Small Accomplishments

No pun intended. 

A lot got done this past weekend.  Three days of sleeping, crafting and screwing around with the dollhouse while watching Wimbledon.  Jess is a huge Wimbledon fan.  None of the people we really like won but the matches were still pretty good.

The first project was the washstand for the bathroom.  I wanted something that looked a little older but like someone had attempted to update it.  So break out the spare balsa wood and newel posts.



Lots of scrap wood went into this.

 And then I didn't like how the legs looked.  So I took them off and turned them upside down.

 I added trim to the back and a lower shelf after I switched the legs and I really liked how it looked.



A little blurry but you get the idea.

More glue though.  This was too small for me to use nails.  and since I'd taken the top knobs off the newel posts it ended up a bit short.  So I glued them back on. 

Then I painted the whole thing.  I started out with white but I didn't care for how it looked.  So I painted it the same blue as the walls.  I don't plan on having the bathroom entirely that color so I think it'll stand out nicely.

I wanted to use a scallop shell for the basin.  It's a fairly modern look that I really like but the trick was finding a shell shallow enough but also decently symmetrical.  I ended up buying some shells at Joann's.  My pal Linda (remember Linda? My home improvement/woodwork expert?) brought me some from her trip but they were all very deep and I wasn't sold on the idea of making a hole in the top of the stand to sink the shell into.

But we did have fun picking out shells from the bags I'd bought.  There are some tiny ones that'll be great to put into a little bowl on the coffee table. 

What I ended up doing was making a little wooden riser out of some scrap wood and the ends of the tongue depressors.  I had several graduated lengths with curves on the ends so it ended up looking pretty good.

The pale blue of the paint was great overall but I really wanted something to look a bit like Formica for the top.  It just seemed like something you'd find in an old semi updated bathroom you know?  So I pulled out some pale blue shimmery nail polish.  And it worked pretty well.  It's darker in some spots and lighter in others with a gleam overall.  And it reminds me of an old sixties bathroom with the weird 'marbled' Formica counter tops.

Took several pictures of the whole thing.  See what all of you think.

See? 

I'll tell you, thank God for Sticky Tacky Glue.  Stuck the shell and faucets on really well.

You can barely see the riser I made for the faucet.

Here's a better view. 

The washstand turned out pretty well but it took a couple weeks with the glue setting and me figuring out how to do it.


So the next project was something for the bedroom.  I'd wanted to do a built in next to the stairs.  And I really wanted to make use of the space that goes under the eaves of the second floor.  I toyed with the idea of a step/stair type of bookcase but in the end I went with something else.

I took some paper and pressed it into the corner to get the angle right. (Well mostly right).  And then used that to draw out the shelves.

Believe it or not this helped.

I used the drawing to keep my boards in the right place.  Well, the drawing and tape.  I used the one inch balsa wood I got from Hobby Lobby so the shelves would be deeper than the built ins down in the living room.

More tape and glue.  This is a glue heavy dollhouse I'm telling you.

Eventually I got the shelves off the paper.  The glue stuck them to it a bit but sooner or later...

Voila!

See?  Shelves. 

I wanted some drawers for the bottom three shelves.  So I got some of my scrap wood and started to measure that out.  More glue.  Yay.  (Sarcasm.  Can you tell? LOL)

The trick was getting everything the right size.

And then do a dry fit.

Here we are with the first two drawers.

And then I got the third working.

So not bad so far right?

And everything seemed to fit in the corner pretty well.

The natural wood looks nice too doesn't it?

Then I painted it.  I wanted these to be white like the ones down stairs.  But I needed something for handles.  So I dug out some of my wooden beads.  And once I got everything painted and the shelves glued into place I sanded the sides of the drawers so everything slid in and out nicely.

So there was some touch up painting to do but that wasn't hard.  Glued on my beads for handles and suddenly the bedroom has some extra storage.

I didn't put dividers in the shelves because I wanted to slide the top two drawers over.

It doesn't look too bad does it?  Just enough room next to the stairs opening for a newel post and railing.  Definitely need that.

Next project was something else I've had in mind.  Never did it before so I had to work out the kinks of my process.  But some seventy nine cent buckets from Hobby Lobby, flowers and florist foam from Joann's and mulch from Miniatures.com and I was set. 

Oh and glue.  Let's not forget the glue.  Good old Elmers.

But the end result is pretty good.  Something for the front porch when I've got the house a little more completed.

Two lilac(?)/purple pink and one blue. 

See?

Cheerful right?

Swoops seems to approve.  He's very intent upon investigating them.

They look pretty nice.

I figure one on either side of the steps and one on the open porch post.

I might make a few more when I get more buckets or flower pots.  We'll see.

One last big project... This took me pretty much all day Saturday.  Good thing we had movies to watch. 

I won't bore you with the details except to say it involved a lot of the fabric I bought.

So here we are.  A bed.  Nice, normal.  A little plain though, wouldn't you say?

Nice bed. But kinda boring.

Let's add a fitted sheet and a dust ruffle.  See if that jazzes it up some.

Needs a little adjusting but not bad.

Now for a top sheet. 

Nice rich brown for contrast.

And a comforter.  No fireplace on this floor so it could get cold.

Don't forget to fold everything over so the lace shows.

Add the big pillows.

Something to support your back while reading.

And another pillow.  Not quite the right size so this needs to be adjusted.  We've got two but we need to downsize.  These are Barbie size right now.  Need to scale back.

Still like the look of the whole thing.

Let's try another look.



See? Pretty.

Comforter seems a little oversized but it'll be nice when it's cold.

Here's a little something.  Put everything in downstairs just to see how it works with the stairs in?  Yeah the kitchen island is wayyyyyy too big for the space.  It does not work.

But I have a drop leaf table that only needs a little paint to fit in with the rest of the room.  And it fits much better.

See?  Better for the space but a little dark.

But the living room portion looks great with the new chair and coffee table.  Just need to get sewing on the day bed and make the trundle. 

See?  Look how cute the chairs are together.

And the coffee table will be perfect with a little bowl of shells.

See how pretty?

I got the bowl from a seller on Ebay.  http://stores.ebay.com/Dollhouse-Miniatures-Wood-Turnings?_trksid=p2047675.l2563  The work is gorgeous and unique.  I confess, I think I spent a little too much since I got the bowl and a couple of vases as well.

The shells came in the bag I bought from Joann's.  They had a ton of different sizes and a bunch (like a handful at least) of teeny weeny shells.  Perfect for the dollhouse.

Here are a few more pictures.

And that will be all for the day folks.  Lots of little things but nothing huge.