Miniature wheelchair

Some time ago I saw a picture of a miniature antique wheelchair on the web. For some reason or other, I got fascinated by the idea and saved it in my project bank for the future.

For a wheelchair you need wheels, and I consulted my miniature groups, with variable success. Of course, you can buy anything from model shops, but that's not what I typically want, so I put the idea on a back burner.

Then I happened to pass by one of my favourite craft shops, Tiger. I always go in to see whether they have something interesting, and this is what I found:

Frankly, I don't quite understand the "build-your-own" aspect because all you need to do is add pedals, and I cannot at all see why you need four wheels, but since the only thing I wanted was wheels, I got four for the price of two. And a tiny screwdriver as a bonus.

I took the bike apart (this is when I again wondered about "build-your-own") and painted the spokes.

As we all know, acrylic paint doesn't work on plastic so I had to paint with enamel. I wanted the spokes brown, to resemble wood, but I didn't have brown enamel and wasn't confident to mix my own.

Enamel paint takes ages to dry. Meanwhile I made the chair itself. I used a kit from the House of miniatures.

 

I could have made a chair from scratch, but the challenge was the wheels, and I have far too many chair kits anyway. I will not show how I made the chair because it was straightforward. I used a piece of leather for the seat because I am not good at cushions.

What was less straightforward was attaching the wheels. My initial thought was simply to fix the wheels on a toothpick and glue to the brace, but of course the wheels would not turn, and it felt like cheating.

 

Back to the group again, and I hope my miniature friend doesn't mind me quoting the instruction in full.

"Take wire thick enough to fit through the wheel centre hole. Now, measure a piece that passes underneath the seat of the chair. On either side, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle towards the ground. Then, at the correct height to match the centre of the wheels, bend it outwards on both sides to lie horizontal. Place each wheel onto the two ends of the wire to check the height. This is where you decide how high off the ground the chair will rest. Then, if you can find a tiny washer or flat disc that fits onto the wire, thread that against the chair. Add the wheels. Now add another disc or washer against the wheel. Make sure the wheels can spin easily. Take cutters and gently cut off the wire close to the washers, leaving about 3mm. Glue a small bead on to the tip of the wire - not the washers and not the wheels - as they must still move. For balance, the best would be to add two chair legs in the front, so that the chair doesn't tip over. Then the nurse can tilt the chair back a bit, and push it forward easily. Unless you can find a miniature wheel for the back, to prevent it from tipping over".

Guess whether I was intimidated! This was by far the most sophisticated miniature I had ever made.

To begin with, the only wire I have is champagne wire. It was the right thickness, but of course it isn't straight and cannot ever be fully straightened. But it is easy to work with. I didn't have washers, but I made tiny spacers from card. So it was easier than it sounded, until I realised that I had no idea how to attach the axis to the chair. Back to the group and the same guru: 

"You will have to mark the position of the wire on the chair base. Then glue wood strips on either side of that, but leave enough space for the wire to fit in the middle channel. Once the strips are glued down, you can glue the wire into the channel, probably with E6000 or some similar strong glue. If you want it to look pretty, you can cover it with another strip of wood or toothpick, or even just paint it to hide the glue".

I don't know what E6000 is, but I used my usual strong glue, and it all worked fine. In my excitement, I forgot to take pictures. But I followed the instructions, glued strips, then glued the wire and glued a piece of coffee stirrer on top. When I painted the whole assembly you almost couldn't see it. I used a tube from a cotton bud to cover the worst uneven parts of the wire, and it looked even more impressive. 

Ideally, I wanted raising foot rest, but it felt a bit of an overkill. (Next time maybe). I don't know whether the foot rest raises on the miniature I first saw on the web. As I was rummaging through my supplies, I decided that sticks from Magnum ice cream would be most appropriate.

 

I didn't attach them yet, because first I needed to figure out how to make the back wheel. Again, I didn't have to, but having got that far I at least wanted to give it a try. I had the fork from the plastic bike, but it looked too coarse on the delicate chair. I didn't have small wheels with spokes either and didn't know where to get them, so if I ever find one I will replace, but what I had was a little wooden wheel the origin of which I don't remember so it had to do. And it took me several evenings to figure out how to attach it so that it could turn. 

 

I know it's protruding too far back, and I will make it better at some point (when I also have a better wheel), but at least it serves its purpose. 

I don't remember what the handle used to be, just some bit I had in my supplies. As usual: don't throw anything away, it may come handy. 

 

I am very pleased with this project. It isn't perfect, but it is one of the most challenging pieces I have made, and it is not unlike what I envisioned. I have no idea where it goes in my various environments.  Maybe I can put it by the stairs in the great hall, waiting for the poor invalid to come down. And I now need a nurse to push it. 

French cottage style bedroom

I am getting bolder and bolder with my Chippendale kits and want to try different techniques and finishes. I have several kits for chest of drawers, that are mostly similar, and my large house doesn't have room for more chests, so I decided to make a chest that didn't fit into any of my projects. The chest itself wasn't particularly interesting to make, exactly because they are more or less the same. I won't show it step by step, but what I did was paint it with antique white acrylic and then add decoupage decoration. I had never made proper decoupage, and I am not quite sure I made it correctly, but I was very pleased with the result.

The drawers are not glued yes, because I always insert drawer handles before I glue on the fronts. The kits comes with standard handles and plates, but I didn't think they were suitable for this style. I wanted something like I have on my 1:1 chest, metal rings. I have plenty of these from junk jewellery, but they must be attached to the drawer in some manner, and it took me some time to figure it out. As usual, I was just rummaging through my supplies when the solution jumped at me. 

 

These champagne wires are among the best and most versatile materials. Easy to work with too.


 

When I shared this picture in my Facebook groups, one friend commented: "Yes, this is what I always do". And I thought I had invented something remarkable.

Anyway, this piece did not fit with anything, but I wanted to make something to go with it and made a bed. Again, I won't show how I made it step by step, because it is exactly like other Chippendale beds, with stringed bottom. Like the chest, I decoupaged the headboard before assembly. 

 

Making the mattress was again straightforward when you have made it several times, but I have always had issues with bedding because it won't stay. Then I remembered a trick I have seen either in some book or on the web. If you want a piece of fabric to stay, glue it to aluminium foil. In this case, I didn't even have to glue, I simply sewed it inside the blanket.

 

Now I could tuck it in neatly. Mind, I would never ever have this pink in my own bedroom. But this seemed appropriate. And the two pieces went nice together.

 

Now, however, I had a dilemma. I already have a shelf full of single miniatures that do not fit in any existing projects. I put the chest and bed tentatively in a cardboard box, but realised I would have to make the whole environment: floor, ceiling, wallpaper, and the box was too small, and a larger box would be too large... So I made a compromise.

 

This is my first corner vignette, and next time I will do it better. When I asked advice of my miniature friends, they suggested foam board, mdf and other stuff, but I am a recycler, I don't want to buy materials unless absolutely necessary, and also I wanted to make the scene then and there. The wallpaper is a printie from the web, and I made the floor quickly (relatively, maybe two hours) from self-adhesive shelf lining, cutting 4 cm strips and gluing them in a pattern. I used 1:1 embossed wallpaper for mouldings.

The dressing table and the chair are temporarily borrowed from a different project. I have another table kit and may make it in the same style, or perhaps it's not necessary. Maybe sometime I will develop this project in a whole room box or even a small holiday cottage, but at the moment the two pieces are nicely displayed.  

By the way, the tea service comes from a set of earrings an American friend has given me.

Mosaic table

I have recently invested in another huge bundle of Chippendale/House of Miniatures kits, 35 pieces all in all. I still had some from previous purchases, but it was a good deal, and who knows how much longer these kits are available since they were discontinued since 1980s. I wonder how many of each kit was produced and how many can still be in circulation. It is expensive to get them over from the USA, but it's the only way, and if you split shipping costs by the number of kits, it's tolerable. I have only bought kits I know I want to make again - I am never again in my life making the breakfront or wardrobe. Or maybe I will some time in the future. What I am saying is that, once I have made all existing kits and have now started on duplicates, I want to experiment with different finishes and decorations, and I will also be bold.

While I was waiting for my parcels from the US, I kept thinking of possible variations of kits I had made before, like I have already done with Adam furniture. One idea I had was to make a table with mosaic tabletop, and the best kit for this was doubtless Queen Anne tea table. When I first made it, I failed spectacularly with mouldings, so this time I was very careful. I am worthless at mitring mouldings, even after all these years.

I will not show the project step by step, because it was exactly like the previous one (except that I did somewhat better with moulding). I used three coats of stain: brown mahogany, red mahogany and more brown mahogany until I was happy with the tone.

Before I glued on the legs, I made the mosaic tabletop. I learned to make egg-shell mosaic some years ago,  and I also made a tabletop then, although it doesn't feel as perfect as I thought then. But the technique is the same, and I again used two paints, gold and bronze. They are only slightly different, but the two shades create a nice effect.

 

Yes, I glued every single bit separately, no cheating. Tweezers and toothpicks and patience. I didn't clock the work, but estimate two to two and a half hours. I certainly feel it was worth the trouble. It's definitely OOAK, and while it probably is not good enough for Kensington Dollhouse Festival, I am really proud of it.

Chair disasters

Of all miniature furniture, chairs are my least favourite. I am simply not good at chairs. I bought several sets of chairs for my early project because I didn't believe I would ever be able to make them myself. I did change the fabric.

That said, I made a very clumsy kitchen chair within the first month after I started miniature-making, when I had neither proper tools nor skills. I used lolly sticks, toothpicks and chopsticks.

Like many of my earliest pieces, this one has sentimental value, so I have kept it, and it is now in my van Hoogstraten room box.

Of course I made champagne chairs at one point. 

I was quite pleased with my cabriole leg chairs, and perhaps because they somehow turned out well I thought it would always go well. Hubris. From there, it went downward all the way. The lyre-back chairs were a pain and didn't look nice. I have problems with tucking in and gluing fabric, it just never looks neat. I showed two more chairs in a recent post that I am totally unhappy with. I will work further on them soon.

Meanwhile, I wanted to make a slightly unusual chair, a slat back chair.

 

My miniature friends had warned me that it was tricky, and it isn't that I hadn't listened, but it felt it was time to tackle this kit.

 

It looked very straightforward. I used antique pine stain, and when it was dry, I enlarged the holes just a tiny bit with a pin vise and sanded the square pegs of the slats to make them round. Yes, you got it right, square pegs in round holes. Precision work.

 

The frame was relatively easy to assemble, although there were three different spreaders, with half a millimetre difference, I am still not sure I did it correctly. The layout sheet wasn't too helpful when the scale is so small. The spreaders did come off all the time, but it was just a matter of letting the glue set a little on one side before inserting the other, so I must admit that some bad language went through my mind if not my mouth.

The supplied cord was very white and new, so I dyed it with tea. My miniature group supported me whole-heartedly. I left the frame to dry overnight, anticipating tons of problems the next day.

But not THAT many problems.

To begin with, the cord was very, very long, and you cannot work with such a long thread as it will get tangled all the time. I cut a manageable length and started threading it according to instructions, praising myself for my patience. When I ran out of cord, I tied a neat knot on the bottom side that wouldn't be visible. Several times I had to go back, taking off the needle, upon which the cord kept untwining. But I persisted.

 

Yet deep inside I knew it was too good to be true. And it was.

My whole attention was on the cord, and I didn't notice when a spreader came off. I was almost finished, although I saw that something wasn't quite right with the pattern. I had very carefully sewn one of the spreaders inside the seat. As I tried to glue it back, several other spreaders came off.

 

Now what? It took me a couple of hours to get that far. I could try to mend the frame without ripping the seat - in the picture you see that I caught it with another thread. Or I could rip up the seat, re-glue the frame and start all over again. Usually, when things go epically wrong with a project, I put it aside for a while. I did something else that day and looked again the day after. I am sorry to admit that I gave up. The frame was pretty, and I knew that I would hate this chair unless I could think of another, easier way to finish it. I cut up the failed seat ruthlessly and threw it away, which is very unlike me. Luckily, I remembered that I has a piece of embroidery canvas that I had bought many years ago in a hobby shop and never used. I tested with a paper template and then made the seat, tucking flaps beneath. 

 

Isn't it lovely? I wish I had more of this kit. 

Adam furniture

Before I continue my tour of Womble Hall I will show how I made a couple of unusual miniatures and explain why.

In my report from Kensington dollhouse festival, I mentioned that I saw some magnificent tables with Robert Adam tops. I have used Adam wrapping paper for ceilings - if you haven't seen them look here. I have plenty of paper left, and I thought that it could possibly be used for table tops as well (although they were originally ceiling designs, never implemented).

Although I have now been experimenting with House of Miniatures kits for a while, I still felt reluctant to use a kit without having tried out first. It isn't a rare kit, and I had a duplicate, and yet I thought I would run a test. First, I found a pattern, semicircle, in more or less the right scale. It didn't quite fit, but it didn't matter for my specific purpose. For furniture I have made from scratch, I have used various kinds of wood: pieces of wooden venetian blinds (pretty, but hard to cut), balsa (easy to cut, but crumbly) and cheese boxes. Obviously, a cheesebox lid already has the suitable semicircular shape, so that was helpful, although it was slightly bigger than the HoM kit. I worked with the top first, sanding it smooth, painting gold and then gluing the paper semicircle onto the top and trimming carefully. I needed to seal the edge so that the seam between the wood and paper would be next to invisible, and the only way I could think of was decoupage - I am sure there are other and probably better ways. What I did was varnish the edges and then sand them, repeating a couple of times until the edge was smooth. You could still see the white edge of the paper, so I painted it over, very carefully. The paper is glossy so it did not need any further varnish.

Now the top was ready, and I started thinking about the base. Once upon a time I would probably just glue on the legs that would keep going off, to my irritation. But I had the HoM instruction sheet, and what I needed was a semicircle about half a centimetre thick, and this is not the kind of material I have easily available. I have no tool that can cut circles (wish list for next Christmas?), and when I tried to cut a trapeze it didn't look neat. Usually when I get into a dead end with a project, I put it aside and do something else. I was rummaging my stashes for something completely different when I saw a wooden circle that was a part of a kit to make a piglet. I hadn't bought it to make a piglet, but for all the parts and fabrics included (it was in a charity shop, for 30p). So I cut the circle in two, and then everything was straightforward. I used chopsticks for legs and managed to cut exactly the same length so the table was, to my amazement, absolutely steady.

Seeing that it worked as I had thought, I could now with confidence replicate the miniature with the Chippendale kit. I have promised some miniature friends to post a detailed description, so I took step by step pictures - feel free to skip them if you only want to see the result. 

This is the paper I used; as you see, I had just scraps of it. But then I only needed a semicircle.

Once again, I started by painting the parts with gold. Then I glued the paper onto the top, leaving a margin that I then trimmed carefully.

Then I sealed the edge with varnish.

When the varnish had dried, I sanded the edge. The white paper edge was clearly visible so I painted it very carefully. 

The tool I am using is called "a third hand". If you haven't got it, give yourself a belated Christmas gift. 

The rest was easy: first glue on the base and let it dry under press. The instruction said clamp, but I was anxious not to damage the paper so I just put a heavy box on top. Then glue on the legs. It is probably the easiest kit of all.

Here is the result. 

And here are both tables, for comparison.

Since the handmade table is slightly larger, it is really a semicircle that looks more natural in the middle, but there is not much I can do about it. I cannot put them together to make a round table, which would be fun. But there are two lessons learned. First, I need not be scared to do something radical with the kits. Second, I can make a nice miniature from scratch, particularly if I have a pattern. It means I can try more.

Meanwhile, I got so bold that I decided to try a more sophisticated kit. Again, I only used it because I had a duplicate, and the bold part was making the table top. This is the paper I used.

 

Obviously, I wanted the medallion in the centre, and the pattern is large so I could only use a bit of it. When it was done I of course saw that it wasn't very well centred, but it was too late.

The challenge was to mix a paint that would match as closely as possible. I am not good at mixing paint, and it is difficult to match perfectly, but close enough.

 

I am not showing step by step assembly, because I have made this or a very similar kit before. I also had trouble matching paint then.

To make it look more natural, I have "aged" it. And of course I have put some stuff in drawers.

I have no space for any of these pieces in Womble Hall, short of replacing something else, so at the moment I don't know what to do with them. Maybe I will make a special room box. Or maybe I can simply display them as they are. (Although they always look better in a proper environment). 

Chippendale miniatures, update

I have made quite a few new Chippendale pieces since last year, testing various finishes and even making some bold decisions. I will not show all of these projects step by step, unless there is something special to comment on.

This bookcase was almost as difficult as the breakfront, with a lot of precision work, inserting hinges, making the doors symmetrical - in this scale, the tiniest fault is fatal. I don't have space for this beautiful piece anywhere in my large house, unless I sacrifice the old bookcase in the rear corridor of the smoking room, which I don't want to do for two reasons: it's pretty, and I like it; and it also has space for more books. Since I have made 60+ real miniature books now, I need a large bookcase. So this one just sits on a shelf until I find use for it or perhaps build a room box around it. I used dark oak stain for it, several coats.

Another magnificent piece is the broken bonnet highboy.

It looks more complicated than it actually was; it was mostly a matter of making these endless drawers that, unexpectedly after many projects involving drawers, all fitted nicely. I used mahogany stain. Sadly, in moving between rooms it lost its finials, and these are very hard to replace. This piece is now in the Pride and Prejudice room box. I have a similar kit, flat top highboy, but at the moment I don't know where to put it, so it will have to wait. Another new piece you can see in the Pride and Prejudice box is a tall case clock. It was relatively easy to make because it is similar to another clock I had made before.

I made several tables, using different finishes, for instance:

Tavern table. Easy to make. I used antique pine stain for it. It went nicely into best kitchen which I will show in due time.

Connecticut tavern table. Interestingly, I used exactly the same stain, and it turned out completely different. So this table is in the working kitchen, which you will also see soon on the continued tour of Womble Hall.

 

Trestle stand, painted with white wash, to match the cabinet in the best kitchen. It was very straightforward, and a lovely piece.

Duncan Phyfe library table was a bit more complicated, but no major problems. The stain is dark oak, and this piece is also in the Pride and Prejudice room box. The room also features a fireplace and mirror. I think I will write a separate post about the fireplace, but the mirror was a lot of work, but no trouble, and no parts were broken, as with the other mirror.

I also made a very complicated dining table with an extra central leaf and an intricate mechanism to insert it. It was by far one of the most difficult kits ever. I always have issues with tripod tables because I can never get those 120 degrees right, and the legs tend to fall off. So I got the difficult bit done and then spent ages on the legs. Right now they are off again, but there is no space for this table anywhere in Womble Hall so I will have to make an environment for it. Perhaps together with the bookcase above. And I'll need some chairs.

Speaking of chairs, I didn't do very well with some of those, and I am going to improve them one day. Chairs are not my forte. I can never tuck in the fabric neatly. But I need more chairs, and I have several kits waiting.

Someone in my miniature group showed a picture of a chess table, and I thought I could make one. I printed out a chess board, resizing it several times to fit, and then decoupaged it on the table top. I had never worked with decoupage before, and I am not sure I got it quite right, but I like it, and it's certainly unusual. It joins an array of occasional tables in the music room.

I made a double settee to replace the one I had before, bought from an online shop.  You can buy a lot of furniture that claims to be Chippendale, but you can tell the difference.

I made a hooded cradle that I am really pleased with. It would fit best in my Tudor house, but I have one already so I am not sure what I might do with another. I have a swinging cradle in the master bedroom.

Last but not least I have re-upholstered the Queen Anne settee that I was dissatisfied with because I didn't have suitable fabric. I bought some fabric at the Kensington dollhouse fair, and now I am really pleased. Just shows that you cannot compromise. As you know, I am recycler and prefer not to buy anything, but in this case I have to admit that the difference is striking. I have tried to use one of my husband's ties before, but it didn't work. This is perfect. I will never be stingy again.

Yet I am particularly proud of two pieces where I allowed myself to be bold. There kits are so delicate and I have had such respect for them, to begin with just staining them with mahogany, while now I am experimenting with various stains and paints. But it does take some courage - and probably imagination - to step outside the predictable. I wanted to make a particular kind of chest, and I was going to make it from scratch, but then I saw a kit, and it was a duplicate, so I felt better using it for something different. Please judge for yourself:

Finally, I took another duplicate kit to make another attempt with Adam top, and I have already shown it, but will show again:

I will write a special post on Adam furniture explaining how I made them and why, but at the moment I just wanted to show off.

I hope you enjoyed this quick walk through my most recent projects.  I enjoy making them, and I still have quite a stash. Come back soon.