Mini Making Me

After finishing the dining room furniture I decided to complete the kits I purchased from Kris at 1 inch minis - Estate Chair.  Her directions were well written and it was easy enough to put the chair together, although I did manage to get glue in places where glue shouldn't be.  I guess that's my trademark . . . sigh . . .

Dining Room Suite

Yesterday I finished the dining room suite.  It went together fairly well, except for the breakfront upper doors.  They were a pain.  Every time I tried to install them with the pins, they'd break apart.  Grrr . . . I managed to get it all together, however, and I'm pleased with the results.  Except for the stain.  It's rather disappointing.  I purchased Minwax Red Mahogany, but honestly it looks just like the dark walnut I've been using.  I like darker furniture so it's not a total bust, but I was looking for the mahogany color of Chippendale furniture.  Oh well . . . I'll just have to say it's American Chippendale, as they used various other woods other than mahogany.

The other disappointing feature is that when I pulled off the plastic protecting the "glass" inserts, it left marks.  I guess because the kit was so old it had settled somewhat.  I'm hoping a little bit of "Goof Off" will work.  Do you have any other suggestions?

On the whole I enjoyed building my own furniture.  I still have two more chairs to build and upholster, so I had better.  Not to mention the kitchen . . .

House of Miniatures

The interior of the manor is finished.  Let me say that again . . . the interior is finished!  Save for a few pieces of crown molding in the 2nd floor hall and adding trim around the parlor bay window.  I saw how Mike Guidry had done it in his Beacon Hill and decided I liked it.  So I'm going to do it.

Since the interior is complete I decided to pull out my House of Miniatures kits yesterday.  I've been procrastinating on getting these done because I thought they'd be difficult.  To my delight and surprise, they weren't difficult at all!  I guess because a couple of the boxes weren't sealed, I was worried that pieces were missing, but my worry was misplaced.  All the pieces were there.  Big sigh of relief . . .

I purchased all Chippendale furniture (story to follow in another post).  I started with the dining room table.  It went together without too much effort.  I just couldn't figure out how to place the blocks on the side aprons, but once I figured that out, I was done.  And I had to re-glue the tops to the under carriage and place them under some heavy books because the tops had lifted off.  Disaster averted.

Table ends and table leaf.

Underneath shows the sliding mechanism.

Call me crazy, but this picture makes me laugh hysterically.  It looks like a flattened chicken.  Disclaimer:  No chickens were harmed in the making of this table.

Next I built the chairs.  I was going to just do a pair and call it a night, but I got addicted.  I have that type of personality . . .

I used push pins to hold the back in place over the alignment diagram.

Oh my gosh I love miniature furniture!  Isn't it the cutest?  And I have to say that building my own comes with a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Next I decided to "just" open up the breakfront box and check to make sure all the pieces were there.  Well, one thing led to another and . . .

Today I'm going to finish building the breakfront and then I'll seal, stain and varnish everything, along with making the cushions for the chairs.  And just because I like to play . . .