When I was a child, I had two cats.
Tilly was a beautiful tortoiseshell whose main goal in life was pretty much just being comfortable and basking in the sun. She had no interest in hunting and only ventured outside when it was nice and sunny and she could roll around on the warm paving slabs of the patio.
Introducing...Prince!
Yet another late post, this project was actually done in March 2025, but for me that’s still a pretty good timeframe from completion to blog post. 😂
One of my long term hobby goals is to make Max a horse. Not just a static statue, but a fully poseable articulated 1/6th scale horse so she can go out on hacks and jump and gallivant to her heart’s content.
(As per usual, I don’t give myself easy projects!)
I’ve made articulated creatures before (obviously Baxter, and a handful of other art dolls from back in the day) but horses are very different beasts, and something I knew would be considerably trickier, especially considering the fact I’d need it to be sturdy enough to support the weight of a doll and tack, whilst still being able to be posed. Once upon a time I made a 1/6 horse; Inky, whose decidedly wobbly and battered body still leans precariously against one of my shelves; her wire core being far too weak for the rest of her. She was a labour of love, and while I do cringe a bit looking at her now, she was a good first attempt all things considered.
I’ve got lots of ideas for a new horse using much improved techniques, but at the moment I don’t have all the materials to get started the way I want, so in the meantime I thought I’d do a test run and start off with a pony. I’ve got a few 1/6 child dolls, so I thought it would be fun to make a Shetland for them to ride. Unfortunately as you’ll see, it ended up not turning into one so I just dropped down a scale to 1/9th (better known in the model horse hobby as Traditional scale) and decided he could be a crossbreed instead. The irony is that I don’t really do much in trad scale, so he’s become something of a rarity in my collection. 😂
Anyway, onto the step by step!
I was setting up my living room diorama recently and realised that it looked kinda empty. With only one sofa and a big stretch of floor, it really needed somewhere else to sit. I quite like the look of mid-century modern furniture so after a good Pinterest browse for inspiration and what’s probably the most basic planning sketch ever, I started making a chair.
It’s a little rough in places, but I like to think it was a family heirloom or that they got it secondhand and had it reupholstered. On that note, I really wanted to make the seat green velvet or felt for a real vintage vibe, but I didn’t have enough fabric in the right colour, so I used this dinosaur print I’ve been hoarding for ages instead. The actual seat part I think was either foam or sponge, but I can’t remember which. The cushion is just some fabric from an IKEA face cloth and some wadding. I used another burnt orange face cloth from the same set for a rug as well.
I also realised that there was one whole side of the room that was missing something, and as I was still in a mid-century modern mood, I cobbled together a sideboard out of mountboard, toffee apple sticks and wood effect scrapbook paper. Unfortunately said paper was the wrong colour, more of a very pale pinkish pine, so I went in with alcohol markers to make it more like teak or walnut but sadly it kind of obliterated the wood grain, so I had to improvise with the pen strokes and to be honest I would have been as well to do it all from scratch after all that. 😂
The handles to the doors are just brass beads with a pin pushed through them. The doors don’t actually open, they’re just decorative, but I’m really pleased with it overall. In hindsight I wish I had made them functional for extra storage and photography potential, but at the time I couldn’t find the small hinges that I know I have in my stash somewhere so I just had to leave them as they were.
I made the lamp too, which seemed to take even longer than the credenza because I wanted it to actually light up, using some small LED balloon lights I have, but it was getting complicated to hold the light up without compromising the shade, so I just gave up and left it as a prop. 😂 The base of it is a wood effect light pull I got from a DIY shop years ago, and the shade is just scrap fabric and card.
The plants are my own work too and the candlestick is an old Barbie ‘My Scene’ one I repainted and then replaced the plastic candle with a real one because it had warped and looked ridiculous. 😂 The little stone bust I got from a local plant shop but I’ve seen them online along with lots of other carved crystals.
In this next picture the orchid is from one of the ‘Miniverse’ kits, but I used an old shampoo lid for the pot.
Whilst I was in the mood, I also made a coffee table, again out of mountboard and wood effect paper. It’s a little more rustic looking as I made it very quickly and (again) without a plan, but Max and Juno have eklectic taste so I think it still works. 😂
^ This is Nadia by the way, she’s one of my favourite dolls but like most of my collection always gets sidelined in favour of Max and Juno when it comes to photoshoots! 🙈
There’s still a lot I want to change in the living room diorama - I’m no longer such a fan of the exposed brick walls, and the windows on the right, or the main sofa, but they’re ok for now and redoing it all will take some time.
 |
| I did this collage a few years ago and it still feels relevant 😂 |
Long time, no blog. The title of this post probably gives you a hint as to why, and might also explain much of my personality if you've known me a while.
A year ago last week, after nearly three years of patiently waiting for appointments and meetings with doctors, I was FINALLY diagnosed with ADHD. I cannot stress to you the relief that this brought me, as it felt like I could finally start living my life like I was supposed to.
Speaking of which, this is going to be a LONG post, as I have rather a lot to say, so strap in, this isn't exactly a fun one as I'm pretty much putting everything that I've ever struggled with in my life out there which is, well, a lot. This genuinely isn't a plea for sympathy, and that's absolutely not what I want, but I would like to be as transparent as possible because I know that I felt incredibly broken until I realised that other people had the same issues as me, so if this post can help just one person feel less alone, I'll be happy.
I
wrote this post
for a variety of reasons, one, to just get it off my chest and out into
the world, and two, because ADHD is still so incredibly misunderstood
and I know so many of my peers who have been let down by the system as
much as I have, so making folk more aware of it as a condition is
very important.
Also, I don't own all the memes, credit to their creators, but I just needed to share some of them because it was honestly so affirming to realise I wasn't alone in feeling so hopeless at times.
EDIT: YouTube video tutorial now up -here-!
EDIT 2 - It's come to my attention recently that people have found these books for sale on Temu and Amazon, something I absolutely do not condone! I make no money from these, and it really aggravates me that some random stranger is profiting from something I specifically made to be free. So basically, please don't buy these if you see them anywhere and if you can link me to the listings so I can try to get them taken down that would be very much appreciated! :)
I shouldn’t have to say this, but these book covers are free FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
Do not sell, mass produce or profit from these in any way. They are my work, and are not intended for commercial purposes.
I'd always intended to make Max and Juno some bookshelves so they could have things on display, and a while ago I did just that; cobbling together two wooden storage boxes into a kind of weird modernist...thing. It did the job for a while, but it wasn't really what I'd originally intended. A few days ago I made some new ones, using wooden storage boxes with added shelving I painted with acrylics and varnish. They turned out great, which was just as well, because they were the perfect size to hold all the miniature books I've made recently...
Obligatory 'sorry for not posting, I'm useless' introduction, now onto the main topic!
As you may have noticed, I haven't posted any Julip content in a good long while. I don't hate them, nor am I giving up collecting them, they just aren't my main focus these days. With one thing or another I haven't bought a new Julip in years, my last one being a very generous gift I was given last year right before lockdown. I've got several ideas for orders, but who knows when they'll happen!
Anyway, long story short, a few months ago my friend Paul asked me if I'd like to rehome his solitary Julip. He'd been gifted him a number of years ago and while he liked Julips, this particular one didn't really do anything for him as the appaloosa pattern was a bit unrealistic, and he knew I'd be able to give him a more appreciative home. He suggested I customise him and after seeing photos, I definitely agreed.
With one thing or another, he finally made his way across the pond a couple of weeks ago, and upon opening the box I was greeted to this terrifying sight!
A couple of years ago, my best pal Tomás came down to visit for a wee holiday, and while he was here, after we'd all gone to the museum and boot sale and talked horse for hours, he brought out a big bag of wool and some very sharp stabby needles and explained that he'd started needle felting as a hobby. During the course of the week he made two, a very squishy Suffolk and a slightly less so roan, and very kindly gifted the Suffolk to me before he left! She's a little wonky but utterly adorable. <3 I also had a go at a cat, which didn't exactly end well. XD
In the following years, his skills have grown immeasurably, to the stage that he's now making them to order, and after winning a money off voucher in a photo show's raffle recently, I knew I couldn't put off ordering one any longer!
There's so many monthly challenges in the hobby right now, it's really good for my motivation!
As you may have noticed, I do rather a lot with dolls, but I've never really done anything in Traditional scale, and thought now was about time. This isn't going to be much of a tutorial as I didn't take as many photos as I thought I had, lol.
I actually bought this body to use with my 1/6th scale dolls as a small
child but when she arrived I realised she had great potential to use
with my trads! I got her off Ali Express for under £3, and quality wise,it shows, with pretty lightweight hard ‘tinny’ plastic, but the articulation is
really good considering.
This particular one came without a head (one of
the options did have one but it was massively oversized) so I just
stuck on a Breyer Classic head which fits rather nicely. I considered shrinking it but didn't want to risk damaging it as I didn't have any other heads the same size. I did end up altering the neck peg to give it better articulation which worked, but I accidentally broke it later on and had to improvise something else which wasn't ideal.
There's also a smaller version of the same kind of doll that I've used for 1/6th scale toddlers which would also work for 1/9th scale young children I think. I'm tempted to make a leadrein set now...
Forgive the background - horses aren't normally allowed in the house! :P
This had the advantage of giving the feet a smaller and nicer shape I could build her boots over, as well as increasing the articulation so she could put her heels down properly. Her original feet were pretty well articulated so I've kept them in my stash to use on another doll at some point.
The parting didn't want to cooperate with me, but as she'll be wearing a helmet most of the time, it wasn't much of a big deal.
I did away with her original static neck peg and made a new elasticated contraption based on BJD mechanics, which worked great, until I accidentally broke it later on. I couldn't be bothered starting over, so I hot glued a kebab skewer inside the body cavity and built up a rough ball on the top for the head to fit over. The flexibility isn't as good as it was, but her head doesn't fall off now so that's something.
Her jumper was made from an odd sock using this tried and tested method by the inimitable My Froggy Stuff, and her denim jodhpurs were a bit of a bodge job. I didn't have any stretchy fabric in more traditional colours for breeches, and after making the jumper I'd already decided she'd be a casual rider so she didn't need to look show-ready. I did try making a pair of white breeches but they ended up too loose and wonky looking, so I more or less made up the pattern as I went. The knee patches are just faux suede I glued into place, then stitched around for extra security.
The boots took ages to get right. I've made plenty before, but none this size, so I had to create new patterns from scratch and seemingly everything went wrong before I finally gave up. I originally intended to make her short jodhpur boots but it just wasn't happening, so she ended up with long boots instead. They ended up a little too tight around her calves but I can't be bothered to make them again so we'll just say she's had a growth spurt and really needs to get the next size up. 😉
The helmet also went though several iterations - but eventually I wrapped her in several layers of cling film to protect her, then glued on a few torn strips of fabric over her head to make a base. My thinking here was that it would allow for a little flexibility but I'm not really sure it made much of a difference. I then covered that in a thin layer of Apoxie Sculpt which was carved and sanded to shape afterwards. It did crack in one area, so I had to go back in afterwards to shore it up. In an ideal world I'd have liked to make a mould and cast it in resin but it was a lot of faff for one doll so this made more sense.
Once fully cured I carefully removed it from her head and the clingfilm, then popped it on her head so I could mark out any areas that needed extra work and sand accordingly.
Now all she needed was a pony!
The patterned suede on the seat came from an old purse I recycled, as did the majority of the leather. The softer stretchier kind on the knee roll and the panels came from a leather glove. Recycling ftw!
The bridle took longer to make than the saddle I think - I kept accidentally slicing through the leather lace and had to start from scratch, and I made four different browbands before I was finally satisfied! I really wanted one of those traditional woven ribbon ones, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't wrap my head around how to make them, so I gave up and used a simple strip of fancy ribbon instead. 😂 The reins were supposed to be plain leather but by this point I never wanted to look at leather ever again, so I just plaited some embroidery thread for that comfy cotton look. They hang quite nicely too so that's a bonus.
I also made her a super comfy quilted numnah, using thin fleece and some fabric I'd found in a remnants box at my local fabric shop a while ago. I do actually have a sewing machine, and use it often, but for some reason I decided to sew the entire thing by hand which took ages. It's lovely and squishy though, and I added in some ribbon...things, to keep the girth in place. It's perhaps a little too thick for this particular saddle however, as it sits on the pony much better without it, but meh, it's COMFY!
So, here we are, Katie has her own pony and tack set now, so hopefully at some point I'll be able to take them somewhere nice for a photoshoot!
I've been working on finalising the saddle pattern, and resizing it for different scales, so if that's something you'd be interested in using (and potentially buying!) please let me know!
I was thinking of just linking to my Ko-Fi (which you can find up on the top left hand side of my blog 😉) so if anyone wanted to pop in a wee donation as a thank you they can. The last thing I want to do is put tutorials and the like behind a paywall, as I wholeheartedly believe that hobby knowledge should be free to access but at the same time, I kinda need to make some money somehow and I've worked really hard on this, so it feels like an acceptable compromise! 😅 I'm planning on resizing it for Classics, Julips, Collecta and Schleich as there's already a very good pattern and tutorial for Stablemates available from Anna Helt of Dreamflite Design.
I still need to do a bit more testing so I can be sure it's easy to follow though. On that note...
We're *finally* getting fibre broadband installed next week (after months and months and months of me pestering my decidedly non techy parents who were totally fine with abominably slow upload speeds until Mum tried to upload 28GB at once and it pretty much killed our wifi, and a week later it's still going >.<) so hopefully that means that I can finally look into doing some video tutorials! I shot and edited most of my NaMoPaiMo project from 2019 but then the file got corrupted so I'd need to start over, but once I've done that I have several projects I'd really like to film and stick on youtube, including a guide to assembling the saddle!
So yeah, I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but here's my finished pair, ready for a hack!
This was a really fun challenge, and definitely pushed me to try something a little out of my comfort zone.
