Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Dollhouse Miniature Primitive Bench Tutorial

At the end of my dollhouse beds, I like to add a little bench. It's such a fast project with lots of character. Here's a tutorial to show you how I make a dollhouse miniature primitive style bench.
I use  1/16 thick bass wood.  I get mine at Hobby Lobby:  http://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Wood-Crafting/Unfinished-Wood/1/1/16%22-x-4%22-x-24%22-4%22-Wide-Basswood-Sheets/p/29804
The top of the bench is 1" x 2 1/2". The legs are 3/4" x 1 3/8". There are also 2 trim pieces that are 1/4" x 2 1/2".
 For the legs, cut out a triangle at the bottom of each leg. My triangle is 1/2" tall with a 5/16" base. This leaves 1/4" on each side of the triangle.  I use a small box cutter/craft knife.
We'll need to cut off a triangle at the end of the trims. I measured 1/4" from the edge and marked a line from this point to the corner. Cut off. Do this for all 4 ends of the two trims.
Sand all the edges of all your pieces. We want rounded edges so the piece can look like some old bench from a hundred years ago.
Glue the 2 legs to the top of the bench about 1/8" from the edge. I used Aleene's Tacky Glue(a white all purpose glue).
Glue the trims onto the top and edge of the legs.  Let dry completely.
I love to use a aged wash so the wood still shows through the color. You need brown and black paint and water for this. I use one drop of black, 2 drops of brown and about 12 drops of water. 
Easy right? You can adjust the height and size and use it as a bench for the kitchen table. It can be a small table. It's very versatile and quick to make. Thanks so much for joining me!
hugs♥,

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Grey Manor Dollhouse

I finished Grey Manor dollhouse. This 1/12 scale house is 21 3/4" tall x 14 1/2" across x 13 1/2" deep. It's a custom dollhouse made entirely from scratch. 
There are 3 battery operated lights with the switch inside the chimney. There's a porch light and 2 crystal chandeliers.
The exterior is covered with concrete. You can find the links to products I use by clicking the 'resources' tab up top.
 The color is an aged burnt butter.

 This dormer window can open in or out.




For this interior, I wanted a very sparse yet vintage feel - an Aidan Gray style. It's a minimalist look but still super romantic. I used a very light color palette with washed out wood colors.
I think this is the first time I've done diagonal wood floors. The downstairs wall a butter colored. I used aqua seed beads in the chandelier.
 I had this little piece of furniture in my workshop forever. I could never find space for it in any houses. It fits under the stairs here.

The stairs are painted gray and the top of the steps and spindles have a wash to make it look like weathered wood. The wash is brown paint and a dash of black paint watered down until it's thin enough.

The upstairs has white walls. Again a very simple look for this bedroom yet very feminine.
 This little bed was the one in my upholstered bed tutorial.  The little bench will be in an upcoming tutorial.


 I loved having you over at Grey Manor. I hope you enjoyed your visit.  Till next time!
hugs♥,

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Dollhouse Upholstered Bed Tutorial

Making a dollhouse bed is a great way to bring some really cozy feel to your dollhouse.  Today, I am going to show you how I make my beds with a relatively easy tutorial.

First, decide what size your bed needs to be. Measure length, width and height that will fit in your dollhouse bedroom.
I cut a piece of wood 1/8" thick x  3 5/8" x 6 3/4"for my bed base. This should be a hard material that won't bend easily. I used tempered hardboard. This is a particle board sometimes used in back of inexpensive furniture. It cuts very easily even with a box cutter. But it's pretty strong.
Next, I cut out the template for the headboard and footboard.You can pick any shape you want. The headboard should be taller than the footboard. My headboard is 3 1/2" x 2 1/4" tall. And the footboard is 3 1/2" x 1 5/8".
You'll need an interior template for the headboard and footboard. I made these 1/8" smaller. These are for the tufted upholstery. So I also cut a piece of 3mm foam sheet for each and a piece of cardboard.  Any cardboard will do even a cereal box.
For the posts/legs of the bed I used a strip of bass that are 3/16x3/16x24". The 2 headboard legs are 3 5/8" long. The 2 foot board legs are 2 5/8" long.
To top the posts I have 4 (1/4")furniture buttons. You can substitute with beads.

I cut the headboard and footboard out of 1/16"x4"x24" bass.
I used Aleen's all purpose glue to stick the headboard and footboard to the bed bottom. Let dry completely.
I cut the footboard and head board from 1/16x4x24" bass.
Glue posts onto footboard and headboard at 1" from the ground.  Glue your finials at the top of the posts. Sand rough edges.
Paint the bed desired color. I used white acrylics.
I chose to age my bed with brown ink pad from the stamp department of the craft store. You can use a paint brush to get into the corners and tight areas.
Next, we need to make the upholstered parts.
Take the cardboard, foam, and filler(like the kind you use to fill pillows) and your fabric. I cut the fabric 1/2" larger than your cardboard pieces.
The order will be cardboard, foam,filler, fabric.
You will cut little slits on the corners of your fabric and in the curved parts.  Use your carboard centered on the fabric to show you how far in to mark your cuts.
I used Aleen's all purpose glue. I glued the bottom and the 2 upper sides first.
Once both headboard and foot board are done, we can do the tufting.
I start in the middle of the footboard or headboard. Using embroidery floss insert needle from the front to the back and back through to the front. Tie off. I used a tripple knot. Continue until the whole footboard/headboard is done.
Glue these upholstered panels onto bed. I like to use cotton twine to fill the gap between the upholstered panel and the wood. It looks more finished.
I apply the all purpose glue to the wood with a paintbrush and stick the twine onto the wood.
The mattress is next.
I use a thick cardboard(like a shipping box) for the bottom of the mattress. I use pillow filler to fill the mattress. Choose the fabric of your choice. Cut the fabric about 1 1/2" bigger than the cardboard.

I use hot glue for the mattress. First I hot glue the filler to the cardboard so it won't move around too much. Then I hot glue the fabric to the back of the cardboard. flip over before you glue down to make sure the fabric is laying nicely on the filler.

Hot glue mattress to bed.
I use a piece of trim on both sides of the bed to hide the area between the mattress and the bed bottom. You can use hot glue or all purpose glue.

The sheet is next. You want to make sure your fabric extends almost to the floor on the sides of the bed. For length I usually like to do 2 times the length of the bed so I have plenty of fabric to make folds and lumps with. Like a bed ready to jump in!

Pin the sheet with the folds where you want them. Then either hot glue or use fabric glue to adhere in the position you want.

Next I sewed a comforter to put at the end of the bed. It's just a rectangle. And I sewed a couple of pillows. Fill your pillows and the comforter with candle sand. The weight of the sand will make it look more like  real 1:1 bedding.

That's it! You're done!