Well… Little Miss Emily is proving to be quite popular on Ebay… she received 337 hits in the first 24 hours and has 35 watchers! I’m wondering if I should “start” that pink floral dress??? :o)
I’m trying to divide up my time… just like the title of today’s post… a little painting, a little pattern work and of course “playing.”
I did the work part first… the painting… I absolutely HAVE to get these cabinets finished… we are living out of boxes of dishes… it was easier to take the things out of the cabinets when I was painting them, than to work around them with all the dust from sanding and the paint mess… Today I got the frames of the upper cabinets finished with their final coat of paint… and I worked on the first coat of the doors… one more coat and they will be done. I am letting them cure for a few days to make them less likely to chip in the long run… but they look so pretty I just have to show you a few pictures…
They were unfinished red oak cabinets and I started with the bare wood… I primed them 2 coats with Sherwin Williams primer and then gave them 2 coats of Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Snowbound, in a semi-gloss. The grain of the wood was sanded down between each coat so they are smooth as glass but you can still see the grain of the wood. I like that! They don’t look like particle board cabinets… but have some semblance of texture… even though you can’t feel it.
Here are the back of the upper doors for the stove side of my kitchen…
This is the top side of one of the doors when it is wet…
Here it is dried… I love the wood grain look but it’s slick as can be to the touch…
…and here are 2 shots of the doors up…
I know this is dumb, but here’s a short video of my cabinet fronts…
After I painted I did a little pattern work… I wanted to make a doll a coat, but I didn’t have a coat in the size I wanted… so I looked at the vintage patterns that could be downloaded with a pdf file and found one I thought might work… It was $2.30 and thought it was worth a chance…
It said it was for a doll like Betsy Wetsy or other baby dolls… in the 14-18″ range. I loved the looks of the green coat… it was kind of like a princess lined coat, without set in sleeves and the little stand up collar.
When I printed out the 2 main pieces for the coat they looked like this…
It actually looked pretty simple and so I started working on reducing the size of the pattern… I’ll have to show you the coat prototype tomorrow as I didn’t want to give away which doll it’s for, but here’s what I did…
The pattern on left is the original and the one on the right has been reduced to 75%… I narrowed the sleeves, cut off the excess, added about 1/4″ to them… and I made the length of the coat a bit longer… I also made the opening for the neckline smaller…
So here is a close up of the changes I made…
It actually turned out really cute and I won’t show you the whole coat (to keep you guessing) but here is a sneak peek…sorry, this is where I was playing… “she” looks really cute in her coat…
After I had success with the coat, I decided she needed a dress, but it’s a odd color… almost like a raspberry??? so I had nothing in my stash… which prompted a trip to Joann’s and Hobby Lobby… I found ONE fabric and it went perfectly with it…
Don’t you think that’s pretty with the corduroy paisley-like print?
So that was my day, painting, pattern making and then playing with ideas for her coat and dress… you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see what else happened…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, my, your cabinets look so pretty!! Makes me want to do something like that here. If I were only 20 years younger, and stronger…!!
That pattern certainly looks familiar. I think I have it in my stash! The coat is going to be beautiful (well, you know, I do love purple!) and the dress fabric goes really well.
My girls are disgusted with me tonight because I was altering purchased jammies for ME for a change! LOL I did put Bella in her new dress, though, and she is quite happy with it. Hope to get some pictures tomorrow.
Oh, I love your cabinets, Jeanne, and you are doing a terrific job, if I say so myself! Just yesterday morning I had on a local tv show, and they showed a company that does spray painting for kitchen cabinets. They mentioned they could get things done in as little as one day for a small kitchen, and up to 5 days for a larger one! I thought aboout you going through this process forever, but I will say, they do charge serious money for their services! You saved yourself a bundle, for sure, and you are the one who can beam with pride over the looks of the kitchen, because you did it yourself! So give yourself a BIG pat on the back!
That coat material is beautiful! Hmmm, you say the pattern is for a doll the size of Betsy Wetsy, and you have altered it, making it with longer sleeves, and slimming it down in the bodice area. Not for AG, for sure! Could it be for Sara or Rozen? Of course you just made them outfits, so maybe not! The mystery continues!
The dress material is so pretty too, this will be a knockout!
Jeanne
Your cabinets look beautiful. Decades ago I decided to paint my kitchen cabinets that were original to my parents home when they purchased it. Me and Dad remolded the kitchen and that is how I got them. The cabinets in my home were white metal…yikes. I am not a fan of white furniture, etc. I ordered a the paint and my sister went to pick it up. I had ordered on the phone so when my sister who is a prime and proper as they come the man looked at her and said “this paint can’t be for you!.” He put the paint up on the counter and I think my sisters jaw dropped and hit the counter. I painted the cabinets with High Gloss Chinese red and I loved it as well as anybody that came to house except my very prim and proper British mother. She said it was gasly! You did a super job on her cabinets and I like that they aren’t a true white. The color looks great with your walks and flooring.
I have that patterns from when my girls were little and loved it. I am thinking Rozen.
Those two fabrics are gorgeous. I miss having a fabric or quilt shop near as the closet fabric store is Joanns and that is a 100 mile round trip. The coat fabric is such a wonderful color. Can I borrow some of your energy…my went on vacation 6 months ago and hasn’t returned…lol.
Oh, I so wish I could see the Gloss Chinese red cabinets. I would probably like them too.
Anytime we think of moving, I immediately say, no, too far from a Joann’s. 🙂
Your cabinets look so good! I’ve kind of stalled out in my painting project. Too many distractions.
I love the patterned corduroy!
You cabinets are looking great. It will be worth all the hard work and inconvenience when they are done! That’s odd that you only found one fabric to go with the corduroy, but the one you found is nice. I am anxious to see the coat. I am guessing it will be for one of your new girls, but of course, I will have to wait and see. Good luck on your auction for the Emily doll. She is certainly pretty.
You’ve done such a professional paint job. The friends who installed them will be amazed when they see what you’ve done. Perfect color and finish with the grain of the wood visible but smooth as glass. I didn’t know this could be accomplished other than by buying the cabinets already finished. Great instructions for anyone attempting it themselves.
You certainly are accomplished in many fields. On to altering the doll clothes pattern. Can’t wait to see what your finished outfit looks like. Again, you have more energy in your little finger than I have in my whole body!
Thank you so much for sharing your painting photos. Definitely gives me incentive. Love the black knobs too. At this point, we’re thinking of having new cabinet door and drawer fronts made but keeping the 1949, cabinet bases. There are so many coats of paint to deal with. Definitely need to do something starting with new flooring. 🙂
I’m pretty sure I too have that pattern. Love the dress with the pleats down the front. So, if you are making the coat for a FF girl, that amount of resizing might also fit my 16″ Mae/Aya Meadow girls. I tried on a FF dress yesterday on my newest Aya and it is a tight fit but is pretty cute. She is definitely chunkier than the FF girls. 🙂
It was in the 80’s here yesterday. Crazy weather. 🙂
Jeanne, your cabinet doors are beautiful! The picture showing the grain coming through the white paint is really nice. It’s been exciting to see the changes you’ve made in your home over the years. Especially your kitchen and doll room where it seems you’ve done the most because of the type of rooms they are. You have a lovely home sitting in the middle of a beautiful yard.
The paisley corduroy is interesting up next to the dress material you found. Can’t imagine for who. I’m thinking Lian? She’s a doll I wish I had but my AMG girls are enough for me.
I love the fabric for the coat and the dress fabric looks great with it. You are doing a great job on the cabinets, they are looking great. Looking forward to tomorrow to see who is getting the coat and dress.
It was 33C yesterday, 19C today. One extreme to the other! This has been a crazy summer. We would usually get regular days of 25C with occasionally 29 or 30C. This year we have lurched from 30+ to 18 and back again, and we have had very little rain.
I was amazed at how the grain showed up on your cabinet doors when they are smooth to the touch. Really nice. Great paint job. I can’t wait to see the whole thing finished. I’m glad we opted for finished cabinets when we remodeled our 1945 kitchen a few years ago. David designed the kitchen but he didn’t need another project like doing cabinets. And when it comes to painting, laying flooring, etc., I have no inclination to do that. David used to do interior painting and he had a marvelous teacher so any painting I do would never pass muster so I just wait for him to do it. Well, maybe I do the rolling when we paint a room but he goes over it with a brush to give it a nice finished look. He also can trim in around windows, doors, etc., without tape. My hand is way to shaky when I try to do that. As for flooring, well both David and I have trouble doing things on our knees these days, so Jason and Sean get called on for that. They do a great job.
I can’t hazard a guess as to who the new coat and dress will be for. I love the anticipation. I made the cutest overalls for my 16″ rescue doll, Emma. She’s been waiting months for these. There is a simplified way of doing them, but she insisted I do the ones with all the pockets, hammer loop and overall buckles. I’m glad she insisted because they are cuter with all the small parts. The fabric is a light tan with rust flowers so I’m making a rust t-shirt with puffed sleeves for under them. Emma said her new outfit was worth waiting for, but she said she would have felt the same about 18 months ago when I first planned the outfit. But she did get a couple things in between.
I would love to see the overalls. Any particular pattern you use? or maybe you designed your own. I am definitely not a pattern maker. 🙂
I’m not a pattern maker either. I used the AGAT overall pattern from Pixie Faire (QTÏ€ pattern) . My 16″ rescue doll fits the AGAT patterns nearly perfectly. If it’s something that is more fitted, I add a little to the back because she is a little broader in the torso than my AGAT doll. I will send a picture as soon as I finish the t-shirt.
Your cabinets look really nice, Jeanne. The white will make your kitchen look fresh and airy.
You could even ad small touches of color or decor according to the seasons. I would have definitely painted them myself as well. I will never pay someone to do a job that I can possibly do myself.
Can’t really imagine who the fabric is for, but I’m with Paula in that is seems most likely for Lian. Yes, I guess we can eliminate the AG’s and Sara and Rozen. Speaking of the Ruby Red dolls I happened to see someone of the board who shared about all of them. Until you got Sara I hadn’t heard of them. Anyway, I saw the only one I would have loved to have, but she was a Russian exclusive. Her name is Valentine and she had the sweetest face, more delicate than the others, and the most darling outfit.
Ugh, should be add small touches…
I like to change things just a little in certain rooms each season because it’s fun.
I know the cabinets have been long in the coming and I had hoped you would spray them to eliminate brush strokes but the finish you are getting with your method is absolutely stunning! Love seeing the wood grain through the paint. You will be soooo happy!
The coat is awesome..and the matching fabric looks good. That is a hard to match color!
Have no clue who will be the lucky doll..but she will be happy…till it has to be shipped off🥴😉
The cabinets look great! I am so looking forward to seeing what you create. Purple is may fave color and it looks divine already!! 😀