Camp Chair Project

I have been working on a camping scene for quite awhile now and it involved several projects. One of them was a folding canvas camp chair which I just finished.

I used stir sticks and shishkabob skewers. I could have used toothpicks but I already had these in my stash and they were already stained.

I used a hat pin to make the holes in the stir sticks as when I tried to use anything else, the wood kept splintering.

I then glued all the frames together and set them aside to dry. I found they were still very flimsy so I had to put more glue on and wait again for them to dry.

Once the glue was dry, to used straight pins to put everything together. I wish I had a better way that straight pins, but I always use what I have and make the best of it.

The next step was gluing the fabric to the frames.

The finished chairs are adjustable and can be folded up but they are rather flimsy so I do not want to move them around too much.

Landscaping The Dollhouse

Now that the inside of the house is finished, my next project was to landscape the outside. This was quite a large project and kept Julie and David busy for quite some time.

David's dad came over to help him with the heavy work and to measure out the pathway. They hauled a lot of stone and bought a lot of gardening tools.

Julie and David set out the stones (made out of egg cartons) to make sure they fit before they put them in permanently.

Christopher and Goldie check out the finished pathway.

David lays out the garden shape and lines them with stones. Christopher brings Julie her garden gloves while Jennifer plays with her birdhouses.

Next, Julie and David pick out the flowers they want in the garden. I had never made flowers before so this was a project all of its own. There were gladiolas, dahlias, sunflowers, black eyed susans, daisies and painted daisies as well as assorted bushes.

David plants the first bush and Julie makes sure it has lots of water. Goldie wonders if there is a bone buried there.

The right garden and a bird is already trying out the birdbath while a little rabbit keeps watch.

The family look over the left garden and are very pleased with the results. David promised Julie that she could get new furniture for the gazebo now.

The gazebo furniture was made from a Joanne Swanson tutorial. It is made from matboard covered with aida cloth.

Julie sets up the gazebo and invites her best friend and neighbour over for afternoon tea.

Julie and Charlotte have a very pleasant afternoon enjoying the garden and each others company. They would like to thank Debbie for supplying the treats for their tea.

The house is now completly finished, inside and out and now the family are contemplating going on a camping trip.

Giveaway

On my other blog - Doreen's Miniatures and Memoires I reached over 200 followers and so I am having a giveaway. The draw will be on Mothers Day so if you would like to participate hop over to my other blog and leave a comment on the giveaway post.

Photo Box and Versatile Room

Whenever I was finished making an item and I wanted to take pictures of it, my desk usually looked like this. I had no room to put the item down and it really would not make a nice picture in all that clutter. So I had to clear my desk off every time I wanted to photograph my projects. So I thought that I would make a box that I could put the items in to photograph them.

I started off with two pieces of foamcore and a plastic corrugated sheet that came under a birthday cake.

I glued the two pieces of foamcore together using my lego angles to hold the pieces at a 90 degree angle.

I knew that the white surface would reflect the flash of the camera so I decided to wallpaper the walls. I printed some wall paper that I liked off the Internet and when I glued it on, it was terrible. Bubbles everywhere and when I tried to smooth them out the paper ripped as it was just too thin. So I had to rip it off and it did leave some gouges in the walls.

I then found some heavier scrapbooking paper that I hoped would cover the gouges.

I also heard that if you only wallpapered one side of foamcore it would warp so I also wallpapered the outside wall.

Then I had to cover the white floor and decided that I may as well go full way and do a hardwood floor and then I can use the box as a room as well. I covered the floor with Gesso so that the wood would stick to it. When I was trial fitting the sticks, the white showed through the cracks.

This will never do! So I got some brown paint and mixed it in the gesso and painted that on the floor as an undercoat. Then I glued down the floor and varnished it.

At this point, I looked at the box and realized that I now had a neutral room that I could use for scenes as well as for photographing my projects. And if I am going to use it in scenes, I do not want a lot of white edges showing. So I searched in my stash of stuff and managed to find some trim that was left over from my dollhouse and I used that to finish off the room.

I now have a box that is very versatile and can be used in many ways. By adding doors or windows and paintings etc. that can be changed I can set up scenes without taking up a lot of space. (Which I do not have.) I also have a place to photograph my mini creations that will hide my cluttered desk.

Computer-playroom: The Final Room of The House

This is the final room to be completed and David and Julie decided to make it a combination study playroom so that both children can use it.

David built a bookcase unit for storage and also to make use of lost space due to the sloped ceiling. Julie wiped up all the paint spills.

The children did not waste any time in filling the shelves once the railing was in place. Now they need some type of table to work on.

I have never made a table before but I used the kitchen table as a pattern and copied that. I cut the top and sides from basswood and the legs from a square dowel.

Then I stained and varnished it. I figured a table would be more useful than a desk because they could also use it for games, jigsaw puzzles etc.

The children began to use the table right away. Christopher loves to draw and Jennifer was working on her homework. (Of course snacks are also important.)

A bulletin board is also handy for them both to use for their projects and notes.

Jennifer's computer is all set up and in good working order. The tower is a block of wood with a picture of a real tower glued on the front.

She has the same screen saver as I do and the keyboard is identical to mine. (I took pictures of mine and shrunk them down. The mouse is made from clay and has a thread for the cord.)

David hangs the picture that the children chose as Julie, Jennifer and Christopher watch.

The last picture to be hung. The inside of the house is now finished.

The Living Room

Now it is time to put the living room all together. First David and Julie hang the drapes.

Then they bring in the sofa.








And the chair.









They set up the fireplace and Spike is quick to take up his favorite spot.



They lit the fireplace to make sure the flu was operating well and left a few ashes behind.

Next they had to choose pictures for the room. This took a long time and they went through many, many pictures. There were some scenes that they loved but they just did not blend in with the room. The winter duck scene was a favorite of David's but the blue just did not go in this room.

Then they added some plants to give the room warmth.



And finally it was done. David sat down to read and relax and enjoy the room.


The room is finished and Jonathon wants David to read him a story before he goes to bed.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter and a wonderful spring.