The general store is now in New York!

We have a new addition to the Albany apartment. I brought over the old General Store (you may remember from this entry ) from New Hampshire. This will be an antique store with a hip cafe on the top level. This is the plan:

1. Continue giving the shop a thorough cleaning inside and out. I got most of the dust out of it, but there are still areas that need some detailing.

2. Remove and replace the bannister going to the upstairs rooms.

3. Remove the wallpaper from the upstairs rooms. I tried one room as the wallpaper was already starting to come off, and it left a gross residue. Time to apply the Goo Gone!

4. Refinish the floors with art paper or planking

5. Refinishing the walls - paint? wallpaper? boards?

6. Convert the horse stalls into flea market stalls. 

7. Redo the signs on the outside...remove or cover the existing letters.

8. Add in windows and doors (possibly handmade).
9. Electrify or not to electrify??? (Or perhaps get those battery powered lamps that miniatures.com sells...?)

I can't wait to work on this piece. Currently, I am still shingling the Glencroft, but this is a slow process, and I figure moving the General Store/Antique shop over will at least let me work on some miniature stuff in the meantime. I really like the flat roof, which will provide more storage, as well.

For the hip cafe feel, I have been brainstorming a list (and have asked the help of facebook friends as well!). We've come up with quite a few ideas and I am exciting to make this as fun, funky, and realistic as possible, while preserving the uniqueness of the original piece.

Oscar stands in the antique store-to be (he'll be the owner, at least of the downstairs portion - isn't he dressed appropriately?):

Not really sure what the thing is that he has his hand on - perhaps the original owner had something hanging there? I'll probably remove it, especially since I snag my hand on it every time I reach into the shelves along the back wall (ouch!).

Daisy House kit and Tim Holtz Crackle Paint

So I built the book shelf with drawers kit from The Daisy House and it was a positive crafting experience! The directions were well-written, and everything I needed was included (sans glue and paint, of course!). I used Tacky Glue for building, without a jig, and everything went together quite nicely. For the finish, I painted the entire piece in light blue (with acrylics) and then covered it with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle in Picket Fence. After this dried, I wiped Distress Ink in Tea Dye on certain parts of the book shelf and wiped it off immediately for an aged patina. I really like how it looks. Here are some  pics:

Storage solution :)

So I have been doing a little redecorating today and found a fun way to display my miniature furniture until I finish the Glencroft and the antique shop.

This is one of those storage cube arrangements you can buy at Target. :) Makes a great temporary display area!