Category: "Miniatures"

Bespaq bed makeover, aging the paint

by brae  

I started aging the Bespaq bed by removing some of the Krylon Almond satin paint using a sanding stick.  I picked up a package of these at Hobby Lobby.

I went for a little less wear than my inspiration photo.


image from European Paint Finishes

Detail of the wear patterns on the inspiration bed.

Detail of the wear on my bed.  I wanted to emphasize the lines and details of the bed without overdoing it, especially since miniature finishes tend to work best when they are subtle.

I dry brushed some brown paint into the grooves and recesses, again using only a little.  It added some nice depth.

I cut new foam core board pieces to replace the original mattress.

We're ready for bedding!

The bed looks heavier now than it did in plain almond, don't you think?  :D

Happy Holidays 2012

by brae  

I set up a quick living room scene since the Christmas tree I decorated for the Newport is too tall for the Heritage parlor.  :O  I'll have to make grandma a tree of her own next year.

The couch, chair and coffee table are Bespaq, and I have a third chair to match.  The afghan is by Mary of Roslyn Treasures.  The curtains are a Marimekko design printed on regular paper, folded and tacked to the sides of the window.  The rug is from Dales Dreams.  The Shaker step stool was made from a kit by Miniature Wood Creations.  The wood is so nice I just sealed it as is with satin varnish.

The red paper bag and box with tissue on the couch are by Patrizia Santi (the shoes are at Baxter Pointe Villa).  The kitting, plant and table in the corner were purchased.  I made the bag of wrapping paper rolls.

The mini cookies on the dresser are from the swap arranged by Gail at Dolly's Gallery Miniatures.  Gail made glitter stars and trees, and Denise made gingerbread men.   The plates are from A Lavender Dilly, and the doily is from Stewart Dollhouse Creations.  The mouse is from a box of miniatures a group of us send around as an ongoing swap, and I made the topiary and cards.  The snowman bead was purchased some time ago.  I bought the frame and printed the owl drawing by Dürer to fit.  The dresser is a House of Miniatures kit made in a more modern finish.

I made all of the wrapped gifts except for the red one with the white bow.  That came from the traveling swap box as well.  :]

The wreath I bought a couple of years ago.

The lovely Caterina hosted her annual Christmas Swap this year, and my gifts came from M Carmen.  She sent me a lovely assortment of holiday minis, starting with a festive centerpiece with frosted pine cones.  It's very Pottery Barn.  The tea pot is by Jason Feltrope, and the tray is from artbase on etsy.  I made the cookies in the tin.

M Carmen also made a wreath from tiny pages of music paper with Santa in the middle.  Very vintage!

The postal service was a little rough on the remaining box of minis she included, so I am not sure how she meant for it to be originally.  There's a wooden box with a few minis glued in place: garland, a Santa hat, more of those adorable tiny pinecones.  Running around loose in the box were ornaments, ribbon, Christmas plaques, rolled paper, cards, candy canes and pinecones.  It's the perfect box for grandma's attic in the Heritage.  :D  And, I don't mind in the least that the contents escaped the box; I'll be able to use them displayed in the box and to decorate besides!  Thank you so much, M Carmen! 

As with my Jasper in real life, Cora is after the gift wrap!  :O

The floral painting is by Elga's daughter, Naomi.  It's so well done; the photos don't do it justice.

Wishing you all the happiest of holidays and a wonderful new year!  Thank you for all the support and friendship!

Grandma's comfy chair - part 2

by brae  

Continuing work on the House of Miniatures Chippendale Wing Chair.  I found the instructions for this kit to be well thought out and adequately descriptive.  The illustrations were helpful and made putting the chair together relatively simple.  I just followed step by step, and the chair came to life. :D

Let's not confuse matters and say it was easy...but simple in the straightforward approach the assembly follows.  I did make a few modifications to the directions, and these might not make sense unless you are making this exact kit.  I would not have thought to do these things if I hadn't made the Millie August sofa kit previously.  I am so glad I ran into that kit...it taught me a lot of tips and tricks for upholstering mini furniture.  Unless otherwise noted, I followed the directions exactly.

In Step 3, the rounded moldings were longer than the chair sides.  I glued them so the tops were flush and then sanded the excess from the bottom once the glue was dry.  This might not be an issue for all kits.

In Step 8, you are to wrap the fabric around the card piece, including the bottom and back edges.  I left these loose and wrapped only the curved front edge.  I then glued the card to the side and wrapped the back and bottom edges around the wood, cutting flush with the opposite side.  Otherwise, I would risk the fabric pieces not matching up with the back and seat coverings added later, therefore leaving gaps.  (Doing this actually saved the piece in the end.)

In Step 9, I wrapped all edges of the card except those around the bottom of the rolled edge.

I again wrapped these ends under the wood on the bottom.  (This did end up being a little bulky in the end, but I would have had gaps without doing it so it was worth it.)

Any gaps along the back or bottom edges for Step 9 won't matter since these are joined on the inside with the back and seat to form the chair.

I did plan having roses centered on the arm rests, but I left the pattern random for the rest of the chair.  :]

I will point out that you may need to cut new card pieces.  A couple of the pieces were shorter than needed.  I had to cut completely new pieces for D and E in Steps 8 and 9 for the second of the side assemblies, even though the first side worked perfectly with the original card pieces.  Here you can see just how off the original piece E was around the front curve.

The patterns aren't very precise, especially after you've added fabric in previous steps.  Depending on the lightness of your fabric any shortness around the edges may show.  Here you can see a little of the wood underneath at the bottom of the rolled edge.  This should end up looking like nothing more than a shadow and not be obvious in the end.

I should add, too, that the white card I added to the kit card pieces to make the color of the fabric truer did not interfere with the assembly of the chair.  It might have resulted in slightly thicker "piping" around the pieces, but it still looks in scale.  If you add anything, though, it has to be very thin or take over for the kit supplied card in like thickness.

In Step 12, I painted the chair base (piece 52) white before adding the fabric.  Otherwise, the fabric would have appeared darker on this piece due to being over bare wood instead of white card or white batting.

Also, since I wasn't using the more rigid foam for the back cushion, I cut an extra piece of card for the back of the millinery batting layers to make it easier to cover with fabric.

In Step 13, I painted the edges of the seat cushion white for the same reason I had done so for the chair base.

In Step 14, for the actual assembly of the fabric covered pieces, I glued the back to the seat as indicated.  I then glued on one side, but this is where I deviated from the instructions.  I glued in the seat cushion next.

I then glued in the back cushion and slathered on the glue.

I then glued on the other side.  This ensured a good, solid fit for all the pieces instead of waiting until the end to try to make adjustments.  One happy accident: using millinery batting instead of a solid foam piece for the back cushion resulted in a delightfully saggy back to the chair.  It looks like it has been well-loved all these years.  :D

The Tapioca paint on the foundation ended up being a little too light when paired with the fabric, so I added a coat of warmer yellow.  I mixed the paint on the fly to coordinate, and I'll never be able to replicate it.

I think the chair turned out very well and I'm so pleased with it.  I think using patterned fabric helps hide any inconsistencies that the solid blue fabric included with the kit would have accentuated.  :]

In fact, I love the fabric I used.  It's just the sort of feminine touch I was after.  The piece I used was 11" x 11" and, with careful planning, I had just enough.  If you use a fabric with a pattern that needs to be matched, you might need a larger piece.

Interestingly, the black and white photo shown on the instruction sheet shows a similar floral pattern.

I've added one of my white patterned pillows with lace flower detailing.  It was the only one I had on hand that coordinated well.  A red one might be nice, too.

Considering I didn't think I'd ever end up using this kit (it was included in a lot I bought), I might be inclined to pick up another if I find a good deal.  :]  It really is a classic design that can be so many things depending on the fabric.  Ophelia loves it.

Miss Kitty loves it.

I want to sit in it!  :D

Grandma's comfy chair - part 1

by brae  

You may recall from a previous post, I will be putting together a House of Miniatures Chippendale Wing Chair kit for the Heritage bedroom with some wonderful vintage-inspired fabric.

The kit was in near perfect condition, but I needed to make some adjustments.  First, the card supplied with the kit is manila-folder type cardstock.  It was in usable condition, but it made the fabric appear more yellow when placed underneath.  I wanted the chair to be more of a true ivory like the original fabric.

I cut new pieces from some thin white cardboard.  It was so thin, I decided to just glue it to the original pattern pieces and use them together.  Here they are before gluing.

The foam inserts were in better condition than I had expected, but I still didn't want to risk using them.  They were starting to degrade and would probably break down completely over time.  I cut layers of millinery batting to replace these foam pieces.

I painted the wood foundation Tapioca by Folk Art.  I think it will complement the fabric well.  I also didn't want the legs to be lost in a dark room and make the chair seem like it was floating in air.  :D

Jack-o'-lantern

by brae  

What's a Halloween display without a jack-o'-lantern?!  Ophelia wouldn't hear of it!

I've seen many techniques used online and in books for making hollow pumpkins from polymer clay.  Most often something is baked inside: styrofoam, foil or a glass marble.  Each of these has pros and cons.  The styrofoam just seems noxious to bake, but maybe I'm wrong.  The glass marble can cause breakage when you try to remove it, which makes me worry about all the effort to make it look good being ruined in an instant.  The foil doesn't seem the easiest to remove, but it seems the least noxious and easier than the marble...so that's the way I went.

I used Fimo ochre clay around the foil ball and then added Fimo cognac clay around the clay ball.  This way, the inside would be lighter than the outside once carved.

I added lines and texture but decided to carve my pumpkin after baking to minimize handling while the clay was pliable.  I did plan to leave one or two of the pumpkins intact just for decoration, but I made all three the same way just in case.

I used pastels to color the clay before baking to deepen the color and emphasize the sculpted lines.  Here they are after baking.

After the clay cooled, I cut the removable top, removed the foil innards and carved the pumpkin face.  None of these things proved easily done.  The clay was thicker and harder than I thought it would be.  It didn't ruin the illusion in the end, but I ended up making only this one for lack of time.

I used a grape stem for the top, an idea I saw on Joann Swanson's blog.  I used the larger main stem, though, and it was still green.  I microwaved it to dry it out, and bleh...did it ever smell bad.  Hahahaha

After gluing the stems on, I brushed on a thin coat of Sculpey satin glaze, even on the stems to seal them.  It gives them a wonderfully realistic waxy finish.  :D It also disguises the cutting and carving marks.

I drilled a hole in the bottom for the LED.

These are flickering LEDs from Evan Designs.  They attach to a 3V battery adapter with a switch and come in yellow or orange.  I bought both colors since I wasn't sure which would look better, or if I would want a combination of the two.  And, because Lyssa told me to get both.  :D  I ended up using a single orange bulb for my jack-o'-lantern.  It ended up being the better color of the two and plenty bright on its own.

I had already run the wire through the foundation so I could operate the switch in the cellar doors.  Here's the battery and switch in the cellar.

The light is on and pumpkins are in place!  Hooray!

I think this requires a movie.  ;D  I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but it's the best my camera will do. At least you get to see the flickering LED!

I will definitely use these flickering lights for the parlor fireplace, too.  That wiring will be an easier endeavor to accomplish, though.

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