A Quick Hello

Hello everyone!

It's been a while.... again! This is going to be a short post. I'm just dropping in to tell you I am closing down my Little Canvas website and facebook page. I won't be painting miniatures for the foreseeable future, so I thought it best to close up shop. Life has been a bit tough the last few years, so to get myself back on track, I'm re-thinking my options, my priorities, my goals, etc. For now, it's best to let the paint brushes rest.

I am however keeping my blog. I'm hoping to return to miniatures, but mostly as a hobby and not a business. We'll see what the future holds.

I would like to thank all of you for your support, your visits and comments. It really means a lot to me. I hope to see you here again soon. Take care and have a fabulous, joyous, peaceful, blessed festive season.

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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!

Dolls house miniature toy box

Hello everyone!

It's been quite a while since my last post. I hope life is treating you kind and that you are all well. The last few years have been a bit tough on a personal level, but I'm feeling positive and motivated at the moment and praying for a good year. I'm also hoping to start posting regularly again, so fingers crossed, we'll have plenty of mini conversations here at Little Canvas this year!

I'll kick off by sharing a miniature treasure chest I decorated for a club challenge at the end of last year. I turned it into a toy box, painted with images inspired by Riley Blake's Little Red Riding Hood fabric. The plan is to use this fabric in the children's room in one of my dolls houses, so I thought that would be perfect for the toy box. I really enjoyed painting this, so might try my hand at doing more painted furniture in future.

The toy box, in a temporary playroom setting.







The Riley Blake fabric I'll be using. Isn't it gorgeous?




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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!

How to remove wall paper from a dolls house

Now I cannot claim this brilliant tip as my own, but I can tell you I have used it many times and it works a treat!

When I first started renovating dolls houses about a year or so ago, I was struggling to get rid of old wall and floor paper in one of my houses. The lovely Marilyn, a fellow miniaturist and dolls house enthusiast (her work is amazing!! Find her latest blog at http://daltonhouse.blogspot.co.uk/ ) then gave my the tip of using warm water and fabric softener to remove the wall paper. And it worked brilliantly!

Since then I have parted with this little nugget of information many times, but I always get asked the same questions.... "how much water, how much fabric softener?" Truth be told, I didn't really know! hahah I just eye ball it. Sooooo.... as I'm renovating another house at the moment, I thought I'd write a post about the process. This might not be the way others do it, but it's the way that works best for me. I hope this tip helps you as much as it helped me!

The equipment.
I keep a bucket close by for all the scraps of paper
Plastic pallet knife, not required, but works for me.
Sponge for water
Dry cloth or dry sponge for rubbing paper off
Patience (where can one buy this??)
Oh and I wear gloves, but that's simply because my fingers hurt easily 
and I like to protect my nails. Not a requirement. 



I use an empty ice cream container for the mixture.
Fill about a quarter (maybe little less) with warm water (not hot)
Add a cap full (medium size) of fabric softener (I use a cheap brand)



First remove all the dry paper that comes off easily



Wet the sponge with your fabric softener mixture, squeeze to let most water out.
You DO NOT want to soak your wood or MDF.
Dampen the area (work in smaller areas at a time as it tends to dry)
Wait 30-60 seconds
Rub the paper off with a cloth, a sponge or a plastic artist pallet knife. Whatever works for you.
Please be careful when using the pallet knife. don't hurt yourself or the wood, and whatever you do, don't use a metal one! It will scratch the wood.
It can take a few repeats of the process before the paper and glue starts lifting, so be patient. 



And then..... after a while ... magic happens
And voilĂ ! It's done! 
This door took me about 15 minutes.



Now, I know there is still slight evidence of glue left here. But I've scrubbed it down with a sponge to a smooth finish and I am happy with it. I'm going to wall paper over it, so it won't be visible. I'm happy, and that's all that matters. You can stop or continue to scrub until you're happy with the result.


Disclaimer: This is a tutorial written from my own experience. While it works for me, you use this     information at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage or injury resulting in the use of this article. 

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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!

Building a mini market stall

We had our first dollhouse club meeting of the year last night. We'll be working on a number of projects this year; and first up are market stalls. We will each create a market stall of our choice throughout the year and the set up a whole market place which will be judged for a prize later on in the year. I'm quite looking forward to this one! I've decided to make mine a haberdashery/fabric stall. I have the necessary items to work with, so that will be best for me. Plus, I like crafty stuff.

We started building the stalls last night - it looked like a construction site! haha
This is mine so far. 




I won a tea set in the raffle. It's my first miniature tea set, 
so yes, I was very excited! This year I'm hoping to finish
 and decorate some of my houses, so it will come in very handy! 



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Thank you for stopping by Little Canvas! If you are a first time visitor, welcome! I would be honoured if you would take a moment to leave a comment; subscribe to my blog or like my Facebook page, Little Canvas. Do keep in touch, I love to hear from new (and old) friends! Until next time, keep well!