Mystique Winter

My camera had issues with the lens barrel back in August. Twice with different cameras the barrel just stop working. Unfortunately this time around the warranty expired and leaving me with no other choice, but to play doctor. I manage to get up to the point of the metal plating that holds the barrel and screen. Of course they had to make the screws super tight. I gave up and start looking around for affordable cameras. I received some money from my parents this Christmas to put towards whatever I want. Being in Canada, I looked around for deals during boxing day to see if I can pick up a nice camera on sale. Yup! I found a nice Nikon DSLR kit that was on sale. It was way over my budget, but I refuse to buy another Canon after both of my cameras malfunction within 3 years, and Nikon are no mediocre quality. Was it worth the price tag? Of course. I can not wait until summer to take some nice scenic photos.

I will have to save up to get a macro lens for pristine close up photos.

That is basically where I have been in a nut shell.

Next step is measuring the width of the box to the wooden dowel. With a pencil I marked the dowel were it needs to be cut.

Perfect fit! Time for some light sanding to smooth out any imperfections. I'm not too worried about the ends since its going to be covered by the beads anyways.


Sanding is done. Now its time to paint. The rod is going to be a nice antique white to match the color pallet of the box. I'm not going to bother painting the beads since they are black, and it's a nice contrast.

 I came across this cute box that is shape of a book. Using Fairyland's idea, Mei's now has a doll box since she ever came with one (event doll) Her box now becomes a storage for her clothes and accessories, that is now hogging up room for her to lay in the box. Thus an idea is born. Beginning of this month I got an idea to make her doll box into a closet with a rod and removable bins to keep her accessories in, and yet have room for Mei to lay in the box. That way her clothes are neatly organized without being all over the place, and also as a bonus to this project, it can be used as a prop for photos.


Materials
Doll box
Wooden dowel
2 wooden beads
Tools
Fine sandpaper
Paint & paintbrush
Glue
Small mirror
Wooden chests or something to store her accessories in

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 I haven't did anything with pastel colors for Mei as of yet. Raiding though our crochet thread stash, I found some nice pale mint thread that is perfect for what I have in mind. It took me a hour to crochet the bodice part after getting the correct size. I'm still debating to add ribbon, or add some beading to the flower design. Back is going to be done up using glass pearls for buttons.

Top part is washed and blocked.

Next is the skirt, and a beaded choker.

It's finally 2016, and the end of Christmas decorations. There was not much to put away which is a good thing. The tree ornaments were put away before new year due to the newest fur ball taking six bulbs as a sacrifice not to mention thinking the tree is her bed. Now it is time to relax and get some of my unfinished projects out of the way for new ones. Naming my sweater that is taking me forever to knit up.

We finally got some dumping of snow (not much) I never did a photo of a doll in snow before. Taking advantage what Mother Nature is giving us. I took Mei out for a Christmas Eve stroll in the winter wonderland.

She couldn't resist building a snowman that is made out of pompoms??

Back in December of last year, I crochet Mei a new dress. The dress has been completed in the beginning of this year,  and it was time to give it more life to it. I quickly whipped up a nice choker to go with her dress. During March, I decided to dye the dressing using good old turmeric for a nice bright yellow.


Normally I would boil the vinegar in a small pot, I find it easier and less time consuming using a microwavable container for smaller items such as doll clothing. All I have to do is pop it in the microwave for 40 sec, and let the outfit it in the vinegar for 5 minutes for it to absorb.


So it went over the 5 min mark, can't work on an empty stomach. I add a pinch or two of turmeric into the vinegar. Those who are interested in natural dyes, turmeric produces a nice canary yellow color. Longer you let it sit in the dye, the brighter it gets.  This outfit I wanted a mellow yellow instead of a bright yellow.


It's a bit bright right now. Once I give it a rinse with cold water (not hot!) it will mellow out. I want it to sit for a little bit for the dye to do its thing before rinsing it off. After a minute or to two of, I gently rinsed it with cool water. Warm water will fad the color. That being been said and done, pat dry between two junky towels, and let it air dry flat, or you can use iron to speed the process up and set the color all at once. I didn't this time around.

I wanted to share this with everyone. I came up with something that might help others for creating jewelry or accessories. Since Mori girls love nature, I used the four basic metals used in jewelry making, and added themes and bead colors to represent each season.