Showing posts with label diorama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diorama. Show all posts

3/10/2016

Barbie Exhibition Opens at the Museum of Decorative Dolls in Paris

From the Daily Mail.com 

The article I have linked to above is a must see if only for the photographs of this beautifully curated exhibit. Look carefully at the standing dolls to see how bendable (possibly armature) wire has been used to support the dolls without resorting to unsightly doll stands.

The settings that were built for the exhibit are a diorama lovers dream. Apparently many of the Silkstone dolls have been switched to articulated bodies in order to allow them to sit and pose. One wonders what type of bodies were used and if they had access to the recently released bodies or if they used other bodies.


Enjoy!


10/17/2015

The Best Halloween Diorama EVER!

Johanna in MD does it again. This collector is the embodiment of believing in the power of play. Her creativity and involvement with her dolls and their settings blows me away.

Just a few days ago she posted a picture of her diner with a new addition.


Today she posted pictures of the diner in Halloween mode. The details are beyond belief. Take some time to examine everything. You will be amazed.






All of the original photos are on Prego.

5/07/2015

My Ficon Gals and Brunel Visit the Parlor

I finally finished repainting Caroline's Parlor. It was not fun but definitely worth it in the end.
I used two shades of gray matte finish and semi-gloss white paint.
The window seat cushion is just temporarily wrapped in a scrap of upholstery fabric. I need to make a well fitted cover for that. The curtains will have to go as well. I'd like something more formal.
For the picture over the mantel I printed out several Matisse pictures I found on the internet and picked the one that I liked the best to go in this frame. I attached it to the wall using self-stick velcro squares.
My window view is the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. I loved it because of the cherry blossoms in the foreground in spite of the fact that there is no building that would have this view at this scale.

Furniture is Horsman. The fluffy white rugs are an Integrity Toy's product from long ago. 


The big issue with using a set with lots of verticals is perspective distortion. There are tilt-shift lenses that can automatically correct for this. I don't have one so I attempt to do the correction in Photoshop.

http://digital-photography-school.com/correcting-perspective-lens-distortion-in-photoshop/

http://www.photographyblog.com/articles/why_you_dont_need_a_tilt-shift_lens/


Brunel wanted to show off her new Chanel handbag


so she invited the Ficons for a parlor warming party. They don't get along very well.

It's not your turn to hold him yet. Go away.
Where's the food?
They all wanted to play with the dog; he was the hit of the party. No one paid attention to Brunel or the new parlor at all.


They finally left and Brunel got the puppy all to herself.




 The End of a dumb story.





1/18/2015

Not Just For American Girl Dolls Anymore

The very popular adolescent line of American Girl dolls offers accessories, furniture pieces and room settings which fashion doll collectors are going crazy over. As it turns out, these items which are made for the 18" American Girls actually work better with our 16" dolls!

First up is a shop called Grace's French Bakery which retails for a whopping $500. Prego member, Johanna, posted many pictures or her insanely fantastic collection which includes the La Patisserie and Grace's Pastry Cart  ($150) with her dolls.  If you look carefully, you will see Gene Marshall chairs and tables in the setting! It's perfect.



Johanna also showed us Samantha's Ice Cream Parlor  ($300) being visited by her Tonner Patience dolls.

Mike (laughon45) posted the following three rooms. He, like Johanna, has added other 1/4 scale furniture to enhance these American Girl rooms. All of the dolls he used in these settings are Kingdom Dolls.

Isabelle's Studio ($275) That's quite a transformation. I love it.


Caroline's Parlor ($300.) I want this one!


Photo by Seumas' Mom
 Juies Bed & Bedding ($125.) and Julie's Egg Chair Set ($100)
As if the Egg Chair weren't adorable enough, it is actually equipped with stereo speakers. You plug a cable from the chair into your own music source and your doll can enjoy.



Some retired American Girl pieces can be found on Amazon.com and on eBay.  Some sellers will say "fits American doll" when it's not genuine American Doll. It that matters to you, be aware.

3/17/2014

Dioramas By Amber Park

Amber is one of the most talented mini room designers out there. I don't know how this gal does it. She collects elements from near and far and combines them into the most visually appealing dioramas I've ever seen.
She has given me permission to reproduce some of the images here. I recommend clicking on each image to enlarge it so you can see the details. You won't believe your eyes.












Want to see more?
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/appark/
While there you can meet the inhabitants of her rooms and read their ongoing stories. It's definitely a soap opera.
 

2/11/2013

"Arrivederchi"

Count me among those who were stunned at the news of the Pope's resignation. That's all I have to say about that.

This photo was originally posted on Facebook today 1/11/13, however I cannot find the original or I would link back to it. If you have a link, please let me know.
Another collector posted it on Prego. I think it's a hoot.
I'm impressed by the amount of detail. At first I thought that the collector really did this fast but then I looked at the date - December, 2012.  Apparently it was not always called Arrivederchi (which means goodbye in Italian.) The priests are holding fashion magazines. There are fashion boxes all over with shoes spilling out amongst little shopping bags. One nun is admiring a tulle item....

Oh the stories the dolls could tell.

Note: The original title "Urbi et Orbi" definition from Wikipedia:
Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [of Rome] and to the World"; literally, "[to (the)] City and to [the] World") denotes a papal address and Apostolic Blessing that is given to the City of Rome and to the entire world, on certain occasions. It was a standard opening of Ancient Roman proclamations.
The blessing is given each Easter and Christmas in Rome from the central loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica, at noontime. Part of the urbi et orbi blessing is the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin through a plenary indulgence attached to the Papal blessing.

4/15/2012

Ultra-Fashionable Scene by Mike of Mike's Creations

Look at the details in these photographs! Amazing, right? I have spent the last 15 minutes looking over and over at this setting. The dolls themselves are gorgeous as Mike has a fabulous collection of stunning gals. The clothes are stunning, the props are perfect. What a joy.
Mike's caption for this setting is

 "Carta putting finishings touches on her collection & these frustrated models are not helping!!"






Be sure to click on this one to see the entire scene.
Mike posts on Prego as laughon45. His website link: Mike's Creations.

If you would like to see the original post on Prego click here.

7/28/2011

Dioramas by Amber Park

Posted on the doll boards today were photos by Amber Park of some of her amazing diorama creations.





Click here to see the entire set of images. You will not be disappointed!

7/06/2011

Let's All Build a 1/6 Scale Nazi Diorama

In spite of eBay's policy not allowing the listing of Nazi and/or Nazi related replicas, a seller based in Hong Kong is offering a multi-piece German desktop accessory set which includes a bust of Hitler, a miniature Mein Kampf and several other assorted desktop items. Hitler's eyes have been blacked out. I emailed the seller to ask if the bust was Hitler and he responded in the affirmative with several exclamation points after the word YES. He was very happy about that. The winged item is the partially blacked out national insignia of the Third Reich. Yes, girls and boys, you can get educated by playing with Nazi replicas! Oh, fun. 

They also listed a desk and chair set but that sold out. From the image I cannot see the insignias on the desk.


You may wish to populate your diorama with this Third Reich character, also selling out of Hong Kong but the seller ID is different:
3R Stands for Third Reich
 
  

Their disclaimer:
"This product is for historic education purposes only, and is not intended to glorify, nor exploit the horrors and atrocities of war!"
















If we don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind.


6/09/2011

Hershey's Hommes

While on vacation this past week, I still browsed my favorite sites and came across these wonderful pictures of Zanifa Payne's (aka Hershey) Homme dolls.





I'd never seen so many Homme dolls in one collection and I was intrigued so I sent a few questions to Hershey.
Here is the text of her reply:
Apart from the twenty-two and counting Fashion Royalty Hommes, my collection also includes over one hundred Fashion Royalty female dolls, close to a thousand Barbies, countless miniatures, pets, vehicles, Barbie play sets, clothes, jewelry and numerous Re-ment sets. Basically the list is endless and all the items I collect are in 1/6 scale (Playscale). The male Fashion Royalty dolls are one of the smallest sections of the group, and I mainly collect them to be coupled off with my favorite female Fashion Royalty ladies, as an accessory of sorts. They are on display all the time in one of my many dioramas, such as the bar, cafe or barber shop. Collecting dolls began when I started to build 1/6 dioramas, and this dates back over 10 years.
My website www.lifecirclez.net (offline while I undergo updates) was started in 2003 and was created to facilitate the many photo stories that flooded my mind. The most notable being the Breast Cancer Awareness Convention and the Hurricane Preparedness story. Some of my past dioramas can be found on my Flickr photo stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/32312740@N06/

My ultimate goal is to build a city for my dolls with dioramas representing places such as a post office, supermarket, theater, dentist office and many more, possibly that room will become a museum of sorts.  This life of collecting, writing stories and playing with dolls will probably continue throughout my life, as it continues to bring me joy and permits an outlet for my daughter and I to enjoy together. 

Zanifa suggested another of her pictures to post here:


The fact that the dolls are dressed mostly in black creates a unified and powerful impact on the viewer. What a fun photo.

I highly recommend her flickr which you can find under the name,  citycirclez's photostream.

It's so amazing what people do with their dolls.