Rusted baby doll earns her wings

Rusted baby doll earns her wings

A poor vintage baby doll endured a lot of mixed media torture in this assemblage project. But really, this project was all about making rust–both real real and faux rust. 

I began by rusting many pieces of hardware and other metal. I did so by following a vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide recipe that is available on many online sites. 

I first decided to use a wonderful metal brush thingy-ma-bob. 

However, as you can see from the finished photo, I ended up using another piece of rusted metal. The reason for this change was from a hard-earned lesson. To keep the rust from coming off, I gave it a coat of matte medium. Unfortunately, this changed the piece to a dark brown. 

Although I could sand the piece and rust it again, since I was on a deadline I decided to use a different piece for the base. This also allowed me to use a metal piece that could actually stand without toppling over. 

The next part of the project is a little morbid. I had to saw Poor Little Baby with a Dremel and then give her a brisk sanding. Luckily, she was very brave and didn’t cry once. If you do this, don’t use a heat gun or your baby will suddenly develop a deformed head. 

Oh nooooo! Mr. Bill!

Next I painted applied Distress Grit-Paste to both Poor Little Baby and the Steampunk Wings and let dry. 

Once they were both dry, I painted the wings with Iridescent gold paint and the wings with layers of Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Espress Brown, Granite Gray and Raw Sienna to create a fauz rust that matched my rusty metal.

I then glued Poor Little Baby to the metal base, using both Lock-Tite Adhesive and hot glue. To make the skirt, I glued together 1.25″ strips of paper from an old book and scored lines every .25 inches to create pleats.

Last, I glued on some gold trim and bestowed Poor Little Baby with angel wings.

There’s a lot of unpleasant news happening around the globe this week. I hope you can find a little respite on this Saturday in creativity. All my best, -Betsy  

Great Stuff

  • Gypsy Soul wings from Steampunk Set
  • Vintage baby doll
  • Vintage hardware
  • Vintage book pages
  • Gold ribbon
  • Vinegar
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Salt
  • Acrylic paint
  • Dremel
  • Scoring board
  • Beacon Zip Dry adhesive
  • Lock-Tite adhesive

I love reading your comments and questions. Comment away!