The Stove Reveal

The stove "before" photo.

The stove revamp took a bit longer than I had planned. But I am satisfied with the results. I added feet (pieces that I had salvaged from the laser pointer our kitty played with until she grew too large), painted on a few coats of white and added a couple of "rust" spots. I didn't think that the wire hinges and door pulls were appropriate for the look I wanted, so I pulled them out of the wood. Instead of filling the holes flush and sanding them down nicely to make a good patch, I painted the low spots that I had filled with a bit of black paint. Then I touched up the edges of the black with some brown iron oxide color paint. It worked nicely to simulate a chipped enamel appearance. And... I didn't have to try to make a flawless patch!

My version of a vintage stove.
A little lantern with a red LED light is tucked inside.

I debated over replacing the hardware with something more functional looking. However in the end, I decided that this was going to be a display piece – like on the decorating shows where a young decorator pulls an old stove out of a barn and gives it a new life as a showpiece – in other words, I decided that I could take some liberties. So, I repeated the pattern I had made for the kits on the doors of the stove and added a bit of silver paint to the "trim". A wash of brown iron oxide color paint and water went over the stove top, paper, and silver trim pieces.

I'm so looking forward to cleaning up the mess I made with this project and getting back to an organized house. And now for the big reveal... the kitchen table!

The new Valentine's Day kits may be found on my website and in my Etsy shop.

Plans for This Little Stove

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and I've created a bunch of new items to add to my merchandise. That has left me searching for a fun way to display them. Originally I thought that I would find a pie safe with heart designs in the punched tin door panels. However my local miniatures store didn't carry anything of the sort. Instead, I found this stove.

It's a bit clunky. I admit that I didn't fall in love with it upon first sight. In fact, it took me a long time to settle on it because I don't know if I can transform it into the charming, vintage stove that I have in my mind. First off, I think that it needs some feet, a paint job that is chipping away, and of course a bit of rust!

I think that I have a challenge ahead of me! Fingers crossed, I hope to show you the results in a couple of days.

And...here is a sneak peak of some of my new items that will go on the stove display.