How to Make Bamboo Furniture: Part One

I have a real soft spot for bamboo furniture, and I've always wanted the parlor to have a few pieces. As it turns out, miniature bamboo furniture is incredibly difficult to find! I've been searching for over a decade, and only found a couple pieces, none of which were quite right for my house. In fact, the only piece of bamboo furniture I have is this chair that Mom made. It was one of the first pieces of furniture Mom made, and it's become quite rickety as the glue is letting go. I finally had to pack it away for safekeeping until it can be fixed or remade.

 This illustration of a bamboo "overdoor" caught my eye in a library book a while ago. I am completely addicted to dollhouse porcelain, so anything that lets me cram in a few more plates/vases/figurines is a good thing in my book! I had to make it.

I reworked the design to fit over the parlor door. I eliminated all the curved pieces, which would have made the project more difficult. I was also completely out of narrow dowels, so I used toothpicks to make the bamboo. Using toothpicks meant I had to break the long bottom piece into three sections, which I think made the whole thing a bit more fragile.

I used my chopper to cut the toothpick pieces to size. If anyone wants exact measurements, I can add them to the next post. The bamboo rings were made with DMC floss, covered in tacky glue and then wrapped twice around the toothpicks. I added the rings randomly, though I did try to keep the spacing fairly consistent.

My gluing jig was helpful keeping the bottom and vertical bars square.

I used my drawing to add the top and middle bars.

This is the assembled back portion of the overdoor. It still needs a shelf, decorative panel, and paint job. I had to pause here for a while, since this was as far as I had planned. I took a moment to check the fit over the parlor door.

 

Not bad, but it still has a ways to go!

The shelf was made from more toothpick and thread "bamboo", and a scrap of thin wood from a sandalwood fan. I tucked a piece of cardstock where the painted panel will eventually go. I'm thinking about adding panels behind the four bottom squares as well, but will wait until the I've painted the bamboo to decide.

Here's a better view of the shelf.

I'm also toying with the idea of adding a pair of little shelves for teacups or small vases on either side of the main shelf, approximately where you see them in the picture above. Next up, I'll be faux-finishing the bamboo, and painting that back panel.

A Painted Bookcase for the Nursery

There are several pieces that have never had a good home in the nursery. The silver cup and porringer, along with the bent spoon I made over, have been moved countless times. It occurred to me that an unfinished wooden bookcase I'd purchased from Bed Miniatures was just about the perfect size for the long and narrow room. 

I added feet made from Tiny Turnings, then got to work on the painting.  I based the  flowers for the bookcase loosely off the flowers from the curtain fabric (below). I didn't want to copy the fabric exactly, but wanted it to have that same delicate feel.

The post describing how I made the nursery's balloon shade can be found here. 

You can see in this photo how the cheap metal of the bent spoon looks different from the silver pieces. I'm thinking that a little silver rub'n'buff may help the spoon blend a little better.  The walls of the nursery are hung with fashion plates, which you can just see in the photo above. I got really interested in the full size versions when I was around twelve, so of course my dollhouse had to have them too! 

I filled the lower shelf of the bookcase with readable books. I've had a little box of books just waiting to fill a bookcase. I went through and picked out the most youthful titles for the nursery.  The Teddy bear had been hanging out in the playroom, but I like him much better down here. He's one of my favorites, and he was getting lost in the crowd of bears in the playroom. For some reason, I've never been a huge fan of teddy bears in real life, but I have a hard time saying no to the miniature ones!

A Romantic Corner

With the Sturbridge Show just a month away, I've been thinking a lot about how to display certain things. While picking up a few things we genuinely needed for the show, I saw a little cardboard box that was the perfect size for displaying a few small miniatures, and had to buy it as well. 

 

I used a sheet of wallpaper that I bought ages ago to paper the inside of the box. The paper is Society Garden from MiniGraphics.

I'd bought the paper because I thought the design was too pretty to pass up, but I never liked how bright the colors were. I gave the wallpaper a wash of coffee to tone it down. You can see wheat a difference it made! The floor is just a piece of full-scale wallpaper that was printed to look like chipping paint.

Once the box was papered, I had to play a bit. I pulled out a lot of different miniatures, but this was the combination that I liked best. The original post on the love letters can be found here. I thought I'd written about the watercolor and table (both of which I painted) but it doesn't seem so. 

This grouping was just for fun, since we're planning to fill the box with completely different items for the show. But I loved having the excuse to pull out old projects and try them in new combinations. I'll post more on the box itself another time!

The Great Switch

Last night Mom was going through her dollhouse, and decided to rearrange some of the furniture. She ended up taking out a few gorgeous pieces that just weren't working in her house. Rather than packing them away, she let me take them for my house.

This plate was one of the things that came out of Mom's cottage. I only had space for one plate left on my kitchen plate rail. Now that it's full, I'll have to go through and rearrange the order a little. I just worked my way around the room as I bought more plates, so some of my favorites ended up in the very back where they can hardly be seen.

The other thing I took was a gate leg table made by Gerald Crawford. Mom had two of these, and kept the one by the fireplace upstairs, but this one was fair game. I rearranged the parlor a little to make room. In the process,  I decided to  take out a few pieces as well.

This big round Escutcheon* table in the photo above has never fit in my parlor. It was an expensive mistake (and a beautiful table), so I kept moving it around trying to make it work, but it never did.  Mom took one look at it and said it would be perfect for a newly-cleared spot in her house, so I was thrilled that it finally found a home! The orange tree and screen also came out. The orange tree was an early project which needs touching up, but I have a few new spots in mind for it after the makeover.

 

* I'm sure I've seen their website, but I couldn't find it. Does anyone know the link?

 

 

Finished Jewelry Display

... or at least mostly finished. The counter, jewelry and perfumes are  pretty much done, but there are still two shelves behind the counter that I need to fill.

 

The counter started off as a rather oddly shaped bookcase. I added some interest to the back of the shelf with strip wood and brass jewelry findings.

You can see that one of the flowers didn't quite glue flush against the counter. I used a little putty to fill in the gap. It was all looking a bit plain, so I brushed over the details with some gold rub'n'buff.

I hadn't glued the jewelry down yet, which is why some of the velvet displays are crooked in the photos. The two big perfume bottles photographed a little more red than they are in real life. The real color is a bit closer to purple.

 I only had one gold chain small enough to make bracelets. I got a bit creative with the no-hole beads in order to make each bracelet look different.

Two New Additions to an Old Project

A long time ago, I posted this blue and cream vanity I'd painted and accessorized. There was only one problem. I didn't have a matching seat. After quite a bit of looking, I settled on this little bench, and painted it to match. I chose a brighter blue silk to upholster the bench cushion, since I knew I'd be covering a lot of it up with a sheer white shawl, and possibly a hat. I have a pretty embroidered handkerchief I've been saving for use as the shawl.

I also raided Mom's dollmaking supplies to make the parasol. This is one of those random items that I'd avoided making in the past, thinking it would be too complex. But since it didn't need to open, the parasol was actually super easy, and I can see how I could easily addapt it for a lot of different looks.  I used white batiste with a tiny woven dot design. I dunked the fabric in tea to tone down the bright white, and used some of my tiniest beads for the handle. When I couldn't find the right shade of ribbon in Mom's supplies, I painted the blue edging on. I

An Impulsive Purchase

While I was on eBay the other night, I found an auction for two unfinished tables, and couldn't resist bidding. One was obviously handmade from scrap wood and minature balusters, but the other looked like a House of Miniatures kit.

When the tables arrived, I realized that the table was much deeper than the typical HoM demi-lune table kit, and I had a little trouble getting the legs to fit. I think the table top must have originally come from a different kit.

 Usually I just freehand my painted furniture, but this time I penciled in guidelines for an urn and scrolls, to keep everything symmetrical. Here it is with the design roughed in with paint.

I used only four colors for this table- cream, green, yellow/khaki, and brown. I finished the table top before assembling the table, then worked on the legs and apron.  I had the hardest time getting the green of this table to photograph correctly. I tried taking "after" shots of this table three seperate times. Every time, the green has photographed completely wrong. The real colors are closer to the in-progress shots above.

 

Parlor Details

I got sidetracked the other day, and didn't get to take miniature photos the way I'd planned. But as I was going through my camera card, I found these shots of details from the parlor which I'd never shared.

This little table has some of my favorite miniatures. The tea caddy was painted by Carol Lodder. The tea pot and moustach cup came from Eileen Godfey's, so I'm not sure who made them. The teapot has the tiniest cloisenne flowers. A year after I bought the teapot, I found another little cloisenne vase at the shop. I'm so glad I bought them both, because I've haven't seen anything like them since then. The tea strainer was made by Mike Sparrow. The table is made of resin(?) painted to look like wood. As you can see in the photo, the top is slightly warped. I can usuallypostition it so that the warping doesn't show.

Over the mantle I have a collection of figurines. The ones on the mantle are made of painted bronze, which were too heavy for the shelf.

I've rearranged quite a bit of furniture, leaving a few empty spots in the house. I think some sort of sofa will go in this corner eventually. For now, I've just stuck one of my decoupaged screens, and the bamboo chair Mom made over here. The painting was done by Paul Saltarelli, after one of my favorite Renoir paintings.

Think Pink: Having Fun With a Painted Table

 

I really had no idea how this table would end up when I began. Lately, I've been tending towards "pretty" miniatures. I've been pulling out my (normally seldom used!) stash of crystals, glitter, etc at the slightest excuse. So once I'd painted the table top and apron pieces cream, I didn't think twice before painting the legs petal pink.

In for a penny, in for a pound.  I added a few freehand roses and ribbons on the table apron...

and more roses and some flourishes on the tabletop. At the very end, I toned down the pink legs. I think this table hit my limit for sweetness!

Little Things That Sparkle

Ever since we started selling at shows I've been wrestling with the problem of size. I love making tiny things. In fact, in most cases, the smaller an object is, the more fun I have making it. But most of those little things are simply lost on a 6 foot table. So I thought I would put together a few "dressed" pieces of furniture for the next show.

The paint job on this vanity needs to be reworked. There are a few places I'm satisfied with, and a few others that I can't wait to sand down and paint over! What was I thinking with those drawers?  The gloves and pink flower I stole out of my own pink dollhouse. The lace dresser scarf was a scrap of vintage lace which my grandmother gave to me. 

 

 

 

The little leather tray with the elaborate saphire and pearl brooch is one of my favorite pieces on the dressing table. I had planned to add a white silk pad to the tray, but then I found a bit of trim which perfectly matched my favorite silk, and thought it was even better choice.

On the right hand side, I added a number of perfume bottles, a jar of cold cream, and perfume box all from my stash. The figurine was one I've had for a few years, but I repainted her Barbie-pink dress and blonde hair. The little compact I made specifically for this dressing table. It still needs its mirror and powder puff.

Toying With Shelves

 This little bookshelf  started out as a plain white impulse buy. I thought it might be short enough to work in one of my attic rooms. But after trying it in multiple spaces, I just couldn't find a spot for it. So I went for plan B, which was a shelf full of slightly battered but still cheerful toys.

 I'm not sure where I got the idea for this color combination, but it worked well with a bunch of my vintage paper toys. The little boy doll in blue was one that I hand sculpted years ago. I'm glad he finally found a home! The toy car and rabbit were metal miniatures that I painted.

A Painted Bookcase

We didn't have much time to spare at the Sturbridge show, but there was enough of a pause late Sunday afternoon for me to go buy an unfinished wooden bookcase from Bed Miniatures. I had a lot of fun painting it. 

It was a bit shorter than usual, so I bought it thinking it might fit in the eaves of one of my attic rooms. It was just a bit too tall for the attic, so I added feet and made it a standard height instead.

I also added gold to the beading along the edge, though it doesn't show up in the photograph.