Free is good...

You know all of those free ink pens that you collect then leave in various places around your house? Well, when you work with miniatures, they are a veritable goldmine! The cone shaped ends can become recessed or spot lighting. The shafts and mechanisms work great for pipes and fittings. And, the piece that holds the pen on your paper or in your pocket become excellent appliance handles! 

I scavenged around my house today and found 6 or 7 useful (and free) pens with many, many useful parts! I even found the perfect retro looking fridge handle! 

The hinges required a lot of patience and a little silver paint, but worked out perfectly. If I'd had just one more for the freezer I'd have been happier, but it all worked out okay in the end. I need to order more hinges, so maybe my kids will give good miniatures.com gift certificates to me for Mother's Day...

The interior has had a couple coats of spray paint (really hard to get it sprayed in there) but needed a hand painting. It's already taken several coats and still needs more. I got board and moved on lol!

So the Realife Miniatures kit is officially completed. I'm working on a little hutch kit next, then Russ and I really need to get the barn kit laid out. I'm anxious to get started on that!

Opportunities

After experiencing all of the "opportunities" with this Realife Miniatures kitchen kit, I was pretty intimidated to start on the fridge. Well, so far, so good...

One of the things I learned is that you need to read all of the instructions all the way through before you begin the assembly. Punch out, sand and dry fit all of the pieces ahead of time so that you know what pitfalls to avoid ahead of time.

I am going to keep my eyes on eBay for another one of these kits, as now that I have done one almost all of the way through, I have some neat kit bash ideas for a future project!

The fridge was actually pretty easy to assemble, with the exception of the door "seals". You were supposed to bend a very flexible piece of aluminum rod around the 3/32" door frame. Yeah, right! Mine ended up looking like a piece of scrap metal, and there would have been no way I could have glued it onto the door frame without it looking like something you'd see in the yard at Sanford & Sons. If you're under 40 you probable have no idea what Sanford & Son is. Google it...

So again I punt - my fridge will not have a visible seal. Also, if I understand the instructions correctly, you are supposed to glue the tiny aluminum tube to the doors, bend another thin piece of metal at a sharp 45 degree angle, push one end into the wood and the other into the tube. And this is supposed to hold the door straight and make it functional to open and close? Again, yeah right! I am going with good old fashioned mini hinges.

After copious amounts of spackle and sanding, I was finally ready to spray paint the pieces.

Meanwhile, the little fabric I ordered for the undersink arrived. I worked on that while the paint dried.

Just a couple tiny cup hooks, a scrap piece of wood, and a small wooden dowel. 

My grandma was an amazing seamstress, but I don't think she'd mind that I just used Stitch Witchery and an iron on the little curtain.

Some mistakes turn out good. My Notes From The Universe says there are no mistakes. That really makes me feel better when I accidentally make the cabinet frames too small for the cupboard doors and end up having to make a curtain instead. Especially when it turns out so darn adorably!

I'll have to let the fridge sit overnight for the paint to dry before I attach the hinges. Once I do that, this kit will be officially finished, and I have to say I've actually enjoyed it quite a bit!

Oh, and did I mention... My son feels so bad about not giving me grandkids yet that he got me a grandpuppy! Welcome to the family tiny Rusty! I get to doggysit quite regularly, so I see lots of belly laughs and joy in my future!

We're Cookin' Now!

I put the finishing touches on the little stove last night! This was after several coats of black spray paint for the accessories and several white coats for the stove itself.

I really struggled to find little parts and pieces around here to make more realistic burners, knobs and digital panel. The ones that came with the kit were VERY '70's. Like clock dial and everything. I wanted something a little more 3D as opposed to some shiny stickers. I think I'll hold onto them for a future "retro" project...

I often take apart old cordless phones and any other neglected or broken electronic gadgets to harvest realistic looking mini "parts". I kind of struck out with that, but when I looked through my grandma's old sewing machine table drawers (all her wonderful sewing tools and gadgets are still in them) I found lock washers for snaps and snap heads. Those (plus washers from the hubbs) became the burners.

I have several picture hanging kits with all kinds of great parts when you look with your "mini eyes". The burner knobs are nails with fancy heads cut down to just allow them to pierce the wood on the stove panel.

The backsplash part of the stove was really whimpy since it was only about 1/16 thick. I beefed that up with a piece of beveled scrap wood and added a printie control panel I found Googling.

The instructions called for both the oven door and drawer to hinge open. That is silly! Everybody knows that the bottom door is a drawer! So I made a drawer and painted it black.

One thing I have to say about this kit is that you have to constantly measure, pre-fit parts and do a lot of punting. I don't know - maybe it's just me, but the instructions are lacking. For example, in the shelf and lower cabinet instructions when they tell you to punch out a part number, if there is more than one with the same number they tell you in parentheses. By the time you get to the stove you are baffled why there are 2 of each of 45 and 46. You never use them, and there's just no explanation. So, I have extra parts and that scares me!

When I went to fit the oven door after inserting the drawer, it didn't still fit! What the heck! It was all fine when I dry fit it all! Okay, punt again. Cut a bit off the bottom of the door, make hinge holes, insert pins. And now the oven door only opens half way. When I put so much extra effort into something and it does not work perfectly I get very disappointed. So, all I can do at this point is figure out what went wrong and learn from it. Sa la vie...

Long and Busy Day!

I spent the better part of the day going through loads of scrapbooking supplies that I haven't touched in years. I decided I needed the space, and somebody out in the world might just need what I don't want at a bargain price. In case you're in need here's My eBay Page.

After all that business, I completed the final details on the second vanity kit bash. I just can't to see it in the barn someday!

I admit that I was a little intimidated about starting the stove/oven part of the Realife Miniatures kit. I really took my time and tried to think like a chess player. I sure hope I thought in terms of the proper order of things so that I don't literally paint myself into a corner!

The frame is in place, the inside painted dark grey, doors are prepped for paint and the burners (snap parts and washers) are in process. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to put the finishing touches together. 

After the stove is finished, the even more intimidating fridge kit will be next! I can totally love and hate a challenge all at the same time!

The Kit Bashing Continues...

Since I had 2 bathrooms to get ready for the barn I thought I'd go ahead and get the second vanity started today.

Again, I started with an old House of Miniatures kit and modify for my needs.

Cut hole for sink.

First flat black them metallic glaze for the countertops and fixtures.

Black base and drawer pulls installed.

Accessories waiting to dry.

Everything needs to dry overnight and I definitely need some sleep, so final assembly will happen tomorrow! Good night everyone!

Kit Bashing...

I spent a good deal of last evening and today trying to make the furniture kits I have become what I need for the space in the barn house - It's what we like to call kit bashing.

I thought I was being so smart by scanning the pattern sheets into the computer, then printing them off so that I could cut them and affix them to my gluing jig. It was all going so well, except when I scanned and cut the upper cabinet pattern and held them up to the frames i'd already made, and was baffled when the cut pattern was smaller than my frames! Argh! I retraced my steps, and figured out that my scanner and printer settings were set to Fit To Page, Then it dawned on me why the lower cabinet was such a struggle. Okay, a cup of coffee and a little regrouping later, I decided I'd just have to punt.

By eliminating the space between the first upper cabinet and sink, and using what was supposed to be the over the oven cabinet for above the sink instead, the overhead cabinets fit perfectly above the base unit.

I added some additional trim pieces to give it some symmetry, and it turnes out I can live with the result.

I bought a few old House Of Miniatures kits so that I could turn the pieces into vanities for the bath and powder rooms. Because the MBS sink I had was a little wider than the sink base, I again had to punt, I made patterns of the top and drawer front pieces and then went to work with pencil, scroll saw and sandpaper until I could dry fit everything together. It was a lot of work, but I managed to come up with something I can live with.

Not bad for a days work, and I can take some of these "learning moments" with me to the next vanity, hutch cabinet, and sink and stove kit. Wish me luck!

Off To The Races!

Well my Dremel Moto Saw arrived shortly after my last post and I haven't looked back since!

I took a good long time to read the entire instruction manual, mostly describing horrible ways you could injure yourself, before I set it up and gave it a try. I watched a lady on YouTube install the blade - Thanks HeyMimi DIY! I took my little countertop piece and traced the pattern onto a piece of scrap wood. Then I fired it up and began to cut... It went terribly wrong!

If you begin to think you are off the line, you probably are. I stopped to ponder this a moment, but forgot to stop cutting. You can see the little "pondering bump". Cutting the corners was also a little tricky. The blade only has teeth in one direction, but you have to cut at a 90 degree angle. How you sposed to turn the thing and keep from getting a gigantic curve! I believe this will be the most troubling to master. But hey, it's me! And I shall not let this saw be the boss of me! 

After cutting, sanding, staining and then gluing the butcher block countertop onto the original counter pattern, I had to try my luck again. This time, the saw god (my husband) had tried the thing out and given me some very good advice. Turn up the RPM's and chip little pieces out of the corners, he said. Go slow and if you don't like where it's going, stop and regroup, he said. He's so damn good at being handy, and his advice was perfect! My cut wasn't quite perfect, but it was close enough to sand pretty good.

Spackle, sand, paint and drill I can do, so the rest of the countertop went pretty fast.

Now I have to make a decision about under the sink. Cupboard doors, or curtain. Hmmm... I wish there was more of you reading this so you all could vote!

The sink drain is just a plastic wall anchor painted black. The faucet, door handles (Tim Holtz scrapbooking brads) and hinges (came with the kit as door handles, but not as dramatic as the brads, I think) got a coat of black spray paint and then Rustoleum metallic bronze over the top.

I thinl I'll attach the drawers and outer doors and then decide on the sink cabinet. The answer usually comes exactly on time...

In The Meantime...

It's coming on two weeks since I received the Real Good Toys Big Barn Kit and I haven't even begun to prime it! I am getting restless, but before I can start there's an issue to deal with...

The kit comes with a large opening cut out on the front wall which is meant to be sliding barn doors to bring livestock through. Hopefully, I won't have any livestock living in it when it becomes the model for our retirement home! We are planning to install 2 (bashed to make them taller) Houseworks Garage Doors and an entry door to the front, and therein lies the quandary... How to cut out for the garage and entry doors, and use that material to fill in the pre-cut barn door, all the while matching the milled siding. I am not so confident in our ability to make it look right, so, I emailed Real Good Toys.

Jennifer was wonderful! She told me exactly what information she needed from me in order to assist me with getting the right replacement part, custom cut for our needs! We were able to order a new front piece, grooved and milled exactly like the original, minus the door opening! And all of this for only $35! This was Real Good News! Our new front wall should ship out this week!

In the meantime, to keep me busy on something, I purchased an old Realife Miniatures kitchen kit on ebay. It is literally from 1975, hence the Harvest Gold appliance color. It came in the original factory shrink wrap, but upon inspecting the package contents, the stain, sealer and glue they provided was all dried up. The wood is also a bit dry and brittle, but careful removal from the pattern sheets seems to be working out pretty well. There is also a sort of fermented glue aroma that takes a little getting used to.

In the true spirit of miniature adventuring, I've decided to do a little kit bashing. I'd like to have a farmhouse sink instead of the apartment sized one that comes with the kit. I had a nice plastic container from a Chrysnbon candy dish set in my junk drawer, so that's what will become the farmhouse sink. A little word of advice on this kit - nothing is cut to fit perfectly. All the pieces are extra long and wide. I imagine that is so that it can be extra forgiving if you get a little happy cutting or sanding.

As an early Mother's Day gift, and with the complete encouragement of my amazing husband, I am expecting... To receive my new Dremel Moto Saw today! I am killing time until I hear the familiar squeaky breaks on the truck of our friendly UPS man My husband has always said you can do anything with the right tools. He's got a garage absolutely stuffed with them! Unfortunately, they are a little rugged for little jobs.

As soon as it arrives I plan to get very adventurous! In the meantime, I wait...