Needlepoint rug I acquired

I bought this from Bluette Meloney's estate collection some months ago and not being knowledgeable on how to block and finish it. It is beautifully done and I don't want to ruin it with my lack of experience.

Stair Runner and rods

Back in January 2018 I did a stair runner and rod for the staircase going to the 2nd floor. The stair runner is a ribbon I bought from an Etsy shop, and nabbed Mini Mundus stair rods from eBay for a great discount.

Once the runner was attached to the stairs, I began planning and working on the stair rods.

I snipped off the tips of the pins for the rods, and glued them on, after struggling with attempts to drill tiny holes and pound in the nails from the holders that came with the stair rods.

Purchases from miniatures shows in the spring

I'm finally getting around to photographing them and posting about these...where does the time go??

Valerie Casson had a display at The Miniature Show and I was ogling her fabulous pottery work! Bought a polka dot teapot! She has done some furniture as well, I purchased this black color washed toile chair, and this pretty pink tuffet!

Debbie Heard had some really nice things, and I don't know the artisans who made them. I got 2 exquisite flowers, an oh so sweet teddy bear, a Raggedy Ann, and a ginger jar.

Cea's Garden  had a booth at The Miniature Show and had some really incredibly detailed plants and the person manning her booth had to point out some of the detail. I was sold when she pointed out the snail on the hostas in the fountain! I also got the topiaries from her. 

French Country Bath Knee Wall

The knee wall I planned earlier this year got built and installed today. I attached the stained wainscoting, cut, stained and installed chair rail as well. I knew I didn't want the knee wall to go over the floor, so that came out, and got recut to fit the smaller space. I also attached the flooring to cardstock so it would lay flat and be removable so I have access to the tapewire on the floor under it.

I still have to paint the window frame and attach it. I'm experimenting with some colors, it will be more like the wainscoting though. Just placed furniture back in and its looking good. Nothing permanent yet, I had wanted to have a ring and shower curtain for the tub but that may take some work to add to the current shower stand.

Update on the window frame: FolkArt Home Decor Chalk paint - Java 34165, 1st coat on!

Furniture Painting

Back in the spring, I played with painting some furniture - using chalk paint. I have been wanting to do this for over a year and just hadn't gotten to it. With the majority of my French Country done, I was contemplating this. I bought several colors of Chalk paint from Joann's and pulled out some of the inexpensive furniture I have had for years.

Still in the works, I was experimenting with base colors and sanding, and top colors...I have also purchased some small wood and metal embellishments and have some ideas on adding them and then painting over them. I haven't done that yet....

Chateau Shingles

I had purchased cedar shingles for the Chateau and with the grey color on the exterior, I decided it would be best to have darker shingles. I had experimented with a few grey shingles, but I don't think it would have been enough of a contrast.

I finally stained these over the weekend (needed nice weather, no rain, not hot). I had read of other miniaturists adventures in staining and wasn't looking forward to it. I got some foil roasting pans and was going to do the sieve method - poking holes in the bottom of one so the stain would drip into the bottom pan. Turns out I got too large of a size, and the bottom of these pans was not flat, had ridges for juices. That really wasn't working for me.

I was on my concrete patio, using an older wrought iron table. I had brown craft paper on top of it and this was where I would lay out the wet shingles. As I was poking holes in the roasting pan, I knocked over the stain, and it did a fabulous job of making a mess. Quickly moping up and removing the wet craft paper, as I watched it drip down to the concrete patio...not a great start. Once I was ready to start again, I placed wax paper down first, then more craft paper and began. I gave up on the roasting pans and chose a smaller metal container. I finished the first of 3 bags and was nearly out of stain (1/2 pint). Off to the store for more, and then back at it. I got a rhythm going and finally finished all. Did a bunch of blotting with paper towels and really ran through blue latex gloves like they were going out of style!

I again laid out the 2 collections of shingles today to dry and they look really nice! 3000 shingles....count 'em! I used Minwax Red Mahogany.

Here's the original 3 bags - puts it in perspective about how many I have, and what the natural color was.

French Country Manor Bath

Once the wallpaper was up and window cut out, I began placing the furniture again....and the darn angled walls make that hard. So I decided I needed a knee wall. I poked around in my stash and came up with some stained wainscoting I had done and not used.

So I needed to make a brace for how it would be mounted. This picture shows how it will look, it hasn't been installed yet. I have to probably cut the flooring shorter, so that the knee wall doesn't permanently hold it down. I need to have access to the electrical tape on the floor, in case the wiring for the room below goes wonky (technical term). So the floor shows the 2 sections buckling, and once I cut the floor down, I will adhere it to a piece of cardstock to keep it flat.

I think I have a piece of chair rail or 1/4 round that I will stain the same color to finish the wainscoting. It does offer a nice contrast and makes placing the fixtures much easier - more realistic.