Farmhouse Living and a Poll for a Tutorial

Happy St. Patrick's Day Friends!
I'm still plugging away in the Farmhouse.
Built some furnishings from a wonderful, vintage kit. This is the first time I've built anything from one of these kits and I can say that the quality is really good and they are fairly easy to put together. This particular kit was the Realife series American Country Collection. I would love to find the bedroom from this collection, if there is one?

Need to sand the top again on this table...
I see some rough specks in the photo.

I think the sea chest and the side table are my favorite pieces.


 The side table was a bit fiddly, with the little strips that go between the four legs...those were a bit of a pain.
I definitely feel more confident about building things from scratch now, as I've learned from this kit that the pieces are simple shape put together in clever ways.



Love this chest and sofa.

There are also a Settle Bench and Candlestick table included.

Again, the candlestick table was fiddly as all get out :) I wound up carving little grooves in the spindle for the legs...there just wasn't enough surface area for the glue to adhere.





The Living Room

I really didn't like the staircase, it just sort of 'hung' there....I added the wall with built in shelving and really like it now. Still needs railings (ahem, yes, I know, should have done all that before putting together but I'm still learning...it's a process :D

Still quite a bit of work to do, touch ups on the walls and trim and need to paint the dividing wall (yes, I decided to put it back in). Window treatment, and stair rail among other things. I'm very happy with the way this is turning out. My dream home, or one of them, anyway ;)

Some mini accessories I made this week:

1. Apothecary, Spice Drawers
2. Antique Sifter (my fav)
3. Coffee Grinder
4. Enamel Can with Lid
5. Wall Box with Utensils
6. Kitchen Scale
7. Little Wooden Canister Box (top)

All made from scratch except the wire whisk.

I would like to do a tutorial for one of these pieces for you!  Please enter your vote in the poll in the sidebar.

XO

Ooops...Did it Again

I couldn't help myself. I really want to finish the farmhouse and it was just not doing it for me. The cottage chic look was cute but just not right. Sooooo....

Need to brush some aluminum paint on that faucet...way too shiny...

 I ripped everything out, including the dividing wall on the ground floor and started from scratch. Still working on the other half of the open floor plan.

 I still have quite a bit of trim to do and am thinking of washing the yellow to tone it down a bit. What do you think? Is it too bright? Nothing is glued or fixed permanently...thank goodness for museum wax! But, I learned NOT to leave the house sitting in the sun too long..*snicker and a few choice words*

 Much better...wish this was my kitchen!

 Ahhh, yes, and I made some canned goods! Oh my, am I ever hooked on that. :) So much fun. I tried a couple of different methods and really like the glass jars the best...wish I could find some a little bit smaller.
The tiny jars are clear resin poured in molds or pencil erasers...thanks to a tutorial found here...brilliant!
*TIP - I cut up the stems from tiny plastic plants found at the craft store (never, ever throw anything away!) for some of the green beans...they look amazingly like the real thing. Will take some better close up shots of the jars later.

 Not sure about the white shelf above the window...does it look wonky? Should I custom make one to go straight across at the same level as the top of the cabinet and window?

 The corner cabinet is scratch built, not sure if I like it here either...oh, no...there I go again....

 I made the sink...err...well part of the sink. I had the little cabinet but needed a sink!

Here are the pieces, but if you notice, I decided to extend the counter top and put the little curtain beneath it so I had to cut another top and make a 'leg' for it. The top is balsa wood and the sink is made from plastic packaging (from who knows what?  I have no idea but again, don't throw that away!!) ;) I've found that Apple Barrel brand GLOSS paint will stick to plastic really well and is perfect for faux porcelain and enamel. Dries really fast too. I haven't tried to sand it though. I do light coats so as to minimize brush marks.
Hmmmm...now to clean up the messes I've made....

Happy Day!

Away Too Long!

Well....Hello! I have missed you and missed blogging! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to stay away so long. It's been an icky winter. There won't be a long list of excuses, just life in general, getting in the way of hobbies. I hope to try and catch up on all my favorite blogs.  And, I come back to find that Blogger is yet again doing something crazy to layouts and my beautiful fairy background is gone all wonky and I couldn't figure out how to fix it..ugh...sorry for the ugly, plain blog. Will try to find time to work on it.
I have 'unburied' my ministuff and dusted off the farmhouse (as well as acquiring two Coventry Cottage kits) and am eager to work on some new ideas.
For now, I've redone the kitchen in the Vermont Farmhouse..ahem, but I'm really thinking I might start all over on that house and make it a country primitive style, which I love very much..almost as much as shabby.
I kept looking at the house and just knowing that the French/shabby/elegant theme was all wrong for that style of house. I knew it when I bought it.
Still can't make up my mind, maybe that means I need another kit for the country/primitive house, a saltbox and yet another for the Shabby French? HAHA, any excuse to build another house?  I do love this front opening house for the French house:

http://shop.greenleafdollhouses.com/Cheltenham-Front-Opening-Dollhouses.html
or this one (I saw one at a show and it was much cuter than this pic and I would add another floor to the bottom:

Still looking for a true New England style saltbox kit. I may have to coerce hubby into helping me build one from scratch. I would also like to tackle some room-boxes, my father cut some for me in 1/6th scale but I asked him not to cut the windows as I hadn't decided what size or where to put them...duh, now I have to try and do it myself.

Meanwhile...

I've been painting little hutches and cabinets and decorating the farmhouse kitchen.

Sorry for the above, horrible photos...hubs has misplaced the camera battery charger - had to resort to my phone camera.

 I love making kitchens ;)

I found the little stove in a local antiques mall. It is metal and sooo cute!

I think it might be 3/4 scale though? I purchased a new/old fashioned stove and it dwarfs this one.

Some ReMent that is really too large for this scene but I love the Pyrex colors :)

I hope you are all well, and happy.

XO

Shabby Miniature Bedroom Remake

Hello Dear Friends,

I've been refinishing some old furniture. What fun! The armoire was originally a very dark brown piece with ugly thick doors. I took those off and added the open doors from a cheap Michael's hutch. I added some mesh to them, painted everything black, sanded and then painted several coats of white, sanded some more and then added some gold stencil cream.

I still need to make rugs and some more soft furnishings and find a night stand. I also need to add some artwork to the walls and a chandelier for the ceiling.

Just a gentle reminder that my giveaway ends tonight, my time, @ midnight.
So far here are the entries. Please, please if you don't see your name here and you have previously contacted me because you couldn't leave a comment, let me know so I can add you!

1. Eliana
2. Inês Paiva Raposo
3. ultsu
4. Carmen
5. Plushpussycat
6. Patty
7. Maria Ireland
8. Linda Carswell
9. anna
10. Norma
11. Jennybee
12. Rosamargarita
13. Sharon
14. babette
15. rudoo
16. Dark Squirrel Victoria
17. Susan
18. Sans!
19. Britt
20. carmen
21. Kleine Vingers
22. TINK - SONIA
23. Margriet
24. Janne
25. Linda
26. Pilar
27. Eva - tatalamaru
28. maria l.
29. NarinaNäpertää
30. M Carmen Casanova
31. ANTONIA
32. Caroline
33. PAKY
34. Mona
35. No soy Job
36. Ascension
37. Terefer
38. sorty0
39. SaMiRa73
40. Katakliptiko
41. Contrastes-Rosa Mª
42. Marian
43. LavenderDilly
44. Heather
45. Iris
46. CrisColás
47. Sassy Marsha
48. Ingrid
49. linsminis
50. malu2
51. Pity
52. Flor
53. Patrizia
54. micia
55. miniaturista
56. Ana
57. Drora's minimundo
58. El bichillo
59. Fabiola
60. Yayin
61. by Sonya
62. b_e_i_s_
63. MALUGA
64. Teruka
65. Meapuntoatodo
66. Rosella
67. MAIJA
68. Roelie
69. Susi
70. Craftland
71. Post
72. MelyMel
73. Margot Ensink
74. Marta
75. Rosa-kreattiva
76. Marver
77. Virginia Isabel
78. Ana
79. otterine
80. auzilio
81. riekie
82. monique
83. Phred
84. Arantxa
85. Lilith
86. Minteriors
87. mcddiss
88. Maru
89. sylvia
90. Carolyn
91. Mari@
92. Margaret
93. amy fletcher
94. Marja
95. Loly Rodriguez
96. OLESHA
97. Eva
98. Dees
99. Blanca
100. rocinash
101. Chris P's Minis and More
102. Daydreamer
103. Estefanía

I will print the names along with the corresponding numbers and have my daughter draw from a hat in the morning :D

Good luck!

Hugs,

Daphne

Dreaming of French Dollhouses

Hello Dear Readers!

This is our new friend :) Well, actually two new friends, this little fellow has a brother that looks very much like him. They are both very sweet but have different personalities. We need to name them. Name suggestions??

We took them both so one wouldn't end up in the pound.

I've been working on the Vermont Farmhouse... Still a work in progress. I've been playing with the French Brocante look but it really doesn't suit this house. I love this style though and will eventually have to build my dream house. I will probably change most of this out but for now, I am having fun!

I made another little chair and received my lovely desk and side table from Minis De Eva. Thank you! I love them.

The little book was made by Cockerina, it is so lovely!

I also made this little sofa a la Christine Lea Frisoni's pattern and instructions. I am going to try one in wood with sculpted legs and arm rests.

The outside of the house is farther along than this but I didn't get pictures of it yet. The windows and door are installed and the gable is finished. I think I am going to leave out the stairs and plug up the hole in the second floor - only because I want the extra space! Maybe not, haven't decided yet.

The swap gift for Cockerina's Swap is finished. I hope she likes it! It's so hard not to post photos until the appointed time ;)

Bed Linens

Greetings Friends,

It's a beautiful day!

I finished up the bed last night. Thank you all for your comments and advice. I agree that with the linens on the bed, the edges are softened making the bed look less clunky. I did like the idea of using the foot board as the head board but after repairing and painting the whole thing once already, I didn't want to tear it all apart again :)

The bed linens were made from a Rachel Ashwell, Shabby Chic valance that I got on clearance at Target...I've used the fabric from that for so many projects. It has beautiful embroidery on it and is a very fine, lightweight cotton.

The 'painting' above the bed is another Hobby Lobby find. They are putting out their Christmas items and this was among them. It started as a small metal plaque in a dark mossy green. I painted it and distressed it and then added some translucent stickers and topped it with some gloss.

The two little white pillows are made just like real pillows with cases and filled with fine glass beads so they will 'scrunch' naturally. The roses pillow was kind of a cheater pillow, I just made the pillow case and then filled and stitched closed. I want to add some smaller square pillows and a bolster.