Monday, July 2, 2012

No Restraint!


How Much is Too Much?

Dear Readers, I have been working on the Salon of the Tiny Tree House and find myself wanting to take EVERY idea to it's Extreme, following naturally the philosophy that if I love it a Little bit, I will Love More even More! This is translating into not wanting to stop with the Embellishment of Every surface in True Rococo Fashion. In the Beginning I thought I might just leave the floor uncovered because there was such a lovely patterned marquetry printed surface that I thought it would be a shame to cover it up. But then I thought I might be able to find a piece of patterned cloth small enough.....


To Maybe resemble just a little bit an elegant carpet.... perhaps it is an Aubusson? And because it doesn't cover the entire floor... we can still see the lovely patterned marquetry!
And then I got started on the Furniture for the Salon.... 
here you can see the settee in it's rough framework...

And of course, there must be an armchair to go with the settee, and a side chair too....


But before I show you their evolution... 
I must show you what I did to the Fireplace!
I forgot to take pictures of all the fiddly little steps... 
but you can see here below the transformed mantle....
I painted more marble and added the oval and gilt accents, 
as well as the andirons and the flames....

Here below you can see the fire being tested.....  
before I decided to add the embellishments to the Mantlepiece....

I LOVE the realism of the glowing fire!!!
Back to the chairs.... they each got several coats of antique gold paint (after the primer coat)
 

And then the upholstery!  I have had this fabric for Ages.....
and found a piece of the pattern that looks lovely on such a small piece....

And then the seat.... carefully aligning the pattern!!!

It is SO Small!!

But the Chairs are even smaller!!!

And the arm chair too!

And here they are being tested in the Salon.....

But I could NOT leave them as is, Dear Readers..... I wanted MORE!
So I started the VERY Time consuming process of adding a gold "braid" trim around the edges of all the upholstery..... which you can see below if you look closely.....!
Was it necessary? Would ANYBODY ever notice if it wasn't there?

And That is not all I have Adorned in the past few days.....
I have added Embellishments to the mirror... 
Do you not remember me promising to Tone It DOWN a Bit?
Well, I added some sconce arms from metal scrolls and jewelry findings....
I know it is hard to see in this picture.....


And then I added some broken bits of "crystal" from iridescent "snowflakes"! 
And I did paint it all the same Antique gold to unify the pieces.... 
but did I "Tone it Down"???? 
I think I Jazzed it up!

I could not even leave the STAIRS alone!
They are barely visible as they go up behind a wall on the right.... 
but they had to have "marble" treads
To go with the Marble hearth.....

And speaking of "Marbles" I have found another one of my Lost Marbles!
It is now the Window in the Alcove on the other side of the room.....
But before I could glue it in place... 
I HAD to Paint the Alcove to resemble an Arbor in the Garden...


And what is an Arbor with out a Blossoming Rose?

The Marble makes Such a Beautiful Oriel Window!
Even though you can barely see it at all when the Alcove wall is in place...
And I Am going to make a smaller Settee for the Alcove.... that matches....

I have become SO Obsessed with this Tiny Scale... 
that I am Alarmed...SHOCKED with the comparison...
to the normal 1:12 Dollhouse scale...

Do You recognize this? The Still unfinished Floor of the Castle Great Hall?

It seeme that the Wizard has been doing some Conjuring Experiments... 
and has summoned chairs of the Future.....?
In Miniature!!!

And Belle has Never seen Anything Like it!
"Can you make these bigger?" she wonders....
They would be so comfortable to sit in .... 
and the fabric is more beautiful than anything she has ever seen!
The Wizard is thinking he may have to do a Memory erasing charm on Belle... 
Chairs like these are still four Centuries in the Future!

Well, Never mind.....
The Tiny Tree House has me Enchanted Too....
And now that the Marble stairs are attached and leading upward, 
I am already planning the NEXT floor in my mind.....!

Even though there are still quite a few details to complete in the Salon......
Not the least of which will be the Ceiling itself.... and a Chandelier?
And Certainly I need a Statue for the Niche....

And can you tell I will probably be thinking of More ways to Adorn it all? 
Most Likely I will be showing No Restraint at All!

37 comments:

  1. Oh wow, I love it all! More is definately more, and please, keep adding more. The room is so beautiful and so tiny, the comparision to 1/12 really puts into perspective how tiny it is.

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    1. Thanks, Alennka! More is coming most assuredly! Even I am amazed at the scale!

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  2. Wow! This project is getting amazing! ;)

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    1. Thanks, Eliana! I am glad you are enjoying it!

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  3. My goodness, you have so much patience. Everything is just so marvelous! Such tiny pieces, yet such perfection!

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    1. Thanks, Lucille! Of course, I can see ALL the Imperfections!!! But I am loving the tiny scale!

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  4. The room looks so cozy with the burning fire!!! The settee and chairs are very nice! And the mirror looks great!

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    1. Thanks, Margriet! I LOVE the way the lighting makes the rooms so real and enchanting! I am so glad I found these LED kits or I never would have tried lights so small!

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  5. NO RESTRAINT AT ALL!
    But then, who needs restraint? Your Victorian past life is certainly showing. Seriously, everything is totally beautiful. The arbor is amazing. And I love the overlapping centuries...
    Carry on!
    Lots of love,
    Mom

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    1. Thanks, Mom! As usual the project is running away with me!!! Love you!

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  6. I love the salon with it's Stunning furniture and pretty Alcove with roses! The photo with the fire "on" is charming, Betsy!
    I can't wait to see more of this Tree House! Hope it will have 10 Floors!;)

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    1. Thanks, Ewa! I am having So much fun with this tiny scale... there will be many rooms.... maybe not quite TEN... but we shall see.... you never know...!!!

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Sorry, Ewa, Blogger lost my comment... which I re-wrote ... so then they BOTH appeared.... so I deleted one.... but it always makes me feel bad to remove a comment! So I thought I would explain....! :):)

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  7. The room looks fantastic! I like the carpet.
    Bye Faby

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    1. Thanks, Faby! It is a piece of the same fabric that covers the settee in The Folly's Living room! I'm glad you like it!

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  8. Forget restraint! You are doing just wonderfully. All the patience and dexterity you have in order to be able to implement your ideas.

    You are creating a jewel.

    Cheers,
    Iris

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    1. Thanks, Iris! I couldn't do it with out the tweezers!

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  9. I agree with Ewa, I hope it's a very tall tree wiht a tree house having many, many floors... Your thinking of everything... it's always a pleasure to watch your newest ideas!

    Greetings
    Birgit

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    1. Thank you, Birgit! Believe me, it is getting Taller every time I think about it, LOL!!! Too many ideas!!! We will see how many rooms I end up making...... at the rate I'm going we will know next by Christmas!!!

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  10. Wow everything is fantastic. I love your project its a pleasure to watch it grow. I also want more and more floors :)
    Hugs Maria

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    1. Thanks, Maria! There will be quite a few more floors!!! But I am forced to build them only one room at a time....:( So it will take a while!

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  11. For what it's worth, my personal mantra is: "It's not done, until it's OVERDONE!" :) I LOVE how you did the alcove. And yes, the gold trim on the furnishings DO make all the difference!

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    1. Thanks, John! I Like that kind of Mantra!!! (Being a Lover of all Ornate Excess....!) I am finding that it is the parts like adding all the gold braid trim that give me the Most satisfaction!

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  12. I agree with everyone, Bets, MORE MORE MORE! :):)

    I really love what you did with the arbor, if you painted it in the past 3-4 weeks, our heads might very well have been in complete sync when working on our miniatures :). You will see what I mean in my next post.

    Just so you know, I noticed every braid, every crystal, every snowflakes and every bit of little wonders you are creating :).

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    1. More is Coming Sans!!!
      I actually only thought of the Rose Arbor in the Alcove at the very end of June.... but who knows.... it could have been seeing that picture of the red mini with the roses growing over it that you showed a couple of weeks ago that lurked in my mind waiting to "blossom" into the Arbor Alcove!
      I am so glad you are seeing all the tiny bits....!!!! :):)
      Isn't the evolution of an idea Fascinating?????

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  13. Forget restraint! It would matter if you were not an artist of the miniature, maybe, but because everything you create is so lovely, the love you bring to it is in the added details. Of course there should be added braid trim, of course there should be the perfect bit of fabric for the floor, because you know when they are exactly right. I'm thinking that the secret is not in the extra detail or finishing touch, it's not about wondering whether it's right, it's really about knowing when it's wrong. We place that one extra thing and we know that it's wrong, and we take it out. That's mother difference. I have never seen one thing in your wonderful worlds that seem wrong!

    By the way, when you places the sofa and chairs in the

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    1. You are SO Right, Amy! It is the Love of the details... the love of Making the little things... the LOVE of creating.... I am Loving every bit of this project!!! And maybe you don't see anything wrong in my projects because they aren't DONE yet! LOL!!! Thank you for the vote of confidence!!!

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  14. (sorry, something went wrong before I could finish!) Anyway, when you placed the sofa into the Castle, I almost fell over! I knew they were small, but I really had no idea how small. How are you doing this, B.?

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    1. Hee Hee, Amy, I must tell you that I was reviewing my comments when your first one was posted last Sunday and the second one hadn't showed up yet.... and I had a moment of Angst that you had decided not to say what you thought.....
      I was so relieved when the second comment posted!!! :):)
      Those comparison pictures even shock ME, Amy! I am Constantly having to remind myself to make it smaller.... to stay as true to the scale as I can... to figure out just how small a certain thing SHOULD be in that scale.... to try to find pieces of things small enough... to figure out how they all will go together.... It is a challenge.... but I am LOVING it! And I know you would be surprised at how easy you would find it.... you who are working Magic with tiny beads and threads and bits of paper.... !!! Who knows.... I may have to put your little Mossy Orb somewhere near the Tree House....!!! :):)

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  15. Wow!!! I can't even imagine what you are going to do next.You are the Master Betsy, I am so enjoying this.

    Hugs,
    Victoria

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    1. Thank you, Victoria! :):):)
      I can't even Imagine what I am doing next, sometimes.... ! And then an IDEA happens!!!

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  16. Bring on the bling!!

    Please don't hold back, what you have created looks wonderful, so just keep on doing what you do!! The sofa and chairs are real gems, and I hadn't realised just how TINY the whole project was until I saw the sofa in your Castle! the mirror and fireplace look great and the rose arbour alcove is inspired! the little rug works a treat too!!

    And who wouldn't use marbles as windows if they were as small as your woodland inhabitants!?

    More, more , more PLEASE!!!!!!

    regards
    Andy xxxx

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    1. Thanks, Andy!!! I am Blinging away over here!!!! (I LOVE Bling!!!) And a project like this that is so much Fantasy releases a lot of those ideas of how things "Should" be and just lets me go over the top!!!
      There's Lots more to come!!!

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  17. Wow, lots of great pictures! I love the one of the glowing fireplace. I also like your fabrics and the rug. The room is really coming together.

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    1. Thanks, Troy! I LOVE the way the tiny fires bring life to the rooms! I am So glad I found the tiny LED kits!

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  18. Tutto fantastico! O al minimo.... ma non è il mio genere.... o ricco di dettagli, particolari, accessori e tutte le meravigliose decorazioni che tu sai fare molto bene! Bravissima!!!!!
    Luisa

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