Heritage – kitchen papers and flooring, part 1

I installed one of the last two outer walls – the one on the side of the kitchen. I used a trick I learned on the Greenleaf forum of putting a couple drops of super glue (I used the gel kind) to hold pieces in place while the regular glue dries. Ingenious! The wall had a bit of a warp to it, and the super glue held it better than masking tape.

The flooring is Cream Diamonds by The Paper Studio and the wallpaper is Geometric Fa La La by Making Memories, both scrapbook papers. With them is the tall baseboard molding painted Vintage White by Folk Art. I thought it might be too much, but as Lyssa informed me, ‘too much’ was the style of the day. I’m more used to subtle modern design.

The flooring paper is very thin, so I plan to use spray adhesive to attach it to a sheet of cardboard. I’ll then coat it with matte sealer (which actually has a slight sheen to it) to bring out the color and give it the look of well worn linoleum. I love that it has the weathering built right into the design.

In the dining area and bay, I’ve used some scraps of walnut wood flooring left over from the Newport instead of continuing the rather busy black and cream checkered tile. It breaks up the areas and tones down all the pattern going on in this room.

I also opted for a solid color in the bay and adjacent walls: the aged green printed on the reverse side of the Geometric Fa La La pattern used in the kitchen. It’s meant to coordinate, so the color is spot on, and it has thinned out portions printed in the design so it looks like it could use a touch up. Plus, it ties in perfectly with Keli’s Hoosier cabinet!

Here is what the flooring looked like out of the package.

Lyssa wanted raised floorboards in my old house, so I cut the paper between a few of the pieces. This should allow for enough give for the wood to warp and lift.

I used Minwax Plantation Walnut stain on the walnut floor, and it worked well for a start.

I then added a few dark washes of black and brown acrylic paint. Now we’re getting somewhere – all those years of grime. ;]

I sprayed the floor with matte sealer and once dry I sanded the hell out of it. I brushed on a thin coat of satin varnish, which I wiped away before it dried. I’ll mess with the finish more when I install it, but it is at least the basic color I was looking for. The table is a House of Miniatures kit – assembled but not yet finished. I am awaiting the chairs I hope will work with it.

The darker floor works better with the checkered floor.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
December 7, 2011 | 0 comments

Filled bookcase

I bought a lovely bookcase quite some time ago simply because I liked the look of it even though it wasn’t modern, the usual style I worked in for the Newport. When I started the Heritage project, it found a new home. But, I’ve made only a handful of books and those are in Baxter Pointe Villa. For the Heritage, I wanted a mix of antique and newer books – a collection built over time. I printed and cut 130 book covers with the plan to fill them with balsa wood inserts.

There ended up being a few duplicates in the 130 since there were a few books I wanted to be sure I made (I liked the covers) so I made duplicates in case I messed up my first attempt. As you can see, I made it through 30 of them in one day. Yes, there is one duplicate in there – a two volume set. Ha ha!

A few came from Carrie at A Lavender Dilly but most are just found online images. If I can’t find a full image of the spine and back for a cover I especially like, I sometimes make up the spine and back in PhotoShop. I like my books to be complete, even if the backs don’t show in most settings. I also paint my edges in an array of yellows and tans for variety in case I use any for tabletop displays.

I have lined my past book covers with heavier drawing paper, but this is harder to work with. So, for the sake of ease and time involved, I used only the paper printout over the balsa for this grouping. Here are two shelves of the bookcase with my 30 books in place.

As I was finishing up the books for the bookcase, I was thinking about what to use on the top shelf. I could have put a stack of larger books on their sides, but that seemed almost too cluttered. I ended up buying a matched set of orange acrylic turned items from CW Lubin Wood Turning, two vases and a bowl. They were advertised as quarter scale or half scale items, but I often find those smaller scale items look wonderful in full scale scenes.

I arranged the two shorter items on either side of the taller vase to make the most of the space on the top shelf. Getting these in there was interesting. My normally dainty hands became giant paws inside that shelf and tweezers were no help since the pieces are so smooth. I finally managed to get them to stick to the shelf with some mini hold wax and pressed them down for a good bond. I think they’ll be there forever as long as the wax holds! :D

After a few more days of book building, the bookcase has been filled with books! :D

There are 79 in total, arranged in random order.

They range in thickness from 1/64″ to 3/16″ and from 1/2″ to 3/4″ in height. I think the variation in sizes, colors and design gives them that extra push toward realism.

To make sure they sit prominently on the shelf, I added some scrap balsa wood to the shelves. The pieces are held in place with mini hold wax in case I ever want to rearrange the shelves and remove the wood supports.

Update: I finished up another batch of books for the house, sixteen more for the collection.

I even included some coffee table books on lace making, birds and the Great Barrier Reef. :D

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
December 4, 2011 | 0 comments

Books – a few of my favorite covers

I always judge my mini books solely by the covers, though I do occasionally add books that I like for their content in real life. As I was making up books, I figured I’d share a few of my favorite covers. Some of these might be hard to see since I am photographing the minis I made. They do lose some legibility from printing so small, but I don’t want to violate any copyright laws by posting book covers that might not be in the public domain. You can always search for the titles online if you’d like a better look.

The House Mouse, by Dorothy Joan Harris and Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. This has a super cute dollhouse with a mouse occupant! I’d like to make the cover illustration as a wall hanging mini house.

I was able to find only the cover, so I made the spine and back in Photoshop. For the back, I used the image again and eliminated the text.

Sweet of the Year by Emily Ridgway. This came from abebooks.com, an excellent source of book covers and sometimes spines. I love the villa in the garden illustration.

This one had the spine in the image, so I duplicated the front image for the back cover, flipping it in the opposite direction.

Amphibian by Carla Gunn. Froggy. Enough said. :D

Return of the Bird Tribes by Ken Carey. Beautiful illustration.

I made up the spine and back cover, this time using solid colors and dropping in a UPC box on the back cover. This is one of grandma’s many modern additions to her library. ;]

Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant. Lovely colors and graphics. This is apparently a funny book, but I’ve not read it.

Taming the Wolf by Greg Stone. This is actually a self help book on resolving conflict, but the cover to me says adventure in the wilderness. I could see this cover being on the sequel to The Return of the Bird Tribes shown above. :D

The White Mary by Kira Salak. Love this cover – the greens, the butterfly, the layout!

I made the back by copying the butterfly graphic, rotating it and removing the text. I made the spine by copying the green background, duplicating it in mirror image and adding text. I also added the UPC box again. I later found the actual spine and back cover, but I liked mine so well I printed it instead.

Utopia by Thomas Moore. This is a book first published in 1516, though I don’t believe this is the original cover. Ever After is one of my favorite movies for its fun take on the Cinderella story, not to mention the costumes, and this book plays a part in that movie. When I first stumbled onto the cover during my online searches, I knew I had to use it.

I created the back by mirroring the front, removing the text and copying some of the border design elements into the middle. The spine is a section of the front cover, with text replaced.

Obviously, I haven’t used any covers I don’t find appealing in one way or another, but these are some of the highlights.

Categories: Miniatures, The Haunted Heritage
December 3, 2011 | 0 comments

Coffee table and a birdbath

The Chair, The Sofa, the fireplace and the bookcase are such statement pieces in the parlor, as well as the fancy stairs, that I needed an equally expressive coffee table. I bought a closeout Bespaq Eddington Walnut coffee table for its lines though the color was off.

When it arrived, two of the legs had broken in shipment. The damage wasn’t so severe that it couldn’t be repaired, and it was the perfect excuse I needed to refinish the beautiful table. I don’t think I could have convinced myself to paint it otherwise. Here it is before (you can see the leg glued back together on the right).

And, here it is after. I painted it Black Cherry by Folk Art then added a satin varnish. I thought about painting it black at first but figured I would lose the beautiful detail work. It’s a subtle change but it darkened the finish just enough.

The paint is rather sheer so it kept most of the beautiful wood grain. I scratched up the top just a little and added a top coat of furniture wax. Instantly, the table has a history and has seen many a visitor.

It fits in perfectly with the over the top parlor pieces! The red pulls in color from the upholstery, the front door and the slightly darker mahogany bookcase.

The other new item I have is this aged metal birdbath by Island Crafts & Miniatures. It’s going to look awesome in the overgrown lawn! :D

It has the perfect patina!

Both the coffee table and the birdbath are from Dejoux Miniatures.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
December 1, 2011 | 0 comments

Heritage – window upgrade

Can you call an old window in need of a paint scraper and some elbow grease a window upgrade? Well, yes, if you are familiar with old splintered die-cut window components. Ha ha. This is a Houseworks working window I am using to replace the original Dura-Craft pieces that just could not be saved. I added wood to the window and to the wall in which it sits to get the proper fit.

I’ve crackled white paint over a black base for the exterior portions, and the interior has its first coat of Vintage White by Folk Art. I don’t have the glass in yet since I am still working on the interior portion but I popped the main assembly into place to see how the exterior aging worked with the siding. We have a winner! :D

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
November 27, 2011 | 0 comments