Spring is almost here! Little lavender pots to brighten the day

Hello Friends,
Just a quick little post while I am waiting for the furniture delivery men.
I am awaiting our new sofa and loveseat.  Please don't take that as braggadocio, lol, if you saw our ten year old sofa you would understand. The dogs and children have done their duty - it is a filthy, saggy mess and I cannot wait to see it leave my home and go on its way to sofa heaven.

So, anyway, here are some little miniature pots and planters filled with lavender and other greenery. These were made using the ground up paper from my last post.

 Have a great day!

~Daphne

Promises, Promises or Make Your Own Flower S O F T for Lavender and Other Flowers

Yes, promises...I do solemnly promise the tutorials for the corset, stockings and tuffet are coming but I was so excited that this couldn't wait!
This has been stewing and bubbling in the little idea closet of my mind for probably about a year.

I wanted some of that Flower Soft stuff to play with but I always felt like it was a little pricey. I mean, it's just some kind of ground up something or other, right? (I must be truthful, I've never felt any of that stuff with my own hands but have seen photos of it in use.)

Anyway...do you have a little food chopper, old blender or food processor? Maybe a food processor you use for polymer clay or a blender that is languishing in the cabinet in the kitchen because you learned your lesson the hard way the last time you had Margarita Night? ;) *snicker*

Yep...see that paper up there in  pic? That is Bazzil card stock..it has a white core...I really don't think it matters which brand or that the paper has a white core, that's just what I happened to have in the colors I wanted to use for some lavender.  I used three shades of purple.  I would be willing to bet you could use construction paper but it might not hold up as well - haven't tried it.

So, yes, tear that paper up into...ehm, maybe one inch squares? I apologize, I was so excited, I forgot to take any pics of the process but it's not rocket science.  Throw some torn bits of paper into that poor, disused blender and then drop in a couple drops of water...not too much! We don't want to make paper pulp. I tried it first without any water and it created a lot of super fine dust and built up a lot of static.  The water really helped...just wet your fingers under the faucet and shake them off into the blender/food chopper cup.  I set my little chopper on high but you might want to first start on a little lower setting and see how things go.
You want the paper chopped up fine but not pulverized to dust.

 

Voila! Is that cool or what?  I'm sure I will think of lots of uses for this but for now, I made some little Lavender stems with florist's wire (the wire needed to be a little bit finer but this was an experiment) and my super sticky favorite glue in the whole wide world.
Easy Peasey.
I know, you, my friends, will make something wonderful with this idea! I'd love to see what you do.

On My Work Table...

...waiting to be finished. :)  Two Bespaq pieces.  The legs on these are so delicate.
Please be sure to visit my new website - www.courtofgypsies.com 
I have placed my first order with my supplier and will have some lovely things listed soon. I'm very excited as this has been a dream of mine for a long time. Someday, I would love to open a brick and mortar dollhouse shop but for now, it will have to be online.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Hand Painted Miniature - French Rococo Kidney Side Table

 

Hello Friends :) Thank you so much for your kind words, so much appreciated.

I've done up another little Rococo piece. Still rusty with the painting...have get smaller!  I feel like the roses are a bit too large on this piece. It is so tiny and delicate. Very well made little piece that I purchased unfinished.

Still working on the website so I will probably list my first few pieces in my Etsy shop.

Hope you are having a wonderful day...trying to stay warm around here!

Chalk Painted Rococo Bombe Chest in 1:12 scale

Hello Friends,

It's been one of those weeks..really, I should say, one of those months or years, as it's just been one thing after another around here. Trying to keep my chin up.  I try not to post personal junk but life is getting in the way a bit here and I am a bit down. It will all work out. :) I apologize, not trying to dump on you, just had to get it out.

On to the fun stuff, I promised to post about chalk paint. I should have taken pics of how I mixed up the paint but I didn't...so, I will just explain. It is very simple, anyway.  I also wanted to give credit where due. I first saw the chalk paint mentioned at about.com in an article from Lesley Sheperd.

You need:
Acrylic or Latex Paint
Plaster of Paris
Water


I used regular old acrylic craft paint, folk art brand that comes in the small bottles. The kind used for decorative and tole painting.  I had some small jars here to mix the paints in.  I poured some bottled water into the little jar - about half full - and then put in small amounts of plaster of Paris till it was the consistency of a little bit thicker than liquid hand soap. Don't make it super thick and not super runny either.

Next, add your paint. I used about equal parts paint and plaster of Paris/water mixture.

My little jars have tight fitting lids and so far, only one has set up a tiny bit in the bottom and by chance that was the one that had a little bit less acrylic paint in it.

I made this paint in small batches, about two oz. or so.

So, here is the result. I only used the chalk paint as the off white base coat for this piece. It covered really well, I used two coats. This little bombe chest had a shiny red varnish on it to start. I did run some fine sandpaper over it just to give it some tooth but honestly, I probably wouldn't have had to. I distressed this piece a little more than I meant to but I kind of like the result. :)  I'm a bit out of practice with my decorative painting, I want to do some of these little chests with some pastoral scenes.  I also learned that my gold leaf paint needs to be sealed before you put antiquing gel on top...

All in all, really really like the soft, flat look of the chalk paint for base coating and the nice coverage it gives.

Hugs and kisses for now,  I hope you will try this and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

One Down, On To The Next!

Good Day Mini Friends! Hope you had a lovely Easter and are having a wonderful week.

The Tree Stump House is finished :) She is going up in my etsy shop today. Will be sold un-furnished. Shipping won't be expensive as this house is very lightweight!

I am currently working on a new project for the Greenleaf Dollhouses Annual Spring Fling Contest. I won't be able to share much with you about the project but I will offer up tidbits and sneak peeks once in a while :D

This is a floor...I added each little floorboard. I like it :)

I will post the tutorial for the vintage scales on Tuesday of next week. I haven't had a chance to do that for you this week.

XO

More Work at Rebecca's House

Hello Friends, hope you are having a lovely week!

Still work to do but it's coming along :D

Not feeling very well at the moment...stupid viruses going around. Off to try and sleep.

Shabby Boxes

Going in the shop this evening.

Hydrangea in Brocante Style Planter

Hello Dear Friends,

Well, I didn't stay up very late. LOL, I'm getting too old for that...just can't cut it anymore. I did make one more little planter and then went to bed.
Got up this morning and made some Hydrangea to put in.
This is the first time I've tried Hydrangea and I got a little frustrated. My punch doesn't like to cut painted paper and the little paper petals weren't holding their shape very well after cupping them with the stylus. My observation is that I definitely need some crisper paper. Anyone have suggestions for papers to use?

I did manage to make some for the planter. Hope you like it :)