the august slump.

Published on by Quandie6 Comments

Good morning from the garden.

I have to admit, I’ve reached the August garden slump.  It seems to have arrived just a little bit early this year, but it always happens sometime in August.

I’ve grown weary of weeding, watering, and fighting the pests … especially those nasty jumping worms.

Nothing is looking particularly fabulous in my garden at the moment either.  The lawn is full of weeds, many of my hostas got fried in our July heatwave, and the overall dry conditions have been a constant battle this summer.

It’s not all bad though.  The panicle hydrangeas are bursting into bloom and they do put on quite a show.

The Quick Fire Fab is the earliest panicle hydrangea to bloom.  The flowers started out white but are already starting to turn pink.

The giant hydrangea in the background of that photo is actually two Limelights planted about 3′ apart.  They are supposed to be 6′ to 8′ apart.  Ooops.  They have created one ginormous hydrangea now.

Both the Limelights and the Little Lime that is next to the potting shed have flowers that start out a pale green that I particularly like.

They’ll eventually change to white, then a pinkish coppery color for fall.

The Serendipity Allium is looking good now too.

If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, deer and rabbit resistant perennial, I highly recommend this one.  It’s also a favorite of the bees.  It reseeds prolifically, so that’s a nice bonus if you want to eventually have more of them.  If not, they are really easy to pull out.

The fairy garden is still looking good this year as well.  So I thought I’d give you an update on it.

First, here is where it started out this spring.

And here it is now.

Things have filled in quite nicely, especially the Myrtle topiary.  It’s funny to look back at where it started last year when I first planted it.

I potted it up and kept it as a house plant last winter, then planted it back in the fairy garden in spring.  Now it looks like this …

It makes the perfect fairy garden sized tree.

Back in May, I purchased a Heron’s Bill, a.k.a. Erodium ‘Flore Pleno’, a.k.a. alpine geranium from TwoGreenThumbs.com and I’m very happy with this plant.

It is a repeat bloomer, so it has been blooming all summer and it has the sweetest little pink flowers.  They are small enough to look very realistic in a miniature setting.  Highly recommend.

My Frosted Mouse Ears hostas are filling in nicely.

As are all of my mini hostas.

Here is Pandora’s Box.

As usual, the creeping thyme is taking over.

As is the wire vine.

I did a poor job of training it over the arbor this year.  Maybe I won’t plant another one next year since it always ends up just looking messy.

But aside from that, the fairy garden is in good form this year.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’m not actually in my garden this morning.  I flew out to visit my mom yesterday.  I won’t be gone long this time, but that being said I didn’t schedule any more blog posts for the coming week.

So enjoy the coming week, I’ll be back soon.  And in the meantime, leave me a comment and let me know if you are surviving the August slump in your garden!

travel plans.

Published on by Quandie6 Comments

I picked up this vintage suitcase at a garage sale earlier this summer.

It was a bit beat up, and a bit dirty, but I thought it had potential.

My original plan was to paint it.  But then I had such good results with the round suitcase that I did a few weeks ago …

that I decided to do something similar with this one.

So after vacuuming the inside, and giving the outside a good wipe down with a damp cloth, I added a stencil to the front using Dixie Belle’s Ecru chalk mineral paint.

This is another stencil that I’ve had for years, so I’m sorry I can’t give you a source for it.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded over it lightly with one of the Dixie Belle 220 grit sanding sponges.  I like using their sponges when I have a delicate surface and I want to soften up the paint just a tiny bit.

Finally I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to the outside of the suitcase.  It worked beautifully to add a little much needed moisture to the ‘guaranteed genuine split leather’.

Um, huh?  What is that, you ask?

According to Google, split leather is made from the lower layers of an animal hide left over after the tough top-grain layer is sliced off.  Lacking a natural outer grain, it is often coated with plastic or polyurethane and embossed to look smooth, or buffed to make suede.

As you might imagine, it’s cheaper and not nearly as durable as full-grain leather.  So I find it amusing that the manufacturer of this case went out of their way to say it’s made out of ‘genuine split leather’.

It reminds me of the time I was in Kusadasi, Turkey and all of the vendors were selling ‘genuine fake watches’.

The inside of this case isn’t in perfect shape, but it would be perfectly functional for storing things like Christmas decorations and such.

I gave my photos a bit of a travel theme using a couple of my vintage travel books from H.V. Morton and my Traveler camera.

Speaking of travel, I’m about to do some traveling myself.  I’m heading off to visit my mom again next week.  I know August is not the ideal month to visit Las Vegas, but I like to spend time with her whenever possible.  She assures me that it has cooled down out there lately.  Instead of 115°, it’s only going to be in the low 100’s.  Yeah, I think she’s just trying to encourage me to show up.

I do have a garden post scheduled for this weekend, but I’ll be away from the blog for the following week.

In the meantime, let me know what you think of my genuine split leather suitcase.

Last night I took the suitcase, plus my last several toolboxes in to the shop (Reclaiming Beautiful).  So if you don’t have any other travel plans this weekend it’s the perfect time to head to Stillwater for a little shopping!

the do-over toolbox.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

Sometimes I just get it wrong.

Such was the case with today’s toolbox.

But let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

This one was in pretty good shape, no flaking paint, no rust, no greasy residue.  Nonetheless, I washed it up, scuff sanded it and gave it a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.

Then I painted it inside and out in their Apricot chalk mineral paint.

Next up I added a bunch of pinky/peachy roses from various I.O.D. transfers.  So far, so good.  But the next step is where I went wrong.  I decided to layer one of the I.O.D. Étiquettes gilded transfers over the roses.

Nope, definitely not working for me.

I’ve struggled a bit with these gilded transfers.  The first time I tried them was pretty much a fail.

But then I tried them again, only this time I kept them as more of a background sort of thing on this pair of painted ice skates …

and on some books.

Then I got a bit braver and added one to the inside of this box.

I think the secret is letting them shine (literally and figuratively) over a solid background color rather than trying to layer them over something else.

That just ends up looking way too busy.

I was pretty bummed after I got the gilded transfer in place because I had used quite a few roses to create the background.  I really didn’t want to have to sand them all down and start over.

So I decided to see if I could just sand off the gold transfer without damaging the roses.

Um, no.  Of course not.  So then I thought maybe I could just lightly sand the roses too, and then everything would look sort of distressed.  Um, no.  That didn’t work either, and sorry, I didn’t take any photos at that point.

But then I thought perhaps I could just paint over the gold transfer and disguise that by adding more roses over that area.  So I pulled out my Apricot paint and dabbed it on.

I quickly realized I’d have to sacrifice the one large pink rose to the right too.

Once the paint was dry, I added another rose on that right hand side, and then a pretty label from the I.O.D. By Any Other Name transfer.

Ta da!  I think I saved it!

The lightly sanded transfers end up looking like a distressed finish.

I like that look personally, although I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I’ll admit that this may not be one of my all time favorite toolbox makeovers, but in the end I think it turned out fairly well.

Have you ever added a transfer, and then wished you hadn’t?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

the miniatures show.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

This past weekend my sister and I went to the Minnesota Dollhouse & Miniature Show.  It was held Friday evening and Saturday.  They opened at 4 p.m. on Friday and when we arrived at a little close to 5 it was packed!  One could hardly get close enough to see things.

But we persevered, and by 5:45 or so the crowd really thinned out and we were able to make our way around much more easily.  If I go again, I’d definitely just wait and arrive a bit later.

There were only about 20 vendors, so it’s not a huge show.  Of those 20 vendors, there were a few that I thought really stood out starting with Stanford Street Miniatures.

She had some really cute things, and at really reasonable prices.  I didn’t end up buying anything from her, but I really should have purchased something for my Christmas Cottage.

Next up is Blissful Minis.

She had some very lovely things, she calls her style French Cottage.

If you know me at all, you know I loved her white, distressed pieces.

But many of her things were just a tad too lacy for my personal taste, so I didn’t actually buy anything from her.

Teeny Tiny Taylor should probably get the award for best display.  She had the most fun retro 70’s vibe.  Unfortunately, I neglected to get a good overall photo of her setup so you’ll just have to trust me on that.  Her specialty is creating miniature food like these pineapple upside down cakes.

She had a fantastic room box set up for Thanksgiving dinner.

I didn’t actually purchase anything from her either, mainly because I’m not really into that level of detail in my own dollhouse.  But her pieces were truly teeny tiny works of art.

Speaking of food, this next vendor had some great things too.

And I did even buy a fabulous birdhouse from this vendor.  Unfortunately, I paid cash, didn’t get a card and didn’t get a receipt … so I don’t know their name.  Shoot!

I’ve saved my favorite vendor for last.

Mini Mercantile Co. was right up my alley.

I’d like to have purchased one of everything she had.

Or maybe 2 or 3 of everything!

She had some adorable Christmas items.

And that brings me to my haul.

I bought this round coffee table and the items on it from Mini Mercantile.

I think my favorite thing is the ironstone covered casserole.

How perfect!  And I have the perfect spot for that in my Victorian dollhouse.

I also purchased some adorable Christmas signs from Mini Mercantile.

They will definitely end up in the Christmas Cottage.

I purchased a few mini garden items at the show as well.

I already had the potting bench … um, let’s see … I don’t know that I ever shared that piece here on the blog.  That was an oversight on my part.  I painted that up last spring using milk paint and I got a fabulously chippy result.

But I did buy the two tall square clay pots, the French street sign and the basket of apples at the miniature show.

I also purchased this fantastic hedge clipper from Sir Thomas Thumb.

They even actually open and close!  I do have another piece by him that I think I purchased from Miniature Crush and that is this scoop.

He clearly does beautiful work, I probably should have purchased a couple more things from him while I had the chance.

Last, but not least, is that birdhouse that I mentioned earlier.

I have yet to work on the landscaping for my Victorian dollhouse, but this birdhouse will definitely find a home there.  I’m in search of some classes or tutorials on creating miniature plants/gardens, so if any of you have any sources be sure to let me know.

Do you have any good miniature shows where you are?  Be sure to share in the comments if you do!

chuck’s box.

Published on by Quandie10 Comments

I warned you that you would be seeing a few more items painted in my custom Dixie Belle color that I’m calling Garden Green, so welcome to another toolbox post.

As a refresher (or for anyone who is new), Garden Green is a mix of two Dixie Belle colors …

Everglades and Acadia.

I don’t have a precise ratio for you, I just mix them until I like how it looks.

Technically today’s project is a tackle box rather than a toolbox, but it is painted in this gorgeous green.  But first, here is where it started out.

As you can see, this was Chuck’s box.

To prep, I first scraped off all of the various labels.  There were quite a few, including several on the inside.  I followed that up with my usual cleaning with Dawn dish soap, a scuff sanding to remove any flaking rust or paint and then a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.

Next up I painted it inside and out with my custom Garden Green.

Recently one of my readers asked me to mention the approximate amount of time that each step in this process takes, and to be honest, it’s kind of hard to judge.  When painting a toolbox there are a lot of steps with a lot of drying time in between.  For example, paint the inside, let it dry, give it a 2nd coat, let it dry, paint the bottom, let it dry, put a 2nd coat on the bottom, let it dry, flip the box over and paint the sides, let them dry, and so on and so on.

Also, painting a tackle box with a tray or a toolbox with a removable tray, takes a bit more time than a box without a tray.

Each individual painting step takes mere minutes to do, but drying time really depends on the weather.  If it’s super humid it can take much longer than if it’s dry and breezy.  I also like to let the Bonding Boss cure overnight.  It’s also a good idea to let the paint cure overnight before adding transfers as well.

So this is not a ‘done in one day’ sort of thing, but it’s also not a ‘work for hours and hours steadily’ sort of thing.

I find that it’s much more efficient to stock up on several toolboxes and then work on them all at once, sort of assembly line style.  But obviously, not everyone is painting up a bunch at once.  In that case, it’s a great project to work on while doing laundry or cleaning the house.

So, going back to Chuck’s Box.  After the paint was dry, I pulled out a couple of I.O.D. transfers that featured white flowers and starting adding them to the box.

I didn’t keep specific track of which flowers were from which set of transfers, but I used some from Sarah Featon’s Botanicals, By Any Other Name and Rose Botanical.

The label on the top of the box is from By Any Other Name.

Isn’t that gorgeous?

Once the transfers were in place I added a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax to protect them.

This tackle box with its divided tray would be perfect for corralling all of your little crafting gizmos.

It would also make a great sewing box.

Now, before I put away my Garden Green paint for the day, I want to share another quick do-over project.

You probably don’t remember this one, but way back in March 2023 I shared a project using the Dixie Shine metallic foil.

You can check out that full post here.

But basically I took this …

to this …

I had these hanging in my own house for a little while, but eventually took them down and put them in my occasional sale.  They didn’t sell though.  I was literally about to put them in the ‘donate’ pile, but then thought maybe I should just try them without the gold.

So I painted over the frames with my Garden Green.  I didn’t do any special prep, just wiped them down with a damp cloth first.  I needed two coats to get good coverage, and the paint adhered to the foil just fine.

Once the paint was dry, I used one of the Dixie Belle Sanding Sponges to lightly distress it.

I really expected to see more of the gold coming through, but I mostly ended up going down to the coat of black that I had used under it the first time around.  But that ended up being just fine.

I decided to finish these off with some of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta with some of their brown wax mixed in.  It added just a little more depth to the paint color.

Improvement?  I think so.  What do you think?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Both the tacklebox and the tile artworks are for sale, check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page if interested.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying their products used in these makeovers.

le jardin toolbox.

Published on by Quandie5 Comments

While I had the Dixie Belle Blue Grass paint out for the mini hall stand that I shared on Tuesday, I thought I’d use it on today’s toolbox.

But first, here is where it started out.

It wasn’t in bad shape, just a little dirty.  I still gave it my usual prep of cleaning, scuff sanding and a coat of Dixie Belle’s Bonding Boss.

Then I painted the inside in that pretty Blue Grass paint.

Once dry I added a transfer from the I.O.D. By Any Other Name set.

Next up I painted the outside in Dixie Belle’s Oxford Fog.  The Oxford Fog and Blue Grass are perfect companions.

Once the Oxford Fog was dry, I added some florals from the I.O.D. Saint Germain transfer.

The typography is a mish mash from some older I.O.D. transfers.

I gave the box a final coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax both inside and outside to finish it off.  Although the Oxford Fog is from the Silk Paint line (so has a built in top coat), the transfers benefit from a little protection as does the Blue Grass paint on the inside.

This little box is the perfect size for holding art supplies or any number of other small things that need to be kept in line.

This little box is for sale locally, check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

As always, thank you to Dixie Belle Paint Co for supplying their products used in this makeover.

the hall stand.

Published on by Quandie5 Comments

I’ve got another miniature project for you guys today, this hall stand …

I purchased this a while back from Miniature Crush, but wouldn’t you know it, when I went to look for a link for you guys I couldn’t find one.  I don’t know if they are sold out, or just no longer carrying this piece.  There are quite a few identical and/or similar items available on Etsy though.

I bought this one intending to use it in the foyer of my Victorian dollhouse.

For those of you who may be new, this is a dollhouse that my dad made for me back in the early 90’s.  I had actually given it away to my in-laws (not sure what I was thinking!) about 10 years ago, but after I retired, I decided I wanted it back.  Luckily they hadn’t gotten rid of it themselves, and they also hadn’t done much with it.  Not so luckily, they had emptied out the contents and now don’t know where they put them.  So I was starting over with furnishings.

I did have a hall stand in the foyer originally …

so I decided to replace it with something similar.

The unfinished hall stand came with some very uninspired hardware.

Just a set of 5 ‘gold’ knobs to use both on the drawer and as the hooks on either side of the mirror.

So my first job was to find better options.  Luckily I already had a decent antique bronze drawer pull, but I needed to find hooks.  I ended with with a set of 4 antique bronze coat hooks from Colonial Miniatures via Etsy.

While I waited for them to arrive, I painted up the hall stand using Dixie Belle’s Blue Grass.  I sanded the finish to give it some age, and then I glued the hooks in place with super glue.

Your q tip for today; always glue things in place before adding a wax or oil topcoat.

You guys, these hooks were really bendy, and somehow I didn’t expect that.  When I started applying a finishing coat of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta, I noticed that I had bent them totally out of whack.  Fortunately, I was able to bend them back without breaking them.  I did have to hold my breath for a minute there though.  So if you end up purchasing these exact hooks, just use caution when manipulating them.

I’m sorry, I don’t remember precisely where the drawer pull came from.

But it paired beautifully with the coat hooks.

I styled the photos for this post using one of the watering cans that I painted up last year.

I filled the can with a single flower bud from my verbena bonariensis.

which worked perfectly as an entire miniature flower arrangement.

I’m quite happy with how my hall stand turned out.

It’s a bit tricky to get a photo of it in place.

And it’s going to be even trickier to get my hand and a paint brush inside that foyer to re-paint the trim.

That seafoam green has got to go though, so wish me luck on that!

the front window box, 2026.

Published on by Quandie8 Comments

Good morning from the garden!

Lately I’ve been enjoying watching the hummingbirds in my garden.  It seemed like I had a sweet little pair of them flitting about, chasing each other playfully.  So I thought “gee, I wonder if they mate for life” and decided to do a little research.

Yeah, they don’t.

In fact, the male hummingbird is a bit of a player.  He mates with multiple females, and after mating he flees immediately.  The males don’t help build the nest, and they don’t help take care of the young.  They aren’t chasing each other playfully, they are chasing each other out of their territory.

Wow, I’m not sure I like these hummingbirds anymore!

But they are fun to watch.

I’ve always tried to plant a few things that I know attract hummingbirds.  One of my favorite is the Black & Blue Salvia.

I find that they also love my Roguchi clematis.

I know that hummingbirds like brightly colored tubular shaped flowers, so both of those are obvious candidates.  But recently I was surprised to learn that they really like the flowers on heuchera, or coral bells.

This year I planted some Northern Exposure Black heuchera in the front window box.

When Mr. Q and I are having our morning coffee on the front porch, this planter is right outside the window at eye level.  I’ve been surprised to see the hummingbirds enjoying the flowers on a regular basis.

The Northern Exposure series of heuchera were bred for cold hardiness and are rated down to zone 3.  I will pull these out of the window box in the fall and put them in the ground somewhere to overwinter.  I’ve always struggled to get other heuchera to overwinter, but these Northern Exposure varieties seem to do well in my Minnesota garden.

I also have a Dark Eyes fuchsia in the front window box.

Hummingbirds are a big fan of this one as well, unfortunately so are the Japanese beetles.  Yesterday I had to give it a bit of a cut back to remove all of the beetle damaged foliage.

If you’re wondering what else I have in my front window box, I decided to do a dark purple/silvery sort of color scheme this year.

For the silvery foliage I have Sea Salt artemisia, Angel Wings senecio and Silver Threads helichrysum.  For the deep purples I have that Northern Exposure Black heuchera, some Blackie sweet potato vine and a couple of Midnight Majesty coleus.

The contrast between the dark purples and the silvery foliage is quite striking.

I also have some Rex begonias in there that combine both colors.

When choosing plants for my front window box I have to also think about the perennials that are planted in the bed below it.

I have a large patch of astilbe with purple-ish blooms.

And I also have a Chocoholic Snakeroot.

So whatever I choose has to work well with those purples.

By the way, I highly recommend the Chocoholic.  I did not treat this plant very well initially because I couldn’t decide where to put it.  As a result, I moved it at least five times over its first couple of years.  Ironically, the internet says they are notoriously difficult to transplant due to a deep taproot, but I certainly didn’t find that to be the case.  Aside from making sure that it doesn’t dry out, this plant has been almost maintenance free for me.

As I was taking these photos I realized that I have a couple of plants in the window box that have been completely overtaken, so I’m headed out there to see if I can find new, roomier homes for them.  Wish me luck!

a gifted toolbox.

Published on by Quandie14 Comments

A while back one of my readers from Iowa reached out to offer me some items that she was discarding.  And even better, her son lives nearby and was willing to deliver them.  How generous!

One of the items she sent my way was a toolbox (thanks so much Vanessa).

I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever worked on one this clean and new before.  Plus, Vanessa had already scuff sanded it a bit.  So aside from giving it a quick wash up, I was able to go straight to the Bonding Boss step.

In this case, I don’t need to block any rust or stains, but that surface was still a bit slick so the ‘bonding’ part of Bonding Boss will help my paint stick to the shiny metal.

I painted the inside of the toolbox in my new favorite custom green that I’m calling Garden Green.  It’s a mix of Dixie Belle’s Acadia and Everglades.

And, well, fair warning, I am really loving this color.  You’re going to see it a bunch more over the coming weeks so I hope you like it too.

As you can see, this toolbox came with a tray and I painted that up in the Garden Green too.

I then added a little French wording to the tray …

And actually, that scrap of typography was gifted to me by a reader as well.  When Monica was moving, she sent me a bunch of random bits of transfers and this bit worked out perfectly for the tray, so thanks again for that Monica!

As for the outside of the toolbox, I painted it in two coats of Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth.

One thing that I think is worth noting is that not only does the Bonding Boss block stains and odors, and improve the adhesion of your paint, it also make it easier to cover a color such as the original bright red of this toolbox.  Even the clear version, which is what I typically use.  I only needed two coats of Drop Cloth to cover up that red.

Once the drop cloth was dry I added some of those gorgeous florals from the I.O.D. Saint Germain transfer.

I decided to keep the look a little asymmetrical with the addition of some wording from the long retired and now very difficult to find I.O.D. Label Ephemera transfer.

Once everything was in place, I finished off the toolbox with Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

What do you think?  Do you like the asymmetrical look, or do you prefer a more balanced look?

Leave a comment and let me know.

In the meantime, this toolbox is for sale.  Check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page for more details.

a trio of sofas.

Published on by Quandie7 Comments

I’m sure that many of you remember my perfect English sofa.

I initially painted that up back in January to go in the living room of dollhouse No. 42.

I liked it so much that I ordered a 2nd sofa of the same style to paint for my Victorian dollhouse.

But then, I realized that another style option was an even closer match to the inspiration photo from the Perfect English Farmhouse, the White Chesterfield from The Modern Dollhouse.

So I ordered that one too.

They’ve sat around ever since, but during our recent heatwave/hazardous air quality alert I needed some indoor activities so I pulled them out and painted them up.

I followed the exact same technique that I used on the first one, so if you want those precise details you can head over to this post …

But basically, I started with a wash of Dixie Belle’s Putty, then dry brushed their Ecru over that.  Then I taped off some grain sack style stripes and painted them with Dixie Belle’s Barn Red.

This time around the stripes got a little too solid looking, so after they were dry I sanded them slightly to give them a more worn appearance.

I finished them off with a coat of Dixie Belle’s clear wax.

This 2nd style of sofa is definitely closer to the inspiration piece on the cover of Perfect English Farmhouse.

I plan to use this one in the living room of my Victorian dollhouse.

But as you can see, I’m still in need of additional inspiration for this room.  So I’ll have to work on that.

In the meantime, the Chesterfield came with a pair of throw pillows that I don’t intend to use with it.  So I painted them up to go with the other two sofas.

I used the same technique, a wash of Putty followed by some dry brushed Ecru.  Then I added some knob transfers from redesign with prima.

It worked out quite well to add a transfer over painted fabric.

I also finished the pillows off with a coat of clear wax.

I guess the only question remaining is what am I going to do with these other two sofas?

For now I am listing them on my ‘miniatures for sale‘ page.  FYI, although I usually don’t offer shipping, I will ship miniatures.  So be sure to check that out if you are interested.

If they don’t sell, I think they might be perfect for the Christmas Cottage dollhouse that I plan to finish up this fall.  You’ll just have to stay tuned to see how that works out!