Lazybones DIY

There are a couple of reasons I don't do a lot of DIY.  I'm not generally crafty and, frankly, things tend to break.  I do have a couple of YouTube channels I enjoy, but I use them more for ideas.

MyFroggyStuff is mostly focused on doll photography and gentle play.  She does a fantastic job and I would tell anyone who displays their dolls to follow her lead.  Since I'm hearing impaired, I also like that she speaks very clearly!  I don't have to rely on the captioning!  The only problem is... my dolls don't do gentle play.

The bleachers are bastardized from Froggy.  She did two projects - a movie theatre and a basketball court with bleachers - and I stole bits from each.  A local store gave me an old Mountain Dew display (thick cardboard) and I used the bottom as a frame.  I used the part I cut away to make the center support and the benches, covered it with Contact Paper, and added stickers for "graffiti".  The bleachers at my brother's little league games had metal seats, so I used gray duct tape for the seats.

The picnic table I've based on the ones at highway rest areas, with concrete posts for leg.  I had the wooden slats but what to use for the supports?  Then I saw this: 

I turned the round lampshades into supports for one bench and the square ones to supports for the other.  Tables became supports for - duh - the table.  I was a slat short for one bench and none of them match the others, but that's okay. That just means my dolls found a mismatched set (at a discount?) and painted the concrete blue in hopes no one would notice! 

Angus didn't have a bridle so I made this out of elastic and an old necklace.  When the connector on his saddle broke, another bit of the elastic and some super glue fixed it.

I don't remember where I saw this craft.  It's a double bed made from a simple storage box.  The headboard is cut from a colorful box and the sheet is a scrap of fabric, both glued on.  The "pedestal frame" can be used for storage.  I made this since double beds for Barbies are hard to find - then I found one!  

I'd like to also mention April Lilly.  Her YouTube videos focus more on the dolls themselves and on customizing the clothes.  It was April who taught me to use lace to hide my clumsy stitching.  Not that her sewing is near as bad as mine...  I do have to use the captioning with her, but that's because sometimes she gets excited and talks too fast!  

If you're into customizing dolls or this kind of DIY, April and Froggy are my recommended starting points on YouTube.  Froggy is also on Instagram and has a written blog (where you can totally steal her patterns and backdrops) but I'm not sure about April.

Next post:  Story Time!  I'll tell you the story of how Pike met Rose-Grace!