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Using Ideas from Past Diorama Discussions - by DeeinNJ
(May 2006)

Hi, everyone. Thanks to Audrey and Vin, I’ve been on a mini vacation from the Diorama Discussions, but I’m sure you’ll agree that their ideas were so Discussion worthy that they needed to be featured. That brings me to today’s topic. The point of the Diorama Discussions is to inspire, provide tips and ideas, to share our creations and to encourage creativity with our doll displays. One of the reasons I invite guests for the DDs is it’s nice to have varied perspectives and different ideas. Then, we all can take the ideas and let them inspire us to create our own displays. I am always interested in what others have to show. If you’ve got something you’d like to share, whether an original or something inspired by a Diorama Discussion... let me know! That said, today I’m going to show how a person (in this case me, but it could just as easily be YOU), can take the inspiration from past Diorama Discussions to create new displays that fit your needs. Today I’ve created a MOD boutique. I had some cool Mod fashions and accessories, and I’ve been wanting to create a little Mod shop. For today’s Discussion, I’ll refer to the past Diorama Discussions where some of these ideas were featured. If you missed them, just visit the Diorama Divas link at the top of the board to see what you missed! First, let’s look at the set-up and see where the inspiration came from. SOURCE: ROOM WITH A VIEW & BACKDROP BASICS I used the magnetized walls of the Clea Bella’s Room with a View as my set and tacked up large sheets of white paper to serve as the backdrop for my boutique. If you don’t have The Room with a View or something similar, use the tri-fold science project boards that come in different colors. If they don’t have the color board you want, paint it or cover it with a different color poster paper, gift wrap, fabric, etc. to get the look you want. SOURCE: BACKDROP BASICS & GETTING CREATIVE WITH DESK ACCESSORIES - I cut a photo of some Mod accessories from a magazine and used it as art for my walls. - I made the center display shelves and the wall shelves with the Eldon desk accessories from Audrey’s Discussion. Instead of attaching feet onto the letter sorter, I just used two of the business card holders underneath to give it some height. SOURCE: MY SCENE DRESSING ROOM PLAYSET Although many of the furnishings in this shop aren’t from the My Scene Dressing Room playset, you can find more examples of repainted playline furniture in that Discussion. I used pieces from the Bratz Cosmetic Counter and painted them all black. They serve as my check out counter. I repainted the purple mirrors on the pole black and added sunglasses to the little display shelves.(see photo below) The pole also came with the Bratz Cosmetic Counter. SOURCE: MAKE A FOLDING SCREEN In the corner behind the sunglass display is a folding screen I made from card stock and gift wrap. I had a roll of this mod giftwrap and since I’m the “screen queen,” thought I could make a neat prop for the shop! I elevated the screen with a black jewelry box that was too cool to throw out. . SOURCE: GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS & MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR PROPS These Discussions focused on saving items from playline sets, taking stuff apart, keeping the little goodies that come with outfits & dolls and mixing them with other stuff to use later on. Like in the Getting Down to Business Discussion, I used some Rement room miniatures. The orange cubes in the shoe display were from a little mod room. The orange cube trunk was from a Generation Girl Blaine, I think. It holds (get this) record albums. Also from Rement is the little “table” that is elevating one of the dress forms in the center display. Of course, when I first saw that little table, I knew it was too small for my dolls, but it would serve nicely for this purpose or as a plant stand or pedestal for a vase, etc. Don’t ever discount those little objects. All of the graphic patterned boxes in the boutique came with My Scene play sets. So did some of the little plastic boxes, etc. The dress forms also came with My Scene sets or are from the Fashion Fever outfits and the heads came with the My Scene Hollywood Dressing Room set, but Fashion Fever also offers these. The mod fur covered stools came from a Miss Cool playset (Who’s she?) and the table in the shoe area was from the Real Friends house. As you can see, this room is a hodge podge of ideas gleaned from the Diorama Discussions. It was fun setting up the shop, now the girls step in for a bit of fun! Most of the fashions modeled by the gals were created by our own very talented Gwen of Gwendolyn’s Treasures. She is a genius at mod. Kyori, of course, is wearing a Barbie Mod repro.   Silver is the proprieter and she's making sure her customers find something "groovy." Vanessa steps out of the dressing room in a wild outfit she just picked out. "how do I look?"     This Vanessa feels accessories are a girl's best friend. Check out those earrings by DeZyns by Joy!     Silver has just rung up Kyori's purchase... a silver mini dress! (Can't wait to see her modeling it soon!) Even though the Mod boutique is a bit WILD as a backdrop for these even WILDER fashions, it was fun setting it up and taking some pics! So, visit the Diorama Diva archives and get some inspiration for a project of your own... then Wow us all! Til next time, DeeinNJ