Current mood:	sleepy
Current music:	Rentrer en Soi - ギラギラ
Entry tags:	apaato, furniture, misc

Remake
Apart from making things, my equally big (or even bigger?) interest is remaking things. But as it is slightly less outstanding, I seldom post about it here. But wow, when I think about it, it's sort of like an obsession already. I think I'm remaking things too much o_O When I see cool things in their original form (lol) in the shop, I immediately have a vision how they're going to look after undergoing a severe process of astarisation. And while initially those changes were small and relatively simple, now I end up having real challenges ^^;

Examples:

- I don't remember when I last bought an item of clothing and decided to just let it be as it is. I have TONS of clothes waiting to be remade. I even started playing with shoes ._. (because remaking accessories is standard)
- Not being satisfied with the color cosmetics available, I mix them. I have my own mixes of lipsticks and lipglosses and nail enamels.
- I remix mp3s ~_~

And the most prominent example: my headquarters. So I have two fully furnished rooms where everything is new (apart from 3 wardrobes from the previous apaato - I modified them like hell though) and... the only major element or piece of furniture I have NOT modified or have not modified YET but plan to, is the chair in my working room. Because I happened to want it simple, black and comfy ._. Apart from that, it's eeeeeeeeverything. The chandelier, the sofa, mirrors, frames, curtains, flower pots, clocks, windows, door etc etc etc etc etc @_@;

Ah, but I'm not complaining, I'm just noticing it ^^;

Now I'd just like to show an awesome method of changing the color of wood of furniture~! The first (and test) subject was my main computer desk. I posted a picture of it when I bought it some time ago:

Wow, the doll looks completely different now XD I still haven't named her though...

But anyway, the desk! See its color? It's hideous. And definitely doesn't match my floor (which is the main reason I have to change furniture). I wanted it to be dark cherry *_* But as painting it with paint was out of the question (I didn't want to ruin the nice wood), I decided to try staining it. But in order to do so, I had to remove the layer of varnish. Doing so mechanically by sand paper would be stupid masochism so while prowling a flea market once I found an ojiichan who restores antiques and talked with him about it ^^ I don't think he took me seriously though because I was wearing a hat, lacey gloves etc ahah >_> But~! Ojiichan gave me a can of mysterious magical substance to remove varnish from wood. Oooh, but it really is mysterious, as the can was not labelled *_* And ojiichan told me to be extremely careful because it's explosive and acidic and lethal *____* And it really is, a few times there were some pressure reactions inside the can which resulted in the lid popping off. Oooh.

So I attacked the desk with it. After leaving a layer of that explosive goo for a few minutes, I removed it with something that looks like a bigger toothbrush but with metal hair. And the result was really magical!! The varnish was gone and the wood was in perfect condition, all smooth and dry and without a trace of the explosive goo. So the desk looked like this then:


(we're ignoring the mess around it oh ho ho~)



To achieve an ideal color I mixed 3 colors of stains: mahogany, chestnut and ebony. To apply it I constructed a special tool from an old mascara with an old powder sponge attached to is end (a sponge brush?). Yay for girly creativity XD




(Those darker spots mean that it's simply not dry yet)

I left out the marquetry field because I thought it should be more exposed. It looks really natural now~ Then I covered everything with half matt varnish and it was ready <3


(Those vertical cuts on the surface are because it can be opened and has a mirror inside)

I also used the same technique and stain on a very cool corner cabinet:


I'm not showing the rest yet because it's full of dolls and plushies and those await their own collective post.

Annnd on a mannequin~! I finally bought one! But the mannequin itself is in the process of thorough modification:
Because I wanted the mannequin to have similar measurements to mine, which are weird and because of my hourglassness I consist of 3 different sizes (that's one of the reasons I modify clothes so much XDDD), I removed a lot of centimeters from its waist (using a candle and a paper knife^^;;), plan to put some sponge in the hips, and remove even more centimeters from the neck. Seriously who on earth has such thick neck? Tatsurou. I also will change the black lycra suit into something beige.

So I changed the wooden elements:



And painted its silver pipe gold (I have no silver elements in my living room).

I also named the mannequin! It's Maneko. 'Mane' from mannequin and 子. But it's written 魔猫!!! Ahahahahah XD lame, I know
Before and after pictures:



The top is an example of remade clothes. It's Calvin Klein actually and I added all the lace and ribbons.

But oh! something else is different in the 'after' picture! Um, I decorated the door ._. I bought one roll of a cool wallpaper and decided to do something with it. Painting and wallpapering the door (I have 2 door >_>) took me whole today and yesterday. I decorated everything with a golden cord:



And from what was left from the roll I also made a matching lampshade XD

I'm not posting full pictures fo my rooms because there's still so much work to be done @_@ And the worst part is that because apart from that I also have to work on other parts of the apaato (for example I'm in the process of restoring and repainting the piano) so despite having holiday I have very little free time to make things XD