Inspired Renovation

This morning, I took my Mini Town Loft Kit out of the box and propped it up on the dining room table. Then I looked around the house to see if I already had things I can use to remodel it. This issue of Dwell Magazine is packed full of inspiration!

I found quite a few things I may use. The windows and doors were purchased for my future modern house. They fit here.

I found some fabric and scrapbook paper that may work? The staircase is from the old house I found on Craigslist.

The loft is not as big as I thought it would be. I'm going to have to think more about how I'm going to do the rooms.

For now, it's back to the beach house kitchen. I'm glad I have 10 months to think about how to design this kit!

Hope you have a great day filled with ideas and inspiration!

Mini Windchime

Here is a little update on last night's project. I'm making a "capiz shell" windchime. I was inspired by this post at Completely Coastal.

I used beige sewing thread for two of the strands. Then I remembered that I had some invisible thread.

It really IS invisible! Just tying a knot with it is a challenge! The "shells" are made of parchment paper, painted lightly on both sides with Folk Art metallic pearl white paint. I used my hole punch to make the little shells.

I'll keep working on this tonight. Gotta go to work now.

Hope you have fun making something today!

Another Little Project

Not quite sure how I'm going to do this? Not sure it will work.


I've started now. Guess I'll keep going....

Hot and Cold

There is now hot and cold running water in the kitchen. Well, it's not really running, but YOU know what I mean...



I gave up on the mini hinges for the sink cabinet. I used ribbon instead. If ANYONE ever mentions those nasty little things again, I won't speak to you for a long, long time!!!!

My little faucets turned out kinda cute. If you are good with clay, I know you could make them better. This is the best thing I've made from clay. I know that's not saying much, but for me, I'm happy. :D



I'm going to go work the kitchen tile floor for a while and watch NCIS. I like that show so much that I even watch the reruns.

I won the Ebay table I bid on. I will have to wait until I get it before I can actually finish the floor.

My Creatin' Contest Kit arrived today. I started adding up all of the things I'll need to buy $$$ and the things I can make myself. I found the perfect wallpaper for one of the rooms. :D



Hope you have a nice evening!

Making "Porcelain" Knobs

I thought I would try making some knobs for my kitchen faucet.

First I found a photo of some real porcelain knobs. VintagePlumbing.com has lots of them as well as other really cool old bathroom and kitchen fixtures.


So here we go. Anyone can roll out a snake with clay. Even me! LOL

I made some skinny snakes out of FIMO clay then cut a piece about 1/4" long. Then I cut another piece in half and added them to the sides. When they looked like a cross I added a teensy flattened ball to the center.


Then I popped them in the oven to bake. It took about 15 minutes at 275. I kept checking on them to be sure they didn't burn.


I only need two. Let's hope there will be two that match?

Tomorrow I'll show you how they turned out. Or maybe how they didn't turn out?

Sweet dreams!

Countertop and Faucet?

I cut the butcher block countertop this morning. This piece of wood came from MicroMark. The 1/8" boards are already glued together. I plan to stain it to match the bar top table.

The faucet is a work in progress. Right now you just see the bits and pieces I may use to make it...

It's Monday and I have to go back the the real world. Hope you had a great weekend!

If you didn't watch the Super Bowl, you missed a great game and some really cute commercials. :D

Tin Backsplash

I'm still working in the kitchen. I've almost finished this one project.

I find that I have more ideas than time to do them. If I live to be 102, like my dear Aunt Adelaide, I still don't think I will complete them all!


This is how I made the "tin" backsplash. I used the seal from a coffee can. Actually, I used a Maxwell House coffee seal. It was shiny on the inside, easy to score with a bamboo skewer and cut with scissors.


I glued the "tin" to a piece of heavy cardstock with spray adhesive. The tile is inset with a painted wooden frame. I'm very proud of my little miter cuts. :D

I took this photo to show you that all is not so precise! I see some tiles that need to be moved and maybe some grout added...


Hope you have a wonderful day! I'm going to go find something to eat for breakfast and then get back to work.



"When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, freed from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colors are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize." Madeleine L'Engle

I'm In, Are You?

I decided yesterday to enter the Miniatures.com 2012 Creatin' Contest. I've ordered my kit. I'm doing my research. I'm making my lists and sketching my design. This is the only hint I can give you.

Greenwood, Orlando FL

Sometimes when you can't get an idea out of your head, you just have to jump in and do it!

Will you be joining me? Someday, you will. :D

Just An Idea...

Sorry for the blurry photo. Too much coffee!

This is just an idea I'm working on. Still lots to do!

Heigh ho, heigh ho. It's off to work I go....

I started working on the kitchen floor last night. So far I've glued 45 tiles one at a time to the posterboard backing. I still need to do the border.


Here is what the floor will look like in the kitchen. I really like the colors.


I'm also working on the cabinet over the stove. I think it needs some trim or crown molding or something?

As you can see, the doors are STILL not installed under the sink! The hinges are really causing me problems! I may try to make some pin hinges instead? That little sink has been more frustrating than anything else so far!

I started stitching one of Janet Granger's pillow kits yesterday. I've never done anything so tiny before! It's going to be beautiful, IF I can do it? Photo is from Janet's website



Hope you have a wonderful day!

Bidding on Ebay

I'm bidding on this little table on Ebay. If I get it, I think it will look great next to the stove?

Troy asked if I was going to "pickle" my bar table? I didn't do that to the table but the cabinets accidently turned out way. Show you soon.

Have a great day!

Kitchen Floor Tile

I found this pretty tile design at Villa Lagoon Tile. They make beautiful real cement tile! Go see all of their gorgeous tiles!

I emailed them last year to ask permission to copy this Savona tile design for my dollhouse. They graciously agreed and here it is! I like this tile so much that I've tried to design my entire little kitchen around it. I love the colors!


The real tile comes in several sizes. I think I will use one inch tiles and not try to cut them up so small. I can't cut a straight line to save my life!

I'm still planning and measuring but this is how they might look in the kitchen.


Casey and Sylvia have done lots of tile work with great success! I'm off to see how they do it. :D

Hope you have a beautiful day!



"All tile designs of Villa Lagoon Tile and tile color combinations in these and in historical tile designs are exclusive to Villa Lagoon Tile and it is strictly prohibited for others to copy them."

Thanks Lundy for allowing me to use your beautiful tile in my dollhouse! :D

Look What Just Happened!

Let me interrupt your day with something that just happened to me! Could it ONLY happen to ME?

I took all of the little parts for my cabinets out to the utility room to spray them with primer. I always do this when I can. After some careful sanding the paint goes on more smoothly with primer.

I got a nice light coat on one side of things. When I was ready to stop spraying, the paint can would NOT stop spraying! It just kept on going even after I took my finger off the top!


I jiggled and fiddled and turned the can upside down but the paint kept coming out. It's STILL coming out!

I'll have to go buy another can of primer. You can be SURE it won't be this brand! Hopefully, it will spray itself out soon?

Guess I will have to go do something else for a while. Sigh....

What's Cookin'

Here's what's cookin' in the kitchen today. It's much more fun to start new projects than do prep work!

I may try to make a white microwave? Jim's dollhouse pages has a printable one...

Every kitchen needs a clock, right? Love this one!



Hope you have a beautiful day!

Very Busy Here!

My table is almost finished. I used Mod Podge Multi-Dimensional Magic on the table top. It sealed the shells nicely and is smooth and level. The wooden top warped a bit but I think I can weigh it down for a while to fix that...

As you can see, I've taken everything else out of the kitchen. I realize that I need to do more prep work before I continue. There is paint to touch up, baseboard to install and an unfinished ceiling to work on.


I found a piece of textured scrapbook paper that matches the wall color perfectly. I'm planning to use it on the kitchen ceiling. Pay no attention to the mess in the living room. There is work to be done there too!

Since there is no wiring in the house I'm looking for the perfect battery operated light.I like this one by Houseworks. I also like this one.
I feel like I'm starting over here. Maybe it's more like taking three steps forward and two steps back?

Hope you have a good day. I'm going to be very busy here!

Image by Eruna on Deviant Art
Love it!
:D

Do you ever get the feeling that you are being watched?


I found another way to glue the table legs together. I'm using my Creative Memories paper cutter to line things up and get them square. It has the 1/4" grid I was looking for.


It's great for cutting tiles too. That will be a project for another day...

Hope you have a good one!

Table Legs

This is how I'm building the table legs for the kitchen table. I haven't glued them together yet. I want to be sure they are the right size and square first.

One thing I wish is that Micro-Mark's magnetic gluing jig had a 1/4 inch square grid on the surface. That would make this so much easier. Micro-Mark, are you listening???


I sent my Miter Master Easy Cutter back to them yesterday. When I tried to change the blade I couldn't get the tool back together. Hopefully, they will repair or replace it. Right now I'm using bandage scissors to cut the wood!

I got some ModPodge Multi-Dimensional Magic and Americana Triple Thick glaze at Michaels yesterday. I'm trying them out now. They both went on smoothly and didn't run over the edge of the test wood. We'll see which one looks best when dry?

Time for me to get ready for work. Real life work. Wish I could stay home and work on my table!

Overnight Test

Last night I tried several things to see what might work to seal the shells on my table top.

Last night.

I realized that the Quick Water resin I had used in making my ponds is still a bit tacky to the touch so I didn't try that again. Sorry girls...

Since I don't have any other resin, I tried what I already have. As you can see, the Mod Podge is still cloudy. The Tacky Glue didn't level out overnight.

The clear nail polish is nice and shiny. There are lots of bubbles on the surface but that may not be a problem with what I'm doing. It didn't cover the shells with one coat so I may try adding more?

Alleen's Jewel-It dried clear but is also not level. I may try thinning it and the Tacky Glue with water and try again?

This morning.

There is a new product out called "Mod Podge Dimenional Magic." Has anyone used it? I really don't want to spend anymore money on products I may never use again...

I did a similar technique for the bathroom floor. I painted clear tacky glue on cardstock and then added the beads and shells. I'm not happy with the finished look because it is not smooth or level. It is rough for little feet to walk on. LOL


I'll keep trying different things and let you know what works...

Sprinkled Sand

I sprinkled some sand and tiny glass seed beads onto the breakfast bar table top. I'm going to look at this for a while before I get the glue out again...

I think it needs something special in the center?

Hope you have a happy day!

Breakfast Bar Table

I cut all of the pieces of wood for the table. The top is sealed with MinWax varnish and ready for the tile.


I'm building a mission style table. I love the simple lines of that furniture style. This is my inspiration photo from Vision Decor.


I used the measurements of this real table and Jim's Dollhouse Calculator to measure and cut the wood to scale. It's really pretty easy to make your own furniture this way.

Now it's on to the tile top. That will be the fun part!?

More later! Hope you have a good day!