Make A Stand

My fellow doll rerootists (is that even a word?), have I got a DIY doll project for you!

It's a rerooting stand!

I don't know about you, but when I am rerooting, to have to keep picking up the head to put a plug in and then back down to load my needle with another plug and then pick the doll head back up and repeat over and over and over and over again - it gets loathsome.  So, I have often wondered what I could do or make that would allow me to keep the doll head propped up and in place as I plugged away.  I wasn't having any luck finding anything ready made via retail, so I figured I would probably have to make something.  Well, I had a eureka moment yesterday while I was working on my latest custom and FINALLY DISCOVERED IT!  I thought I would do a quick step-by-step tutorial so that you might be able to make one too if you need to.

Supplies you'll need:

- A plastic stand that has a domed base

- Plastic stand post (to place the head on)

- Packing tape (any strong tape would do, I just happened to have a lot of packing tape on hand)

- Scissors

- Some kind of small heavy weights (I happen to have a container of copper BB's on hand from making bears a while back.)

Step one:

Turn the base over to the underside and then place enough of the small heavy weighted material so that it's flush with the base of the stand base.

Step two:

Tape the area off making sure that it is very securely taped so as to avoid having to clean up a mess made from the weighted materials getting loose from the tape.  Again, tape it really well.

Step three:

Cut off any excess of the tape that you put around the base (or just cut enough to keep it clean and tidy).  I left mine looking a little haphazard here, but it does the trick.  And those little BB's aren't going anywhere.

Step four:

Place the stand post into the base, pop a doll head on it and WALLA!  You've got yourself a handy helper!

Best part was that I didn't have to spend any $$$ on supplies as I used what I had on hand.  It works really, really well!  It stays in place while I work on the doll head and, if I wanted to disassemble it to put it away, the stand post comes out so everything can lay flat.  Bonus!

If you make one to use, send me a photo of it and I would love to showcase it on my blog and/or Instagram feed!

Have fun!

- TR

How-to Doll Room

Ever wanted to make your own doll diorama, but lacked the "room" to?  Here's a nifty how-to on how to do just that!

Supplies needed:

cereal box

cutting mat (or craft work surface)

scissors

pencil

Sharpie marker

ruler

Xacto knife

glue stick or tape

hot glue gun

paper (decorative and plain white printer papers)

Optional: 

cutting wheel

clear acetate for the "glass" window

acrylic paint

wood dollhouse flooring

First, start with an empty cereal box.  Pay attention that the box is tall enough for the dolls you plan to use it for.  Make a cut along one side of the box and along the bottom so that the box will open up.  Also, cut off the top closing tabs.

Next, cut out the window(s).  Measure how large you want it to be.  Cut carefully with scissors or an Xacto knife (I happen to have a small cutting wheel handy, so used it instead).

For the "glass" window, I used an empty Barbie doll box that had a lot of clear plastic.  You can also use this plastic to make dishes and things out of.  I have a tutorial on how to make a cake stand of it which I will be posting later. 

In order to get a good fit on the plastic, I layed it down over the window opening and then marked about 1/4 inch outside of the window area with a Sharpie marker to ensure it was wide enough.  Then, I used a hot glue gun to fasten it securely to the wall.

Once you have these steps done, it's time to add the wallpaper and flooring.  I used tissue paper for my walls, but you could use construction paper, scrapbook paper, and even acrylic paints if you wanted.  I used a glue stick to glue down the tissue paper here and then carefully cut out the area for the window using scissors.

Next, cut out strips of paper to wrap around pieces of scrap cardboard left over from the cereal box to create the window frame/sills.   Glue the paper to the cardboard using a glue stick.  Basically, I glued the paper, then placed the cardboard piece on top of it, then folded the paper around it.  You could also use this method to create some baseboard trim for the edge where the floor meets the wall. 

Here's the final look: 

I bought some scrapbook paper to use for the flooring, but actually had a nice dollhouse wood floor to use, so I chose that instead.  I also added the white framing inside the window with plain computer printing paper cut into thin strips and taped those down BEFORE I added the window trim.  All in all, this took me about 2 hours to complete.  But, it's super inexpensive and would be a great project to do with friends and, when you need to put the playset away, just take the items out, fold the wall in and it collapses back to the regular cereal box size!