Living with Art: Shelf for Art Dolls and Monsters

I think my husband and all of my friends will attest that I have never once uttered these words:

I collect monsters.

That’s because I don’t.  Or I didn’t.  And yet!

As I mused about this week’s Living with Art post, I thought, “You know, my stuffies are all over the house.  It would be fun to display them all in one place.”  And then wham – collection.  Instant collection.  I collect monsters!  I had no idea I was that cool!  *Winky face*

If you, too, have art dolls, monsters, amigurumi, or other stuffed friends stashed in different places around your house, you might consider bringing them together in the following ridiculously simple way:

 

1. Buy a shelf at a secondhand shop.  Mine cost $2.99.  When I found it, it was two feet long, dusty, and very ugly.

 

 

2. Sand and gesso your new-old ugly shelf.

 

3.  Make your new-old ugly shelf prettier with paint.

 

4.  Jazz up the shelf in whatever way you like.  For my part, I spent four hours of totally unnecessary labor with bottle caps and wire brads and comic books adding “Here Be Monsters” to the top, only to hang up the shelf, fill it with monsters, and freak out because the letters competed with the monsters.  So screw letters.  It’s a simple secondhand green shelf that is roughly the color of my couch.  It’s not the star attraction; it’s the display device.  And here’s how it looks, all filled up with monsters!

 

 

In case you want to collect any of these monsters, too, I will tell you that from left to right they are:

• A romantic bear, available at cathairandteeth on Etsy.  (Her prices have gone up a little due to high demand, but she’s still very reasonable!)
• A furry delight, made by wonderstrumpet on Etsy.  (I don’t think she has any in stock right now, because when she makes them they sell.  Ask her for a custom one, though.  She’s super nice and accommodating.)
• A peppermint monster, made by JunkerJane on Etsy.  (Her stuff sells wicked fast, too.  Check her Etsy page often if you want one of her creations!)
• My favorite creature in the known universe, also made by wonderstrumpet.  He loves me, and I love him.  It’s a little bigamous.