Tulsa Miniature Club Workshop

Our local club held a workshop last weekend.  The project was a cabin.

This is one of the examples that was completed prior to the show

Another example completed prior to the show.

And another example completed prior to the show

The workshop attendees also received a bag of goodies that the club members had been working on this year.  It included items like, food, a table, an ice chest, fishing items, a hat, fireplace accessories and many more.

The next few photos follow the progress of my cabin.  The body of the cabin was built from 1/2" thick foam board.  I was in the process of cutting out windows and doors here.

The exterior of the cabins were covered with strips of vinyl flooring.

The workshop went from 9a.m. until 3 p.m. and included lunch.  I had completed the exterior of my cabin by the end of the day.

Work continued when I got home.  The space in-between each log was filled in with yarn.

Here is a close-up of what that looks like

There was a seperate table/project for little kids.  They built a canoe scene.

There were several vendors selling lots of great stuff.

 Local miniature celebrity Marc Mead had his project on display there too.  

check out his Facebook page if you haven't.

Recent Acquisitions

I won this Chippendale style Lowboy on Ebay.  I am not convinced that it is by Tynietoy,  It is not marked., but it is constructed and looks an awful lot like Tynietoy.    I picked up the ceramic poodle and cat at an estate sale.

The drawers all work and the woodwork and stain are in great shape.

I think that I will place the poodle in my 1940's-1950's Strombecker Walnut house - not sure where the fluffy cat will reside?

Refurbished Arcade Cast Iron Bathroom

I won this Arcade bathroom set not too long ago on ebay.  

It was in rough shape, but the price was right! ($12.95)

The pieces arrived individually wrapped in plastic with lots of rust and peeling paint.  Normally I would not advise removing original paint from antique toys, but these were in such rough shape, that felt they could only be better.

I have a friend with a sand blaster.  I brought the pieces over and sandblasted the rest of the paint and rust off.  This is how they looked afterward.  I also scrubbed each piece with a mixture of vinegar and baking soda and some steel wool.

This is the set after a few coats of cream colored spray paint - I also used a metallic silver paint marker to touch up the faucet and soap dish on the tub and the water faucets on the pedestal sink.  

To see the rest of my Arcade Cast Iron collection, click here

This set will reside in the Crescent Moon Cottage with my Tynietoy colletion.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween !  This is a project I made from a foam pumpkin, some paperclay, paint, and a few other odds and a few years ago.  The pumpkin and lights were purchased at 50% off after Halloween.

Do you dare trick or treat at this scary house ?

Lots of jack-o'-lanterns line the yard and the porch is decorated for Halloween.  I made the stone porch out of paper clay and painted it to look old.

I painted the windows and shutters with crackle finish to add to the effect.  Still contemplating what kind of plants to put in the window boxes.  Maybe some sort of man eating plant or something from Harry Potter?

The jack-o'-lanterns are from Lemax.  I hid the transformer under the floor. The table inside is just an upside down plastic cup that I covered with some Halloween fabric.  The candy corn floor lamp is also from Lemax.  The parlor stove is a plastic kit by Chrysnbon that I put together back in the 1980s.  I am still contemplating how to make a cool chimney for it on the outside of the pumpkin.

The scary skeleton is sitting lounging on a Victorian chaise lounge, waiting to hand out goodies to anyone who dares come trick or treating.  I used a piece of scrap book paper to cover the floor.  The floor is a piece of foam core that I cut to fit.

I created a niche under the stairs for the display.  Did you notice the Halloween candy decorations hanging from the lights?

PLASTIC

I came across this miniature Tupperware bowl at an antique mall the other day.

It measures about an inch across

The lid lifts off - just like the real thing

I also came across this kitchen set.  I used to have the exact one when I was little in my Little People house.

To see my post about the Fisher Price House click HERE

To see some of my studio Halloween plastic decorations keep scrolling down

This skeleton has been camping in the Garbe house - click HERE

This skeleton has been haunting the 1940's Rich House - click HERE

And these twin skeletons have been hanging out in my cabin - click HERE

Sonia Messer Finds

I won these two Sonia Messer Blockhouse chairs on Ebay this week

To see some of my other Sonia Messer collection so far, click HERE

I have started work on some of the other Sonia Messer pieces in my collection that need a few minor repairs.

I purchased a piece of mahogany for the repairs from our local Woodcraft store.

I removed one of the good feet from the table to use as a template.  After a few trys, I found that the white pencil was easier to see on the dark wood then the graphite one.

Here are the rough cut pieces.  I discovered that I was using too large of a blade at first and broke a few pieces while trying to cut them.

I have started the repairs on the secretary doors too. 

If you are have a Michaels Store in your vicinity, they have a quite a few miniature items that they are marketing in the jewelry and bead section!

Recent Acquisitions & More Irons in the Fire

I have picked up a few more items from estate sales in the past few weeks.

A pewter watering can, a small duck vase, a stone carved cat from England, a curved wood stand, a tiny brass rocking horse and an interesting bottle cap.

The cap has two Grecian looking women on top and is made out of plastic.  Anyone have any ideas?  The lady at the estate sale thought it was something fancy, but I assume it may just be AVON ?  I thought it would fit in with my Art Deco Kage house.

To see my Kage collection and the house I am building click HERE

The following are a few projects that I have in the works!

I have been accumulating a few Sonia Messer -Block house pieces.  I have aspirations to do a Sonia Messer furnished house.  Most of these old pieces need some work.

The table needs a couple of new feet, the secretary is missing the side and bottom of the door and a foot.  The chairs need some upholstery.  

I found this 1930's Rich dollhouse a while back and 

have started undertaking fixing the windows.

First I carefully measured and drew them in AutoCAD, 

then laid them out for the vinyl cutting machine

The new vinyl "stickers" are ready to be mounted on some clear plastic and installed.

Never a dull moment !

Miniatures at the Agricultural Fair

We had the chance to visit the ag fair at our local high school and a couple of the booths had miniature models as part of their displays.

This company manufactured pig barns and had models of their products.

Of course we got to see all kinds of livestock too:  lambs, goats, hens, cows, and the two little piglets

Another display was about home products made from soy

Take A Seat

I was able to find a couple more chairs from the Take-A-Seat Collection

 This comfy looking green arm chair is called the Viridian and is based on furniture designs from the 1920's.

This ornate chair is part of the Biltmore Estate collection and is a copy of the carved walnut chairs found in the music room.

I found a picture online from the estate showing the actual 1890's embroidered chairs.

To see the rest of my Take-Seat collection by Willits, click HERE

 I came across this miniature brass armillary sundial at a local estate sale this week.  

It is marked "Made in Holland" on the bottom.