Friday, May 30, 2008

"Mouse-a-lina" Ballerina


A thousand years ago when I had little girls I wanted a special little child sized "cookie cupboard" for the to pretend and play with. I drew up some plans and gave them to a friend of mine and he build the little cupboard you see in the photos.

He used scrap lumber and finished it off beautifully with a gorgeous stain that match all that country look we all had back then. My two girls (and yes, my boys too!) played with that little cookie cupboard for years and years.

Eventually they grew up and away from pretending and the little cupboard was placed in the garage to wait.

A couple of months ago one of the kids decided to give it another try. His wife thought it would look fresh with a new coat of paint and some frills. It was sanded and handles and hinges were removed and Gramma went a painting.

Mommy decided that a "Mouse-a-lina Ballerina" would go perfectly in a French nursery, pink, celery, creamy butter, and a few variations on those colours would do just right.

A few days work, new pewter finish hinges and hardware, rose coloured glass knobs and pulls- she's all updated! The little cookie cupboard is seeing a band new day and gearing up for new little people playtime. When all is said and done, this recycling job was well worth it!

I'll post more photos after it hs been completely reassembled and I can get to it!





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10 comments:

Brianna said...

How adorable!! I love it, little miss, and the baby would love that! You should do mass production!

Abigail said...

what a beautiful paint job!!! You did excellently! It looks like something you could buy at The Well Appointed House!!

Susan M said...

That is so amazing!

Robyn said...

Oh girlfriend I think you are ready! All you need are a few pics and the orders will be streaming your way!

I love the entire story! And Miss Ballerina, looks like a great addition to the family!

I can see this little cupboard being part of the family for generations.

The Pea said...

How fun!! Ora happened o look at he screen and she thinks it is beautiful. Angelina is one of her favorites. You are awesome!

S'mee said...

Bri, Back in the day when I was doing this kind of thing on a regular basis, furniture brought in the highest profit margin for me. I would love to get back into it again. Thanks so much! Anytime you want something painted let me know!

AbbyDawn, I have no idea what that is, but I am definitely going to check it out!

Susan, you are sweet to say so. Your opinion means a lot to me.

Sis, I am excited that the cookie cupboard is back in use! And yes, I got an order yesterday for some letters! : )

Pea, I would love to paint for Ora or the boys. You get the furniture and I'll do the job!

Lisa M. said...

Oh S'mee.

It is lovely.

How very neat.

S'mee said...

Thanks Lisa!

hi, it's me! melissa c said...

How absolutely adorable!!! How long did it take to paint all those cute little mice! What an artist you are! I am so amazed!

Wish my kids had a grandma like you!

Needless to say,.I love it!!!

S'mee said...

Mel, I went over the Memorial Day weekend and finished all the projects. (nice huh? "Hi! I'm here to visit while I really paint projects! So much for being the neato gramma!Granted the cupboard was for them, but the letters got painted then as well. ugh.) The cupboard base was already finished when I got there so that was good. Then I started on the borders and edges and backgrounds. I had to let everything dry so there was a lot of waiting time. (we had rain also, which didn't help the drying.) I penciled in the mice in about 15 minutes and then it probably was about an hour (combined time, again, paint needs to dry) or so to paint them in. Then more dry time and about a half hour or so to pen in the black. Lucky for me that #2 son is a whiz when it comes to finishing, so he's taking care of the clear protective coat and reassembling.

quick answer: All in all about 8 hours start to finish... which is a gu-estimate, I had four projects rolling and didn't time them out separately.

Thanks so much!