#A to Z Blogging - P for #Dollhouse Show Plans!

(illustration: pixabay.com)

* Go to Day 1 

* Because of the coronavirus outbreak what would've been my annual trek with my good friend Gigi to the Chicago Area dollhouse shows has been postponed to August. But I'm going to leave this post as is. I'll be sharing what I bought and show pictures later. (I hope.)

We did plan on making all 3 shows this time as I have some things that I hope to pre-order and pick up from one of the vendors. I'll be sure to show my finds when I get back and some pix of interesting things I saw. It's always fun to show off some of our discoveries! I'll have my eyes open to add more bottles and cleaning supplies for the small kitchen room box I've been working on. Hopefully I'll share the final project soon. Gotta get these UFO's done!!

Our stops include:

* The 3 Blind Mice Show, Now the April Chicago Show, Wyndham Garden Hotel, Schaumburg, IL.  (Postponed to Aug. 15)
    (The show has since been taken over by T&D Miniatures, which also runs the Waukesha Expo show (May 15-16). She also will be running what was the November Wee C Club show in Elk Grove Village, IL.) No May show.

I always find some nice bargains and something out of the ordinary. Last year I found the NAME window room kit that I made into my Raggedy Ann room. 

The year before I was lucky to win a door prize - the half scale house kit below, which I made into a small Halloween house (seen at right).

* The Miniature Show,  Crowne Plaza, Chicago O'Hare Hotel, Rosemont, IL. (No date yet for postponed show. This so far was cancelled.)

This show is interesting as you'll find some unique items, along with some high-end items that are more museum quality. Can't buy 'em, but they're neat to see anyways. 

Some vendors I hope to take a peek at are the new Halloween items from Cynthia Howe ;  (I have one of her beautiful hat kits which I confess I still have to make!);

 I love the flower and furniture kits, especially the Gothic items from SDK Miniatures; and ArtofMini from Germany has some different kits like cute suitcases and more. I got one of those last year so we'll see what else I find!)  

* The Bishop Show, Chicago International, Marriott O'Hare, Chicago  (Postponed to Aug. 15-16)

I admit the last few years we've stuck with two shows as by the time you get here, you are worn out. Big show, I've attended in the past so many of the vendors are familiar. But it's nice when you discover someone new that you haven't seen in person before. (Last year I found Jane Harrop from the UK who has an incredible line of unique retro kits and in half scale too! Unfortunately, she's not coming to the shows this year. I still want to order a couple 1950s items like her TV and curio stand.)

This year, I've come across Seaside Miniatures, also of the UK, and hope to have things ordered ahead to pick up there.

 I have my eye on her cute kits for half scale, the beach house and the Shepherd's Hut, which I think would make a good Gypsy wagon. I liked this style better than the actual wagon as I like how the bed area is divided off. (Aren't they cute? Yeah like I don't have enough UFO kits? Never mind!) I think the hut would be a cute addition to add outside when I  - eventually - do my mermaid-sea captain's house and beach.

IDEA:  I saw some fantastic directions on the Michael's store page for a resin water plaque that looks really good. (Cool, isn't it?) I'd like to try this for the water for the beach house scene. So-many-plans-and-ideas. I'd need to live to 90 to do them all. ha!

I've also seen a couple neat sea theme houses set in those boat bookcases. I have a larger one I've been saving... and a mid-sized one. It's tempting to build my scenes in there and try this water effect on the bottom like it's on the beach. It's a thought... Eventually. We'll see...

 (Some of these may change as many people had to cancel from the Bishop show but I still wanted to share these neat items.)

I also want to check out the spooky items from Michael R Miniatures of the UK. He has some fun, creepy things. I'll want them all (but can't buy them all. ha!)  Love the faces on these bottles he has on Etsy. (As the UK Miniatura show was cancelled, he was doing an online show so I hope he'll still be making the trip to Chicago in August.)

Also of interest that I came across online and will be fun to see in person is Miniature Pop-up Books of Japan. These are really incredible tiny works of art in a book. And she has many in kit form on her Etsy page, too. 

#A to Z Blogging: Nothing but One-Inch-Scale Dollhouse Kits

Pictured: Cabin, Nstrworks

* Go to Day 1 

Today is N and O.

If you are looking for a different kind of dollhouse kit, there are plenty of choices out there. Thought I'd search out some unique models that caught my eye from around the world and often with reasonable or free shipping. They're all worth taking a peek at. 


Cabin, Nstrworks - (photo above) Unusual shape, $96 on Etsy

Central Perk Lego Set - Build a miniature model of the Friends coffee shop with Legos.

French style dollhouse - pretty cool, lots of rooms, on Etsy. $498

Hawaii Kit - This is one of the "million parts" dollhouse kits from China, but the design on this is mesmerizing. (Find it on Ebay, Wish, etc.) $28 and up.

Japanese Dollhouse Kit -Three rooms, $160, $20 shipping from Japan.

Modern Townhouse -Another China-made kit. First time I saw this model. Neat looking, though one review said it has poorly translated English instructions, but it has  a YouTube video. But this is a cool-looking design. 1/24th scale. $44 (From what I've seen from another kit, the refrigerator in this is smaller than half scale.) But if you like lots to work on, these kits can be a fun challenge.

MoMa Rowhouse - Interesting design but pricey. $405

Park Place Townhouses - Love this! Townhouses (each sold separately) in 1" scale. What a neat idea! $150, free shipping. 14"W x 32"H x 18.5"D. This would be cool in half scale! (Shop has pretty, unique wallpapers, too.)

Nikolas Malengos - interesting dollhouse kits from Greece on Etsy. Reasonable and free shipping. Here's a modern kit, $48. 

** And in passing, a couple half-scale houses I spotted:

Victorian Gothic Mansion - Nice details, but not sure on size though they "guess" it's 1/24th. I'd ask for more information on dimensions, and door/window sizes. $127, free shipping


Victorian Gothic House - Love the details on this house.  Half Scale, $199, free shipping

#A to Z Blogging: M for Half-Scale Miniatures Swap

* Go to Day 1 

I've been participating in this annual swap from the Half Scale Miniatures group (formerly on Yahoo and now on Groups.io) for years. It's always been great as people are so creative!

While the swap has gotten smaller over time, I think one year the swap was in the 60s but was only 28 this year, that's okay. I wouldn't think of missing it as then I'd be mad I didn't get in on the goodies!

I've used a lot of the things in my dollhouses, and am always happy to get things I normally would never make myself. And there are usually some creative ways to make things I wouldn't have thought of! 

Here are last year's swap items. I made the bunny in the pot. All cool stuff (the theme I think was toys and garden, but you can make what you want.) I was tickled to death with the Raggedy Ann and Mr. Potato Head (so tiny!) and both favorites, but love it all.

You can see some of the items in my Half Scale Country House photos, see website page.  (Example of a few: Kitchen: crock pot, cakes, mixer, cookie tray. Living Room: purple flowers. Bedroom: rag dog.)

In years past, I've made food plates, framed pictures, round printed rugs and art, etc.  This year I made game board sets, plus printie coloring pages and a "pack" of colored pencils, plus a loose pencil. Yeah, tedious cutting out all the little pieces of money, gluing them, and then touching up the edges with a marker to match the color. Others made better pencils and brushes, which I have to look at better for size to see what they used. But overall I was happy with how the finished pieces came out.

Here are some of the things I got this year: Fantastic, aren't they?! That's why I try to never miss this swap and it's the only one I do these days. It's always fun to get.

So many mats! I'm going to have to make a work desk and a crafts desk.

The round glass item is a cute terrarium. The colored item is a poured item. Pretty lamps, too!

Fun having all the little craft items!

Perfect for my sewing room, too!

#A to Z Blogging: L for #Miniature Lady's Shop Shelves

* Go to Day 1 

Today I'll share the progress on the Lady's Shop shelves I've been working on. It may even be done by this posting. 😉

The shelving unit is a kit I had made at MiniEtchers. I painted it and papered the insides with scrapbook paper. I added the wood trim on top and glued it around a strip of the paper's design. I made the flowers from a Bonnie Lavish roses kit. (The azaleas here at Dragonfly look similar and would be nice, too.)  Here's the progress so far:

I cut a piece of black-white check floor for inside the cabinet and it'll look great! The walls will be a tan, light print wallpaper.

Getting there!

The shelves are going to be set in an old jewelry box I had since it's the perfect size. I would have preferred one door, but this'll work for now. 

The box does look much better once it's painted, though I hate painting! It's taking a couple coats. The windows will be a clear plastic and the inside will also be papered. I'll put a fake floor made from a piece of mat board on top of the side supports above the drawer.

If I don't finish by the time this posts, I'll be posting more updates later.

 

#A to Z Blogging: Just My #Miniature Kitchen

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Combined post for J and K.

* In progress: still working on this... I'll add more photos later once I fill this more or if I get more done...  (Click images for full size. For a small project, it does take a lot of things to fill it, but I really have enjoyed planning this out!

** For a laugh - don't hire an inexperienced plumber. haa! Look at the mess while putting in that sink drain pipe! 

So far: wall tiles are in, as is the top shelf and wall art, plus side shelf and decorations. Here are things put in temporarily and not glued yet. See the top beams? I"ll put another side counter piece and a stool in as well, plus put groceries in the cabinet. Several things to add still! Oh, and the oven is empty yet, have to cook dinner! ha!

The beginning: 

The sink, shelves, counter and cabinet are handmade to fit in the space. 

The filled fridge. This was fun!

I've wanted to do a miniature kitchen for a while. I had planned at one point to make a full diner, I still have the American Girl miniature diner set pieces put away (remember that?) I may do a full diner and another larger kitchen simply because the small groceries and miniature food are the most fun.

Whipped cream can by me.

I found this small room scene at Goodwill. It was one of those Chinese-made dioramas with a train theme in it. Of course I bought it because it has a glass front and I loved the ceiling beams. I knew it would make a great kitchen scene. Unfortunately, the resin items and rocks they had in here were glued in pretty well so it it took quite a bit of hammering, digging and the like to finally get the stuff out.

I added a wood floor and painted the ceiling and walls with sand paint (sand mixed in acrylic paint.) I wanted to use things I had on hand, so I used this vintage stove and refrigerator. The stove originally was dark brown and the knobs were missing. I primed the stove with Multi-surface white acrylic paint, then gave it several coats of an ivory paint that I tinted slightly with tan to come close to the fridge color.


*** Out of sight, out of mind. Only just remembered that I had a small container of groceries that I got eons ago from another swap. Yay, found it! Lots of goodies and some more in the box that I didn't take photos of! This will be mostly added into the kitchen also. Oh fun, and there's some bleach and oil bottles and cans, too! Plus a couple paper bags to fill with the weekly shopping. (Sorry, no eggs or TP. haa! Which by now should all be sorted out!)

 

The stove had pegs to hold the knobs, which were missing. I found some slightly larger black beads that fit over the pegs perfectly and added 1/8" circles that I had painted silver and punched out from the card dividers in a tea bag box. The box itself also is a good lightweight card to use in projects. 

The square sink, counters and shelves, along with the wall tiles, are all hand-made. I'll be including directions for that when I update my miniatures book,  In Miniature Style II.  (Sign up for blog updates and news in the left column of this blog.)

The best part of this kind of project, of course, is filling the shelves and the fridge! I'll probably get a few more kitchen supplies and cleaners when I go to the dollhouse shows, which have been postponed to August. I hope as I know we'll all be stir-crazy by then! 

#A to Z Blogging: I for Interior of Paris Miniature Project

Figured I'd give a few other glimpses at my friend Gigi's Paris Miniature Project. (You can see other photos by clicking the Paris photo in the left column.)

She really did a spectacular job with a lot of details. It's an original project that's definitely something to be proud of!

Here's the cool cabinet in the shop on the first floor.

Peek in front window. Cool, huh?

#A to Z Blogging: H for Halloween Miniatures

* Go to Day 1 

I just love Halloween miniatures. While you can get as creepy and gory as you want, there also are a wide range of fun items that might give you a chill, but still make you smile.

Grumpy Mandrakes by Georgia Marfels

Georgia Marfels of Germany makes a wide variety of creepily fun little creatures! Check out her latest mandrake creations. Love the faces on these guys! They really aren't that grumpy... right?  See more at her Etsy shop.

Patricia Paul also is a great favorite. Love her dressed skellies and spooky furnishings! This is one of her wonderful "magical" witch potion scenes. See more at her photo gallery.

Hint: Sign up for Patricia's occasional newsletter at her website to get her free book printies!

* Here's a past table scene I made. I love making spooky food!  (Some of the items I also bought on ebay a long time ago.) (You can see more of my haunted house here. 

You can see more of the ladies' work, and some of my items, too, in my Halloween in Miniature features. You can start the series here at Day One.

#A to Z Blogging: G for #Miniature Gardening

* Go to Day 1 

One of my favorite projects was working on my half scale dollhouse and adding a small potting shed on the side of the building. (The bench is from Sdk Miniatures; the boots are Polly Pocket boots! The cabinet is my design.)

I just found a glass case at the thrift store that I'm thinking of making a 1" scale potting shed in as I don't have a larger one. 

I really love miniature plants so I guess I'll make a setting. I'll be making the furniture myself and am thinking of sharing the how to's in the updated version of In Miniature Style II.  (The link is for the old version, I have print copies only. The new version will likely be a combination of some of the projects from books 1 and 2, plus new projects, tentative title, The Best of In Miniature Style.) Stay tuned for details!  * If you sign up for email updates in the left column of this blog, you'll get blog updates as I post here.  I appreciate your interest!

In the meantime, here are some free vintage veggie packages for your own potting shed! Here's a large one to use as posters and a small one - simply cut out and glue to a piece of folded paper with an envelope-like flap cut out on top.

Other freebies:

* Cute original design seed packets. There's also a folding pattern to show the shape for making other packets.

* 1 inch seed packets at PrintMini.com -Half-inch and 1/4" packets

* Free printie plant leaves

* Pretty free flower images for wall art from Graphics Fairy - full selection of flower images