Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A mini related update...finally!

Hello!
 
I hope you are all enjoying the new year!  I wish it would warm up, the temperature  is  - 8 F here today with a windchill of  - 26 F!  I'm ready for spring! 
 
So, while I'm bundled up here on the couch, trying to stay warm, I wanted to do a post with an update on the Newport.  It has been a really long time since I have had a chance to work on anything miniature, I'm talking months!  I miss it.  We moved to a new house in November and I'm still sorting things out around here, but I hope to be able to work on something soon.  In the meantime, I want to show you the progress I made on the second floor bathroom some time ago.  It is not finished by any means, but it is getting there.  I took these pictures before we moved and I apologize for not getting them posted here sooner.
 

 





A few pictures above with the lights on and with them off.  As you can see, there is still lots of trim to be added and of course the doors.  And I still need to fill in more little bits and pieces, but those will come in time.   
 
There is a removable wall that belongs at the back of this room, you can see that in place in the picture below.  The remaining space (not finished yet) will be a hallway leading from the stairs to the master bedroom and will have another access door to the bathroom.

removable wall on the left of the photo

 


Above you can see the removable wall through the window at the front of the house.  (sorry for the glare)  I have a piece of paper there in the doorway because the door isn't attached yet, I have to finish the other side of the wall first.  ;o)

 
Here is a look at where the hall will be with the wall removed.  This will be the next project for me I think, but I am kind of at a stand still.  I can't decide on a light fixture for the living room ceiling on the first floor, and the wires have to run under the floor here in the hall.  Decisions, decisions.
 
 
Here is a not so good picture of  the view from the bedroom.  You can see the cabinet there that I refinished and also the scratch built vanity and the corner of the scratch built bathtub.  The cabinet still needs lots of little goodies to fill it and I want to put some kind of pipes under the sink for added realism.  The mirror is a frame that I purchased at a show and repainted, then added some mirror sheet.
 

 
The cabinet was just a cheap one that I bought on Ebay a long time ago.  I like the curved detail on the top, but the rest was a mess.  I sanded it down, removed the doors and hardware and repainted it....a lot!  It took several coats to cover that wood.  I decided to leave the doors off of the top, I just like the look of it better this way.  I put on new hinges and made new knobs from beads and headpins.
 

 I scratch built both the vanity and bathtub using some inspiration photos I have saved on my computer.   The actual plastic inserts came from HBS and worked out well.  A little piece of advice on these though, use spray paint!  The instructions say you can use acrylic paint also, but I tried it and it was horrible.  I ended up scrubbing it all off and going with spray paint which turned out perfect.  Just my opinion though, maybe someone out there had better luck with the acrylic paint, LOL! 
The rest of the vanity and tub I made using a combination of bass wood, mat board and beads.  The faucets are also from HBS.  The orchid is a Paula Gilhooley kit, the metal bottle I made from beads, the soap bottles are also from a kit.  The glass jar has tiny little cotton balls in it that I made by just pulling apart a real cotton ball and rolling the pieces in my fingers.   The bathtub still needs trim all around, but that will wait until everything is fixed in place. 
 
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little update.  :o)  I hope to be back to work on minis soon.  I have a lot of ideas I want to get going on.
 
Have a great day and try to stay warm!
 
*Jeannette