I whip my hair back and forth!

So...

Mimi needs hair.

I did some research (aka a single Google search on how to make doll wigs) and my first step is making a cap to glue hair wefts to. Easy peasy, right?

WRONG!

With a head that is 3/8th of an inch from ear to ear and half an inch front to back, Mimi has got herself a tiny ass noggin'. Which will make it very difficult to make anything for.

But I sure as hell am gonna try!

My first step was grabbing some saran wrap and some old tights. I ripped her head off, topped it with saran wrap, then wrapped a square of old tights. The online tutorial I watched told me to brush on several layers of glue to make the cap.

This makes me feel like a serial killer. Like, this looks really creepy, almost as creepy as her without a face.

Maybe she will go rob a bank later.

WHO KNOWS?!

Anyway, after the five layers of glue dried, I took it all apart and it seemed like it was holding up pretty well!

And then I cut off the extra and removed the saran wrap from the inside.

Bad idea.

The cap began to curl in on itself and wasn't as sturdy as I thought it would be. The glue I use (Aleene's Tacky Glue) is pretty flexible when dry. Usually, it's a good thing, but I think a... harder drying glue would have been better. Maybe super glue?

When I cut off the extra material off the cap I ended up cutting way more off then I really should have. The cap, obviously, is super tiny because she has herself a tiny head and the scissors I'm using aren't the tiniest either.

I think homegirl might just have to have alopecia, or something because I think making her a wig is going to be way too difficult.

So yeah, she's just gonna live her life bald because I don't have the patience for this.

I'm too sexy for my shirt...

Alright, so next she needed a shirt. Couldn't have the girls out all the time... might get arrested.

Anyway, I grabbed a shirt of mine that I was never going to wear and cut the bottom hem off. I decided to use this part of my shirt to fashion a shirt for Mimi.

I then looked up some t-shirt patterns online (sewing patterns) so I could start making a shirt for her.

I then cut out the pieces I'd need and started hand sewing it all together.

I sewed the front sleeves and the back together, then did my best to try and add a hem to the neckline. Or I tried.

Anyway, once it was all sewn together, I then turned the darn thing inside out.

I think it turned out pretty well!

I popped off her head to get the shirt on a bit easier and slid the shirt on.

. . .

It's too big.

The f@#$. Like, it's twice the size it needs to be.

It took me forever to sew this tiny thing too.

UGH.

Gotta start over.

I measured out some new pieces but made sure they weren't voluminous and started sewing again.

I, again, sewed the front, back, and sleeves together.

I poked myself in the thumb a couple of times too!

I'm injured.

Either way, I finally finished this little sucker up. I think it's small enough. What do you think?

So after I turned it right side out, I popped off her head and her hands and spent a good five minutes getting this shirt on her. I had to take her hands off because they would have gotten caught in her sleeves, and I was just up to here with it and I just needed her dressed.

The shirt fits pretty well, other than the fact that due to the thickness in her armpits she's gotta walk around like she just got done lifting ten thousand pounds. I also didn't hem up the neckline because I forgot and now I'm going to need to take it off of her so I can finish that up.

Either way, I think this one came out pretty well, and I'm glad that it didn't take several tries like the pants did. Hopefully, Mimi is cool with not having a closet full of clothes.

Final product!

Everybody's talkin' 'bout my tight pants...

Look...

It was getting awkward with her being nekkid.

Like, I had her with me at work, and Mimi was just creeping people out with her nakedness, so I had to make her clothes. I tried to see if I could buy some so I could cover her up quickly, but all the clothes I did find wouldn't fit her. I don't have a sewing machine (well, I do, but I don't have it right now), so I have to sew everything by hand.

Anyway, making this little lady some pants took about seven or eight different tries.

The first pair were way too tight. Her leg came off when I was trying to get them off.

Almost changed her name to Ilene.

So I tried again, but I had left too much fabric at the top (waist) and the bottom at the ankles.

After a few more (failed) attempts, I decided maybe pants wouldn't work and short would work better. I didn't have the fabric I wanted with me at the time and had to use a different pattern. The shorts didn't work out either in the sense that had I left a little more fabric on I could have made them into a jumper.

Those got thrown away.

I then tried again, and failed, because the paints just won't fit because I don't have anything to tighten them at the waist with. So I went to Hobby Lobby again after work (had to kill time) and bought some hook eye closures and tried again.

Today I finally made a pair of pants for her to wear.

I made my pattern by ripping her arms off and tracing aorund her body. I wanted to make sure I wasn't making them too big or small. Once I had the pattern down I cut it out and traced it out on my fabric (the actual fabric I wanted them made out of).

I then started sewing them together.

As I said, I have to hand sew everything, so it took me all day to get everything sewn together.

I sewed each side together with a front and back panel then sewed those panels together.

The hardest part was sewing the croch area up. Then I hemmed the waist and the bottoms of them as well.

Once that was done I figured out where to put the hook and eye closure.

Now, it didn't turn out super awesome looking. I think it could have looked better had I hidden the closure as a belt then that would have been good.

I think the next pair of pants I make her will have a stretchy wasit so I don't have to worry about them not fitting there. Either way, I think they came out pretty darn spiffy.

What's up doll face!

So, I bought a doll a while back.

See... creepy no face

"Doll".

It's basically a blank action figure. It's 5 1/2 inches tall. I've named her Mimi (short for Mini Cami).

Anyway, I ordered her on Amazon because she was only like $12 and that was a lot less than all the other sites I was looking at. Downside? Package would arrive sometime in March.

I got lucky and it showed up only a week or two after I ordered. I was stoked.

Anyway, she comes with three sets of hands (open hand, a set for holding and fisted) two sets of feet, and some weapons.

She's pretty bad ass.

But here's the rub.

She's bald.

And had no face.

One of those I could remedy more easily than the other, so I did some research and figured out how to give this little lady a face.

And then I went to Hobby Lobby.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Hobby Lobby?

Totes my Mecca.

Anyway!

During my research, I figured out the easiest way to put a face on her would be with colored pencils to draw it on, and some fixative to keep it on.

I already have colored pencils and pastels (pastels for giving her face some color), but I didn't have fixative. While at the Hobbs I picked up some other items and held one of my friends captive (you can't really buy only one thing at Hobby Lobby).

With my supplies in hand, I managed to carefully draw on a tiny face for my doll. I had to wipe it off a couple of times because I messed up, but overall I think she doesn't look as soulless as she did before.

Take a look:

I know it's hard to see, but I didn't want it to be over done. At least she has a face now!

And hair... she still need hair.

I'll figure that one out later.

"Antique" Armchair

So, ladies and gentlemen, I redid the armchair.

And I used a picture for reference!

This one came out sooo much better than the previous one. I am very happy with how it came out.

The first part was measuring out and cutting the pieces of wood I used. Once those pieces were cut out I glued them together. Once I had the basic wooden shape, I rounded out some of the corners and sides as best I could.

After I had the basic shape down, I cut some foam down and glued it to the back to a cushioned back. I also cut out the foam needed to make the actual cushion. Once all that was done it came time to "upholster" it, a

ka glue a bunch of fabric down.

Now, the good thing about the cloth I used is that the pattern makes it easy to blend the ends of fabric in, so even though there were some places that I had to cut and add on extra cloth, it isn't super noticeable.

While I waited for the glue to dry on the chair, I began working on putting fabric on the cushion. I went back and forth between the two as I would work on one while the other dried. I managed to make the chair in less than two days, which is nice.

I really like how this came out, and I'm contemplating making an ottoman as well.

I just don't know if the living room is large enough for it all. May need to move some furniture around because I think it would look nice.

I also need to make a couple of throw pillows to really bring it all together.

I also need to stop buying more stuff for this dollhouse otherwise I'm going to go bankrupt.

Chair attempt part duex!

Alright!

Let's do this!

Again.

This time I made my pieces while looking at an actual chair. Or at least a picture of one. I managed to drag my husband to Michaels and I was able to get another big o' wood as well as some more fabric squares. Got some good patterns!

Anyway, I think the saw blade I'm using is getting dull so I might have to get some more, but luckily I have four more. I also might have to get some more medium duty knife blades. It took longer than I liked to cut through the pieces of wood I used.

This is what I have so far. I know it isn't much, but it took a while to 1. Find a picture of a chair I liked, and 2. It also took a while to cut through every single piece of wood.

Once it's dry I will continue. I'll have to add some side pieces to the bottom, trim the top/sides, carve out some legs, add padding, then cover in fabric.

Should be fun!

Ring, ring, ring, buhnahnah phone

Here comes the random!

So, as an inside joke at work, one of my coworkers asks another coworker, every day, if he wants a banana. Now, this co-worker who always gets asked is British, hence the buhnahnah title. Once I was told of this daily occurrence I decided I needed to join in on the fun.

I began asking him if he wanted a banana.

We all laughed.

And then I carved this!

(This is also the second attempt. The first one just looks like a jalapeno pepper. Don't ask).

You're probably asking yourself, "What the hell is that?"

It's a banana.

No, trust me... it is.

It isn't very large, maybe an inch? I carved it in less than a day at work out of a block of balsa wood. But until it was painted you couldn't really tell what it was... so I had to paint it.

I didn't have any actual paint at work, but I had some watercolor paints. I used water and a brush to get the color going and I painted this awesomeness.

HERE IS THE BANANA!!!

Chair-ish every moment...

Next piece of furniture I'm trying to make is an antique armchair. Honestly, I think I'm making this wrong too... I'm probably going to start over because I didn't look at any pictures and it just doesn't look like. I also don't think I have the dimensions correct. It seems like it's too tall.



I sketched out the basic design all from my brain. I think this is where I messed up. I should have looked at pictures but I didn't. I'm now regretting how this chair looks.

What I need to do is find a good picture of what I want it to look like and just do it that way instead of trying to do it myself.

Anyway, I cut the pieces out and glued them together. I was happy with it when I first started, but it just doesn't look right. I feel like I wasted a lot of supplies. I'm gonna start over. Ugh.