Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Time for an update on my mini project

I wanted to show everyone some progress pics on my House of Miniatures Chippendale 3 Drawer Chest kit.  Remember before when I said I was going to start doing a project of the week?  Well at the time I had never put together one of these kits before and didn't know how detailed they really are.  I have sanded so many tiny pieces and I still feel like the whole thing needs to be sanded again.  Did I mention that I hate sanding?

Anyway, here's the first shot.  I used wax paper on top per the instructions in order to line up the first pieces and avoid getting glue all over the paper.


And now a shot of the top.


And the cute little decorative curvy bottom piece.  Does anyone know what this is called?


This is the part that took the most time (after the sanding of course).  I used a pencil to draw a light line marking the middle and then measured out from each end where the drawer hardware will eventually go.  I used a straight pin and my Easy Cutter to start the holes in the wood.  The wood is fairly pliable, but I still ruined many a straight pin.

And finally the first drawer is complete!  Also by this point the instructions are covered in a fair amount of glue themselves - so much for good intentions!


And a shot of all the drawers in place.  You can still see a little of my pencil line so I'll probably try to erase one more time.

And finally a shot from the front.  I think I did a pretty decent job for my first try with a mini kit.  And the holes for the hardware lined up nicely.


And now I've got to go back and do more detailed sanding (blah!).  I'll check for any glue residue and then I'll need to go buy some stain.  I want it to look as close to the original as possible.  After all that is done and the hardware is installed I'll post some more pics.

I'm really proud of it so far - I feel like I actually sort of "made" it even though it's a kit.  It feels a bit more personal since my work went into it rather than buying a ready made mini.  Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

4 comments:

Julia said...

Wow, impressive!

Kim said...

Jessie- it's beautiful! You did a fabulous job- I can't wait to see it stained and with the hardware. You can really tell how much care you took with this piece- did you have a plan for it somewhere already? Great work ♥

miniannalee said...

You did a great job on this kit. House of Miniature kits are very detailed and difficult to finish. Emery boards are great for working on these kits.
I like stain my pieces first before glueing cuz i'm a messy gluer..lol..
I have the exact same kit. I also have a partially finished one that my aunt put together and I've stained but I haven't put the drawers faces on yet.. I want it to looked used rather than perfect...
I think the cute curvy part is just called a kick plate but it might have a fancier name..lol.. Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see it finished.

beyondbaffled said...

Thanks everyone, I can't wait to see it finished myself. Kim, as for right now the only dollhouse I have is the saloon, but I don't know it would look right (date or setting wise) in there. I really just couldn't pass up the price on those kits so I may just have to find a home for it later on.