Sunday, June 25, 2017

Table-tastic!



Table-tastic!!

In the fall I went to the Brampton Miniature show, where mini makers sell their old stock and some people off load their collection as they get out of the game.

At a table, by the door was an older lady who was selling off her excess minis.  I bought the Realife Miniatures piano kit from her too!  In a zip-lock baggie marked $5 was a table kit.  I was intrigued and she believed all the pieces were there plus extra legs.  What could I loose at that price!

The table kit was made by Harold Watson in 1989 for a miniature gathering.  I cannot begin to tell you how beautifully cut and prepared each piece of the table was made.  Everything fits together perfectly, which left me in awe.  Zero fit issues.  

My issue? This was clearly made for a workshop, so the instructions, while complete and accurate, needed "interpretation."  Let's just say I spent many evenings (months apart I might add) staring at it and trying to figure how the table would look and how the pieces fit together.  Mentally modeling....made easier with wine.  Hehehe.  Finally, it clicked and it made sense.  I glued it with high quality multi surface glue.  To ensure that when I glued the top to the base, and that I wouldn't glue it so I couldn't open it (major &*%&#*& panic attack as I glued it), I put wax paper slips of paper to ensure the glue at worst would adhere to the paper and not to the non-moving parts.  And it worked!! Table opens and closes to fit the leaf in like a charm.

Here is my Instagram post to see how it actually opens and closes.  It's pretty neat!








These are the instructions that guided me.  This was all that came in the baggie with the parts.  The drawings are to scale, so you can at least lay the pieces on the paper to see how they fit.




What to finish this table with?  Well, it was beautiful wood, but the table top pieces were cut from different pieces, so the grains did not all match up.  I selected the least matchy piece to be the leaf.  But, even then it didn't quite look right.  Instead of a natural finish I went with dark walnut.  I used Watco Danish Oil as a finish.  Unlike many oils, this does not sit on top of the wood, but rather, it sinks in (most oils are for food prep, so it doesn't sink in).  Danish Oil gives you great coverage and you can use a clear coat on top, or not.  I'm debating because I'm concerned with adding too much moisture to this thin delicate wood and risking warping.  No warping noted with the oil!




So there you have it!  I finished a project.  Only 3 Home Depot hunting trips and multiple trips to other hardware stores looking to find someone that had Danish Oil in stock.  But today I found it and I have a new table!

I think soldering a bed kit (I also got from the same lady) will be next in the the kit completion game.





Saturday, June 24, 2017

Hello Summer!



Hello Summer! In my mind I had posted quite a bit, but translating my thoughts to the written words is another issue.  If only the Blogger app reliably worked and the PicMonkey app let me watermark my pictures on my phone...then you'd hear more from me!

I'm still pondering my new build project.  And by ponder I mean, its in a box in a cupboard and I keep saving Instagram images for inspiration.  Hehehe....guess I better get moving on that!

What I have started in the Ikea Flisat dollhouse.  It's going to be for Miss Kitty's school's silent auction.  I've primed it and stained the floors.  Now its a matter of going through all my paint in the basement and deciding on what colours it will be.  It won't a traditional build with traditional finishes.  Much more modern a la @whimsy_woods or @minihome_co or @onebrownbear on Instagram.  It's what the mommy's of today want...a dollhouse that fits their decor.  So, since its a fundraiser piece, I will go with what will generate the most interest (and actually cost less then a traditional build).  So, its off to eBay for some of the furniture and the rest of the decor I will make.

Oh, and as I started to go on a bedding (sewing) bender...my Ikea Sy sewing machine died!! Many words were said that cannot be typed here as it malfunctioned as I sewed comforters. I would sew the same side twice just to get it to finish all the stitches.  It's a mechanical issue and when a $70 machine malfunctions, its hard to pay double that to fix it.  I've got my eye on a Brother machine at Costco!!






Mini mini mini time!!

But in the mean time, between Miss Kitty's school and gardening (and sitting outside at night and enjoying the weather).....there's always time to mini!!!


Keli's gorgeous notebook!!


Found some lovely green Rye pottery at an antique market a few weeks ago! 





At that same market I found some new beads (the red and yellow vases).  I also realized I hadn't made a new piece of furniture recently as I pulled out that dresser.



The other evening while I was sitting around stitching and my neck got sore, I went rooting through my minis and put together a kitchen scene.  The sink unit was a vintage piece I found at the Brampton show last fall.

That cast iron pan looks like a well seasoned pan, right? Wellllllll that's because I never cleaned the dirt out of it from the lot it came with at an antique show.  I feel kinda gross about it, but it looks like a convincing dirty pan (because it is!)...so it will stay....and now you will think I'm a mini slob.









I got a shout out in the Artisans In Miniature Emagzine (Issue 62) for my Janet Granger contest entry! I stitched her tiger rug.



And while on my vacation in May to Jamaica, I used my airplane time wisely and began stitching another rug by Janet Granger, call "Hannah".  Which I did not finish on the beach like I had planned! I quite like the pattern.



And then I started the "Tabriz" (allegedly "small" - I'd hate to see the large one, but I never read the dimensions on these things when I buy them). It's been slower to stitch because of the number of colour changes and frankly, I get bored! 



So my evenings have been filled with work, stitching, painting a dollhouse and hand stitching the pillows/comforters from the sewing machine disaster.  I look forward to showing you next time my progress on the charity build!