Blogging A to Z: Just Love Miniature Kitchens

 

Back: Day 1 - L for... - Next: M for...

This is to keep the posts in order. So what better than K-L and will be a two-day post: Just Love Miniature Kitchens! (* Click photos for full size.)

Real life? No. I'm not much of a cook. I can make a few things, but in miniature? So fun designing the room and all those miniature packages!

A kitchen roombox: 

Good thing I post these as it's a way to keep track of the photos! This was an A to Z post in 2020. Yes, I really have done a lot of projects! At least I get to go back and show some photos that get lost over time.

Fun filling the fridge! This was so fun to do!! I know why people are hooked on those MiniBrand Fill the Fridge... (haven't given to that... yet but have eyed it at Walmart. ... (Wow, what's with the crazy greedy prices on 'Zon???) I keep thinking the Cher and other dolls would like a kitchen... but.. I don't need more to buy! ha!)

Blogging A to Z: I Love Miniatures!

Vintage corner in half-scale Fairfield House attic, third floor. (See more links and pix under Fairfield here.)

Tomorrow: J-K... - Back to H - Day 1  

The "I" post for today has got to be titled I LOVE MINIATURES. Because I do!

What do I love?

I love - the planning, the designing, the color choosing, the new ideas and projects I can make.

I'm not crazy about building but I do like to see the final result and seeing an idea come to fruition. I love when it comes out as I envisioned it! 

Another favorite part of houses: attics! You get to put all kinds of extra things in here! Attic in my large yellow Victorian house. 

I really have too many favorites to add. Every house, every project is a favorite!

* See some favorites on the end-of-year Round Up: * 2024 projects - * 2025 projects

* More to come! 

Blogging A to Z: H for Halloween Miniatures

 Tomorrow: I for... - Back to G - Day 1  

What else, but H for Halloween Miniatures!! 

I love Halloween minis and love decorating for that holiday. I've shared many projects so I'll show and link a few again.

Yes, there is a Skellie Funeral Parlor!

Hubby found this gag stop-smoking coffin at Goodwill a while back. It fits the plastic skeletons perfectly! I love dressing them up so this was a good excuse to make the "mourners."

The Skeleton Porch - another favorite dog

The small skeleton and dog at the Witch's Cottage (views inside and videos)

* Also see my Halloween store.

Yes, more to come!

Blogging A to Z: G is For Miniature Gothic Library

Suitably eerie!

 Tomorrow: H for... - Back to F - Day 1  

I finally am finishing this project up. I decided after all to break out the center wood piece, and while I cracked the front of the box, it'll be fine once I find the right pattern to glue over the front. I added some trim strips on the inside and outside front bottom, and what's good is I still can take out the glass if needed. 

This was another of those photo storage boxes I found at Goodwill. Here's the beginning of the project. (*Click photos for full size.)

A ceiling light is in, and of course, I took it out again and put in a larger bulb with a  glassless lantern over it. That worked much better. 

Books. Lots of little books. Some for here. Some for other projects as you have to be in the mood to make them. Care to guess how many? (I counted about 80.)

Sometimes it's hard to get myself to paint furniture, but I'm not a big fan of the mass-produced mahogany color. I have to admit that painting the bookcases black and adding paper inside for contrast, plus some copper on the edges, did make them stand out more. I was going to make a windowseat, but the small Victorian couch fit between the bookcases. (I cut off the edge as the clock fell in this photo. ha!)

I've been toying with trying to print brick on textured paper so I bought a rule of "speckled" textured wallpaper. (Not the brick shown here. That is from etsy.) It also works well for painted ceilings. I used some painted pieces on the outside top of the box.

I've had this little octagonal table for ages. Again, I hesitated painting it as it had a really nice finish, but I still hadn't used it anywhere and it fit well in here. I cut the legs down slightly and added some copper splotches on top the black.

Can't have a dark library without harkening back to the earliest form of "horror" fiction, Penny Dreadfuls, little pamphlets first published in the mid-1800s full of Victorian scary tales like this 1846 Sweeney Todd tale, "The String of Pearls" or Varney the Vampire (1845).

In keeping with the project, I decided to print some of those covers on the sides of the library box. I keep meaning to reread some of these classic tales. It's been years since I've read many of them. Another good one is The PIcture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891), free via Project Gutenberg; a great movie, too, with a young and lovely Angela Lansbury.

I may yet add some more piles of books scattered around, but I like how it turned out. What do you think?

* Come back tomorrow for more daily miniatures!

Blogging A to Z: F for Miniature Food

Day 1  - Back to E - Next: G for....

Nothing more fun to make and collect than miniature food. I've made quite a few things over time, from "regular" food to creepy and fantasy-flavored Halloween food. I'll save the Halloween offerings for another day. Above: copying food from a vintage cookbook cover.

(Click photos for full size. Click links for more photos.)

F for Miniature Food:

I also made a smaller half-scale version.

I'll have to mention my favorite project: The diner in the lower level of my Park Ave. Mansion:

Portion of the diner.

Also another big favorite: My half-scale Tiki Room in a photo box.

Blogging A to Z: E for Miniature Easter

 

Tomorrow: F for... - Back to D - Day 1  

Had fun last year making some miniature Easter baskets and Easter cakes.

I made these baskets using vintage basket patterns I shrunk down.

My friend made this cute basket.

* Come back for more tomorrow!

Blogging A to Z: D for Miniature Dogs

 

Living room of my Country Victorian house, 1/24 scale. I made the furniture from D. Anne Ruff patterns.

Dogs in my Dogcatcher's House:

Monday - Tomorrow: E for... - Back to C - Day 1

What else but miniature dogs! I've had dogs all my life, still mourning the loss last summer of my 14 1/2 year-old German Shepherd, Gracie. 

So it seemed perfect to add some dogs. I try to put a dog in most of my miniature projects. Here's a past post with more of my miniature dogs and more here.

* See two older previous posts I wrote: Dolores's miniature dogs - Alice Zinn's miniature dogs

** Come back Monday for the next post.

Blogging A to Z: Miniature Cakes

 

Continuing on the daily blog (except Sunday) for A to Z in April.

C for Cakes

See day 1 and schedule. Tomorrow: D for.... -  Back to B.

I've collected a ton of cakes for many years, eventually planning to do that Witch's Bakery, which is finally near completion. So, thought I'd share a few more cakes I've made and collected. Yes, I like making gory, Halloween foods! ha! (Click photos for full size.)

Some cakes in the bakery window:

I also made a smaller bakery in a Tudor House:

I had remade the owner's apartment on the second floor also. I like that it has a comfy, old-fashioned look.

Come back tomorrow for more!

Blogging A to Z: B for Miniature Bakery

 

Continuing on the daily blog (except Sunday) for A to Z in April. (*Click photos for full size.)

See day 1 and schedule. Tomorrow: C for....

Today for B, an easy choice: My Witch's Bakery. - and the initial plan for it.

I took some new photos for this as I hadn't shown the additions since the last posts. 

I really liked the results using the egg carton stone, first time I did a whole building. Just about everything's inside though I'm not finished filling the shelves. I also started painting the other Street of Shops building for a second floor restaurant, but I set it aside for now. 

For something different, I added stained glass to the windows for a unique look. I'm really happy with the results. That stone really looks great, doesn't it?

Left side window:

Full view: I updated the owner; see second pic below. Painted her hair and uniform black, added lace and accents. Yes, she's rather old-fashioned, even kind of Vampira-looking, from another century, really. What else would you expect for this kind of bakery? 😏 The table and chairs may stay or be temporary. Not sure yet.

Top of the bakery case:

Bakery wall shelf - Take out boxes and goods on the front shelf:

Plenty of storage boxes for tools. I'm still adding a few boxes. Oh, look. There's a visitor! Well... maybe that ghostly mouse caused some electric problems. That's my story anyway. So some of the shelf layout changed slightly since this as I had to "evacuate" the store and tear out part of the back wall. See here. All fixed now. 

Side shelf dessert tower has more goodies, including this "delicious" plate:

Don't be too surprised at what dishes are served here!

Annual Blogging A to Z

For A:  An easy one: My favorite Abandoned Room, made in a photo box. 

See first post about it. I loved doing this. And it can be harder to be messy, than neat! Note: most of the miniatures are 1/24th (half-scale) or 1/12th scale (1" = 1 foot.) This is half-scale.

 I skipped last year's A to Z event but I'd done the monthly Blogging A to Z for quite a few years, so I thought it was time to sign up again.

The plan is simple: Post daily except Sunday. I also sometimes double up a few posts. And there may be a couple other posts between these from the miniature show and the annual Half-Scale swap. * Bear with me, if some things aren't right or links missing, which I'll fix as the days unfold. It gets confusing going back and forth to fix posts!

** Visit other A to Z blogs here. **

Next: Tomorrow, B for...  (Posts go live at midnight.)

As usual, I'll be sharing my miniatures and maybe a few others I come across.  They will mostly be simple photo posts and may not be new to followers, but I'll try to add a few new twists and they'll be new to others. Plus, it's always fun to look back on what's been made. So, Enjoy!

I will link all the month's posts also here to have one list and will link back to it each day. (*Click photos for full size.)

SCHEDULE:

A to Z for April: Daily except Sunday. (Posts go live at midnight the day of.)

A   Today: Abandoned Room                  B - Mini Bakery

C    Mini Cakes                                       D Mini Dogs

E      Mini Easter                                     F  Mini Food                          G Mini Gothic Library

H    Mini Halloween                                I    I love Minis!                    J- K Mini Kitchen Love

 L - Lavender Cottage                             M   Men's Store - Cigar Box           

 N    Nothing but Mini Pumpkins            O - Other (show) Minis     P New Mini Project                    

Q-R  Quite Royal Minis                        S   Mini Skeletons                 T Mini Toys

U V   Mini Victorian Houses                   W Witches & Wizards                X Y Z The End.