Link to my store

Hi again. Will try to post a link....

Red Cottage Miniatures

Hope this works for you! Have a great day everyone. We're having a warm week, which I am pretty happy about.

First batch of kits up for sale!!!

Hi all. Just a brief post to let you know that I have listed 5 kits for sale on my Etsy store:

www.redcottageminiatures.etsy.com 

They will be ready to ship by the end of the week.

There are an additional few available soon that need just a couple of additional parts. I anticipate having more available shortly, once I have purchased some more supplies and mastered my laser cutter! I hope this will be in January, subject to businesses remaining open to sell me supplies over the Christmas break.

Thanks again for your interest and encouragement everyone. It has taken me far longer to get here than I wanted, but better late than never! There is just so much to learn and I am making constant improvements to my designs all the time. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Little laser cut kit update

Hello all. I thought I'd give a quick update so that the people who were interested in my little French shop kit would know what is going on. And why I am much later having them ready than I anticipated! The husband was taking too long to put the test kit together, and didn't follow my instructions anyway, so I ended up finishing it off myself. And finally got the instructions completed. I decided to have the kits cut from a lightweight ply rather than MDF, as this will significantly lower the weight of the kits. My cutting service then needed to order in extra sheets to cut the kits. Then there were issues with the little tabs which hold pieces in their sheets breaking, so I needed to redraw the parts to make them all wider. So now finally the kits are in the courier on their way to me! I still need to cut the window and mirror acrylic pieces, and when that is done, the kits can be shipped! My laser cutter also arrived at looooong last, so I need to attach the extraction fan and do a little more test cutting and I can start to produce some furniture kits! Pretty happy about it all. I think that progress with new designs will be much quicker now.

I will have 10 kits available initially. As I now have my own cutter, I hope that I will be able to produce more kits as needed in a shorter time, but I will need to obtain some materials myself. But all in good time! 

I have almost opened my Etsy store, which is where you will be able to get one. I will post the address when they are listed. I will also try to get some furniture kits up there when I can. I have also been working on some little room box kits, which I'm really happy with. They could be used in different scales and will have different themes/front designs (the first ones are forest themed!!). So many ideas and so little time!

I hope everyone is well and that your preparations for the holiday season is going well. Sending love to those who find the season tough - ours is always tinged with sadness, but happy memories also.

Ooops

Hello everyone. So I have been thinking for ages, just put the salon walls into the French chateau shell and get moving with this. So I did. Mistake. I never even thought about the wiring issue. So I tried out the wall lights I was going to use in here, and they are too big, so will need to make my own I suppose. And also I need to try to drill the wiring holes now with the walls installed. Not that smart. Sigh.

Anyway, here is a pic of the walls all in place. I need to add the cornice moulding, do some filling of the gaps and install the flooring (which I'll laser cut shortly).

The doors at the back will be fixed in place and the doors at front will need to be hinged. More trouble.

On a positive note, my laser cutter will be here either this week or early next week! (Longer than I was told it would take but better late than never) In the meantime, I've ordered 10 kits from my cutting service, so will have them up for sale soon.

Have a good week folks! Hope it's sunny where you are.

French shop update

Hello all. Thought I'd show some pictures of the half scale French shop, as I've almost finished the exterior. It really only needs the shop name panel (which I painted and then lost) and door handles (which are cut and just need painting and gluing on).

I cut the roof tiles with my paper cutting machine. They are smaller than I intended (something to do with the exporting of the .svg file) but I still think they look OK. Once glued on, I sealed with a matte varnish, gave them a black wash and then dry brushed white over the top.

I have also had little handles cut for the commode and I'm quite happy with how these came out. Here is the chest finished with a smaller version of the commode and a small trumeau mirror, both of which will be available when I sort things out.

Some other things I am working on: (you can't tell but these turned out way too large and also I have changed the design quite a bit to make them a bit more realistic)

And a French canopied bed: 

It needs a little reworking, but overall I am happy with how it is going. 

I am having trouble getting the people who are selling the laser cutter to actually get it crated and send a request for payment, which is quite frustrating. It would only take about a week to get from America to Australia. Until I have the cutter, I am using a cutting service. It has it's benefits but I am restricted with the materials they will cut with. So I think most of the furniture kits will need to wait until I get my own cutter so I can use the materials I want to use. 

I also was considering making a castle as the third kit I design (the second one is almost done and will be a cottage). Are people interested in something like that? If so, what type/style and how big? I'd appreciate your views on this. If possible, post a link to pictures in your comments. 

I hope you are all having a great weekend.

My tiny teddies

Hello all. I spent today working on the shelves for the half scale doll shop. This is the prototype and the parts were all wrong, so I cut bits up and cobbled them together and it came out OK. I printed out all the little pictures of curtains and furniture to add some detail. Here is the shelf almost finished with some tiny doilies and lace. A few more structural pieces to add but these will be added when the shelves are filled and installed.

And here is a pic with some of my handpainted minis.

All these pieces are the white metal ones. I undercoat them in a regular water-based interior undercoat and then paint with acrylics. Here are some closeups.

I landscaped this little house with that stretchy model railroad vine stuff and bunka cut into tiny bits. The hedge at the front is also bunka, but kind of hard to see at this angle. The bunka looks hilarious enlarged to this size!

I have put together a kitchen to fit into this house and it includes the wall tiles. The front of the wall cabinets comes off so you can access the inside. It needs a few basic modifications but overall I am happy with how it turned out. The tiles are the same pattern as the splashback behind my cooktop in my real life home! A tap set is still to come.

Here is the other side of the island bench:

And an overall view of the living room, with a chest which is about the only thing that was all right the first time! I have designed a fireplace to go in this room, which will probably go where the chest is, which is why I haven't finished the skirting. 

And lastly, a picture of the bedroom progress, with a little silk curtain over the doorway. I can't wait to see my little bed in here (but I still need some parts cut before it can go together).

I hope you enjoyed seeing my pictures and that this week is kind to you! See you soon!

Duddingwells in morning sunshine

Hello everyone. The week has only just started but I hope it's been kind to you. Kinder than it has been to me. I spent my morning working on my furniture kit designs ( I am decidedly not good at it) and by lunchtime I was a little over them. So I decided to spend some time tidying up my craft room. I was on a chair rearranging stuff on a shelf and dropped a drawer full of 1/2" scale Bespaq. Yep, splinters of furniture everywhere. Not good. So spent an hour glueing all the bits back together again. Sigh. I did have a few bits left over which must be from bits of furniture that are no longer in the drawers. So now I need to track down their owners. Maybe tomorrow. They are all on my chair, so I can't sit on it until I find their rightful place.

Anyway, I was really posting as I was working on the landscaping of my Duddingwells on Sunday. I went up to my craft room early Sunday morning and the light was streaming through the window, and straight through the window of Duddingwells. It was casting a beautiful light and really makes the rooms come alive.

I was really lucky to find a few bits of plastic plants when I took my doggy to her eye specialist appointment last week, so Duddingwells now has some large ferns and a daisy bush. I have started some stone walls for the garden, which I hope to make look like they are crumbling. I will show some photos next week. I am quite happy with how it's coming along. Next step is buying some flower kits (foxgloves, daffodils, hollyhocks, maybe some hellebores). Given I no longer work, we are on reduced play money, so fewer minis unfortunately.... Still, I am happier and I hope to have my mini kits up for sale really soon, so maybe then I will have a little extra income.

Hope you have a great week! Mini on everyone!

A little painting progress update

Thought I'd quickly show the little French shop now that it is aged a bit.

Looks much better I think! I might add a little white to lighten it marginally but will see. In case you were interested, the paint was Folkart Almond Parfait and antiqued with Jo Sonja's fruitwood stain gel.

Here you can see the difference between the painted and the aged finish - big difference!

Have a great day everyone!

Exterior of Mountfield and some redecorating

Hello again everyone. Hoping you are having a great weekend. After a cold and wet week, we are enjoying some sunshine. And subsequently getting laundry done... Sigh!

I wanted to post some photos of the exterior of my Mountfield. It's getting very close to being done, save for some more landscaping. There are still a few things left to go, like some more aging, fixing the gable trim (undecided on what it will look like, plus the laser cutter isn't working) and replacing the windows with my own leaded glass designs. You can see I gussied up the front door a bit with some wood mouldings and brass stampings. I am quite happy with it, even though I know much of it doesn't match the true age the house is supposed to be.

Also, I added some picture rail to the lounge and dining rooms, with a plain paper above it. This is something I've been thinking about for ages, as I just found it all too bland. I purchased two different coloured scrapbook papers at the local craft shop and fortunately they went well with the papers. I just glued strips of it over the wallpaper and stuck the picture rail over the join. I think I just need to recover the chairs in the lounge though.

Was really stoked I finally remembered to buy a fire whatsit guard thingo (the word escapes me right now) for the dining room - the shiny brass thing out front of the fireplace - but it is too small. I guess I'll need to order a Phoenix one same as the lounge one. The paper I added is a pale grey/stone colour.

The entry is about done. You can see a little pair of plain brown ladies shoes beside the table. They are just metal ones I painted. I think the basket needs something too, maybe some dried greenery or twigs.

In the photo below you can see the Chrysnbon Edwardian telelphone on the wall. It is hard to see, but like having things in cupboards, I think it's nice to have a few slightly hidden details that you have to hunt out.

Hope you are having a great weekend wherever you are.

Partially decorated 1:24 shop

Happy Friday! I hope your week has been a good one. I have spent some more time working on prototypes and instructions for my laser cut kits (with mixed success) and decorating the French shop. Here are some photos, with paperclay almost done. Just a little more painting, roof tiles and then some aging. I had thought I was about done with the design on this kit, but even now, having put it completely together, redesigned parts and had them cut, putting it back together, I am still figuring out slight fixes that are required. Frustrating but worth getting right.

I keep hoping the design process gets easier and quicker but not sure about that! I seem to take two steps forward and one back, but it is fun and engrossing. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Melbourne Miniatures Fair 2015

Hello everyone. Despite terrible wintery weather, I had a rather pleasant visit to the Melbourne miniatures fair on the weekend just gone. Lots of great goodies but having just given up paid employment, money was a little tight. But I did get a few great things. I am really impressed at the standard of mini knitters here. I purchased these off a New Zealand lady. She had a whole range of Beatrix Potter characters, and it was really hard to choose. She also did dolls, gollies, monkeys, pigs, lots of things.

I couldn't go past Mr Tod, and then went back for Benjamin. They are currently of no fixed (dollhouse) address, but they will find a home no worries!

The same lady also made teapots, so I picked this up for a future cottage. It is 1:24 scale.

More tiny knitted toys, from a different seller, which are sitting on a 1:24 chair, with a 1:48 scale teaset. 

I can vaguely knit, and seeing these makes me want to be able to knit well. Maybe one day I will have some time to learn! I am better at crocheting, so thought I could try making tiny amigurumi animals - how cute would they look? 

I'd seen this tea set at the fair last year and regretted not buying it. It's not the fanciest set, it wasn't very expensive, but hey, I'll never afford the real silver that is hand-made, so I am happy with these. 

I hope you are all well and that you have a good week ahead of you.

Half scale French shop

 Hi all. Just wanted to post a little update on my half scale French shop kit design that I have been working on. I had all the parts laser cut about 6 weeks ago, and they're not 100% perfect yet, but good enough to put together and photograph for the kit instructions. 

On that note, my photos aren't great, but I am practising! And they are goood enough for the instructions for now. Until I can maybe get bettter at it!

Soo here is the front so far:

I am pretty happpy with how it's turned out and having fun putting it all together (and making the last few alterations!). Hope you like and enjoy the rest of your week!

Photos for Michelle

As well as for others who were interested in her gorgeous Gothic house. Years ago I saved these photos, I think from and Ebay listing. No idea whose they were or who made the dollhouse, but has to be the same maker - the bones are the same. Anyway, I love it and I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!