Upcycling again: transforming more tea boxes into doll-size shelves

Back in 2019, I wrote a blog post in which I transformed a tea box into a doll size shelf/bookcase to use as a prop for my doll scenes and dioramas. It was a pretty simple, yet effective idea that I wanted to keep exploring, but never did. In fact, by the time I published the post, I got two other boxes that have been sitting around in my doll room for about two years. Since I didn't have anything planned out next for the blog, I thought now could be a great time to give it a go. 

On this post, I'm going to make two designs. The first one is the same I did in the original Upcycling post but in a different color, so I'm not going to get into much detail with that one. The second one is a taller one that I will explain a bit better, even though the technique is basically the same. As I did mention in the original post, I got this idea from Bonequea, a Spanish doll collector.

As I mentioned, the first design is the same box I did in my original post, except that this time I'm not glueng the legs. I did prime and give it a first coat of white paint several months ago. 

Now, it's time to paint it. I don't know if you remember this, but at the end of one post I asked you  which color should I paint it. Well, turns out I'm not using any of the colors you suggested, and instead I'm going with Sea Glass, by Americana Acrylics, which I didn't own back then. 

This is the finished result:

I really do like this design. It reminds me of the Kallax bookcase from Ikea. I would like to make more of this in several colors, but these boxes are quite hard to find. While I was working on this post, I found a third box like this, so I'll be able to add another color to my shelf collection. 

Now, let's move on to the second design. I got this box which is 25x9 cm (9,8 x3,5 inches), which will allow me to create a taller book case. 

As in the first design, we have to remove the lid by unscrewing the hinges. Then I filled the holes with some wood putty. 

As I mentioned in the previous post, this box has the word "infusiones" (infusions) written on the side, so we need to get rid of that. I sanded it a bit to wear it off as much as I can, but probably I won't be able to get rid of it completely. 

Once I thought I had worn it out enough, I went ahead and primed the piece. I'm using gesso, but you can use any type of primer you would want to.  As you can see in the photo below, the letters still come through the primer. I am concerned it will still come through the paint and I will need to give lots of coats. 

Since I rather be safe than sorry, I decided to mix some white and orange and give it a coat of a peachy colored paint first. I got this idea from the makeup technique used to cover tattoos, also known as color-correcting. The theory is that an orange color will balance out the blue shadow the black ink has, since blue and orange are complementary colors. As you can see in the photo below, the peach paint has covered most of the ink.

I would recommend using a peachy color rather than a straight-up orange because it will be easier to cover, specially if you're using a light color. If you plan to use a dark color, you might not even need to do this step. 

Once that patch dries down, it's time to paint. I'm using the color Dove Grey by Americana Acrylics. In the poll I made for the other design, Linda from Yéyé Dolls suggested using this color, but I ended up using it for this one. 

It's a beautiful neutral shade with some purplish undertone. It comes out lighter on camera that it does in real life. 

Now, let's see how our new doll shelves look on camera. First, let's try the green one against the Dove Grey wall. I'm not super proud of this set up, but I like the suble pop of color.

Before I started working on this post, I took a few photos with the Sea Glass shelf. I wanted to see how it would look with a wall in the same color, breaking it with a gray wainscot. Here's Blake: 

Now let's try the grey one. I wanted to reverse what I did on the first photo with Chloe and try the Dove grey bookshelf against the Sea Glass wall. I love this color combo. 

I recently made a new wall in a dusty pink. I used the color Pink Blush, from Americana Acrylics, and it looks beautiful. Let's use our new wall and see how it looks with the grey bookcase. Here's Rosie.

I love this color and how it looks against the dolls. I was a bit concerned it would look too similar to an orchid wall that I already have, but I think it's different enough. I'm considering using it for a future upcycling project. 

Usually I do a quick bottom line about how I feel about my craft projects. Since I had already made this craft, I knew it would work out. I'm quite happy with the colors I chose (although that would have had an easy solution) and I think they're a nice addition to my doll furniture. I was concerned the grey one wouldn't be the right size, but it's perfect. I have a couple more boxes I can upcycle at some point in the near future. 

As for future projects, I've just started working on the hardwood floor, and it looks like it will be a lot of work and popsicles. I hope I can have it ready by the end of the month or early October, since it could look nice for autumn/fall themed photos (even though over here we're still wearing shorts and tank tops).

I hope you are all staying well. Let me know if you are planning to do something similar for your dolls, as well as if you have other upcycling ideas. 

See you soon!

Monster Crafts 

PS. Atelier ni Shasha is having a weekend sale. Check out her last post for further info.

Check out part 1: Upcycling: transforming a tea box into doll furniture