Re-using clothes and objects from other things for your BJD

We have car boot sales in the UK
Fab for finding anything!

 

That was a great find! American Girl has such cute furniture, but it costs an arm and a leg to buy it new. My crew is just going to have to settle for "shabby chic"! I did find an AG armoire at the thrift store for $12 - didn't take long to grab that! I agree - it was tempting to sell it and add to the dolly fund. But it's soooo cute, and the clothes hang up on nifty little hangers, and it matches the girls' bed. Sigh. Guess I'll keep it for a while.

 

Lizzerd - thank you. I'm checking it out now.

 

=D Yeah! I totally found this jewelry box that was made to look like a little dresser, with opening drawers and everything! $6, beautiful, all wood, and fits a bunch of my yo's and tiny's clothes and jewelry!
Love it!

 

Yardsales can be a goldmine as well! Just yesterday I found an amazing msd sized fainting couch for just 3 dollars. You really just have to keep your eyes open when you're out and about and it's amazing. Unfortunately now I have a very girly fainting couch and a very not-girl boy doll. >.>;

 

I find my props all over the place. A few weeks ago I was at a craft fair and I saw a necklace with a mini telescope on it, I actually bought it for myself to wear, but when I took it off the necklace it turned out to be the perfect size for my doll. It opens and closes too and actually magnifies things, so I was pretty thrilled with that find. I have a deck of mini cards that I got from a Christmas cracker last year too.

 

Thrift stores are great! But I keep in mind to be selective and not to take every single thing I run into with me, because I might end up with too much stuff that I don't need :P... Thrift stores are also great for finding fabrics. In the clothes section you can often find a lot of clothes with patterns that are the perfect scales for doll-clothes. But same here... don't bring home more than you can actually use or you'll end up with a gigantic stack of things you might never end up using! :P

 

I found alot of minitures in the forms of out of production 80's decorations. Like miniture baskets which are perfect for a 1/3 scale to carry casually! I shop thift to buy the materials i need to make outfits too!

 

Liv dolls. I harvest the eyes. They are the perfect size for tinies. They just pop out if you squeeze hard. I get the naked and bald dolls at the thrift store for 2 bucks. Also Liv wigs can be used for the right BJD size. My friend has an Impledoll Aimee and the wigs fit her. The hair is really nice and soft and can be bought in many colors and styles. I've killed my share of porcelain dolls too. Usually for clothing.

 

So, I last night I was digging through my childhood toy box, and I found a whole bunch of stuff from barbies and other dolls I had, including clothes, cars, fake food, little objects, and even a little guitar xD

There are some pieces of clothing from other dolls that look like they might actually fit my BJD O: Which would be cool, because then that means I already have some clothes for her xD

• Do you do the same thing, or are you a company/brand buyer and only buy things specifically designed for your BJD?
• If you do recycle stuff, what sort of clothes/objects have you recycled?
• Did you change/alter any of the stuff for your BJD?

***Please delete this thread if it's a repeat, I tried looking through some pages of the GD and couldn't find a similar thread, but I could be wrong***

 

If I find nonbjd stuff that works for my bjds, that's great and I'll use them. I have the best luck with things like furniture and props. Depending on the size doll you have, clothing can be harder since bjds are often proportioned differently than other dolls out there. It can be hard to get nonbjd clothes to really fit right.

 

I'm always looking out for stuff I can use, in thrift and antique stores. And I regularly recycle Goodwill clothes into doll clothes. Some of the things I look for-clothes with soft, thin fabric, leather gloves, leather garments, silk shirts/dresses, knit shirts with tiny patterns (kids/baby clothes are good). I'll also buy new kid/baby clothes on clearance. You just can't find the tiny little patterns on them in the fabric store, so they're great for tiny clothes. Some men's shirts also have very small stripes/checks that make great doll shirts. I found a couple of maternity blouses that were stretch knit and made superb tights.

The thrift/peddlar's mall/antique stores I use mostly to look for furniture and props. Found a really cool oval picture frame a while back that was perfect for a mirror in Florian's house, should I ever get the set built. It is something I will modify-it has one rose at the top (it's plastic), so I'll make a whole epoxy garland, then prime and paint it.

 

I use a lot of my old shirts that I either don't want or don't fit me anymore, to sew new clothes for my doll

 

Not exactly answering your specific questions but this thread might interest you.

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...g-finds-for-dolls&highlight=interesting+finds

 

• Do you do the same thing, or are you a company/brand buyer and only buy things specifically designed for your BJD?
Gotta love reusing things. I do both. ^^

• If you do recycle stuff, what sort of clothes/objects have you recycled?
Clothing and props. ^^ Even though I make clothing. If I see clothing I have that fits, then of course I'll use it. ^^ Also I love to collect props; since I do figure photography as well, also with my other doll, I just get props that'll fit in general, including ones that are from old toys and look decent. ~

• Did you change/alter any of the stuff for your BJD?
So far no. \( ^o^ )/

 

Sometimes I look for items made for other dolls like clothing or books for toys that I can give to my doll

 

I have a doll couch and wooden dresser that I randomly found which are in scale with my dolls, I love finding stuff like that I think it's really hard to find things not meant for bjds that are good enough quality/fit or in scale to use though. Most things for other dolls are either cheap plastic (usually pink) and the clothes are way too short and wide to fit a bjd properly (and in a flattering way).

 

Lorifina clothes fit my Dollmore kid perfectly. Unfortunately they discontinued them a few years back...

 

Many of my bjds wear clothes made for other kinds of dolls. Kim Lasher's Anya is wearing an outfit made for a Helen Kish doll. Even the boots fit, which is really unusual.

 

I am also a harvester. It started when a porcelain doll arrived (sadly) smashed. I just loved her outfit. Her outfit and wig now grace another doll. Now I find myself looking at everything in a different light. It is amazing what you can find and use.