Past Blog Posts:
 |
||
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
||
A Wonderful French Kitchen by Rhonda Secrist Thomas!
Filed under Art Projects, Featured Artwork, Giveaways, Miniatures, Newsletters, Rhonda Secrist Thomas
Quick announcement before the amazing artwork: the Kitchen Miniatures sale includes lots of the goodies in Rhonda’s artwork!
The 25% off Sale on ALL Kitchen & Sewing Miniatures ENDS TOMORROW NIGHT (Monday, April 18th)!
Design Team Member Rhonda Secrist Thomas has created a most magnificent, miniature kitchen scene you’re all going to swoon over. Better get your smelling salts out before you have a visit at “Une place dans mes rêves” (A Place in My Dreams)
“For the past few months, I’ve had this reoccurring dream that I lived in a little cottage in the woods by Petit Trianon. I was the lead cook for Marie Antoinette and she treated me with such respect and care. It was so peaceful there in the woods with all of my animals around (notably a beagle, a siamese cat and chickens in the yard). I loved the smell of the air and the way moss grew all around.
“And I always felt so wonderfully alive in my kitchen that was stocked with the best quality of foods and every type of copper pots, pans and utensils that I would ever need to create a delicious dish with. I spent many hours in comfort in front of my large fire place, baking breads and making pots of stews on a Wood Stove.
The best red ticking fabrics were available to me to make my table cloths and towels; they fit quite nicely in the Wooden Hutch that I finished myself. My kitchen was one of the few that had a Dry Sink that included its very own Hand Pump and a massive stone sink. Many happy memories were made at my little home, my beautiful kitchen, at “Une place dans mes rêves.”
Wow, Rhonda really went all out on recreating the kitchen of her dreams! With it being a large piece, (Rhonda used 2 Deep Open Front Room Boxes for it) there’s a lot to take in; so I’ll point out a few really fabulous items.
The large Rustic Door gives the kitchen entrance a nice, authentic look the way Rhonda painted it; then added an Old Fashioned Latch and Black Strap Hinges to it.
You’ll love this… there is a 25% off sale on Kitchen Minis (including the new kitchen items)! Better hurry though, the sale ends Monday night. Some of the items include the NEW Vintage and Large Mixing Bowls, (as well as a set of 3 Metal Mixing Bowls). Wait, I’m not done! ALL of the resin pre-made breads are also on sale!
Even after pointing out a few items, there is still much more to discover; including how Rhonda made the amazing brick and stone walls. Rhonda created TWO Snapguides to walk you through the design & inspiration for her kitchen, and also a tutorial for the textured walls.
Une place dans mes rêves Supply List (be forewarned! not for the faint of heart!)
To see many more pictures and for more details (including tutorials on how she created the fireplace and how she used faux-woodgrain paper to cover the Dry Sink), please visit Rhonda’s blog.
Note: see the Giveaway below for a chance to vote on which technique or area of Rhonda’s kitchen will be featured in another post in future weeks.
 |
More New Collage Supplies – ALL on Sale! View All New Items |
|||
 Pitcher & Basin Set |
 Mini French Croissants |
 Dry Sink – 1:24 |
 Set of 3 Metal Mixing Bowls |
 Set of Stools – 1 Inch Scale |
 Black Parlour Stove |
 Mini French Bread |
 French Breads & Rolls Set |
Hooray for the Dry Sink for a French Kitchen Giveaway!
Wow. I really had to focus on a small area or I would lose my mind. So, I chose the corner with the Dry Sink (including the dry sink — see a little photo below).
I picked all the items on the Dry Sink from Rhonda’s “Une place dans mes rêves” (a place in my dreams) (crazy) supply list to make this Giveaway (psst! that is a link to the supply list, with photos and links to all of the goodies used):
– Dry Sink – 1:12 New!
– Water Hand Pump New!
– Mini Mason Jars – Set of 3
– Egg Beater Set
– Miniature Vase Set
– Black Window Pulls – Set of 6 New!
– Tiny Black Hinge Set
– Miniature Red Apples
– Set of Mini Wooden Buckets
To enter Dry Sink for a French Kitchen Giveaway drawing all you have to do is leave a comment BELOW on this blog post TODAY or TOMORROW (the deadline is 11:59 pm PST, MONDAY NIGHT, April 18, 2016).
AND to enter the drawing, please tell me: What would you like the topic of a follow-up blog post by Rhonda to be about? Here are some ideas to get you mulling (but I bet you already have some questions of your own):
– Technique for copper antiquing on pots (note: all of those pots did not start out copper!)
– How did Rhonda stain and/or antique the furniture?
– How did she create the roof?
– How did she create those full-room-width wall shelves?
– the English Tudor half-timbering on the outside of building?
– stone work around door?
– brick around windows?
– that fireplace pulley?
Is your head spinning?
Don’t forget to leave your (hello! correct) email address, too, so I can contact the winner; your email address does not need to be made public. Note: I’m offering free shipping, too, but only within the USA. International shipping will still apply.
Please be patient! Spammers try to post crap here a lot so comments are moderated. So if you don’t see your post in the comments section, be patient and check back in a few hours before re-posting it, please!
After midnight, I’ll randomly pick the winner (via Random.org). So make sure to check back to see who won! And check your mailbox on Thursday morning for the next Giveaway and Newsletter!
Before I forget: who won Thursday’s Mother’s Day Card Supplies Giveaway? That would be Pauline! Congratulations! Check your email for more info.
Please pinch me!! I think I have died and gone to heaven!! What a magnificent, spectacular and amazing creation! Would love to learn about the copper antiquing technique and the English Tudor half timbering on the outside!!! I have spied LOTS of new miniatures that I have been looking for so y shopping list has grown immensely! LOVELOVELOVE this and would love to win this amazing giveaway! I have 4 building/house/room projects in the works right now and these goodies would fit right in!! Fingers crossed and wishing to the Crafting Fairies that I might get the coveted email saying I won this!!!!
Gorgeous! I’d love to know more about the processes behind the copper antiquing, the staining and the brickwork, especially!
I just painted my kitchen antique white and tried to buy some accessories to make it look “French Country!” But I haven’t even come close to the look you have achieved in your little “French Country Kitchen….I just love, love, love it! I would give anything to have this exact replica in my real kitchen! Just peering in makes me feel I am in a rural French countryside kitchen and about to do some baking!
Thank you for sharing this yummy glimpse of France!
I’d love to use one of the shrine kits and make a shrine to honor some of the fabulous cooks in my life.
I’d love to make a kitchen scene. More great stuff!
The I love the stonework inside. Really authentic. I would really like to know more about the exterior. I am getting ready to decorate a Tudor house and would like to know how Rhonda did the stucco and timber. Thanks!
Oh, so lovely! A hide-away place in the woods, this already is quite near.
What did you make the “porcelain” portion of the sink from?
Oh my gosh….Rhonda, your creation takes my breathe away! Just LOVE it!!! I’d really like to know how you did the copper finishing. Just incredible artwork. Thanks for sharing.
I’d love to learn how the furniture was painted/antiqued.
Love all the miniatures! Would love to see a whole house!
this should be published in a magazine, absolutely stunning!
IMG-I love the cottage who wouldn’t want to live in it. My cats and I would love it and the forest. We could be just like Snow White. I hate to cook but as they say I only have a kitchen because it came with the house. >^..^<
Antiquing copper would be cool
Everything about these kits is amazing !! but I believe what I’d like her blog to include would be more information on how to do the building & brick work for the outside of the structure as well as to how to on the copper pots which I think is the next top rated subject …thanks for the chance to win this !
Love to learn copper antiquing! Saving a corner in my planned mini kitchen for the dry sink.
Copper pots!
I too would love to know the copper antiquing method.
How about a video tutorial. What a beautiful project!
Love this project, reminds me of the kitchen Cinderella would work in…
Oh my gosh! That’s how I’m making/want to make my fairy cottage that will be three stories tall. I need all of that stuff and want to know how she did all of it!!!!
My cottage has to be a half timbered with many fairyish features. It’s so great to see Rhonda’s beautiful creation because mine still only exists in my mind.
Love the kitchen! Would like to know how she finished the furniture
I adore all this miniature goodness! I would like to know how to do the copper antique technique. Thank you for the opportunity to win. Another great giveaway as always. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
I’m currently obsessed with copper so yes, anything about using copper.
I’d love to know how the entire outside of
the kitchen was finished, especially the
wonderful brick around the door and the
bottom of the structure–it is outstanding!
I would love to know all about creating the roof! Thank you
I would like to know if she has any ideas about using unusual objects for miniatures.
This is just such a fabulous piece!!! So much to look at. I need to know how she did that stone work on the outside of the building!
I love this kit and theme! It reminds me of the Brambley Hedge series by Jill Barklem. I would be interested to know of any weathering techniques to apply to different mediums in miniature.
i love miniatures! I would add it to my miniature haunted house pieces!
You took all of the questions right out of my mouth! Would like to hear all about it!
Love this beautiful little cottage! I would love to know how she made the copper look pots and pans!
I would like to know how she made the fireplace. Also if she wired it for the fire and if so, how. I love the look of the whole kitchen and would love to win so I could get a start on the project.
…and the dry sink…what is the (porcelain) insert made from, and how?
How cool to create a mini-me kitchen!
I love the stone wall..something you do not see in a lot of creations…I would love to follow any instructions given
LOVE LOVE this! I love the end result of her dry sink! And where can I get the faux-woodgrain paper??? She did an outstanding job on this kitchen and this is an awesome give-away! 🙂
Cheryl, wood grain paper:
http://www.alphastamps.com/p19448/My_Minds_Eye_6x6_Paper_Pad_-_Wood_Necessities/product_info.html
supply list:
http://www.alphastamps.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=160417RMA
Ooops! Forgot to say I would like to know about the fireplace pulley!
Oh My Goodness!!! There is nothing I don’t love about this little kitchen!So well thought out and so realistic. I love that dry sink and the copper pots. I love everything it is perfect! I would love to know how she did the copper pots and the furniture.Is that the same dry sink in the give away? It looks like wood!! I love the pump and buckets. I am hoping she does more than one follow up blog for this one. But she can start with the copper pots and the dry sink 🙂
All these kitchen items are amazing. Gosh so stinking cute. As I don’t know most techniques she has done, I would like blog to be a little bit of everything.I know it’s a lot of work but I’ve never done miniature work and don’t know the first thing about how to create the real looking set. Thank you so much
Just take me to this little hhideaway and I will be so happy.
This is totally amazing! Rhonda really outdid herself on this one. I really would like to know how she created the entire outside. I do have some experience with doing this as I have dabbled in miniatures for years. However, knowing how she went through the process of making the exterior look so realistic would be great.
Just do delightful. Your creativity is amazing.
I have an old farmhouse kitchen project that would benefit greatly from all of these wonderful miniatures! I love the whole project!
Oh how I would love to win these items I love all of them. I would love to learn how to make the cupboard like Sharon
I love all the kitchen miniatures. You’ve turned them into a magical vignette of kitchens from long ago. I’d love to learn some of your techniques. Those copper pots look so real and I love that little stew pot. You make magic in miniature!
OMG this kitchen would look beautiful in my dollhouse that I am building !!!
This is awesome! I would love to see more on how you did the outside of the house! the stone work is beautiful! thanks so much for sharing this with us!
This is too cool for words. I would like to know how Rhonda got the plaster look on the inside and outside of the house.
This is my favorite of all the miniature scenes that have been presented. I would be thrilled to learn of any of her techniques especially the copper application to the pots.
Amazing attention to detail! I can’t stop admiring the artistry. I would love to know what materials and tools were used to create the rough plaster walls 🙂
Wow, this is so cool. I’d love to learn more about how the brickwork was done, inside and out.