Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My ME Inspired Kitchen

Anyone who knows me in person knows that Mary Engelbreit's style is something I can only handle in small doses. It's like sugar... sweet, fun, even tasty. But it should be consumed in small amounts lest my blood sugar get away from me.

That being said, the subject of this post should cause readers to feel a bit of curiosity. Why would I make a room themed after something that I like in small doses? It's simple: I made the room in a class where I wanted to learn the technique and did not want to waste the room.

My dear friend, Fay Zerbolio, was teaching her room in a bag class and I decided to take it. The theme was "Cherry Kitchen Bag." Her version of the room can be seen here. Having spent most of my time up to that point buried up to my nostrils in microfossils in a laboratory, I had no clue that Cherry Kitchen meant Mary Engelbreit. I learned. ;-)

If you followed the link to Fay's bag, you can see how perfect and ordered everything is. It's wonderful in the coordinating accessories and matching colors.

Her class was over, lunch was eaten, and the next class of the day (sugar cookies with Barb Lewis) had started when I figured out how I would make my kitchen. If it was my house nothing would match perfectly and the cats would be tearing things asunder. So that's what I did. I call it "Not Quite Fay's," which amused my dear friend greatly.

Here's the left side of the room.If you look carefully at the right side of the room, you can follow the path that the cat took to the top of the hutch. He bumped the picture and knocked over a candle stick and some cards on his way.

The tiny figures on the hutch shelves were made by Barbara Meyer of Mini-Gems. Notice the greeting cards are from almost every holiday. Obviously my mini self doesn't put things away often. I made the teapot.I still need to get a bottle of chocolate syrup and a set of modern keys for this shelf. Chocolate+Kahlua+vodka=Mudslide. The dishes are Chrysenbon that I colored with a fine tipped Sharpie pen.

Here's the over-stuffed kitty sleeping on the rug after opening the cabinet to ransack the food. The cat food is bits of a gunny eraser that I colored with paint.One of many cay toys in this room. He's made from a single pompom and a piece of thread.
Here's a better view of the toy mouse.


Here's the right hand side of the room. Notice the spilled cookie dough.

The jar of shells is a special gift from my friend, Barb H., the same person who made the Christmas cookies in a recent stash post. Fay gave all of us in the St. Louis mini group a Chia Head for Christmas one year.
Cookies from the class by Barb Lewis. I plan on getting a calico cat that is hanging on to the edge of the table.

The reason the cats trashed the room looking for food: empty food dish!
Here's my favorite part: the white mouse carrying off a jelly bean. He's in the back corner on the right side of the room.
When these rooms were displayed at the next show, the ladies made sure my room was right next to Fay's. We all had loads of giggles over it...especially Fay! :-)

10 comments:

julie campbell said...

I love this ! So many special little touches, like the mouse with the jellybean and the trail of the cats on their search for a snack !
This put a smile on my face in the midst of a chaotic morning :0)
julie xx

Sans! said...

GREAT Post! I enjoyed the pictures. I have always liked disarray in the kitchen and you are amazing with your hands .

Mercedes Spencer @ Liberty Biberty said...

Well, I just adore Mary Englebreit! Your little room is gorgeous, I'll show Liberty in the morning, her favourite nursery rhyme book is by ME.
Beautiful!
Mercedes

Karen said...

A mini Chia head, I love it!

rosanna said...

lovely, you are right the mouse is a hit!! I do not know Mary Englebreit. I'll do some research. Hugs

Miz Minka said...

What a fun kitchen, I love it! Especially having lived with many cats in the past: I once had one that jumped on a shelf, knocked off a bunch of carnival glass items, then proceeded to barf on top of a lampshade... Not a scene you'd want to re-create as a mini. :)

Not knowing anything about these miniature bag rooms, I have a question: are all the items glued/fastened down?

MiniKat said...

Thank you, ladies!

Miz Minka: I use a special adhesive. It's called "Movable Miniatures Glue" and comes in a bottle that resembles nail polish. It goes on liquid and sets up tacky. You can position and reposition items over and over again.

I used to us "Mini Hold" which is a wax-like product. It just doesn't hold as well as the other glue, but it is good for some things.

Alice said...

Omigosh, I need air! I am laughing too hard! I LOVE this room. And since Fay likes cats, she would totally understand!

Having yours displayed next to hers was a good thing to do!

I like the dirty apron.
Blazing Saddles video? *snork*
The Chia head is so very un-ME.
I like the non-standard mouse.

This roombox tells a story! My favorite kind of scene!

Michelle said...

Oh, I LIKE ME! Mind you, I don't know if I could take a whole room, but I love to have one of her calendars (the small page-a-day desk version) to look at every day.

Anonymous said...

What a great room! I love every little bit. The sleeping cat, the tiny mouse with the jelly bean, the chaos that a cat can make when his bowl is empty. Priceless!