Old, Battered William Morris Trunk

I haven't put together many miniature kits. The ones I have done usually have directions that I toss in the bin as soon as I read them through. I can't remember ever following anything they said to do verbatim, if at all.

This time was no exception. I glued on all the "Lithograph paper" my way. The directions were ridiculously laborious. For some stupid reason I followed their recommendation to use Zap-A-Gap to glue the brass pieces on the trunk. OMG! That sort of glue has to have exposure to air to dry. Which is almost impossible under metal. I fought the slippery brass hardware to stay in place until I was ready to scream.

The whole time I was doing it I kept thinking.... Go get the BARGE rubber cement. About the time I was going to glue on the last three pieces I went and found the BARGE. It worked perfectly... NO mess, NO waiting, NO slipping around. Lesson learned.

Your Fabric Choice

I thought I would show you a special order made for Linda. http://une-petite-folie.blogspot.com/ She sent me a photo of a fabric she loved on a life size wing chair.

I happened to know where I could find something very similar in miniature. So I sent her a link to see it. She really liked it so I made her this chair in 1: 12 scale.

For a limited time I am going to offer to make these chairs with the buyers choice of fabric. There are a few fabrics that are just too difficult to work with. Those are ones that are too thick or stiff. Flimsy fabrics such as silk are fine because I add interfacing to them.

If you are interested you can send me an email. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The price varies due to fabric placement. If it is a print that I have to place very carefully such as the William Morris prints the price will be higher. So you can expect to pay between $325.00 to $375.00 USD. Payments can be paid via PayPal.

I will give you the payment email address when we have worked out a fabric and price.

Linda... I hope you like your chair! Catherine XXX

Still At It .... Phew!

I am starting to feel a little silly posting all these chairs I am cranking out. Someone told me I was a machine. I am starting to feel like it.

This is also a 100% silk fabric. I couldn't resist it even though it isn't a W. Morris print. The silk is just beautiful. All monitors are different. There are blues, green, peach and rust. I have always loved those colors together. It is going to be hard to part with this one.

Fleur de Lys, William Morris Wing Chair

The assembly line continues to move along. I am waiting for another beautiful silk pattern in the mail.

This William Morris 100 % silk print was made by Liberty of London. I am afraid there is no way I my camera will photograph the colors properly. The back ground color is a brownish-red. The yellows are much more subtle then they look here. It is a gorgeous fabric.

I am happy to say, my last chair sold in 10 hours of being listed in Swan House Miniatures.

These boring chair posts will end soon. I may delete them.

I Can't Stand Up...Yet.

Linda http://miraclechicken.blogspot.com/ and I decided to collaborate on her William Morris wing chair. She found the silk she wanted online and mailed it to me. I also made a pillow for it.

I can't wait to see it finished with the front legs she is going to carve for it.

Linda Master's Chip Carved Tray

I wish it was a bright sunny day so these photos were better. We got a few inches of snow last night and today the sky is overcast and gloomy.

I had no idea Linda miraclechicken.blogspot.com/ had planned to give me one of her gorgeous trays for Christmas. Before she ever got the chance, I ordered one from her web site. I knew the minute I saw it I had to have one. I have seen my share of carved wood in miniature but never anything like this. Karin Corbin... I agree with you. This belongs in a museum.

When I opened the package I was totally blown away by how fine and detailed the carving is. The tray is made of pear wood.  Each square that creates the borders design has 36 separate cuts. One mistake and it is all over. Plus, those cuts have to be made at an angle. The tray is just 54 mm long or 2 1/8 inches. OMG! Thank you Linda! I love, love, LOVE it!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone

I started working on these houses at the beginning of November. PHEW! They are Christmas gifts for friends who don't collect miniatures. What was I thinking? They are going to end up on a Christmas trees, clanging around in boxes with other ornaments after the holidays. Oh well... I am ready to clear off my home work space and start a new project. I had fun figuring out how to make the garlands for these houses. I used a heavy dark green thread and covered about three inches of it with Aleene's tacky glue. Then I laid the thread in a pile of super fine Flower Soft making sure all areas were covered. The glittered snow covered tree was decorated with Martha Stewart's no hole beads and tiny holographic stars. Those stars came from Sally's beauty supply and are normally used for finger nails. They are about 1 !/2 mm. I have used them in most of my nutshell houses but they can only be seen if you peek in a window. I bought gold ones but when they catch the light they blink in a rainbow of colors.

I did some tests for the snow. I didn't like the way it looked when I first painted the acorn caps white and applied the glitter (by Martha Stewart) . So I made a paste using the glitter and Aleene's " Easy Flow" glue. I tapped it on the places I wanted it, smoothing the paste with a small dampened artists brush. Once covered I shook on dry glitter. That gave the effect I wanted for the snow covered areas.

Merry Christmas Everyone! I am looking forward to seeing what Santa puts in your stocking. Fingers crossed for that certain miniature you have had on your wish list. Catherine, Kilmouski, Groupie and puffy.
XXX  
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