Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The Tasha Tour - Finally!

I was going to post this last weekend, but my internet and main computer got fried by lightening last Friday. The internet was finally repaired today, but I'm going to try and hold out until Black Friday to replace my PC. I'm working from a much smaller laptop and it is quite the adjustment. I'll see how long I can stand it before I break down and get something bigger. If anyone has any desktop or laptop brand recommendations I'll gladly take them.

Anyway, on with the tour!


This is actually Tasha's Place 2.0 because I made a diorama for her before in this old 2012 post.  Compared to the first version, I think that even though my design style remains the same, my ability to construct more elements has improved. I'm still slow as crap, but I have to move at my own pace or I get sloppy.


Here's the back view. I taped 3 pieces of foam board together as my walls and they are sitting on top of 3 pieces of contact paper that still have the backing on them. Anything that was held in place using straight pins were counter weighted in the back with cardboard. I also covered the tip of the pin with an eraser so I wouldn't poke my boobies. That's my awesome cardboard caddy that you see on the side of the table.


Since the main 3 walls are taped together I can open the left and right walls fully to get better angles when taking photos.

Open concept kitchen

The island table is really small, but fine for two people

Tasha's little message board

I don't have a lot of stuff to fill the shelving with but it's still cute

Living room

My favorite item is this cabinet made from the box my phone came in

These curtains were a pain, but I like the end result
The rods are bamboo skewers with beads on the end

Sexy fireplace and equally sexy red column

The view you get with the left wall completely open

Simple entryway and side wall separating kitchen

View from above

Anthony shows us the scale of the door

And the scale of the entryway

Then he went rooting for food

I know it seems like it took me 2 months to do this, but in actuality, it took 8 days because that's how much time I actually spent working on it. Like I said, I'm kinda slow, but I get there eventually, lol

73 comments:

  1. Wow!!! This is incredible! <3

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  2. I can't wait to see the next episode Muff. :) excellent job! :D

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    1. Thanks, Tracey! I'll start taking pics for it this weekend.

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  3. I love it Muff you did a great job. But now your making me want doors and entry ways and they are not on the list just like a fireplace wasn't until I saw yours. You made me stop what I was working on so I could try my hand at making one. Nobody needed that! LOL

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    1. LOL, Mustiwait! I totally understand. I often start one thing only to be distracted by an overwhelming need to make something else. That's just the way it goes.

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  4. I remember someone quoting In Living Color on one of your older post so umma take it a step further and say " 2 snaps, a twist, and a kiss ah you cant touch this" because this is freaking awesome!! Love errthang you did to this!!

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    1. Hahaha, Jay! I'll take that compliment with a snap and a twist back.

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  5. Oh, so inspiring, Muff - I really should be starting my diorama... I love that white cabinet from your mobile phone box so much! Now I know why I didn't throw away my box - you just gave me one great idea :) Thanks and keep up the good work :)

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    1. Hi, Shasha! I think Chynadoll was the first person I saw use their phone box in a dio and the idea stuck in my head. Very glad I got to do it for myself. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. This is phenomenal! I can not close my mouth right now, like...for real. To me, eight days isn't slow at all but it's evident you took time and EXTRA care in the details. It looks as if you spared no expense and that's the beauty of it because you pulled off MyFroggy Stuff style on steroids, LOL. Well done Muff, I mean...I'm runnin' out of words to describe your talent. Super excited to see the next episode, this is such a treat. :)

    Oh, and...Anthony better get out of Tasha's refrigerator before she catches him. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Tracy India! You know I spared all the expense I could. One of my many mottos is go cheap or go home, lol. You just gotta pretty-fie it to make it look expense. Anthony aint scared of Tasha - at least that's what he says when she's not around to hear him.

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  7. Wow, your house for dolls is fantastic :) It's great job Muff !!! I love it, especially your cabinet with fireplace and guitar and other things. My congratulations...
    Greetings from Poland :D

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    1. Greetings from Florida, Marille and thanks for commenting!

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  8. Thank you for this tour in Muff's Studios

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    1. LOL, Sergio, you are welcome. Always free admission at Muff's Studios.

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  9. It's awesome! I love to see the backstage of a diorama. As I'm new in this kind of stuff, it's actually very interesting to see how thing really work. Your diorama looks like a real stylish house!

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    1. Hi, V and thank you! Even though they take a lot of time (at least for me) I think making dioramas are a lot of fun and a great creative outlet because you can try and do so many things to them.

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  10. 👏👏👏 this is awesome! I'm loving all the work that went into this! Aren't those cell phone boxes handy? Every box I look at becomes a target to use! Love your use of bamboo sticks ! Once again GREAT job Muff

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    1. Hiya, Chynadoll! I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure you are the first person I ever saw use their phone box in a dio so I've been holding on to mine for over a year knowing I would use it someday, lol.

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  11. Let me pick up my jaw from the floor, it's absolutely stunning! Looking at this diorama motives me to don't give up on mine.
    Excuse me offtop, but a photo of Silver Ash!!! I totaly love them & I made one of their concerts in Beijing, <3

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    1. Jewel Snake, I'm overly particular and that's probably why I don't get things done faster. It also doesn't help that I'll make so many different versions of things to see which one I like the best. If one method doesn't work I just try another. So, even if it takes you FOREVER, don't give up.

      Wow, you've seen Silver Ash in person! That must have been a blast.

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  12. Good job. I love a dio with wall angles and doors. Love how colorful and interesting it is.

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    1. Thanks, Roville! As I was doing it I thought it was looking a little garish so I tried to pull it all together by matching the colors throughout. Still, my own place is on the garish side so I guess that's just my style, lol.

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  13. I think I have girl crush on you. Fantastic work. Really inspiring.

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    1. Vita, you are going to make me blush with your girl crush! (^_^)

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  14. Wonderful diorama! I like the way you can open the walls to take shots from different angles. I have a collection of those little reading lights from the dollar store. I use them to light scenes sometimes so I liked seeing them clipped to the walls of your dio. The bendable necks make them really convenient. Thanks for sharing so many creative ideas.

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    1. Thanks, Limbe dolls! Most of my dio attempts before only had two walls or if it had three, only one could be removed. I always wanted to try one where I could really open it up and just move around in it. I finally broke down and bought foam board, otherwise I never would have found cardboard big enough or the same size to do it with.

      Yep, I got those lights from the Dollar Tree and they have been part of most dios I've made. Even if I don't use the light they make great clamps.

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  15. Well this is just fantastic. FANTASTIC! All your revamped furniture looks so awesome in here... and I have to say, it's your attention to details that just blows me away.

    How in the world did you make those little DVDs???? THEY ARE SO CUTE!

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    1. Thanks so much, Heather! To make the DVDs I cut a piece of compressed cardstock to shape, folded it in half, wrapped cover art around it and then taped it over the back and sides. This post is where I first showed them off and though this second post is for making books, the concept of taping down the cover art is the same. Hope this helps!

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  16. The boobies comment is still stuck in my head. Great job! Tasha is a lucky girl. Love that little cabinet with all those wonderful books and dvds. The doors are great. Great job on all the accessorizing. I'm looking forward to the rest of Tasha's story.

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    1. Vanessa, my boobies are on the huge size and given my accident prone nature I gots to protect them! It's annoying enough that I knock stuff over with them without getting straight pins stuck in them O.o

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  17. I love it! It's pretty damn amazing.

    Also, as computer recommendations go: don't get a Dell. They are bad. Newegg.com usually had pretty good deals on decent PCs. Other than that, it all depends what you use a computer for besides doll-related stuff.

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    1. Thanks for that compliment and recommendation, Kat! I was just looking at some Dell all-in-ones but now I'll research better.

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  18. Hello from Spain: I feel that your main computer crashes. I do not understand anything about computers. When is Black Friday??? You are very good at creating. This apartment is perfect. I like your painting furniture so real. I see the LIV dolls kitchen. I after seeing it in your blog also bought for my Barbies. I love it. I adore kitchen table. The small bulletin board is perfect. I love your kitchen shelf below the bulletin board. The curtains stayed very nice. For me it is very difficult to sew the curtains. The fireplace is fabulous. Great job. I think my Barbies want to go and live in that house! Keep in touch

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    1. Hi, Marta and thanks! Black Friday is the day after USA Thanksgiving which will be November 29th this year. There might be some Back To School sales as well and those will happen in August.

      Yay on getting a LiV kitchen. They are really nice and I think much better made than Mattel kitchens.

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  19. Tasha's place looks wonderful, Muff. I just love the way you re-purpose things. Your use of cardboard is amazing. I would never have known the cabinet was formerly a phone box.

    I like the expandable walls. Very clever.

    Due to lack of space, I would love to create a completely collapsible room, just one room that can be transformed into the type I want when needed by changing the furnishings and decor. Maybe one day.

    dbg

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    1. Thank you, Debbie! Even as a kid I was a box baby. You know, one of those kids that liked the box more than what was in it. I had the BEST fort when I was kid made out of a refrigerator box. I loved that thing.

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  20. Wow, that's so lifelike! Cool project! :D

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    1. Hi there, Cowgirl! Thanks for commenting! ^_^

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  21. Muff, I always want to work on something after visiting your crafty posts ;-D. I love your brick walls and the dry-wall (solid color walls) and how you repurpose cardboard and boxes, etc. to make a 1:6 scale home. Your accessories are fun, too. I squint to see the DVDs, CDs, and books.

    Oh and I love Anthony's boots/sneakers. He dresses well. (I like Anthony's character.)

    Looking forward to the next Tasha post.

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    1. Thanks a lot, Dana! Making you want to work on something is a great compliment. That brick wall was a pain. I wanted to have one permanent brick wall on foam board that I could use forever so I glued it on with modge podge. The board totally warped. I even put weights on it and it still bowed back out. I intended to have wood baseboards, but had to nix that idea 'cause you could see the gap between the board and the wood. Oh well, live and learn.

      Anthony is wearing Power Team boots. Without them his Justin Bieber pants would be high water.

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  22. wow... you made all that things???

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    1. Hi, Emma! Nope I didn't make everything - I wish I was that skilled. I made a few of the things and remodeled the rest.

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  23. You know your blog isn't showing in my follows...again! Ugg! Blogspot! I happen to see this on someone else's blog or I might not have known you did this. Really great job! You answered some question that I had in my mind but had not put in words. I love the doors and the scale of things. I love the way the walls swing out too. You style hasn't changed. It feels like Muff. I was hoping to do the home of my second Green family. You gave me some great ideas! BTW, did you send me and email. I got a strange email that looked like it came from you but I wasn't sure.

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    1. Hey there, Ms. Leo and thanks! I used my tallest doll who is 13.5 inches in heels to help me scale the door and frames. I figured 14.5 x 5.5 was a good measurement for any doll I might get in the future.

      Ignore any emails you get from me that have links or attachments. My email got caught up in spam that is making the rounds on yahoo.

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  24. Omg! I just love it! Every thing is so cute in this apartment! One question that i do have is how did you make the brown trimmed walls! I use alot of foam board but it only comes in certain colors. I love the little lights. Dollar tree does have some nice little finds!

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    1. Thanks, William! I have seen colored foam board at Walmart but the price is ridiculous. For my walls all the colored scrapbook paper is from a cheap pack at Walmart. I also used "skinny sticks" from their craft section, near the popsicle sticks. Except for using mod podge to glue up the brick paper (which was a huge mistake), all the other colored paper and sticks were put up using Handi Tak reusable adhesive. I got mine at Big Lots for $1.50 I think but they probably have it at Walmart too.

      While they were standing upright I taped the 3 walls together making sure the left and right walls were on the outside of the middle one. That way, I can fold them all the way backward for storage and still leave them attached and flat.

      Next, lay the walls down flat to attach your paper. I was going to have a baseboard so I put the paper on 1/2 inch from the bottom so I could have clean foam board to stick it to. That didn't work out but I still have that white section there and it "looks" like baseboard anyway.

      Cut a 12x12 piece of paper in half for your wainscot and adhere it down. Leave less than a 1/4 inch of space between that and a full sheet of scrap paper and adhere that paper down. Put Handi Tak on the back of the skinny sticks and place it in the small space you left between the two papers.

      If you want a striped wall, cut 12x12 pieces of paper into three 4 inch strips. Alternate the colors and tape the strips together and then adhere them to the wall with Handi Tak.

      Hope this helps!

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    2. Thanks Muff
      This definately helps alot!

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    3. Muff, I'm really find this info your giving quite helpful! You got some great ideas!

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    4. Thanks, Ms. Leo! Glad to know my ideas, wacky or otherwise can help others. ^_^

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  25. Muff, Muff, Muff, you are brilliant with paper, cardboard, etc! I am amazed at how well this all came out. I LOVE it!!! The colors are very nice. Great job girlfriend and I am looking so forward to seeing what you come ip with next.

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    1. Georgia Girl, thanks so much! ^_^ It was definitely labor intensive but I'm pretty darn happy with the results.

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  26. Wow, the cardboard wizard strikes again. This looks like a great place to live - I love all your details and particularly your bamboo skewer curtain poles. Your eye for scale is excellent and how typical of Anthony to go looking for food when you are using him to demonstrate.

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    1. Carrickters, if I were a wizard I would wave my wand and cast a spell to get this stuff done faster, lol! It does always feel like the nicest of magic when it all finally comes together like I saw it in my head.

      Yep, that was typical Anthony - food first, work later.

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  27. I forgot to say DO NOT buy a Gateway computer! I recommend HP, Toshiba, Samsung or Apple. I heard Lenovo is decent, too, but I've never had one.

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    1. Vanessa, Gateway was not a contender and now is definitely not, lol. HP was my goto brand but after having to replace 3 of them every 2.5 years, I'm kinda over HP. They obsolete way too quickly.

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    2. I'm also saving for a laptop right now because my Dell desktop moves like Ms. Daisy. I know Dell gets a bad wrap but I've had it for 10 years and until now, never had a problem with it. My play sis said the same thing about HP, that she's had 3 in 10 years and thinks that is a good buy. :/ I've never had a Toshiba or Samsung, can't afford an Apple but a Frye's Electronics person told me Acers are a good buy too. In all honesty, the brand is only as good as the people putting them together. Good luck to the both of us on getting a good deal on a lasting purchase. :)

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    3. Tracy and Muff - I say always check the consumer reports before buying any of them. I had the sales person at Best Buy pull of the consumer report right there in the store. I still have my HP from 15 yrs ago and it still works. I used it as a backup when my Gateway had power issues. Acer used to have screen issues and a few other quality issues. That may be better now, but the key is research. Be wary of computers sold on Black Friday. Make sure you check out the quality prior to buying.

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    4. Tracy, I'm the same when it comes to Apple. Even the smallest one they have is too rich for my blood. I'm working from an Asus right now because I listened to a sale person - my mistake. I think you are right, sometimes it boils down to who put the pc together.

      Vanessa, I always go to consumer reports for car buying but many times a PC is a crapshoot especially where longevity is concerned.

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    5. I always read consumer reviews or at least on Walmart, Target and Amazon's site before purchasing something like electronics. I'm actually still reading them here and there and HP has an OK rating but there are a lot of complaints, mostly about it not lasting. The funny thing is, I was chatting with my bro the other day and he mentioned that his computer is down. I asked him what model it is and he said it's an HP and that it was purchased 2 years ago in May. So, for me...I don't think I'll be getting an HP, LOL. Maybe I'm being a lil' superstitious but I just don't have cash to replace a laptop every couple of years. :) Good luck.

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    6. Tracy, when I was looking at laptops at Walmart the sales lady asked me point blank, why would I keep buying a brand that I had to replace every few years. She made me feel quite the fool and kinda rightly so, lol. At this point, I feel like no matter what I get it's going to be a waste of money.

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  28. Also where did you get the vid game controller? Is it Justin Beiber?

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    1. Yes Jay, it's from the Bieber Backstage play set. I think I got it from Big Lots for $14.99.

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  29. Ditto all the wows above! I love, love it! The flexible walls are great for limited spaces. super cute furniture redos . And i also think it is so great how you give advice about what worked and what didn't work. I need to get on with the doll play!

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    1. Thanks so much, DeMari. Even the entry way and kitchen side wall can removed. It makes it easier not just for photos, but for storage as well.

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  30. That is just flat gorgeous! How did you keep your walls from sagging/warping? That's the only thing that kills me about foam core.

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    1. Hi again, Tina! This was actually my first time working with foam core since high school so whatever I once knew about it I totally forgot. The center brick wall is actually warped because I applied the paper with mod pod. By the time I noticed it was bowing out as it dried, it was too late. I did try to weigh down the foam with some heavy books but it just bowed back out after a while. I now know if I want to semi permanently adhere paper to it I need to use glue stick because a wet application will bend the Dollar Tree foam board.

      The left and right walls are fine because I stuck the paper to them using Handi Tak. I used pretty small rolls, but made sure to apply at 4 at each edge of the paper. So far it's holding up rather well!

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  31. Oh my God... This is awesome! I wanna thank you for your idea with the cabinet! I think that I've got the same phone :) So if you don't mind I'll copy that!
    Much love :)

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    1. Hi Eibhlin and thank you so much! I don't mind at all if you copy because I copied from someone else as well, lol.

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  32. LOL :) Now I feel better with your permission ;) LOL And I must say that your Power Team Boys are gorgeous! Especially Kevin. For now on... I'm a huge Fan of your blog :) Oh yes! Thank you that you followed my blog to :)
    Have fun ;)

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