Doll Size Bird Bath

Watch the video here.

Okay, I admit (and I did in the video too) I was figuring this project out as I went along. I had a basic idea in my head but until I was finished I wasn't really sure how it was going to work.

I have been noticing on some of the doll groups I am on how many of you are making some really nice dollhouses for your 18” dolls. And some of you are including patios and yards. Since my background is actually dollhouse miniatures (1/12^th scale) and the exterior decorating projects were always so much fun this is giving me some ideas for projects for our larger scale.

I had bird baths on my mind because that was also my project for my mini tutorial this week. I started by wondering what I could use to make a bird bath in 1/3^rd scale. I had to stop at Dollar Tree for a couple of other items anyway so I started my search there. Going into the store I really had no preconceived idea of what I would be purchasing to make this project. I wandered the aisles just looking at the options. I saw a handful of things that would have worked but I had decided I wanted to make this out of things that were plastic. I thought this would be safer if kids are going to be using them. If you aren't going to let the kids play with it you will have even more options to make these. I first saw some Margarita glasses that I thought would make a wonderful base but they would be very fragile (even in the plastic version) I decided to with a plastic tumbler (drinking glass) I think one of them makes a good height but if you want your bird bath to be taller stack a shorter glass with it.

Now that I had the upright part I needed a base and a top basin. For the base I knew I had a couple of the packages of the small clear plates at home so I decided to go with one of those. You don't have to add the base but it does make the entire bird bath much more stable. I would be worried about keeping it standing up without it.

Next thing we needed was the top basin. I couldn't find anything at the dollar store so I decided to look in the garden center of my local store that I get my groceries at. I found some plastic plant saucers that would work wonderfully. Again if you aren't worried about breakage I think the clay saucers would be fantastic too.

So the cost of all three parts I used for the basic construction came to under $4. Now off to the paint department. I knew that I had in the past gotten some spray paint that looks like stone so that was what I was looking for. I found one I liked in the color Black Granite (by Krylon) that was just about what I was looking for. Of course you don't have to use this type of paint look at real bird baths and get some inspiration for yours. I should have picked up a can of gray primer spray paint also but I was sure I had some at home. When I did get home I found that my gray primer was empty so I tried a couple of the various colors of paint I have on hand and settled for the one in Pebble. I really like how the two colors look together. The only problem is that the Pebble one is not meant to go on plastic so I have a feeling it would chip if handled a lot (as in being played with by a child) for my purposes it should be fine though.

Our first step in making our bird bath is to put the parts together. For this you will need a glue that holds plastic. I had a new package of Epoxy glue so I used that. Any glue that holds plastic will work for this so use what you have. I am afraid that a regular white glue or tacky glue would not work but a hot glue gun might be fine.

After the glue dried it was time to spray paint our project. Use enough coats of you base color to cover up the different colors of you pieces. I think I needed 2 coats. Now we will coat with the stone texture paint. This stuff is much more messy than regular spray paint so be sure you have a large clear area around you when you use it. And of course it goes without saying that we always spray paint outside. The biggest drawback to the stone paint is that it takes 5 to 6 hours to dry enough to touch it.

Once your paint is dry you can add some “water” if you want to. I used Easy Cast two part resin. I really enjoy using this product and the smell is not too horrid. Just be sure to follow the directions and allow plenty of time for the resin to cure before you touch it. Also remember that resin heats up as it cures and should be poured in shallow layers not thick ones.

So after the resin cures I think we have a really cute bird bath for the dolls to put in their gardens or on the patio. Just in time for the hot summer weather.

June 2015 Sewing

This month I got started right away on my sewing since I think the middle of the month is going to be a bit busy.

The doll sewing group I am on (SGOTs American Girl Doll Group on Yahoo-click on the highlighted letters if you are interested in joining us) had a two part sew along this month. The first part was for a skirt and top using any patterns we wanted. The second was to make another pair of shoes.

Since I had the stuff on hand to make a skirt and top I decided to start there. I also wanted to play with my new tie dye kit I got recently. I had just purchased the Not for Knits tank top from Pixie Faire and I had a stack of fabric leftover from various projects on my table so I decided to pick one of those. I wanted a white fabric and decided to try one of the white on white quilt fabrics I had. I love the texture they give and wanted to see how it would look with the dye. I didn't have a enough of this piece to cut all of the bias strips I needed but I did have the leftover white bleached muslin from the “old” dress I made last month. I had gotten a large piece since I really was creating that one with no idea how it would go.

I made up the tank top and it does go together really nice. The only down side in my opinion is the amount of hand basting suggested. In the end though I am so glad I did it and am hoping to make many more. The top finishes up so nice and the seam finishes as suggested are so delicate. It really does stay to scale nicely.

For the skirt I had some the denim I had purchased last month for the jeans on my table still. I also had dug out my copy of the Pixie Faire Denim Mini Skirt pattern because someone of the sewing group had asked a question about it. I love this skirt but it does turn out a bit snug in the hips for my dolls. I think I need to add a note to make it just a bit bigger around for my girls. I used the same yellow top-stitching thread that I had used for the jeans and it turned out so cute. Allison loves her new outfit.

I also made a cute little necklace to go with the top. I had purchased a charm bracelet recently with the idea that I will make necklaces for the dolls with it. This is the first one I have gotten done and I think it is really cute. I do need to stock up on some smaller jewelery findings on my next trip to town.

So next up was another outfit for the sew along. Since it seemed like the entire group was working on poodle skirts and saddle shoes I thought it would be fun to join in. I found a pattern for the poodle skirt, blouse and hair tie in my collection (McCalls 4066) so I took the details with me on my next trip to town. I had my heart set on a pink poodle skirt but the store I went to only had a really dark icky pink. My next preference would have been black but they didn't have that either. They did however have a nice pale gray so I went with that. In the end I think it was probably a better choice anyway since the poodle applique they had in stock was pink with a gray border. The skirt goes together pretty quickly I did find that it was way too big in the waist but since it is such a simple pattern it was easy to fix.

The blouse fits fine just the way the pattern comes and also went together quickly. The hair tie since it is only one seam and then turned was a snap. Instead of sewing the opening from turning shut I used some fusible stuff I have. I really like how this outfit looks on the doll. She is really cute and looks like she's ready to go to the sock hop.

I had to make the saddle shoes, after all what is a poodle skirt with out bobby socks and saddle shoes. I decided to use the Oxford pattern from Pixie Faire/ Liberty Jane.  I have several shoe patterns from this same designer and they always go together pretty well. These were no exception once I got started they went together in a couple of hours. I did manage to burn my finger pretty badly with my glue gun this time putting the shoes together. Of course it was at a point where I couldn't really stop either so I had to finish the job with a really sore finger. If you look at the photo you can see the blister on the tip. That new glue gun I have is ridiculously hot, this is not the first time I have burnt myself but the first actual blister I have gotten. It gets so hot that there is smoke/steam coming off the glue as it comes out. I have no idea what the temperature of that stuff is but it is HOT!

I wish I would have done a neater job on the assembly of the shoes they are okay but not great. I know I could have done better if I had all 10 fingers to use. Oh well, next time I make them I will do better.

In the photos Chelsea is wearing a pair of socks, I made those a while back but I don't remember what pattern they are. I just picked a pair from my collection that were long enough to roll to get the look of the bobby socks.

And that folks is the extent of this month's sewing because I got busy and then the heat wave started. We have had record breaking temperatures for the month of June and beat the old all time record for number of days over 90 degrees. I really hate hot weather!

I am hoping July has at least a few cool days so I can get something done.