So I finished painting the Gloria office set. I love how the copier and the computer turned out. The desk didn't come out as planned. I like the grey bottom, but I may change the color of the top. The desk made me think of those desks at police stations. I thought I would use it before I change it. I did add small blocks to lift it a little.
Remember Chyna? She's Darren's wife and Antoinette's sister-in-law. She tried her hand at running her own business, but decided to get a regular job. Running her own business was more stressful than she thought it would be. She works at the school. She wears many hats. One of those hats is guidance counselor. She's also in charge of enrolling new students.
Chyna returns from the break room with a fresh cup of coffee.
She has so much to do today.
She decides to get started on the monthly report first.
"Hello Mrs. Trott. You wanted to see me?" (Christina)
"Christina, yes. Come on in. Have a seat." (Chyna)
"How are you today?" (Chyna)
"I'm fine." (Christina)
"I wanted to meet with you to start discussing college. Sophomore year is the best time to start preparing for college. There are S.A.T.s to take, scholarships to research, and college tours to plan." (Chyna)
"Wow. Sounds like a lot." (Christina)
"It is and that's why we start the process so early." (Chyna)
Chyna and Christina continuing their conversation. They put together a plan that will be best for Christina.
"Thank you Mrs. Trott." (Christina)
"I will schedule another meeting next month to see how you are coming with your list. You may want to see if your mother is available. I would like to get her involved, too. " (Chyna)
After Christina leaves, Chyna gets back to work. Thirty minutes later she gets more visitors.
"Hello Gabriella and Taylor. What brings you guys by?" (Chyna)
"I need to get another copy of the letter you gave us yesterday. I lost mine." (Gabriella)
"How did you lose it that quickly? No worries. I have it right here. I just need to make another copy." (Chyna)
Gabriella and Taylor discuss their lunch plans while waiting.
"Here you go. Now make sure this one makes it to your parents." (Chyna)
"I will, Mrs. Trott. I promise." (Gabriella)
Chyna gets back to work and finishes up the monthly report. It's now time to call it a day.
She tidies up her desk, then retrieves her purse from her desk.
Teacher Adele pops in.
"You still here?" (Adele)
"I'm just leaving. Wait, I'll walk out with you." (Chyna)
Special thanks to my guidance counselor, Mrs. Barnwell. She was phenomenal is making sure I knew what to do when it came to prepping for college.
NOTE ABOUT PAINT: I've been touting the 2X Painter's Touch paint. They now have the one with the Paint + Primer. It wasn't as good as the paint without the primer. So I recommend you buy the one without the primer.
Chyna's office is cozy. The copier looks so real. I love the staged photos of her copying the letter for Gabriella. For a school office, I think the desk is suitable.
ReplyDeleteI have only one counselor that I remember vividly because of who she is now: Irma P. Hall. She was my 7th grade counselor and was such a classy fashionista. Much smaller than she is now, she wore vintage-style clothing and half-eye reading glasses. I remember her peering at me above the glasses as I sat across from her desk requesting a schedule change or class reassignment. I didn't realize she had become an actress until several years post-school when I saw her in the movie, Crisis at Central High, regarding the integration of that school in Little Rock Arkansas.
It is amazing how good and bad teachers and even counselors can have a life-long (positive or negative) impact on students' lives. Ms. Hall was one of the good ones.
DBG - Oops, I had to change my counselors name from Mrs. Wilson to Mrs. Barnwell. Mrs. Wilson was my biology teacher, who I ended up babysitting for many years after I finished her class. Both women (sisters) were phenomenal teachers and mentors. There was one more, Mrs. Stokes, another sister, my social studies teacher. I am still good friends with all three ladies even today.
DeleteI Love your repaint It Makes the Office Look so Professional!
ReplyDeleteWhat Dolls are Gabrielle and Taylor?
Yellow Apple Crafts - Thanks Gabriella and Taylor are both High School Musical dolls.
DeleteOf course i see it now duh! haha
DeleteLOve this office set up too! Chyna's braids though...very chic! The copier does look very realistic. Great job!
ReplyDeleteSonya - Thanks! Chyna is one of the few dolls I have with micro braids. I love them!
DeleteVanessa, I LOVE Your new desk!!! The computer and the copier are so real! The room became so cozy with those tiny accessories.
ReplyDeleteI would like an own office like Chyna's...
Rosemary Hills - Awww, thanks! I like that we finally get to see some of the students in Morristown.
DeleteWhat a slinky yet professional dress Chyna has. She fits into her job seamlessly, and seems to be happy doing it to boot!
ReplyDeleteVerona - Chyna said thanks. She loves her relatively new job. She really enjoys working with the kids.
DeleteGreat job on the office set-up! The desk and copier are very realistic looking. Was the office chair part of that Gloria set, or did you get that separately? :-)
ReplyDeleteCindi - Thanks! The chair is part of the set up, too. It was pink with a black base.
DeleteHello from Spain: great job. I love your newly painted office. The painting of the flag is very cool. I also really like the thermos drink. The photocopy machine looks real. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteMarta - Thanks. I have a British flag painting waiting for my British family. I'm not sure who they will be yet.
DeleteI love the office and the new storyline. Now we can follow some of the younger ones. Neat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the paint tip, too.
D7ana - Thanks. Gabriella and Taylor have been sitting in a classroom full of teenagers for quite some time now. I can't wait to get to some of those stories.
DeleteI forgot to ask you...you said Gabriella and Taylor are High School Musical dolls. Are they fully articulated? I can't tell from the pictures. :-)
ReplyDeleteCindi - No, they are not fully articulated, but they can sit.
DeleteI love the office furniture. The gray brings out the details of the desk. The colors of the smaller items in the room add to the overall feel. I like the story line too!
ReplyDeleteMs. Leo - Thanks! I'm trying to transition into my "Day in the Life" series.
DeleteI love how the two girls are the High School Musical dolls! LOL! I have the Taylor even though I took her head off to use her body for another doll but that ended up unsuccessful. Now I have to fix her since the head anchor in hee neck broke. >:(
ReplyDeleteKenyaDoll - I'm glad I can finally show some of the teenagers here. There are quite a few more waiting to be seen.
DeleteExcelente historia, quedo muy bien la oficina, tambien tengo dudas sobre el gris, hasta pronto.
ReplyDeletelindaivette montes de oca - Gracias! Me gusta el gris. estoy pensando en cambiar la parte superior en blanco o negro, ya veremos.
DeleteIt's nice to see teens in your stories, Vanessa. :) You know, I love them. I have all HSM and Hannah Montana and Camp Rock teen characters except for Tiara, because she is available in the set with Sharpay only and I don't want another Sharpay.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity the girls are not articulated at all. Their guys have at least articulated elbows... But the poor girls - nothing. And it's almost impossible to find teen articulated bodies of their size, though I saw a picture of rebodied 90s Skipper doll on DollPlanet yesterday. Her owner used Simba Super Model doll's body and said Skipper's height and proportions didn't change much. HSM girls are about the same size, so it is maybe a good idea for them also. Not sure Super Model dolls are available in US though. We don't have them in Russia, as far as I know, but we don't have many kinds of interesting dolls...
Dukasha - Hello! Yes, I remember how much you love the teenagers. I have to look up the Camp Rock teens. I don't know what they look like. Yes, I don't know why men and boy dolls get more articulation than girl dolls. Very strange. I'm not looking to articulate the teens that aren't already articulated. As long as they have click bend knees, I can work with them in the stories. We don't have Simba Super Model dolls here in the States. Hope you are doing well.
DeleteHello. :) I'm always here, I told you. :) Thanks, I'm OK. Much work, little time for dolls – as usually. :) No sewing for dolls because I want to be perfect in it and can't be perfect – also as usually. :) The worst thing in my doll life now is that our Russian post service works very badly this year and we still continue to receive packages shipped out in November and December now. I've received my December eBay purchase only a week ago – can you believe it? Anyway my doll collection continues to grow and the same is about my knowledge of 1:6 teens and kids. I've learned more about Totsy dolls recently. They have Stacie sized dolls including Native American doll. It is great! I had been dreaming about light AA Stacie and Native American Stacie for several years before I started to buy dolls on eBay and now I know that they both exist. Well, Totsy doll is not really Stacie, but her body is almost the same. I also have Kid Kore Dancing Brook, but she is not so good. My only dream now is to find out one day that somebody also made Asian Stacie. lol. And of course I want to have many different Stacie sized boys. BTW, did you see the new Stacie boy on Flickr? http://www.flickr.com/photos/45695442@N05/8960515500/
DeleteCamp Rock teens are Shane, Mitchie and Tess. They have HSM bodies, but unfortunately they all "really sing", so there are buttons, holes and everything. Mitchie looks almost like HSM Gabriella, Shane and Tess are more interesting. They both have closed mouths without a big smile. Shane has black hair and brown eyes – a rare combination for a Mattel doll. Tess has golden hair and blue eyes, but her face is beautiful. Maybe too adult for a teen though. As for the articulation Mattel seems not to have any logical reasons to do this or that. In Fashionista doll line they have fully articulated girls but only partly articulated guys. Their beautiful Ryan who doesn't have even click bend knees is something beyond understanding. But at least they have other more or less articulated adult guys. And no articulated bodies for teens. I know that you don't need much articulation for teens because they are not main characters in your stories. I'm not a great fan of rebodiing myself and I'm not sure that I'll ever give an articulated body for any of my teens, but I want to have such an opportunity, so I could do it if I need it. There is a comparison photo of Skipper and Super Model bodies on DollPlanet: http://www.forum.dollplanet.ru/viewtopic.php?p=2467059#p2467059 The color match is not perfect, but Super Model dolls have several characters with different skin colors so maybe some teens will look better on their bodies. The Super Model's neck seems to be a bit too long for a normal sized head though.
Dukasha - Thanks so much for all the great information! I had not seen the new Stacie sized boy. Glad to see they are adding a new boy. That is crazy that you are just now getting packages from last year. I hope that gets better soon.
DeleteThe situation is better already. The packages, shipped out later, arrive more or less in time now. I've received one on Friday, it was shipped out on May, 6. It's even better, than I expected. But I'm still waiting for the package from February, 1. Hope, it is not lost and not destroyed with the fire. There was a big fire in Moscow central post office recently…
DeleteI'm also glad to see the new boy. But I'll be really happy if I see AA versions of all Barbie sisters and also AA versions of boys for all of them one day. :-) Well, I know that I want too much, but they could make at least AA Skipper and Stacie already.
I think the repaint actually came out great. It looks exactly like the kind of metal desk you would find in a school.
ReplyDeleteMuff - Thanks. I agree it makes a nice school desk. I just wasn't trying to make a school desk. LOL. I was going for the cubicle office look. I may leave this desk as is, for school and police station stories, and buy two more for the office cubicle look. Chyna lucked out and got a new job and storyline because of my misstep.
DeleteI like the image you put on the computer screen. I painted my Gloria computers black like the Dell machines at my job but I've been too lazy to detail them by painting the buttons and customizing the screens. As always you set the bar to the highest standard!
ReplyDeletelimbe dolls - Thanks. I just happened to have that screen shot in my office stuff bag of goodies. Came in handy.
DeleteThe newly painted furniture looks wonderful! Shouldn't school be letting out for Summer soon? :)
ReplyDeleteConnor - Thanks. Here in Morristown there isn't a timeframe on my stories. It takes the pressure off of me and getting things posted. These events may have happened months ago, but are just now making the blog. Hope that makes sense. For instance, right now it's still April here.
DeleteIt's great! love it! you did a great job with all the furniture. It seems very real.
ReplyDeleteFarbield - Thanks. I may leave it as is, and buy another one to repaint for the cubicle offices.
DeleteGreat job on painting the office. I actually love the colors.
ReplyDeleteGeorgia Girl - Thanks. I'm getting the hang of this spray paint thing.
DeleteThe office looks great
ReplyDeleteMustiwait - Thanks!
DeleteHey! That office is AMAZING!! I was actually wondering about doll face reapints?(I was going to comment on the last post but then this one became current and I totally forgot)
ReplyDeleteI have a doll that I was going yo try to repaint the face but I realized that I would mess it up and I really like this head so I was wondering if you might know a way to get that done?? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Love, Cachetas
Cachetas - Thanks! I'm not the person to ask about face repaints. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that talk about that. I would suggest just searching 'fashion doll repaint tutorial'. I'm sure you will find out some great information.
DeleteLOL about you losing your marbles. Typos happen to us all.
Hey! That office is AMAZING!! I was actually wondering about doll face reapints?(I was going to comment on the last post but then this one became current and I totally forgot)
ReplyDeleteI have a doll that I was going yo try to repaint the face but I realized that I would mess it up and I really like this head so I was wondering if you might know a way to get that done?? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Love, Cachetas
Oh my goodness there are soo many typos in that comment above of mine so sorry I'm actually just now realizing that...:} sorry
DeletePPS
DeleteThe doll I want to repaint is a barbie fashion doll by the way
I should've added that in the first post my goodness I'm losing my marbles!:}
Wow, the office looks so realistic after the changes you made to the furniture and all the details you added. The copy machine looks great, wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteRossetti - Thanks. I just love that copier! I will get lots of use of that piece.
DeleteHi Vanessa, I realy want to have a desk like your and the machine is so real... You are lucky to have all these funitures ....
ReplyDeleteShsarignis - It's a really nice desk that I think will get a lot of use here. And I can't say enough good things about that copier.
DeleteWOW. I cant get through this video without getting teary eyed. I am only 13 and I love your videos but you little note at the end remind my I lost my school counselor when I was 10 and she was amazing she helped me through every problem I had and my classmates all felt the same.
ReplyDeleteicecloud - Welcome to my blog! I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I hope that you will have other special counselors that will touch you as much as she did.
Delete