Inspirational Time Out

I was really looking forward to starting the outside of the Sweet Christmas Cottage last weekend, so I began to start on the chimney. Better to get that and the electrical camouflage taken care of before figuring out where the gingerbread texture should go. I got some of the chimney structure cut & glued, then suddenly began to feel like I did as a teenager while doing math homework: board. Can you believe that?!? Board working on a dollhouse?!? Well, I was...

So, while I sat there waiting for glue to dry, I spaced out for a while. Then I picked up my phone and started looking through Instagram. That's when inspiration hit me, and I ditched the chimney for more a exciting project. Let's just call this one an interlude.

Here's the inspiration photo posted by lev_vackert, whom I follow. Amazing interior design, styling and photography. Check it out. Anyway, I wanted to try to recreate this scene using stuff I could find and tweak from my own stash. So here is what I did...


I gathered up some supplies and materials from my stash that I thought could work...

Leftover Magic Brik mix and tape, scrap veneer and plywood.

HOM Queen Anne Table Kit, Chair Kit, Laser Cut Window.

Miscellaneous Mini Supplies 

I made a simple two sided display using the plywood for the base and foam core for the walls. I didn't cut the foam core's paper covering through on the inside so that I could use a 1/4" x 1/4" piece of basswood for a corner support.

I coated the foam core with gesso to seal it and create "grout" for the bricks.

Then applied the brick sticker and brick material, Amazingly, it was still a perfect consistency after being stored in that RubberMaid container for over a year!

While the brick dried, I turned my attention to cutting flooring strips for the floor from 1/32" wood veneer.

It was really hard to see the exact floor pattern in the inspiration photo, so I had to make a guess. It looks to me as though there is a section, almost covered by what I think might be a piece of floor cloth, that looks like an old cellar door. So that's what I went with.

A tip here on getting a good meeting of the miters. Using double sided tape, I taped down my cellar door frame, letting the corners overlap. Then I cut where the corners met diagonally so that the remaining miters met up in a nice way.

I darkened all of the veneer strip edges and the floor under surface with a Promarker before gluing down with QuickGrip contact cement. It is stinky, but with wood this thin it is the only thing that won't make the wood curl.

Once the floor was laid out, I added some nail holes, scratches, dings and faux wood grain to try to simulate the floor in the photo. At this point the brick was also dry!

Then I added trim to the floor and wall edges...

To finish the walls, I painted the brick and trim in warm white. The original photo has a cooler white, but I like warmer better. I also mixed up some Folkart clear wax and antiquing wax to get a not too dark floor finish. I want to play around with the floor finish a bit more, 'cause I think I can do better.

I put together the chair kit, then began to see what I could come up with for the desk. The finished kit style and height was all wrong, so I "borrowed" some of the pieces to form the base for my own design. I eliminated the real drawer and cut my own for a more simple look. I cut and sanded chopsticks for super simple legs.

This is where I left things this evening. We'll see if inspiration strikes again over the weekend. If I can finish this one up, I'll have a nice bookend for my shelves, and a new mini scene to boot!

Hope you're finding inspiration for new and ongoing minis, too!

xo xo,
Jodi