The Start of a Greenhouse

 Hey mini friends!

I had thought about making the windows for the greenhouse myself, but that would've had me in a straitjacket. Instead, I opted for purchasing ready-made windows and decided to make the doors from scratch. I also got some shutters to make shelves with

                                    

                                

I did a little dry fit just to get an idea of size and how things would look placed inside. It turned out a bit shallower than intended, but we're going with it. 

I gave everything a base color of brown with splatters of turquoise here and there. I figured it would show through after I did some aging and sanding. I should have added another color (or two) just to give it that "re-painted over the years" look since they're supposed to be old windows. 

And because this thing isn't going to magically put itself together, we got the mini tools out. 

I have to say I'm pretty proud of these doors. I've never done anything like it. I thought they would be harder to build because well...my math never maths. LOL Surprisingly though, I got all my measurements right and even the cuts were accurate. Pretty sure it's because I mentally prepared myself, gave myself several pep talks, and dressed myself with tons and tons of patience, AND measured once, twice and then some more. 

The hinges though! The hinges!!! That was another story. I wanted them to be like real life hinges and so I had to create mortises (had to look that word up). One door went quite smoothly much to my surprise. But the other...the other!!! Ooh, she was feisty! I can't tell you how many times I had to glue one of those hinges. I lost count. I glued them all with a bit of super glue and then inserted the ever so tiny nails. But one of those hinges just would NOT cooperate. Every time I'd close the doors that one hinge just threw everything off, including itself. 

I had to do a lot of tweaking and sanding but in the end, we have two functional doors. I have to be very careful with one of them but alas, they work! LOL 

This pic is not of said troublesome hinge. I wanted to show you a pretty one. 😜

And because like I said, I'm really proud of these doors here's another pic for ya'. I still need to add door handles/ knobs. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. I just haven't found any that I feel would fit with the look. I want something kind of girly and vintage-y looking.

Thank you for stopping by mini friends. I hope you all have an amazing weekend! 

Big mini hugs,

Iris =)

Planning the Greenhouse

So...in thinking ahead to what I'd like to add to the dollshouse I'll someday have, I know I would like to have a greenhouse alongside it. So last year, I perused Pinterest, as one does for all project planning LOL, and came across small greenhouses made from old windows. 

I sketched out all the things I thought I'd like to have for my greenhouse. In the end, I'll have room for some, but not all. You can see what my original idea was in my sketchbook. 

I don't think the tiny green house will make it into this project, because well...after having some struggles I'm not yet ready to talk about LOL (we'll have to discuss in another post), my patience, sanity and not made for tiny things hands won't be able to handle it. I'm a little sad about it because I really do think it would look adorable to have a tiny greenhouse on a shelf inside the mini green house. 😊

I also wanted to add a light fixture, but I just won't have the clearance on the inside for it. I'm thinking maybe I'll  add one on the outside. 

In the little pocket labeled "Inspo" I added a couple of pics to remind me of the general idea I was going for, and I also have a tag with ideas for names to call the greenhouse. I've also left a space at the top of the page to fill in the name when I have one. I also left an empty spot on the page to add some pics of the completed greenhouse. If anyone has any ideas for what I can call it I'd love to hear them as I'm really not all that crazy about what I have so far. 

The main structure is complete and even though I have documented that the project is done, it still needs door handles and a few outside tidbits. 

I have a few progress pics of the actual greenhouse that I'll have to show you in future posts. I'm not the best when it comes to taking photos so I'll have to see what I can dig up. 😊  

I hope you've enjoyed your visit. Thank you for stopping by!

Big mini hugs

-Iris =)

 

 

Cottage Dreaming

I have a bunch of ideas for the little cottage I'd like to make, and would like to incorporate them all into one, but I'm not sure how to go about it yet. Since I can only have one small dollshouse, I'd really like to try and add all the different types of features I want in a cohesive way. At this rate, it's never going to happen. LOL

I have a few minis I've been collecting over the years and have temporarily placed them, along with some I've made, inside a little garden box/ greenhouse I recently found. 

The bench and birdhouse in this first pic are made by http://katiesclaycorner.blogspot.com/ I absolutely love her birdhouses and have quite a few different ones. The bench was a custom request she agreed to make me and I adore it. It even has a few spots on the seat that look like they could be nail holes. 

The little tray holding the books on the floor in the next pic is also made by Katie. The books themselves I got years ago from http://carolynslittlekitchen.blogspot.com/ I also have some of the adorable little plates she makes. 

I made the plant stand from wire, beads and cardstock. Mercedes from  http://libertybiberty.blogspot.com/ has a similar one in her beautiful french house and that's where I got the idea to make mine. I also made a smaller one in another color. 

This is the little set up I have created just to make myself happy in the meantime. Hopefully, I can 

get started on a little cottage at some point this year. Fingers crossed! :)

Thank you for stopping by to visit. Happy Friday Eve and have an amazing weekend!

Big mini hugs,

-Iris :)

 

Is it laundry day?

Nope! Not for me. 

Although, if I had a cute laundry basket like this it might motivate me. Maybe. LOL

I made this little laundry basket with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. 

Not really. More like...frustration, sore fingers and eventually patience. 

In the end, I am happy with how it turned out for being a first try.

Believe it or not, the clothes pins were much easier to make. I couldn't find the toothpicks that already have the decorative ends so, I used the regular kind and just sanded the little groove to give it a round head. I slit the other end with a hobby knife to give it that split look. I then aged them to give them that weathered look as if they've been outside on the clothes line doing their job. I made the basket that holds them out of wood and the handle is a small piece of wire with a bead strung through. It was a tight fit getting the wire through the bead and I may or may not have split one or two others in previous attempts. 

I'm thinking maybe I'll use the other two containers as laundry detergent storage...? I made them out of wood and glued embroidery floss around them. The idea is to finish them off to look like tin/ enamel containers, with a bit of rust of course. I also would like to use water decals to label them. I made the tiny scoops out of cardstock and edged them with the same embroidery floss. They're very tiny! 

Hope you've enjoyed your visit. Thank you for stopping by.

Big Mini Hugs,

-Iris

Vintage Tins

One day, when I have a mini house, I want to have all sorts of adorable accessories throughout. Nowadays people are creating amazing things with 3D printers and laser cutting machines, and I'm sure I will always have a growing list of all the things I'll want to get. In the meantime, I'll make what I can with what I have, and within my abilities of course. LOL

One of those things are vintage tins. Mine are a bit rusty and I'm sure over time they will get even more "loved". 😜 

I made most of them using 6x6 scrapbooking paper. The 6x6 prints are smaller and I just chose those that fit to scale better. I used acrylic paints to add the rust effect and finished everything off by giving it a coat or two of gloss medium. 

The lids and handles for some are a mixture of paper, jewelry findings, wire and buttons. In the above pics, for the round yellow "tin" I used a wooden bead for the canister itself. A button for the lid. And a tiny bead for the knob on the lid. The image is a tiny print I found in my stash.

I love how they turned out considering they are my very first attempt at making them. They have quickly become some of my favorite minis.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are all having a lovely weekend so far.

Big mini hugs,

Iris :)

By Candlelight

 It's a holiday weekend here in the states and that means instead of the usual, and oh so very quick two-day weekend, we get a three day weekend! I decided to use my time wisely and do absolutely nothing related to adulting. 

It's been some time since I've done anything crafty, so here I am. 😀 I made some shabby candlesticks, and mini candles using real candles, for no particular use or reason. I don't have a dollhouse or room scene to use them in, but does it really matter? I just needed the art therapy. Although, I did recently find something that might work as a roombox. Idk, we'll see. :)

Hope you enjoy the pics and your visit here. Thank you for stopping by.