Sweet Christmas Cottage - The Kitchen

Some might say this Sweet Christmas Cottage kitchen is packed full. They'd be right. It's just so hard to fit so many ideas into one little space! I am pretty satisfied with the amount of wonderful things I was able to fit, and to say I enjoyed the process of getting here would be a gross understatement. I really hope all of you find joy in it, too!

I'll likely just post groups of photos and not say much. No one is here for words anyway, right! If you see something and wonder where it came from or how it came to be, just post a comment or send me an email. I am very happy to share the sources or processes.

You'll have to forgive the many and varied light quality and shade differences in the photos. The red shades on the kitchen fixtures create a very warm and charming effect with real life eyes, but the camera just doesn't know how to interpret it. So I took many, many photos. Some with the lights on, some off, and some with the pieces completely outside of the kitchen under my bright white LED bulbs. I also used various papers and materials to filter the light and reduce the shadows when possible. Photography is an art that I am just beginning to comprehend. :O)

My grandma's kitchen was always filled with home baked breads, pies, cakes and cookies. Especially at Christmastime! It was a delight to the eyes, nose and especially the taste buds! I wanted to capture the feeling of my grandma's kitchen. Seven kids were raised in it, so it definitely had it's share of wear and tear. But it was always clean, always welcoming, and no one ever left hungry!

I want to fill the ovens with baking goodness and stock the fridge, but for the most part the kitchen is finished. I'll likely add some kind of curtains on the window, but will wait until I see where the leaded glass pattern falls before I do. That's part of the outside finishing and will be saved for last.

Now I need to decide if I am in the mood to start on the living room, or switch back over to pulling out can lights, removing ceiling trim, removing the ceiling paper, and redoing it all on the New Orleans. That's a long job and a long story. That post will require many, many words. :O)

To all of you all over the world, whether on hurricane watch or in the clutches of choking fire smoke, enjoying the last days of summer or the last days of winter, stay safe, count your blessings, and make some mini fun! It really is the cure for all that ails you!

Warm Christmas Hugs,
Jodi

Slightly Out Of Season...

Hello my friends! Hope this post finds you enjoying all of the things your particular season has to offer!

 As many of you in the northern hemisphere know, August in the northwest region of the United States means hot weather. This year is no exception! So in-between short weekend explorations into the forest, I've been keeping busy with very cool and out of season thoughts.

 Like the smell of baking gingerbread, the blast of cold air as you step out the front door and Bing Crosby's memory evoking voice...

It has taken many hours just to get the hutch finished up for the Sweet Christmas Cottage kitchen, and there are many fun and challenging hours yet to come until I can call that room complete.

Everything takes me longer than it should, but with luck, I will have the stamina to complete it. Hopefully in time to enjoy the little cottage for the real Christmas season.

Next post, I shall endeavor to have more to show and tell!

Ho Ho Ho!
Jodi

Back to the drawing Bo... er.. Paper

I just couldn't put my finger on why I wasn't loving the staircase in the New Orleans kit. Here's a photo to refresh your memory. Take a look, I'l wait...

Then I realized, after letting the thought niggle at me while I worked on the Sweet Christmas Cottage, that they were just too wide. About 3/4" too wide, and they really crowded the entryway. Not to mention the room in general. Picky, picky - I know. But in 1:1 that's 9 inches, and that can make all the difference!

So, after I finished swearing and chastising myself for not just leaving well enough alone, I drew up some new plans. Hey - I am willing to make two attempts before I settle for the best result.

This new set of stairs would include built in shelves, solving once and for all the other nagging issue: the column bookcase. Now I would be free to give up the idea and still have a place to display some of the really cool stuff I've been collecting for this project. And, I'd gain back 2" there. Are you adding it up? 2-3/4" of regained floor space! Totally worth the investment of time and a new staircase kit. A perfect opportunity to take advantage of the HBS/miniatures.com 25% off sale!

Remember the issue I had when I originally decided not to use the pre-built stairs that came with the kit? They were extremely narrow, and the pitch made them very child dollhous-y. Not grown up dollhous-y. Well, a more realistic pitch meant that they were longer in length, so when installed, were about 1-1/2" too long for a believable landing. This was something I tried to ignore, but if I'm honest, it kept me up at night.

One of my brilliant readers asked if I had considered making it a return staircase. At the time, when I was stuck on the idea of keeping the column bookcase, I dismissed the thought thinking it would make that end of the room too heavy. But now, without the column bookcase, the idea was back on the table.

After my very helpful husband cut the new staircase to width for me (I bent my scroll saw blade in the attempt), I made a mock-up with a return. Bingo! That was just what they needed for better fit and function!

I cut and attached the wall stringer, shelves, back wall, landing and step from 1/16" illustration art boards. This stuff is great because it won't warp from glue or paint, can be cut with an Xacto, can be sanded and has a smooth surface.

Once the structure was figured out (the hard part), it was just a matter of the painting and sanding and staining and trimming over and over for days - whew! Why do I always look forward to this stuff until I am mid-way into it? That's when the whining starts...

But, in the end I am much more happy with these stairs. And, because I gave it two good tries, it will no longer keep me up at night! I think my next mini endeavor will be a much easier one with almost instant gratification. I'm switching back over to the Sweet Christmas Cottage kitchen, where it is mostly filling shelves with adorable minis!

Have a wonderful weekend, full of peaceful dreams...

xo xo
Jodi