Some more rooms almost done

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

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

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!

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....

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

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....

... 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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.