Continuing with the Fireplace

As the weather gets colder here in the US Northwest and in Scotland where the real life Hill House is, I’m inspired to work on the fireplace. It needs a firebox and a metal surround.

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The actual drawing room fireplace is on the left and my interpretation is on the right.

I thought long and hard about the best material to use, settling on oiled stencil board. This material is about the thickness of kraft board but more rigid, and cuts nicely on the Cameo and the Cricut. With the array of metallic paints available, I was sure I could make a convincing finish.

Distracted by an App Fest

Happy New Year! And what a year this has been! Sadly, there is the grief of Covid, and the white knuckle presidential election (just over two more weeks!). But my year had a few more complications. It started without a real life kitchen and I also scheduled some routine surgery for April. Just as the kitchen remodel project was about finished, we went on lockdown. My surgery was postponed but I kept my distance anyway in hopes that it would be rescheduled soon. It was back on for August, so I continued to isolate.

While that was all going on, I had an “app fest” to improve my mini capabilities. I had been using the drawing app, Graphic, for the Mac, then went to Inkscape because that’s what others were using to design for the Cricut Maker. It dawned on me that Silhouette Studio for my Cameo 4 had a vector graphics app built in. I’m glad I got that sorted out and now use Silhouette Studio for my drawing needs.

Christmas at the Peachstone Cottage

This has been a trying, heart wrenching year for sure. My bubble is just my husband and me as our four children are in four different cities spread among four different states, but thankfully we are all doing well. Fortunately, since my hobby is miniatures, I have a world wide virtual bubble with the nicest, most generous and creative people.

Before I met you, I stumbled around on my own, building the Peachstone Cottage. I can’t really call it finished, but it has given me years of pleasure, which inspires me to say the sun always shines on the Peachstone Cottage. This year I thought it was appropriate to celebrate Christmas there.

Sneak Peek

My long-time readers probably already know that I jumped back into miniatures when I was renovating my daughters’ dollhouse for my grandchildren. In this return to miniatures I found a different world. No longer could we pay a visit to the local miniature shop. No, everything is now online. I not only found the inspiration and supplies I needed, I found people a lot like me!

I’ve been back for about 10 years now and have “met” miniaturists from all over the world. Rita at Dilly Dally Dollhouse makes mid-century modern pieces using her Cricut, which piqued my interest. Our online conversations inspired a collaborative project that we turned into a project for American Miniaturist magazine. (Sorry I can’t post the entire article.)

Holiday Tree Tips

So many of us attempt to decorate our tiny spaces for the holidays only to find out that what is in our head is next to impossible to execute in miniature.

Let’s start with a lighted tree. Bottlebrush trees are everywhere and a good starting place. Whether the tree already has lights or you have fairy lights to add, the first stumbling block is the battery pack.

They come with two or three AA batteries in a case with a switch. Where in your decor did you envision a 2×3” plastic box? And why do you need that much power for an 8” tree? My solution? Use a small switched coin cell battery pack. I’m using this one, but this one will also work.