The Smallest Department Store

I was too quick to shout SPRING last week, we woke up to snow the next day! So Birchwood is on the shelf waiting for the season to turn. So I looked around for what I fancied working on and Cynthia Howe's Department Store in a Baby House shouted my name!

The first thing I did was wallpaper. The hardest part of this task was deciding which wallpaper to use in which shop, and before that deciding which shop to put where in the Baby House. The choice of wallpapers was unbelievable.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the wallpaper in around the light fittings.

The middle of the top row of drawers opens into a little writing desk.

The rooms that are usually landings with stairs in Baby Houses are going to be elevators.

Starting at the top and working left to right the shops are going to be.......

Dress Shop

Elevator shaft

Jewellery Shop

Perfume Shop - look at those beautiful bottles along the top of the wallpaper.

Hat Shop

Flower Shop

Tea Room

I spent far too long deciding where to put which department. I always think of the Baby Houses as real buildings and how they would work. I most definitely did not want the Tea Room on the same floor as either the Dresses or the Hats, imagine buying a beautiful gown and then realising it smells of food! Also working along the same lines I didn't want the perfume Shop next to the tea room - what is that beautiful scent ?? chocolate cake ??? I wanted the Tea Room and the Flower shop on the ground floor because they need to be where passing folk can nip in without having to negotiate the rest of the store. So you see, I spent FAR too long thinking this through!

Then I started on the furniture and once I had started I couldn't stop. The kits are just amazing. I have never seen such tiny details, the laser cutting is incredible. The down side of this is there a lot of very thin fragile pieces - some of which I did break but fortunately managed to fix, apart from the bench from the hat shop which needs some serious first aid!

Here are the pieces from the Tea Room.

Here is the furniture from the Dress Shop - the cabinet hasn't got its front on yet.

Here is the furniture from the Jewellery Shop.

Here is the furniture from the Perfume Shop

Now onto the furniture from the Hat Shop.

Then the furniture from the Flower Shop.

It is all ready to paint now and add the trims and mirrors and so on. I cannot wait to then start making stock for all the shops. I have no idea how I am going to manage the dresses and hats let alone the tea pot to go in the Tea Room!

I have also been working on a few Lydia Pickett pieces. There is always something for Pickett Hill half built on my craft table. This last few weeks it has been Emma's Toy Kitchen and the Benches to go in the porch.

This is the tall bench to go against the house wall.

This is the lower bench to go against the side of the porch that is open. Both benches need their cushions, this will test my sewing skills!

The Betterleys have just released the last three kits in the Lydia Pickett Series. It is sad in a way as I have loved looking forward to what would be next. Although I still have a lots of the kits still to build so it is not going to be over for sometime yet.

Some Green in amongst all the Snow

I decided to start on my new Cynthia Howe Baby House yesterday. The Art Deco one has gone aside for some serious re-thinking of the top floor.

I forgot to photograph the Baby House before I started so here is the photo from Cynthias website. It is going to be a French country style Baby House inside.

In Cynthias example she has painted the doors in a lovely delicate pink which compliments the decor that is to go inside. I however decided that I wanted my silhouettes to really stand out, and I want this Baby House to sit really nicely alongside my others so I went for a deep olive green. It took a number of coats before it started to look OK and there is always that period where you think 'what have I done???'

I painted the silhouettes in white as suggested and they stand out beautifully, really crisp and clean. The daylight was fading fast by the time I took this photograph so the colour does not show brilliantly, maybe I will try again tomorrow. I cannot wait to start wallpapering the inside.

We have had more snow and ice than I can remember ever seeing this week. the icicles along the front of our house have been spectacular! They look just like the ones on the Xmas hutch, or on Frostys Snowman shop.

Elliot was particularly proud of the ones in his bedroom window!

Despite it being winter outside it was Spring on my craft table. I have been making some 144th scale potted plants. Again the light is fading, but I shall take some photos once they are in place.

Art Deco Cabinet Decor

The Art Deco Baby House is now wallpapered and has flooring! I love the colours that Lady Bug has chosen for this project. I like it, when doing a cabinet, for all the rooms to compliment each other, so that it looks good as a whole. When choosing the colour scheme for the flooring and wallpapers for each room Lady Bug has achieved this brilliantly.

Here is a side photo so that you can see the detailing on the sides of the cabinet.

This is the cabinet with the doors closed - don't you love that they are glass and you can still see the insides?

Starting at the top floor, this is the bathroom. The floor was great fun to make. It is one piece of green speckled paper. Stripes were then painted on the left side, I used twinkling H2Os as they give a clear but iridescent look. The right side was then painted with Instant Age Varnish. Silver stickers were then used to add interest. The whole lot was then coated with Triple Thick Glaze - hey presto a wonderful bathroom floor!

This floor is going to be divided into a bathroom on the left and a dressing room on the right. Each room has an alcove with a piece of artwork in it. The bath will fit into the one on the left.

This is the dividing wall between the two rooms.

..and from the other side.

Again a full photo of the cabinet but this time with the top dividing wall in place.

The third floor is the bedroom. A lovely pearl flooring and complimenting wallpaper.

The ceiling in this room is sparkly and I have added a real bit of bling to the ceiling to go over the bed. All of these pieces came with the kit.

The second floor is the lounge. I love the wallpaper in this room. It is so warm and goes beautifully with the wood floor. The flooring in this room is a very thin piece of wood with the most wonderful grain, which I then coated in Instant Age Varnish as instructed and it has really brought out the character. This will be such a cosy room to sit in once the fireplace is in.

Of course lastly is the foyer. The floor and the wallpaper are now stuck in.

I love the warmth that this cabinet gives off. The wood of the piece itself along with the colours inside are just perfect to work on in Autumn.