A Haven for Mice

This was going to be a Halloween post, but with everything going on then, I forgot to post it. 

 The chair started out as a commercial chair.  I don't trust myself to build furniture from scratch. I can usually put together kits, and I love to tweak ready made pieces, but building furniture intimidates me. In this case, it probably would have been easier to start from scratch. Once I'd stripped and pried everything apart, I only ended up keeping three piece or so from the original chair.

 I really went to town aging this chair.  I like to create a sort of history for things as I age them, so that every stain, tear, or worn spot has a reason for being there. I make up things like "someone read newspapers in this chair, and got the arms covered in black ink"or "a leaky attic roof dripped on this section." Making up little stories helps keep the wear and tear logical.

Next post, I'll show another of Mom's dolls.

A New Painting for the Front Hall

I didn't buy much at Philadelphia, and most of what I got was supply stuff. But I did find a great painting at Henny Staring-Egberts table.  I bought it thinking it might go over the large enterance to the dining room (on the left), but the height of the opening meant that the painting ended up too close to the ceiling. But  it worked out well over the smaller door which leads from the main hall to the parlor.



 

 

Sorry this post is so short!

New Again

It's been an embarrassingly long time since I did a thorough clean of my dollhouse. I've done a bit of spot cleaning on the most delicate pieces- I've kept the silver semi-polished, oiled a few of the artisan pieces, but overall it was looking really dusty. The floors were the worst- they looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a hundred years...

But not any more! I finished up yesterday, and it's amazing what a difference it made. I want to rearrange a few of the rooms, but just getting the dust out, the wood oiled, and the silver shining made an enormous difference. 

 

 

Putting the Cat Out

 

It's been a while since the last time I showed any of Mom's dolls. She's been too busy to make any recently. But I just found a bunch of photos of dolls she made last spring which I never shared. 



 Mom had this fellow in mind for months. He sold a few weeks ago at Philadelphia Miniaturia. I love the fabric she used for his nightshirt, but it's a nightmare to work with.

 I made his slippers! They're made from an old suede skirt, with real fur trim. His hairy legs were a first for Mom. The funny thing about his legs was that, since Mom hadn't added hair to legs before, she needed to make sure the glue wouldn't show. She ended up doing a trial on a commercial maid doll we use as a guinea pig. Now the poor thing has one very hairy leg and one normal one!

 

 I'm not sure where the pipe and candle came from, but the cat is from Falcon Miniatures.

Where I've Been (and a Few More Beaded Bags)

A lot has happened since the last time I posted. 

 First, there was this:

During Hurricane Sandy, we lost the entire top of one of the oldest trees in our yard. It also took out our power for about a week, and our phone/Internet was down even longer. Being out of power wouldn't have been so bad (we'd stocked up before the storm) but...

we were also supposed to have a table at Philadelphia Miniaturia! We were really afraid that we would have to cancel due flooding. Fortunately, the house stayed dry, and we  were able to go after all!  We left the house in trusted hands, and headed for the luxury of a hotel with electricity.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any photos of the show, but I'll post photos of the things we bought in another post.

We had a really good time at Philadelphia. Mom sold a bunch of her dolls, and I sold a few of my little things as well, including some of these beaded bags. I'm secretly dying to make more beaded bags -they're really addictive- but I'm going to restrain myself for a while, since they tend to take over my worktable and time!

 I'm generally not a big fan of purple. But the lavender bag (second from right) ended up as one of my favorites. It's difficult to see in the photo, but the design around the edge is backed by silver beads- the lavender is only in the center square.

The handbag on the far left was vaguely inspired by Gustav Klimt ( I was toying with the idea of making a Halloween costume based on his portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer) Somehow it ended up looking more steampunk but that just gives me an excuse to try again!
 My first post on the beaded bags is here, and the tutorial is here.

An Old Painted Cupboard

I painted this little cupboard shortly after working on the blue and white desk. It was fun to let loose with a few more colors and some heavy aging.  I knew that the glaze I planned to use would tone down the colors quite a bit, so I used a bright combination of brick red, cobalt blue , kelly green and light golden brown on a white background.

I debated the drawer pulls for a long time. I loved the wooden knobs for the cupboard doors, but wasn't sure if they were right for the drawer. I ordered a few different options online, but finally decided that the wooden knobs were the only ones that looked right!

 I love the surprise factor of a painted interior. I can never bring myself to just paint the interior of a piece out in the same color as the exterior. This brick red is one of my favorite colors for finishing interiors. I took these photos before I touched up the edges of the cabinet doors!

Micro Beaded Handbag Tutorial

I was able to get to the craft store last weekend, and picked up a few more colors of micro beads. As I was playing around with them, I thought you might like to see how I made the beaded handbags. 

Tools:

Scissors

Wire Cutters

Needle Nose pliers

Pencil

Toothpicks for spreading glue

A piece of uncooked spaghetti for picking up the micro beads.

 

Supplies:

thin cardboard

a pattern for your handbag

Tacky glue

Mod Podge (I use matte finish)

Micro beads in at least two or three colors.

gold paint (a paint pen works!)



black paint (only if you are using dark micro beads)

brass headpins
gold wire
fine gold chain
brass finding for the clasp (I cut mine down from a larger piece of filigree)
1 tiny crystal in a color that coordinates with your micro beads

 I traced a plastic template to get my handbag shape. I make them about 1/2" wide. You will want your cardboard to be about 1/16" thick, so you may have to stack several pieces together if you use thinner cardboard.

 It takes me three pieces of cardboard to get the correct thickness. I trimmed the edges flush where the pieces didn't quite match up. I also painted the top of the handbag (where shoulder chain and clasp will go) gold.

Begin drawing out your design... If you are planning to use black or other dark coloured beads, you should paint your cardboard with a thin black wash before drawing out your design. Otherwise, the grey cardboard will show through the finished beading!

Use a toothpick to cover one portion of the design with glue.It's important to be precise here!

 I use a piece of uncooked spaghetti, dipped in water, to pick up the beads.

 

 The beads tend to pile on top of each other.

 I use my finger to pat the beads flat against the cardboard. Sometimes, I need to use the spagetti to move them around a bit as well.

 Allow the glue to set for a few minutes before you move on to the next section.  You may be tempted to just dip the cardboard into the micro beads. The problem with dipping into the beads is that it leaves big (relatively speaking) gaps between some of the beads, and you really want them to be as tightly packed as possible. Trying to fill those gaps usually ended up taking me longer than the spaghetti method.

When you've finished the entire front side, stop and let the glue dry really well. You may notice that some of the beads have come off the edges as you worked. This is a good time to touch them up.

 When the tacky glue is completely dry, take a little mod podge and gently pat it over the beads using your finger. I like to use the matte finish because I think the way that it tones down the beads' shine makes the bags a little more realistic.

 If you click the photo below, you can see how the mod podge mostly pools around the sides of the beads, leaving the top of each bead clear. Whether you use gloss or matte, this step is essential-otherwise the beads will flake off!

After the mod podge has dried, flip the bag over and cover the back with beads using the same process. Finally, cover the bottom and sides of the bag with beads.

Now it's time for the hardware!
Find brass pins or thick wire for the frame.

 Cut to pieces of brass pins/ thick wire the width of your bag.

Glue one piece to the top , as far back on the cardboard as you can. Set the second piece of wire aside for now. 

Cut two pieces of thinner wire, and a small section of fine gold chain.

 Thread one end of chain on to one of the thin wires...

 And use needle nose pliers to bend a tight loop.

 Do the same with the other end of the chain, and then cut the wires to a little less than 1/4".

 Glue the two pieces to the handbag, in front of the thick wire you glued on before. Make sure that the wire loops stand straight up. I like to add a little super glue at this point, to make sure all the wires stay in place.

 Glue the last wire in front of the looped wires.

 See the three layers of wire? The gap in the center will get covered by the clasp.

 Cut a tiny piece out of some brass filigree, bend it into a slight point...

 And glue it to the center of the frame! Definitely use super glue for this part!

 I like to add a tiny crystal to the clasp.

That's it! If you make this project, I'd love to see photos! If you run into difficulty please don't hesitate to ask!

To see more beaded handbags, visit this post.