Dining Room Progress

While not-so-patiently waiting for back-ordered accessories to arrive to complete the Drawing Room, I have busied myself with the Dining Room.

I have decided that I really, really like using illustration board as a backer for all the flooring, wallpaper and wall moldings, and even the ceiling ornamentation.  It's so much easier working on the boards flat on my table as opposed to trying to stick my enormous, lummox head and ham-fists into the little box of a room!  BONUS:  The illustration board hides all the wires!  So I first cut illustration board to fit the floor, then the ceiling, then the back wall and then the two side walls.  It's very important to get a snug, accurate fit at this stage so I took my time and made several dry fits as I moved around the room.

Then, with all the pieces of illustration board cut perfectly and in place, I traced the window and door openings and cut them out.

The floor came next:  Merriman Park is my first dollhouse, but I have learned lots of clever tricks from all my fellow bloggers!  So instead of using an expensive, commercial floor (as I had originally planned) I made my own with iron-on, wood edging tape.  

I won't spend too much time explaining how to do it, since this seems to be a fairly standard practice among the miniaturatti.  You just cut the strips to the desired length and press them down with a hot iron.  And voila!  My only tip would be to mark on your illustration board where the floor joists lie and have all your 'plank joints' end on these marks.

We mustn't have willy-nilly joints!

I'm debating on whether to put wooden 'peg marks' where all the planks butt together because I guess that's how they would have attached the flooring down to the floor joists, right?  I mean they would not have simply nailed the floor boards down in a fancy house.  I haven't applied a stain or anything to the floor, yet...because of this dilemma plus I'm a little anxious about mucking it up!  Whatevs, I'll figure it out...After all, I am both pretty AND smart!  ...in the meantime I slipped the floor in place and went on to the walls...

I chose a period, circa 1804 wallpaper from Chinioserie.  I am very impressed with the high-quality of their papers.  I really like the pattern of unusual, stylized flowers arranged in stripes.

Next, I started on the back wall and after lots of stewing and dry-runs, I nervously started cutting up my paper...This step caused a considerable amount of anxiety as the pattern has since been discontinued so NO screwing up!

I know that some people simply abhor spray adhesives (Honey Badger)? but I have great luck with the stuff.  It seems to bond perfectly on illustration board.  My trick is to spray lightly on both surfaces, wait a few seconds, apply and burnish with a credit card.  Instead of trimming the excess wallpaper, I fold the paper around the back of the illustration board and adhere in place with white glue.  Ain't gonna go no place, children!

Then I went on to the other two walls: first the outside wall with the fireplace chase...

And then the opposite wall.  This one has an alcove where I plan on fitting a sideboard or buffet.  The interior of the alcove I upholstered in a contrasting silk stripe, which I plan on using for the draperies, too.  OMG!  That reminds me: My Pretty Pleater should be arriving any day now!  Pretty Pleater!  LOL! I LOVE that name!

After this I fit everything in place and started on the moldings.  I bought all my moldings from the Lawbre company.  They have an amazing catalog of stock, and they are so helpful...(hi, Teri!) I decided to try making my own door surrounds using stock moldings.  This is what I came up with:

I still have gluing, filling and painting to do, but you get the idea.

I then went on to the ceiling...unfortunately my camera's battery died and I can't find the charger at the moment.  But here is everything, so far...

The mantle is from Braxton Payne Miniatures.  His fireplaces are so superbly wrought. And what a nice guy!

This is not the chandelier I'm using for this space.  I'm actually considering installing a 'shoo-fly' or 'punkah' over the dining table.  This was a large fan, usually elaborately carved or upholstered that swung from pulleys by servants slaves.  (This is the South --don't judge me)! The only thing that's keeping me from this idea is that I think it would look weird that this room would be the only one without a glamorous chandelier --and it's the dining room, for crying out loud!  So I thought maybe I could have two smaller chandeliers flanking the shoo-fly, but there is no historical reference for that.  So I don't know...what do you think?

 The dining room of Melrose in Natchez, Mississippi with its slave-powered 'shoo-fly.'

CONFIDENTIAL TO HONEY BADGER:  I still feel bad about your spray-adhesive nightmare!

But I still LOVES me your aw-sum YouTube video!

Chicago! April 21-22

I am so excited to be going to my FIRST miniatures show: Tom Bishop in Chicago!  I love, love, LOVE me some Chi-Town!  Several friends of ours have moved to the Windy City and so we try and get there once or twice a year.  It was while I was visiting my friend Jeffrey during Halstead Market Days when Jeffrey took me to the Chicago Institute of Arts to see The Thorne Rooms.  I made up my mind ricky-tick to build myself a dollhouse!  And voila!  Merriman Park was born...

Chicago is also home to the silent screen-siren Coleen Moore's Fairy Castle.  This legendary, jewel-encrusted, Art-Deco confection I have not had the pleasure of seeing in person, though I know it fondly from books.  I doubt that I'll be able to squeeze it in this trip, but someday....

I hear that this particular show is gi-normous!  So I'm just a tad worried that it's going to be completely overwhelming.  For starters, I don't do well in crowds.  Especially when everyone is moving along slow-motion, in a decidedly bovine-like way.  Kind of makes me crazy. Does anyone have a good strategy for tackling this particular event?  Any must-sees?  I am making a shopping list of things I need but I tend to impulse buy so I'll probably walk in, spend every last dime in the first ten minutes and walk out with absolutely nothing from my list.

...Maybe I'll just wing it.  Why complicate matters?  Ugh!  I think it's time for another number! 

Hit it, girls!

Ooo, girl, Renee & Catherine gots more legs than a bucket of chicken!  And btw isn't Leslie-Ann Warren simply a divoon chanteuse? 

Hope to bump into you in Chicago!

Meet My New Action Figures!

A couple of weeks ago I bought these new dolls  I mean Action Figures from an on-line miniatures show.  The artists are the mother/daughter team of Paola e Sara.  They had an incredibly vast collection of dolls --there must have been a hundred to chose from-- all meticulously cataloged in order from the Medieval period up to the present day.  There was a stunning collection of doll-sized Gone With the Wind gowns (the 1850s being among the artist's favorite eras). 

Paola was extremely accommodating with my request to exchange one doll's costume for another. Her prices were more than reasonable to begin with, yet she still insisted on giving me a discount for buying three dolls --and she did not charge me for shipping them all the way from Italy!  They arrived halfway around the globe in less than a week. Amazing!

We're already talking about additional ensembles for my new dolls!

The sale is over, but you can check out Paola & Sara's creations and email them with inquiries.

http://aminiminiatureshow.weebly.com/paola-e-sara.html

Thank you, Paola and Sara!  I heart my new dolls!

JOIN the REVOLUTION!

Humans, are you sick and tired of scratching your head when asked to prove you are not a robot and being forced to type the sometimes indecipherable, nonsense-words in your favorite blog's comments section?  Do you vainly squint your eyes into narrow slits in your insane attempt to decode bloggers jacked-up verification process? Have you given up utterly and perhaps completely stopped commenting altogether?

BLOGGERS of the WORLD: UNITE!  JOIN the GROWING REVOLUTION of VERIFICATION-FREE COMMENTARY!

It's easy.  It's simple.  Here's how to do it:

1.  If you're on the New Blogger Interface, switch back to the Old Blogger Interface.

2.  Click on Settings.

3.  Click on Comments. 

4.  Scroll down the page to Show word verification for comments?  Check 'NO.'

5.  Scroll to bottom of page and click Save Settings.

6.  Spread the word and rejoice!

That's all.
 

  
 Confidential to Tim O:  Repeat after me: Judy, Liza, Barbra, Bette --These are names I shan't forget!

Entrance Hall Chairs

Today I finished my new Entrance Hall chairs I picked up from ebay and various other websites.

Of course by 'finish' I mean finished except for gluing the cushions down!  I might sand them down one more time and give them another coat of black paint...but for now,  I'm calling it a day.

My RL dining room chairs (that's 'real life,' not 'Ralph Lauren,' Andy,)!  are similar to the miniature versions in that they have an upholstered seat, which I change out periodically.  I used to leave them lose --I changed the fabric so often-- but they're actually attached at present.  My guests no longer crash to the floor anymore, which I sort of miss as I find nothing enlivens a dinner party more than watching your dining companions perform impromptu  acrobatics between the roast beef and the sorbet.

I read recently that hall chairs would historically have had a plain wooden seat, for practical purposes.  So perhaps my new hall chairs, with their olive-green striped silk coverings, will end up in the Dining Room, after all.

We'll just have to wait and see...I also worked on the final adjustments upstairs in the Drawing Room, but alas, I was not motivated enough to finish up the job completely --but it's getting there.  Baby steps!


In other breaking news, the moldings and other fittings are starting to arrive for the Dining Room. 

Oh.  I guess this photo didn't turn out so great...oops!  Obviously, still getting the hang of the new camera.  I'm designing my own door surrounds for this room, so wish me luck. 

Speaking of the Pretty Pleater, (we were, weren't we)?  I found this video and thought it might be of interest to all of us new to the awesomeness of that most wondrous of contraptions!   Watch and enjoy!

Confidential to Derek:  Thanks for the compliment...does this mean I have to be the smart one instead of the pretty one?

New Camera!

Regular habitues of Merriman Park will no doubt clap their hands and rejoice that my old camera finally bit the dust.  Or should I say bit the sand --as in the powdery, fine beach sand from the islands of Hawaii, sand which found its way into the minute, inner-workings of said camera and left it utterly inoperable.  And I had just figured out (thanks, Irene, sweetie) how to snap a non-blurry photo with the blasted thing...

So I thought I would practice using the new camera by shooting a few pics of some of the very latest features I have recently acquired for Merriman Park.

Here are a pair of chairs I made from a vintage (1980) House of Miniatures kit.  (They're still under construction, so don't judge them too harshly)!  These will end up in the Entrance Hall once I finish them all up. They come two to a box and somehow even though I only have room for six I ended up with eight total!  Note to self: ebay plus cocktails equals too many chairs!  The olive-green, striped silk coverings arrived the other day in a batch with some other silks.  But more of that, anon.

The table in the background was an inexpensive piece I doctored up with a faux-walnut finish with gilt accents.  The top is a light stone effect and I added a mirrored back for extra sparkle.  Because there can never be enough sparkle, right?

These chinoiserie-style stands will go in the Drawing Room, flanking the door.  I love using black as an accent color!

The tops have little scenes painted on them!  How cool is that?  They will be placed in the very back of the room, so unfortunately you won't get to see the design very well...

The book and compote I think will add to the 'lived-in' feeling of the finished room.  That is of course IF it ever gets finished!  (Rest assured that I'm working on something better to put inside the dish --other than the balls of museum wax-- so don't read me)!

I think these griffin andirons will look great in the Drawing Room fireplace (and they would also make fab real life cuff links!  Bonus)!

They go so well with the console table I received from Glen for Christmas! 

I splurged a little on this tea set but that's what income tax refunds are for, right?  I guess some of these photos are a little blurry, but I'm still getting the hang of the new camera!  (Sorry, Pedrete)!

I would love to have a real tea table like this one from JBM!  Of course I don't drink tea that often, unless we're talking the Long Island Iced Tea variety! Ching-ching!

I think that's it for the Drawing Room...but here's a little sneaky peaky of some of the Dining Room features...

The wallpaper is a period  (1803) French pattern from Chinoiserie.  The fireplace is from Braxton Payne and the newly-arrived striped silk will be used in the buffet niche, and for the seat cushions and draperies.  I can't wait to use my Pretty Pleater, Ray!!! Pretty Pleater!  I just can't get over that name, LOL!  (Wasn't she a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race)?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I'm re-posting this from last year, because I like it and also my camera is shot!  Whatevs, to all my miniaturist sweeties out there, HAPPY VD!