Showing posts with label DIY Doll Armoire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY Doll Armoire. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2013

American Girl on a Firefighter's Salary - Part 3

Back down on the work bench,
in order to keep it from my nosy
girls!  Ugh!
I am finally done!  The armoire I told you about last week is finally done, the bed is done, all just in time for the birthday party tomorrow.  Hallelujah!  I did really cut it down to the wire, though.  I wanted to have the armoire done before I picked the kids up from school.  That meant I had to finish the last drawer in the car, while waiting for the kids to come out of school!  But, none-the-less it is done.  

My FF finished the addition to the armoire last night, so I could watch the season finales of Grey's and Scandal.  So sweet!  Megara has to have a place to put her boots, I mean, really! And then today, I put on the final touches - the contact paper (that wouldn't stick) the hardware, with one hinge that would not cooperate.  And now it is done.  I will post non-workbench pictures with better lighting once the Muppets are in bed.  There is a new outfit, complete with accessories, as well as a poodle skirt, courtesy of Fire Wife Elly.  So exciting!  I also believe Grandma is working on a blanket for Megara as we speak as well.  D will be so excited, I cannot wait for her to open them tomorrow!


I'm so glad we kept the mirror in!
I was almost ready to for get this and glue in a dowel!
Scotch Tape was my friend, holding the second screw in place for me!
Ugh, one more drawer to finish, but I have to go pick up the kids from school!
So, you take it with you and do it while you wait, instead of freezing
on the stairs with the other mommies!
Poodle skirt courtesy of the lovely Fire Wife Elly! 
Accessories and a new outfit!
New shoes, what a nice surprise!
Happy Friday, again!  The party is tomorrow.  I will add nicer pictures tonight, staged a bit less hastily. My FF is on shift - go figure, when there is cleaning to be done!  ;)  My dad is coming by to hook up my water to my fridge, I am so spoiled, having gone a week and a half without water from the door! And the weekend is officially upon us!  Enjoy the weekend and your FFs. 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

American Girl Furniture on a Firefighter's Salary...Part 2

So...I get an idea in my head and I head off to Pinterest.  Pinterest is my friend and my enemy.  It gets me in trouble because I never do anything half way.  I posted about the bed I made for D's doll Megara earlier this week.  I was sooooo proud of how it turned out.  But, I never do anything half way.  Clearly, Meg girl needs a place for her clothes in her bedroom, so I decided to get her an armoire as well.  Originally I found an ad on Craigslist that included an armoire, some clothes,  a horse, another doll (that I would have given to O), a beauty chair, a tent...for like $40.  SCORE!!  Until the hubby I had been chatting with, emailed me on the day we were supposed to meet to tell me his wife had promised them to someone else.  Ah well.  On to Pinterest I go. 

I found several to buy, again, too expensive for the cheap materials they were made from. But, there was one that jumped out at me.  A blog called Gold Shoe Girl had a post on taking a jewelry box from Goodwill and redoing it.  PERFECT.  So much easier than starting from scratch.  I found one on Craigslist  and got it for $5...again perfect.  


Being my usual impatient self, I started tearing the insides of my jewelry box before I took a picture.  So, here is the closest thing to a before picture I have for you.  I was seeking opinion on proportions.  And yes, we decided to enlarge the armoire for proportion sake - and so Meg has somewhere to store her boots.  


And so I started taking out all of that velvet lining...
it took a putty knife, some acetone and a lot of patience. 

After that, of course comes the fun part of removing all the teeny-tiny little hardware bits and pieces.  Baby food jars are still around and come in handy for just that purpose.  I even got to the screws that hold in the necklace holder.  One of those times I am grateful to have suck small hands.  Some pliers were needed to break the glue on the knobs for two of the drawers, but all came off in the end.

From there it was the messy job of sanding the finish off the jewelry box.  It looked like a dye pack went off in a failed bank heist!  Aye.  All over my hands and my jeans and... I was oh so careful not to touch my face. It was everywhere!

As the afternoon continued, the mirror covered in painters tape and the pieces all stripped of hardware and roughed up to prepare for painting.  Unfortunately my spray paint can did not last.  And with life getting in the way and oh yeah, D coming home from school, it has to wait.  Saturday is packed FULL, Sunday is Mother's Day...so maybe Monday we can get back to this.  My hubby has already developed his plans for adding height and storage for Megara's Uggs!  The wood and finials have been purchased, we should be good to go next week.  

Here is where we are...
Sand and paint the drawers in my make-shift spray box.

Doors hanging in between coats
I am going to mod podge some
scrapbook paper into the doored areas.
Kind of put together...impatience on my hubby's
part caused a drawer to be dropped...
and I am still out of spray paint.

So, from here we are going to add the addition, add the scrapbook paper that matches the bedding to the closet and drawer areas.  I haven't decided what I am doing with the glass for the doors yet.  We'll see.  Hopefully Monday we'll get it all put together.  Tomorrow, I am hoping to use my Mother's Day "card" to get dirt and river rock into the front yard landscaping that is kind of at a stand still.  But, that my friends, is definitely a post for another day.

Send love to the mother in your life, let her know you are thinking of her.  All you FFs with mothers at home who hold back the hair of your puking girls, go to school functions alone and generally hold down the family fort alone for a third of their lives, let them know that you couldn't do it without them.  

Happy Saturday, be safe and come home to your people. 


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