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Showing posts with label Diorama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Diorama. Show all posts

2010 Convention - Diorama and Fashion Competition

I think there were more diorama competition entries this year than I have seen in the past. People really put their time and effort into some great little works. There was one gigantic diorama which I can't really call a diorama - it was more of an installation. A separate category should have been created for it. It won and it certainly deserved an award for the electronic devices and the incredible amount of work that went into it. Unfortunately, the other dioramas were overshadowed by it's size. There were a few others that ought to have been recognized as well. I also believe that people who are part of a convention team including teachers, helpers, et al should not be eligible for prizes. Again, it is better to avoid the appearance of impropriety when running contests, raffles and such.

The fashion categories had delightful entries. Hopefully, after several  years the announcers will realize that a picture of the winning items ought to be projected onto the screen when the winner is presented. Very few knew what each person had created (except for the winning diorama.) It was nice to see that the winners actually got something besides a plaque or a ribbon for their efforts.

I thought they were all winners. When entering a competition like that you really put yourself out there and being recognized for the effort is important.

Several entries are missing from my photographs because I took the pictures early on Thursday before some items arrived at the hotel and there just wasn't any time after that! I apologize to all whose beautiful work is not represented. I wish I had them all with your names right alongside. If you can help to identify the images, please let me know. You can click on each photo to see an enlarged version. Enjoy!







Deb Buckner








Lori Lyon

Janice Delp



Karen Kolkman

Gin-O




Veronica Hage




Veronica Hage


Janice Delp (Halloween of the Future)

Janice Delp-left

Lisa Ramsammy

Bella Productions Offers New Slim RWV Wall Units

The original Room With a View standard wall unit opens to 53" wide and is 20" tall.
I bought the one that is magnetic on both sides and it's very heavy but quite sturdy. (I believe the double sided one has been discontinued.) I've used it tons of times with large and small dolls and I recently purchased several new wall papers and floors. Tonner and Gene furniture items are perfectly scaled for this size unit. My doll photography style tends to zoom in so that the entire room is never fully visible. But it's fun to set up an entire room even if it doesn't make it into my pictures. I can really play. A while back I purchased several flexible magnetic panels elsewhere with the intention of creating some unique items for my RWV. Did I get to it? That would be NO. So full of ideas and so little time.

For those of you who are not familiar with the RWV here is the description from the website:
"a magnetic wall system which consists of a foldable wall unit and a large range of decorative panels and parts. The parts stick to the metallic side of the wall unit. Collectors can easily create their own miniature doll sets and dioramas. And, when it's time to put the fun away, RWV collapses for easy storage under a bed or in a closet. Perfect for 10" to 16" dolls."

Several months ago a second, smaller size was introduced called the RWV Slim. It is 20" tall and 43.5" when opened flat. Today an even more compact size called the RWV Folio was introduced. It consists of two 14.5" panels which open out to create a corner backdrop. That sounds really useful and easy to use!

Bella Productions has also begun to offer new solid color magnetic wallpaper panels and they are on sale this month.

Check out all the options at this link.


Here are a couple of different shoots I did using 16" dolls.

Tatiana's Doll House: The Bedroom

In the third instalment for Tatiana's doll house, I have the bedroom! Every house needs a nice looking bedroom to rest and relax and Tatiana's is no exception! Of course it is always in the style laid out for the rest of the house - black & white.



The bed and bedding are from the Fashion Royalty Loft collection furniture. This line of furniture was a hit with collectors and most items are very sought after. The bedside tables, trays, striped vases and lamps are from the Jonathan Adler Barbies.



Tatiana repainted lamp bases and trays that were originally hot pink (Barbie anyone?). The bench and vanity table are solid wood shadowbox frames cut with a miter saw - I can see she uses shadowbox frames a lot for making benches or side tables. For the vanity top she inserted a real mirror in the small wooden photo frame.



The Panton miniature chairs came with the Dynamite Girls convention chair pack given to the attendees of 2008 FR Convention. Integrity also sold a pack of chairs in an assortment of colours. The curtains are table napkins. 



The closet door is from Barbie House by Mattel. The hinges were broken by Tatiana's girls beyond repair, so she just cut them off and the closet was born! The fluffy white carpet is a piece of craft fur. The white vases, telephone and basket came with various Mattel play-sets, which Tatiana then repainted. The silver tea set is Re-ment and the tea tray was just a purple no-name doll accessory. 



The wine bucket and bottle are Gloria, the glasses are from a Fashion Royalty convention accessory pack. The small silver cushions came with a jewellery box that looks like a mini sofa - these are easy to find in accessory shops in various styles and colours.
I hope you enjoyed this month's room from Tatiana - back next month with another beautifully decorated room in black & white!

Picture of the Week Award ~ February 28, 2010

There are no dolls to be seen in this week's Picture of the Week but they may enter at any moment and look fabulous in this 1/6 scale hall/gallery diorama. At first glance, it looked real to me. Then I recognized the acrylic doll stand bases, the Fashion Fever mannequins and the wig stand. What made it look amazingly realistic was the lighting and the reflections on the shiny floor.

This wonderful scene was created by Alejandro Torres. I asked him to describe the picture and here is a summary of his response:

"With one snap of the camera, I justified not throwing away years worth of assorted plastic crap. I think like all of us, I have more Polyvinyl Chloride lying around the house than is probably healthy. I'm minimal about everything in my life except when it comes to my dolls and anything to do with them. When it comes to dioramas, I always see things as what they can potentially be in respect to a doll display. In the picture in question you see Fashion Royalty wig stands, the block bottoms of FR doll stands with Fashion Fever packaging parts in repeating patterns. The large mannequins were purchased for their wigs and then I was able to use them in another way. The walls are foam board and the elevator door was constructed by me."

This is more justification for us pack rats who are buried under stuff!

If you go to Alejandro's Photobucket album you will see not only photos of his dolls but more dioramas with and without dolls and other wonderful photography. I highly recommend taking a look.

Congratulations, Alejandro, on the Picture of the Week Award!

Tatiana's Doll House: The Living Room

As we promised, here is the second instalment of the presentation of Tatiana's doll house. In this post we visit the living room. I remind you that, as mentioned in the previous installment (dining room) the whole house will be made in black and white.



The room is another box made from double corrugated cardboard. Tatiana used oversize coverstock for walls and floor. The curtains are dinner napkins - black ones are faux dupioni silk, white is polyester. The console table and the TV bench are made from another one of the frames she got from a clearance sale. The back panel behind the TV was cut out from cardstock sides of the box that came with the Fashion Royalty bed (inspired by a visit to local IKEA store). Tatiana replaced the Barbie sticker on the TV screen with a cutout from the card that came with the registration gift at the Chicago Fashion Royalty convention. It may have to be replaced with a plain black cardstock later, but for now she likes how her dolls are watching Convention News!



The sofa and chairs are jewelry boxes. The black coffee table is from the Fashion Royalty Loft collection; the accessories on top of it were included: the shaker, glasses and champagne bottle in the bucket. The white carpet is just a piece of craft felt: Tatiana used two sheets for thickness. The two small side tables are acrylic risers from re-ment bakery cases, turned on a side with tops glued to them. Their sides, originally slightly sloped, became horizontal under the weight of the tops and lamps. The black mirrored tabletops are from a friend of Tatiana's - she is not sure what they are. 



The lamp shades, candles, telephones, vases, electronics and jewellery box come from various Mattel play sets. Tatiana repainted the vases, jewelry box and statuette, which is an Esmeralda figurine from kids candy. The lamp posts are from the Gloria playset. A piece of thin wooden rod and a clear bead were used to attach them to the lamp shades. She purchased inexpensive self-adhesive mosaic stones from the scrap booking section and placed them adhesive side up under the back legs of the sofa and chairs to level them up.


Tatiana says she had fun making this diorama and likes that her dolls finally have a modern living room; she was meaning to make this one for years. They sure look great sitting in there.


All photographs courtesy of Tatiana.