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.

Spring fling entry!

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.

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!

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!!

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

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

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!