Saturday, February 8, 2020

Sinking it!


Hi, Thank you for visiting. There does not seem to be as many active blogs at present and I miss seeing what is happening. Instagram etc are wonderful for a quick photo but it is also good to have a forum to share the process of how our miniatures are made.

In the Swedish House I decided to have natural wood counters, a concrete apron-front sink, reeded cupboards, open shelving, a wood-fired style stove, mmmm what else was on the list ... oh, yes wood flooring and good lighting.


Isn’t it amazing .... in a mini house I can have almost anything I want!!!  But how to get it!
 
I started with a bamboo napkin holder and pulled it apart. This was a $3 investment that proved to work for all the counters I needed. The counter depth was correct so it was just the width and lengths to be cut.
The plate rack is basswood with bamboo skewers painted black set into the sides to hold the plates.


On the counter cinnamon buns are cooling beside a raised platform tray with the coffee pot, honey container and cups. Behind is a tray that Elizabeth made - at one time you could buy them laser cut ready to be punched out, glued and stained. E then put a motif suitable for a farmhouse on an island!
The sink is made of basswood, cut to size and then covered with drywall mud to soften the edges and after sanding I painted it with Antique White Acrylic Craft paint. The crackling was unintentional and happened after I painted it with a clear matt finish.
There is a drain and plug attached with a chain ... the drain is one side of a necklace box clasp.  I am very happy with the way it looks. I needed to hammer it flat and paint the area behind with black to Create the impression of a drain.  I searched through my metal collection to see if I had anything suitable. Yes, this is a requirement for mini house builders. I also had BB pellets from an air rifle (amazing things in my metal box!) - they make perfect pewter looking cupboard knobs!


I made cutting boards with basswood - scored, stained and threaded wire through the wood  to create the look of a leather tie for hanging up the boards.


Below you can see the bass wood box measured to set into the counter before mudding.


These are the cupboards in progress. You can see the texture of the sink prior to sanding. I did paint it to represent concrete but I was not happy with it in the room as I already had lots of grey. It looked so much more appropriate once it was antique white.


The cupboards are made with mat board boxes overlaid with bass wood to give the impression of cupboards and inlaid with ribbed craft foam that took paint very easily to make the reeded door panels.


The foam was so much easier to work with than creating the reeding in wood. Handy husband rebuilt a cupboard that you can see in a previous post for the bedroom. It has reeded doors in wood and it can be worth the effort.

Below is fabric  my friend Fatima gave me as it looked in the style of the Swedish house. I recovered these chairs that I had previously used in the French house.
Note the spacer beads attached to the bottom of the kitchen table. The table had a grid at the bottom that I removed but the table was a little low but it was a simple fix to increase the height and paint it.



Original upholstery below - more French than Swedish I thought.



The original table - meant as an island but converted to a kitchen table.


Below you can see the sink painted to represent concrete .... and the stove ... but that is a story for another post.  You must be a miniaturist to read to the bottom of this post!  Thank you for dropping by. I can also be found on Instagram: wordsworth502018 
Have a great weekend! 
Janine


9 comments:

  1. Janine- your kitchen is wonderful! Thank you for your post - I agree, not as many active blogs:( Being fairly new at all of this I came to rely on the many wonderful blogs out there to inspire and teach..but I do realize that it is a very time consuming effort, so I just enjoy when I can!
    Beautiful, beautiful work! Michelle in Tennessee

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  2. Hi Janine! The kitchen looks Amazing! The fact that you made all of it from "scratch" is just awesome! I love seeing the raw materials (like the ribbed foam) that I would never have thought to use. It is such encouragement to me that others are making great minis from the most ordinary stuff... I can get too caught up in the materials needing to be "real" as in wood not foam. LOL! The sink looks just perfect and the aged cracks are such a happy accident. All the accessories look right at home. This is a kitchen I could cook in. :):) I look forward to hearing about the stove...! And I am not on instagram... I think it would drive me nuts to never see anything but a lovely picture. I'm very glad you are still blogging! :):)

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  3. Wow I love your kitchen Janine, it looks so real and I enjoyed reading about how you made it, so creative! I adore your chairs and the fabric from Fatima is perfect, I have some 'real' chairs that I bought, with a table, and began painting them to look Swedish, I hope to find a fabric like that to recover the seats!

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  4. Great work and great photos too. Looking forward to watching your progress.

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  5. Great kitchen, I love the sink and the shelves on the left with all the accessories. I agree with you for a Sweddish house I prefer the new fabric you put on your chairs.
    Geneviève

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  6. What an absolutely charming kitchen that looks like SO Much Fun to make! I love your clever use of materials! Love the ceiling material and custom light fixture, and can't wait to hear more about the stove! The new fabric does feel perfectly Swedish, and the converted table is perfect for the space! With all those marvelous accessories, I could spend all day setting up the kitchen to play again and again!

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  7. Stunning progress, Janine. I do love to see how things are made. You're right about the number of active blogs, many people I follow seem to be too busy with RL to post much right now (I'm guilty myself but I will return soon).

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  8. WOW Janine! I am LOVING what I have been seeing in your Swedish Kitchen!
    The various elements which you've incorporated all serve to give an authentic Scandinavian atmosphere in this beautifully serene and functional workspace: I can hardly wait for the next installment!

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  9. This has turned out simply FABULOUSLY!

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