Working on La Maisonnette exterior

This was the first building I ever built when I joined a Miniatures club that happened to meet 

once a month just around the corner from my house. 

When I joined the club they were building a row of Victorian shops for their biennial show. 

It was a good way to learn the basics of miniature building.

It also made me realise I never want to make or glue hundreds of sandpaper bricks ever again!

And there's the delightful Liberty when she was two and a half years old back in 2007. 

Time really does fly!

In 2011 I changed the building into a bakery.

However there's not a lot of room in my real house for more dollhouses and the bakery needed a revamp so...

Time to add another floor and get renovating.

I was more than ready to get rid of the bricks.

I followed the instructions in Lea Frisoni's book to build the top floor.

Yes, it was annoying making all the tiles for the roof but I'm glad I did it.

Removing the bricks left a nice textured effect on the walls.

I boarded up the side window but I still wanted it to look like there had been a window there.

That's the original front door.

I just added a fancy panel.

I'd always wanted a house with a dormer window.

It was very tricky to get the angles right but where there's a will there's a way!

When I originally built the house I added a spouting and was able to re-use it.

I also had the trim under the spouting lying around...Like I've said before - things just turn up here!

The bakery will still be in the ground floor.

The wonderful Kim Saulter gave me the exquisite stained glass 'Patisserie' window.

The beginnings of the outside door on the second floor which will be the entry to the maisonnette.

This door is currently in the garage waiting for my husband to drill holes in it to make it swing the opposite direction to how it was built. It seems to have been languishing in the garage for quite some time...might have to tell him I'll use the drill myself - that'll get him moving!

Doo-dakkies glued to the front.

Doo-dakkies are incredibly useful little bits 'n' pieces and it's 

very lucky that I have so many lying around the place!

I've made the very top pointy part of the roof but I can't fix it in place until I've done the lighting.

It was a nightmare to figure out all the angles.

And here it is so far...lots more to do.

I need more rainy Sundays!

Creating a Table and Chairs for La Salon

After searching through my miniature hoard 'stash' I decided to make a table and chairs from scratch for the Salon.

I probably could have found a table and chairs that would fit there but sometimes 

I just feel like making stuff!😂 

For the chairs I looked at the instructions in Lea Frisoni's book. 

I didn't have everything that she used to make her beautiful chairs but I was able to improvise. 

Do what you can with what you have!

Cardboard, toothpicks, thin cord and jump rings!

I've had that fabric for a long time. 

This just seemed the right time to use it.

When I started out I was going to make two chairs at the same time 

but it was challenging working on just one chair. 

I almost didn't want to make another one but

I laboured through. 

The legs on one are a little wonkier than the other...that's usually how things work out here!

Table time!

Actually I made the table first but the pictures ended up the wrong way around in the blog post.

I liked the size of the little table that Kim Saulter sent me years ago so

I measured the table top around it.

That piece that looks like a pedestal just somehow turned up here.

Things like that just seem to happen!

That little black cap I attached under the table top just happened to fit perfectly on the top of the pedestal!!!

A little stain and paint.

Somehow I ended up with the colour I wanted.

et voilà

Happiness!

Tiny things bring me great joy!

I hope you're all having a good week and thanks for stopping by to join me on the Maisonnette journey!