Progress on various (too many) projects

 Hi all. After a very stressful and tiring year so far, I am having a week off to work on my mini projects to get a few things done. I really want to get some projects ticked off this year (you know, as finished as my projects will ever be). So today I have been working on my 1:48 Nob Hill from Suzanne and Andrews Minis. No I haven't mentioned that one before.... I didn't intend buying it, but I adored it and have worked on it in spits and spurts. I am pretty close to completing the structure so will post some photos soon.

Also I worked on my French reno today. I 3d printed some balustrade I designed and cut my own staircase (it is basically just stacked layers of wood/MDF - although it probably looks a little fancier than it is). So I rearranged the rooms a bit. The stairs are now in the entry which was part of the shop. The kitchen is through that back door.

And a side view

The salon in progress:

The other wall of the salon with a French fireplace by Halls Miniature Clocks:

The shop truncated (this will be a sort of craft room):

And the upstairs stair hall with the salon to the right:

Not sure about the wall colour, but it will do.

Here is my new little buddy, a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier by Ewelina Hasnik, which I purchased at the online Kensington mini show. I loved her and wasn't sure so decided if she as still there next morning, it was meant to be. Well, she was still there, soooo.....

And I have finally fixed almost all the lights in my Duddingwells! With my husband's help. So here is the shop as it is. Lots of accessories needed obviously.

And the front, landscaping done:

And the sitting room:

Lots of accessories still needed. I couldn't get this room to work and then one day recently I decided to swap the sofa to the right and table and chairs to the left and I liked it. I have birds for the cage too.

And bedroom:

I have aged the table a bit, so now I need to right the lamp..... currently not a good look!

Teapot not staying. Lots of bits needed yet, but I like it.

And that's it for today. I will try to post again this week and show more progress. It's good to feel like I am getting somewhere. And like anything, starting is the hardest part. After that, it's much easier. Hope you are all well everyone, and getting some sunshine (or rain if you need it!). xx

Hi all. I haven't posted much this year, and for that I apologise. I will try to get myself organised and post some of the things I have been working on. For now, I wanted to post some pics of the interior of my Duddingwells.

Starting in the shop part, I don't know that much has changed, other than hooking up all the lights (even the ones I broke). I have cut parts for a display shelf over the left window and some trays for the goods inside the cabinet, but they all need finishing. I added a top to the counter as the way it was constructed, there was a very large lip around the edge of the top so nothing sat neatly on there. The one in the pic is just the cardboard stand-in.

Next is the sitting/living area. You can't tell from the photo, but the left wall look terrible as I buggered the wiring in the wall sconce. Anyways, I need something to cover the mess but not worked out what yet. It needs to be tall but not block sight lines. I bought the beautiful Cynthia Howe birdcage kit, but it is too large for the room. In fact, I have tried lots of options in here and nothing is working for me. Hence it will stay naked for a little longer.

Dining chairs need cushions:

A painting I did the old fashioned way (underpainting with a little glaze to add colour). It was my first real attempt at a proper mini painting, and I am pretty happy with it, and my painting teacher was pretty happy with it, so that is good enough for me (for now anyway). You can see it hanging about the sofa.

Lastly the bedroom. I love this space. Without a doubt a favourite of all the things I've done. looking at the photos, I think it needs a little something above the window.

The bed. I made everything except the throw. Well, I didn't make the bed; it is a painted and reupholstered Dollshouse Emporium one.

Hope you enjoyed looking at my photos. I will try not to leave it too long between posts next time. I am determined to get some projects 'finished' this year (you know, they always need little details added, or you find stuff at shows, but I mean largely finished with the structure complete and most of the furniture). I think I am making a little progress on that! Have a great week everyone. 

Results of my Rik Pierce course

Hi all. I am back in Australia with my Dudding Wells tearoom which hasn't been touched since the course finished. I had to make some tools and get some supplies, so no real progress.

The course was amazing. If you get the chance to join in, I highly recommend you do. Rik is a great guy and so willing to show you any of his techniques and tricks. He is an endlessly talented and inspiring man - makes me wonder what I'm doing with my life!

Not a lot to show at this stage, but here is part of the exterior, with my unpainted brickwork. I don't have the right colours of paint to finish it, so need to do some shopping for that. We have a limited selection of paints in our small town, so might need to get them online.

This is the interior of the upper floors. Having never used proper paperclay, I didn't know what to expect. I am now a convert. Unfortunately, having tried many types of air dry clays available here in Australia and found none that are remotely similar, I will be limited to buying the real thing online from the US.

This is the house in its box, ready to be shipped home:

If you have any doubts about doing a course because you will have trouble getting something like this home, don't. We boxed it pretty well (double-boxed actually) and checked it as additional baggage (which cost $95 pre-booked). With the heavy timber base, tools, paperclay and all house components (plus a few extra items of clothing used as packaging!) it weighed about 14kg. It was openned by the US customs people but they repacked it and taped it neatly. I think they were suss about the packages of paperclay!

Some quick photos of some souvenirs. This is a tiny teacup I bought at Shellie's Minis (where the workshop was held). She had beautiful stuff.

Some little teddy and bunny faces. Think I'll use these for cakes and the like.

 

My tiny dolly. She won't live in my Mountfield. Maybe she'll go in a half scale house.

All in all, the San Francisco area was fantastic, and we had an amazing time.