Easy Wall-hangings

Handmade decor for my mini house

It’s easy to make little wall-hangings like these recent creations.

The card that came with some earrings was the perfect backing. I started with a strip of trim, affixing it with double-sided tape, layering a contrasting trim, and repeating the process.

This little table, above, is made of a rock slice and some wooden beads. The wall-hanging beside it is made of a cardboard earring card, some wood grain craft tape, a small metal tree from a craft store, and some trim.

Chip clips are great for mini craft projects!

 

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A new mini house to flip?

A new house flipping project

I got together with my friend Janet a few days ago. You may remember her as the friend who found my original mini house at a flea market, back in the summer of 2014. It was just $35! She and her husband then brought it to me and the blog Flip This (Mini) House was born.

Well… She’s at it again. Here’s her latest find. This one I got for the low price of free. It’s in pretty bad shape, but, like my original project, I see a great deal of potential in it. I’m not really sure that I’m ready for another mini house flipping project just yet, but maybe when the snow begins to fall outside I’ll change my mind.

A new mini house flipping project?

A new mini house flipping project?

A new mini house flipping project?

A new mini house flipping project?

A new mini house flipping project?

A new mini house flipping project?

From so-so to super! A new look for this tiny sofa

Handmade decor for my mini house

I picked up this sofa at a garage sale a couple of months ago.

Mini sofa from a garage sale. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

While I haven’t been obsessive about the scale within my mini house (in part because there are issues within the house itself, with differences in door frames and things like that), this sofa leaned toward being a little too big. However, I thought I’d refinish it with some of my awesome mid century fabric I got at the St. Vinny’s in Canada last month, just to see if I could make it work.

Choosing between these... and I went with...

Choosing between these… and I went with…

Sofa with fabric. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

This one.

Can you guess what these will be?

Can you guess what these will be?

Almost ready!

Almost ready!

Ta-Da!

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

The end result is quite cute, but especially with the addition of the legs, I feel that it might be a tad too big for my house. We’ll see if it makes the final decorating cut…

Roof update

Flipping my mini house

I didn’t want to bore you, but when my friend Katie assured me that an update about the progress of my mini house’s roof would “fascinate” her, I couldn’t say no. Here are a few photos of its current state.

Mini house roof update. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini house roof update. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini house roof update. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini house roof update. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Creating a one-of-a-kind end table for under a buck

Handmade decor for my mini house

A simple, inexpensive way to create a unique end table for your mini home is to pair a garage sale figurine with a mirror.

Here are my garage sale panda and a bag of mirrors from my local craft store:

Panda figurine and some mirrors. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Moments later, and with the help of a dab of glue, we have this:

Panda figurine and some mirrors. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Finished product:

Panda figurine and some mirrors. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Once the glue dried, I paired my table with different furniture and placed it in different rooms, seeing where it worked best.

Panda figurine and some mirrors. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

It must be the animal lover in me, but now I feel kind of sorry for this panda. Like maybe I could have left it alone and not turned it into a table.

Well, I guess it is what it is isn’t.

Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

A mid century bubble chair for under $5

Handmade decor for my mini house

I was at my local craft store the other day, taking a look around since I was running early for an appointment. I came across a glass ornament (I have no idea what it was doing out in April — maybe it was meant to be used for a little spring/Easter scene?) that looked like a perfect mid century modern bubble chair. I decided I’d hang it from the ceiling in the corner of the living room. Ten minutes later, wondering down an aisle I’d never before set foot in, I discovered an assortment of plate and cup holders. One of the cup holders was a perfect match for my ornament/chair, turning it into an actual free-standing bubble chair. Here they are:

Cup holder + glass ornament = perfect 1:12 scale mid century bubble chair! Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Cup holder + glass ornament = perfect 1:12 scale mid century bubble chair! Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

My new bubble chair works great with my other living room furniture.

My new bubble chair works great with my other living room furniture.

Bubble chair with a mini newspaper rack and a side table that's actually a container of lip balm.

Bubble chair with a mini newspaper rack and a side table that’s actually a container of lip balm.

Some small changes to some (small) appliances

Tweaking store-bought dollhouse furniture

The refrigerator and stove I plan to use in my house were a little too small and an icky shade of yellowish beige. After several unsuccessful looks at eBay and other online miniature shopping sites, I decided to do what I could to improve the appearance of them.

I didn’t mind so much that they were a little small — to me, it gave the refrigerator a bit of a Smeg feel to it, and the stove reminded me of a cute little 1960’s gas stove I had in an apartment long ago (my favorite apartment ever). But the stove in particular was just too small to work with the cute little set of cupboards my mom picked up for me, which I am firmly committed to using, so I decided to do what I could to make the stove a little bigger.

Stove before. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Stove before. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Adding coats of paint to the stove and refrigerator.

After putting a couple of coats of paint on each, I added some feet to the stove (tiles, actually).

Stove with feet added.

Stove with feet added.

The tiles/feet overhang the back of the stove, because I’m going to build up the back of it with some cork coasters. These little feet bring it up to the same height as my countertops.

Two cork coasters, painted white, trimmed to size, and glued to the back of my little stove.

Two cork coasters, painted white, trimmed to size, and glued to the back of my little stove.

These coasters not only give the stove a top portion for knobs, but they also make it so the stove is the same approximate depth of my counter tops.

I added some tape to round off the border of the stove, some more coats of paint, and some black brads as tiny control knobs.

Almost done!

Almost done!

My stove is almost done! It needs another coat of paint and some of the details worked out, but I’m much happier with the color, size, and general appearance. Photos of it in the kitchen coming soon!

Kitchen and Dining room update

Flipping my mini house

The floors and wallpaper are done in my kitchen and dining room! Now I just need to add some trim. Here’s a peek at the progress:

FlipThis(Mini)House kitchen and dining progress. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

FlipThis(Mini)House kitchen and dining progress. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper in the living room

Flipping my mini house

I’ve installed wallpaper in the living room! Here are some photos of it, along with one showing the stencil I created (much like the kind I created when installing floors) for the area by the stairs.

Add a little, take a little away until you get it right. Creating a wallpaper stencil. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Add a little, take a little away until you get it right. Creating a wallpaper stencil. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Installing wallpaper. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Creating a miniature medicine cabinet and bathroom accessories

Handmade decor for my mini house

I decided to create a medicine cabinet for my mini bathroom. I fashioned it using a mirror from an old eyeshadow compact and a plastic box that once held pins in a sewing kit. Here are the original components in their natural state:

Plastic container that originally held needles and pins. This will the interior and door of my medicine cabinet. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Plastic container that originally held needles and pins. This will the interior and door of my medicine cabinet. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Side view.

Side view.

This mirror goes on the front of it. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

This mirror goes on the front of it. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I was able to snap the mirror off the eye shadow without breaking it, which was great. I glued it to the lid of the box and used regular clear tape as a hinge. I painted it with white paint (unfortunately, plastic hates to be painted). I lined the interior of the cabinet with paper and inserted a little shelf that is actually the same floorboard material I’m using for trim (also plastic-y, also hates to be painted).

Medicine cabinet interior, shown with tape so you can better imagine the scale. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Medicine cabinet interior, shown with tape so you can better imagine the scale. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

 

Next I needed some little bathroom accessories, like glass jars of cotton balls and fancy little soaps wrapped in tissue paper. For cotton balls I used the kind of mini pompoms you can buy at almost any craft store. Here’s a look:

Big jar of mini pompoms beside mini jar of mini pompoms. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Big jar of mini pompoms beside mini jar of mini pompoms. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

To create soap, I used a real bar and cut off little chunks. A couple got wrapped in white tissue paper, and one was set into a tiny ceramic bowl that will make a great soap dish.

Mini bars of soap made from a regular bar of soap. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini bars of soap made from a regular bar of soap. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Little soap.

Little soap.

Are you ready to see the finished product?

Bathroom with handmade medicine cabinet. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Bathroom with handmade medicine cabinet, partially opened. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

As you can see, the paint continues to scrape off, especially when I open and close the cabinet door. I’ll need to touch it up again and then leave it alone. Despite its imperfections, I think it’s pretty cute!