Monday, December 19, 2011

TUTORIAL - Bowls Made From Baby Rattles

I think its time for a manicure!
 
You will be amazed at how easy these bowls are to make.
It only takes a couple of seconds.
They are in pink or blue.
I only have pink but I do need some blue.
 
 
These bowls are made from the
Party Favors - Baby Rattles.
You can find them at thrift stores or online.
EBay carries them and so does some Party stores.
Just google Baby Rattles.
All kinds of them pop up.
But I only like these. I like these because of the simple
handle shapes.  You could probably find a use for
the little beads on the inside if you wanted to.
Sure you have seen these.
 
 Sorry, that I do not have a photo for this step.
Refer to the above photo.
This is how I did it.
I put my finger nail under the clear side and
pop out the little pink bowl.
Although you do have to keep in mind that
mine are old. I am not sure
how easy it would be to take apart if they were new.
However, I found that the bowl came away easily.
Just be careful not to chip it.
 
 Do you need some clear bowls.
All I did was take my finger nail and
put it close up to the edge of the clear bowl.
Then I snapped off the handle with
my finger nail. It was that quick!
All of these can be painted.
I like the faded pink color of these rattles. So I might
leave them like that.
They look shabby.
I have a lot of these little bowls so some of them will
get painted eventually.
Sorry this next photo is blurry.
 
A small package of 10 of these baby rattles will make
you 20 bowls.
I have not found a use for the little plastic handles yet.
Thank you for visiting me!
Conny

Giveaway

Please accept my apology's for not
commenting on your blogs. But Blogger
will allow me to comment when it feels
like it.

There's a GIVEAWAY on my other blog. Go to the
address below to enter.

Conny

Sunday, December 11, 2011

APARTMENT PENTHOUSE #2 - Bernice's First Christmas!

Hello Everyone!

Bernice has moved in and is
wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
Bernice has already put up her Christmas tree.
Have you?
There is a total of 6 windows that look into this top
floor apartment. It is really pretty with the doors closed
to see the tree all lit up. I thought maybe you would
like to see the Christmas tree first to get you in the
holiday mood.


 The lights are on so I hope that you can see the tree
twinkle! The Christmas tree has one of
those LED batteries.
Looks like some of the garland and the lights
have fell down a little.


The tree has red and gold garland strung
across its branches.
The garlands are not paper they are
made of a thin metal.


The main door is opened so you can see the
Christmas Tree better.
 The tree goes all the way to the ceiling.
Bernice already has plenty of
presents waiting for some happy owners to
confiscate them.


 From the window you can see a red stocking that I
hung on the tree. This was a good place to hang it. Since
Bernice lives alone it didn't make any sense to hang
2 stockings from the fireplace mantel.

 This is the left side of the apartment.
The massive tree
blocks some of the living area.


 I was hoping that you could see the little red
bird on the branch.
If you blow it up - its a little blurry. But it
is a little red bird.


 Some more presents go around the tree.
The tree skirt
is a piece of lace from a sleeve of a blouse
that I use to own before I cut it up.
Do you cut up your clothes
for your dollhouse?


 This is the other side of the tree that faces the table. All
of these presents came from Hobby Lobby.
These are probably still being sold.


 The dog is named Max.
He found a candy cane that
was low enough on the branch for him to smell.
He is deciding whether he should lick it or not.
Sure does look tasty!


I decided to give Max a tongue!
I glued a piece of red felt by his mouth.
Either I should
have placed Max closer to the candy cane
or I should
have made his tongue shorter?? Oh well
you get the idea.
The boots are Barbie boots that I glued
a piece of craft fur to the top. They are high-heels.
They do not look like they are too
 big - unless you pick them up with your hands and
then you know.
No plans of replacing them.

 Bernice really likes her comforter set with pillow shams.
Her sheets and pillowcases add just the
right touch and contrast.


 A close up of the pillow shams
that I made eons ago.


 Bernice has been drinking her red wine. She is
going
to a company party later - so right now
she is bathing.
The little basket of flowers I confiscated from a
doll a couple days ago.


Bernice is playing the Santa this year!
 Here is Santa's coat that Bernice will be wearing. See
the black tights on the bed. She will be
wearing them
under her coat along with those
black boots. Oooo a little
sexy or slutty - you choose. Lol's.
Her Santa hat is on the bed posts.


 This is Bernice's vanity. Later I might paint her brush
and mirror silver. But not right now.
 These are Chrysnbon items.
I will be
making some jewelry to fit inside her jewelry chest.
That's a later project.
Hat boxes are on top.
White flat shoes are underneath. I might paint them later.


 This is a close up of the vanity.
The little pink purse
I made from a small piece of pink ribbon.
I never hemmed the top.
The strings are embroidery floss.


 As of yet I do not have any clothes in the closet.
There is another set of hatboxes on top of the
closet along with a Swarovski Carousel
that I bought from a gift shop many years ago.
I think that it cost me
$35.00 but it was worth the price.


 The windows behind the bed got some red garland
hanging down from the wreaths.
I ran out of wreaths that is why the other
window does not have one.
All 4 bed posts are wrapped with red garland
and the headboard is strung
with red garland from side to side with
little bulb ornaments hanging.


 Some day, I am going to cover the lamp shade and
put a rose decal on its base.


 The piano is glass and so is its stool. My
ex-son in law gave it to me 15 years ago.
It is so delicate and looks
pretty in this space. This is just
one of the Santa bags
that Bernice has to take the office
Christmas party tonight.


 The little red bag is the second bag
that has to go to
the party. I hope that someone comes
to help Bernice
with the presents. There are a couple
of presents on the chair also that has to go.


 Here is a close up of the Santa coat and her boots.
The Santa coat is a scrap-booking
item that I found at the craft store. It has a piece of
foam tape on the back that I peeled off.
The only thing is - is that the coat does
not open up. But that's okay - it
looks real enough for me.


This is the little living are beside the
nice fireplace.
 None of these Christmas lights light up.


 As you can see Bernice has another glass of
red wine
on the table. She has been drinking all
evening. Gee, I hope she is not tipsy!
Nothing like having some cheese to go with that wine.
Whenever Bernice cross stitches she always lays
back in the chaise and gets comfortable.


 Yep - see those bottles. Yummy candy canes!
Bernice is in a drinking frenzy.
I have not found a picture to go above the
fireplace yet that I like. I don't know
what I am actually looking for yet??
I like the words Friends. I found the
wood at a craft store not to long ago.


 Here are the presents. 2 bags full. Its going to be a
blast of at the office Christmas party tonight!
I wonder what time she will come home?


 Here is the china cabinet. I keep moving much of the
stuff around. I cant seem
to arrange it like I want. However
there is a lot of cobalt blue in this cabinet
 along with a silver coffee and tea set.


 On top of the cabinet is a punch bowl set that I
have never taken out of the box.
It is Reutter Porcelain and is already 15 years old.
I made the little pincushion from the feet of
a tiny doll. The little
plastic shoe was attached to her leg. Since I couldn't
see very well my dear hubby cut
both of her feet off for me,
(so sorry I am that she is now footless!).
Anyway I stitched up a tiny
pincushion and glued it to
the shoe/boot. Then I needed a needle.
So, with the help
of my dear hubby we made us a
couple of threaded needles and stuck them
in the pincushion.
They are a little bent which I like.
The needles are shiny.

A pair of purple handled scissors and another pair
of gold handled scissors lay beside a cream boot
that I made a pincushion out of.
The gold handled scissors actually open and close.
After we were first married,
my hubby bought me a charm bracelet.
Those gold handled scissors was one of
the first 4 charms that were attached to
the bracelet. I found them the
other day in my jewelry box and decided
that they needed to live here
instead of being hidden away in a box.


 Here is a better pic of the black tights.
Later I am
going to cut the tights and make
hose out of them. I have
forgotten what doll I confiscated
them from. Been to long ago to remember.


 This is the little Swarovski carousel.
I took
one of those little plastic cases
and adhered
some glittery black fabric to the back
and underneath the carousel so it shines.
Hopefully you can see the horses.
And the horses go round
and round.  Now it wont get dusty.
It sits on top of her little closet.


 Here is an even closer look of the horses.
You can see them better this time.


I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
Thanks for visiting me. Please
come back soon.
Many kisses and hugs to you all!
Hopblogger

Monday, December 5, 2011

Apartment Elizabeth - Allie and Allison's Birthday Party!

Happy Birthday Allie and Allison!!

And the invitations were sent out
weeks ago.
All of the little guests were
suppose to dress in costumes.
No
fancy dresses here except on Allie and Allison.
Little girls parties can be so cute.
Today
Ally and Allison turn 5 years old.
They are
dressed in their best green dresses with matching
hats.
The party is still under construction
as you can see. 
Balloons filled with air dot the ceiling.
A few of the balloons have confetti glued to them
that says Happy Birthday!
So much more work is to be done - Oh where is
Aunt Melinda and aunt Brenda!


 As you can see a few of the balloons are already
dying.
Those balloons were duds and would not blow
up properly.
I used them anyway.
Not all balloons need to look the same.

 The Happy Birthday banner across the window is
the same confetti that is on the balloons.
The white
string is just embroidery floss.
It was easy to thread the floss thru the words.
The floss is held up at the
window corners with tacky wax.


 The little guests have arrived.
Allie has her
arm up greeting them as they came in. 
The first little lady to barrel inside is named Amanda.
She is dressed as Dorothy from
the 'Wizard of Oz' movie.
Amanda has waited impatiently for this party.
She is the
one with the white hair in case you havent seen the movie.
Amanda and the others can hardly
wait to play.

They are by-passing the main dining
table in favor of the play table.
Maybe those 2 want to sit there.

 The little lady that you can only see partway that is
dressed in brown.
Her name is Brandi.
Brandi is dressed up as the scarecrow
in the 'Wizard of Oz' movie.
She is so excited to be here!


 Here is the back of Brandi - do you see her tail.

The little lady behind Brandi is Kelly.
Kelly is a cute little pink fairy.
Kelly wears her Halloween costume.

 Close ups of Brandi and Kelly.

 The sweet little lady in the wedding dress is Jessica.
She is saying 'hello' to everyone.
Jessica was the last to arrive.

OOooo see baby May in her highchair!
No one is paying any attention to her.
Somebody's little brother is here and no one is
paying any attention to him either!

The little boys name is Hardy.
Trouble could be brewing here!

 Aunt Brenda has been working very hard to
get things started.
She is waiting for Melinda to arrive.
I wonder what is keeping her?
I hope she does not miss the party!
The tablecloth, plates and cake are already on
the table along with a few lollipops.
Only one glass of milk is there.
Surely there are more to come.

Lets just hope that Hardy does not get hold of it and
dump that milk all over the tablecloth.
So, the table is not completely set up yet.
The silverware isn't on the table yet.

 You might think that the cake is upside down - but it
isn't.. It is turned so the birthday girls can stand on the chairs
while they blow out the candles.

Oh my gosh - Aunt Brenda
hasn't put the candles on the cake yet!
Aunt Brenda sure is running behind.
The plates are printables from jennifers Printables
website.
I ended up using a flowered wallpaper for
the plates.
After I cut the plates out - they looked so flat.
I bent them up on some of the sides.
Still I do not like how they turned out.
I guess that I need to work harder with those.
 I do have some ideas of how to change it.
But that will be a future project.

 A close up of the Birthday Cake.
It is chocolate on the inside with white Vanilla frosting.
Aunt Brenda made the cake.

 This pic shows a country style apron just right for
Elizabeth's apartment.
It was bought at a yard sale that some lady was
having.
It works well in this space.
You can see the top of the little
dollhouse of where I
sandpapered the top of it - long, long ago.

Hanging on the little closet is a pink pajama and a
pink dress.
These are May's clothes. 
Hanks pampers set on top.

 Allison stands over by the bunk-beds.
Ally stands in front of Aunt Brenda.
The girls
are so happy that everyone showed up for their party.
Aunt Melinda is collecting the presents.
Must be why she is late!
Elizabeth does not feel very well and Hank is still fussy.
He must be teething.
Thank goodness
that her twin sisters Melinda and Brenda will be
giving her a hand with things.

 A couple of extra chairs - actually they are small
children's rocking chairs.
Just waiting for some child to sit on them.


 A closer look at Aunt Melinda.
She looks like she is having fun - doesn't she.
I really do like these vinyl dolls.
They twist and turn, their legs move, their heads
turn.
I think they are better than my porcelain dolls.
Aunt Melinda thinks to herself -
Oh my where am I going to put those presents?

 Aunt Brenda is still not here yet.
The tablecloth is pink tissue paper that I cut to size.
Underneath, it I cut a piece of white cardboard
so it would not look so dark under the pink. 
A string from one of the balloons is hanging down.

 Here is the little table where some of the little
ladies are going to eat.
Of course Pinky the bear
already has her spot picked out.
The 4th chair to the little table set broke.
It is now a stool.

 This picture might be a little blurry - but it is here
for you to be able to see the inside of the little dollhouse.
See the christmas tree on the bottom floor.
So cute!!

Finally Aunt Brenda made it!
Right now she is stressing out.
The cute little blond haired child is dressed
in purple as a movie star.
See her pretty pink lipstick. Her name is
Marge Damon.

She is hoping that someone will see
her resemblance to the actress 'Kate Winslet' - one of
her favorite actresses of the movie Titanic.
Marge wants to be in the movies too!
The butcher block had to be moved into the bedroom.
There simply just was not enough room.
Oh my - there are some tumblers in the sink that need
washing.
 Aunt Brenda is stressing out now. Still more
work to be done.
As you can see - Melinda and Brenda
are identical twins.
However they do not always dress or wear their hair the same.
But they are always
there to help their older sister Elizabeth.
I think
Elizabeth is a lucky woman to have such good sisters!

 Time to get the milk out and fill up some glasses.
Aunt Brenda is hard at work!
Hope you like the party. Come join in.
Thanks for visiting me!
Come back soon.
Conny