The Sofa Transformation

I admit I was really concerned when I ordered this sofa that I would ruin or break it trying to get the upholstered panels off. Hence my plea to all of you for helpful tips about how to do that.

As soon as I took it out of the box I gave it a test by picking at at the fabric on the arm with a finger nail. It just popped off. The same thing happened on the other side. I thought no way I am going to get this lucky with all these padded upholstered panels. YUP! They virtually fell off with a little light coaxing. I never used a tool just my finger nail. The glue used to put this together had about as much adhesive power as a sticky post-it note. PHEW!

I thought I would be scouring the internet or worse looking in local fabric shops to try and find something to upholster it with. Then the light dawned... I have a huge stash of fabrics from the days when I did a lot of embroidery.

I had several choices but this beautiful light gold 100% silk was perfect. Simply because it went with every wing chair I have made. I love the idea of changing things around in a dollhouse. A heavier look for fall and winter and something lighter for the warmer months. After all....If you couldn't play with it what fun would that be?

Your help please

I bought this Bespaq sofa on eBay because I love the lines and the simplicity of the frame. The fabric however is another matter. 

I want to reupholster it but I am not sure about the best way to remove the fabric. If anyone has some experience with this sort of project, I would appreciate your tips and advice. Perhaps you even have a 'How to" link you found you would like to share.

Thank you!!!

A new addition to the family

I named this new kitty Bear. I have no idea why that name came to mind while I was working on him.  He is getting along very well with the other kitties no fighting yet.. ;-)

You would think after making six or seven animals this would have occurred to me long ago. I am putting too much fur on them! If you think about applying the fur like adding shingles to a roof... I think the fur 'shingles' are too thick. Next time...thinner shingles.

Hey... That's my seat!

I left this chair to go in and get my dinner  I wanted to eat outside tonight. This is what I found 5 minutes later when I returned with my plate.

 

Plus... I think these two (strays) have sent out a memo saying that a sucker lives here because suddenly there is a new cat lurking around here. Hrmmmm Not good...... not at all.

OOAK Dollhouse Miniature Ragdoll Cat

This poor kitty has had more facial reconstruction than Joan Rivers!

I finished it and the next day I decided I hated the angle of the fur so I ripped it all off (below the eyes). Then I reapplied the fur at an angle I liked better. A day later... I decided to dye areas around the face to give it some stripes. At first this cat had sort of a dark brown widows peak. I woke up the next day and decided I hated that look, so I changed it to a longer strip of white to the forehead. PHEW!... That is a lot of surgery on one cats face! I forgot to say...After the final cure bake, I didn't like the angle of the head so I cut it off and changed the sculpt of the shoulders to accommodate the new head position.
.

 Hey! Get off that nightgown! Leave it to a cat, they are connoisseurs of comfort.

I have read you cannot add or change anything to a furred miniature animal once it is finished.  Maybe those people don't have a 10X  jewelers eye piece. With that I can see more then anyone ever wanted to know about something they made.

This cat was furred with Alpaca fiber over my polymer clay sculpt. She has blue 2mm agate bead eyes. I started with a wire amateur so the tail can be repositioned. Not often because eventually the wire would work harden and break. She also has sculpted pink paw pads like the other cat I made.

Is Facebook & Twitter Killing Blogs?

 

I don't know about you but I am noticing the difference. The forums I belonged to are either dead or dying. Since I started  my blog I have noticed a huge difference.

 

I see far more traffic in my stats from Facebook and Pinterest then I do from Bloggers. There are so many Blogs I "Follow" where people have not posted for months and YEARS! I personally don't like the changes. I would hate to see blogs become a thing of the past. 

 

Please feel free to express your feelings and opinions here.

OOAK 1 1:2 Scale Dollhouse Miniature Cat

 While I still do not like working with polymer clay I do love what you can do with it.

I look at my first animals and I am happy to experiment on them now with the inks I plan to use to make stripes and spots on the new animals I make.

I am pleased with this cat and the feet. I am much more confident with clay then paint, so I decided to sculpt the paw pads. Those paws are about 2.5 mm wide so each pad did take a bit of time. I am not sure a heather sort of Alpaca fiber was the best color choice for this cat. The fur doesn't look as rough in person as it does in these photos. A solid color might look smoother in pictures.

 The eBay auction for the Westie is only a few hours away. PHEW!!!! Ten days is a long wait from my side 

Apologies to Pepper.... I am so sorry, I forgot to take pictures for you of the cat in progress. I get busy and forget everything else I am supposed to do. Like important appointments