An inexpensive, artistic way to personalize a mini house

Handmade decor for my mini house

This small wooden easel and stretched canvas were found (both unpainted) at a local craft store. They were about $2 each. I painted the easel a sunny shade of yellow, and painted an orange sailboat scene on the canvas. I had a little trouble getting a shot of it without a glare, but you get the idea. It’s a quick, simple project that will personalize my dollhouse. It would also be cute displayed on a bookshelf or end table in a human-scale house.

Tiny painting by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Tiny painting by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Are you feeling creative and artistic, but on a small scale?

Blogs and websites that inspire

If you’d like to flip your own mini house, here is a contest you might be interested in:

The 21st Annual Creatin’ Contest from miniatures.com*

Everyone must use the Starting Point Garage Kit as their structure, and the entry deadline is December 16, 2014. Click the link above for more information.

If you need some inspiration, check out the 2014 Undersized Urbanite dollhouse contest website, showing results from this year’s (already completed) challenge.

*I’m not affiliated with this contest. Please direct all inquiries to the people at miniatures.com

Souvenir ornament repurposed into a light fixture

Everyday objects repurposed

This trinket that someone purchased in Jamaica is going to make a fabulous light fixture! Here is the “before” version of it:

Jamaica ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Jamaica ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

It was filled with blue sand, little shells, a tiny starfish, and a little pail. My initial attraction to it was based upon the tiny shells, which I thought might be cute sitting on a shelf in my mid century marvel’s bathroom one day.

The only thing keeping the sand and shells inside was a small, easy-to-remove plastic cap at the bottom of the ornament.

Evidence that people spend way too much money when they're on vacation. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Evidence that people spend way too much money when they’re on vacation. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I separated the stuff inside from the ornament:

The materials to turn my mid century marvel's bathroom into a tropical oasis of beachiness. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

The materials to turn my mid century marvel’s bathroom into a tropical oasis of beachiness. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Next I cleaned up the ornament with some nail polish remover. Without too much trouble the word Jamaica was erased. Here is a picture of it after about thirty seconds of scrubbing at the ornament with a Q-tip and polish remover. After another couple of minutes, the word was gone.

Using finger nail polish remover to erase the word printed on the ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Using finger nail polish remover to erase the word printed on the ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

The word and the price sticker all came cleanly off, leaving me with this little globe:

Light fixture for a very small house. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Light fixture for a very small house. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

With a little more work, this small globe is going to be a great light fixture one day!

Back to the exterior color palette…

Flipping my mini house

A week or so ago, I was describing the West Elm measuring cups turned planters here, and shortly after that I was considering exterior paint choices here. I realized that I should have included my planters in the illustration I created, to get an idea of how their color would go with the house. Here are a couple new ideas to consider, along with a few more swatch combinations below. At this point I’m leaning towards a teal house with some combination of lime, olive, orange, or cream for the trim and front door.

Don't forget about the planters! Illustration by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Don’t forget about the planters! Illustrations by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.


Don't forget about the planters! Illustration by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

More color scheme ideas. Graphic designed by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

More color scheme ideas. Graphic designed by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini house demo time

Flipping my mini house

The tiny sledgehammers have been unleashed. I’ve been tearing out wallpaper, removing tiles, and prying away miniature baseboards. Here’s an in-progress view of the work zone. I’ll admit, a part of me thought it was ironic/stupid to remove actual mid century features like the wallpaper, only to replace them with my 2014 ideas of how mid century decor should look. Once I saw the back of the bathroom tiles (is that… rust?) and the wallpaper, all covered in mildew splotches and reeking of yesteryear, I knew I’d made the right decision. I have no idea how I’m going to smooth out the bathroom walls, but I guess I’ll figure out something.

 

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Bottle cap turned modern planter or end table

Everyday objects repurposed

This real wooden cap from a bottle of men’s cologne from the 1970’s or 80’s is going to make a great planter or end table. Flipped one way it has a spot for a plant. Flipped the other, it has a smooth table top. Here it is shown beside some books, to give you an idea of the scale. I found it at a thrift store for 90 cents, and it even came in a faux wood grain box (made of cardboard) that might come in handy for another project at some point. The only downfall is the stench of the cologne that I had to endure for the photo shoot.

Inspiring blogs and websites: Call of the Small, PRD Miniatures, and Elf Miniatures

Blogs and websites that inspire

If you love modern miniatures, here are a few resources to inspire you:

http://call-small.blogspot.com/

http://www.prdminiatures.com/

http://www.elfminiatures.co.uk/