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

Tea at Rebecca Feedlebaum's

Hello Friends :)

Looks like the vote is in on the next tutorial. I will show you how to make

a vintage style kitchen scale. I will try to get to this next week.

Meanwhile....

Miss Rebecca Feedlebaum has just returned from the strawberry patch and would like to invite you in for 'a cuppa' and a nibble.

Hmmm...who put the tea way up there?

We are still building and decorating but she was so eager, I couldn't tell her no.

I started this project last weekend.

The whole family joined in the fun :)

We started with foam core board and the hot glue gun. I'd been envisioning a tree stump home for about 12 years now and have finally taken the leap.

The process is fairly simple, really.

I first cut three 'floors' from the foam core board, each being the same shape but smaller in diameter.

Next, we scored more foam core in order to be able to conform it to the curves of the 'floors'. 

Once this was accomplished, we cut windows and doors and added insulation foam to the outside to imitate the outside of the tree.  Windows were made from the plastic from various recycled packaging. The 'leading' was done using slick, dimensional tee shirt paint.  We added papier mache to the outside....still waiting for that to dry so we can paint and add greenery and flower boxes!

I created fireplaces from the insulation foam and the floor is grunge paper from Tim Holtz. Cardstock would probably work or paper egg cartons.

The stove was made from a heavy cardboard tube from gift wrap, along with wood doweling, a wooden flower pot and a wooden candle cup and other scrap wood shapes.

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

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 ;)