the office in the mill

I received a couple of emails inquiring about my absence...thank you for the kind thoughts.  I was a bit under the weather, but am feeling fine now.  I also received an email from Beth, a beginning miniaturist who saw pictures of the mill on the Greenleaf Forum, requesting close up pictures of the office and asking, in specific detail, where I sourced my materials.

First I'd like to congratulate the winners of the 2011 Spring Fling contest.  I'm honored to have been considered alongside such talented ladies. 

Charlan and her sister, Kennie took first place with the Downhill Ski Shop, which was my personal favorite.  Jennifer's La Luciole took second place, and my friend Brae came in third with Baxter Pointe Villa.

All of the contestants turned in fabulous work, you can see a gallery of all the entries here.

Now, on to the requested close ups...don't forget that you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

The wallpaper is scrapbook paper, Recollections Time Frame-Sands of Time.  The floor is made from basswood, milled on my table saw then stained in light golden oak.  The rug I purchased from ebay seller Mini Bee's Knees, who graciously makes custom sizes upon request (which is particularly helpful because I usually work in half scale).  I made the bulletin board and picture frames from scrap trim...I posted a close up of the bulletin board and detailed the contents before I glued it in place.  The Paris Exhibition print and the agricultural map of  France (which you can't see because it's hung on the wall behind the open door) I printed from vintage non-copyright pictures downloaded from the internet.  The curtains were made by my mom, out of the same fabric from which she sewed the grain bags.  My mom also made the bookkeeper's dress.  I bought the cardigan on clearance from Buttercup miniatures.  I made the bookkeeper's necklace from copper chain and and a bead...which I need to redo, I was in a hurry to meet the contest deadline so it's not as well made as I'd like.  The Heidi Ott doll, with wig and shoes (I repainted the shoes), were acquired from Lesley's Miniature Knitting.

The filing cabinets and the upholstered chair I bought at miniatures.com.  The chair is more expensive an item than I usually buy, but I had a 40% off one item coupon, which allowed the splurge.  The Chanel handbag and bust I picked up at the miniatures show in St. Louis last April.  The cat was made by Sally of Miss Sally World.  (She's in the process of changing domain hosts, so try this temporary link if the first doesn't work.) 

I made the file folders full of paperwork myself, out of bits of leftover papers.  The metal screen in the windows I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  The brass hardware...window pulls, hinges, door knobs, nails and curtain rod...I purchased from Minimum World. 

The mahogany desk is a Mc Queenie Miniature's dressing table kit from Minimum World.  I also bought the computer printer, calculator and non-working table lamp there.  The porcelain box and tea cup have been in my stash for a while, I don't remember where I bought them.  The pencils and pens I made from toothpicks and bits of wire.  The pile of paperwork, file folder and manila envelopes I made myself.  The top pieces of paperwork are vintage French invoices sourced from the Graphics Fairy, scaled down and printed to size.  The wastebasket is merely a plastic cap from something in my medicine cabinet.  The laptop, as well as the iPad on the other desk, were made by Etsy seller LiLu.

I was planning to make a little table to set the printer on but instead picked this one up at a local toy store a few days before the deadline.  It's a mass produced piece I repainted.  In hindsight it probably took as much time to sand and repaint the expensive table as it would have taken to just make one myself out of scraps of wood for pennies, but I got a little crazy the last few days.

The battery powered LED floor lamp I purchased from Manhattan Dollhouse.  I didn't want to incur the time and expense to wire the whole mill.  There is also a battery powered coach lamp on the exterior of the mill.  The black paint is coming off around the switch on the bottom of the lamp...next time I'll buy a brass fixture. 

The desk is a Mini Mundus sofa table kit from Minimum World...it wasn't tall enough that I could slide the bookkeeper's knees under it once I sat her on the chair so I added pieces of wood to the bottom of the legs to increase the height of the desk.  The telephone was also purchased from Minimum World.  The pencil cup was a gift from my friend Susan, the pencils and pens are more toothpicks and bits of wire.  The pad of sticky notes was cut from a pad of sticky notes :)  The diagram on the desk is scaled down and printed from the diagram of how a grist mills works that was my 'bible' for making the mill.  The cup of tea is from my stash of odds and ends...the orchid is by IGMA artisan Era Pearce...the plate of creme brulee and ladyfingers is a vintage piece, artist unknown...the tea cozy was knit by Helen Palenski of Auckland, New Zealand (no website)....and the chair the bookkeeper is sitting in was made by Jacqueline Kerr Deiber of Glen Ellyn, IL (no website).  The orchid, creme brulee, tea cozy and chair I acquired at the miniatures show I went to in St. Louis last April.

I found the business card for the artist who made the pigeons but lost it again...sigh.  I probably put it in a safe place, so I'm sure I'll stumble across it again.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Susan]

First, it's very sweet and must be heartening to have people asking after you when you aren't here!
Not surprising, because you're great, and I would have been chasing you down if I didn't know what was going on.

Second, you are gracious to share all of your tips and sources, but I knew that yearrrrrs ago, on the GJ forum where we met.

Third, "I found the business card for the artist who made the pigeons but lost it again...sigh. I probably put it in a safe place, so I'm sure I'll stumble across it again." has me in stitches!
Why are we so good at picking safe places that are so difficult to find when we need what we stashed there? Consistently?

Fourth, yes, congrats on being among the contestants - there were some awesome entries and yours was one of them!

[Eliana]

The office is beautiful!
Hugs

[Terry Foster]

Thanks for mentioning me...Terry Foster
aka Mini Bee's Knees