sealed.

Rinsing hair...

Hair comparison, originally uploaded by alington.

Restyling hair isn't exactly my forte. However: when I received a birthday gift of this lovely Barbie Basic 2.0 Model 03 (Steffie!) from my friend Jen, I figured I'd have to give the hair rinsing and restyle another try.

I had already split the doll and outfit with another friend, so the Steffie (STEFFIE) on the right is all original. The left Steffie (STEFFIE!!) has had her hair washed, rinsed and conditioned. Plus I added a little bit of hot water to tame the curls a bit, and just touched them up as they dried.

You can see more side-by-side comparison photos of them on Flickr (from the side and front). This doll does have huge hair, so she might not be for everyone.

What about your dolls? Do you restyle them? Re-do their hair? Take down up-dos? (And in the process, find huge bald spots? Or is that just my luck?) ;)

Beatnik REALLY Blues Poppy

Beatnik REALLY Blues Poppy, originally uploaded by alington.

My friend and fellow doll club member Sarah Smith did this reroot on Beatnik Blues Poppy. I'll let you know as soon as she starts to do professional reroots--she's excellent! (I just didn't care for the doll's original  bangs, and this color is just up my alley!) You can see Poppy's original styling on this blog post, and also Shuga-Shug's post of her Poppy with way more detailed (and frankly, way better) photos.

Her current outfit consists of Dynamite Girl pieces: Sooki's dress and fishnets from the 2009 Electro Pop collection, and her belt from the 2010 collection. Her bracelet is from Bewitching Hour Luchia Z, and the purse is Azone. Shoes are Momoko.

I am totally in love with her now. I can't decide on how to style her hair--I'm leaning towards either a traditional Barbie Marlo Flip (I know--it would be really styled and dated, but so perfect for a 1950s era Poppy!) or possibly a straight, sleek style, slightly longer. What do you think?

So far, I've gotten feedback on straight and sleek. But I can't keep it quite this long. It's a bit unmanageable. But so cool. Even if just for a while. Maybe a bit longer.

See a few more shots of her on Flickr, if you like!

These Barbies may not cater a luau, but they will waitress!

My good friend, Stacy, is expecting her first baby very soon, and I had the privilege of throwing her a baby shower - the first one I've ever put together. The shower was co-ed, and - much like Stacy herself - not entirely "traditional." In the spirit of bucking tradition, I decided to enlisted my little Mattel army to host the snack table.

Ryung, with new face-up

Ryung, with new face-up
Originally uploaded by alington

Meet Elfdoll Ryung, with her latest face-up, my second attempt. It turns out, even if you practice just a little bit, face-ups get easier each time you practice. And if you tend to be just a little bit obsessive compulsive, that's actually not a bad trait.

I actually like Ryung well enough to keep her just like this for a while. And it will be great to have a doll I can redo when I like. She's very natural now--not at all like when I first got her with her dark black eye liner and red nail polish (oh my goodness, that took me 20 minutes to get off this morning--never going to do it to my dolls). She fits in great with my Peak's Woods girls. And wow--has she got legs!

Check out more photos of her here, original photos of her here, of her blank face here, and of my first face-up attempt (I wasn't happy with her lashes, clumpy eye shadow or brows so much) here.

The Rapunzel Reimagined Project: Impulsive purchases, long projects

I was one of the foolish Tonner collectors, in love with the Breathless sculpt who fell in love with the idea of the super-long-haired brunette version, who rushed to purchase the Rapunzel exclusive from FAO back in 2008. I paid full price, and was so thrilled when the box came.

However, when I opened her, I have to admit my disappointment. While her gown was beautiful, her face lacked a certain zing I had been expecting. Her lips were orange... and that hair! Gel worked at first, but within a day or two, it would be sticking up again. What to do?