Hello Again

Meet Mathilde, the part-owner of Le Petit Parterre. She will be overseeing the decorating for the shop, and of course tending to the plants as she has quite a green thumb. The perfect poppies are again by Little Rabbit Miniatures, aren't they beautiful. Mathilde has no intention of getting her hands or clothes dirty or spoiling her manicure though, she will leave that to her assistants. Mathilde will be the 'face' of the business.

Speaking of faces, I gave her a makeover, you wouldn't recognise her from the doll I bought a few weeks ago for just $8. I changed her fuzzy brown wool hair for this lovely blonde mohair which I still need to secure in place in a kind of chignon. Her features were almost invisible so I loaded on the 'makeup', just using my craft paints. I must say I quite enjoyed the process and am happy with the transformation. She is now wearing 'suede' pants and a glamorous lace blouse, as well as pearl earrings. Dressmaking for mini dolls is so much easier than for people as they don't need to 'move' and it is possible to cheat with a little glue here and there.
I have also been fiddling with this little antique infants travel trunk.

I wanted it to look like something stored away in an attic for many years. I spent way to long on this, if I do another I will take some shortcuts and make some improvements.
Today I have been sorting through the flower kits I bought some time ago and have made some daffodils. I shall try making more tomorrow and will post a pic of them.
A bientot!

Pretty in Pink

As a diversion from working on my faux wood finishes I put together this cute Chrysnbon chair kit. I originally gave it a very shabby greyish paint finish then on a whim, decided to go for pink. It is still very shabby of course, like a RL farm find perhaps. I felt impelled to surround it with all things pink and even gave my large white candelabra a pink wash, which I like for the moment. It does look large against the chair but I styled in on a tall pair I have which tower above our heads when sitting at the table. I will add some sparkly crystal drops and candles to finish it off properly.
The gorgeous poppies are by Michelle of Little Rabbit Miniatures and I received them in a swap back in 2010. I just love them they are so perfect. You wouldn't believe how long I sweated over tying that silk ribbon around the pot to make it fit the 'pink' theme! Until next time.
A bientot!

Antique Collecting

This is what I have been doing lately. I love old leather chairs that look like they have been lovingly cared for over many years, even if they are showing signs of wear. This brown 'leather' wingback has lighter shades from wear here and there, giving it a warm, mellow glow, and it even has a few spots where the leather is wearing thin. I think it has more character than it had originally, but didn't get a before shot. You can just see the burr walnut whatnot next to it, I need to collect some pretty 'antique' china and silver to display on it. I have also been making some cushions, will post a better photo when I have one, and sewing some delicate summer lace-trimmed throws. 

There's also a re-do of the walnut dressing table, have lost count of how many layers are on it now. I'll show it soon, along with the matching mirror I acquired. I am still playing with faux wood effects but am running out of items to practice on.

A big welcome to new followers, I appreciate everyone's visits and really like getting your feedback via comments. I am pondering what I can offer as a GIVEAWAY soon, so stay tuned. 

A bientot! 

Goodies from the Fair

The long-awaited Sydney Miniatures Fair was on last weekend. I met up with Norma on the first day, soon after opening so we wouldn't miss out on anything. We made a slow progression around the tables and lost each other a couple of times. We also met up with Rebecca who was down from Darwin for the show and also visiting family.
With a limited budget (again) I was drawn to all the pretty things, nothing too practical as I realised I could buy those any time. There were so many beautiful things it was difficult not to want to spend, spend, spend. But I am very happy with my purchases. Someone else likes the sweet dressing table set, and also the lovely antique lace-covered cushion.

While I wasn't looking, the little monkey tried on the lovely antique lace dress, which is really only meant to drape or hang in a room. She has the rather handy ability to detach both her legs and one arm in order to squeeze into things not really meant for her. She does look quite pretty in it I must admit. She has had to do with oversized clothing up until now as I haven't made her anything.

This is the whole selection, I really love the little box of doilies and the covered hot water bottle, the dress too of course. I will certainly find places for all of these. Unfortunately none of the sellers have web shops. I took some photos of tables on my phone but they didn't turn out well at all. Oh well, only another year to wait for the next one!
A bientot.

Fun with painted finishes

I have been having fun painting faux wood finishes, firstly on my kit desk I put together recently. I was going to paint and distress it but decided to try a faux wood finish.
After fiddling for a while I came up with what I thought looked like a pretty good walnut effect. It is a little dark and you may not be able to see the finish in the pics. I have included a 'before' photo, beside the desk I painted way back when.

I bought that desk, already assembled, from Linda from Une Petite Folie, when she was selling off a few of her items. I found out how difficult it was to put together. The only kit I had previously assembled was the bed, pictured, which I also decided to give a faux wood effect, having painted it a beigey colour some time ago.
Then I had to make a mattress of course and followed the instructions from Kris at 1 inch minis. With some bad words said, I finally managed to get it finished, with just a few 'imperfections' hehe. I also found a Susan Harmon kit for these boxes and bags etc that I bought ages ago and had fun making them up. I don't think this is my forte as I seemed to be all thumbs and found gluing my fingers together much easier than gluing the paper pieces.

In this shot you will see the little porcelain doll I made in class a few years ago. She was trying out this bed for size but unfortunately I think she is a touch too big for the scale.

As a diversion from the Petite Parterre I want to build a room box of an old-fashioned bedroom, I'll see what I can find for it at the upcoming Sydney Miniatures Fair.

Well that's about it, other than a warm welcome to the new followers and visitors, hope you find something interesting her occasionally.
A bientot!