I painted the lamps and shades for each of the roomboxes, and painted pots and worked out the plants that will be planted in the pots for the atrium windows. I have yet to actually plant them.
I also began working out the chair designs for the rooms, first finding a chair style I liked and then trying to work out how to make it.
I have drawn up the pieces for the chairs, then imported them into Cricut Design Space.
I cut them from kraft board, and as I am making each of the three prototypes, I am taking notes on what needs to be changed on the pattern pieces. So far, it's not half bad. Just time consuming.
Russ was visiting his mom for a long weekend to celebrate her 71st birthday and to help her knock a few things off of her Honey Do list. He came home Monday with a clear schedule and some wicked home improvement mania. We'll be doing a little home improvement to our family room over the next three weeks, so my mini creating time will be very limited. Here's what the room has (mostly) looked like for the past 11 years...
I'll share some after photos as soon as we're done. It's going to look very different!
I asked Rusty if he'd mind helping a little. This is what he said...
I think we're on our own, lol! See you next week!
xo xo,
Jodi
Wow! You might think it looks like you haven't done much; I see amazing progress. The chair really defines the style. A couple years ago I did a study of upholstered chairs; maybe you have seen it on my website under the "What Have I Done" tab. I started with the 1-Inch Minis tutorial and made them in increasing complexity. You are welcome to my instructions, although it looks like you have it all figured out.
ReplyDeleteI love the irony in Russ leaving you time for minis over the weekend and then coming back all fired up to redecorate your real life family room. It's kind of a conservation of miniature time.
Hi Sherrill and thanks for the vote of confidence! I love each of your chair adaptations and would love to have your instructions! I will surely learn something from your ingenious methods!
DeleteToo bad I didn't take better advantage of Russ' time away - I felt really stuck for ideas and developed the kind of mini paralysis that makes you watch mindless TV instead of making progress. :/
But I am excited about having a refreshed family room for the holidays! Ben Gay here I come!
I love how your laps turned out and I'm certain your chairs will be awesome.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your home improvements. At least Rusty gave you an opinion. My cats just ignore me.
Thanks Sheila! Your confidence in me really encourages me to keep going forward in spite of my own lack of confidence!
DeleteRusty gave me a pitiful look today when Russ and I completely emptied the room - including his favorite sofa cushion! He's curious but definitely put out!
You look pretty busy to me, too, even though the chairs aren't quite finished. How smart to test several designs at once, instead of completing one and saying, "Nope. That didn't work. Let's try something else." (Like me.😊) Your lamp and plant look wonderful, and how exciting that you get a re-do of your family room, although I'd probably be as excited as Rusty about doing all the work. My experience with my cats is that they never help; they just inspect.
ReplyDeleteThank Deb! I was able to fit enough pieces for three chairs on one piece of kraft board so that was the incentive for the three prototypes! :O)
DeleteThe only real difference in them is the arm height. Once I have the upholstery and cushions on I think a clear winner will emerge. I hope. I may have to scrap them all and start over too! Whaaaaa!
I emptied the room and got one coat of ceiling paint on today. I already feel like a bus ran over me so I am doomed! Yikes! There's still so much more to go! Redecorating is a (foolish) young person's game!!!
Big plans, little progress... Sounds like the subtitle of my every post. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd stil you have done quite a bit! I love how the different lamps give glimpse into what the future decor will look like. Good luck!
Ha ha! You are free to use it any time Huibrecht! I feel like since my parents came up for their visit I have been running behind on everything and yet still adding more to my pile!!!
DeleteI am not at all confident in the decor palette for either box - just hoping I can pull them together in the end!
If your reno-ed family room ends up as Lovely as your guest bedroom then it will be worth the effort because you and Russ make a Terrific Team and do Beautiful Work in Full Scale along with your minis; which by the way ARE making steady progress Especially regarding your Fab Chairs!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth! Your words of encouragement really help! At least Russ and I can usually agree on most things having to do with home improvements, so that is one battle we can avoid! Now, the methods to achieve our goals? That discussion can get exciting, lol! I hope at least it's an improvement and feels a bit lighter in there. Since the kitchen is open to that room, it will have to be repainted soon, too. Prayers, please! :O)
DeleteYour progress are fantastic! Rusty is adorable.
ReplyDeleteThanks Faby! Rusty got straight A's in his adorable classes! :O) He's simply irresistible to me!
Delete¡Ya lo creo que está progresando! Muy bonito el diseño de las sillas-
ReplyDelete¡Estupendo ayudante te has buscado!Siempre hay que descansar después un gran esfuerzo. jajaja
DeleteGracias isabel Tenía la esperanza de lograr más, pero no podía decidir sobre un plan claro. ¡Eso me tenía en un punto muerto así que perdí el tiempo esperando inspiración! Ahora, tengo trabajo de casa real que hacer !!! ¡Oh hermano!
Cómo que no has progresado? yo creo que sí! Los diseños de sillones avanzan,es un trabajo lento para ajustar bien todas las medidas,pero seguro que después,quedarás encantada!!
ReplyDeleteÁnimo con la reforma,siempre son costosas y ya veo que Rusty se ha apuntado pero...sólo de supervisor!!!
Besos.
Thanks Pilar! I'd like to be farther along but am awaiting ideas and then a direction!
DeleteThe redecorating/remodeling always has hidden expenses and brings up all kinds of fears about spending the monay, but hopefully, in time it will have been well worth the work and worry!
Rusty is wonderful at reminding you it's time for a break - he just brings his favorite toy to you and begins to growl until you stop and play with him! :O)
Gracias pilar! ¡Me gustaría llegar más lejos pero estoy esperando ideas y luego una dirección!
DeleteLa redecoración / remodelación siempre tiene gastos ocultos y genera todo tipo de temores por gastar el dinero, pero con suerte, ¡con el tiempo habrá valido la pena el trabajo y la preocupación!
Rusty es maravilloso al recordarte que es hora de un descanso: ¡solo te trae su juguete favorito y comienza a gruñir hasta que te detienes y juegas con él! : O)
pues yo veo avances ...y te doy las gracias por los patrones de los sillones
ReplyDeleteThank you Carmen and you are welcome! Once I figure out the process, I will share the revised patterns and the instructions!
DeleteGracias Carmen y de nada! Una vez que descubra el proceso, compartiré los patrones revisados y las instrucciones.
Hi Jodi, big plans and little progress... sounds familiar, lol! But dont be hard on yourself, you have made wonderful progress in my opinion, those chairs look amazing. I am excited for you, happy decorating!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex! It's hard to tell now, but I hope at least one of the chairs will end up resembling the inspiration chair! If not, I'll try again! Maybe if I make enough prototypes, I'll have mastered the patterns and process and can share them with all of you!
DeleteI am too worn out from the first coat of ceiling paint to be hard on myself. :O)
I see a weekend ahead full of more painting and achy muscles! Now where did I put that bubble bath?!?
Renovations are a pain in the neck but living with the results justify the work. I'm sure your living room will look gorgeous. By the way, the mini plants in the boxes resemble the real one in your living room.
ReplyDeleteI love the chairs, they look fabulous.
Hugs, Drora
Oh Drora I hope the new sage colored paint will make a soothing and brighter room to enjoy being together in! If so, it will be worth the time, effort and expense! When I first painted that orange "suede" textured paint 11 years ago I loved it. Somewhere around year 8 I began asking myself what I was thinking!!! I am so grateful that we are finally taking on this project and giving that part of the house new life!
DeleteThat tree is the easiest plant I have to care for - just take it out to the back yard and hose it off every few months and then let dry! It can't be neglected or killed by miniature distracted me, lol!
Hi, Jodi - Your colorful lamps are beautiful, and as usual, I admire your tackling what seems to me to be a really complex job such as those chairs - and then making several all at once! Your ambition and skill are amazing! The family room renovation sounds exciting - re-doing existing rooms is another of my favorite things, including even the stress and the mess. I hope you and Russ enjoy the process! I can't wait to see the end result.
ReplyDeleteMarjorie
Thanks Marjorie! I do hope that the chair experimentation turns out to be a worthwhile endeavor that will make creating them in the future fun and easy for all of us! Fingers crossed!
DeleteI enjoy tearing things up, too! New colors and accessories really liven up life and nothing feels better than getting things really underneath clean! Plus it's a great opportunity to address some problems and make the space
work better for us! I am so grateful for all of the painting opportunities I've been give in life and that Russ is so handy a builder!
A mi me parece un gran avance, la planificación es lo que más cuesta y tus sillones tienen una pinta estupenda. Muy bonitas las lámparas .Buen fin de semana:-)
ReplyDeleteGracias rosa maria! No sé cuál será el resultado final, ¡pero estoy seguro de aprender algo! ¡Ahora si solo puedo encontrar algo más de tiempo para trabajar en ellos!
Deletere-doing your lounge is exciting! looking forward to what changes you make...
ReplyDeleteThanks Marion! It's not nearly as extensive as what you did to your fabulous place, but it feels great to have a fresh look!
DeleteI just discovered your site and I am hooked! I was wondering- my friend wants to give me a Cricut but I have no idea what it's for. What can I do with it? I usually just buy kits and make my furniture. I've never done anything from scratch- too scared. LOL! Can't wait to read your updates!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristen! Thanks so much for leaving a comment! It's wonderful to know that you're here!
DeleteWhat a Cricut can do really depends on the model you have. My first was an Explore Air, and I was able to cut most of the way through chipboard sheets to create curved cabinet fronts and such. It was easy to pass my xacto knife through the rest of the way, and the cuts were hugely better than what I could do by hand. Here's a link to see all I made with my Explore Air:
http://my-miniaturemadness.blogspot.com/search?q=cricut
The newest model, the Maker, cuts basswood and other materials as thick as 3/32". This opens a whole world of possibilities. There is a whole emerging group of users sharing How To's, videos and files for sale. You can also create your own designs in the included Design Space software.
Here's a link to a video that might help you see what the Maker can do. For the older models, a YouTube search for the specific model should yield a lot of great videos for you to learn from, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/user/RustlingCurtain/search?query=cricut
It's a wonderful tool for making not just miniatures, but other creative crafts, too!
Don't let fear stop you from trying and experimenting. I have seen folks who never knew they had incredible talent have it revealed just by trying the first time. Be brave, have fun, and mistakes and disasters are just funny stories to share!
In my opinion you've achieved a lot - according to me making decisions about decoration is on the one hand the fun part but on the other hand hard. So many possibilities for so little space! *LOL*
ReplyDeleteBut once more I am in awe how methodical you are… sadly I am much too old to change this habit of mine to spread chaos and waste time with searching. *grin* I am really looking forward to see the finished seats… but first the return of the Home Improvement Team Jodi & Russ. Big plans… and it made me smile that it was your husband's idea to give it a go. I have no doubt you're going to make a similar fantastic job as with the guest room so I'm already looking forward to see the results.
Hugs
Birgit
Thanks Birgit! I hope I can make the most of the tiny room and not overcrowd it like I tend to do! I keep telling myself "modern is minimal", lol!
DeleteI create my share of chaos, too, and honestly Love it like you! And most of the time things turn out great and it was so much fun getting there! So don't go changin' - you and your methods are Perfect!
As we enter day 5 of the repaint/remodel/redecorate and are still living in chaos with a long list To-Do, it suddenly comes to me why we only do this kind of thing every few years, lol! Lot's of Tylenol and old people noises for the next few days, I think! Hopefully, when the room is done the efforts will fade in our memories again!
Se ho capito bene, farai queste due stanze con gli stessi oggetti, ma in 2 epoche differenti. Mi sembra un'idea molto interessante!
ReplyDeleteIo amo rinnovare la casa (quella in scala 1:1 ^_^ )! Il prezzo da pagare è un sacco di polvere, rumore, sporcizia e lavoro da fare... ma è così divertente scegliere e decidere cosa fare!
Grazie Elenè! Hai ragione sul fatto che le camere ottengano un arredamento simile solo leggermente diverso nelle epoche. Spero di rendergli giustizia, anche se è difficile realizzare arredi e opere d'arte complicati senza alcun motivo! Che lezione!
DeleteE la mia casa è nel caos, quindi con l'avvicinarsi della scadenza per lo scambio sono un po 'nervoso per quanto ho preso, ma so che alla fine le cose andranno bene!