Raleigh has informed me that her living room is so boring that she fell asleep on the couch.
Well, I have had some projects in mind for the room, so I figured I had better get started with them quickly. You know how those fashionistas can be if they don't get what they want and get it quickly.
The big bottom shelf of her entertainment center was still empty, so I figured that would be a good place to start. I had two pieces of plastic from some packaging that I thought would make a great aquarium. They fit perfectly into that empty shelf. I needed some fish and greenery, so I made some out of Sculpey. (No laughing)
Next, I would need a background and started searching the web for one. Well, it was then that I came across this:
Hitty's Print Minis and there was a lovely, printable fish tank. It was going to look much nicer than what I could manage to make. I adjusted the print size so that it would fit on the shelf and printed it on glossy photo paper. I also found a picture of a can of fish food, shrunk it down and printed it on regular paper. I taped it around a piece of drinking straw and added a small button to the top for a lid. Here's what the entertainment center now looks like:
There's a Barbie boom box on the shelf next to the fish food. Barbie and Blythe are both considered to be 1/6th scale which is also called Playscale. I wish that the entertainment center was black like the two end tables. I did go back to the Dollar Tree looking for it in black, but they only have these desk items out during "Back to School" time. I did try to paint it with black acrylic paint, but it didn't stick well to the metal. I would consider spray paint, but I am afraid it would clog up the holes in the mesh. Maybe I will just wait until next year and see if I can get a black one.
Now I had gone through the trouble to make the fish and the greenery, so I didn't want them to go waste. I at least figured out what to do with the leaves. I added a little bit of green paint, in a darker shade, to tone them down a bit. Once they were dry, I coated them with clear nail polish to seal the paint and also make them glossy like real leaves. I rummaged through my "trash to treasure" drawer and found a cover to a glue stick that with a little ribbon added to it would make a perfect plant pot.
The ribbon wasn't quite wide enough, so I glued thin black ribbon around the top edge of the cover. I then filled it with scraps of Styrofoam and stuck the painted leaves in. I spread a thin layer of glue over the foam and then added coffee grounds over it to simulate dirt. I was very happy with the results and so was Raleigh. She was grateful it wasn't a real plant; she simply didn't have time for one with her busy schedule.
I did once last project to spruce up Raleigh's living room, I made her a floor lamp. It was another trash to treasure project. This is some of what I used:
I also used a button for the base and some pony beads.
I covered the spool with a piece of the plastic, black mesh and then painted it with black nail polish. The lamp post is made with a section of drinking straw that I slid pony beads onto. I had glued the first bead to a button to form the based and the last bead to the spool. Here's the finished lamp:
Raleigh is very happy with what I have done so far, but says it will need more eventually. Fashionisitas! There is just no pleasing them. Now she is complaining that she should have taken off her heels before she fell asleep and put on her new slippers.
Does your Fashionista need some new slippers to pamper her feet? You can find them in various colors at:
Colleen's Cottage Shop
Until next time, Raleigh would like to wish you a Happy Halloween!
PS: Her reversible dress is available at :
Colleen's Cottage Shop too.
