April 25, 2022

#Miniature Tea & Toy Store 2; Happy Birthday to the Queen!


While I'm working on the Fairfield (yes! I have papers cut and ready to go in; paper and trim for the fireplace and I can add some lights! But... the problem with this house (so many!) is all the planning. Do one thing, realize have to do something else first. It gets tiring. Why I start and then get nothing else gets done. More on that later. Sigh.) 

Moving on... I added some new things to both the Tudor Tea Shoppe and the Haunted Toy Store, so thought I'd do a combined post. (Click titles for last posts or look in left column archives. Click photos for full size.)

The Haunted Toy Store

Never say never. I saw mentions online of people finding the Disney Mini Toy Brands, which got me curious. Well, since I came across some at Meijer, I bought one. (But!!! I see some people sharing a mini Dumbo! Oh, I love Dumbo so I keep searching as I don't want to pay $12 for one mini figure.)


Anyway....pretty cute. This one also came with a small shelving unit to assemble. Interesting is they also now have Mini Fashions Brands with purses and shoes (but Barbie sized.) Cute, but I'm not going to start on those (though I could set those up in the Mego Cher doll dressing room I have which is put away... I better not think of that! Running out of display room!) 

I know a few of the items are larger, but in comparison, they work as toys for the Living Dead girl doll. I can also change her out to a creepier doll, too, but she seems to fit in here. 


I also added some of the Lemax haunted toys I got last year  to the wall shelf.  I'd bought two packages then as I thought they were cute and I've learned - they never reissue the same items though they did have new mini gnomes again this past Halloween that were slightly different than last time.  

I also added a Big Bird I found at Petco. It's getting full now like a toy store should be, with lots to look at. Glad I changed this project as these are fun things to look for. (Hey, I still have some wall shelf space I can fill!) 


* * * 

The British Tudor Tea Shoppe
Happy Birthday to Queen Elizabeth, who just turned 96 and is celebrating 70 years as monarch!

I probably made this project some 20 years ago, but looking at it again, I realized my big oversight - no Union Jack teapot! Gasp! Well, when someone online shared a photo of a set they'd seen (Timelines brand) at Hobby Lobby that I'd never seen there before, of course I had to find one! Naturally they were out of them at sale time, but I went back again and found that plus this pretty set of pitchers for flowers and a nice silver tea set. I'll save those for other projects. (Funny that I went back again and the sale was back on so I got another British teapot set, this time at half price!)




The Union Jack tea set really adds something to the bottom shelf here, don't you think? (The blue book is a Dateman miniature photo book from the UK.)


I also decided to add some flag bunting and a small Jubilee sign outside, plus some more flowers. It thought it looked kind of bare before. It needed a few pops of color, right? This project probably sat for 10 years or so, so it needed updating. I added the new newspapers, too, and the Queen and Prince Philip portrait inside.


Some other additions include these really nice handmade pillows from a UK maker at Etsy (LadybirdandPenguin), so I had to add a couple. (And they were so reasonable, just under $2 each!) I think they really add a nice touch.



I also added the ceramic Jubilee sign (a button) and a thimble from Birchcroft China/Etsy, also in the UK.  I like adding things that are British made for authenticity. Even the food as that meal plate on the table (second picture above) and the large black tea container on the floor (partially shown at right below) were from a dollhouse shop in London when I went there years ago. The silver model below (and a toy dragon by the shelves) are from Westminster Abbey. The photos on the wall are from the trip, too.  I'm sure I'll keep adding a few new things, but I'm running out of room!



Thanks for stopping by again! Hope you enjoyed the tour! 😃

Stay tuned for more posts. And the dollhouse shows in Chicago (Tom Bishop International Show and the Spring Showcase show in Schaumburg, IL) are next weekend, so really looking forward to that! Will share photos of what I found and things I found interesting.