The first Glimpse inside Miss Leah's Boutique

Hello lovely people,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the last few days of summer. Next week the kids start school which will make it harder for me to concentrate on my mini work, I have to admit I love working on miniatures in the winter. The positive thing about it is that now I can concentrate more on decorating this particular project.

Before starting off I also wanted to welcome two new followers to my blog Corrine Redmayne and Rosa Jane Shalott  WELCOME.

I am really excited about this project as I gave it a lot of thought and it is very close to my heart. I will be writing a story behind the scene in the form of a Diary written by Miss Leah herself. You won't be meeting her today but you will get a glimpse of her thoughts and dreams.

Today I will be sharing with you what I have been  up to decorating the inside of the whole boutique. 

So being in the Victorian era I wanted something a bit sophisticated when it came to wall paper and flooring. I have first chosen the wall papers only that I didn't find what I was looking for, for the floors. Like always I go beyond me and try to do something myself about it. So all the floors in the boutique where designed and printed by me.

The ground floor which is the first room will be the shop so I chose a pink Victorian style paper and designed and printed the floor to match

The first room where the shop will be

The flooring which I have designed and printed

For the lovely room I have found some nice embossed paper to cover the ceiling and I also found a nice oval shaped border to be used as a ceiling rose. I have found a nice painting with cherubs and decided that it would look pretty so I down sized it, printed it and used it for the ceiling rose.. I just loved how it turned out.  

The Cherub Ceiling Rose

The second room will be also part of the shop. Mostly it will be used as a changing room or for high class clients when they have a private appointment at the boutique. I have went for a blueish color scheme. The floor was also designed and printed by me and fitted in with the wall paper well. I also added the border.

The Changing room

The printed flooring

To this room I add a small cubical which will be used as a changing room. I have found this saloon doors and they were just perfect to be used in the era.

The Cubical with the Saloon doors

I have also decorated the ceiling with a light blue embossed paper and added two small ceiling roses. 

Ceiling in the second room

 Finally we come to the third room. Like the other rooms I have also designed and printed the floors to match with the wall paper. This room will be the private quarters of Leah. Here she will design her clothes and make them.

The private quarters of Miss Leah

The designed and printed flooring by me

On the landing of this room there is a very small space which would have been wasted with a railing and posts so instead I have built a wall where I have added shelving and a little set of drawers. The drawers where made with lolly sticks. I am really pleased how it turned out. 

The built Wall

Shelves that will be holding fabric

The little set of drawers which will be a haberdashery organizer

After all that I started working on the stair case from top to bottom. 

The stair case was quite a challenge especially in the ground floor. As you might have noticed the staircase is a winding set and for some reason I didn't like the underneath part in the shop. So I decided to built walls to cover underneath and I tried to make  something useful without wasting space. I thought of making a domed arch to fit some sort of mannequin only that I didn't know how I was going to do. The first thing that came to my mind was air dry clay to make it look more solid only that I didn't know what I was going to use to shape the dome. While thinking all about it I was just starring in thin air almost giving up on the whole idea when I looked at the table and saw my companion the bottle of pva starring blank at me. Mr, Pritt has always been good to me in every project that I had but this time it was going to do more than just gluing. The bottle had the perfect shape to use as a form to make the arch. 

So with some patience and playing around I have managed to make an arch form my glue bottle. After it got all dry I sand it down a little to have a good finish. It was definitely rewarding and this is how it turned out with some white paint and pink braid.

Domed Arch underneath the stairs. 

I also decided to fix the post at the bottom of the stairs by removing the ball bit and replacing it with a small bust.

Miniature bust at the end of the stair case. 

When that was all done I hinged the front and the roof and finished off the last bit of the roof from the out side.

Finishing the roof

I can say the worst of this project is pretty much ready and now the fun part will start by adding accessories and furniture. Here is a picture of how it looks like at the moment.

Miss Leah's Boutique

So like I promised here is the introduction by Miss Leah.

29th August 1879

Dear Diary,

I am so excited that I can hardly believe what just happened today. I must be dreaming and if so I don't wish it to end. It has been four long years since Matty and Quelina left home to live their dream. Papa gave them his blessing and set them off to the city to open their own business. Being the youngest of the three he forbidden me to join them. I missed both my brother and sister so much since they left. The manor house doesn't feel the same without their laughter and arguments. Matty is more into antiques and travels mostly to France and Spain to find the right pieces. Quelina on the other hand runs the business from the shop and lives in the city. 

Papa today gave me the greatest gift he could ever give me for my 21st birthday. He gave me my freedom. I have been  longing to have what my siblings have. I have been designing my own clothes and love fashion. Madam De France has been teaching me well how to sew and I have been her apprentice since I was a young girl so now I know what I want. 

Quelina returned to the manor for the weekend to spend my birthday with me. It seems like she knew about it. She told me that there is a lovely building just next to Matquel's in Regent Street that will be perfect for a boutique. She also told me that Regent Street was quite busy and good for business. It seems like elite persons go there and no riffraff to be seen. While travelling Matty will be getting me the most finest fabric from Paris and Madrid. In the mean time while setting up the boutique I will be staying with Quelina in her own apartment which is right on top of Matquel's. I guess she promised father that she would look after me. Eventually I would look for my own apartment close to the boutique. I am so happy that I can't even go to sleep. Let's hope for the best. I can't wait to see the building. 

Nighty night my companion a new adventure awaits us.

Love,

Leah x

Well that is all for today my dear friends. Keep tuned as I will be sharing with you more of my progress on this building very soon. Have a nice weekend and take care.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx