Rusted Baby Doll with Angel 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.

Ohhhh noooo! 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