oops

oop's
By
Marilyn Cole

A running account of my various miniature activities.

December 5, 2002

Here is a picture of the chair I made from a plastic fork. I think I'll try putting some varnish on the chair after sanding it down better and then attempting to put in a wood grain. Think that would work? Just having fun with miniatures.

A deer head similar to the one in the pictures below hung on the chimney for 20 years. It was originally shot by the man who built the farm in 1903.

The house was originally just the large kitchen, with an area large enough to have a bedroom (where our table and chairs sat). After his two daughters reached the ages of 7 and 8, Mr. Martin built 2 bedrooms over the kitchen area, with the stairs leading to the upstairs at the rear of the eat-in kitchen area. He then added on the more formal dining room and the indoor plumbing with a bathroom upstairs. (It only worked during the summer because the pipes would freeze in the winter. There was still the '2-seater outhouse near the barn and we used that a great deal when I was growing up.)

Finally when his daughters had their "coming out" party, he added the hardwood dance floor to the north end of the house. After the party and before winter set in, he built the walls around the floor, thus making the Front Room, or Parlor. This is the room you see pictured. The following year he built another 2 bedrooms and a front porch. Mr. Martin worked with Navy during WWI and part of WWII as a maintenance man on the huge turbines that ran the ships. There was a landing strip in the fields going through the center of the farm, and he had his own electric generator and telephone service long before anyone else in the area did. He would receive phone calls from the President to fly to a certain destination where he would be taken to the ship having engine problems. It was during one of his engine repair trips that he met my Father. They became great friends and when my Father was honorably discharged from the Army, that he offered to sell the farm to my Parents. The ship where Mr. Martin and my Father met, was the one that first went to Hiroshima after the bomb was dropped. Mr. Martin continued to live in the house until his death due to heart failure in 1949.

November 21, 2002

More pictures:

October 25, 2002

I've had a very hard time trying to get pictures since we are under constant cloud cover from the hurricane on the west coast. The one to the right is the best; the sun popped out for just a second. I've got to finish the book case for the right rear corner, make the overstuffed chairs, and finish the "window" on the left hand side beside the "door to the porch". I've got a great picture for the window, but I can't find it. My desk is such a mess.

September 18, 2002

I am learning how to make cabriole legs. I started from a pattern drawing it on yellow paper and then I traced it onto 1/4 x 1/4" wood. I cut the general shape with a saw and then trimmed a little with an exacto knife before sanding. This is for a table I am making. Pretty good for a start, huh?

September 1, 2002

I was sharpening my pencils, the other day, the old fashioned way, with one of those little hand held pencil sharpeners. I wasn't paying any attention for a while, and then noticed that the wood coming off the pencils looked kind of like Oriental fans! I was doing a pink round pencil at the time and it had this nice pink trim on the top. I saved the scraps instead of tossing them. The next pencil was a plain yellow octagon type. It made very interesting ridges in the pattern.

I use the side of the fan with the pencil color around the top as the front side. Then I spread the back with Modge Podge and allow it to dry and then flatten it with a heavy wood block or book. I paint the front with a color of my choice, and add a pattern. For the handle, I use plastic tags (the kind attached to clothing) cutting them into short pieces and gluing them to the back of the fan in the "folds". I finish using a small piece of ribbon for trim to cover the base of the fan, then I use threads to make fringe for the far edges, and then "poof" I have an Oriental Fan.

July and August 2002

Was I surprised to find out I won a contest! Winning this contest has put me in such a head spin; I haven't the foggiest idea as to what I'll make. There will be a hutch, a trunk, a small library and a Scottie Dog involved. They are all gifts from friends I've made on the net and my DH, except for the Scottie. I collect Scottie Dogs. My real dogs are a purebred long haired German Shepard, and a Papillion we rescued from death at the animal shelter. We found him on day 10, which was his last day. They have both brought joy to us during otherwise gloomy days, as have my miniatures. I have decided I will have to live to be 200 so I can complete all my projects!

Well after making myself sick for 3 weeks worrying about this roombox not being good enough, or not being a "proper" roombox, I realized that this is MY roombox of MY childhood. No one else's. There are things I cannot find and cannot duplicate, so I will substitute as nearly as I can. Living a days drive from any miniature shop, leaves me no alternative.

To anyone out there, make sure you know what you're agreeing to before you say "yes". But then, once the shock of winning passes, you can get on with your project.

I spent a week cutting craft sticks for the floor, and discovered that when you buy craft sticks and the package says "Economy" don't buy them. Go online and find some good ones. Finally, the floor is in, I just have to sand it good, make board lines and nail dots, and then varnish it.

I have some dowels and 1/4" sticks for making cabriole legs for everything. I've nearly got the fireplace finished except for the mantel piece and making the bricks. I think I'll use sandpaper for the bricks. That goes fairly fast and I can paint them the different colors of bricks. Then comes the furniture. That's a piece of cake. I have the table but no legs made yet.

That's it for now, more to come in a few weeks.

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