Back at it! FINALLY

I feel like summer has gotten ahold of me and won't let me go! Our weekends have been full of parties, home projects, weekend visitors, etc. and I haven't been able to sit down and work on my minis. Its been killing me! Tonight I finally made time for myself and finished a great deal on my grandparent's kitchen. In one picture I shot a photograph of the real thing so that you may see what it looked like. I am really happy with my progress but I have a lot more to do until I can call it done.

HELP

I am wondering what everyone uses to glue down paper items, such as paper wallpaper, paper flooring, etc. I use spray adhesive and it always bubbles after it dries. HELP! 

Switching Gears

I decided to put my country store aside and work on the mini version of my grandparents kitchen. If only I could finish one before starting another, I wouldn't have five unfinished projects! 

I gave the tablecloth a good glue and water bath and this technique seems to work very well. I will also try this technique with the curtains as soon as I can find the right material. Apples are hard to find! 

I also set the table with some dumplings and gravy! Grandma's specialty! 

I found a great wood pattern for the walls that looks just like the real thing! It was a hard find and I am very happy with the end results. 

Still a lot to get done, so off I go!

Great Website

I stumbled across this great website when searching for brick wallpaper for my Grandparents 'mimi' kitchen! It has tons of different textures and the best thing....they are higher resolution! Check it out at http://www.cgtextures.com/

Deadline fast approaching

With the deadline only a couple days away I don't think I am going to make it and I don't want to rush the project along only to be unhappy with it in the end. Here are a few recent photos of the fence and trim pieces I put up. I am very pleased with the fence but it took a long time. 

I still haven't thought up a name yet!

more progress

I have been working hard on trying to meet the GreenLeaf Spring Contest but its going to be tough. I have completed the outside with the exception of a few trim pieces. 

Landscaping

My first attempt at landscaping is going well. Only a few hang ups but ones that can easily be fixed. One being I used foam core for the bottom and it warped after all the grass and soil was put on. I might have to glue it on a piece of wood but haven't decided what I want to do. 

I find myself wanting to add more and more, but don't want it to be too much. 

Next I have to work on my door. I still don't know how to make it look "country" like. OH...and I need a name for my store. Anyone have any good name for a Scandinavian country store???

Only two more weeks...I hope I can get it done by the deadline but it isn't looking hopeful.  

Here are some pictures of the soil and grass being put in place. It was tough finding grass that I liked but I am pleased with the end results. Then came the flowers. They were my favorite! Let me know what you think so far. 

Dream!

I was browsing the Green Leaf website today and dreaming! I would love to have the East Side Townhouse as part of my collection. Maybe someday!? 

Brick, Brick and more Brick!

It took me awhile to decide on what to do with the exterior of my Scandinavian Country Store. After researching the architecture of the area I choose to make brick walls out of egg cartons. I discovered this is a very slow process and requires a lot of patience. I don't know if me being a perfectionist was the problem or if I was doing it wrong, but I'm not happy with the final results. I found that making the actual rocks was easy. It was the smoothing of the grout around the bricks that I found difficult and frustrating. After hours and hours of trying to perfect it, and not ruin more than I already did, I decided to be done. I'm not 100% happy with it, but if I want to make the deadline for the Greenleaf Spring Contest I need to move on. 

I WON....again!!!

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket because I won several things over the last few months! This week I won a $30 gift certificate from intotheglue.com just for posting photos of my mini creations! Thank you to the creators of this great forum! 

I WON!!

I want to say "THANK YOU" to De at delightfulminis.blogspot.com for the beautiful bench I won. I didn't even have to do anything! Thanks!! I can't wait to receive it in the mail. 

I've been busy

I got a lot done today! I have been working back and forth between my grandparents kitchen and my country store. 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to make wood paneling? I can't seem to find any paper that resembles it.  

Spring Fling Contest

Thought I'd try Greenleaf's Spring Contest. I don't know if I will have enough time to finish the project but I am going to try my hardest. I am too much of a perfectionist, so two months isn't a lot of time for me. 

I decided to make a Scandinavian Country Store (with the help from the ladies at work!) Its been fun researching. I learned a lot about the culture. As far as rosemaling.....I don't think I could paint that way on life size objects so making miniatures objects with rosemaling on it is out of the question. I will have to be creative and think of different ways to bring the beautiful artwork into my piece. 

After wallpapering the second floor I was a little upset to find the roof piece isn't long enough! GRRR!! I wonder if all of them were made short of just mine??  I posted a picture of the extra piece I had to cut and put in. The wallpaper won't be perfect as I don't have any more, but it will have to do. 

Off to work on the floors and ceilings. 

Grandma's Kitchen is open.....almost

Grandma's kitchen is coming along. I was a little stumped on how to finish the outside walls, but then someone gave me the great idea of a collage!! I love doing collages and should have thought of that right away. All the pictures are of family and friends at my Grandparents house throughout the years. It brings back so many memories every time I look at it. 

The one cabinet is in place and the one piece of wallpaper is hung. Off to finish the floor! Next I will post pictures of the actual kitchen is comparison to my mini version. 

Making Progress

I started the roombox of my Grandparents kitchen. I am trying to make it exact so its been challenging and I have a long ways to go! I am really happy on how the cabinets turned out because I haven't built a lot of things out of illustration board. My next challenge is trying to find their flooring and wood paneling for the walls. I'll keep you posted on the progress. 

New Forum

I was invited to a new forum for miniatures and really enjoy it so far! Take a look. 

www.intotheglue.com

Website I got lost in!

I found a website of Fayzer Zerbolio's and got lost in it! She does great work. If only I had more time to create my minis! 

http://fayzerplace.homestead.com

The PLANS!

I created a sketch of the layout for my Grandparents room box. Next step... figuring out all the dimensions, which is my least favorite thing to do.

New Website

I found this awesome website thanks to yahoo groups. Its a great site filled with mini printables. Check it out! http://www.mysmallobsession.com/miniatureprintables.html

Resolutions for 2009!!!!

PROJECTS THAT NEED TO BE COMPLETED:
-My one-room Schoolhouse. I need to finish the roof, stove and door. Create a bookcase and fill with books, align the top shelf with items (unknown at this time), put pictures up on the walls, hang a sign outside and do a little more to the landscaping (which I also am not sure what that entails right now).

-Japanese Restaurant. I need to make a refrigerator, sink, chairs, fish tank and sushi bar. Hang pictures, secure light fixtures and finish the exteriore. I am still unsure what I want to do to the outside.

-Victoria's Farmhouse. My mother-in-law bought this (unopened) house for me at rummage sale for $10!!! What a steal!!! I wanted to rip it open and get started the day I received it but the house is very large. I hope to start it this year sometime but that's only if my husband will give up some of his precious garage space and I really don't think that's going to happen.

IDEAS IN MY HEAD THAT I WOULD LIKE TO TURN INTO REALITY!
-My Grandparents kitchen. I would love to make a room box that resembles my Grandparents kitchen. My Grandpa passed away a few years back and my grandma recently moved out of her house and into a assisted living apartment. I spend countless hours visiting with my grandparents and family in that kitchen. Before my grandma moved I took a picture looking out of the large window where my grandpa spent time watching his birds. I know that if I finish this project not only will I enjoy it but I know my family will also.

-My Bedroom growing up. My friends and family always tell me I had the most unique bedroom growing up. This is probably because my mom let me decorate it however I wanted to. I would love to recreate my room but I know its going to be more difficult than I think. Finding just the right accessories will be hard!!

Well that's it! I think I'll have a hard time fitting everything in, but I am going to try my hardest and have fun doing it!!!

My First house!

My first attempt at building a house was the Coventry Cottage. I finished the house back in 2004 and can still remember the joy and accomplishment I felt when I was finally decorating the inside (my favorite part!) I learned a lot from building this house and find that with each new dollhouse kit I build I learn more and more. Off to build bigger and better things!

Schoolhouse

I created an one room school house from Corona's Orchid dollhouse kit. I 'bashed' the kit a little by eliminating the second floor and the downstairs interior wall. I also added different trim to the exterior and interior. The inspiration for this school house came from an article I read in one of my miniature magazines. I had started building this dollhouse several years ago but lost interest in it. When I read the article I knew this house would be perfect for such a scene.
There are a few things that I need to finish, such as, the stove, curtains, door, adding pictures to the walls, making books and a bookshelf and figuring out what I would like to do with the outside. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Victoria's Farmhouse!

My mother-in-law purchased this dollhouse at a rummage sale this summer for only $10!!! This was such a steal because it retails for around $300! Its a huge house so I am not quite sure where I will work on it and put it when its done. I think I need I bigger house to accommodate for all my miniatures!

Japanese Restaurant (work in progress)

I received a large box of Japanese food and with that I decided to create a Japanese Restaurant. 

I purchased a room box and within a month or so I was wallpapering, creating lighting, putting up a wall and decorating. This was my first attempt at electrifying and I found it to be quite easy. I was was nervous going into it

 because I thought it was going to be harder than what it really

 was. 

There are a few things that I know "not to do" in my next attempt at running

 electricity. Besides electricity there were a lot of firsts for me: I created all the furniture, made all the lights (except the one in

 the kitchen), made curtains and linens and put bricks on the outside of building. There are a few things that I need to finish and they would be to make a fish tank, build a sushi bar, hang pictures on the walls, figure out what to on the bares walls in the kitchen, make a sink and frig, and attempt to finish the outside which I am still unsure on what I want to do. I will post more pictures as I find the time to finish it up. It has been so much fun building this restaurant and I hope you enjoy the pictures and story about this room box as much as I enjoyed making it! 

:-)

Final choice

It finally came down to creating a blog account. I was going to get one, then I wasn't, then I was and so on and so on. BUT here I am writing my first blog. I am still trying to figure out why I am creating one. Do I really have something exciting to share? My life is like every other ordinary life....so I decided to focus on what I love! Share with you the things that make my world turn... the things that make me keep going and stay sane.