Oops - WAY too dirty!

Well, I took Annie of Obsidian Hall up on her challenge to add patina. I assumed that meant antiquing my furniture so I took the plunge and applied some stain. I guess I went overboard and the armoire looks a little like I pulled it out of a garbage dump. The bed looks good, though.

So... to try to fix it I went over it with the original color again with a dry brush.

I think it looks much better and I might lighten it a bit more. Anyway, I think the furniture has much more character now, don't you?

Here are the million pieces from a House of Miniatures kit for six lyre-back chairs, with two coats of walnut stain. I actually managed to get them all together this evening but was way too traumatized by the experience to take more pictures, so stay tuned for more.

Here is the table I made to go with the chairs. It was supposed to be two leaves bigger, but my dining room is too small - fortunately I can fit all six chairs around it, anyway. Will add some gold accents to both table and chairs and then show you when it's all finished.

Roof! Roof!

Tessie

                                                                             

Shingling in Progress

Is shingling even a word? Anyhoo, here's my progress so far. I'm not crazy about the gray color they ended up being - a little on the purpley side. Maybe I can pull out my trusty charcoal colors and tone them down a bit. With work and record high temps at the moment it's not easy to pull myself downstairs to work on this. However, with it going up to 31C today, my hobby room may feel awfully comfortable later on.

Just so you don't feel too sorry for me after the recent snow storm - here's what the same spot on our deck looks like today. The apple and lilac trees are starting to bloom. You can barely see my little Tessie there against the bright sunny deck.
Have a great day, everyone!

Bedroom Beginnings

Several coats of paint later and here are the first two pieces of furniture for the bedroom. The bed started out as a broken mahogany bed, but was very large so I bashed it down - people were smaller back in the 1800's right? The armoire was a lovely piece that was also broken and remains a bit warped, but looks o.k. now I think. It had some handpainted flowers on it which got sanded away - a sacrilege some might say, but not what I wanted anyway. I may add some gold designs but have to work up the courage (and lots of practice).

These House of Miniatures pieces are so delicate. After breaking and repairing (and restaining) one of the doors, I struggled to get the eentsy little hardware on it. I managed not to destroy anything, so I'm happy!

My shingles are cut and ready for dying so the next time you see me I'll be roofed!

Ahhh - A Gentle Glowing Fire

So I looked at many interesting options, and decided to try to use what I had on hand...no more trips to Micheal's - can't afford it. ;-) Using the same idea as the flashing fire kit I had installed before this one, I found a clear plastic bubble pack from some small jewellery bits. I cut it in half and glued a strange mixture of freshly ground pepper, coffee grounds, and salt (got some strange looks from my husband in the kitchen) onto the outside of each half.

Then I placed it over the 3 little bulbs.

And put the logs over that. The fire flickers through the grains to look like ash and embers. I also used some pastels and water made into a paste to blacken the underside of the fire.

Now it's a nice soft flicker that doesn't look like the house is on fire - much better!

A Little Fire to Melt the Snow

Thanks to a tip from Norma of Make Mine Mini, I received a couple of flickering fireplace LED light sets in the mail today! I couldn't wait to set them up. They are much better than common variety dollhouse flashing bulbs. They are a bit bright though so I need to put something over them to dull them a bit.  Anyone have experience with this?

I have them wired to a battery via this little switch. I'm going to try and hide it all under the bay window - maybe some stragegically placed shrubs will do the job.

And viola! We have cozy warmth again.

Here's a little sneak peek of the bedroom furniture in progress. Due to a cancelled appointment, I was able to make a quick trip to Micheal's for some beady things...and some paint...and some brushes...and some glaze...and,and,and...

Whaaaaaa!

Woke up to a blizzard yesterday (that's MAY 4th!) and it snowed about 8 inches! Good thing we hadn't put out our usual spring planters of flowers yet. Please feel sorry for me....;-) I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - sniff!

I would have posted this yesterday, but my camera was having technical difficulties - almost had a heart attack as I depend on it for various work and play activities.

Still working on cutting shingles in between busy work days. I'm also painting some pieces of furniture for the bedroom (mini, that is) and giving them many coats. I'll need some new findings to make the doorknobs I want for the wardrobe, so heaven knows when I'll get that shopping done.

Have a great day, everyone - enjoy your bloomin' flowers and think of me!