How To Make a Dollhouse Miniature "Marble" Topped Wine Rack From Card Stock

I saw this table in an old Williams-Sonoma catalog and liked it.  I tear pictures out of catalogs and tape them all over my room, "To Make Some Day".  I have a soft spot for wrought iron.  I don't know why, I don't buy any wrought iron in full size.  We will have more tutorials on card stock wrought iron.

This project will take a couple of days to complete.  It really is in your best interest to let the laminated pieces of card stock dry and cure in the forms for the most consistent results.  Letting the shapes cure in the forms will give you less headaches when the assembly starts.

We are going to use card stock, mat board, crochet thread, flat black spray paint, black acrylic craft paint and Elmer's yellow wood glue or TiteBond yellow wood glue for making the table.

The marbling will require Delta's PermEnamel Satin Glaze, Delta's Ceramcoat Magnolia White, Americana's Glazing Medium, a charcoal pencil (extra soft), 320 grit sand paper and a small sponge.

 Cut 2 pieces of mat board 2 3/4" (7cm) x 1 1/4" (32mm).  Use a new blade in your craft knife and try to keep the blade perpendicular to your table.  We don't want beveled edges; the edges need to be straight up and down.  If you have access to a scroll saw, use it.

Cut one of these pieces a little smaller; take off about 3/32" (2mm) on one short end and one long side.

 

I have used 320 grit paper to round off the top edges on all four sides of both pieces.  Use yellow wood glue to glue these two pieces together.  Center the smaller one on top of the larger one.  This gives your "marble" top a fancy edge.  Weight this down to prevent warping.

The wine rack pattern is on the left and the leg pattern is on the right.

I have drawn a 1 inch square and a 3mm square on the pattern that you are to copy.  Load the pattern into a program that you can adjust sizes with.  When your squares measure 1 inch or 3mm you have the right size.  Print the patterns onto card stock and cut them out.  

Use the wine rack pattern first.  Trace the pattern onto 2 pieces of mat board. Be careful, and cut slowly, making many passes with the craft knife.  You don't have to cut through the first time.

When you have the 2 pieces cut out glue them together with the yellow glue, weight or clamp until dry.

 Use an old candle to wax the edge all around.  The wax will prevent the glue from sticking to this edge.  This is your wine rack form. 

A Note:  You can try using one layer of mat board for your forms, I am sure it will work if care is used.  I have a scroll saw and I cut the mat board after it's been glued together, so I use two layers. 

We are going to use 1/8" (3mm) wide card stock.  Quilling paper comes to mind, I know.  Quilling paper probably would work, but you would have to glue more layers together for the strength we get from fewer layers of card stock.

Mark the card stock at 1/8" (3mm) intervals and cut using a straight edge and craft knife or if you have a paper trimmer use it.  I usually cut a few ahead.

To begin making wine rack hold your strip of card stock on the bottom and pull the card stock around the form to the other side of the bottom, overlap the strip and glue the card stock together.  We will be using yellow wood glue throughout the tutorial. 

I have overlapped the card stock and glued it together. 

When you run out of card stock butt the ends and start another strip.  Keep wrapping the card stock around the form until you have four layers.  I make tick marks on a scrap of paper to help me remember how many layers I have.  

 

Let this dry on the form at least a couple of hours.  After it is dry, make another.

 To make the apron (the support for the "marble" top) cut one piece of mat board 2 7/16" (62mm) x 1 1/16" (27mm).  Use the 1/8" (3mm) wide card stock and wrap this piece of mat board with four layers of card stock, gluing the card stock to the mat board.  Keep one side of the mat board even with one side of the card stock.  One side will be flat while the other will have a lip.  Set this aside for now.

Trace the leg pattern onto 2 pieces of mat board.  You are using the shaded area on the pattern.  Cut out the pattern and glue the 2 pieces of mat board together to make the leg form.  Clamp or weight this down until dry.

Wax only the edge I have marked in the picture.

 To begin to make a leg, glue the end of the 1/8" (3mm) card stock strip over the top corner, just a bit to anchor the first strip.

 Bring the strip down around the curve to the end (foot).  A rubber band helps to hold the first strip in place.

It also helps to push the card stock strip back into the curve when you are making the foot.

I  also use a quarter inch dowel that has been sharpened in a pencil sharpener for a useful tool making this leg.

(I have a couple of layers on here and I am shaping with the dowel.)

 

 For the first layer only cut a bit extra of the card stock and fold to the outside of the tip (foot) and glue this down.

For the second and consecutive layers (make 5 layers) DO NOT FOLD and GLUE the ends.  Begin the second layer by spreading glue onto the card stock at the top, lay the second layer of card stock on and continue spreading glue and pressing the card stock into it.  I use the sharpened dowel to press the card stock together and shape the foot.  Cut the card stock off even with the ending tip.  

After you have 5 layers on the form spread some glue on the outside layer, this is just to help stiffen the leg.

When the table is assembled it is very study.

Set this aside to dry, at least a couple of hours, overnight would be better.  If you work you could make a leg in the morning, take it out when you get home; make another leg to dry overnight and take it out in the morning and so on.

To remove the leg from the form use your craft knife to cut the card stock at the top corner and the tip of the foot.  If the leg is sticking to the form, run your craft knife between the form and the leg.  Make 4 legs.

This is the end of part 1

The Kitchen Table

I will get you better pictures and post them soon. My son helps me and I think I get him on Wednesday. Pictures will help. Forgive me, I never thought I would be telling anyone how to do anything I made.

This kitchen table and chair set is not easy to do. It is made from basswood and telescoping aluminum tube from Micro-Mark. I will do my best to tell you how I went about making the set, but I think I was successful because I had this set in my kitchen to constantly refer to.
Sometimes flea market/antique malls will have vintage tables and chairs, I would go looking for one you like for pictures and measurements.

The table is 2 1/2" tall, 3 1/8" long and 2 1/4" wide. I used 3/23" basswood for the top and apron. I bought 3/32" cove from Hobby Builders. This is for the edge of the table.
What ever your measurements are for the top of the table you will want to take 3/32" from each side. Miter the corners of the cove and glue onto your table top. There is a second table top if you look closely at the picture. These are the sliding extensions, no, mine do not work. Mine are roughly 3/4" with the cove on 3 sides. You won't put the cove on the side that is under the top. You will need 2 extensions with a piece of cove, serving as a handle, between them. I know you can't see this in the pictures, that's on the side where the chairs are.

I made the apron from 3/32" basswood. It is almost 3/16" smaller all around than the table tops. It looks like I cut the strips between 3/8" and 7/16". I did not miter the corners, just butt glued. On the corners it looks like I used 1/4" dowels. I drilled an 1/8" hole, it looks like it is off center on purpose so I could cut a section out to place on the corner of the table. I then cut half round and glued onto the dowels. This is imitating what my table has on its corners, although they are carved into the rounded part. I could not do that so I added the half round.

I added a false drawer front to one side of apron.

I used 1/8" aluminum tube for the large leg and found straight pins that would cover the hole in the bottom of the tubes to serve as feet. The smaller inner leg is 1/16" aluminum tube. I drilled a hole in the larger tube for this to fit into. Note: When drilling into this tube it helps to fill the tube with a dowel so you won't bend the tube. Also, when bending the tube fill with wire that is a tight fit. This keeps the tube from kinking.

O.K. I cut the table tops to size, minus the cove. Mitered and cut to size the cove and glued to table tops. I painted these with several coats of Rustoleum White, then carefully edged them with black Rustoleum. I remember there was a lot of repainting here.

Glue the table tops together, keeping the outside edges even. Glue the little piece of cove, the handle, to the bottom of the top tabletop, in between the extensions on the chair sides. This is painted white and there is a little space between the extensions and the handle.

Cut the apron to size and glue together. Cut the corner dowels and drill holes. Glue to the corners of the apron. Glue on half round, I used 4 pieces. Underneath the apron, glue 4 pieces of 1/4" square basswood into the corners. Cut these pieces shorter than the apron. You do not want to see them. This is for drilling a 1/16" hole in and securing the small leg of the table.

Paint the apron and glue the top on.

Make the false drawer front paint and glue on. I bent a wire for a handle. Drill small holes for the wire handle and glue in.

Drill 1/8" holes into the corner dowels for the larger leg that sets on the floor. Drill 1/16" hole into the corner blocks for the smaller leg.

Cut the aluminum tubes to length, it's easier to cut with dowels in the tube. You can cut it with an Exacto knife. Drill a hole in the larger tube, not over a 1/16" from the bottom. Gently bend the smaller tube, with a wire inside to prevent kinking. This smaller tube is 1/8" away from the larger tube when glued in, it finishes 3/16" away at top.

I would love to see what you have done, and I promise to get you more pictures of the table. Next week the chair! TTYL Kris