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Friday, May 23, 2014

Early American Moroccan...

Sometimes laziness is the mother of invention.

I wanted a chest of drawers and shelves for the kitchen.  One that would fit between the living room door and the front of the room.

I didn't really want to start something from scratch.  I wasn't in the mood for all of that measuring and cutting...

So, I turned to my stash of House of Miniatures kits.  I don't know if you remember when I found a stash at the antique store, for two dollars each, several years ago.  I bought all that they had.


From chest on chest to small chest and shelving.

I went looking and there are a lot of Moroccan painted chests and shelving units in the real world.  Lots of examples to draw from...

I put together the top of the chest as it was supposed to be.  Then I cut down the base/leg pieces to fit that.

I did a bit of carving on that part to make it look not so Early American and more Moroccan.

Then I had to decide how to go about making the shelves from the bottom half.

I used the back and the sides of the bottom unit, the top and one of the drawer dividers.  I sketched out a plan for the sides.  Cut them on the scroll saw.  Then I cut down and beveled the shelf to fit.

I cut a fancy bottom for the back, drilled three holes with the Dremel Mity Mite.  I cut down three fancy toothpicks for pegs.  I did a little carving on the sides. Glued it together and still had a few pieces left over...Maybe some small shelves somewhere.

Again, I can't tell you the exact color of the paint.  I mixed until I got something that I liked.

I will be doing some fancy painting on both pieces so there is still a lot of work ahead.

I will probably antique the whole thing and rough it up a bit before I am done also.  This is just a base coat.

Anyway, that's the story so far... And I'm sticking with it.

We haven't heard from Daisy yet today.  I do hope that she doesn't change her mind and want Early American now...  Oh well.  If she does, there's a lot more of that where this came from...

See you tomorrow.

7 comments:

Troy said...

I love what you did with that kit - You are very creative!

Caseymini said...

Troy, I am having fun now. If this one turns out like I want it to, I am going to experiment more. I bought four of the chest on chest kits and four slant top desks, among other things. This was fun.

rosanna said...

Great work on that drawer. I love how you made it up.
Rosanna

elizabeth s said...

Now THAT'S what I call KIT BASHING! :D
What a Fantastic transformation Casey! It is Perfect!
:D

elizabeth

Vivian Fox said...

A very imaginative lady you are indeed! My mother-in-law always says, necessity is the mother of all inventions.
Well done, Vivian

12Create said...

I love the way you have changed this kit for your purposes. The drawers and shelf looks great.

Lucille said...

You are so absolutely the master of creativity, Casey! Lovely pieces! Can't wait to see them when they're all finished!