Klara's Room Tour

I’m happy to finally debut the last few months of my doll art in my ‘Manor’, the residence for my girls while they’re living here in the mortal realm. And the start it off would be the girl who first came to the Manor-Klara, the daughter of Hades and Persephone. 

Having lived in the Underworld all her life, Klara’s room has a gothic, old world concept in it’s design. I had the idea that her parents did the decorating, so maybe it’s a little ‘regal’ for her taste. But the concept does tie into her vintage and antique business.

The inspiration for the room came from the castle interiors of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. I love all the richness in the backgrounds in the film, from the raw stonework on the walls to the rich tapestries and hangings. 

I’ve used this printout of this gorgeous black marble before, and instantly suggests the stonework of the room structures, in the archways and the grand bed.

The bed’s overall shape came from Chad Alan’s Frozen Anna bed tutorial, but I added more gothic details in the curves posts. Klara looks completely at home chilling on it! It’s a simple structure, but with certain touches can work into any theme.

Fabric swatches make perfect rugs, especially those from interior design centers, since they’re already hemmed and lay flat.

I always had in mind a fireplace for this room; I pictured Klara being able to ‘call’ her parents, talking to them in the flames. The mantle piece is decorated with crayon candles (see my Candle How To blog). The ‘portrait’ over the fireplace is a painting of her father, a gorgeous pic found on Deviantart of a male version of Maleficent! It went perfectly with the color scheme of the room, and honestly this is how I picture Klara’s Dad. The other ‘artworks’ are shots from Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty.

This entire wall was part of the first version of Klara’s room. The alcove adds more 3d realism to it, plus makes a lovely perch for Klara to read when she wants to look out on a dark night. The different stone wall adds a nice contrast to the rest of the gothic room, making it more suburban and not so castle drafty! 

With her vintage style, Klara’s room demanded a mirror. I made this one up in about 5 minutes, covering a rectangular shape in tinfoil and adding some plastic rhinestones for decor. It can also be decorated with a frame outline, but here it works on its own.

The bookshelf (a painted plywood Christmas ornament box) makes a great bookshelf structure and adds a more homely feel to the room. The more varied the objects it’s decorated with, from a tiny cameo to books, the more the doll’s personality seems real! 

Klara and her pet hamster Viola look right at home here, surrounded by things some may consider creepy, but she finds richly historical. Her antique business is sure to thrive here.

How to Make Doll Candles

Candles add such an atmospheric element to any room. I got the idea for this feature from Julie Shelton’s ‘The Dream Dollhouse’, using crayons or birthday cake candles. I liked the bulkiness of crayons, they seem more like chic colored scented candles. This project is super easy, and a single box of crayons (I got mine for ￡1 at Tesco’s) provide tons of color palettes to suit every room in your dollhouse.

Materials:

1 packet of Crayons (any width, but I urge the thicker the better!)

1 cutting craft knife (USE WITH CAUTION)

Cutting board

All purpose glue

1. Cut your crayon into different length sections, depending on your choice. Be use to make your cut as even as possible so the finished product sits up straight.
2. Peel away the paper wrapping from the wax crayon
3. Range your candles in whatever display design you wish, dabbing a little glue on one end of each to glue into place for stability
   

July Doll Review: Poppy and Holly O'Hair...aka Willow Arden and Mina Opi

What’s better than receiving a new doll in the mail? Getting two! This month I ordered the Holly and Poppy O’Hair, daughters of Rapunzel 2-Pack, or as I’ve named them Willow Arden, daughter of Aries, and Mina Opi, daughter of Dionysus. 

It’s fun that these two have opposing concepts-one sister girly, the other tomboyish.The lilac and pink color scheme works so well for each of them. 

Holly, or ‘Mina’ as I’ve renamed her, has amazing strawberry blonde hair! Though it’s gonna take a lot of maintenance to keep it in good shape-I’m thinking of a fishtail braid. Her accessories are gorgeous, with the entwined gold belt and her heels with the ‘tower‘ details in the heels. However, I’m getting a little bored with almost every doll wearing black fishnet tights. Hopefully Mattel with shake things up with later designs.

The Poppy doll, or ‘Willow’, on the other hand, is a little bittersweet. The whole hair stylist concept behind her personae is fun, but the execution sloppy. For example, why is her grey shawl a plastic mould? But my biggest peeve has been her hair. If she’s this amazing stylist, why does the doll look as if she’s cut her own hair in the dark?! It’s uneven and unflattering, selections cut one length with no transition to the next and the hairline clashes with the shawl horribly. In fact I’m thinking of trimming her look into a short bob to even it all out. But the scissor emblem throughout her overall look is so cool, from her earrings to her signature ring.

Also, their turquoise eye color clashes with the lilac and pink tones of their make up. Maybe a little repaint in a soft amber or hazel may be more suitable.

So they’ll both need a lot of reconstruction, but none the less, am delighted to welcome them to the Manor!

Basket Pet Bed

I’ve been making up beds for all the pets of the Manor, after watching loads of videos of My Froggy Stuff’s pet stuff. They're so easy to make and such fun! I’ve already made up two dog beds but for my next one, I wanted something new and fresh, so I made this ‘basket‘ version of the bed. 

Materials:

1 half of a small cardboard box (I used old jewelry boxes)

Scrap fabric

Printout of a woven basket design

Stuffing

Glue

Scissors

Sewing materials

1) Cut out a small square in the middle of one side of the box

2) Cover the box sides (outside and inside) with the basket printout.

3) Using the scrap fabric and stuffing, make a small pillow the shape of the bottom of the box. When done, put inside the box for your doll pet.

Doll Crafts: How to Make A Wall Mirror

I’ve had these plastic bangles for a while, and thought the pearl like texture would make a great doll sized mirror frame. It’s super easy and fast to make, and any bangle that isn’t too wide would be great!

Materials:

Round bangle

Tinfoil/ reflective scrap booking paper

Cardboard

Pencil

Scissors

All purpose glue

1) Trace the outline of the bangle onto the piece of cardboard and cut out

2) Cover the cardboard circle with tinfoil/ reflective scrap booking paper

3) Glue the bangle onto the reflective side of the cardboard around the edge

Pixie Manor Bio 1: Klara Dior

Star sign: Aries

Background: Hades and Persephone, Gods of the Underworld

Unique Ability: Sensing and summoning ghosts, phasing through solid objects

Fav Color: Magenta, Dark Purple

Style: Historical-particularly Gothic or Edwardian with vintage tones (hey, she’s surrounded by the souls of some of the greatest designers to live, she might as well take advantage of their advice!)

Current Employment: Antique Shop Owner/Ghost whisperer

Hobbies: Reading gothic horror

Phobias: Friends liking her only for her royal status

Pet: Viola the hamster

Heirloom: Her father’s ring of Darkness

Fav Food: Red velvet cupcakes

Reason for Coming to Earth: To follow her mother but also to get away from her royal lifestyle

The natural gothic beauty of the Underworld, Klara is the royal heir to the Underworld dynasty. Brought up in a pretty restricted childhood, from being surrounded by guardians of the underworld, advisors and even ghosts, Klara couldn’t wait to follow her mother on her eight month departure to walk the surface world, along with her pet hamster Viola. Now she is desperately trying to hide her Princess title and just be a regular girl for once in her world. With her mother currently residing in the mortal realm, Klara gets annoyed when she tries to interfere with her new life, but remains proud of her haunting heritage...

Klara tends to be a bit of a loner, since her phantom like presence sends to unnerve people. Especially times when her natural affinity for spirits, seeing ghosts where other people see nothing. But she is keen to learn just as much about the living as she knows of the dead. Being born in the spirit world, Klara has the ability to ‘go phantom’, making her corporeal form phase through solid objects, though she doesn’t completely have control over this in the mortal realm...causing a few mishaps like falling through the floors of the manor.

In the mortal world, Klara works in the vintage boutique Hidden Treasures. She loves sourcing preowned item and passing them on to people who will appreciate its history. Her nature knack for vintage fashion, thanks to being surrounded by the ghosts of some of the greatest designers, makes her the perfect spokesmen for the store. But nights she often spends finding poltergeists and sending them to the Underworld where they belong.

February Doll Review: Ever After High C.A. Cupid...aka Glimmer Armani

As more Ever After dolls come out, I have to pace myself in my growing collection. First, because a lot of the time more are coming out in cooler outfits (I’m holding out for Ashlynn Ella in her Legacy Day outfit right now!). Seriously Mattel needs to get a move on and get these ladies out faster, or they’re going to fall behind keeping up with their own story line! Also I’m making it a little self gift to myself as a motivation throughout the month. As they come, I’m planning on having a review with my thoughts on that doll, and also give the bio I’ve assigned them. 

Last month I decided if I lost a certain amount of weight I’d get my next doll. And yesterday she arrived.

I got C.A.Cupid, or Glimmer as I’ve renamed her, in her standard edition. I was relieved that the heart detail on her lips is more blended and subtle, and that her wings are detachable, in a really clever way, attached to her choker. Not to mention her bow and arrow set will make a great prop. But mostly I adore her wavy pink hair, though I think Mattel shouldn’t make it so neon pink, and more softer pink as seen in the webisodes. But she’s gorgeous! Wait patiently for her full bio.