Monster High Customized

As I mentioned in the last post, I picked up the folding Monster High school play set at a yard sale.  It is in pretty good shape, but there are some things I had to change up.  Bits of repair and, frankly, just making it more Jeanie's Barbieville.  The school set basically has two large rooms and a loft.  The classroom has a printed-on chalkboard and Monster High touches like, ahem, chains with hooks hanging on the wall?!  The classroom presented the biggest challenge.

 

The only real damage was a missing hook (to help stabilize the center wall) and spots where was printed cardboard was pulling away from the wall. I replaced the hook (shown here with temporary fix) by threading an a small loop of dead ear pod wire through the hole and to slip over the notch. 

Here you can see one of the chain hooks and a lower corner of the blackboard.  There were a lot of stickers on the classroom walls and front of the building and removal left lots of these little white spots.  

The lock mechanism classroom cleverly hides inside a shelving unit at the rear of the classroom and the cardboard there came off quite easily. On the front, the cardboard came off easily enough, but the glue...  not so much. I cleaned it as best I could before realizing I'd have to buy Glue Gone, adhesive shelf liner, or both.  Elbow grease just wasn't going to do the job and my lower back was cussing me.

I removed only the worst of the bulges in the cardboard here.  They'll put new wallpaper in the classroom.  My elbow grease dispenser and back were not up to the task unless I waited and I'm a Get-Er-Done type.  Waiting is not my forte.  I decided the only issue in the second room is a big Monster High logo on the wall. Nothing choosing a sticker that can be the school team logo can't fix.

Marble shelf liner, a couple of bears, and an adhesive sink back splash.  The tiles on a Barbie scale will look like huge blocks of marble.  While I like the look and had enough left to do a wainscotting in the classroom, it tore so easily I changed my mind.  Good thing it was only a dollar.

The front of the school without pillars.  The Monster High logo above the door is part of the lock mechanism.  There are logos molded into the doors as well.  Getting rid of them is beyond my abilities and inclination.  The architect, then, was Midge Hadley.   

Pillars in place.  I'll have to do away with the gargoyle or come up with a Barbieville explanation for the other's absence.  I do like the look of the pillars by the entrance.  The only issue I have with the other outer wall is a very small logo on the backboard.  I had a plan for it, but it didn't work out as intended.  More on that later.

The finished classroom.  Obviously Barbieville's team is the Bears.  Or maybe the Bruins.

OK, so he's too big and trimming him just looks stupid.  Off he goes, taking the printed logo and surrounding pink with him.  I didn't want another totally marble wall, so only covered a straight line across from above the lowest point damaged.  

There is a small bulge in the green loft wall.  It's not an issue.  The wall with the lockers is good. Except for a border between the pink and the marble, this room is done.

I cut the small bear from the decal packaging.  He was a picture of a car window with the decal in place, just in case the buyer wasn't sure how to display them.  Trimmed him carefully to put over the logo on the backboard, but he was actually too small!  So he's hanging out over the doorway on the locker side of the central wall.  

Border for that marble/pink join, the backboard logo, and the classroom clock are the only bits left.  Right now the clock face is a bare marble circle.  Here's the backboard. For all intents and purposes, this school is ready for use.  My Barbie children point at me and giggle...  it's summer!  Little do they know how much pull I have with the Barbieville School Board.  

**Edited to add**

It occurred to me after posting that the school, with its web motif, was better suited to a team called the Spiders. The bears came off the walls!  I already had spider decals, so I found two that looked enough alike to serve as team logo.  One went in the center of the clock.

One went above the windows in the hallway/cafeteria.  Black electrical tape makes for a border on the marble/pink join.  I can't believe it took so long to think of Spiders!  So obvious!

Electrical tape here as well.  NOW the school is ready.