June 16, 2023

Miniature Witch Cottage & Garage Sale Finds

 What are those?? Keep reading!

It's finally church rummage and yard sale time! It's always fun to look as you never know what you'll find and you can usually get some pretty good deals! So had to share some of my latest finds.

The best find is after all these years of doing dollhouses we finally got a scroll saw at a church sale, which makes cutting out doors and windows sooo much easier; see top photo of door openings on the Half Scale Witch Cottage. I'll share more on that later when I make progress on it. (See last post - plants and older posts in left column archives. Click photos for full size.)

Door openings cut out on front wall and on back of tower wall panel on second floor.

 Mr. Dollhouse Contractor used to cut the holes with a jigsaw, which is more shaky and you got wobbly cuts. Always worked around it, but this is so much better. It's also great because it's easy enough that I'll be able to do my own cutting, which will be really nice when I want it done right away and don't want to wait. ha! The great thing is that the saw blade is like new and... you won't believe we got it for only... $5!

You'll appreciate this too - I also found  the cutest small garbage can - tiny, with the pedal and a lift out bucket! Now I don't have to keep getting up to throw stuff out.

The other finds were some inexpensive dollhouse pieces for 50 cents each. The blue couch is a Mattel Littles metal couch which is half scale; the plastic couch will probably fit somewhere too once I cover it in fabric. The table/bench will work in half scale also and is hand-painted. Someone even signed the back. No, doesn't look like anyone I know. Also got another crate of flowers and a metal wheelbarrow.


Here's another pretty unique find I came across at a yard sale: so... what are these?

Once I saw these strange little statues, I knew I had to get them, especially the ones with the faces. Nothing says creepy like statues with faces. ha!

Did you guess?

Actually it's some kind of dragon, medieval or Mayan? chess set. What I liked besides the unique carvings is that they were smaller, so they'll be perfect house and yard accents for my witch houses!

The box they came in is really cool-looking too. 


The neat thing is that dragon - lion? head drawer pull/knob on the front of the box. 

I am thinking (gasp!) of taking it off to use on a dollhouse wall (wouldn't that look neat?) but I think I have to take half of the drawer apart to get it off. So, I'll leave it... for now. I only paid $7  for the purpose of using the statues for dollhouses so I won't feel real bad if I take it apart and then have to re-glue it with a different knob. ha!😏 I have been thinking of making a small antique, brocante-type shop on the bottom floor of the Park Ave. Mansion when I get to that project, so I really like the idea of using this head on a wall.... I know.. and I know you understand. ha! But I buy stuff like this to take it apart or re-use it so no guilt, ha!

Going to a couple other church sales next week so we'll see if I find anything else. And I'll be working on the second floor of the Witch Cottage. Lots of steps to do there but I've pretty much figured out the layout and have the flooring cut. The black/white star print floor I bought will look pretty cool. I think the second-floor tower will be a neat little space, too. Since it has windows, it would be a shame to leave it unused and closed up. It's a tiny room but perfect for stargazing, I figure. (Photo of house from website.)

So... that's it for now! Thanks for visiting and come back soon for more updates!