Mini Mod Takes Shape

Hi Friends!

I actually got something done on this house yesterday!!! The kids were wrapped up playing video games, so I took over the kitchen floor. The table is currently covered in Haley's Lego creations, and there would have been fits if I touched them. She's been on a kick remodeling her Lego Friends houses into one mega-house.

As for my new and improved modernized house, I made some great progress. Inside, I had glued up the gray stripe wallpaper a few weeks ago. I got around to trimming the excess out of the window openings.

As you might remember, I had sketched the exterior of the house. I began painting to follow that sketch. The undersides of both roof pieces have bright white for the portion inside the house and Valspar English Tea Party (deep dingy brown) for the exterior.

The smaller bedroom wing is now the same deep dingy brown on the exterior walls. And, amazingly, it coordinates with the espresso damask wallpaper. How I managed to match them with never even holding them together is honestly a miracle. I do plan on adding some trim on the long wall to look like modular panels and cedar-stained planks to the brown portion of the front. Since I didn't electrify this house, I will need to buy some battery-operated LED lamps. The bedroom is going to be very dark and dramatic.

Over by the new front door, I painted the upper part one coat of bright white as a base layer. Then, to simulate stucco, I added crumpled white tissue paper with decoupage glue. Eventually I will add some paint to dirty up the stucco. I used my teeny tiny embroidery scissors to cut off the excess tissue.

My next step will be to cover the remaining exterior walls with paper clay sculpted to look like brick. I will need to order a bunch of window and door-making strip wood.  It turns out that all the factory openings are not standard size. I will have to make them all myself.  That's OK. I didn't want standard-looking doors and windows anyway!

One more thing, for Christmas, I had asked Dear Hubby to get me an ELF compact corner kitchen. He didn't have a chance to order it for me, but gave me to OK to order it myself. I ordered the kit version along with a European-style stainless fridge kit. I got the black and gray ebony wood effect (which is now no longer available) for the cabinets and black and silver granite counter-top. I can't wait to put it together! It's going to look so slick and amazing!

Taking a Modern Turn

Hi friends. Isn't it funny how ideas can morph and change?  I was losing sight of the fish market and sushi bar. I couldn't really picture the finished product, so I was considering scrapping that idea.

Thanks to Pinterest, I was pinning all these sleek modern architectural houses. It finally struck me to just go modern. Drop the fish idea and do it.

I started sketching the basics of the building. I penciled in the bricks and horizontal wooden siding and I knew it was right. I could actually picture the finished house in my mind's eye. It was going to be beautiful!

Last weekend, I got busy. I got out the Dremel saw and cut out the new entry door and kitchen window on the side was that was previously solid and plain.

I wallpapered the entire bedroom in a fantastic espresso brown damask scrapbook paper. Matching the seams was pretty easy on this room.

I even finished the flooring in both rooms, too. Espresso stripe in the bedroom and black and white check in the main room.

I had to let things dry, so I came back to do the wallpaper in the main room another day, I used this great gray and yellow damask.

This is where I stopped. I have a gray-on-gray stripe for the back wall to accent the huge windows. Yes, they will look like glass garage doors when I'm done.

I also picked up some fat quarters of gray and yellow fabric from Windy Moon Quilts on Pyramid Way.  I'm saving it so I can custom-make some modern furniture. I'm planning on making a couch and armchair. I'm also starting to plan the bedroom furniture.

One of the things I had to come to grips with, was if I was going to make a bathroom or not. In this case, the bathroom is not included. I'm telling myself that it's in the "other" part of the house, you know the part that doesn't really exist.  But I can imagine that it's sleek and modern too. Oh, that gives me another idea for a bathroom room box. (shush, you crazy ideas!)

I've been eyeballing a sleek modern compact kitchen from ELF Miniatures.  They even have tiny color coordinated blinds for the kitchen window! I think this house deserves a nice espresso machine and an orchid on the counter.

Well, that is all for now. I will keep you posted as things progress. See you soon!

Sunny Miniature Quilt

Hello friends! I have been very quiet lately, lots going on. The kids are back in school which means homework, field trips, and football practice. I started,  and have already finished, a new cross stitch project. You know I have been on a quilt kick.

I was inspired by sunflowers. We grew some in the garden this year, so they were just outside the back door whenever we looked out. I charted some simple little blocks and tweaked the colors to be sunny. Then, on August first, the first night of football practice, I started my stitching.

After two weeks, I had this much done.

Ten days later, I was up to here. This was a slow stretch, but no giving up. I finished all the yellow, then went back and added the brown. Much more efficient that way.

Then I had all the little fussy little leaves to add. And I lost my favorite needle. I had to buy new needles, two different packs to test them out. All of them pale in comparison to my old needle. Some were too fat, some too short, but all were stamped weird so they were hard to thread. Bummer.

So here is the top. I still need to get some backing fabric and finish it.  It's small, not bed size. It's more like a wall-hanging art quilt. It's just a tad too big to be a half-scale quilt. The stitched area is about 3.5" square.

Now, I need to wash it, iron it, cut it out, find some backing fabric, sew it all together, and then it can be done.  In the meantime, I'm ready to start another quilt project. It's nice to have a portable project that goes to practice!

Thanks for stopping by, my friends!