How to: new wainscot design (Mix'n'Match backgrounds)

If you've been following my blog for the past year or so, you might know that I have been focusing a lot on backgrounds for my photos.  Sometimes a background can make a huge difference in your photos, and I like the results that I've been getting since I started putting more effort into them. But, as much as I would love to have plenty dioramas and scenes for every occasion, I don't have the space to store them, which I'm sure it's a problem some of you also have. So, I came up with this idea of Mix'n'Match backgrounds that allow you to create different scenes with just a few elements that you can combine. 

On "Part 2" of the series, I made a wainscot/paneling piece in white and, even though I quite liked the effect, I felt that I could put more effort in my next design. I've been dying to start making more wainscots since September, and finally I have the chance. And, since I received such positive comments on part 2, I thought it would be great to share it here, step by step. 

For this craft we need more or less the same supplies we used last time:

• Binding cardboard.
• A cutter with a sharp blade.
• Primer
• Glue, both stick and white glue.
• Craft Paint
• A cereal box.

I start by cutting my wainscot to the desired size. I'm using the leftover piece from last time, that already has the width of the wall. The first one I made was 18 cm tall, which looked nice when the dolls were standing. However, in the photos I took with the dolls sitting down, you could barely see the wall color. So, this time I chose to make it slightly shorter, 16cm (6,3 in). The leftover piece is 17cm, so I'll use that later on to make another wainscot.

I also cut the pieces for the top and bottom trim. I had enough on the leftover piece to make 3 pieces. I made them 1, 1,5 and 2 cm respectively (0,39, 0,59 and 0,79 inches). I started this craft so long ago that I can't find any other photos of the cutting process.

Now it's time to paint everything with gesso/universal primer. Even though gesso is water based, I feel like it has quite a strong smell that stays for a while, similar to the smell of a fresh painted house. So, when I use it I like to ventilate my craft room for a couple of hours, so the smell doesn't stay there for long. Because it's winter here, I painted my pieces around 10 a.m. so my room could be opened during the warmest hours of the day. 

Remember to paint BOTH sides of the pieces, to avoid any bending. 

Originally, I wanted to use the 2 cm trim for the bottom and the 1,5 cm for the top, but I felt like they would be too big. So, I decided to use the 1,5 on the bottom and the smallest on the top.

Now is when we start doing things different from last time. I want to add a few stripes going vertical, to add more detail to the wainscot. On a cereal box, draw a few stripes. I'm making mine 1,2 cm wide (0,47 inches), but you can make them as wide as you want to. 

I decided to make this stripes using a cereal box and not the same binding cardboard because I want them to have less dimension than the top and bottom trim. By layering several, you can control how thick they're going to be. However, you can use popsicle sticks or something else and skip this step. 

Cut a few of them.

Before cutting all of them, I took a few to plan out the distance I wanted my stripes to be. I think that a 14 cm (5,5 inches) separation will be fine. 

Measure the space between the top and bottom trim and mark it on your cereal box stripes. Cut them down.

I would highly suggest that you make sure that your pieces fit their placement before going any further.

Stack and glue together as many pieces as you need to get the thickness that you want. In my case, I've found out that 2 pieces will do the job. I like to use a clothes pin/peg to help it stick together, but don't leave it for too long, or it could leave a mark.

Once they have dried down, glue them in place using white glue. I start gluing them from left to right. I left a 12 cm (4,7 in)  space between the edge and the first stripe, just because I didn't want the last piece to be so close to the edge. 

Take your time to do this part, making sure they're straight and no glue is coming out of the edges. I'm using a square rule to make sure everything is perfectly aligned. This ruler is probably as old as I am. 

I like to put some weight on top and let it dry for a while. 

Now it's time for my favorite part: choosing a color to paint it. The color you choose might depend on the colors you've chosen for your wall. If you have neutral walls, you can either make a neutral wainscot, or use this as a chance to add a pop of color and go bright. If you have very bright and colorful walls, you might want to choose something neutral to tone it down. You can also combine a colorful wainscot with a colorful wall, and it can look amazing, however, I feel like that's harder to pull off. Since most of my walls are more on the colorful side, I chose to go neutral with this gray. 

It usually takes me two coats to get an even finish and maybe a few touch ups here and there if the surface isn't completely even. 

Well, I think that we're done!

Now it's time to see how our new wainscot looks against some of our walls. Let's start with the last one I made, the orchid one. I added a pink chair and a potted plant to add more detail to the scene. Even though the pink chair isn't the same color as the wall, they work well together thanks to the contrast with the gray. 

I tried to place the dolls closer to the camera, to see how it would look from a distance.

I also want to see how it looks against other colors, so let's try the baby blue wall. Lea seems very happy with how it looks like.

Keep in mind that these backgrounds are mostly to add something extra to your doll photos, so the dolls are meant to be the focus of attention.

For some reason, I was very curious to see how it would look against my beige wall. Even though I like how both colors look together, I don't think that this combo suits my dolls or my furniture. I feel they look too bright against it. However, I can see how this could look great with some mid-century furniture and other types of dolls.

Last but not least, my Sea Breeze wall. I do like the combination, but I feel that Lea looks quite washed out against it. Maybe this can be fixed with warmer lightning next time.

Bottom line, I'm really happy with how this turned out. At some point during the crafting process I was concerned it would look a bit sloppy, but crafts sometimes look bad until the very last step. I want to make this design again in coral and play with the sizes of the trims, so you can expect to see that later on during the year. 

Hope you are all doing well. Here the situation is getting quite ugly, so we're almost self-isolating at home. As soon as I hit "Publish" on my last post, Mr. Monster told me that he was going to be working from home until mid-February, since his company doesn't want to run any risks. So now, he's working from the craft room while I craft and take doll photos.  I have a few projects on my list that I need to get supplies for, but those will put on hold for a while until things calm down. It's not a big deal, since I already have enough craft supplies at home to make content until March.

I'd love to hear what you think of this project. I hope that the instructions were clear, but if you have any questions let me know in the comment section or check out my previous post. I know that the lightning on some crafting photos was way off, but I was working with natural light and that can get unpredictable. I do have more background and diorama projects in mind, but if you have any suggestions, they'll be more than welcome.

See you in my next post, which will be in February. Take care

Monster Crafts

Similar posts:

How to: Mix'n'Match part 1

Coral wainscot for spring diorama

My cooking blog: Cooking with MC