And now, on with our program…
Are you slightly craft impaired? When it comes to painting small detail, are you all thumbs? Does the smell of strong paint fumes make you woozy? If so, this is for you… Galaxy Markers. Although I dabble in crafts, I’m really not as talented as some of the folks here, so I get by with what I know. Being a scrapbooker and paper crafter, I have lots of tools that I make use of in the doll world. One of them is Galaxy Markers.

These are opaque markers that are available at craft stores, usually in the scrapbooking section, but sometimes in the art or paint section. They come in lots of colors and different points. I particularly find that the “metallic” markers cover best when it comes to painting dolly stuff. I usually use gold, silver & copper. They work best on the hard plastic, but do cover the soft plastic, as well (see scrolly chair sample below, which was made of softer plastic). A great use for these is to add small details on things like those cheesy plastic perfume bottles that you get with playline dolls and fashions. Adding caps or coloring raised details is a snap.

I’ve used them for adding details to repainted playline furniture, as well as actually painting the furniture with these markers (so long as there’s not too much to cover). I’ve also used them to add hardware details on plastic purses, shoes, and belts… anything you want to add detail too. Yes, some of those My Scene bags are cute with a little jazzing up. The best part is they don’t smell, the points are fine and the ink isn’t runny. You can get a very sharp line and can really get into detailed areas without getting paint onto the parts you don’t want paint on. They are also very forgiving because unlike a brush, the thickness of the line does not alter with the pressure applied. In other words, keeping a steady and straight line is much easier to do.

Here is a sampling of some things I’ve used these markers on. I painted the legs on the aqua ottoman, added a gold rim around the repainted white coffee table. After spray painting the chaise, I used the copper marker on the chaise back and legs so it kind of looks like wood. I added the floral details to the black repainted counter and I changed this swivel mirror from red to gold just using the marker.

I also painted this entire chair with a marker because I have nowhere to spray paint in the winter and couldn’t wait for the weather to get warm to have my gold chair! (have you been there?) Again, the neat thing about these markers is your ability to quickly add details. Running the point of the marker along the beveled surfaces of furniture to add details is quick and easy. Here, I repainted the base of the My Scene Hollywood set black (formerly lavendar), then painted in the details with a marker. I also made the drawer pulls gold. I will feature more of this Hollywood set in a future Diorama Discussion.