Antique Stove Tutorial and Results

Is it just me or does it seem a little bigger than 1/12?

I bought this cool stove a while back...I was in love the moment I saw it! I have always loved old ranges/stoves, theyre just SO much more 'innovative' than the ones today in certain ways. Ive seen antique stoves with cutting boards, warming compartments, beautiful tile work and all kinds of other neatness that our stoves today just dont have. They cooked things better, gave foods more taste and aroma. Plus, they were just beautiful!! lol
I did nothing with it for a few months, like I do with most projects I start. It sat in my dollhouse gathering dust and haunting me with its size. Seeing it in person and in my dollhouse, it looked HUGE. More like 1/10th scale or so. It made me sad. I thought, "well what am I going to do with it now if it wont look right in my dollhouse?" So it sat a while longer....
Then one day I ran across this awesome tutorial by Maragverdugo on her blog, Little Things for a stove exactly like mine. I mean, EXACTLY as in we bought the same stove lol.
I was excited to try it out so after a little apprehension, I did. I spray primered it twice and then added a coat of gloss white to it. It sat for about three days during the sprayings. I wanted to make sure it was all the way dry. One coat a day basically was how I sprayed it.
Then I got to the part where we age it....Oh my gosh I cant believe how nervous it made me! LOL! I knew that if I aged it too much, I could just spot cover it up or something, but in my mind I thought "if you mess it up in one spot, you have to start all over" I didnt of course but I was worried I would have to. It took me three more days to finally age it! I followed her tutorial but I painted my stove a little differently. I aged mine a little more and used different eye shadow colors. I couldnt believe how much it looked like metal when I was done!! The little black marks where the paint was made to look like it had chipped off, were so convincing I almost wanted to pick at the paint edges LOL!!
Its the best tutorial for aging things Ive ever seen. I intend to age my furniture and metal ware like this from now on, but I also intend to change it up a little and add patina and other signs of aging. Im planning a research day to look at how paint ages and other things I need to add realism to my minis. Along with Google and website searching, Im planning to go to antique stores and the local library. Its always good to get the item youre trying to make in front of you. When you can touch it, smell it, taste it (not furniture lol) and see it in person, it helps a lot in the creation process.
Heres the finished product :-) Im really pleased with how it looks

Life lessons and new items!

Hi everybody :)
Its your long lost blogger author Leia again LOL.
I swear, I have the hardest time updating things but only during the summer time.....hehehe its because the sun beckons me to come out and explore the world! lol
I have SO many new things to show off since my last post so, without further ado, here they are.....

I am continuing the series of pastries and will have those available to buy for a long time. I am also adding more plates to my Forest Hill collection and making other series and sets of plates. I have recently become obsessed with painting metal and wooden miniatures so I will most likely have lots of custom colored bakeware, cookware, silverware, serving sets, dinnerware, and more. As always, if you cant find what youre looking for PLEASE dont hesitate to email me. I typically respond within 24-36 hours.
The past few weeks have been busy and enlightening to me. Ive been working a lot and trying to catch up on collection and series and sets but in-between all of that, Ive been doing a lot of soul searching.
Ive been asking myself a lot of questions and getting a lot of honest answers back.
I may not be very old, but I am also not very young either...and in the time Ive been here on this earth, Ive learned a couple of truths that may very well apply to just about everybody. Real good, honest, inspiring, and humbling truths. Heres a few of them:
                                                                           
                                                                   KEEP CALM AND MAKE MINIS
            Its not always about you 
                                                        Always listen to your instincts and intuition

You cant let people put their hands on your life like a remote control

Don't let someone rent space in your head for free. Chances are, they wouldn't let you stay one night in theirs. 
                                  Don't sweat the small stuff.......really 

                 You get what you give                               You are your own worst enemy and biggest fan


I know a lot of you know these already and maybe even practice them daily but theres a chance some dont, so thats why Im sharing :)
Have a happy Tuesday and don't forget to follow my Facebook for more updates and photos! 

=[ -Leia- ]=