Showing posts with label upcycle jewelry boxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycle jewelry boxes. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Decoupage A Llama Dresser

September 11, 2018 0 Comments
A recycled child jewelry box, saved from the dump.
       Broken jewelry boxes make excellent doll furnishings when they have been upcycled with a bit of sandpaper, fabric and glue. I purchased this one from a local Goodwill for $3.00. Then I took a trip to a sewing shop down the street to select a fabric to use for both decoupage and sewing our doll's bedding. Repeating the prints and colors of the same items within your doll house rooms will help these spaces look professionally designed.

Supply List:
  • recycled child jewelry box
  • sandpaper
  • Mod Podge
  • coordinating paint, fabric and paper
  • beads for knobs
  • spray paint in the color of your choice
  • ruler and paper for making simple patterns
  • hot glue gun and glue
Step-by-Step Directions:
  1. Scrub the jewelry box with soap and water. 
  2. Use sandpaper to smooth out the finishes and prep these for new applications.
  3. Spray paint the new doll dresser in the color of your choice. Use plenty of newspapers or cardboard boxes to spray paint with so that the working surfaces don't get paint on them. It is best to spray paint outdoors so that you don't breath in so many fumes!
  4. Measure carefully the sides and drawer fronts of each part of the former jewelry box that you intend to cover with fabric or paper.
  5. Cut out the papers and fabric for the decoupage process. 
  6. Brush Mod Podge directly onto the surfaces that you have cut coordinating fabrics and papers for. Stick on the papers or fabrics, positioning these carefully. 
  7. Now Coat that applied layer of fabric and or paper with a finishing coat of more Mod Podge.
  8. Hot glue small beads to the dresser drawers and swinging cupboard door if these need new handles.
  9. After everything dries, your doll will have a lovely dresser to store her clothing in.
I chose to decoupage my doll's dresser with blue llama fabric and plaid paper.
I used a orange spray paint to contrast with the blue fabrics and paper.
This feisty llama is a "watchdog" for a Missouri farmer. My great grandfather actually had a few of these on his farm back in 1910!  He also had an ostrich and prize winning burros that he took to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Visit the website celebrating St. Louis past and present surrounding the World's Fair history and people.

More About Upcycling Boxes:

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Distressing a Sideboard or Buffet for Barbie & Family

August 04, 2018 0 Comments
       This old, discarded jewelry box will fit into our doll's dining room perfectly. Our twelve inch dolls will love displaying holiday dinner selections on this upcycled, sideboard for all their friends to admire. The grey distressed paint on this pretend sideboard looks classy in a formal dining room setting too!

How do you best determine which jewelry box will fit into your doll's house? Take a tape measure with you on your
 shopping trip. A real sideboard and/or buffet stands approximately four to five feet tall, depending on the age and
style of the piece. The jewelry box pictured here is approximatly 5 1/2 inches. So, my 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls look
just fine standing next to it. It is a bit wide for an actual sideboard but I don't mind the extra width; I will have more
 room for the display of dishes and food items in the end.

       A sideboard, also called a buffet, is an item of furniture traditionally used in the dining room for serving food, for displaying serving dishes, and for storage. It usually consists of a set of cabinets, or cupboards, and one or more drawers, all topped by a flat display surface for conveniently holding food, serving dishes, or lighting devices. The words sideboard and buffet are somewhat interchangeable, but if the item has short legs, or a base that sits directly on the floor with no legs, it is more likely to be called a sideboard; if it has longer legs it is more likely to be called a buffet.

Supply List:
  • sandpaper
  • masking tape
  • grey acrylic or enamel paint
  • paint brushes
  • acrylic clear sealer
  • old, dark stained jewelry box
  • terry cloth
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Rub down the surfaces of the jewelry box with an old terry cloth towel. Make sure that you remove dust and dirt from the box's surfaces.
  2. Wrap the handles of the box doors with masking tape in order to protect these from paint.
  3. Brush on one layer of enamel grey paint.
  4. Let the paint dry thoroughly.
  5. Use a relatively smooth sandpaper to remove paint from the edges and some flat surfaces of the jewelry box.
  6. How much paint you remove is entirely up to your own sense of taste. You want the surfaces to look older and worn, as though the piece were an antique.
  7. Rub down the box again with a towel to remove sawdust.
  8. Seal the "sideboard" or "buffet" for your Barbie's dining room with clear acrylic.
Above you can see my doll sideboard from different angles and up close.
More Doll Furnishings from Transformed Jewelry Boxes:

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