Dolly Lifehacks!

I'm curious if anyone has any tips for improvising things like doll furniture and accessories during quarantine when most stores are closed and you can only buy essentials

 

Cardboard, cardboard, cardboard! With an exacto knife, glue/tape, and paint you can make just about anything!

 

This is going to sound silly, but: sticks. They're just outside, they're free, and you can make all kinds of stuff out of them! You can build furniture, create props (staffs, wands, etc.), and whatever else you can think of. It's best for rustic decor, since even shaved of bark they'll still be obviously wood, but if you're really gung-ho you can sand/carve them down into smooth shapes. It's free real estate wood!

My only tips here are to make sure the wood is dry, and test it (try to "bend" it, see if it snaps easy) to make sure it's not rotten.

 

Make friends with someone who has grape vines...
Vines have to be pruned every year, and the cuttings are strong, flexible and can be woven into all sorts of things.

 

Cheap plastic furniture for playline dolls can get a new look with spraypaint so they're not so....pink and cheap-looking.

Also, if you can order in a sheet of balsa wood, it's strong yet easy to carve.

 

I’ve got a few. My favorite trick is keeping a “decapitation cord” in the head. About a foot of ribbon, fabric scraps, or thick yarn can fit in a msd head if you ball it up. If I use a slightly wider strip of woven fabric, it can easily bunch up in the curve of the s-hook, but spread out when pulling so it isn’t cutting into your hands as much. It’s easy, portable, and cheaper than the real tools. Just don’t pick one that stains or anything too thin; you have to wrap the cord around your hands or fingers to get a good grip and tension. Thin string will leave red marks on your hands. Wider cords need the same pressure, but it spreads it out.

I found out the hard way that tape apparently works on ink stains. I accidentally got ink from a ball point pen on one of my dolls, then she sat for about a day before I noticed it. By taking scotch tape, pressing it down and rubbing on the stain, then pulling it back off repeatedly, I was able to get a lot off before I went for the magic eraser. Then rinse a bit to make sure the sticky is off. Not perfect and I only tried on non-sealed resin, but it’s a good quick fix.

A simple tube top out of ribbed knit fabric will help keep female dolls from “showing” through their thin shirts. It will slightly bulk out the doll so a bodice or shirt might not fit the same, but the front will look smoother. The texture will keep anything from poking through too visibly.