Sunday, July 26, 2015

A Little Space For A Little Kitty



If I were an urban hipster this is what I would imagine Miss Kitty's room would look like.  I have some of these elements in her room, but I'm currently a little more grey and white then all this colour.  I suspect things will change as Miss Kitty's ability to voice her 2 year old opinion has improved!

The dresser is missing handles, I know.  I couldn't find what I wanted so I ordered some supplies to make my own, but the scene needed a dresser!

The rest is just bits and bobs I have laying about.  The rug is from Ikea, but they are sold as "decorative patches" in the sewing section.  5 different kinds for $4.99!

I'm actually in the wall gluing process of both the room box and the 1:24 scale dollhouse......did you feel the earth move?  I've improved my mood toward them.  Thank you Elizabeth your kind words greatly improved my mood!

Not sure why I had the urge to start making a mini scene at 11:50pm, but I did!  Good night and sleep tight.











Monday, July 20, 2015

Many Projects....Little Time



I've been a wee bit absent.  The summer is only so long and I've been busy....really busy.  This is the first year that I've been able to get back to the "old" me and my project workaholic ways around the house.  The Ikea cabinets are finished in the basement, and all the other shelving is done.  Most of the items to be housed in it are out of storage too.

Then the sun was out and I thought, since I hate my deck, lets stain it! I went with "Slate" by Behr, essentially a soft black.  This hid the ugly, worn wood and blocked out the old green stain.  That took some weekend time and post Missy Kitty's bedtime till sundown time.  I'm now staining wood and lattice each night to redo the bottom portion of the deck to keep out critters and make some access doors.  

Not busy at all, right?

All the while I have been making small, incremental steps forward and backward with my other 3 projects.  The 1:24 scale house is slowly moving.  Had a few setbacks with wall paper bubbling in horrific ways.  Then I started the room box.

The room box is going to be a blank canvas so I can make mini scenes and have some fun playing around with all my stuff.  Supposed to be simple and easy.  Don't even go there!

I chose a Houseworks two room room box.   First, I wanted to paint, not paper, the walls.  The grain and finish was horrible out of box.  I spent A LOT of time sanding, and then pulled out the big electric sander and had at it......its much better now.  

I used the Behr "Slate" stain for the exterior of my windows and CIL "Romance" for my inside trim.  Wellllllllllll, did I pay attention to the fact the walls are 1/4 inch thick and the windows are 1/2 inch thick?  Nope.  Not at all.  Didn't phase me as I excitedly worked away painting and staining.  
Note the LARGE gap

What's a girl to do? Swear like a sailor for a good 15 minutes.  Stop and do some laundry.  Swear some more.  Then, I went to look in my wood pile for a solution. I decided I wanted the inside of the windows to be flush with the walls, so the gap would be filled from the outside.  I also plan to practice stone work on the outside which should diminish the wood fillers appearance.  

I grabbed a 1/4 inch square strip of poplar I had (80 cents-ish at Canadian Tire) that was supposed to be for bunk beds (that I haven't started.....sigh).  It fits perfectly.  So, I stained the strip of wood so I could start the gap filling sooner then later.







Inside will be flush
 I then used LePaige "No More Nails" glue and secured the windows in.  To ensure the gap was on the outside, I weighed down the walls then dropped the window in, then weighed it down.  




And then.....voila! Another "challenge" (aka swear inducing event), I failed to put down wax paper on my furnace room floor as I glued.  Some of the multiple layers of paint came off with the window frames when I lifted them up.  I had to scrape and sand the inside frame and do some touch up painting.  Agh!





The doors are a similar story.  The internal door is getting a bit of extra wood behind the trim to bump each side of the door outward and distribute the gap to each side.  

The front door was a bit more work.




I added trim to the sides and top easily.  But the cornice was trickier.  I traced the profile on a piece of trim and cut away the design.  I cut WITH the grain so it was easier to cut and get the curves.





I just keep telling myself this will get done.  One day.  And Miss Kitty's bunk beds will get built in the attic space.  It makes me feel unsettled.  Grrrr.  

On a happier note, my garden is looking fantastic this year!  I just had my first cherry tomato and picked my first hot pepper.  Delicious!

Monday, July 06, 2015

Everything Is Coming Up Roses (And Ferns)




I finished my roses and fern kits.  Over the course of several days, a few glasses of wine in the evenings and much trepidation about making a mess of the floral kits, I finally an able to yell, success!!!  Well, I think so, that is.

I made the 1:12 red roses and the 1:12 fern  from Melissa's Miniwereld on Etsy.  Melissa makes very nice kits, and if I can make them on my first try, then any fool can do it.  Seriously.  But make sure you have some wine as you work.

What Did I Do?


First order of business, I didn't rush like I normally do.  I accepted this wasn't a 1 evening or a Miss Kitty nap time project.  I carefully glued each set of petals and leaves and let them dry.  I didn't do any fluffing or adjusting for 24 hours.  I didn't want mistakes.

Second, I didn't cheap out like I usually try to do.  I purchased fine tweezers from The Miniature Garden when I ordered flower kits a few months ago.  They were instrumental to my success.  I also used a metal poker that came with my knife set and fresh white glue.





The Fern Kit


When I Google imaged a real fern I felt a bit less lost.  I had a vision of a fern, but the actual picture made it easier to visualize the final piece.

I took pictures of the fern in 2 different vignettes.






Thank you for everyone's kind comments over the last few posts!  I've been trying to respond in a timely matter, but Miss Kitty has cut her naps short the past 2 weeks.  Let's just say mama ain't so pleased.




Thursday, July 02, 2015

With A Little Help From My Friend....



I decided to tackle some flowers.  I've been up to my eyeballs in Ikea and needed a distraction.  And some wine.  It always seems like a good idea to tackle your first ever foray into flower making with the help of some wine.  

The rose kit is from Melissasminiwereld on Etsy.  It's pretty straight forward, but a bit of a challenge for this newbie.  Oh wine, a good mini making companion.

As a side note, please note the gorilla to the left of the Elmer's glue.  Miss Kitty says this is me, momma monkey.  The likeness is not accurate, it is the summer after all, I do shave my legs now and again!