Wagons Ho: Looking Back to the Future

 It's 91 degrees out with a 50% of rain in half an hour. We'll see if that happens. Meanwhile, I'm catching up on my blogs. The Garden Spot post is up, chronically the daily life in the garden. Now for the Dollhouse Dreams. I've been otherwise occupied.

Our Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October. I volunteered to chair the party committee, so I've been working on table centerpieces. I just had to share the project.

The chapter's name Overland Trail is inspired by the Overland Trail that began in Colorado in Julesburg, nearly on  the northeastern border of the state. The jumping off spot for the pioneers who were traveling west to California actually was in St. Louis, MO, where they assembled their travel supplies. If you watched any of the series 1883, you will have a pretty fair idea of what the brave travelers suffered to pursue their dreams. 

My trail will begin in Julesburg and end at the stage station in Virginia Dale west of here in the foothills near the Wyoming border. The theme "Looking  Back to the Future will be represented on 5 8 ft tables each one depicting a scene along the Overland Trail as the pioneers headed west. 

You can imagine where I am going with my theme: the wagon finally makes it the Stage Station only find a Tesla and wind generator (that actually works--just like the real ones--only when there is enough ambient lighting to charge it's little batteries)--or wind.

I found the SVG file for the conestoga wagon on Etsy. It's quite a process to assemble and I downsized it from a 12 inch sized wagon to 14 inches. I substituted the paper top covering with cloth. There will be three wagons, a new one just starting the Journey in Julesburg

SVG from Cutting Room Designs Etsy

A wrecked one that didn't make it all the way and a well worn wagon at the Stage Station.

Buffalo skull from Scale Grail on Etsy

Another table will hav an Indian TeePee to represent the indigenous tribes along the way who in 1863 were on the war path after a horrific massacre at Sand Creek, CO. The Plains Indians declared war on the white man, so there will be two military forts at the beginning of the trail in Julesburg--actually Ft. Sedwick which was attacked and burned and Ft. Collins. 

So, you would say that I am working on a miniature project of different kind. I have a cabin to assemble from a Hobby Lobby kit and I'll cut a country church from an my old Cricut Expressions machine. 

But I do have a simple kitchen shelf project to share--this how distracted I am from completing the Manchester. I get so frustrated with it. I really don't like the kitchen, but I am liking it better. It is just so blah, until I stumbled upon bees, lemons, and sunflowers on Pinterest, so I settled on sunflower wall decor to brighten up the very blue cabinets. 

  

• It is a very simple project: ordered the plastic black shelf brackets from miniatures.com to hang above the coffee bar. 
• Scrap wood 1/16 inch scrap wood for the shelf, sanded and shaped using an emory board, painted with craft acrylic and sanded to distress it. 
• Found the clock face in a Pinterest search and the wood rounds from lumber stash, originally purchased in a package of various sizes at Hobby Lobby. I sanded the edges to round them, painted only the edges black, sized the clock about an 1/8" smaller than the round, and attached it with ModgePodge. 
• The honey pot is another Hobby Lobby decorative wood purchase--several to a pack, but not always in stock. 
• Added a photo of grandparents on their honeymoon to give the shelf some warmth and personality. 
• The candle stick came in a set of three from My Miniature Emporium, all colors out of stock now. 

Of course once the shelf is hung, I will probably change the decor on it. 

I adore the picture that reads has printed on the containers: "Today I choose Joy." Always! 

I found some really cut country lemon images too, and lots of bee things, I think the sunflowers will be prefect. 

And then there's the bathroom. The kitchen has to be finished--or at least the lights installed before I can do the bathroom; still, I've been stressing over it.

While I really liked the blue foil shell shower, it was just too hard to come up with decor, so I took the faux paper tile from Michaels that is self adhesive and covered it up. 

I like it much better. The gold painted faucets will be painted black

 

The cement tile flooring printed from Jessica Cloe on Etsy. Printable. Love it.  I found the wallpaper on Etsy, too. Now I would never do my real bathroom in black and gray, but this all coming together so nicely.

Wallpaper from Lovely Minis Design Etsy

Wallpaper: Hot Pink Lime Shop Etsy

So my house remains in chaos while I work on other things.

I'll get back to it soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by; I hope your mini projects are coming along just as you want.