Scrap Happy May!
Pattern
For May ScrapHappy Day, I am documenting the making of my doll’s bathroom. I bought some wooden tiles probably 25 years ago in a thrift shop in Victoria BC Canada. The label on the bag of tiles says:
OY-FINNIDEE Ltd Lastu Hobby Savonlinna Finland.
(I have been to a wonderful craft market in Savonlinna Finland!!)
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adhesive
A couple of weeks ago I used some heat-set adhesive veneer strips on part of the bathroom construction for the crown moulding.
In my stash I discovered some some scraps of fusible web stuff intended for fabric appliqué. I must have bought it a zillion years ago, and do not remember what project it was for…but I wondered whether I could make the idea work for the little wooden tiles. It worked for the veneer, so…
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test
…I tested them out on the wooden tiles and it worked! I made a second test strip so I could try different floor finishes on them – wouldn’t it be awful if the colours ran after all that work?!
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laying-out
There was exactly enough of the fusible web for the floor, and a little left over for the test strips. Arianell and Vanilla helped me lay out the tiles…
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Pressure
…and stepped on the tiles firmly to anchor them in place. The fusible webbing is tacky so it sticks to the base, and the tiles stick to it…but I can lift them off if I change my mind about placement.
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Trimming
I had a pencilled grid on the floor to help keep the tiles straight – the tiles are not are not all the same size! After every “9-patch” I trimmed the leading edge so the next row would at least start straight. I learned to make sure that that edge was made up of tiles with the grain going in the direction of the cut! It doesn’t matter if the knife goes into the wood since the webbing holds everything in place. The little offcuts are easy to pick off with forceps.
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Ironing
The final step in attaching the floor tiles is to Iron them in place…
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Dancing!
Arianell and Vanilla say it makes a great dance floor!
The ironing melts the fusible web adhesive and also flattens some of the bumpier places on the floor – the tiles aren’t all the same thickness either! Next I will add a chair rail on top of the wainscotting, and put some wood floor finish on the tiles after testing out both water-based and oil-based finishes.
More scraps: the wainscotting is made from coffee stir-sticks that I saved up for years before I retired, and the baseboards and top boards are made of popsicle (lolly) sticks I bought them new (sorry!). The fabric I used for wallpaper was given to me by a quilting friend – a scrap from her stash…the wooden box was made from scrap wood from our home renovations offcut pile – this is the scrappiest bathroom ever!
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ScrapHappy is a group of bloggers using up scraps of anything – no new materials…Anything made of genuine scraps is eligible, and posts come out once a month on the 15th!
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Here are the links for the ScrapHappy people – headed by Kate and Gun, who devised and run the group – I am a relatively new member, this is my third Scrap Happy post – Yay!
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Kate, Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline, Sue L,
Sunny and Kjerstin (me!)
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Quimper Hittys 
love that, and love more that you were able to repurpose something you’d had for aeons intended for a different medium 🙂
Thanks! I do wonder why I had the fusible webbing stuff – I don’t usually mix adhesive and textiles, but this was a good use for it!!
No wonder the girls want to dance on their beautiful new colorful floor. It’s gorgeous.
Thank you – yes, there were tiny tapping and clattering noises coming from the new bathroom quite late into the night!
Their new floor makes me want to start a new quilt 🙂 The girls have been very helpful; I can understand the dancing after all that hard work. A beautifully scrappy project!
I love the nine-patch pattern, and the wooden tiles seemed to call for a quilt-y design…human and wooden family members are all very pleased with the result!
I particularly like the colour combinations you’ve chosen 🙂
The floor is magical! A quilter’s dream! This bathroom is a genuine Quimper creation: artistic, unique, colorful and beautifully executed by oh! so skillful hands…and it is shared so generously! Love every bit of it! The QH do live a whimsical, wonderful life!
We enjoyed working on the floor, and praise from the Dollhouse Lady is very high praise indeed! Thank you for your encouragement – it makes me want to continue with the fun!
The floor is delightfully danceable as your QHs demonstrate to us. It’s oh so pretty, oh so scrappy and oh so inventive. Thanks for bringing us along to enjoy this creative, scrappy adventure with you. It’s been so fun.
You are very welcome…we love to share our fun – it multiplies! I expect there will be future dances on the bathroom floor, it is such a pleasant surface to play on!
What a gorgeous floor! I’d love to have that floor made up human size for our kitchen 🙂
That would be so fun and colourful!
The new flooring just lovely!! So bright and so pretty. The girls have the right idea!! Dance away…
Thanks! It was very enjoyable to work on it with all the pretty colour combinations – Arianell and Vanilla are dancing away as I speak, it might be hard to get them to stop.
Wow. This is so cleverly done. Lot of teensy pieces means lots of patience, I am sure. 🙂
Lots of time for sure, and the patience of members of the family who were unable to use the kitchen table for days!
oh my goodness, such luxury and what a wonderful dance floor.
I love to indulge my Hittys – they are so worth it – always helpful and never complaining. They are full of good ideas too, like dancing in the bathroom!
So lovely and creative! The Quimper Hittys must be over the moon.
Thanks – they are pretty pleased with it! I think dancing on the new floor is a joyful offering!
A fun project!
It really is – thanks!
What a great use for fusible web. I wouldn’t mind a floor like that – or maybe a rug.
I honestly haven’t a clue why I even had the stuff, but so glad it bubbled up to the surface just at the moment I was considering slopping about with glue on individual tiles. I would love a floor like this too – or a rug – it reminded me of a ceramic tile floor but warmer.
I love to skip around in your archives when I come over for a ScrapHappy visit — I never know what I will find but I am always amazed at the range of your ideas and at how well you craft everything! 🙂
Thanks! I have fun…the dolls keep reminding me that doing small things is important, and small is not the same as insignificant!
I truly have fun with various projects, and I’m especially lucky, I have time and supplies! I’m trying very hard not to buy new stuff, except for glue and varnish etc.