The Princess and the Pea construction notes

 Saturday I shared my Third in a Series for Four In Art, Fairy Tales, Princess and the Pea.

Today I'll talk a bit about my process.

 I had decided quite a long time ago that this is what I wanted to do.  I usually do a sketch out of what I'm thinking, mostly for a size reference.

It's funny, once I started drawing the ideas flooded in on how I wanted to do this mini.

 My notes scribbled on the paper. 

 First I made the stand along mattresses.  Selvedges sewn with a layer of batting and a thin backing material.  When I laid it on the background material, I decided it would probably be best if I quilted the background first, since everything going on top was embellishments that would be a pain to quilt around.

 Minis are great for Frankenbatting.

 The background quilted and ready to go. 

 The next day.... (you can tell by the better lighting)  I added a lace bed skirt and some bed posts.

 Now, the ladder.  It is puffy paint drawn onto wax paper and peeled off. 

 I worked perfectly.  I did let it "cure" for 72 hours, like the bottle recommended.

 In fact, it worked so well, I made two.  Actually, the first one was too short.  Oops.  It was fine.  I kind of like the more rickety looking ladder anyway.

 I used Aleene's Glitter and Gem glue to secure the ladder in a few key places.  I knew I could never draw the ladder directly on the fabric and have it turn out OK.  No where to go if you screw it up.

 Let's see, what else.  I originally just had the brown wooden beads on the top of the bed posts, but they needed something more, so I added more beads.

 The pillow is a layer of fabric and batting sewn and then turned right side out.  I ended up stem stitching around in red to make the pillow pop.  Otherwise it blended into the background.

And there you have it.  The Princess and the Pea.