How to light up tombstones with garden solar lights.

Over the past few years, I've tried a few different ways to light up my tombstones in my front yard graveyard, but all were too time consuming every year to put together or needed electricity.
So this year I decided to use the solar garden lights that I already had from the dollar store to see how they would work.

Your basic solar light without the stake

Tombstone Base Lighting

The first and most important thing to do is put fresh batteries into the solar lights.  In the fall you can't count on the sun to charge these lights up and they need to rely on the battery more.  There are 2 small screws under the cap, where the light is.  You should change the batteries on your solar lights every year, I usually take them out in the fall and put new ones in the spring anyway, so now I'll just start the tradition early and have to take the extra step to take the new battery back out.

You will need these simple items to convert your solar light into a tombstone base light.

• A sheet of black craft foam (it's cheap, already black and water resistant)
• Tin Foil (it's cheap, you probably already have it and it's reflective)
• 1/2 Dowels (it fits perfectly into the light base)
• Wire, pipe cleaner, string (something to secure the craft foam to the light)

Cut the craft foam the height of the solar light and wide enough to wrap half way around.  Glue tin foil to the other side.

Most of the dowel goes into the ground at an angle

It lights up beautifully on only one side

Secure the foam to the light with whatever you have.  I used black pipe cleaner, since it was left over from another project.

Cut the 1/2 dowel roughly 4 inches.  Angle it into the ground so that the light shines up onto the tombstone, the black foam facing out.

                                                














You may have to collect the lights and recharge them during the day, if your graveyard is in shade.

After Halloween, simply take the craft foam off and save it for next year.

Etsy

Stinky Feet Back in Business

Well Folks, it's been awhile.  I'm afraid I got too busy with my career and got off task and lost track of the things I love to do most - CREATE!  Create anything really, be productive.  Achieve.

Recently I got back into thrift shopping and rescuing 18 inch dolls, I rescued a particularly poor soul that I didn't think could be saved without re-rooting all her hair.  THAT - I don't do.  I've made a wig or two in my time, but that's not the point to this story.  I got to work, tearing into the rats nest, some would call "hair" and discovered that in the middle of all that tangle was some descent, workable hair. I got to cutting and she ended up with a cute cropped layered bob that when curled, reminded me of a fifty's hair style. So I got to work putting her hair up into a rad rockabilly up-do, all documented in my doll rescue Facebook page and thought that she really needed a dress to go with her hair style.

I hadn't been sewing in some time and didn't have any interest to starting back up, but after searching the web, I couldn't find any cute 18 inch doll dress in the Rockabilly, fifty's swing style with rock'in fabric designs.  I couldn't even find a pattern.  So I went to work creating my own (I did later locate a pattern by Simplicity with the designs I needed, but too little to late).  After several failed attempts, I finally created a workable pattern and went to work finding fabric that would celebrate the style.  As I got to looking, I started getting all kinds of ideas for trim and accessories and before I knew it, this trash doll was gorgeous in her kick'in old school ensemble and tricked out Victory Rolls.

 

 I had fun sewing the dress and putting everything together and I had more than one fabric design, there were too many to choose only one.

So I thought I'd put a few more dresses together and opened the Etsy shop back up and we'll see what happens.  Either way, my little gal has a new life and I had fun.

Etsy

Making a base to anchor a dollarstore Styrofoam tombstone

This is a quick, how to make  a base for cheap Styrofoam tombstones so they will stand up and look nicer. I used 2x2 for small tombstones in the front and back with 1x2 on the sides and 1x4 for larger ones. I measured the base of the tombstone I was working on, cut 2, then measured the sides with the tombstone between the 2 2x2 pieces of wood. Pre drill 2 holes on the sides for your screws.  When putting in the screws, make sure the wood is tightly holding the Styrofoam. For a nicer look, add a piece of larger wood on the bottom for more base.

Then I painted each base gray before applying spray paint to make it look like stone. Each tombstone took me a little less than 10 minutes. If you wanted it to look really nice, I'd put wood filler in the joints of the wood to hide all the seams.  Even with the vase, these tombstones can be blown over in higher winds. You can drill holes in the sides of the wood and use tent stakes or sandbags.

I decided to drill 1/2 holes into the bottom of the base and put a 1/2 piece of dowel into the hole. I stuck the dowel into the ground and so far, the tombstones have stayed up really well. I didn't glue the dowels in so I can remove them for easier storage later. 

Read after pictures to see how they stood up to the weather. 

We had some pretty bad winds and heavy rains over halloween and I only lost 2 out out 25 tubs tones. Those 2 broke the Styrofoam right at the base of the wood. None tipped over though!  To prevent breakage, you could drill a 1/2 hole on the top edge of the base in the back and glue a 1/2 dowel inserted into the hole, painted. I gray onto the back of the tombstone. There's no way your tombstones will tip over or break and you can use them for many years. 

Etsy

Garden art, make something from nothing

I've been trying my hand welding and garden art. Here are some old gears that were thrown away along with some nuts and bolts I had laying around. All this was garbage!

I also took a walk down the rail road tracks to find old spikes and made mushroom garden art. 

At thrift shops I look for old tins, tea pots, plates and other random stuff to make bird houses. 

Lastly, I hunted for rocks, twigs and got some old Pallet wood and made art. 

               It's so amazing what you can make from what you think is nothing!

Etsy

Photographing Dolls

I am a skilled, award winning amateur photographer and one of my latest hobbies is photographing my dolls. 

   My Photography site, KJ Photography

                  Meet Ever After Rebel, Madeline Hatter, daughter of the Mad Hatter.

For this shoot, I set up scrapbook paper for the ground and background and a teapot I had as a prop.  I actually put it on my stove, so I could utilize my overhead stove light in addition to the kitchen light.  I shot several angles, it's hard to know which angle will look best until uploaded to your computer.   Then I ran some filters over it to achieve the look I desired. 

 Meet Ever After Rebel Doll, Cerise Hood, daughter of Little Red Riding Hood.

  For Cerise, I used a Neil Gaimen Book, The Wolves in the Walls as my backdrop and scrapbook paper for the ground.  I used an antiquing filter on both of these to give it a darker feel.

I'm having fun styling and posing the dolls, as well as finding the right backdrops.

My latest shoot I  made the strait jacket dress and padded room back drop.  It was a lot of work just to take some pictures, but it was a nice way to spend the day.

Etsy

Monster High custom clothes tips

I have been having a lot of fun designing and making clothes for MY (I say they are for my someday, but we'll see, LOL) Monster High dolls. After looking at the prices of these clothes, (WOW) and the awesome stuff people were doing, I thought, I sew, I can do that.  Then I tried sewing together a simple vest and soon realized that heming the arm holes, neckline and putting on sleeves, well, any one who makes clothes will probably say, "duh! Those are tiny, that's insanie!"  So I said screw it, I'm gluing those suckers.

Check out my Etsy store

Hot glue works amazingly well on fabric and hold seams together just as well, if not better, than stitching. There are some tricks though. 

1) wipe the fabric seam on the end of the glue gun to get just a tiny bit of glue and smooth it onto the seam. You don't want a bead or string of glue, the glue will harden and it won't be flexible if the glue is too thick and it will make your needle sticky, which will make your machine not work. 

  

2) squeeze/pinch the fabric together with your fingers. Yes, you will get glue on your fingers, but using such a tiny bit of glue will not burn them.  Then trim any excess glue and/fabric with scissors. 

3) stitching doesn't matter on sleeves or arm holes, but can stitch over the neckline and it's so much easier!  Also the glue keep the edges from fraying. 

4) glue on collars, buttons, belts! Lace and ribbon. So much easier and holds up great!

5) last tip, I zig zag all my edges before heming, that way I don't have to double fold and the edges won't fray. Or you could use fray stop. But that that takes a while to dry. I don't have the patience. 

6) it's important to remember, these detailed type of clothing are not for hard use or play, or for small children. 

Also, it's fun posing them for pictures!  My husband says all I do is play with dolls all day, making them clothes, furniture, cases, redisning their house, doing their hair and taking pictures... Well, yeah!  It's a great life. 

Check out my other blogs for DIY doll stuff using card board. 

Made this special for Clawdeen to go with her purple and black boots. 

Below is a custom design, requested by buyer. 

Etsy