The Lilje chairs kit from Art of Mini is similar to the laser cut kits I’ve worked with, but they are made using what is described as a “water cut technique.”
They don’t have the dark ashen residue of laser cut kits but have the same clean and precise cuts.
The instructions were in Dutch, but I was able to scan the document, use OCR on the file and paste the text into google translate for a reasonable translation. ;] It also helped that I had made similar items before.
With just a light sanding, the parts were clean and easily fit together. This is a very high quality kit.
These seem a good match with the House of Miniatures dining table. The seats will be upholstered and the entire set painted.
They have a wonderful cottage feel, perfect for my vintage kitchen.
Some gaps show due to the way they are assembled from parts, so I added a bit of spackling to minimize the appearance and sanded smooth before painting.
I painted the table and chairs Italian Sage by Folk Art. I wanted to keep the table and chairs lighter in hue so they wouldn’t be lost in the deep room, though I do plan to install a light above the table. Here they are shown with only one coat of paint and a swatch of the plaid I had intended for the upholstery.
But, in the room, the set was lost and the green didn’t work well.
I opted for Sunflower by Folk Art to cover the Italian Sage used originally.
I was sloppy and heavy handed with the paint for a few reasons. First, I still haven’t sanded it after painting so the wood is rough anyway. I didn’t want to sand the sage paint and create green dust to mix with the new yellow paint. Second, I wanted to see if it even made things better. And, lastly, if it still wasn’t the right color, the yellow is still light enough to cover.
I do like it better already. I discovered the secret to making things look like they’ve been painted over and over. Just paint them over and over. :D
Since these are meant to be old chairs, likely repainted over the years, I rubbed a bit of the yellow off the top to let the green show through. I then added a light coat of Delta Ceramcoat satin varnish. It darkened the yellow and gave the set a nice, hand-painted look. The one on the right is the finished chair.
There are a lot of great quilting cottons in the fabric stores, but finding the right scale isn’t always easy. There are some great miniature fabrics on the market, but they are most often found online and sometimes you just want to be able to see them in person. I printed out a sheet of paper with a 1 inch square opening, a 1.5 inch square opening, and a 1″ x 4″ rectangular opening to take to the local fabric store. Looks like robot! :[]
The 1.5 inch square is roughly the size of an upholstered chair seat or a throw pillow.
Holding these over various fabrics allows me to see how small or large the patterns would be in miniature.
For the kitchen chairs, I chose a brown and ivory print. I think it is close enough to the dark red to tie in well with the wallpaper.
Grandma is enjoying an iced tea and reading about lacemaking. The paper doily is from miniatures.com, and the Clare Bell Brass silver Revere bowl is from Green Gables Dollhouse. The apples were purchased some time ago, though I can’t recall where. The flowers are from Michelle at Little Rabbit Miniatures.
I love the soft sheen on the table from the satin varnish, and those cushions sure look comfy! :D
