Pistachio

I made a bold decision this morning. The longer I looked at the wallpaper I had installed in the sewing room the more I didn't like it. Too plain, too dirty looking. Not pretty at all.

So, I mixed up a custom pistachio green paint and painted over the paper.


Yes, I wasted $12 on wallpaper. Oh well... Sometimes it's okay to change your mind.

Now I feel much more inspired to move on and install the windows, doors and wainscoting.


I found this little dress at the thrift store. You'll see more of it in the room later. I love the little flowers in the fabric. :D

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Grandma's Sewing Machine

I found Grandma's sewing machine(s). One of them got a little make over. :D

I also received two more hats from Kat. Aren't they beautiful?!

I'm having fun making accessories for Grandma's sewing room. What are you doing today?

Hope you are having fun too!

Auto Zone

Here is the dollar store puzzle floor I am working on. Sorry for the blurry photo. Too much coffee and no breakfast... I still need to glue it down and add the final coat of finish.

I went to AutoZone yesterday and found 1/4 inch red pinstriping, some little flags and small silver tubing that I think will work for a couple of the lights I'm making?


I also got bought two car light bulbs. I'm going to try Kris's tutorial for making shell filled lamps with them. The photo below is the little lamp that Kris made. So cute and perfect for my beach house!



Click here to see more great tutorials at 1 Inch Minis. Thank you Kris for sharing all of your wonderful ideas!

Puzzled?

I found this puzzle at the dollar store. I like the shape of the pieces. I think they might work to add some interest to the garage floor?


This website is where I found my inspiration. I would like to make an interlocking floor something like this.


Do you think this might work?


I guess I won't know until I try...

Sewing Room Furniture

Grandma's sewing table is almost finished. I haven't installed the drawers yet because I'm trying to decide if I want to paint little flowers on the fronts of them?


Now the table is the right height for Grandma and her little chair. I'm still looking for her sewing machine...

I'm also working on my mini sewing cabinet. It is a copy of the real one my Grandfather made. Installing tiny hinges is really difficult! They come with teensy tiny nails but I gave up on those and will glue them in place.

This morning I got distracted (again) and found more inspiration at Jane Coslick Cottages. She showed a cute hat rack yesterday that I just had to try making in miniature. Click here to see.


This is a hat that Kat-the-hat-lady made just for Grandma. I've ordered two more. I just couldn't resist. I love Kat's hats!

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Shoe Polish and Stain

The good thing about making a mistake is that you have the chance to try something new. I took the sewing table apart and made new sides. Now it will be the correct height.

For the finish, I tried using Plaid maple stain right out of the bottle. As you can see, that didn't work.


Then I tried rubbing neutral shoe polish on the wood to seal it. Here you can see the pieces of the table with the shoe polish and one light coat of stain. Much better.


Now I'm gluing the table back together again.


I'm happy with how it looks so far. I think Grandma will appreciate that it will be the right height too. I wouldn't want her to get a sore back from leaning over a table that was too short. :D

Hope you have a nice day!

Grandma's Sewing Table

Grandma loves her new sewing table. Me? I'm not so sure.

I didn't realize until I took this photo that the table is about 1/2" too short. I could leave it as it is, but I don't think I would be happy with it.

Guess it's back to the wood and Dremel again. All I need to do is make new side and back pieces. I'm glad that it's not quite finished.



Measure twice. Cut once. Photos don't lie.

Second Anniversary Project

Today is the second anniversary of Beautiful Mini Blessings! There won't be much time for celebrating here. I've got work to do!

Grandma needs a sewing table. I found my inspiration and got busy. So far I've cut the pieces from 1/16" basswood. I used my dear Dremel to shape the sides.


The little chair came with my "hurricane house." I can't wait to get started remodeling that house. But first, I have a garage to build and a beach house to finish!

I propped up the sewing table pieces so you can see how it will look.


I still need to make two drawers. This should keep me busy for the rest of the day. I also have to find Grandma's sewing machine. I know it's around here somewhere...

I really appreciate each and every one of you! Your visits and comments these past two years have really made every day special.


Thank you for following Beautiful Mini Blessings! I hope you have a wonderful day!

This is NOT a Toy

This is a real life mini size iron! I found it at WalMart. It is just the right size for ironing mini projects. Amazon has them too.

Now I don't have to use my big iron that's in the other room. I can iron right here on my work table! :D


I'm working on a shade for Grandma's attic window. I also made a shelf and shutters. Think I'll paint some tiny roses on the shelf. The shutters may get a little paint treatment too...


The crocheted edging on the shade is from one of the hankies that my Grandmother made. I hope she would like how I'm putting it to use.

There is enough to trim an awning for the deck too. That's another project for another day.

Hope you have a good one!

Lights

I'm working on the lights for the garage again. I purchased the LEDs from Evans Designs. I'll be making all of the fixtures myself.




The outdoor lamps are finished. I'm still trying to figure out how to wire and hang the shop light. I want to thank Brae for her great tips and advice.

Brae is busy with her entry for the Greenleaf Spring Fling. I'm thinking she just might win two years in a row! Thanks Brae for taking the time to help me with my project.

My next step will be measuring and then drilling holes in the walls for the outdoor lamps. Then I can see where the wires will go and how to hide them. Again, Brae has some great ideas for that!


These are some beads and findings I've collected to make a some lights for Grandma's attic. Would it be too strange to have a chandelier in a garage? :D

Grandma will need a sewing lamp too. I'm still thinking about that one. Maybe if I concentrated on ONE thing, I might get ONE thing finished?

Tiny Tole Painting

This is my first attempt at tole painting. TINY tole painting!

I found some videos by Marjorie Harris Clark that inspired me to try this technique.


I would like to paint the furniture for Grandma's sewing room then add some flowers. Grandma loves roses, so that's what I tried.

I need to use my magnifier lamp and practice, practice, practice!

Try something new today. You'll be glad you did!

Custom Floor Finish

I finally got brave enough to do a custom finish on the attic floor. :D


I tried several different "recipes" until I found one that I liked.

First I applied a golden oak stain. After that was dry, I sanded the floor lightly. Then I mixed 50% Benjamin Moore Chamois paint, 50% water and four drops of gray paint to make a wash.

I ended up buying a can of clear acrylic latex glaze. I have plans to use it on some furniture later. With a can this big, I can do LOTS of furniture and paint LOTS of flowers!


I added 1/3 part glaze to the mixture above. The glaze helps to extend your work time although this took about 3 minutes to do!

I used a one inch brush with just a tiny bit of my paint/glaze mixture to lightly paint the floor. While it was still wet, I wiped most of it off with a dry rag. Then I used another dry brush to clean up where the paint went into the grooves of the floor.

When that was dry I applied a clear satin finish. You will see how that looks later. I love it.

I'm hoping to get all of the trim painted today so I can install it. THEN I can actually start building my garage.



Thanks for following along with my projects. Hope you have a great day!

Recycled Bench and More!

I made a little garden bench using some of the attic floor samples I had painted.

The sign is from Katie's Clay Corner Etsy Shop. I also bought some of Katie's tiny birdhouses. Thank you Katie. They are adorable!


Now I just need to get the garage put together so I can display these little things.

One side of the garage will be Grandma's garden. I can't wait to get started on that. But first, I need to finish the attic floor.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Change Of Plans

I'm still experimenting with attic floor finishes. I decided that a lighter floor will be more appropriate for a beach house garage. Here's what I'm working on this morning.


I found two more cans of stain in my utility room last night when I was looking for something else. I tried one of those too.


I still need to do some sanding. LOVE my little Black and Decker helper! :D


Hope you have a great day!

Faux Floor Finish

I'm experimenting this morning. I'm trying to do a faux wood grain finish for the attic floor. There are lots of videos and tutorials online for doing this.

The three sticks on the left were painted with a light yellow paint. Then I used some maple stain and a small flat brush to make the wood grain. I dry brushed over that to blend it in. I don't like how yellow they look.


I read that you can use a clear acrylic finish as a glaze. That tip saved me a trip to the store for glaze. :D You just have to work quickly before the finish dries.

First I painted the second sticks lightly with Minwax polyshades chestnut stain. That's what I had, so that's what I used. :D

Then I added some Plaid maple stain to MinWax clear satin acrylic and brushed that on using a small flat brush going sideways down each stick. While it was still wet, I added some darker stain to make wood graining.

I was still not quite pleased with the outcome. So I mixed some black paint to the stain mix to add more depth to the pattern. Getting there, but still not quite right.


This is a photo of the REAL oak hardwood floor in my hallway. This is the look I'm going for. I think I'll need to use even smaller brushes to achieve this.



Maybe with a little more practice I can do this?

Hope you have a beautiful day!