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

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Giving the Barbie Closet Some Upgraded Looks!

I couldn't pass up this Goodwill find. It made me immediately think, What a perfect store starter! However, after looking it over and having a poll on Instagram, it seems more people wanted to see what kind of an upgraded closet I could come up with. So... I have all these little Mini Brands set aside to recreate a store in 1/6 scale when I find another one. I even have a Re-Ment set my husband got me on clearance recently. International section, perhaps?? But back to my closet. Let's see what we can create with this! 

The original is Barbiecore to the core! I'm not a fan of Barbie colors. I prefer something a little more realistic. First steps I took were to paint the outsides with a paint+primer blend. This adheres well to the plastic and was how I did things with the Jurassic Park jeep makeover.

I taped off what would be a window. I know it is pink, but I have no choice. I want something that resembles a window or glass door. Maybe one day I will get to swap that part out. For now, it stays and won't be covered with paint.
Front and back were painted with the grey I had on hand. Don't worry about the cardboard inserts. I have a plan for changing those later.
So here is the front. That marbled design is from a card stock page meant for scrap-booking. But I think it adds a pretty outside look. This was glued to a thin cardboard piece. On the other side of that cardboard is where I put my inside paper. This was printed and gives off that calm, almost Japanese-styled look I was wanting.
In order to get this to work, I did have to pry the white shelving units out. That was no easy task, by the way! And yes, the seams make it a little less how I envisioned. But for now, I'm going to roll with it.
So this is where it is was at after adding the new background pieces. One side was painted a darker grey. I ended up having to buy more paint and could only find a different shade. Then I salvaged the mirror from the original cardboard background, but decided it needed a nice frame before I added it to the new background.
Using cut popcicle sticks, I painted them white before adding a green glow-in-the-dark paint. Then I framed the mirror. After digging into my bits and bobs drawers, I found some wooden pieces that were included as spares to a Steampunk clock I had received a while back. After arranging, painting and gluing in, I think they add to the Japanese style. What do you think? As an added bonus, I like having it glow in the dark. Kinda like a portal.
I made the hair dryer from a broken headphone piece and some craft foam. Then I used a broken off piece from jewelry to make a hanging hook for it. Now Barbie can do her hair at the counter. But enough reading! Let me show you, in my video, the rest of what I did.
Well, there you have it! Barbie has a new dream closet that actually works well for storing things. What do you think? Is there something else you'd have added? Leave me a comment below and let me know! Another project is on the way.

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Crafting Gets Organized

A friend recently gave me this tall drawer set. When she did, I was in the middle of organizing my crafting supplies and trying ever so hard to pare everything down. I have 2 bins of crafting bits and another 1 for fabrics. It makes for a crowded bedroom right now. So, when I saw this, I became inspired to give it a makeover and utilize it for better organization!

My first step was to clean it off really good. Only then could I give it a fresh coat of paint. I had some flat white paint leftover that I had used for the Little Free Library build. And by using that, I thought decorating it might be easier. However, it became apparent that flat paint comes with a chalky feel. I have a strong... aversion, you could say, to chalky textures. So I went over with a final coat of satin white. Not only did this hide any spot of dark that tried to show through, but this gave it a sensory approved feel that I can abide with. 

I really like that we have a dry heat here. I can put a coat on it, do a couple of others tasks, and when I come back to it, it is dry for the next coat. This meant it only took a couple days to complete the whole makeover.

It looked so fresh! I was quite happy with the end result. There are wheels so I can move it around as I need to. The various drawer sizes are helpful for the many types of materials I need to store.
Thanks to this, I was able to clean out an entire bin of random things! I know my husband was happy with this. Our room has become the catch-all for... well, everything! 

Now I move on to the next project. I'll keep you updated as I complete them. Let me know your thoughts. Would you paint or add decals on the drawers? 

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Giving This Toy a Makeover

I love the doll world. I make things for my girls or little sister. And occasionally I give a makeover to things we pick up. My most recent one? A Barbie-sized jet ski with a new paint job! 

I found this jet ski at the Dollar Tree. But it was a bright pink and blue. I'm really not a fan of pink. At. All. The girls were thrilled with theirs. But I knew mine had to be a different color. So I set out to paint it. It took me a long while. I would work on it in between other chores or while the kids were sleeping. And I think it came out nicely! 

First things first, it is plastic, so it had to be primed. At the time, I didn't have money and didn't realize we had primer in the shed. So I sanded the surfaces to make them a little rough. 

Then I began the painting process. I chose this teal and silver color scheme. Even after sanding, the paint had issues sticking. So it took several more coats than I had figured on. I decided to leave the front piece and seat piece their original blue to contrast. Partly from laziness, partly because I think it works. And then before I added those two back on, I sprayed it down with a clear coat sealing paint. Which worked out great, because the teal was a matte paint, but the clear coat gave it a shine! 

What do you think? Did it come out well enough? Would you try such a thing? I know the Dollar Tree had these kayaks too. My daughters love theirs. I've been tempted to grab one for myself and give it a makeover too...