Doll Style: Custom Accessories

Eva & Simone modeling their chic custom accessories.

Mattel has really pulled through with on trend accessories, but many times the colors are still a little off for the true Fashionista! Personally I like items to look as real as possible and bright colors aren’t always what I go to first. This is where customizing comes into play. There are so many ways to give these plastic accessories a more realistic look to complement your favorite outfits. In this post, I will be focusing on just adding touches of paint to go from bright to right!

the bits & pieces

Here is a basic sample of some of the accessories we all have, lots of bright colors not necessarily appropriate for all outfits or styles.

After adding a touch of paint…

Now you have much more realistic accessories to go with your favorite outfits.

the tool box

Here are the supplies I use:

• Craft & Hobby enamel
• Craft Acrylic paint
• Nail polish (enamel)
• Mod Podge (matte & gloss finishes)
• Fine paint brushes
• Acetone or nail polish remover, and water to clean the brushes.

I use a few of different types of paint depending on the type of plastic I am working with. We all know some items are made of soft rubbery plastic and some items are more on the hard side. I have found that nail polish can chip over time and get brittle like it does with our nails, but it still works well if it is sealed properly. The craft & hobby enamel is amazing, but I find it works better on harder plastics. If used on softer rubber it may remain a bit sticky, so just it just needs to be sealed with Mod Podge. I highly recommend getting this type of paint in gold and silver to use for simple metal accents.

Tip: Paint a coat of craft acrylic paint on your items to create a primer-like base that will help whatever paint you use to adhere better.

tranformations

You don’t have to change the entire look of an item, something as simple as highlighting a buckle detail, makes a world of difference!

a classic block heal

With this shoe, I did end up going a little further and painted the sole of the shoe a nude  color and the block heel brown. I custom mixed both colors using standard acrylic craft paint and sealed them with clear nail polish. You can also seal items with Mod Podge, it works great and I tend to use it on most finished items. Here’s the finished product:

classic black & white accessories

In this custom, I transformed basic accessories into a classic Chanel style by using an acrylic paint, gloss enamel, pearlized nail polish, and gloss Mod Podge. I started with a coat of acrylic paint to set the primer-like base so the other paints would stick well. This takes a few steps with drying time in between, but I really love the final look. I used a white pearl nail polish to give the beads on the necklace a pearl look and I used the black gloss enamel for the bow on the necklace to ensure it would give a satin ribbon like shine. I finished both pieces with a coat of gloss Mod Podge.

 

hats & other accessories

I transformed the large light blue hat from the latest beach accessories pack by painting it with black acrylic paint and finishing it with matte Mod Podge. With all of the texture on this hat, it definitely took a few coats and a lot of touch up to cover up every spot.

Ken deserves a little customizing too! I painted the existing navy blue band on the classic straw fedora in black acrylic and sealed it with gloss Mod Podge.

 

As I said earlier, just about any item can use a little customizing to give it a more realistic look. Even a small touch of gold or silver on the metal detail will transform your accessories. Have fun with it and see what you come up with!

Thank you as always for stopping by! I hope you found some inspiration to keep going with your customization adventures! Next week we will be focusing on more customizations, shoes specifically…designer dupes to be exact! Hope to see you again next week!

A la prochaine