Shannon's mini blog

Found it!

2011-10-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Here it is! The printable books I was wanting! Thank you to Carrie for offering great printable books. And thank you also to all of you that responded to my question! It is much appreciated.

I now have another question! I received these pieces with the Chrysnbon hall stand kit. I think the piece still attached to the frame thing is a door stop. Not sure what the others are though. Anyone know?

On other non-mini news, we booked our flights to Paris last week! Very exciting! It is a long way off - 7 months! - but some of the places we wanted to stay are already booked out! Crazy! So we are going ahead and booking our accommodation now too. In the search for great places to stay, I found this picture and thought you might be interested:

It is a seaside residence in Saint-Malo.

And lastly, a little bit of interior inspiration, which popped up in a google images search:

So pretty! I am definitely reproducing this room. Not sure which project though.... there are of course too many! Have a great Friday everyone.

Printable books??

2011-09-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all. This is just a quick post to ask a quick question. I few weeks or so ago, someone posted some mini printable books on their blog. Now I can't find who. Can anyone please help me? Thanks all and have a great day!

French shop needs maintenance already!!

2011-09-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

I learnt a lesson the other day - those styrene sheets don't stay white. The floor tiles that I haven't painted have yellowed. You can see in the photo that half the flooring is yellow and the rest is still white. I don't even keep my house in sunlight. Very disappointing. Now it will need to be painted.

On the upside, I managed to almost finish the spare bedroom. I need to hook the light up and then hang some pictures. Then I think it's done. (for the record, my husband bought me a spanky new camera and it's taking awesome pics so easily - no skill required!!)

I have actually been doing other mini-ing, but right now I can't find the photos... Perhaps I'll take some more with the new camera.

And lastly, just thought I'd throw in a pic of the chest of drawers in my real life spare bedroom, where the dollhouse currently resides.

Hope you all enjoy the remains of the weekend.

Some half scale furniture

2011-08-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

In my never-ending search for half scale furniture, I found these little pieces on Etsy (oh Etsy, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...). They arrived in these little boxes with a pretty ribbon tied around each one. Soooo cute! Plus the seller sent some little doilies and some metal findings. So sweet! I haven't unboxed them all - they were just too cute - but in the remaining boxes are four side chairs and another arm chair to match the one in the pictures.

Although they will not go into the Rosedale, I've photographed them here just because it looks better than on my kitchen bench!

Problems with scale

2011-07-03T00:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time between posts as usual. Thought I'd do a quick update on some projects.

I attempted to make a half scale bed. I like it a lot but it is too big, even though it is true to scale. I have pictured it here in my Buttercup against a half scale Phoenix chair. The chair makes the bed look even bigger. I will now need to remake it smaller to suit the scale of the Buttercup.

The pictures below are of my Canterbury (by Greenleaf). I partially constructed it some time ago and it sat in my junk room until I could think what I wanted to do with it. It is supposed to be 1" scale but it's really about 3/4". I intend buying some vintage furniture, much of which is this scale. I asked Janny if she would mind if I made a built in cabinet type bed and she graciously said yes. Thanks Janny! So here it is, yet to be finished. But I like it so far. This will be a girl's room.

Here is an overall shot of the interior. You can see the kitchen started with a vintage stove unit to the right. I loved the wallpaper in the kitchen ofJulie's Sid Cooke Edwardian shop so put it in my own kitchen. Upstairs will be a sitting room and main bedroom. The exterior will look like a Disney cottage. Will show pictures shortly.

Cabinet for my French shop

2011-04-12T01:35:00.000-07:00

I recently made this little cabinet for the entry of my French shop. Not so convinced about it, now that I see it in the photo. Maybe with handles and a few accessories, it will look better. Maybe it could do with a thicker top? Also, I don't think the chair will stay (it is actually borrowed from Little Red's tearoom - I am sure she will want it back soon!).

Chateau Challain la Potherie

2011-03-03T22:31:00.000-08:00

Is the name of the chateau we stayed in, in the Loire Valley. Here is the link!

New inspiration

2011-03-02T23:04:00.001-08:00

My husband and I have been planning our next France trip (a whole 12 months + away but you can never start too early I always say!) so we're excited about all things French at the moment. Especially given that we were supposed to be going in about 2 months but have put it off to next year. So we got thinking about going back to the chateau where we got engaged and decided we had to go back there for a couple of nights. Here are some pictures of the gorgeous interior which may inspire some of you Francophiles!

This was the room we stayed in:

This was our bathroom:

This was the breakfast nook tucked in the passageway between the bathroom and bedroom:

Another breakfast setting in one of the rooms (one of my favourite rooms - I even bought this fabric for my own home!):

Gorgeous bedroom:

This was the King's bedroom (apparently they had to include a King's bedroom in case he came to stay - for the record, he never did!):

The coat room:

The hallway. The staircase, entry and central halls had hundreds of handcarved corbells with gargoyles/trolls/animals etc on them, and every one was different:

This is the exterior of the chateau. It was built in the mid-1800's I believe and has 120 rooms. We only got to see the bottom 2 storeys plus the basement (kitchen/servant's quarters). We stayed in the room in the tower on the left hand side of the photo, second window up.

So we want to go back to explore a bit better and to see the parts that have been restored since we went. Hope you find these inspiring!

Exciting news

2011-01-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

I had some of my cottages printed in the current issue of Miniature Collector magazine! Unfortunately they got my name wrong. Ah well, I have always been called Sharon by those who don't know me/have just met me.

Also, in case you are interested, I will be starting a blog on my sewing/dress-making. I have been stewing over this change in career for quite a few years, and now finally I have taken some steps towards starting my own clothing label. It will be classic/vintage in style, not trendy. Anyways, this is it if you wish to see how I go on my journey!

Rosedale progress

2010-12-31T21:51:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the poor quality of my pictures. It seems I just can't take any good ones with it (I am sure it's the user, not the camera!).

I have added strips of mountboard to add height in the attic and then added faschia strips on the exterior to strengthen the added walls and allow something for the roof to butt against. Here is a picture of it so far, without the roof.

This pic is just to show the main bedroom. A shelf unit will fit in that corner where there is no wallpaper (to the left of the pic).

The last pic shows the lounge room. I covered over the transom over the door, as with the transom and door frame, I wouldn't fit cornice, so I will cut off the transom frame from the door frame and then I can have cornice!

And all the best for a fantastic 2011!

Merry Christmas everyone

2010-12-24T13:16:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone takes it easy over the Christmas break, and if you are travelling, please take extra care. Christmas isn't an easy time for a lot of people (my father died at Christmas-time 11 years ago) and it's the time we remember those who aren't with us. It's also a time to appreciate those we love.

So have a wonderful Christmas everyone. And eat, drink and be merry!

Sugar plum fairy's cottage

2010-12-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

I'd always wanted to do a Sugar plum fairy's cottage out of the Greenleaf Sugarplum kit. But when I received my free kit for this year's miniatures.com creating contest, I decided to make it into the cottage, against my better judgement. In my opinion, the proportions were wrong. I should've gone with my first instinct and made it into a chocolate shop. Given it wasn't working from the start, I never had much motivation to keep going. It isn't finished, and I am a bit disappointed with it, but with a few borrowed minis from my other projects, I managed to fill it enough to enter the contest.

I still want to make the Sugarplum into my real Sugar plum fairy cottage in future. And finish it the way I'd originally intended.

Loving the half scale Greenleaf kits!

2010-11-01T16:04:00.000-07:00

So you will all be aware of the numerous projects I've started of late and haven't finished. Well, I am making some more! I've put together my half scale Buttercup and Rosedale.

I thought I'd blog this in case anyone else was interested in how I altered these kits.

Firstly, my Buttercup, which will be a gardener's cottage. I love Greenleaf kits but they always make the attics too small. So I raised the roof. I cut the gable ends off at ceiling height (ie just above the slots on the walls) and glued a strip of 2mm cardboard around to extend the wall height. You will see in my photos the grey cardboard added in. The inside is harder to see as I have painted it already, but you can see the vertical walls below the sloping roof, which is the added in part. Quite simple really, but made the attic much more usable.

Secondly, in my Rosedale, I wanted to make the stairwell open on the second floor into it's own hall rather than into the large room. So I cut the bannister/railing off the lounge room wall flush with the ceiling, put a small piece of scrap ply into the stairwell opening to close it off a bit, and cut the interior wall off the small second floor room. I will hopefully make this clearer as I go along.

I think I will fill in under the stairwell a little in the kitchen, to make space for a fireplace/stove. Here is a pic of under the stairwell.

Picasso gallery in Paris

2010-10-28T02:17:00.001-07:00

Karin Corbin has blogged about Picasso art in her home town. My husband and I are also Picasso fans and so visited the gallery when we were in Paris. It was undergoing renovations whilst we were there and so they had erected a giant mirror to hide the renovations. The mirror reflected one half of the building, so it looked like a whole.

It aligned with a false wall on the inside also, so from the inside, it looked like the whole building had been sliced in half by a giant sheet of plaster/glass. It was very clever.

It was also interesting to note that the interior walls were all false and it was obvious that they sat away from the original walls. We guessed they did this to preserve the original building.

French restoration and renovation is light-years ahead of any such practices we have in Australia. Most large public buildings being renovated had large sheets of some sort of mesh over the scaffolding with printed life-size images of the building that was being renovated on it. Very clever.

My favourite...

2010-09-10T00:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks Karin for the beautiful picture of the Belle Epoque villa - I love it and look forward to seeing more pictures. I loved the rustic French cottages, especially the stone ones. But my favourite one from our trip to France was this one:

It is not a good photo because we took it from a moving bus! It is in Vannes, which was a very cute seaside town in Brittany. We didn't have time to get off and take proper photos so we had to rely on the camera's sportsmode! We managed to get enough for a rough idea of the front. I will one day make this into a 1:12 mini version with an art nouveau interior.

And Linda, have an amazing time in France and Italy. I look forward to seeing your photos and some tips for travel in Italy!

Yay! Pics uploaded this time!

2010-09-05T03:02:00.000-07:00

So here is another shot of the study with the sewing room through the door.

This is the chair I covered. Not sure about the table accessories though. I think I need a pot plant.

The bookcase I finished and mantle. I need some flowers for the urn, or a topiary. The cute triple picture frame is from Cynthia Howe, but it doesn't stand properly (my fault - made the hinge too short!).

And lastly is a table I made with some accessories. Might need to antique the boxes a bit?? Otherwise a good start!

More on the French shop

2010-09-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

I know I have been pretty quiet of late, but I have been working on my minis. My husband and I had a week of holidays at the snow (there wasn't a lot of snow, but lots of sunshine!) so I took the opportunity to get some mini-ing done. I don't seem to be having much luck with blogger this afternoon - my photos refuse to upload. Will try to upload them later for you to see.

I have made some progress on the French shop. I made some books and filled the bookcase for the salon with them and some figurines I've painted in the past. Also antiqued a bird cage for the table. Also covered a Bespaq chair and sofa but need some cushions now for the sofa.

I have almost finished the study. I am wondering if the floor needs to be paler and maybe dirtier?

The dining room, bathroom, entry and salon are almost done, as is the kitchen, save for a few minor items. I am not sure these will ever be finished - the search for elusive mini homewares is a long and difficult one!

Chantilly stonework

2010-07-01T00:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a while and I was procrastinating a bit with the stonework, but it is now done and has some paint on it. Yet to add the verandah and trim, and finish the paperclaying.

Here is an armoire I painted and added fabric inserts to. I think it will have mirror in the centre panel.

And lastly a pic of the staircase - not yet finished. Not exciting, but just so you can see!

Chantilly progress

2010-05-29T00:20:00.001-07:00

I am not too far off finishing the shell. I need to do some paper-claying first though before I can add all the trim, and that will be the slow part. I couldn't decide completely what colour to paint all the trim. I knew I wanted it dark. In the end I decided I'd make it look a little like the cottages at Marie Antoinette's village at Versailles and just went with timber.

I meant to take photos before it got too dark, but lost track of time. So apologies for the crappiness of my pics!

The porch roof isn't attached yet. I will remove it to decorate further I think. I just needed it there to get the bay window straight.

I just painted the floors to look like timber, but then I found cute sheets of half scale parquet, which I'd like to use but I'm not sure how well the sheets will join (ie they're too small alone to finish each room). And also, how would I do the stairs to match? I was thinking of maybe covering the stair treads with the parquet sheets and painting all other parts ivory to match the skirting/architrave, or just painting it all ivory, but that may look funny against a timber floor. So maybe I'll tile the salon. Will order the parquet anyways and decide when it arrives I suppose!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I need to do some sewing tomorrow as a friend had a baby. It's always hard to do something else when you're on a mini roll!

Greenleaf's half scale Chantilly

2010-05-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have been hanging out for this kit for sooo long. I adore it. And so hence, when it arrived, I couldn't help myself - I had to start putting it together!

It will be French, simple but elegant. I think the exterior trim will be dark brown, the walls will be a beige stucco and there will be a stone base. Many places we saw in France had a hexagonal/honeycomb patterned rocking around the base (or around the walls like in my photo) which I really liked.

The downstairs will have a salon and salle a manger, and the upstairs will have a boudoir and chambre. I am using Bespaq furniture. The half scale furniture available (what little there is) is so varying in scale, you can't mix brands. Such a pain.

As an update on my Gingerbread Cottage, I've hit a snag. I made a small kitchen bench/sink to go in, but forgot to measure the height of the window. The bench is subsequently too tall and can be seen from the outside through the window. I could of course just move it, but I don't like any other options. I may have to ditch it and make a very small sink to fit beside the window. Plus I need more materials.

The project list

2010-05-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading someone's blog the other day, and they'd posted a list of all the projects they wanted to do. It was quite interesting, so thought I'd do the same. These are all my one inch scale wanna-dos:

- French chateau - large, fancy townhouse (a bit like Linda's!), to use up a lot of French ideas I have.
- Small castle - like Rik Pierce's Toadmoor Manor. I already have all the furniture.
- Dura-craft Heritage - I will use some bits from an incomplete Heritage kit to make a Toad Hall gothic English manor house.
- Greenleaf Sugarplum - rustic xmas cottage (pink, white, silver).
- Greenleaf Willowcrest - Very Victorian!
- Greenleaf Beacon Hill - I have always loved it. It will be a vaguely Cinderella themed house in rich pink, green, gold and black.
- Dura-craft Sweetheart - Cottage. No real theme, just a cottage!
- Art Nouveau house - modelled after a gorgeous cottage in France. Pale olive, cream, caramel, black, duck egg blue, those sorts of tones.
- Dutch canal house - scratch built.
- English townhouse - a bit more fantasy style than English though.
- Dura-craft Chelsea - Aqua, white and red summer cottage.
- Greenleaf Brimbles Merchantile - Will become a Martha's Vineyard style cottage in earthy French tones. Timber/black lacquer furniture, etc.

That's a lot, isn't it??? I will be busy for ever!

I also have some shops on the list, including a doll shop (in a Houseworks shop), a chocolaterie (actually two of those!), perfumerie and an Easter shop (this is well on it's way, I am just being lazy!).

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend. It is my 6-month wedding anniversary today! Yay for us!

Getting rid of some furniture

2010-05-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

I have come to the realisation that I just don't have the space for a lot of large houses, so I am trying to cull my collection a little. I am selling this furniture if anyone is interested. Send me a message if you are interested and make an offer. Please note I do not have original boxes.

This first bed is a JBM one. The finial had come off (as per usual) during shipping, but I have glued it back on and you can't tell.

This is a Hansson bedroom set. Again, the finials had come off during shipping but I have carefully glued them back on. I'd like to sell it as a set.

This next one has been lightly sanded (you can see some scratches). Fine if you want to paint it or rough it up some more.

Garden chair.

Unfinished bed, Classics by Handley.

Canopy bed by Bespaq. I had started to remove the hideous fabric on the canopy.

Bespaq clawfoot dining table, matches the Roderick chairs.

Bespaq milady chaise, unfinished.

Unfinished chairs and coffee table. I have four of the chairs in the centre.

Three armchairs. The one with the toile fabric I made myself from a House of Miniatures kit.

And lastly, three Bespaq bar stools. They are all supposed to be walnut, but the middle one is a bit darker.

Which bed?

2010-05-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

Or rather, which finish? I need some advice please! I can't decide whether I like the bed for my Gingerbread cottage plain timber or with fabric panels. Please ignore the roughness of my sanding - it isn't finished. Also, I won't neaten it up if I put fabric panels on it.

Also, here's a pic of some seating for the cottage. I have yet to add piping/cord trim to neaten them up a bit, and can't decide whether the timber should have a sheen or be matte.

I am still working on the house itself, but need some of the styrene stone sheeting, as I am not good at the paperclay stone thing!

Award and cool website

2010-04-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is making up a heading the worst part of blogging??

Anyways, thank you to Jaime at JLilRoomer for the lovely award. I now need to give it to five other blogs. I've done some blog-surfing tonight - gotta love Friday nights, lots of time to spend doing nothing! So I thought I'd pass this on to some of the awesome blogs I found tonight:

ShinyNewThing (sorry I don't know your real name) from A Greenleaf Fairfield for Miss Lydia Pickett

Ingrid from mijn droomwereldje

Sylvia (I think!) from Miniaturas Natasylvia

Margaret from My Petit Parterre

Carol from True2Scale

All these ladies do some seriously gorgeous work. Go over and check them out if you haven't already.

And as for the cool website, if you're looking for something that's not quite mini-ing, or maybe if you have some kids you need to entertain, check out this site. It's awesome! I haven't made anything from there yet, but a few people from work have.

Have a great weekend!!

On to next project

2010-04-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Although I have not finished the French shop. A few stumbling blocks there!

I loved the gingerbread house that Teresa Layman did and more so her mini gingerbread houses that she was teaching at the Philadelphia Miniaturia I think. Very sweet. I decided that the Duracraft Lafayette was crying out to be a gingerbread cottage. So I have commenced down that road!

I hadn't intended for it to be too Christmasy but then I scrounged out some metal minis I'd painted a couple of years ago and so will put them into the cottage. These are dollhouse-size ornaments so a maximum of about an inch high.

I am still waiting on some furniture and will need to order more, but unfortunately I only get paid so much!! Also the wood trim that is supposed to go around the windows is too wide, so I need to trim some of it down. That is a real pain. Never mind, I don't need much of it. Hopefully there may be more progress pics soon!

2010-03-01T01:05:00.000-08:00

The lovely Daisy from Antique Daisy has given me this award:

Thanks Daisy! I am pleased that you enjoy my blog so much that you gave me this award! Now I need to give it to 6 other bloggers:

Julie at Diary of an Edwardian Dollshouse, because I love this shop and have found her diary very inspiring and useful.
Karin at Karin Corbin Miniatures because she not only makes gorgeous minis, she is full of fantastic tips, encouragement and patience, of which I am very jealous!
Nell at Miniature Miniatures, for same reasons as Karin - she is true inspiration.
Joanna at Joanna Thomas Art Dolls because her dolls are what little (and big!) girls dream of.
Gina at More Minis, because her blog is very comprehensive and provides awesome advice for building various kits.
And lastly, to Mariella at Muffa Miniatures. Her crochet darlings are so tiny and detailed. She is very talented.

French shop under way!

2010-01-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

I did some work on my little shop over the weekend and here are some part-way-there shots. You'll see the chains of the lights dangling all over the place - I haven't fixed them to the ceiling yet!

The back room is accessable - the wall pops out!

I think it will be a gourmet foods shop. I hope to buy some Lisa's Little Things kits some time to go in it.

Lastly, here is a pic of my half scale chateau that I did for the 2009 Miniatures.com contest. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps one day I will have the patience to finish it off properly. It is loosely based on Lea Frisoni's, which is the subject of her DIY book.

Long time, no posts

2009-12-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and merry Christmas! It has been a busy few months with lots going on. We married in November and so I thought I'd show a picture of my dress. I don't do it justice, but I can't do much about that!

And a picture of my ring! I love it so much.

We had our honeymoon in far north Queensland, which was fantastic. We sat in or beside the pool with or without cocktails! We spent the week relaxing but also spent an afternoon snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef which was amazing. Here is a photo of the view from our little platform/balcony over the pool. I think that might be me in the pool.

And here is a picture of an old chandelier that was in a 'rustic' pub there. It was so beautiful.

We ended up having to work over the Christmas weekend, so we didn't get to spend Christmas with our family and only opened our presents today. Which was lucky as I had ordered my husband's present a little late and it only arrived today!

I also finished my miniatures.com competition entry, so I will try to find photos of it to show you all (it's not good and by no means finished!).

Some awards

2009-10-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say a big thank you to my followers - as of today, I have 111 followers!

Also, have received some awards recently which are just lovely. Thank you to Synnove and Maria Jose.

So first up, the rules:

1.Thank the person who gave this to you.
2.Copy the logo and place it in your blog.
3.Link the person who nominated you.
4.Name 7 things about yourself that no one would reall know.
5.Nominate seven "Kreativ Bloggers"
6.Post links to the seven blogs you nominate.
7.Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know that you nominate them.

You don´t know this about me:

1. I am currently making my wedding dress - hope to finish it this weekend for my wedding in three weeks.
2. I hate my job.
3. I am obsessive-compulsive about plucking my eyebrows!
4. I long for a daybed on my front verandah to sit in the sun amongst feather pillows to read and drink cocktails as long as I like!
5. I have hang-ups about trading my old car in for a new one - she has given me good service for many years.
6. I was awarded a scholarship for my secondary school.
7. I am always cold, particularly at work.

Next award. I think it is supposed to go to 10 people.

I am passing both these awards on to all my followers and the blogs I follow. I find you all so interesting and inspiring, you all deserve a medal!

Just in time for Halloween

2009-10-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

Thought you all may be interested in seeing Julien Martinez's dollhouse. Very very cool and detailed and grungy:

Check out all his custom Blythe dolls, if you're game! (My fiance is freaked out!!)

Quick update on French Shop

2009-10-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger of late. Trying to organise my wedding stuff (hating it) and working on my miniatures.com competition entry. But I've partially painted my shingles at long last! I think they need some more colour to give them some variation. Also need to paint the gutters and then add trim around the very top of the roof.

I have pretty much finished the kitchen I think, except for the addition of some very cute little crochet potholders I purchased. I need to make a little hook to hang one beside the stove.

I think when I get the roof painting finished, it will be time to move it off the work table and start something else. Something smaller and quicker this time though!!

photo challenge!!!

2009-08-07T03:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those for passing on this fun challenge - the fourth photo from the fourth folder. Now I have a million folders inside folders, so it's a little convoluted for me. Anyways, it was passed on from Linda at Une Petite Folie, Donna at Never Enough Time and Jaime at A Little Roomer
.

Ok, so here they are!

Firstly, a photo I found ... somewhere. I love the bed, something like what I'd love in real life (yeah right as if I'd be that lucky!!). It's the fourth photo in the fourth folder.

Next is not my photo, it is my fiancee's (Michael). He took it when he was out fire-fighting a couple of years ago. It's an old mine. The place where he was working AT NIGHT was full of them, and of course they couldn't see them at night and because there was forest all around them. Once it got burnt and it was daylight, they realised how much danger they had been in. It was the eighth photo in the eighth folder, which is Michael's, not mine!

And lastly, one I found on Flickr I think. So very cute!! I want a squirrel for a pet. It was the fourth photo in my pictures folder, as I didn't have a 12th folder.

I'm passing on to:
Debbie at Tiny Treasures
Sabiha at Sab's Mini Interiors
Karin at Karin Corbin Miniatures
Evelien at Ejacreates.

Not finished but...

2009-07-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

I have reached a point where I am a little tired of the French Shoppe. I think this is because a) it's taking much longer than I wanted it to, b) there are some bits I need but can't find and c) I've reached the point where there are a heap of annoying things to do!! Eg undercoating, sanding and then painting the shingles. Let it be known that I will NEVER use wood shingles again. It will only ever be either the styrene sheets or paper (or whatever else doesn't need so much prep work).

I've decided the shop will be a gourmet food store, using as many of the Lisa's Little Things kits that I can get my greasy mits on!

So here's the bedroom. I've got a few more pictures to hang and the light needs another coat of paint and the chair (which you can't see) needs some finishing.

I am considering shelving it temporarily until I can finish it. I need some bits for it that I just can't decide on/find. You know those perfect, elusive pieces of furniture??? Where are they? I figure maybe I am better to leave it until I find that perfect something and stop stressing over it.

Next is another project I've been working on. Won't say too much, but it's also going slower than I hoped, as I am waiting on parts.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cynthia Howe delightfulness

2009-07-29T00:34:00.000-07:00

I am considering buying a desktop laser cutter when I get my tax return this year, but then got to thinking, there are websites that offer small lot custom laser cutting... but which website did I see it on??? I went searching, and Cynthia Howe's website is one that I thought might've been where I saw it. I was wrong, but I did find this:

It's so sweet! I adore it! It's an online class that you can register for and the kit includes everything (other than accessories). Just adore it.

I also found this cool dollhouse for sale on Ebay a while back. I love the non-traditional dollhouse. I decided a while back that any dollhouse I build from now on has to open either at the front or side, unless it's a small (1/2 or 1/4 scale) one. Except for the tiny cottages/shops which can be moved easily.

It is based on a real-life French house. I'm thinking it forms a good base for an art nouveau house I will build 'sometime'!

And as for the laser cutter, I found which website it was (Karen Cary's) and need to carry out further investigations to figure out whether it's worth it.

Yes, I've been slack!

2009-07-03T02:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing too much mini-ing recently. I intend on doing some purchasing this weekend for my French shoppe (and yes I believe shopping IS a ligitimate mini-ing activity!!) and hopefully get a bit more undercoating of the roof shingles done (it's a terrible job).

So anyways, found some really cool pics recently so thought I'd share.

First up, not sure where I found this (maybe Flickr??), but it's sooooo cute! I MUST recreate it one day:

Found this one on flickr today, and absolutely fell in love with it. Take a look at their account.

Next one I found on a website for the special effects company that worked on the Lemony Snickett movie (can't remember the name of them). It would be so awesome for a witch/haunted dollhouse. Love it.

And last one, again, can't remember where I found it but love it. Such a pretty room with a modern twist. Love the colours.

New little house

2009-06-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

I don't really like it much. Well, I like the exterior but will probably redo the interior. Which may be difficult given it is basically impossible to get the bed out - it broke as I was trying to get it in, it was such a tight squeeze. It was for the Greenleaf Spring Fling, and I just didn't have enough time to do it. I kept changing my mind about what to do, so that didn't help!

Here is an overall shot of the interior.

Next is a shot of the living area. To the right is the kitchen part. I have some better photos, but they're on my other computer. The Phoenix stove (on the far right) is now in my French shop!

Next, the bedroom.

Next is the exterior. The front has a telescope for watching ships and sand castles.

Lastly, a side shot. Not too exciting. For some reason, the stick was to be standing up.

I think when I redo the interior, it will be in the colourway of the exterior - more blue-grey and rustic colours. Also needs more seaside-y things inside.

Photos of the Petite Trianon

2009-05-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

I could quite happily live in the Petite Trianon. This was built by Louis 16 and Marie Antoinette and was where Marie Antoinette spent a lot of her time. It was just so seriously gorgeous and many of the rooms were quite small and cosy.

This photo shows her bedroom with the fabric made especially for her.The furniture all matched and it was sold off after her arrest, but most of it was recovered and put back in the Petite Trianon (from recollection by Napoleon), except for the bed which was never found.

Next is the sitting room which was beside her bedroom. It had a panel which was on some sort of sliding track which came up through the floor to cover the window (you can see it reflected in the mirror - it's halfway over the window).

Lastly is a small sleigh, which looks much larger than it actually was. I don't think it would even fit a child in it (except for a very small one!). Very cute.

More France pics at long last!

2009-05-23T22:34:00.001-07:00

I have chosen some more pictures to show you all - they're mostly cute buildings and some interiors that I'd like to reproduce in miniature if I had the time, patience and space! It was pretty much the basis for taking all the pictures I took in France!

These first four pics show some houses in the seaside Brittany town of Vannes (think I showed some pics of the old walled part of town in an earlier post).

Next is a row of tudor houses with shops/cafes beneath. Also in Vannes I think. Most of the places we visited had these old districts full of narrow cobbled streets and tudor buildings all on top of each other.

Next is a pic taken inside Chenonceau I think. It is a chateau in the Loire valley - called the ladies' castle I think, as it has mostly had women own it over time. It was all decorated for easter and looked great. It was a little disappointing as there wasn't much furniture but that was probably typical of the era for many of the chateaus.

Next is the bridge where my fiance proposed to me (that's him leaning over the rail). It was taken the day before he proposed.

Lastly is a picture of Versailles, not long before my camera died (dammit!). Luckily we didn't go anywhere with only one camera - my other half took lots of pics for me. It was truly spectacular and I will have to visit it again one day.

Veronique Lux cuteness

2009-05-19T15:04:00.001-07:00

Found this awesome website today: Veronique Lux. Such very cute vintage mini toys for a little French child's room. So cute. Here are some pics:

New love is grand!

2009-05-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, today I managed to secure one of these lovely little ladies!!!

She is so cute, and I am so enamoured!

Yes, I know it has nothing to do with minis. But I had to share!

I have been working on a mini project - the Greenleaf Spring Fling but can't show pictures at this stage - obviously! I am looking forward to getting back to my French shop as soon as I am done with the spring fling.

A favour to ask....

2009-04-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I am hoping that maybe someone can help me out a little. I have read the odd tutorial about making things out of builder's foam. I am not sure what this is and don't think I've seen it in Australia (and in the last four years, believe me, I have spent a LOT of time in hardware stores!!) but I would love to have a play with it. Would someone please be able to get some and send it to me here in Australia? I will of course pay for it + postage + effort required to do this for me. I will understand if no-one wants to, of course! Thanks guys!

Some pretty pictures from France

2009-03-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Nice to be in contact with the world again! I am in France still, and we have not had internet access until now (10 days without internet - eek!!). So I thought I would post some pictures of some things we've seen.

This was a little cafe that we went past in Paris. Very cute!

Main Street USA, Disneyland (Paris Disneyland of course!).

This one is a little cafe we found in one of the passages in Paris, can't remember which one, but near/adjoining Passage Jouffroy. Awesome detail. The passages are basically arcades or early malls.

This is the interior of another cafe which I loved. We didn't eat there, we just stuck the camera up against the glass and clicked! It was an old railway carriage or something I think.

This one is a typical shop in Paris, but an extra pretty one!

Lastly, here is a picture of the town we are staying at now, called Vannes in Brittany. It was settled by the Romans in about 58AD! The buildings date from about the 13th century. The town is walled and has a moat. Seriously amazing.

I am so in love with the shops in Main Street USA. I am so inspired to make mini versions when I return home! I also loved Toad Hall, so will eventually work on making one of them.

Now my apologies to the lovely bloggers who have sent me awards. I am not ignoring them deliberately! It is so appreciated. It is just so nice to know that people other than my mum and boyfriend appreciate my work! I am also pleased that people still read it despite my occasional rude outburst about my frustrations with society!! Given I don't have my own computer and time constraints, I am not putting the awards on my blog, but I am passing on the compliments (and awards) to my fellow bloggers and readers who I find so encouraging and inspiring. Keep up the good work everyone!

And don't worry, I am having a petite macaron for each and every one of you! (and geez are they good!).

Another award!

2009-03-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks Rosanna for the award. And I must also give a belated thank you to Deb for her award given on the 5th March. It is so lovely to know that people enjoy reading my blog!

I do not have too much to post right now, so I'll scrounge up some pics of other peoples stuff to keep you inspired!

Here is a gorgeous English cottage and I can't remember the website I got it from. I intend to do this to the Aster cottage one day.

Here is someone's Greenleaf Glencroft kitchen, they are on the Greenleaf forum. I think it looks adorable. I am loving the Glencroft at the moment and am working on plans to make it in 1/2" scale to save on room.

And lastly is a very cute little cottage and again, no idea where it came from. Would look great in miniature.

Apologies for my violent outburst but...

2009-03-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

I have just been watching the news where a delightful lady was whinging about the fact that they were only going to get $50,000 out of the bushfire appeal and where was all the other millions going? HELLO??? What happened to having insurance? What happened to gratefulness at getting something that you are really not entitled to? My mother's family home burnt down as a result of arson and I can assure you, she didn't get $50k. What about the people who lost houses in the 2007 or 2003 fires? They didn't get $50k and neither did the ones who lost everything in the 1983 or 1939 fires. And how much does this lady think it costs to rebuild whole towns and reinstall all the utilities and basic services???? Where would that much money come from without the bushfire fund??

Further, the news said that people without insurance were likely to be the big winners.

This is why I have not donated - People never fail to disappoint me. I am not going to donate my hard-earned cash to losers who can't work for their money and expect the world when things go bad.

I have been in the position of being at significant financial loss (and much much worse), at no fault nor doing of ours, and at the end of the ordeal, we were lucky to get a boot up the butt as we walked out the door. No compensation or hand-outs for us. It is time for people to get over themselves and realise that the world does not owe them anything.

On a good note, I discovered I can bake scones!

New furniture

2009-03-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Finally the rooms are starting to look a little more finished. Here is a picture of an unfinished hutch that I painted, antiqued and filled. I handpainted most of the minis inside, except for the silver teaset (which is mostly hidden). The bottom shelf will have some linen, but I have not made that yet.

This shows the whole dining room. I am not sure I like the chairs though. They might get changed later.

I made a screen for the bedroom, based on the one in Lea Frisoni's book. I think it's quite cute but may need some 'cord' trim on the inside of the frame bits. I printed the fabric on my home printer.

The last thing I want to show you is a small folding table I made. I am not sure that I like it here. I don't think it matches. Maybe if I added a lace tablecloth?? Don't know. It is temporary for now!

Little Red's Tea Room

2009-03-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry all for my absence. I have spent the last 2 weeks at fires - Wilson's Prom and then Noojee (Bunyip Ridge fire), and now have some time to get these pics up.

This is my entry for the Miniatures.com Creating Contest for last year. I didn't win but I did get an honourable mention, which is pretty cool!

This one shows Little Red's cape hanging beside the door.

This is the cake cabinet I made from an old Realife kit. I painted all the cakes and pies inside. In fact, I painted everything in the entire house except for a plate or two on the hutch. Oh and the Chrysnbon straw holder.

Here is a bench seat in the corner. The pictures in the house are all vintage Little Red Riding Hood pictures I found on the WWW.

This shows the fireplace I made. There are a couple of guns and a sword for killing stray wolves. The wolf's head is mounted above the fireplace. I made it from paperclay and flocked it. It has paper teeth!! It's not particularly good, but never mind, I like it anyway. It seems strangely pleased... not sure why!

This one is the prep table in the kitchen.

And here is the stove. I like how you can see through the door into the tearoom.

And lastly, thanks for the award Mercedes!

So five things I love:
1. My doggy Tilly. So very sweet and so prickly at the same time! She is sometimes called the cat-dog.
2. My little family - my partner, my mum and my doggy.
3. My home. It still requires work, but is looking so pretty.
4. Creating, mostly minis and sewing.
5. Chocolate. And pizza. Food really, love food!

Some more awards

2009-02-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for my awards guys. Doreen and San each gave me this:

I am going to forward this award to Liberty Biberty for her adorable and original work, as well as her home decorating.

Also, I will send it to Linda for her beautiful work, and for creating a little bit of France in Australia! Good to see I am not alone here.

In regard to my mini house, I must admit I have been a little lazy of late. Just can't seem to get into it. The fires haven't helped, I am very tired and have been trying to get ready for our France holiday. Not getting very far. I will try to get something done this week so that I have something interesting to show you.

2009-02-08T00:36:00.000-08:00

I apologise for the sombre tone, but I just wanted to let people know that we have had the worst bush fires here in Victoria since European settlement. Entire towns have burnt to the ground, including a beautiful little place called Marysville, home of the amazing Bruno's sculpture garden.

At this point, after 2 days, there are 65 confirmed dead and approximately 700 homes lost. This is likely to rise significantly higher, as at this stage, many burnt areas are still inaccessible. There are also a number with severe burns in hospital.

I send all my love and best wishes to those who have lost their loved ones, their homes and livelihoods, and those who are doing all that they can to help fight the fires (including my partner). I am not a religious person, but I ask all those that are to keep these people in their prayers. And please keep your fingers crossed for favourable weather conditions.

Yay! I have an award!!!

2009-02-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Thank you Rosanna, you are very kind! All this encouragement is lovely and keeps me motivated, so thank you to my followers! So I pass the award onto my followers, who do fantastic, inspiring work:

Rosanna: http://lastanzadigiuggiola.blogspot.com/
Debbie: http://debbiestinytreasures.blogspot.com/
Doreen: http://doreensprojects.blogspot.com/
Erika: http://erikasminiatures.blogspot.com/
Minna: http://minnasdollhouses.blogspot.com/

Shop front taking shape

2009-01-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have finally painted the shop front in a yucky dark coral/red colour. I wanted a more old barn red colour, but didn't quite achieve it. I have antiqued it with a black antiquing medium, which has darkened and aged the front. The rest of the stonework needs some aging now too. It looks too flat.

This picture shows the main bedroom, which I need to re-wallpaper. Everyone at home, here is a tip - NEVER try antiquing in the dark! It does not work. I don't think either the screen or the chair will remain, but I think it will have a chair of some description. I also don't think I like the folding table as the bedside. But I'll keep playing and see what happens!

And lastly, my good news is that my partner and I are off to France in March! Very exciting. We are in the midst of organising accommodation and tours, what we want to look at, budgeting, writing lists, packing. We've never been overseas before. In fact in the 6 years we've been together, we haven't really been on a decent holiday Certainly not one that lasts more than a week. So we are really getting excited! Guaranteed there are gong to be MILLIONS of chateau/furniture/scenery photos!

I want to wear pretty dresses

2009-01-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

All the time. I found these on Flickr today:

We are off to France in March and I desperately want to visit Versailles in a dress like these!! I don't think I have the courage. Would be fun though. I have a lot of pretty material though, so may make myself some dress-ups one day. It is fun to dream!

Yes Ok I just posted but...

2009-01-07T23:59:00.001-08:00

I just realised people are actually reading my blog!! I am so happy. Thank you all so much for reading it and taking an interest! You'll never know how happy that makes me!

All that I can say is that I hope that I can keep you interested enough to keep reading!

Lots of love, Shannon.

Disneyland Tokyo - why to go....

2009-01-07T21:46:00.000-08:00

I had a terrible day at work, so I decided to spend 5 minutes on flickr looking at pictures of Disneyland - getting to go to places like Disneyland reminds me of why I put up with my terrible job. I've never been, but have quickly realised that I must visit at least visit Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris Disneylands.

So this is what I found:

Not much more I can say really!

Some more rooms almost done

2008-12-30T17:52:00.000-08:00

I have finished paper-claying and painting the salon, and the fireplace is installed. I now need to finish the curtains and stick them to the wall and then decorate! The pictures shown on the fireplace will not stay, but look good for the time being.

Here is the sewing room, with a corner cabinet I made for a previous dollhouse. It fits quite nicely here. Just needs some accessories to fill it. I will also need some other tables, a sewing machine and maybe a chest or something?? I love the pink it turned out.

Lastly is a little table I made. I love it here, but maybe I will put it in the entry. Can't decide. You can see a chair I painted and recovered, and also through the windows is the dining room.

Little hallway almost done

2008-12-08T01:40:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this almost every day, but the photos just don't show it! I am working on the exterior, but I am having trouble getting some pieces to fit, but the rest is coming along well.

Here are photos of the hall on the second floor. The chair belongs to another house, but I like the Chrysnbon ones so much, I think I will have to get some for this house. It looks good here.

Next pic shows the other wall with a little bedside I painted (actually it has been painted 3 different times!). The accessories won't stay, and I need to hang pics, but it is looking really good. By the way, the dining room is through that doorway.

some new furniture

2008-11-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

I have painted these couple of pieces of furniture for my house.

Firstly you can see the little table I made for the kitchen. I may give it a satiny finish, so it looks a little like it has been waxed. And a little sideboard I painted red. Not quite the right shade of red though, I don't think. I need to add something to the doors. It had clear plastic, but I think I will either add chicken wire or solid panels painted a different colour. Not sure about that one yet. And obviously the kettle will sit on the stove when I have one!

Next is the desk. It's darker than I thought it should be but I think when the walls have been aged a little and the ceiling painted, it will suit just fine. Now needs a desk chair!

Bathroom almost finished!

2008-10-22T00:43:00.000-07:00

I have made some headway since I got my lights and tiles. Although unfortunately I don't have enough tiles, so I will need to order some more. But the bathroom is almost finished - I just need to make a shower curtain and hang it and the rail.

I am almost finished the kitchen, but it needs a paint. I am really happy with how it turned out. Now I need to decide on which stove to get. I love the Pheonix ones, but the choice will still be difficult - gas or electric? Also wondering if I'll add a curtain to the door which leads into the shop. Maybe a lace one???

Lastly the hallway, where the stairs arrive at the second floor. I am yet to paperclay the walls but I've finished the floorboards. Had some issues getting them to sit flat, with the wiring underneath! Might have to make channels for wires to sit in next time I make a dollhouse with floorboards.

Now, must get back to paperclaying and laying floorboards!

Let there be light....

2008-10-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

I have attached some lights and wired them in. I am having a few problems with some of the bulbs though, unfortunately. The connections seem a little loose, so that will need some jiggling before the fixtures are properly wired in.

This picture shows the chandelier in the entry. Will look much better when I have added texture to the walls and painted them. I was originally going to do more on this light but decided I liked it as it was, especially given it goes in the entry.

The next photo shows the guest bedroom with it's little bedside lamp. Not sure that this is it's finally resting place, but I do like it in here. I also swapped the beds. It fits better than the other one. The bedside is not staying, but I needed something to put the light on. Not sure whether it will be a small table of some description, or a shelf. Probably a table...

This last pic shows the bedroom using the camera's flash, just to show the room colour. Probably a little brighter than I anticipated, but I think I like it. I also think it's too late to change it!

A picture frame is lying on the floor waiting for a picture, as is the little standing frame on the bedside. Still undecided about the colour of fabric for under the bedcover, but the beige looks OK given the colour of the chair.

Next job - paper-claying, and lots of it!

Where I am at with my French Shoppe

2008-09-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

I have wallpapered the dining room, and finished prettying up the ceiling light. The wallpaper will need to be aged and maybe subdued a little. Haven't decided yet! I will need to add panelled dado to the walls too.
I have also done some work on one of the beds. I repainted it (again) and made a coverlet for it. I have to decide on what colour will go underneath it. I think it will be ivory.

Here is another photo of the bed in the bedroom. Again, the walls needs aging. I also don't think I like the green of the wardrobe and bedside in the room. May have to change those. And the chair is just to size up the space.

Lastly, although it isn't very exciting looking, I have tiled the entry. Again, the table is just a test run, and probably won't remain.

It is a little difficult to do too much more, as I need to purchase some more items (lights, flooring, tiles, etc). Hopefully I will do that in the next couple of weeks and can get moving. I am really looking forward to finishing the kitchen for some reason! I am really liking that little room.

update on chair....

2008-09-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

... unsuccessful.

Well, that's not entirely true. I did start it and it's not that it went bad, its just that it is far easier for someone who is lazy to just buy a ready-made piece and repaint and recover it. I might continue some other time when I have some patience/time!

Instructions for a bergere

2008-09-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

The amazing Lea has done it again. Below is a picture of a beautiful, oh-so-comfy French bergere made by Lea herself.

She includes instructions for a similar chair on her website.

I think I will set myself a challenge to make one this weekend and see what it looks like (at a guess, not as good as Lea's!!). If anyone else makes one, I'd love to see photos.

Spring at last!

2008-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's spring in the southern hemisphere and I'm loving it. We have been having some lovely weather, good to be thawing out after a very cold winter (coldest on record??). I have been fairly busy on my minis, and will post photos shortly, but they will need to remain incognito - I am working on the miniatures.com competition entry and can't give too much away!

I have this picture to share and I can't remember where it came from
now. But it shows a little cupboard bed in a cottage far-off somewhere. I just love it and might make a mini version oneday.

Thought you might all be interested in the latest offering from Jill Dianne - a gorgeous fairytale charm bracelet currently for sale on Ebay. One of my favourite past-times is painting metal blanks, so this bracelet really appeals to me. I am just not sure that the paint wouldn't chip badly. Nice to look at though!

Going on holidays!

2008-08-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

So I thought I'd better post before I leave. Not that I have anything much to post today. But I did find this picture during the week of a very cute kitchen cabinet. I can't even remember where I found it, so can't tell you who made it.

Also found this very cute pic on a Japanese blog. It shows the cutest little country dining room. I love the light fittings, although it would appear that they are not electrified. I've never seen them before.

Anyway, given I am tired and don't have much to say, I will sign off. We are off to the snow tomorrow! Yay!

More pics of my mouse house

2008-07-18T04:17:00.000-07:00

Just for the folks at Dream Dwellings yahoo group, here are some more pics of my mouse house. Hope you like!

First is the exterior shot. The bedroom is downstairs, partially underground. I am not finished landscaping yet.
Below are some red and yellow mushrooms I added. I love how these turned out and should've made more.

Here is a squirrel I painted. It was an unfinished metal item.
This is the shelf in the bedroom.

This is the dining table set for afternoon tea. You might notice that there is only one saucer under the cups - one of the saucers magically disappeared, which was very annoying. She has her mail ready to open with her tea.This is her kitchen shelf, which holds her china, books, eggs, jam and pots. The furniture is all small 1" scale. I made the sewing table, wardrobe and armchair. It makes the shack look larger than it really is. I also used only one door.
This picture shows her little transistor radio and some books for reading before bed.

Beginnings of my French shop

2008-07-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

I am making a French shop based on the gorgeous florist made by Lea. I just cannot get over this house. To me it is miniature perfection. I love it to bits. So my house is based on it, and although the layout is almost the same, I will decorate it a little differently to reflect my own tastes.

In the attic area are the bedrooms. This is the first bed I have finished and will go in the guest bedroom. The backdrop is just paper, but is a similar tone to what the walls will be in the house, only paler. I handpainted and aged a Bespaq bed and handmade the bedding. I am pleased with how it turned out.

I am not making as much progress as I want, as work gets in the way. But I have to pay for the hobby somehow!

Here is the exterior facade. It is made separately to the house and will lift off the front. I need to add window sills and then paint it all. this is the dwelling side, so the left bottom window is the bathroom, the door opens onto the entry and the right window goes to the kitchen. I made the walls about 4cm thick from recollection.

The only thing really bugging me is that I cannot find casement window latches. It's driving me nuts. I will not rest until I find them!!

Japanese cuties

2008-07-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

I found these on a Japanese blog some time ago and now can't find the blog. They are needle-felted I think and so very cute. I have tried needle-felting, as I think for the dollhouse you could make some seriously awesome items, but I lack the patience needed to felt. Takes too long!

These two would make great characters to populate the dollhouse.
Below is a regular little teddy from a different website. This girl packs her teddies up in little suitcase sets with other tiny clothes, tea and dish sets, trinkets, etc. So cute, would make great little gifts.

Bohemian dollhouse of exceptional quality

2008-06-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most adorable dollhouses, so much detail and yet not at all overdone. I love the colours and the lighting she uses to take the photos. There are some really good ideas for how to use everyday objects in new ways too. You can see more photos on her flickr account: amyla174.

Miniature artist dolls

2008-06-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

These would be great for a halloween house. They are made by French artist Julien Martinez. These ones are 1/12 scale, but the site also has some other larger dolls/sculptures which make the mind boggle!

English house

2008-06-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Found this awesome English house for auction on Ebay:

There are photos on their site showing an actual house, so it is a faithful reproduction of an actual house. Very cute.

Where does time go?

2008-06-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

Ack, I have been lazy! So for now, I will give some beautiful inspiration.

This photo comes from the Betsey Johnson website, and is just so stunning. I love the colours and the layering, very French. It has given me a great idea for a little cottage, probably made of stone, with overgrown vines and rambling roses. I love the beamed ceilings with the over-the-top wallpaper. But this too will have to wait until I have finished other projects!

Next is an awesome white Gothic house. I think I found it on the Greenleaf forum, but I can't remember who posted it. Anyways, my apologies to that person!

I am loving Gothic houses at the moment, ever since I saw this pink version of Greenleaf's Westville. Subsequently, the Westville has shot to the top of my 'must-haves' list. This is one made by another member of the Greenleaf forum. She makes dollhouses for children who are seriously ill I think. Very pretty.

Spring fling entry!

2008-05-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

Miss Mousy's House is done!

I've finally finished. Well, sort of. There are still things I want to do to it, but I ran out of time. I am happy with it though. It is basically small one-inch scale. Everything is 1:12 but generally on the small side.

This first pic is the upstairs kitchen/living area. The stove is a Phoenix kit. The majority of the accessories are metal minis, which I have handpainted myself. I made the chair - as if you couldn't tell!

This shows a close-up of the stove and mantle. The plate is the only item I didn't handpaint. the pictures are ones that I printed out off my home computer. I made the daffodil.
This is the sitting area. The table is set with Miss Mousy's best china. She has her mail ready to open, once the kettle has boiled.This shows the downstairs where Miss Mousy sleeps. And sews.
This is her bed, tucked into a bay window. Her teddy sits against her lacy pillow. On the stool beside the bed is a little radio and some books.
This shows the vanity, a small Bespaq chest handpainted with some accessories on top, including a comb and mirror, a framed picture, a jar of moisturiser, a candle, a canister and a framed picture (this was meant to be a mirror, but I don't have any mirror sheet right now). Her carpet bag sits beside the chest.This shows the sewing table and her armoire in the background. She has a pile of fabrics ready to be sewn, buttons on cards, embroidery threads and scissors and a teddy bear watching over her.

I hope to put more pics into my Webshots gallery. I will post a link shortly when I have done this.

2008-05-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Well, I am very slack, only blogging once a week! I do intend on picking up my game but I have been a little busy of late, finishing my Greenleaf Spring Fling contest entry. I hope to be able to post photos when I finish it (which will obviously be this weekend, given entries close on Monday!!). I am very pleased with how it has turned out, but I am sort of rushing it a bit now, given how little time I have left, so I don't think I'll be completely happy with the landscaping. Never mind.

I think I will post some pics of another hobby of mine: Blythe doll!! Sort of minis, right? She is 1:6 scale (Barbie size). To the right is an outfit that I did some time ago. Her little beanie has a brooch attached which is made from ribbon roses, ribbons and beads. The coat is double breasted with little shank buttons and is fully lined. She also has stripey cord pants, which are super-soft. Love this fabric. The Blythe who is modelling is Star Dancer. She is one of my favourites, she is just so photogenic, and stunning in real life.

And on the left is another one I've done. The little cardigan is pre-knitted fabric. Her skirt you can see is actually a pinafore and has tiny 2-hole buttons down the front. I like this one.

The sill thing is, I always sell them to buy more Blythes, but never get around to making outfits for my girls I already have! Things must change!!

Will try to post again soon, when I have finished my Spring Fling!! Stay tuned!

Little mousie house!

2008-05-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

I found links to this very cute mousy house on the Yahoo Dream Dwellings group. So very cute. I am thinking it is a Brambly Hedge type scene, as the little mice look just like them. The website is here.

Hope you enjoy!

Snow covered exterior:

Little attic containing the winter's supply of seeds and nuts:

Inside activities. You can see the little boy mouse looking out the window, perhaps waiting for Daddy to return?Also, in very exciting news, I recently won a Duracraft Heritage dollhouse kit. I hope to do this with it:
If you've seen the movie, 'The Music Man', the one with Matthew Broderick, you might remember the gorgeous Edwardian interior of the Paroo home. That is something like what I intend on doing with this home. However, given my current list of projects, this one will have to wait!!

2008-05-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

It really pays to check out all the links on blogs or other sites you visit. You accidentally find the most amazing stuff.

The Japanese never cease to amaze me with their talents. I stumbled across a number of Japanese mini blogs and had to share these with you all. The first picture is from dollhouse and miniature rosy. I wish I had one tenth of the talent of this clever person! The detail is amazing. Just look at the grape hyacinths and ranunculi. And I'm sure the little wheels on the cart turn! I so want one of these, I think I will have to have a go at making one.

Next is a shot of the detail from a miniature cafe, shown below. It is taken from this blog. Take a look around, the food items are amazing.

Not feeling great

2008-04-29T03:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been a bit slack these last couple of weeks with my blog as I was making an outfit to enter into a competition. Each year, many of the farming districts around the country have what are called field days - these are for farmers to show their produce and go see all the latest in farm equipment, technology, etc. They're actually quite interesting - gourmet foods, wines, hand-made stuff, demonstrations, animals, etc. They also have a competition called Ag Art Wear. It has to be a garment made from agricultural products or things found on a farm. This year I made a Marie Antoinette style outfit which I called 'Marie had a little lamb'. It is mostly made from wool pack (what they package wool in after it is shorn from a sheep to be trucked off to whoever is buying it) as well as baling twine and frost mat (used on fruit trees to avoid frost damage). The wig is made from silage wrap.
Anyways, it won the section, which is very exciting. I will now show it later in the year at the national competition. If it wins that, it goes off to New Zealand to compete in the internation competition. I don't think it will go that far though, as the standard is very high.

Despite this excitement, we recieved some news today which is just frustrating and a little worrying. We had a major issue for 2 years which really made us re-assess our lives. It was over and done with 6 months ago, but we recieved news today that it apparently isn't over with. Fortunately at this stage, it does not involve us and we can only hope it goes no further. I can't elaborate, but it is so hard to think 'what did we do to deserve this?' It seems that no matter how much you don't deserve something, and how wrong the thing is, you just get dumped with it. I'm tired of it is all. Life can be so incredibly frustrating.

So on to something to cheer me up, minis!! Something I did some time ago, yet to be finished:

Some of my minis

2008-04-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

I have been a little busy of late. Hopefully when I get some photos I will be able to publish them here and explain why I've been so busy. For now, seeing as I haven't posted in a while, here are some metal minis I have hand-painted.

The radio at the back doesn't have a dial, so must fix that one day. I'm just not too sure how to go about it! Need to look at a picture of a real one to figure it out. At the front is a perfume bottle, one of my favourite metal minis. Behind it you can just see a French style candlestick. I intend painting a second one so that I have a set for my next fancy French dollhouse. Unfortunately I dropped the elk and his antler broke off.

Next are some toys I painted. I love the bear pull toy and the teddy with the green bow. They're so cute. I find painting these very therapeutic, although time consuming! I also need to add pull strings. Another thing to do when I'm feeling less lazy!

Real life-size inspiration

2008-04-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

These pics are some of my favourites from Flickr.

I love teddies, and it would be awesome to create these in mini scale. I can dream! Perhaps one day I will think of a way to do it. I think the maths and thinking behind figuring these details out is part of the attraction of minis for me. The photo came from Jillybug's Flickr.

The next pic is a shop I think, taken from It's a chimmy simmy world's Flickr.

I'd love to make a mini version. I think I will incorporate it into my own French shoppe. The colours are superb. I especially love the little cardigans in frames on the back wall and the trinket box on the cake plate to the left of the screen. I also love the use of multiple wallpapers - very whimsical and great for using leftover pieces of wallpaper!

Lastly, I have a pic of a beautiful French house. I spend ages looking at the French real-estate websites! Some amazing places and seriously old too.

Dollhouse heaven

2008-04-14T01:04:00.000-07:00

The most beautiful dollhouses I think I've ever seen are created by Lea.

Her houses never cease to amaze me. The detail she gets into every scene is second to none and it's so easy to imagine yourself in her little world. Her houses inspire me endlessly and now I am making a house based on her florist.

Here you can see some of her teeny cats that she makes. Their sweet little faces are priceless!

A little house to inspire

2008-04-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! Given it is my first post, I thought I'd post some pictures of one of my most favourite dollhouses, the lace house by Liz Le Bosse. She makes absolutely stunning dollhouses, and this is one of the best. It's so sweet. You can see the exterior and some of the rooms below.

It opens at the side as well as the back, and part of the roof lifts to access the upstairs bedroom. The last pic, the den, is one of my favourite rooms. I can imagine it as a tiny study with a comfy armchair and lady's desk. One day I will re-create this house in half inch scale.