Teeny Tiny Upholstered Chairs....

Embellished....

Some of you, Dear Readers, might Not be surprised to learn that I love color in my decor! And some of you might remember that when I was first working on the furniture for the Secret Christmas House Sitting Room, in particular the two Wing-back Armchairs, I was having trouble deciding on the color to paint them. This problem was further exacerbated by not having the drapes in place, and therefore not being clear about the color scheme for this room. The drapes provided by the kit (only printed paper) were a fancy shape but a color that exactly matched the wallpaper. And the instructions for the chairs said to paint them a "lovely soft green that harmonizes with the room colors". So I tried. The above chair is my attempt to harmonize with the room color. I think it is very close, but I also think it is too bland. The chair disappears in the room! and especially once I had made the drapes in a darker green, I knew I was going to want to change the "upholstery" on the chairs! And since this room is just the "Sitting Room" and therefore less formal than the Parlor or the Dining Room, I thought I could get away with a less "matchy" look! And I hope you will not be too surprised when I show you the "fabric" I chose for one of the chairs!

Here you can see I am testing the pattern in the room.....

It is almost the right colors....

I wanted it to have one of those densely patterned Tapestry-like fabrics...

Here you can see it beside the cast iron stove.... 

I will darken the colors a bit more...

And here you can see both the Wing chairs.... 

I decided to not upholster them in the same fabric!

And yes, the green is not blue enough... 

I will darken it more too.

And while I am painting these chairs,

 Finally able to decide the colors because the Drapes are in place, 

I have also decided that I must start to glue the furnishings in place!

(Because Christmas is coming and I want to have this project done in time!)

So I started with the girl's bedroom, 

because the furniture was all completed.... 

or so I thought!

The Dresser, the bed and the side table 

tuck neatly into the back of the room... 

here finally glued down!

But when it came to the other side table

 which sits at the front of the room.... 

there seemed to be something lacking!

There was a little glitter tree in the middle 

and a wrapped gift on one side... 

and the other side was bare!

(And I forgot to take a picture of it just so!)

But I thought of something I could add....

A Teeny Tiny Snowman! 

(Made from tiny beads glued together and painted....)

Then I attached him to the side table....

See how well he fits?

And then I glued the table in place!

I think he looks perfect!

And then I decided to glue the furniture

 into the Mother's bedroom too... 

because it was mostly finished as well.

Starting with the bed and dresser and side tables...

Then adding the bedroom slippers by the dresser... 

and the shopping bag by the bed.....

(These are not part of the kit but my own inventions.)

 Here, can you see them better....?

Aren't those slippers cute?

And then I remembered that the Wing-back Armchair for this room 

also was in need of some "re-upholstering"!

The instructions wanted it painted white or cream.

I had thought that was a bit "ho-hum".......

So I painted it in a delicate rose floral pattern to match the wall-paper....

(even though I claim to not be a Matchy" type!) 

Can you see the pattern .... sort of?

And how it goes with the wall-paper?

And I had also made a tiny foot-stool....

Can you see it? 

(It is really hard to get these tiny items in focus!)

Maybe this angle is a little better...?

Well, never mind, 

it is also "upholstered" in the rose print "fabric"!

Meanwhile, Dear Readers, 

I have darkened the colors of 

the Sitting Room chairs by a good bit.

Now the dark green is a closer match to the drapes, 

and the "tapestry" fabric is a little toned down. 

I think I will continue to work on it... 

too much gold is still showing.

And then I started to make 

one of the "Embellishments"

 I have been dreaming of.......

I wanted there to be some "knitting" on one of the chairs... 

because my Mom knits... 

and that makes it feel like "home" to me!

You can sort of see my attempt to make knitting in the above picture...

 I know it is a little bit large.... someone is knitting a blanket!

Here it is draped on the chair... 

the ball of yarn is getting away... 

it will be positioned correctly 

once the chair is in place in the room!

Here you can see all three chairs with their "embellishments"!

The bedroom chair has a lacy "throw"... 

and the other sitting room chair has an open book 

(saved from the Library collection!) 

left on it's seat.

Here is the chair in Mother's Room... 

along with the footstool. 

They have not been glued in because 

there is supposed to be a pile of wrapped gifts 

behind the chair.... 

I have not finished them yet!

And here I am testing both the chairs in the Sitting Room.... 

the colors are pretty much the way I want them.

 (The ball of yarn will be positioned later...!)

Here's a closer view of the knitting chair....

Trying to get good lighting and a view of the drapes too....

And with the Tea Table in place.... 

can we still see the chairs?

Here.... a little closer....?

Yes, It is really difficult to get a good photo Dear Readers!

But I think the Teeny Tiny Upholstered Chairs 

are Embellished to Perfection!

A Long Way From Complete....

Eclipse.....

It has been very hard to ignore, Dear Readers, that on This side of the Atlantic we have been presented with a Solar Eclipse that was a Total Eclipse for the entire path across the United States! If you were lucky enough to be near the path of totality, then I hope you had great viewing. Here in Northern New England, the eclipse was nowhere near a complete one, but still, it caused a few moments of complete focused attention, even in the Doll Worlds! Arthur and Pollyanna joined Will on the Terrace of the Folly which has a wonderfully unobstructed southern view!

With the special glasses, one could stare directly at the sun 

and view the moon's shadow as it covered the sun!

I stepped outside at work for a few minutes myself....

And took a picture through the glasses with my camera!

I know, it's tiny and far away, and terribly amateur....

But that is pretty much what we could see from here!

(Poke the pictures to see if it is better close-up!)

And while I was sharing my glasses with co-workers who didn't have any, 

I was noticing the shadows on the ground!

The sun cast crescent shadows through the leaves of the tree!

So even though it was not a complete eclipse in this neck of the woods...

it was a complete blast to get out and have a look!

And because it has been that kind of a week here, 

Dear Readers, I only have a couple of other 

small incomplete things to share with you!

As you might imagine, while I was painting the mural for the Tinker's wagon, 

I was also starting the kits for the final room of The Secret Christmas House. 

This room is the Parlor, and it will hold the Christmas Tree 

along with a decorated fireplace, clock, sofa, and two candle stands.

I started by assembling the fireplace, which has a lovely mantle 

and a hearth which I thought should be painted to look like bricks.

And then I decided that the top of the mantle 

should be painted to resemble black marble

 because the plain white seemed to disappear

 against the ornate walls of the room.

The fireplace has a lovely profile which you can sort of see here.

Here I have glued the mantle to the hearth.

 And then I realized that in order to create a more realistic fire 

than the one that is printed on the wall...

 I would need to attach the fireplace to the room, 

and I needed to "decorate it before I did that!

So instead, I assembled the rest of the furniture for this room.

A lovely Swedish style clock, 

a Victorian sofa and two candle stands or side tables.

You really do need another project to work on

 while you are assembling these kits, Dear Readers, 

because they take only a tiny amount of work gluing pieces 

and then long stretches of waiting while they dry completely!

And then you paint them..... and let them dry....

And then you varnish them.... and let them dry....

And finally you can add the printed art for the clock face!

And the lace doilies on the tables.....

And the upholstery for the sofa.....

And you will be relieved to know 

I did not try to paint my own cloth upholstery for this sofa!

I even glued the carpet into the parlor, in readiness for the furniture. 

And that's as far as I got, Dear Readers...

it's all still a Long Way from Complete... 

 

But like many things in life..... 

it's not really about how complete it is, 

it's about how much Fun you have with what you've got!

I hope you all have had safe and fun viewing of the eclipse....

However much you could see!

And if you are overseas and not near the path.... 

I hope you can enjoy the view from here just a little bit too!

Happy Eclipse!

Speaking Of The Library.....

The Tiniest Books Ever!

I Left you last week, Dear Readers, having borrowed a chair from the Library in order to serve you tea and cake in the still incomplete Sitting Room. I am glad so many of you came by for a visit! And when I returned to the making of the furniture from these tiny kits, the Library was uppermost on my mind. (The Sitting Room is temporarily on hold while I figure out the upholstery and curtains.) The Library Table needed to have a Lamp added to it, and I was instructed to "find an ivory bead" in the bag of teeny tiny pieces from which these accessories were to be assembled. Alas, there was no Ivory bead! I checked and re-checked and could not find it! So I had to improvise. I pulled out some random beads I have had in a wooden box ever since I was a teenager. I truly don't know where I got them from! There was a slightly lop-sided one that I thought could be made to look like a lamp shade if only viewed from one angle, so I added it to the pin and then the two little copper beads for the stand, and glued it into the hole I drilled in the table top! Yes, they ask you to Drill into the furniture!! Above you can see the table with the new lamp! And while I was at it, I added the green bead to the globe stand. Eventually I will paint a little bit of ocean onto it! But the really fun part was just beginning.... this kit has Books! Yes, it really does! They are just printed paper, and are meant to be folded and glued shut or left open as one pleases. They are ever so tiny!

The instructions do not say to add anything for the "pages" 

but I didn't follow the instructions...

I wanted my books to have some three-dimensionality to them

so I added a tiny piece of cardboard to each book for the "pages"!

The first one is on the table above... can you see the pages?

(Go ahead, poke the pictures to see them larger!)

Here you can see one of the "open" books to the right.... 

but it is still just flat....

It needs pages too....

But before I get to that, I must see how it looks inside the Library...

Sorry about the dark photo.... 

(that little light must not be turned on properly!)

And there are more books to add....

Another flat open face-down book... which needs pages added, 

and another one on the chair....

And now the opened books also have their pages added! 

That table is getting crowded... 

I will have to stack the books somehow, 

or spread them onto other chairs around the house!

 

And then I had one of Those ideas, Dear Readers, 

the kind that torments you until you give it a try....

 

I thought the Library Table needed an ink well and a quill pen!

 Can you see I have added a Teeny tiny feather and ink pot?

I made the tiny quill pen 

from a tiny goosedown feather 

that was shed from my coat last winter!

Yes, I saved them! 

It needed some careful trimming... 

and I found the tiniest "pewter" bead in my old bead box....

But can you see it????

Here, I have set it against a dark backdrop.... 

can you see it now? 

Right there in the middle?

Well, never mind if you can't.... 

I will know it is there!

And then I added the "oceans" to the globe....

You will have to understand that it is a very old globe... 

and perhaps their knowledge of the size of the continents was not very exact!

And then we have to see how it all looks inside the Library....

Which is extremely difficult to photograph with enough light and clear focus!

I think I need to add some writing paper to that table.....!

And just How Tiny are those books, you ask?

Well, look! 

Here's the open face-down one...

Can you see it there on my finger?

I am saving it for a chair in the Sitting Room!

 

 I am sure you will agree, Dear Readers, 

that these must be the Tiniest Books Ever!

Speaking of the Library...... 

My favorite room in the House!