Mini Neighborhood Breaking Ground!

Here is just a peek into the "neighborhood" room. It will feature three scales. They will be 1:12 and 1:24 in this room. The main room will be 1:6. The walls may be decorated with smaller scales.

Here is one half the 1:12 neighborhood room. The houses may not remain in these positions. I know at least the personalities of the families moving in. That gives me an idea how to decorate the houses, which of course, may all change as I go along. So far, I have three 8 foot tables up. This is the bedroom of a one bedroom duplex apartment behind my house that I used for storage which means I had to clear it out first...puff puff...
 
When I purchased the last two houses, several people asked to see the insides. I have since torn off most of the wallpaper, window treatments  and flooring in the yellow house. I like the inside of the black and white house. After repairing the windows, I won't do too much else to the walls. Unless a family of kangaroos live there, I will need to put another set of stairs going to the top floor where I will add two or three more rooms.


This is what you see when you enter the room

Sorry, it is so dark. Lighting isn't set up in there yet. This the summer resort area in another section of town. More about that later.
 

 

What is a resort area without horseback riding? The box set was only $2!

The unfolded inside of another house.

The unfolded outside.

Interior of yellow house.

 

Two upstairs rooms of the yellow house with the lights on. The top floor has ceiling lights. Downstairs only has outlets.

The interior of the black and white house. Right now, I have the first layer of polyurethane on the bottom left floor.

 
There is so much to do. I didn't realize I was setting up my free time for the next five years when I came up with this idea! I guess I will be The Great-grandmommy by the time I complete it.  LOL

I plan to put in something green for the lawns. Felt seems too artificial. Real indoor/outdoor carpet seems out of scale. I even thought of velvet. Sigh...we shall see. I know some of my favorite thrift shops are right now drawing just the right materials to them for me to find.

Check out the fire station. I actually bought this for one of my grands who will never know that. LOL It was less than $2! I didn't realize it was a fire station! It is sturdy corrugated cardboard.

The firehouse in comparison to one of the houses. I will add other props in there along with the sofa.

I have so many ideas for other buildings. Promise to keep you posted!

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Laugh Break!

 Come on and take a minute from your crafting to have a laugh! Someone from one of my Yahoo mini groups shared this with the group. Funny!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2297585/Wild-squirrels-pose-charming-pictures-photographer-hides-nuts-miniature-props.html#

I'm glad I did!


Something for you to enjoy while I get new posts ready for you. :-)

HOUSE STYLES

Now that I have decided to create a "neighborhood", I thought I should know more about the houses I am working with and those in general. I knew a little about architecture and house designs. My guess was that there was much much more to know. I knew I wanted a custom houses look and I didn't want a street with cookie cutter houses. I even considered changing a few things to change the style of a couple of them. That is where the research began.

It appears that three of my dollhouses are what is called "foursquare", which makes them look somewhat similar to one another.  I am still checking to see if that is correct. In my quest to learn, I came across this info. It is a list of house styles you might see anywhere in the United States even though some are traditionally regional/national styles. House Styles
 It is Wikipedia so take that into consideration. I still found it useful.

While it is not always necessary to go by the book, creativity makes things interesting, there are times when we do want to use style and period references in our work.

I hope this information was helpful!


Pretty basic with the notable foursquare look

This is the same as above except for the porch and additional roof area.





Even though this is much larger than the others it still has the basic look

Here Comes the Neighborhood!

Ok, so I was shopping in a thrift shop a few days ago while talking on the phone to my friend Jean. As a matter of fact, it is the same one where she and I first met. We chatted about a few things then all of a sudden I could only say, Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! There before me were two beautiful doll houses with three bags of furniture!  This time, unlike before, I rushed over and looked at their tags. They were not sold! In the mean time, Jean was on the other end saying. "What!What!What! Funny of all people she would be the one on the other end at that time!

I told her what I saw and all she could say was, "are they sold? Oh! Are they sold! Still standing there, I expressed my guilt about how many dollhouses I already had and how it would be ridiculous to buy not one but two more! Jean assured me that if it were her...she would certainly buy them. Ok, I said...I am getting them. And that I did. Take a look.

This is the larger of the two. I can do a lot with that porch

I love the little curtains. And it is electrified! But, needs to be reconnected.

I will show the insides of these houses when I start working on them. Which might be soon.
I am now setting up a "neighborhood" in my studio.
We know how I am always doing multiple projects at once. :0D

For years I never even saw ONE dollhouse...now they are everywhere! LOL

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Click on picture for a larger view

Mini Jazzi in Florida

After much hand wringing by her aunties, Mini Jazzi finally arrived at her next destination! She visited lyssaheartsdollhouses.blogspot.com in Florida in February.

She seems to be getting much needed down time after her travels. She has made a few friends and seems to be really enjoying her visit. Go check her out!

 

Where to next?

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A Real Friend-No Request Needed

I recently went to visit my dolly friend. She and I became friends after I had a mini sofa in my shopping cart at one of our favorite thrift stores and she thought the cart was abandoned. I have a habit of putting stuff in my cart then finding myself further away from it as I wander down the isle. I came back  let everyone eyeing my goodies know they were spoken for.
Later, I ended up behind Jean at the cash register. She mentioned she liked the sofa and she had dollhouses. What! I was just lamenting that I didn't have anyone in person to enjoy dollhousing. She was feeling the same way. We took one another's information and the rest is well mini-stry. LOL

We are like to giggly little girls when we are together. I guess that is the idea. Being a miniaturists is like being ageless and timeless. I am sure she and I will have lots more to share in the future.

Jean has projects that are actually completed! So, I asked if I could get a few shots to share with all of you.

This is a bird cage turned pet shop!

For pet lovers



This is a gorgeous metalic jewelry box




Still unfinished open view.
 A mirror is going on the back wall and maybe a couple on the inside of the doors.

 

Time for a clock shop. Many of the clocks actually keep time!
 

A jewelry shop is on the second floor. An antique store in a breadbox is on the bottom.
The top floor is yet unfinished..

 

I love that she used a gold picture frame for the door! She made everything in the store except the cash register. Click to get a better view!



This is a mixture of several buildings to become either a bed and breakfast complete with open air restaurant or a castle.
Heyyy why not both!


One day, I was disappointed because I didn't win a certain doll on Ebay. My dolly friend promptly made not one, but two dollies for me and surprised me with a baby too!

She looks like a few people I know! I mussed her hair a little trying to pose her.
Jean even made the eyeglasses and gave me more to take home!

 

The whole idea was that I wanted dolls in various sizes. How do you like that sassy gal with the shoes, purse and matching hat? :-D (both have polished finger and toenails-giggle!)

 

 



Isn't she a cutie? She is even wearing a diaper!



 



Look how natural her hair looks!

 

 Yup! Like I said...A Real Friend-No Request Needed!  :-)

 

THANKS AGAIN JEAN!

 

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Happy Valentine's Day

 

1 Corinthians 13

(The Way of Love in modern English)

 

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

² If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

^3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

 

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

¹² We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Wall Paper Trail

I have to give myself a pat on the back. I have started redesigning my victorian house. As you may recall, it looked like this before I started working on it.



Before the redesign began

The living room now has fresh wallpaper which is actually wallpaper for a 1:1 house. It has little flecks of gold that you can's see. Luv it. Don't be surprised if you see it in the "big house" I just acquired. My 1:1 dining room is the same color scheme, but the walls are painted.

I still have the carpeting in the living room from when I was going to make it a more modern house. Now, changing back to the Victorian period, I will put down wood floors and a rug later to make it more authentic. I also have wall to wall carpeting in the bedroom. I just love that purple in there, so I  just might leave it there. We shall see.

 The wall paper in the nursery is dollhouse wallpaper from Hobby Lobby. I wanted something vintage and for a girl. It also needs new flooring.

The wallpaper in the kitchen is up. It still needs to be trimmed.

 The plan is to put up crown moulding in all of the rooms which will make it look neater and more finished.

The Victrola looks a little small for this scale, but it will do.



Linen, curtains and lots of other things will be added after the crown moulding. This is the second floor room on the left above the living room.

View 1 of the living room, bottom left of the house. I have another matching chair in a different shape to add. The rug will be replaced. Lots more to be added here.



View 2 of the freshly wallpapered living room.The ceiling will be finished and have a medallion added.

 

I couldn't resist using this wallpaper even though I realized it was not the right period. The cook told me she liked it too. She was a little upset I photographed her before she could be painted. LOL Lots more will be added here too.

Wallpapered nursery

 

Click on picture for a larger view

Please excuse the appearance of my blog. I am in the midst of adding and rearranging some things to make it even more enjoyable for you. If any of you recognize what I am doing and have some hints they are much appreciated. :-D grandmommy

Note About Mini Vacuum Cleaner

In the last post, I kind of slipped in the mini vacuum at the last minute. It is an attachment kit, that fits with an adapter, to your 1:1 vacuum cleaner. So, you get normal suction for cleaning small items and areas.

You can get one here at Amazon. They are even on sale!

http://www.amazon.com/Micro-Vacuum-Attachment-Kit-Piece/dp/B000BSJCLY

This Little Light of Mine/Suck it up!

This is one of those duh discoveries. Many of you may have already figured this out. I found each of these lights for a dollar at the dollar store. I orginally thought they would make great spotlights for  pieces of art and I am still guessing they will.

What I found was they make life so much easier when I am trying to see into the recesses of my dollhouse rooms. Here are three of the styles I saw. I am sure there are lots more. They clip where ever you want them, then swivel!

 I like the bullet shaped one because the light is stronger and it is more sturdy than the black one.  I have not tried the red one with the long neck.They all come with the needed batteries. Be careful though. The lights grow dim with prolonged usage. So, they are best for quick jobs. If you are able to locate more batteries, I supose you could use them to your heart's content!

I also have refound a set of vacuum nozzles that are the perfect size for minis without sucking up your precious assessories. I have yet to use this tool kit although, I must have had it for six or seven years. I lose it then find it. Now to try it out.

These come in a variety of colors also

 



The mini light at the top is not currently on. I just wanted to show the position that I clip it. It works great while I am working on this room!

 

Now just the mini light is on to show the beam. I usually have as much lighting as I can get.

 

The battery is not needed. It is  just there for size reference.

 

Click on pictures for a larger view

 

In It and Won It!

And the winner is ....Well, the week is up and it is time to announce the winner who came the closest to the actual price of the dollhouse  and 16 books shown in my January 15th post. Some of the books were new!  It was fun reading all of your comments and guesses. Thanks for participating.

 I must tell you that is was a true bargain. I have not been able to find a house of this size and structure at this price.  I have already decided on a few pieces I would like to see in it. Thinking I might use mid-century style. It is actually the style I grew up in.

 Now for the winner who came closest without going over.

The actual price was...drumroll.....

$45.00! And the winner is.....GIAC with a guess of $29.99!!  Congratulations my friend! Please send your mailing address to my email so that I may send your prize and a couple of surprises along with it.
Again...Congrats!

GET THE PICTURE...RIGHT

As bloggers, our craft is just a part of having an enjoyable blog. There is another very important part and that is lighting. If we can't get those pictures up and showing just the right lighting our followers can't enjoy the fruits of our labor. So, we are in part photographers as well.

As a novice at blogging with less than one year under my belt, I still find indoor photography challenging. Since I am a blabber mouth and will talk to anyone with at least one ear (that includes my pets and I also know a little sign language lol), I learn so much.

A few months ago, I was talking to an art teacher who was also the yearbook sponsor. After a few question I walked away with new insight and hope. He described a method called three point lighting. I found a site that has helped me somewhat...you will still have to play around with the technique, but it is certainly a starting point. The site has a simulator which was a big help in understanding the effects of lighting.  http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/simulator.html

This year I plan on making one of these light boxes. Minidork shows an extremely easy way to make one with what you probably have on hand. It even has self-contained storage!
http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/2012/12/let-there-be-light-diy-lightbox.html Maybe those of us who need it can work on and grow our photog skills together.

Hope this helps!
Grandmommy

My Cup Runneth Away With Me Part II

Warning...long post!

Okayyyy,
Thanks to a little playing around with Blogger and Roville's and Vanessa's  suggestions it looks like I am back in business. Thanks Roville and Vanessa!

 As promised, I have a couple of great things I want to share with you. 
  This project is waaay on the back burner. I bought it about two years ago not knowing what I was getting into. I just knew that I loved it. Once I got it home and compared it to my dolls, I realized it was too small for 1:12 scale. So this will become my 1:24 scale arboretum/conservatory...one day. It opens by lifting the whole glass top. I have a lot of the accessories for it, but I just want to do a few other things and get more experience first with lighting and such.  So, for now it will go back into a box in the back of the studio.

This seems to be a bird feeder. Not sure. It has a nice Greco style to it. I thought it looked like someplace for my dolls to hang out and experience warm bubbles or maybe just a place to pitch pennies and watch birds. I painted the roof with textured spray paint to give it a shingled look and covered the pillars in marble looked wallpaper.  It will be an easy clean up when I finish and put "water" in it. Mini Barbie thinks it just right for posing.

Then there are these tiny 1:144 waiting to be furnished

Now for my Grand Finale. TADAAAAA! My Craigslist purchase!

You might remember, in Part I of this post, I said I didn't need any more projects...then if you noticed I mumbled something (  mumble mumble.) LOL Well, I happened across another deal. LOL

It had been riding around in my daughter's SUV, because it would not fit into my car. Both her back seat and one middle row seat had to be folded down in order for it to fit. She finally brought it over this weekend. I was like an expectant mother. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The fellow I purchased it from must have thought I was a nut because I kept squealing and jumping up and down. AHAHA

  It is huge at over a yard tall and wide and vintage hand cut from lumber not a kit! It has nine, yep, nine rooms and opens from in the front and the back as well as the middle sections. Don't you just love that little landing in the front hall? All of the windows are glass and several of  the floors wooden. The carpet will of course be changed to match the decor.

Even the little front door is cute. I am thinking of using a white stucco type finish on the exterior with black window frames and lots of landscaping. The color looks different because some are from the Craigslist ad and the bad ones are mine. LOL 
Good things come to those who wait on God! 

You can see where it comes to next to my daughter

Closed front

Kitchen area

Front

Back

Front center hall

Side

Here is a comparison between my Victorian one and the new one

As if that weren't enough, I got a bag FULL (16) of books to go along with it...check them out.

Now, you have to guess what I paid for all of this...Whoever gets it right or the closest without going over wins this: a pathos plant in a ceramic vase. It works for both 1:6 and 1:12 scales{battery not included :-)} In the event of a tie, the first one to comment wins!

Oh, and-ah...this is, ahem...the last new project...for real... :-x

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MJ in Indiana!

 MJ went from warm winter weather, in San Francisco California,to the frozen state from which a very famous MJ (Michael Jackson) hails... Indiana...with mini friend Minimodpod... She is having a ball...um poor choice of words...She didn't do it I say!!! Have a great time MJ!



By the way, if you missed her visit to San Francisco you can see it here. http://myrealitty.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/mini-jazzi-goessan-francisco-sight.html



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Busted Blog Buttons...Bummer!

Hi Everyone!
Sorry to report my blog is starting off the year in a negative way. I have lots of great stuff I want to show you, but my blogger seems to be broken. It will not let me browse pics from my computer to upload to a post. Has anyone had this problem and know how to fix it?

Boy have I got stuff to show you!

So, until I get it fixed this will have to do...

HAPPY NEW YEARS! (toooot!)

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