Miniature Vintage Metal Lawn Chair Tutorial

 Howdy all!  I know the title says "metal" chair but in fact the chair is not metal.  Just made to look like the old metal lawn chairs that your Granny used to have.  I love these chairs.  Especially the old, worn, rusty ones.  Although the ones that are refinished have their charm too.  

Mine is made from a piece of paper covered wire that I can't quite remember where it came from.  One might think I just hoard a lot of trash with the hopes of making a miniature out of it one day but it just isn't true.  I only keep the cool stuff. I also used card stock and paint.  

I have really been digging using layered card stock lately.  The more you layer, with wood glue in between the layers, the sturdier it gets.  Plus, you just use a fingernail file to sand the edges and it will have a solid edge.  But, if you are slightly impatient like me you make have layers that show... just a little.

P.S. I didn't take pictures of me bending the wire... just wing it.

Here's what we're going for... the finished product.

P.S.S. I included zero measurements in this tutorial.  Once again... wing it.

Pretty sure I wound up using seven layers of card stock.. could have been six.

I bent the pieces of paper then glued the seat parts together first, one by one.  Then glued the back layers together.  Not sure why really... it just felt right.  I also used a fingernail pick thing and pressed in a design on the back part.

I just used dabs of wood glue when I put the chair together.  I truly in my guts feel that the glue held better because of the paper-ish covering on the wire.  I feel I would have had trouble if it was just metal wire.  I might try making another one from a coat hanger just to check.  But there is somewhat tension in the wire so it held nicely.

I'm slightly funny about my painting and will often apply many layers of paint that I am not exactly happy with before I get my final look.  I initially wanted the chair to be yellow.  This is the first coat of paint.  I used chalk paint for this coat. 

This is me with half of the paint colors I dragged into the kitchen for one tiny chair.  Hey, whatever makes a girl happy right?!?!

I LOVE this part... the part of my project that I am satisfied with.  I dab too much paint to certain areas, that also have wet school glue under them, then use a paper towel to take up a little paint.  It left the chair with am old paint look.

Isn't that just delicious??!!

So cute. (Although I have issues with the word "cute")

If you like it... Pin It!

XOXO ~Laurie

Miniature Laundry Cart Tutorial

Hello mini friends!  I don't quite recall what inspired me to create this little laundry cart.  I'm sure I saw a picture while scanning IG.  

I don't know about you, but for me working with wire is not easy.  The glue that I use doesn't want to adhere to wire and I don't know how to solder. Maybe I'm just not patient enough to wait for the right kind of glue to dry.  Even when I have been patient enough my projects would still fall apart.  So, in this project I use small strips of cardstock across the wire to hold it in place and simply make a tight pinched bend on the wire frame.  For the actual, rectangle frame I used tape.  Then when adding the canvas basket I used wood glue.  

When I made the first cart I didn't have trouble when I made the holes for the "wheels" from tiny eye hooks.  When making the second cart for tutorial pictures, the wood split.  I simply glued pieces of cardstock to repair the splits.  If you use something small, like a toothpick, to mash holes where the legs will be before screwing them in your wood shouldn't split.

I used an old piece of fabric for the basket.  You can also use drop cloth.

You can use whatever kind of stamping for the laundry business design that you have.  I wound up using some old leather punch stamps.  I call it Carriage House Laundry.  I ironed folded creases to go over the cart frame and glued them into place with wood glue.

I cut small strips of fabric for the handles and ironed a fold in the. and just glued them on.

The second cart went together a lot faster than the first one.  Trial and error!  

At first, I was going to add button wheels but decided in the end that they didn't need them.  

Hope you enjoy!!  

Share if you do!  

 

Miniature Mannequin Tutorial

 Good afternoon, friends!!  Yesterday I was browsing the web and found a beautiful French window display that had an old mannequin with a gorgeous lace skirt on.  I stared at the picture for a few minutes and thought.. I can make that.  I dug through my stash of lace and couldn't decide what to use.  I selected some vintage tulle that I recently bought for fifty cents at my local fabric honey pot store.  

I began by making the bodices out of oven bake clay which I much prefer to the air dry clay.  While they were baking, I dug through my stashes of supplies and found spare wooden spindles and buttons for the bases.  When they were ready I got to work.  

I painted the bodices and then covered them in wood glue and white tulle.  Then glued on the top piece and bottom stand.  I aged the body tulle which also kinda covered up the yellow-ish wood glue.  

For the skirts I just cut a long piece of tulle and ran a needle with thread through the top edge, pulling until I felt the skirt was pleated enough.  I thought about making some sort of shawl or lace top but wound up liking just a necklace.  The pink mannequin isn't quite finished.  She is the smaller, four inch tall gal.  I'm not quite satisfied with new necklace feeling like it needs something else.  As it needs to be really tiny, I haven't found what I need to use yet.  It's here somewhere!

Hope you enjoy!  

Isn't that skirt gorgeous?!?!  The tulle is old and relaxed just right.  Reminds me of something from the 1950's.

That's all for now.  I wish I had a beautiful Paris shop window to put them in!

Please share on Pinterest if you have a second!

If you share anywhere else please ask permission!

XOXO ~Laurie