Today is our first Diorama Discussion Open Forum and we hope that you'll participate and help make this feature a much-anticipated favorite on Doll Divas. I invite you to post anything from pics of dolls in great settings, neat props, photos of finds at the dollar store or while shopping, stuff you've made, tips for making stuff, questions about making stuff, or just favorite photos of dolls in great settings. It's OPEN... so post what YOU want and continue to post your topics under this thread. We'll try to pick some highlights from this thread each time and archive them at the top of the board, so if you have something cool to share (whether you've posted it before or not, post it here and maybe you'll see your work in the Diorama Diva archives. To start, I thought I'd post a couple of pics that show how I solved some pesky scale issues. As you know, sometimes we use props from different dolls and the scale isn't quite right. Also, with toy makers enlarging and shrinking the gals these days, it's tougher to find the right scale than it used to be.

Here's a photo of a Happy Go Lightly reroot by Susan K! I used the Room with a View brick wall backdrop by Bella Productions to create my city wall. Then I added the Bratz phone booth. Of course, Bratz are a bit short, so I found a square gift box that was just the same size as the base of the booth and just elevated it a little bit to make the height correct for Barbie. Next, I used a cool fenced greens arrangement that I was given at one of our Barbie Club meetings. It was made by the meeting hosts! At the same meeting, I bought this little window with a window box attached. I think I got it from a fellow club member for $2 or so. I backed that with black paper to darken the windows. Then, I hid a small block of wood behind the plants and sat the window on it to get it to the level I wanted. Eventually, I will glue magnets on the back of the window so it sticks to the wall, but until then, the block of wood does the trick. The sidewalk is made from sheets of paper I bought at a miniature shop.

Next is the Rement beauty counter. If you have it or have seen it, you know it's a bit short, so I found a nice ivory box lid to serve as a platform to give it some height. I stocked it with some more Rement cosmetics, some Barbie perfumes, Bratz bottles, and of course, some faux fragrance sets by our own Diva Details (Audrey). I used the lid of a chocolates box (for Barbie) as a tray, painted the On Sale frame from a My Scene set and snuck in a Silkstone hat box. I threw in a couple of repainted and recovered Gloria dining chairs, and a potted plant, for some atmosphere. The easel sign I created on my computer. You can see Barbie as a blur in the foreground. I used forms of both these photos in the Barbie as an Icon article in the current issue of FDQ magazine. Although I didn't use these shots, I shot these two for future use here on Doll Divas to demonstrate how some great props can really make some nice photos or displays for your gals. OK - now it's your turn!! Let's see what you've got... or just ask some questions of the Diorama Divas and Divos who frequent the board!!

Til next time,
DeeinNJ