2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: I-J-K - It's Just the Fairfield Dollhouse Kitchen

  It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days (except Sunday) from A to Z.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

 Today for the Letters I-J-K: It's Just the Fairfield Kitchen

I recently finished working on my half-scale (1/24, 1/2" to 1 foot) Fairfield dollhouse. My latest house is always my favorite, but I really did enjoy doing this house. (Click photos for full size; other posts in archives in left column or dollhouse tab under top banner. See video of exterior under letter F.)

Since I haven't shown the finished kitchen yet, that's the focus of today's post.

I loved these scrapbook papers and knew I had to use them for the floor and walls. Funny as I'm not a fan of green but I do like the sage/wedgewood shade of green I used for the furniture. 

The orange and green colors give the house a kind of retro,  maybe a '60s-'70s look, so I also decided to use even older style vintage furnishings like the stove and old "metal" sink (I had one like this where I grew up but it had a cabinet built on the bottom), and a Tootsietoy 1930s monitor top icebox. I put a small "soup can" with a pansy in it on top the fridge. Thought I took a pic, but I can't get to it now so I'll try to get another photo at some point. (Stove, bake table and sink kits from TMC Miniatures. The  small shelf on the edge of the kitchen is from MiniEtchers.)

For fun, I had to put in a vintage metal wall phone painted in olive green. I added the curly phone "cord" by painting a thin coated wire from a lamp plug. I was so disappointed that I'd thought I'd lost this and would have to get another, but luckily I found it and glued it in right away! There's another vintage phone, this time in my favorite yellow, on the bookcase in the attic sitting room.

I lso made a small shelf/stand for the corner next to the stove and stairs, not shown here. This is funny. I had a hard time reaching in to hang some of the items. And well, didn't notice my BIG mistake until I looked at the photo! haaa! I'll have to fix it, but see if you spot my goof. The teensy teapots are made by my friend, Kitty. 

 

The purse on the chair is actually a button. The "metal" glass and spoon are from the recent half-scale Kitschy swap. The plate rack on the sink is from Ron Chase, D'Tales Miniatures. I also got a nice clock and shelf from him at the shows last year, which I'll likely use in the Park Ave. Mansion once I start on that.

Well, found this photo: not great but you can see the flower and the shelf better.

* Next: A to Z  - Letter L for my Fairfield Living Room, which I haven't shown yet, either. The post will be up on Friday 4/14  .

* Thanks for visiting. Come back for more posts!

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: G-H for Goodie, It's Halloween!

 Halloween table: I made the foods originally for my Haunted house. Now I set it up in a greenhouse.

 It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days (except Sunday) from A to Z.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

 Today for the Letter G-H:

Great chance to share on my favorite holiday in miniature, Halloween! It's lots of fun making a dollhouse creepy and spooky for the spookiest time of year. * Click photos for full size.

I purposely put two lights on the Fairfield dollhouse porch as I have some fun spooky accessories to cover the lightsso they'll light up. But I won't be able to show that until late summer, so for now, I'll share some of the various things I've made for Halloween. 

The front of my 1" scale Halloween store. See more photos during the annual Halloween in Miniature event. Check the link for work by other artists. Links to all past events are on the top of the blog under the top photo. This was fun to make and design. I may yet make another store but smaller in half-scale. 

Witch hats in the Halloween store. Larger hats by "Kat the Hat" Hazelton of the UK.

This was fun to do.... assorted creepy art for various projects.

* Next: 4/11 A to Z Blog Challenge Letters I-J-K - It's Just My Fairfield Kitchen. New photos! 

* Thanks for visiting! Be sure to come back for more photos.

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge F for Fairfield Dollhouse

My Half-Scale Fairfield Dollhouse

 It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days (except Sunday) from A to Z.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

 Today for the Letter F:

I recently finished working on my half-scale (1/24, 1/2" to 1 foot) Fairfield dollhouse. My latest house is always my favorite, but I really did enjoy doing this house. I admired it for a long time and when I came across a super deal on the kit, I couldn't pass it up!

Not that it was easy! The shape and all the pieces, and some confusing directions, make it a hard house to start! I had it out several times and admit to being intimidated at first. There were also things I didn't think of until later and then went back and luckily could change. But I'm happy with the end results.

So for a change, here's a short video I did of the house exterior. This was done before I added a few more things to the house. Guess I'll have to make another video at some point. Check out other posts in the archives in the left column.

* Next: A to Z Letters G-H for Goodie, it's Halloween!

Thanks for visiting! Come back for more posts!

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: E for Every Kind of Dollhouse Food

 

 It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days from A to Z, excluding Sunday.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

Today for the Letter E:

Like real life, Every Kind of Food has to be a part of the dollhouse. Can't let the mini people go hungry, right?

If you aren't familiar with dollhouse culinary dishes, then you are really missing something! There are some fantastic food artisans out there who make amazingly real culinary creations out of polymer and other clays that look just like the real thing, maybe even better! 

* Here's some creepy Halloween finger sandwiches. haa! * Check out these yummy pies! * Even some fun mini hot dog earrings!

I've made a few things I'm pretty proud of, but I'm nowhere near as good as these other artisans. But I like trying different things to see if I can make them or to see how they turn out.

Above: Some summer food I got from a past 1/2th, 1" scale swap: I made the bowl of potato salad.

* I had to add my favorite 1/24 stove from my half-scale Victorian house: (kit from MiniEtchers.com)

Here are some other foods I've made:

This table and foods are in a rooftop garden I made a while ago in a small wall-hung bookcase.

I haven't made any foods in a while. I'll have to try it again as I'll need some smaller food plates for my half-scale dollhouses.

 * Next: A to Z Letter F for Fairfield Dollhouse.

* Thanks for visiting! Be sure to come back for more photos.

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: D for Half Scale Decorations

 It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days from A to Z, excluding Sunday.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

Today for the Letter D:

One of the best parts of working on dollhouses is the decorating. I like it as you get to work on many crafts in one project: decorating, designing, crafting, color-coordinating, building, etc. Well, to be truthful, building is not my favorite thing to do, (there is a lot of cutting, measuring and gluing of trim wood when doing a house.) My favorite part is thinking up the theme, the colors, coordinating ideas, designing the decor, deciding what fits in, and making the accessories. It also results in a lot of changes as the thing you thought would fit sometimes doesn't, so you have to decide on what to make or use that looks better instead.

* Here's a past post on some of the assorted decorations I've made and how I decided to use them when building a wall shelf for the den in my Victorian dollhouse. 

Above: Here's the finished shelf. I loved making this bookshelf as it was fun incorporating the tiny charms in with the travel theme using the same world map scrapbook paper I used on the room's walls. * You can see the video of the full house here in the right column. (Scroll past top blog link.)

Here are the other bookcases and handmade seat by the window. I use and make a lot of books as they always look cool. The curtains are handmade. The bookcases are from kits. The bookcases and seat also use the same scrapbook paper background so it all ties in together.

* Next: A to Z Letter E -Every Kind of Dollhouse Food.

* Thanks for visiting. Be sure to come back for more photos and info! 

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: C for Dollhouse Collections

 

It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days from A to Z, excluding Sunday.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

Today for the Letter C:

When you are into a hobby, you end up with a collection of all kinds of things. ha! Dollhouses, like real houses, need everything you use in real life, food (fake of course!), accessories, furnishings, pets, etc. 

So for the Letter C, here are a few groupings. See more photos of my houses and collections in the left column archive or on the tab under the top banner, My Dollhouses. 

* Next: A to Z Letter D for Half-Scale Decorations.

* Thanks for visiting!  Come back for more photos! 

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: B for Fairfield Boy's Room

It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days (except Sunday) from A to Z.(*Start here at A. See archives in left column for all posts.)

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

Today for the Letter B:

Decided I'll share a couple pix from the boy's bedroom in my Fairfield half-scale, (1/24th, 1/2" to 1 foot) dollhouse, a Greenleaf kit. I've been working on the dollhouse kit for the past year. I'm a DIY'er so I made most of the furniture myself from kits and also made most of the accessories and decorations.

See more photos of the house in the left column archive or on the tab under the top banner, My Dollhouses. More photos of the boy's room can be seen here. Click photos for full size.

* Next: A to Z Letter C  for Dollhouse Collections.

Thanks for visiting! Come back for more photos and such!

2023 A to Z Blog Challenge: Fairfield Dollhouse Attic

 

It's time for the annual A to Z Blog Challenge!  

The concept is simple - blogging for 26 days (except Sunday) from A to Z.

* See A to Z Instagram - Facebook - A to Z Blog Master List of Participants

I forgot about this, but saw it at the last minute, so I'm rushing to get things scheduled.

When I checked I last did this in 2015 and also in 2013, so I may rerun a few older posts since they'll be new to me - and to you- and they're on my favorite subject - dollhouse miniatures!

As I'm a big collector (no pun intended!), it's fun to go back and share older projects and new ones as well.

So for A:

Funny, as I jumped the gun the other day, not realizing this was coming up and posted  - two days ago!! - on Dollhouse Attics! So here's another look and be sure to check the link at left for more attic photos.

Portion of Fairfield attic

Fairfield attic sitting room 

Background: 

I recently finished working on the half-scale (1/24th, 1/2" =1 foot) Fairfield dollhouse kit from Greenleaf. This was roughly a year-long project, with the kit house built by me and hubby, with me doing the designing, decorating, and renovating. I'm a DIY'er, so I make most of the furnishings from kits and make most of my own accessories and decor.

 I am still scheduling other posts and photos on rooms I haven't shared yet, too, so stay tuned!

You can see links to various parts of the house and the house exterior on the tab under the top banner, My Dollhouses. Other posts can be seen in the archives list in the left column. Click photos for full size.

 * Next: A to Z Letter B for Fairfield Boy's Room. (Live day of link- on Monday.)

********

* Here's a list of all the posts, daily except Sunday. Links live on day of post.

Start 4/1: A - Fairfield Attic

4/3: B - Fairfield Boy's Room

C- Dollhouse Collections    D- Dollhouse Decorations E- Every Kind of Dollhouse Food

F - Fairfield Dollhouse and video   

G-H - Good it's Halloween!      4/11 I-J-K- Just my Fairfield Kitchen - first photos! 

4/14 L- Fairfield Living Room - first photos!  M: Miniature Kits

N-O-P  4/17 - Other New Project - Cottage 

Q-R 4/20-21: Quietly Working on Another Roombox

4/22: S-T: Some Miniature Toys           4/25 U-V-W  Invitation to Dine: Fairfield Dining Room

4/28 X-Y-Z: Month's recap: favorite photos & posts

Thanks for visiting! Come back for more photos and info! 

Fairfield & Other Dollhouse Attics

The unfinished Fairfield attic before.

 Today's topic: Attics!

Feeling a little lost as I finally added what I intended for now to the Fairfield and covered it up. But I will be showing you the rooms you didn't see yet, so stay tuned for upcoming posts.

(Click photos for full size; see other posts in archives in left column or tab on top. * See last post: Fairfield Plants, Additions & Hall and the annual Half Scale Swap. Bonus: Check Emily's blog tutorial to make a beaded curtain.)

For now, thought I'd share something I seem to be hooked on. No matter the house, lately every one has to have an attic. ha! It's fun to have an area to store things and have another room you can use for any purpose. So here's a look back at some different attics I've finished:

***

In the first half-scale house I did, the Country Dollhouse, I used the attic as one large room with extra beds (made from those inexpensive wood punch-out furniture kits) and a craft area. The room was painted "wood" paneling made from strips. (*See all photos of house on website.)

***

In my fairly recent large Victorian house, I decided to add an actual small attic space for storage. I like how the brick paper looks with the wood. (See video of house on my website. Scroll past blog section at top.)

***

The haunted Van Buren house also has a full attic space on the third floor. I really like how the brick looks here. (I always use the textured brick paper from Starboc2 on Etsy, who's from Greece.)    * See other photos on top page tab: My Dollhouses.)

***

For fun, here's how the Fairfield attic space started. At this point I wasn't sure how it would turn out!

Now it has both an attic sitting room and a tiny bathroom next to a storage-attic space, the best of both worlds! I normally don't add bathrooms but this house had enough room to add two, one on the second floor and I squeezed one in the attic space.

Sitting room and bathroom:

Attic space:

After putting some things in, I decided to add an extra bed in there, too. Why not have somewhere a guest or one of the boy's friends could sleep? The bed was a simple make using end pieces also from the cheapie punch-out wood furniture kit plus a piece of matboard and foam for the mattress. I love the tie-die-type fabric. I was lucky to find a whole bag of different colors and prints at Goodwill a while back.

I added the Western art above the bed, which is from the recent half-scale swap. Also put other art and a teensy barometer (also a previous swap item) on the wall. Though the vintage metal camera isn't half scale, once I found it in the stash I wanted to use it. Thought it too cute not to add in next to the vintage radio. I have one of those folding cameras in real life, and they're fairly large.

That's it for the moment! Thanks again for visiting. 

* Next: A to Z Letter B -link live day of post. Come back soon for more photos!

Houdini's Fabulous Magic Blog Tour

 Decades since he first appeared on a stage, Harry Houdini has continued to mesmerize generations of new magicians and those fascinated with magic. Now, his's magic skills have

About the Book:

Incredible escapes, fantastic sleight-of-hand-Houdini's most challenging performances are dramatically portrayed in Houdini's Fabulous Magic. Walter Gibson, co-author, was in close touch with Harry Houdini for a number of years before his death and worked with the master magician in preparing material for the book. It is with the aid of Houdini's own scrapbooks and notes that this book was written.

 The spectacular highlights of Houdini's career are described-and explained-here. Included are the famous escapes: escapes from a padlocked milk can filled with water; from locked jail cells; from a water-filled Chinese torture cell while suspended upside down; from packing cases weighted under water. Again, in this book, Houdini walks through a brick wall, vanishes a 10,000-pound elephant and is buried alive. Once more, Houdini and his wife Bessie mysteriously exchange places in a locked trunk-in three seconds!

 And Houdini the man is not ignored. His impact on the world in the early years of the twentieth century was enormous. He was a public hero who, in his own way, helped sweep out the cobwebs of nineteenth-century thinking. While doing so, he distinguished himself as a patriot, writer, collector of magic, aviator, movie idol, philanthropist, and crusader against fraudulent spiritualistic practices.

 This is a technical manual for magicians, complete with illustrations and diagrams, but it is also an astute analysis of the best of Houdini's magic and a readable biography of a man who turned himself into a legend. It is a book for would-be conjurers, for professional necromancers, for those curious about the methods and means of one of the most enchanting men of the previous century.

  ** BUY: Get Houdini's Fabulous Magic on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.

 Review: 

What's not to like? I've been fascinated with Houdini and magic tricks since I was a kid, even at one point getting one of those kiddie magic kits. I read magic books, trying to figure stuff out, and I'm sure at some point I also read the older version of this book. For anyone interested in magic and the life of Houdini, plus a behind-the-screen peek at the tricks, this is the book to read. Besides, who can resist a book endorsed by Teller of Penn & Teller? 5 stars. 

* Comment on this blog or email me your mailing address and what fascinates you about Houdini via my website contact page to be chosen as the winner of a copy! Continental US mailing only. Comments close at midnight CT 3/28.

About the Authors

 Walter B. Gibson (1897-1985)

​Walter, a graduate of Colgate University, was a prolific writer including The Shadow novels under his pen name Maxwell Grant. For a time he was Houdini's personal secretary. Following Houdini's death, the attorney for the estate permitted Walter to examine many of Houdini's private scrapbooks and notes from which Gibson wrote Houdini's Magic and Houdini's Escapes. Houdini's scrapbooks, papers and other documents form the background for Houdini's Fabulous Magic. Also a magician, Walter toured with and wrote for magicians such as Blackstone (Sr.), Thurston and Raymond. He was a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the American Society for Psychical Research, the Magician's Guild of America and the Magician's Club of London.

 Morris N. Young, M.D. (1909-2002)

​Morris, a graduate of M.I.T., Harvard and Columbia University was Director of Ophthalmology at Beekman Downtown Hospital in New York City. Aside from his numerous professional memberships, he was a member of the Society of American Magicians (to which Houdini had helped him join as a young man), the International Brotherhood of Magicians and a member of the Inner Circle of the Magic Circle (London). He was a founder of the Magic Collectors Association including their publication MAGICOL. Along with his wife Chesley, he established the largest private holdings on memory and mnemonics which now resides at the University of San Marino. Along with his friend John McManus, in 1955 they established the McManus-Young Collections at the Library of Congress, The University of Texas, Austin and the University of California in Berkeley.  Morris' other book publications include Hobby Magic, Houdini on Magic (with Walter Gibson), Presto Prestige, Bibliography of Memory, How To Develop An Exceptional Memory (with Walter Gibson), The Complete Guide to Science Fair Competition (with John Stolzfus) and Radio Music Live (with John Stolzfus).

 You can visit the website created by Morris N. Young's children, Charles C. Young and Cheryl L. Young: https://www.musicmagicandmore.com/

 Advance Praise of the Book

 Teller of Penn & Teller says: "I've loved this books for sixty years. My first copy was borrowed from the Philadelphia Public Library when I was fourteen, and I kept renewing the loan till I could afford to own my own copy.  Houdini's Fabulous Magic has just the right blend of history, technical secrets, and romance to fire the passion of a young magician.  Four pieces of the Penn & Teller repertoire were directly inspired by Houdini's Fabulous Magic--four times more than any other book in my library."

 John Cox in his "Wild About Harry" website (​Wildabouthoudini.com) and blog said of the earlier editions:  Houdini's Fabulous Magic by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young is the best forgotten Houdini book. I say that because when one thinks of books on Houdini's methods, one tends to turn to Houdini The Key by Patrick Culliton, The Secrets of Houdini by J.C. Cannel, or even Gibson's earlier work, Houdini's Escapes and Magic. Maybe because Fabulous Magic contains some reprinted material from the earlier Gibson book it tends to be thought of as a somewhat recycled work. But it's actually one of the very best books on Houdini's major feats and methods and maybe the best book for the layperson. It also contains historical tidbits that aren't found elsewhere. So let's remember it today!"

 

Blog Tour Calendar

  February 27th @ The Muffin

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Houdini's Fabulous Magic. Follow along our tour and you'll have the chance to win a copy of the book too.

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com

   February 28th @ The Mommies Review

Join Glenda for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic. You'll also have the chance to win a copy of the book too!

http://www.themommiesreviews.com/

   March 1st @ Word Magic

Fiona will be featuring the book Houdini's Fabulous Magic on her blog.

http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/

   March 6th @ One Writer's Journey

Join Sue for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://suebe.wordpress.com/

   March 8th @ A Storybook World

Join Deirdra for her feature of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://www.astorybookworld.com/

   March 10th @ Reading is My Remedy

Join Chelsie today for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://readingismyremedy.wordpress.com/

   March 12th @ Joan P. Nienhus

Joan shares her thoughts about Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://www.facebook.com/joan.nienhuis/

   March 15th @ One Sister's Journey

Join Lisa for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://www.lisambuske.com/

   March 20th @ My Beauty My Books

Join Nikki for her feature of an excerpt of Houdini's Fabulous Magic. You have the chance to win a copy of the book too!

https://mybeautymybooks.com/

   March 23rd @ Knotty Needle

Join Judy for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com/

   March 25th @ Choices

Visit Madeline's blog for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic. You also have the chance to win a copy of the book too!

http://www.madelinesharples.com/

   March 27th @ Candid Canine

Join Chris for a review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://candidcanine.blogspot.com/

   March 29th @ World of My Imagination

Visit Nicole's blog for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://worldofmyimagination.com

   March 30th @ Silver's Reviews

Join Elizabeth for a spotlight of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

http://silversolara.blogspot.com/

   March 31st @ The Faeries Review

Visit Lily's blog for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://www.thefaeriereview.com/

   April 2nd @ Jessica's Reading Room

Join Jessica for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic. You'll also have a chance to win a copy of the book too!

https://www.jessicasreadingroom.com/

   April 2nd @ Coffee And Ink

Visit Jan's blog for her review of Houdini's Fabulous Magic.

https://coffeeandinkbooks.wordpress.com/