Featured Artisan Anita from MiniPotteryByAnita

On our trip down south in June, the first stop we made was at Anita's Pottery.

Anita and I have been chatting online for a long time now. She's a fellow member of TeamMIDS on etsy.

While we have chatted on the phone, we never saw one another and didn't know what each other looked like. It was so much fun to put a face to the voice. 

And, to get a nice big hug in person! :)

Anita is a lot of fun and very animated and chatty, so I knew I was going to just love her, which I did. She has what I can only explain as a girlish charm about her, fun, happy and excited about what ever she is talking about and mostly that's pottery.

Anita lives in a town called Seagrove, NC. Hubby and I noticed driving through the many, many pottery shops that were there. I'm like, oh, my goodness, Anita lives in Pottery Heaven!

Actually, when Anita began her work in pottery in the late 80's there were just around 20 pottery shops. The  area became a destination point for pottery buyers and eventually, other pottery makers as well. Now, there are around 100 pottery shops in the area.

Anita has a lovely country garden to walk through to the entrance of her shop. A kitty cat awaits on the stoop. There is her dog behind the counter, keeping her company.

The shop has a country appeal to it as well. She sells her own pottery, full sized and of course in mini. She also sells some vintage pottery and some works from others. It's a darling shop.

 Anita has been featured in the local publication, "In The Grove."

Anita is one busy lady!

Not only does Anita maintain her brick and mortar shop, she has a shop on etsy, and a shop on artfire.

Of course, while I was there, I had to pick up a few items.

 The stack of blue bowls is actually for 1/6 scale, fashion or barbie dolls, but, I could not resist them.

Look at the sweet blue basket! The little aqua pot directly behind has the sweetest detailing on it and the green one next to it reminds me of vintage pottery.

The purse on the right is one of her latest creations and was her gift to me. You don't even have to be a miniaturist to love it!

You can see more of her mini purses here.

Even hubby got into the pottery and bought this life sized vintage piece. 

I love the frog holes. :)

All of the links in pink are clickable, have fun! :)

I'm almost at 400 followers! Yay! Thank you all for your support!
I might have to do a giveaway when I reach 400! :)

Faux Painting, a Shabby Chic Tutorial

I needed some shabby chic furniture to use for display for some of the items I make for my etsy shop.

I had this country bench from my younger days, but, I was just never really thrilled with the color of the stain.

So, I thought I would update it with a new look and give it some great, shabby chic styling. :)

First, I sanded it down with a rough grit sandpaper to remove the sheen of the stain and to give it some tooth to allow the paint to adhere well.

Then, I gave it a good dusting with this paint brush. 

I use this a lot when my minis get dusty from being left out too long, it does a wonderful job of removing any dust. Did you know, that is how museums keep a lot of their artifacts clean? With a paint brush, yes!

I picked out a green paint to use as my base color.

I love these little jars of acrylic paint that you can pick up at the craft store inexpensively.

The one I chose was Folk Art "Yellow Citron" by Plaid.

Well, I decided it was just too yellowy for my liking, so I grabbed another green, America's Mint Julep Green from DecoArt.

I mixed with my favorite and most universal tool, the bamboo skewer. I use these skewers for everything, they are just so handy for so many different applications. 

These dispose-able food containers are great for mixing paints in. Just make sure you mix enough paint at one time so there is enough for your entire project. The lid can be placed on the container while you wait for a coat to dry, saving your paint from drying up.

I wasn't trying to be matchy matchy with the items for my etsy shop, as I would be keeping the bench, but, as so many of you know what I mean, I had a color in my mind's eye and that was what I wanted.

I call it Vintage Green. ;)

Finally, I was happy with the shade of green.

Two good coats were just what this piece needed.

Next to begin the shabby chic process.

I diluted Folk Art "Wicker White" paint from Plaid with water to make a white wash.

I didn't want a solid coverage for the top coat of paint.

Another coat of the white wash or two.

It looks more like a solid coat than it actually is, there is some of the green visible on the bench, it just didn't photograph as well, as I thought it did. ;)

Lastly, an all over sanding with a fine grit sandpaper to show some age, wear and tear.

I didn't add any type of clear coat to this, as I preferred the rustic, matte finish.

I think it has a lot more charm and character than it did before, wouldn't you agree?

Now, it's perfect for using in displays for my minis for sale and eventually, it will end up in my dollhouse in the shabby chic bedroom.

So, don't be afraid to experiment and have fun with your minis. It doesn't have to be all rule oriented, do what you want! 

You don't even have to be an expert painter to make use of the shabby chic styling.

Would you like to see some other tutorials I have made?

Click here, to find a tutorial on how to faux finish some resin planters to make them look aged.

Click here, to find a tutorial on how to make replacement cushions for a popular rocker glider.

Enjoy! :)

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Featured Artisan: Richard of Minibydesign

So, if you've been following along, last month, my husband and I went to a wedding down south and along the way we met up with three of my fellow miniaturists/teammates from TeamMIDS on etsy.

I wanted to share with you all some of the pictures I took of Richard of Minibydesign's  projects.

This is his art deco bar. I helped out with the bar stool cushions and helped him find the animal print rug.

Didn't he just do a fabulous job with it? 

You can find more on the art deco bar on his blog post here.

From his modern house, which is huge and he wired the entire thing.

I love these stairs! 

See the spots to turn on the lights at the bottom there? Normally, that's covered over with a bit of gardening.

Peeking in!

After he painted these modern bath fixtures black, then, they began sellling them in black.

Of course, I'm thinking his modern sectional should be graced with a few of my pillows. ;)

Kinda gives you a better idea of how big it is. I'm thinking it's just a bit bigger than a card table. This was the first house that Richard built. 

Pretty good job!

I'm impressed. :)

Now on to his latest project, another house. This time, it's a colonial revival that will include some modern updates in the interior.

Think he'll be going for the stainless appliances in the kitchen? lol ;)

To see more of this project being updated along the way, see his blog.

I made him a runner to go up the stairs in the last picture.

It was so nice getting to finally meet Richard and his wife Gail in person.

And, their dogs, too!

They have too senior dogs, one is a retired grayhound named Wade and I fell in love with him at first sight. He's the strong silent type. lol! I should have gotten a pic of Wade so I could pine over him. ;)

Until next time, my friends! :)

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