Angel TV/VCR Combo

I haven't had much luck with any of my social media posts blowing up. Like. Ever. But that all changed this spring when I decided to try out Lemon8, TikTok's Instagram-like app that feels better suited for folks like me who are interested in upcycled things, aesthetic mood boards, inspiration and DIYs. The post that really took off all summer is the photo slides of my TV/VCR combo set. I bought it on Ebay several years ago as I had been without a VHS player for quite a long time and knew I had some tapes around that I was just dying to watch again. I also wanted something retro but on the smaller side that I could plug a Super Nintendo into ;) It didn't take long for me to find this set:

Ain't she a beaut? Stay with me, I have a vision lol.

There are an abundance of black TVs from the 90s but I did intentionally search for white. If you've been around as long as I have though, you know that electronics like this are a bit rare to find in "white" as this plastic yellows with time and exposure to UV light. Still! Even though the flap where the tape goes in was positively YELLOW, the off-white color of this one was exactly what I needed. A blank canvas. Funny enough, a few months after I purchased my faithful clunker, Urban Outfitters sold a bunch of 13" vhs combo sets that RetroSpekt had found deadstock of. I'm nothing if not ahead of the trends, even if it's by mere months. Just ask my friends and family!

Happiness is Daria on VHS...but this pink just wasn't it.

My first thought about this set when it came in was that I wanted to get it to look like those amazing Hello Kitty setups I had seen, or a Disney Princess TV. I figured I could paint mine and swatched 4 colors that were specific to Polly Pocket (Dark pink, bubblegum, lilac, and pool blue), with the intention of using gold as accents on the buttons and maybe some strategic stickers on the front. However, when I started painting, I was unhappy with what was going on. I've talked about the fine line I walk with my home decor and diving face first into girlie nostalgia and this television was giving BIG kidcore vibes. I grabbed some acetone nail polish remover and prayed that the pink would come off. It did. WHEWWW. Dodged a bullet, there. Okay. So the Polly Pocket plan was a choice. But it just wasn't sophisticated enough with everything else going on in my room- which admittedly is: A LOT...and I will fully expose this in a later post. Another core aesthetic that I found myself falling head over heels for is Angelcore and what I like to call the "Angelica Aesthetic". Think Juliet's bedroom altar in the 1996 film, or what the Lisbon Sisters would be drawn to if they had been allowed to grow up.

Ahh. Now this is my idea of a good time.

I gave the TV a good dust and clean; getting off any errant specks of pink, removing the Sharp logo with some pliers, tried to get the plastic door less yellow but knew I'd eventually have to paint it to match, used electronic wipes and finally had my blank canvas back. I did think that I would paint the whole set white or maybe eggshell to even it out but I'm glad I didn't. Instead, because I knew I wanted some 3 dimensional elements, I decided to go with air dried clay knowing that it would dry to the same "almost white" color of the plastic. All I needed were some silicone molds, some statuettes for the top, and to settle on an accent color. I almost went with red, but ultimately settled on one of my favorite shades: a light lilac. I had a big lot of these gold angel ornaments that I've used for a few different projects- I actually don't even remember what I got them for in the first place but they've been SO handy- and painted them with the same acrylic stuff I used on the VHS door. That took a bit of finesse as there was no way to detach it to paint, and it would just open every time I'd go in to paint it so I slipped some painters tape carefully on the underside and made a pull tab to keep it shut. Now it matches and wow did that ever make a huge difference.

First try at the clay in the candy molds

I made a bunch of pieces with the air dried clay in the molds that I believe were made for creating decorations with candy melts. They were not as ridged as I had hoped so the clay was a bit fiddily to use with those molds but I didn't mind at all because it gave the flowers and wings a sort of feathery rustic look. This TV was really giving me the Shabby Chic vibe that I fell in love with as a kid watching Rachel Ashwell dazzle me on the now-defunct Style Network and my inner preteen was getting reallyyy excited.

Some DVDs I scored!

Adding the pops of bling with the plastic rhinestones and then matching the top tchotchkes including a swan and mary bust I thrifted to everything completed the styling. The plastic angels decorate each corner of the set. I left a bit of gold showing through, and simply hot glued all the doo-dads onto the casing. And now my tapes, which I have started collecting, have the happiest home to play in. This piece took a long time to flesh out but I'm glad I switched gears completely because I look at it now as a sculpture. An instilation in my art freakfest of a bedroom. Having it go mini-viral on Lemon8 was exciting, but I do wonder if anyone else has given what I did a try!

Finishing up with some paint on the VHS door and placing my statues...

I always feel good making sure old tech like this doesn't get chucked away in a landfill. It was priced just fine for me and shipping wasn't even awful. The only compromise I made was not being able to have a remote control for this. I have been looking though and I think I can find one. It will probably be black because like I said, a lot of the computers and TVs from long ago have turned so gross and yellow I imagine they got chucked at an alarming rate once black and gray took over as the default colors. Still- many of us sure do long for the jelly bean iBooks of yore! But that's another conversation for another day ;) Until then, I hope you liked seeing what I did to transform a piece of clunky old tech into a true art piece that fits into my world and I hope it might inspire you to take on a similar project!

And here she is. The set ultimately landed in the middle of my mural wall in my room and I did invest in a VHS tape tower, of course found on eBay. I love how my little swan dish seems to be floating in the lake scene of my wall. The wallpaper mural itself is something I truly adore in my room, and I don't see very many people using these anymore so it's decidedly retro looking, which you know I'm all about. Popping in a tape while I'm working or decompressing has been such a joy for me. The sound and picture quality of course isn't the best but something about the hum of the tape playing chills me out! Go figure. I hope you had fun on this little journey of a pretty big DIY. Let me know in the comments if you'd ever consider doing something like this :)