Furnishing the Willowcrest

My Willowcrest has been sitting vacant for quite some time. I got the itch to play the other night. I have almost all of my minis boxed up in the spare room, so finding the right furniture can take a little time. Sometimes it wants to be old fashioned, sometimes it wants to be current.

The bathroom was easy.  I have a resin set with flowers that matches the wallpaper so well.  I added a desk that I repainted ages ago and my mom put the Robin Betterley medicine chest on top like a hutch. Why didn't I think of that? It was a cute little change, but now I need a different mirror for the sink!

I filled up the bedroom. I had to put the rose bed in.  I dressed the bed and embroidered the tiny pillow. It was my first attempt at embroidery from about 10 years ago. The furniture is mostly House of Miniatures kits that I assembled and finished in my spare time back in college.

A few things moved around, trying to find the right spot.  These two pieces from Oldham Studios went in the attic for a little while.

I had to play in the kitchen,especially since breakfast was already being served in the dining room!

It was fun to just play in my own dollhouse for a change. I'm getting little bored with Haley's Barbie condo and the limited Barbie-size furnishings and decor!  I like pink, but I can only handle so much of it!

Shabby Chic Dining Table

One of my coworkers cleaned out her garage and storage areas.  She gave me two boxes of miniature things. Inside was a real treasure trove! There were books, magazines, some furniture, accessories, DMC floss, needles, fabric, and beads.

There was one particularly cute dining table with broken legs. It was calling to me to remake it. Yes, it needed rehab. It told me that it wanted a new look, it wanted to go shabby.

First, I had to make a new leg. I carved it from a scrap of wood I had from a previous project. I glued all the legs back on.

Second, I found a tube of Nutmeg Brown paint that almost identically matched the base stain and painted the new leg.

Then, I cleaned the rest of the table. It had mini-hold residue and plenty of dust. Next, it got a coating of Wicker White acrylic paint. After it dried, I lightly sanded down the paintbrush marks and lumps.

It was already looking pretty good!

Haley declared that she loved the table and that it should be pink.  After a bit of contemplation, I agreed that distressed pink would be great! I gave it a wash of very pale pink, then sanded it again after it dried.  It needed more distressing and age coloring.

After smudging some watered down blackish-brownish paint into the crevices, it really started to look just right. I sanded down various places for wear and tear. Some very watered down black mixed with brown paint went into the corners.

Then, the table top just wasn't right. I had put this one away for a while and come back to it.  I decided to marbelize it. After a bit of wicker white, off-white, dolphin gray, taupe, and some thinning agent later, I had a pretty decent looking marble job. I used some clear gesso on top of the marble paint, lightly sanded it down to smooth out ridges and lumps, then finished with matte varnish.

Voila! I'm finally happy with this table! I also managed to put some furniture in the Willowcrest and make a nice scene to show it off.

(French toast, napkins, tray, and blueberry pie were by Kim Saulter.  Nutella by LugArt Petit. The jam and other tarts are from sources unknown.)

Redwork Quilt, Part 3

I'm nearly done! I've toted this around with me in my purse, to work, on vacation in Arizona, to karate practice, to football practice, to different places where I'd have a few minutes of idle time.

I think I need to make two big pillows to go with it. Then, I will need to find a new portable project. I'm open to suggestions.