Welcome!

Please help me welcome Rhonda from Vegan Dispatches from Vancouver. Rhonda is trying for the second time to become vegan and stay with it. Follow her progress on her blog.

Meet Eddie

Eddie has a somewhat inflated view of his looks now that he’s older. He’s still imagining himself the way he looked in 1977. Unfortunately, the years have taken their toll and Eddie is no longer the “hot young thing” he once was (or at least thought he was, lol.) He no longer has the body to wear a racing suit but hasn’t let that stop him. Eddie has hair just about everywhere on his body except his head at this point in his life – even his back is hairy!

Maybe Eddie and Carole should get together, lol.

I've just taken a man out of the oven

Oh the things that dollmakers get to say, lol. I'm working on the male version of the middle aged bathing beauty. The sculpting part went well. Next up is making him hairy and dressing him in a Speedo. I'll post photos when he's finished. It looks like blogger is allowing photos again this afternoon.

Back later!

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Amy of Amy's Miniatures and Smalls. Amy collects and plays with Lundby dollhouses. Also please welcome Ana of Tiny Delights. Ana has beautiful mini food on her blog. Please stop by and say hello to both ladies!

A comparison shot

I just thought I'd show my quarter scale townhouse with the 1:12 townhouse. Both of these are Victorian. I don't usually do Victorian but it was fun to do the two one inch scale houses and this little one, too.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Anneke. Her blog is called pieplyts and she's working on a beautiful dollhouse. Also welcome Monica. Her blog highlights some lovely contemporary minis. Please stop by and say hello.

Cleaning, laundry AND minis!

Yes, it's true. I swept and mopped the main living areas, finished the laundry and had time to mini. All before 3:00 pm! The quarter scale townhouse is finished except for artwork and little (and I do mean little!) accessories. This first photo shows the parlor. The rug is a piece of woven ribbon. The sofa was made from a piece of potpourri and beads with a little paint. The low table is just a cut down version of the larger dining table. The fern is bits of moss planted in a tiny plastic cup. Everything else was used pretty much as it came out of the package.
I painted the stove a flat black - the brown plastic just didn't cut it, lol. I painted the pump handle black but I think I want to use a bit of metallic paint on the pump itself.
I changed the bedding, added a cushion to the chair and cut the bowl down a bit in the pitcher/bowl set.
Again, I used this stuff straight out of the package. The towel was cut from the original bedspread and the rug is a snippet of woven ribbon.
In the nursery, I had to make more. The beds and bassinet were made from some of the punch outs from the windows. The little table between the chairs is the stool that came with the bathroom set. I added a little wood top.

All but the furniture

I love how the brick exterior turned out~It looks so much more elegant than the overscale siding that was scribed into the front.
You can't see in the photo but the parlor and the bedroom both have borders at the ceiling level. I have several of the finished quarter scale room sets of furniture that my friend gave me. I am working on personalizing those now.

Big Progress on a Little Project

So far, so good. I did make one significant mistake but was able to come up with a solution to fix it. The kit is not difficult but doesn't have real instructions. The diecut sheets are simply shown with each tab and slot numbered. You have to match everything up. There's no order to any of it - just sort of guess and go. The windows make it difficult to cut the paper around the holes. I'm not sure how I'm gonna do the wallpaper inside. The door doesn't even come out so I have to sort of guess at cutting that opening for the wallpaper.
I will divide each floor into at least two rooms. Kitchen and parlor downstairs and bedroom and bathroom upstairs. The interior colors are shades of pink and burgundy.

I must be crazy!

My friend, Brenda, gave me some quarter scale furniture - I think she just wanted to challenge me to try a smaller scale. It worked...here's the start of my new quarter scale townhouse. I've covered it in brick paper that I reduced to an appropriate scale. I made wallpaper the same way. Wish me luck with this project! I'm not sure I have enough patience or dexterity, lol.

I've been busy but I did find a little mini time...

I made a halogen torchiere lamp for Maria today. That corner under the stairs was very dark. ;0) It was very simple. The post is a fancy toothpick in a base made of a bead and a button. The shade is a small suction cup with a clear bead light bulb.
It looks real and also helps keep the couch from sliding back against the wall.

The Bathing Beauty!?

This is Carole. She's never come to terms with the changes her body has made as she's aged. Apparently, no one has been brave enough to tell her, either. :0)
I made all of her accessories.
She even has a tattoo on her ankle!

The inspiration for Carole came from Sandi at WhimsyCottageMinis. Thanks, Sandi!

I think Spring has really sprung!

I spotted this lovely little crocus while saying goodbye to my daughter yesterday. It's a wonderful reminder that warmer weather will be here to stay very soon.

I'm having internet issues at home again so don't worry if I'm not posting as frequently as usual. One of this week's projects is to search again for a new provider now that the old contract has expired. Wish me luck!

Tin house up close

Mom didn't have any nursery furniture left. The green desk and bunkbeds are from the 1940s/1950s. The baby furniture is circa 1963.

BeyondBaffled asked for some closer photos of the tin lithographed houses. These photos are of my mom's dollhouse. I used as much of her original furniture as I could - even repaired some pieces. I also left in some pieces that my sister and I added so not everything is true to period.
In the living room I added the piano and the hutch. I had to make new legs for the orange swirl chair and purchase three more dining chairs as Mom was down to just one.
In the kitchen, the stove, refrigerator, table and blue chairs were Mom's. I had to replace the sink and matching cabinet. I added the red chairs, high chair, washing machine and ironing board. The dolls throughout this house are 1960s era and were not Mom's.
Mom didn't have any bedroom furniture left. The chaise lounge was mine as a little girl. It came with my Sleeping Beauty Kiddle doll. The bed and lamp are 1960s era. Everything else is from the original time period.
Oops, I see the hamper has fallen over. The hamper, sink and toilet were Mom's. I added the tub and put a new seat on the toilet.

And now for the rest of the story...

These two houses are my very first ones. I made the Artply Bobbi (on the right) when I was pregnant for my oldest. The Greenleaf Canterbury was done when I was pregnant for my middle child.
The Greenleaf Jefferson was built when I was pregnant for my last child. It represents our real house as it was in 1993. Since Christmas is my favorite time of year, the house is always decorated for Christmas. On the right is a garden made in an aquarium.
This house is a RGT Vermont Farmhouse, Jr. It represents the farmhouse I grew up in in the 1970s.
De's Diner on the left was made in a 1950s era tin breadbox. The DuraCraft house is Santa and Mrs. Claus's home.
These two houses are both decorated in Victorian style. The one on the left is the RGT Victorian Cottage, Jr. The parents of the lady in the other house live here. The left house is similar to the RGT Allison, Jr. but it's a Petite Dreams Victorian. I think there are more staff than family in this house, lol.

So, there you have it. My entire dollhouse/roombox collection. I'm pretty much out of room and I don't want to sell anything out of my collection so I may have to learn to like 1:144. :0)

While I'm at it...

I may as well post the rest of the photos. First, in the living/dining rooms I currently have the beach cottage, the back porch, the half scale Colonial and the log cabin. There are photos of all of the those somewhere on the blog page.This is Harriet's Kitchen. It's the last of the rooms in my craft room. Harriet has the grandchildren over for a visit.
This wedding gazebo was made in a bird feeder. It hangs from a hook over the window in my bedroom.
This is a plastic canvas house made for me by my favorite of hubby's aunts. At the time my kids' rooms were blue, yellow and pink. The colors she used downstairs are the colors we had in the main living areas then, too. This one sits on the floor in my bedroom as it is child friendly if young ones come over to see the dollhouses.
These two tin lithographed houses have the same interior. The one on the left was my mother's when she was a child. She still had a lot of the original furniture. I added some as well. Her version has an opening front door. I thought her house had been thrown away during a move so hubby bought me the one on the right for an anniversary gift. Mine doesn't have an opening front door. The exteriors are painted differently, too. These are Playsteel houses made by the National Can Company in the 1940s. These houses are on a shelf in my bedroom.

The Potting Shed

Caterina asked for some closer photos of the garden center that I made in a watering can. I had been collecting garden themed items for awhile (my mom gave me a lot of it) and just couldn't figure out what container to use. I was really excited when I thought of the watering can because it's unique and very inexpensive.This was my first real attempt at landscaping. These photos don't show it but I've since added a resin pond at the back of center (behind the handle.) The bags on either side of the path are river rocks (aquarium gravel) and mulch (dried tea).
An online friend sent me some great printies to use to stock the shelves. There are also lots of pots, tools, watering cans, bird houses, straw hats, seeds, and various lawn ornaments.
Most of the plants are outside. The little signs indicate prices.
The floor was made with styrofoam and covered with wood finished paper.
I even used some broken pots to make the planters next to the steps.

Welcome!

Please help me welcome Sandi of WhimsyCottageMinis. (The link will take you to her etsy shop.) Sandi is a friend and teammate of my etsy group, Team Mids. She makes unique items in both 1:12 and 1:144 scale. Her 1:144 houses and rooms are absolutely amazing! Please stop by her shop and check it out.

Thanks, Sandi, for following.

Rearranging

I moved some books to my bedroom and brought some roomboxes down to my craft room. The result is that most of the rooms are now in the craftroom. The top shelf holds a man's game room, the doctor's office, and a Christmas living room. The second shelf holds Brown's Mercantile general store, my little witch scene and the street scene my brother's friend made for me.
This is my bedroom collection. Two nurseries, one little girl's room, one country style woman's room and one "before the wedding" room in a suitcase.
Magnolia Way and Storybook Weddings Bridal Shoppe
The Potting Shed garden center

Welcome!

Please say hello to Mary Williams of Mary Williams Dollshouse Dolls . Mary makes beautiful period dolls. The costuming is amazing. A visit to her blog is well worth your time. Thanks, Mary, for following.

She must be an attorney!

I think the half scale house office is finished. I think Maria must be an attorney as that bookcase looks to be filled with law books. It looks like I need to color the edge on this side of the desk but other than that I can call one more room complete. I don't think there's anything else that I had in mind for the house. There may be a few more accessories but it's all basically finished. This was a very fun project for me and I learned some new skills as I tried to figure out how to work in the smaller scale. Thanks for following along as I worked and offering so many positive comments. Your encouragement means a lot!

Hall table and mirror

A friend gave me a CD filled with all kinds of mini ideas. One was bar stools made with champagne cages. That gave me the idea for this glass topped table. The glass was cut from a Pringles potato chip lid. The mirror is a scrapbook sticker. I added a bead vase. It's the perfect accent table for the landing.

Time for a workout

I figured out how to make the treadmill. It gave me all kinds of fits but the end product looks real so I guess it was worth it, lol.

After a few alterations...

Maria has been filled out a little and I pulled her hair back. That makes her head look a little more proportional. She seems to be settling in to her house very well. :0)