Where I am at with my French Shoppe

I have wallpapered the dining room, and finished prettying up the ceiling light. The wallpaper will need to be aged and maybe subdued a little. Haven't decided yet! I will need to add panelled dado to the walls too.
I have also done some work on one of the beds. I repainted it (again) and made a coverlet for it. I have to decide on what colour will go underneath it. I think it will be ivory.

Here is another photo of the bed in the bedroom. Again, the walls needs aging. I also don't think I like the green of the wardrobe and bedside in the room. May have to change those. And the chair is just to size up the space.


Lastly, although it isn't very exciting looking, I have tiled the entry. Again, the table is just a test run, and probably won't remain.


It is a little difficult to do too much more, as I need to purchase some more items (lights, flooring, tiles, etc). Hopefully I will do that in the next couple of weeks and can get moving. I am really looking forward to finishing the kitchen for some reason! I am really liking that little room.

update on chair....

... unsuccessful.

Well, that's not entirely true. I did start it and it's not that it went bad, its just that it is far easier for someone who is lazy to just buy a ready-made piece and repaint and recover it. I might continue some other time when I have some patience/time!

Instructions for a bergere

The amazing Lea has done it again. Below is a picture of a beautiful, oh-so-comfy French bergere made by Lea herself.


She includes instructions for a similar chair on her website.

I think I will set myself a challenge to make one this weekend and see what it looks like (at a guess, not as good as Lea's!!). If anyone else makes one, I'd love to see photos.

Spring at last!

Yep, it's spring in the southern hemisphere and I'm loving it. We have been having some lovely weather, good to be thawing out after a very cold winter (coldest on record??). I have been fairly busy on my minis, and will post photos shortly, but they will need to remain incognito - I am working on the miniatures.com competition entry and can't give too much away!



I have this picture to share and I can't remember where it came from
now. But it shows a little cupboard bed in a cottage far-off somewhere. I just love it and might make a mini version oneday.


Thought you might all be interested in the latest offering from Jill Dianne - a gorgeous fairytale charm bracelet currently for sale on Ebay. One of my favourite past-times is painting metal blanks, so this bracelet really appeals to me. I am just not sure that the paint wouldn't chip badly. Nice to look at though!

Going on holidays!

So I thought I'd better post before I leave. Not that I have anything much to post today. But I did find this picture during the week of a very cute kitchen cabinet. I can't even remember where I found it, so can't tell you who made it.




Also found this very cute pic on a Japanese blog. It shows the cutest little country dining room. I love the light fittings, although it would appear that they are not electrified. I've never seen them before.

Anyway, given I am tired and don't have much to say, I will sign off. We are off to the snow tomorrow! Yay!

More pics of my mouse house

Just for the folks at Dream Dwellings yahoo group, here are some more pics of my mouse house. Hope you like!

First is the exterior shot. The bedroom is downstairs, partially underground. I am not finished landscaping yet.
Below are some red and yellow mushrooms I added. I love how these turned out and should've made more.

Here is a squirrel I painted. It was an unfinished metal item.
This is the shelf in the bedroom.

This is the dining table set for afternoon tea. You might notice that there is only one saucer under the cups - one of the saucers magically disappeared, which was very annoying. She has her mail ready to open with her tea.This is her kitchen shelf, which holds her china, books, eggs, jam and pots. The furniture is all small 1" scale. I made the sewing table, wardrobe and armchair. It makes the shack look larger than it really is. I also used only one door.
This picture shows her little transistor radio and some books for reading before bed.

Beginnings of my French shop

I am making a French shop based on the gorgeous florist made by Lea. I just cannot get over this house. To me it is miniature perfection. I love it to bits. So my house is based on it, and although the layout is almost the same, I will decorate it a little differently to reflect my own tastes.

In the attic area are the bedrooms. This is the first bed I have finished and will go in the guest bedroom. The backdrop is just paper, but is a similar tone to what the walls will be in the house, only paler. I handpainted and aged a Bespaq bed and handmade the bedding. I am pleased with how it turned out.

I am not making as much progress as I want, as work gets in the way. But I have to pay for the hobby somehow!


Here is the exterior facade. It is made separately to the house and will lift off the front. I need to add window sills and then paint it all. this is the dwelling side, so the left bottom window is the bathroom, the door opens onto the entry and the right window goes to the kitchen. I made the walls about 4cm thick from recollection.

The only thing really bugging me is that I cannot find casement window latches. It's driving me nuts. I will not rest until I find them!!