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Once again life has a way to getting in the way, so I've not made much more progress on the Manchester kitchen. The countertops are glued into place and I still have to install cabinet door and drawer handles then I have some tedious painting to do. Here are the projects that I'll be working on.

These kitchen and bathroom plumbing items were from Paper Doll Miniatures Shapeways shop. I ended up with two different styles because, um, well, I lost the original one on the right the one with vintage look. I didn't lose it actually. I just couldn't find it, mostly because it is clear. So I ordered a new on, the modern look which is what the kitchen is supposed to be. I think it will be black.

I should have retaken the photo. I love the pot filler with its movable arm. My cooktop is on a center island, so I don't need such a faucet, but I love the idea.

For the Bellingham Texas Farmhouse, I made my own bathroom hardware from paperclips and jewelry findings, but I wanted a more modern look. Gold for these--unless I change my mind.

Back to the kitchen, I've played with ideas for kitchen canisters. Here's how I made canisters for the The Blue Farmhouse Now Pink, using the moisture absorbing fillers in the low dose aspirin containers. While I didn't use the pull tops from OJ containers, with some work, they can be transformed into dinner plates.

My original post "A Good's Night's Sleep" brings back the sweet memories of my early beginnings as I worked on renovating and decorating my first farmhouse. So scroll past the bed to find the tutorial on how to make your own canisters. 

 

https://annsdollhousedreams.blogspot.com/search?q=canister

I still like these little canisters. After layers of acrylic craft paint and sanding to age each layer, I printed and mode-podged the hens in place. A nice way to use odd pieces that we find around the house, but it does take a long time to collect enough of these little gems to make a canister set.

I've played with clear glass canisters, too,  like I have my real kitchen. That plan calls for black labels the I would make from printable waterslide transfer paper. I've been collecting mini glass jars, mostly from the jewelry finding aisles at Hobby Lobby and Michales. Some are found in the Tim Holtz collection and the steampunk wrack. The drawback to these jars is that they seem a little out of scale, a little large for 1:12, and black lettering may not show up well depending on what is in the canister, but I had decided on the clear glass for the modern look. 

These jars come with the cork stopper, but I took these wooden buttons that I bought at HL, sanded them down until they fit. I don't know what they are are called, but this is their function on furniture I think to cover up screws. They work really well on the larger vial, but the bottom has to be sanded until it will fit in the mouth of vial. The above photo show two different jars and lids.

The shorter jars with the flatter wooden lids were ordered on Etsy as 1:12 canisters, so they are more to scale. I'm more inclined to use these rather the jeweler's jars. You can see the shape of the furniture button lid.

More jeweler's jars with homemade polymer clay pasta. I'll probably make better lids than the awkward cork lids.

 

With a test run in on the kitchen counter, I'll use the Etsy jars--or will I? I thought I had my mind pretty well made up for the top of the kitchen counter food storage, but. . .

 

. . . then came a most rare opportunity from a favorite blogger with an irresistible request: She was looking for volunteers to test her 3-d printed items that she was creating for her 1940s kitchen. Visit Jodi at My Miniature Maddness to see what she has planned. At this point, she sent out the call for miniaturists to be willing to take a few of her items to play around with at no charge with only the requirement to fill out and return to her a product review. I'm honored that she thinks that I'm good enough to receive a very generous gift of kitchen accessories. 

A coffee pot, a serving tray, muffin tin, and the most amazing measuring cups.

The 1940s style stand mixer is amazing and the mixer lifts back on the stand. It even comes with an electric cord. Cool.

The toaster most certainly was worth a WOW! with its little lever to lift the toast and an electrical cord to add that touch or realism. The cake plate is awesome. 

My mom always served our birthday cakes on a vintage glass cake plate that eventually disappeared, but to pass on the tradition of a nice cake plate for the birthday, I purchased hobnail milk glass cake plates for my daughters. So I think this one will be milk glass. And of course a tube pan, perfect for angel food cakes. You know that you never grease you angle food cake pan, so you keep a separate tube pan just for the angle food cake. Any oil residue on the beaters, bowl, or bake pan will react with the egg whites and deflate them. So this pan will be dedicated to angle food cakes. 

I love my Le Creuset dutch oven. Mine is pink--of course. What color will this dutch oven be? I haven't made homemade bread in ages, but I can envision  lots mini breads coming out of this little loaf pan.

And now you know the answer to which will I use in the Manchester kitchen? The Moisture absorbing canisters or the glass canisters or the unique 3-D printed ones? The Etsy canisters will be used for what I originally ordered them for: Coffee and Tea on the coffee bar and these 3 will be Flour, Sugar, and ?

I have my design pattern picked, the labels made in Design Space and ready to print of waterslide transfer paper. I'm pretty excited. 

I'll begin by painting and applying the transfer to the moisture things as practice. So be patient with me, for this is going to take a while--and real life will get in the way, too.  

As a little gift, Jodi printed and painted these adorable honey pots for each of her test artists. I have just the spot for it in the Manchester kitchen.

My only request--since I couldn't make any decisions--was the flour sifter. This is Jodi's own design. How clever! And cute! And unique!

Just for Fun

Daughter Heather and I met in Denver for the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, and Toys. The museum hosts the show every year, which offers a wonderful roster of artists and miniaturists. I came home with a few little items, mostly for the toy store. 

 

Donald and Mini for the toy store.

A neat pull toy

The typewriter has a story--a memory. My mom typed on an old Underwood typewriter. I played on it.  I didn't it get rescued for the old home, so this one will do.

He's not quite an elf on the shelf, but I could not resit him!

While we don't use or serve alcohol in our home, the Manchester will have a little bar. The X.O bottle didn't have a label so it was $3 instead of $15. I can make a label. The decanter and glasses came from SMA miniatures on Etsy, and the whisky jars came from the show. And that's about to extent of the bar supplies--so far.

And the hand cultivator. Turns out, it can be purchased on Factory Directly Craft.com for about the same as I paid for it. I avoided shipping.

My husband uses his grandmother's hand cultivator in our own garden, these will go the Bellingham's garden--yet to be built.

Daughter Jennifer made these cute little gnomes. One hangs out with my antique cup collection and the other one hangs with the Barbies, but they have a habit of disappearing--mostly after Jen and the girls have been here-- then the hunt is on.

 

So, who knows where the mistress of the Manchester will find her gnome friend.

Thanks for joining me. I hope you've had a much fun as here as I have had writing this entry.

 

In the Mood

 Work on the Manchester cabinets goes slowly due part to the tediousness of the finishing touches and real life projects and responsibilities taking time away from play time. I am glad to announce that I made some good progress this week. The cabinets still are not finished; while, I have made good progress, I'm procrastinating the painting. 

Countertops have posed one big challenge because I didn't know how to create a realistic look.  For the kitchen countertops, cut two tops on the Cricut maker from 1/16 basswood and gluded the together to get a thicker counter. I used 12x12 sheet adhesive vinyl to give the look of shiny quartz or granite countertops. It is very easy to work with, giving a very, clean finished look.

The cook top cutout made it hard line up the cut vinyl so after a failed attempt to get the cut final in place, I drew guide lines to help line up both sides of the cut out. After three tries, I finally got it right.

The guide lines made a big difference in applying the vinyl evenly on both sides.

I used my Cricut scrapper to press down the vinyl to get a good, smooth seal. The vinyl is easy to work with and gives good results.

 

All the cabinet needs now is paint touch up, 3 drawer pulls; and the top glued in place.

The next counter top I covered was for the bathroom vanity and the repurposed kitchen cabinet that I'll use on the 3rd floor. I used a heavier card stock with a pattern that resembled a marble finish. The paper, of course, required glueing in place.

After the glue on the paper had dried, I first sprayed countertops with Krylon Sealer to strengthen the paper for the next step, a coat of the triple thick clear glaze to give a shiny a surface. 

Paper does not hold up as well as the vinyl. Too much tacky glue will soften the paper, causing it to tear, so the less glue, the better.

I used the chemical sprays in the garage and wore a left over COVID mask--which really didn't protect much from the fumes, so I sprayed outside because the fumes are so awful. I also let the pieces cure 24 hours.

Next I painted the plastic sinks that ordered from Paper Doll Miniatures Shapeways Store. I used a primer-paint spray for the base then I'll paint them white with acrylic paint.

I'm really liking the gray cabinet, but I'm questioning the gold handles now. I may change them out. I had already painted the plumbing gold, but the the bathroom is gray and black, and the handles will be nickel, so I will repaint the faucets and switch out the gold knobs. Why do I keep changing my mind?

Just to see if they would fit, I inserted the chipboard boxes that will become "baskets" for storage. 

I'll add feet so that the cabinet doesn't sit on the floor and faucets to finish the bathroom vanity. I found the "feet" at Hobby Lobby in the craft lumber. They are actually for furniture making to cover recessed screws, but they work nicely as feet. The vanity just didn't look right siting directly on the floor. The feet will give it a finished look.

Back in I have struggled with how to hang the upper cabinets with the vent hood removable so that I could access the light that will be behind the hood. I watched a quick video where the upper cabinets were glued to some sort of art board and then attached to the kitchen wall. I decided then to use illustration board over the wall, cutting a hole where light will be hang. I've wallpapered the board and will use carpet tape that is double sided sticky to attach the board to the wall of the kitchen, so that if I have to change out the light, I can--I hope.

So all of the counter tops are made but need to be glued in place and once all the touchup work is finished the kitchen cabinets will be installed and then I can install the stair case by week's end--I hope.

But I do have an important project to finish, my grandson's photo album. I have all the photos selected and now am adding the embellishments. He and grandpa came home early from elk hunting, so I didn't get it finished for him. More Procrastination, which I defend by saying, "I have to be in the right mood," which really has caused a lot of procrastination in making countertops. I wanted them to look right and authentic. I think they will be okay.

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful week.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

 Last week when Lucy's goat milk soap batch didn't turn out, I pulled out one of my grandma adages: "Make Lemonade out out lemons. I'm not sure if the 14 year old budding entrepreneur understood the metaphor, but she did some research to find out why her batch was crumbly and what to do about. Turns out that if she measured everything proper, including the lye, the bad soap bars can be grated then reheated in a warm crockpot, which I believe she did today.

So, I'm following my own advice with my two lemon kitchen cabinet projects that have bugged me all summer. They were the two  cabinets that made I for the Manchester kitchen. The original one never suited me for a number of reasons, but mostly because I was disappointed in my workmanship and because I made the front doors fixed instead of working cabinet doors, as well as the narrow door that I added on the left instead of making wider drawers. And I wasn't real happy with the bump out for the stove top either, so I remade the cabinet.

I did have to make a new small drawer for the old cabinet, which was easily drawn and cut in Design Space. I also cut two 1/16 counter tops that I'll glue together to get a thicker counter top. I'm finally liking the new reimagined original counter top. 

So this lemon is now sweetly revamped and I'll use it in the kitchen. Still not perfect, but it is handmade and that's okay. 

               

The second one didn't go well either--in my mind. I just didn't like how it looked in the kitchen. In fact, I just didn't like my plan for the kitchen at all. I made a second set of drawers so that it had drawers on both sides of the working doors under stove cabinet. The problem was that the cook top sat on top of the counter top and didn't look right. The pin hinges also posed a problem with the counter top and it seemed not quite long enough.

By now I had a brilliant lemon scented brainstorm and tried this  remake up on the third floor which will be some sort of an art studio, a place where the Miss can work on her genealogy, and other interests, maybe a scrapbook or two.

Originally, I remade the cabinet with 3 drawers on the right side too, after, taking the drawers from the original cabinet. But with the new plan for the revised cabinet, I had to rethink making another set of drawers. A third set of drawers really at this point was not an option since I had lost the original design in Design Space, I DID NOT want to have to remeasure and redraw off the pieces, so I cut a door by hand out of 3/32 basswood so that the pin hinge would less likely split the 1/16 inch basswood. I took me a while today to figure out the cabinet door instead of drawers, but I got it cut and installed.

I cute the counter top from 1/8 inch basswood to have a nice heavy work space and it just a little longer so that it would glue down to the thin 1/16 inch nicely on each end. I made a paper templet to mark the hole placement for the hinge pins

This tiny drill bit is perfect to drill the pin hinge holes.

With a gap between the top of the 1st drawer on the left and the counter top, I decided to add a pull out shelf like a desk might have. I used a tiny brad for the handle.

These pieces are looking better and have their new places in the Manchester Country Home. I need to order more drawer pulls, do paint touch up, cover the countertops and glue them in place. Now that's progress.

Finally after dinner I installed the light that will be behind the exhaust hood. It's not very pretty, but it will be out of sight and a touch of light on the cook top. I'm not gluing in the exhaust hood so t that I can change out the light if I need to.

So that's what I did today. Made some Lemonade.

Have a great week

Thanks for stopping by.

Printing the Bathroom Floor

 I thought that I should post something since I've missed a couple of weeks. Larimer County Fair winds down this week, but last week I spent nearly every day from Sunday through Friday at the fairgrounds. You can see all the classes that the granddaughters competed in at my other blog, Welcome to Ann's Garden Spot. The mosaic here gives the highlights: 1 horse, 4 goats, a hog, and several rabbits. Three granddaughters and one grandson, a city kid, who tagged along. 

So the Manchester sits, collecting dust. I finally figured out the wall coverings for the kitchen, just haven't finished the kitchen yet and now I am contemplating rebuilding the cook top cabinet. I've made two and neither one of them suit me. It's a big piece with drawers and doors that open. The drawers are made, so I won't have to remake them. I just need to design it to accommodate the cooktop--Next week.

I also worked on the bathroom floor. I've had my heart set on the printable cement looking tile that I purchased from Jessica Cloe, but after spending a lot of time printing it, the jury is still out. 

The upstairs wall has not been installed yet because I needed to work out the flooring in the bathroom. Since it is printable and I am limited by the size of paper that the printer uses, I had to figure out to create a seamless single sheet of flooring that would be 8.5 inches wide by 12 long. I bought a package of 8.5x14 inch (legal size) computer paper which gave me the width that I wanted and extra at the end. Perfect. Until I realized that I wanted to print on glossy photo paper that was only letter size.

The process to get the floor printed was tedious, but successful.

I began by printing the pattern on the 8.5x14 computer paper. I use Microsoft Word 16--which is basically the same regardless of the version that you are using either on PC or Mac--I used my iMac. Setting the correct printer parameters the first time saves time and paper--but it has to be reset with each reprint.

Paper size: To get the full page printout on the either size of computer paper, you select the paper type in paper size. The 8.5x11 is Letter while the the 8.5x14 is Legal.

Print Quality: I used glossy photo paper, so I chose that print setting and rather than Scale, I chose fit to scale to Print Entire Page. While the entire page is not filled, this is 14 inch long paper and my floor is 12 inches long, so I have flooring to spare.

I printed on the 14 inch long paper first as the test, then I carefully taped together two sheets of the standard letter size photo paper, cutting to the legal size and printed.

The printer tray also has to be adjusted to accommodate the longer paper. On my printer, then end extends.

I get a decent print on the legal paper that does require some trimming, but it fits.

The regular paper gives a nice test sheet.

I didn't pay close enough attention to my printer settings, which required a do-over to get the full legal sheet printed. Remember that I had to tape together to letter sized phots papers to get the legal size.

 

I am pleased with the results, but when I enlarge the size of the paper, the size of the image--the tiles--are larger. While they should be 1 inch the are 1.5 squares. I'm wondering if I'm okay with that to get the floor that I want. I could print on the letter size and splice the sheets, but that is exactly what I wanted to avoid because the ink is never consistent from sheet to sheet and seams can be hard to hide. So while I an acceptable printed cement tile floor, I'm still left wondering if I will use it.

The final project for the week before fair was to print the giant sunflower that will go in the second floor of the addition wall. I finally decided on plain colored paper for the wall which will not go through the printer, so I printed my flower on a clear sticker. I found the image on raw.pixel.com, imported it into Design Space and printed it on clear sticker paper (Hobby Lobby's store brand, Paper Studio), using the transparency setting to keep from cutting through the backing. (learned that trick from a YouTube tutorial on cutting out stickers.You don't want to cut through the backing, only the sticker and this setting seems to work the best)

Two fair events left this week: the Round Robin tonight. Lucy will participate in that. Since she won all of her horse show events, she qualified for this event in which they show every fair animal: sheep, goat, hog, dairy and beef cows, horse. Tomorrow is the sale. The 2 Boar goats will go the sale and Frank the Hog. I'm sure that there will be tears when Ellie has to part with her pig. She's grown quite fond of him and he likes her.

And so that ends this week's update. Hopefully I'll have something for you next week. 

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.