Cabinet upgrade

Hello, dear readers!

How are all of you? I have not posted here in months, but I'm enjoying popping to other's blogs or seeing what turns up on Pinterest.  Not too long ago, someone in a forum mentioned that Michael's stores had a few miniature items, if you were lucky enough to find them.

I booked it to the closest Michael's a found this simple, naked cabinet. Hooray!

I sanded it a bit to smooth it. I slopped some ivory paint on it to see how it would look.  Not bad, but it was only the base coat. More ivory paint made the inside look clean. 

After that was really good and dry, I combined 3 shades of bright sky blue, robin's egg blue, turquoise, plus more ivory and painted it on muddled and streaky. A few spots got distressed with sandpaper and an Xacto knife. Finally, I took some tulle fabric, spray painted it bronze, then added it to the doors to look like wire mesh. I really love how it turned out.

Now, for some tiny things to go inside, I'm not sure if this will be a kitchen cupboard with vintage foods or a sewing supply cabinet.  Of course, I went back to Michael's hoping to find another one that I could do in pink, but they were all gone. Maybe I'll get lucky next time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tea for Two update

Hi Friends. You  probably don't remember my little carriage clock room box from a zillion years ago. I think I've only shown it once on here and it was a work in progress.  It's almost done!

Not bad for something I built when I was 20.  I'm now 37.

AHEM. Anyway. Forget that detail about my age or how slow I can be when it comes to finishing projects.  Many irons in the fire, always many irons. And so on. Basically this project got stuck on the table and put aside while other things took over.

Also, good decorating takes time.  Mini collections don't become awesome over night.

Well, here are the details.  The table and chairs are House of Miniatures kits that I put together.  The blue tea set came from an Ebay seller in Thailand. I made the little punched tin bread box, tiny cakes, and napkins. The walnut plank flooring was leftover from the Willowcrest house.

The corner shelf is a pre-assembled bookcase that I painted. I think I bought the dog and floral plate from Shellie's Mini Mania. I made the cake stand on the top shelf. The other things probably came from Michael's.

I think this needs a few more things, maybe a rug, maybe some artwork, definitely more goodies for the corner shelf. I was trying to eye things at the Good Sam Show to use in here, but out of all the stuff I saw, nothing struck me.  That just means whatever it is, I haven't found it yet.

Bye for now!

Cake and Tea for Two

Hello friends! I have something new to share.  I've been working on a shabby tea set. I was thinking of something fresh and summery.

 

 

I built and painted the furniture bright white and added the blue and yellow check fabric. I had to think about what else would be cute and tea party appropriate. So I added strawberry cupcakes, napkins, plates, and the cake stand.

 

I need to make up a few more things, like the cups, a teapot, maybe a doily or table runner, and a centerpiece. It's a work in progress, but it's coming together. Doesn't it look nice?

More PB style bed

Hi friends!

I hate it when I get clumsy.  Clumsy happens and it sucks. I was getting the Pottery Barn knock off bed out to give it a fresh coat of paint when I dropped it.

The headboard came off the rails.  At least it was a clean break at the joint, so it was easy to fix. I got it re-glued and managed to give it some more paint yesterday.

This paint job is so much better!  I even sanded down the edges to give it some wear and tear aging. I really like the ivory paint this time around. I'm considering just how much wear and tear I want. Maybe just a little. It is still a work in progress after all.

I'm not sold on the blue ticking stripe mattress. I might have to change that to red so it's more matchy-matchy with the redwork dahlia quilt. They clash when I turn down the quilt.

I have some solid red cotton and more of the red ticking stripe to work with. Maybe solid ivory sheeting?  What do you think?

By the way, I still haven't finished the dahlia pillows. Maybe when I nail the sheeting, I can finish the pillow backing.

Thanks for stopping by!

News for Now

Hello again, my friends. The weather here has been amazingly warm for February.  I was expecting more cold, dark evenings which are perfect for staying warm by the fireplace making minis.  Instead, we've had sunshine and weather in the 50-60s.

The boys have been in love with the new RC cars. Justin has made some ramps in the backyard and strategic rock piles for climbing with the cars. He's has even ordered a bunch of new aluminum parts to replace the broken plastic factory parts.  The Axial Wraith is getting red and orange new parts. They even have a plan to change out the body for a custom painted one with a 49ers logo and flames. I'm not sure what they have planned for the Vaterra Twin Hammers. It's been out of commission. They've had issues with the battery charger not charging. I think it's defective.We even made a special trip to Carson City's hobby store to get a new one. No luck there, though.

Anyhow, I've been trying my hand a few new things as well. I posted a few things on the Greenleaf forum, but I will share them here too.

I've been working on a scratch-built bed to go with my redwork quilt. Together, it looks like something straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog, which is what I was going for. I had the bed assembled, but the paint wasn't behaving so I took it apart. It will get re-painted and reassembled now. Here's before it was painted.

Of course I love my mini kitchen stuff, so I've been making some kitchen utensils. I've made some whisks, mashers, wooden spoons, pastry cutters, and a big strainer. Eventually a few sets will show up in my Etsy store, and I've even been thinking of doing a giveaway. Here's a shot of a few things to give you a taste.

I'm still working on Haley's heart quilt. I was hoping to be almost done now, but I was sick last week and spent three days home from work. My head cold was so bad, I couldn't even see well enough out of my watery eyes to cross stitch.

My poor head has been brimming with ideas for other projects, too. I keep telling myself not to get distracted from things I've already started. Must. Finish. Something!

Good luck out there. Stay warm (if you're in the East Coast freakish snow zone) and I'll see you again soon.

Elegant Marbleized Dining Table

I have been on a kick lately to refinish or repaint some of my furniture. I had this cute cherry-finished table that just wasn't as amazing as I thought it could be. After sanding and repainting it one solid color, I had the idea.

Marble top. Colored legs. Gold accents. I was very much in the mood for something fancy that would fit in with French Louis XV styling.

The table had the right bones, cabriole legs, some carved detail on the the apron, and the curvature of the top. Voila, a table transformed.

This table is available for sale in my Etsy shop with a few other items, a Hepplewhite banquet table set, an extra cute distressed round dining table, and a vintage 1/144 boot house kit are up.

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.)

The Littles Live On

My parents have been packing up their house. They are moving.  They stopped by this weekend with a special delivery. My absolute, very first dollhouse ever was a Mattel Littles dollhouse. I got it for Christmas, I think I was 3, give or take a year.

I knew they still had it after all these years. Mom set the bundled-up house on the dining room table. I unwrapped it with help from my daughter, of course. I couldn't believe my eyes. I took very good care it. Nothing was missing. A few wallpaper edges had started to curl, but the house itself was in perfect shape. The only thing wrong was the hinge on the icebox/kitchen sink was broken. The dolls had slightly matted hair, but I figured that's pretty good for being over 30 years old.

Haley immediately introduced the Littles to the Lalaloopsies. Size-wise, they are perfectly interchangeable. I now expect Haley to line up all the Mouse Houses, Lalaloopsy stuff, and Littles to make a full miniature city. Dang, my kids are lucky that I'm such a toy collector!