Or in this case, nature's flowers. Yes, they're real!
I couldn't resist. The lilacs are blooming! Sadly, they won't last long in this heat.
Or in this case, nature's flowers. Yes, they're real!
I couldn't resist. The lilacs are blooming! Sadly, they won't last long in this heat.
I know, it's been awhile, but it takes a lot of planning doing this house and lots of trimming. So much wood to paint and cut! Here's the side I'm working on. Don't be too disappointed; I've only got stuff done on the bottom two rooms though the tower and hall on other side is papered; what will be the kitchen is part papered and I'll be working on that soon. (click photos for full size.)
I found with this house that to do one thing you have to do a bunch of other things first. First electric, then wallpapers, then floor, then put in door trim before adding wainscot trim. The parlor alcove inner roof had to be painted and the inside papered, and all windows done before it's attached. That's next.
Then... I painted the outer windows on the alcove sections a lighter purple and... I didn't like it.
Nothing harder/worse than repainting windows already attached but at least it was doable. (Ignore any sloppy parts that have to be touched up and there will be strip trim added top and bottom also.) The lower wall is beige/tan mixed with some sand. The inner windows are all the same color. The outside parts of the windows are now a cherry red. The window in the second floor tower on the other side got cut out for a door, too, so that's the door color as well. It's not looking too Halloween at this point, but the decor will be. Well, you have to go with what feels right and I've done enough purple and orange already on other projects. Time for a color change.
The inside is the fun part - the designing. The worse is all the awful trimming and wood to cut. Then I lose pieces and have to re-cut and repaint. ha!
I had these scrapbook papers saved and really liked the blackboard effect of the floral print. Plus the floor has circle designs with a part shiny surface. So black and white is the theme in these two rooms. The dining room floor is the black/white tile paper I seem to use in every house. I wanted to do matching papers since the two rooms join. The dining room on the right has to have trim and windows put in. There's also a strip on the wall dividing the two rooms.
I love the alcove. I have trim for the bottom of the wall once it's attached.
I used a pearly stone paper on the front and side panel of the fireplace on the first floor between the rooms. I'll put a thin white wood trim around the top. I decided to cover a piece of mat board also with the stone paper for the hearth instead of using the thicker wood pieces from the kit.
The front of the fireplace will be kind of different. I found these beads ages ago at a shop at the Renaissance Faire and saved them for a project. They got cut in half, so I can use the bottom designs on the other side. I'll paint all the wood pieces and the shaped trim black.
Ceiling in dining room. That split wall on left will be divided from the striped wall with a painted wood strip between the rooms.
Ron Chase, D-Tales Miniatures clock, shelf
Fun once again to be out and seeing stuff. Nice to say hi to a few people as well!
* Check out the cool show displays too - Frasier Show in Miniature!
Some things I found:
* I've fallen in love with the filigree work by Ron Chase of D-Tales Miniatures. I have this wonderful shelving unit by him in my big HS dollhouse that I luckily got in a previous HS group swap. I also have another clock and radio. So I had to get this small wall shelf and clock this year. (See top photo) And he kindly made some dish drainers for me. More photos of that to come when I get another one done. I got the first one in the kitchen cabinet kit I bought from him at the last show.
I buy mostly half scale kits these days as I have plenty of 1" scale furniture and I do half scale mostly now (running out of room!) Any 1"scale things I do if I get in the mood will mostly be vignettes or small settings in book boxes or jewelry boxes that I find at Goodwill. But I do have a roombox set aside that will be a fancy library at some point since I have furnishings saved for that. There is another roombox that was once a bar that I might refashion into... something.... at some point.
* Neat resin decorative carved/castings from All Dolled Up TDS. She does some nice fireplaces and furnishings, too. I plan on using some of these to dress up the fireplace fronts in the Half Scale Fairfield. The bottom left pieces also have faces on them which should look cool once painted. The right side package was a gift since it was broken.
* I thought this wall panel would look good above a fireplace instead of the usual art or a mirror.
* I wanted to see CastleCrafts (South Africa and NY) at the Bishop Show since it was their first time in this area. I had some accessory kits in mind, not realizing they had 1:24 - half scale, so I naturally honed in on that instead as they had some unique styles. They had a nice chaise lounge and a clock that I'll have to pick up at a later date, I think.
* Teresa's Miniature Creations has some really nice 1/24-half scale furniture kits. I have her library table in my den in the big HS house and I think I have a side table set aside yet. I like finding more unusual pieces and fell in love with this old-fashioned stove. I have some "magnet" stoves, but this looked pretty authentic painted white and it's a bit different in style. I wasn't sure what style the Fairfield kitchen should be, but as I'm using a vintage-looking "tile" floor, this will fit well. Photos will be coming of the papering so far. I like the colors I'm choosing though the rooms may be somewhat "normal" in style but the furnishings will be spooky. I do plan on making the outside more aged, though.
Unfortunately, she was out of the vintage sink kit (which is just like the real-life sink that was in the first floor apartment in the two-flat I grew up at in Chicago), so I plan on designing one myself. Pretty intrigued by this challenge! She used earring backs as faucets so will have to figure how those will look. I have a vintage Tootsietoy monitor top metal fridge I've been hanging onto for years for the right project, too.
Some Ideas:
* Otterine has the larger sink and fridge in her 1" scale 1920s kitchen on her blog, so I'll be looking for some inspiration! Here's a real-life vintage sink at Old House Journal. Btw, in real life these old cast-iron sinks are going for big $$ on ebay - $650 to $4,000!
* Here's what they call a "farmhouse sink" on legs. Looking at this. The real-life one I used had steel legs with a drain board on left and a large sink on middle/right.
* Saw a perfect sink at this Instagram post
Odds and Ends:
Couldn't resist this tiny dinosaur toy and the baby. Plus these miniscule alcohol bottles!
Just because:
Even tinier jars and a bottle for the FF kitchen. Yes, the lids come off the jars!
Bargain of the day:
Cool printed vintage-looking rugs for $1!
More to come once I make some progress with the FF /Fairfield. (Putting trim and ceiling in parlor; just cut the dining room floor. Those rooms are a neat black/white theme. Have to trim that room too.)
I have to try to get some things done as garden planting time and cleaning up outside is coming soon! We get our plants at the sale Friday. Already! But we usually can't plant for a few days with rainy weather... we'll see.
I do have to plant my Morning Glory seeds and get my sunflower seeds in. But I'll still be working on things once summer is here, too. I like to sit on the deck and work on stuff out there once it's warm.
Here are a couple of the real-life flowers from a previous year:
Lots to see at the two shows, the Bishop International Show in Chicago by O'Hare Airport and the Spring Showcase show by T&D Miniatures in Schaumburg, Ill. (Click photos for full size.)
This year there were some cool displays at the Showcase show. Of special interest was this roombox above called The Frasier Project by Kentucky miniaturist Preston Poling, "The Bearded Miniaturist." The replica details the Seattle apartment of psychiatrist/radio host Frasier Crane (played by Kelsey Grammer) on the Frasier TV show, which aired from 1993-2004 on NBC.
Lots of great detail in this down to the dog "Eddy" in the chair -- but I have to say that chair really looked way rattier on TV. haa! Very cool project. There's also a Facebook group for the project. (And his YouTube - oops! Repairs were needed!)
Kitchen and side view:
I found some neat kits at the Bishop show, too. I was looking rather than taking photos there this time since it's a much bigger show. More on some of my finds from both shows in another coming post. All in all, it sure was nice to be able to see and shop for minis again. And luckily we got home early enough as there are some pretty bad storms and tornado warnings coming as I wrote this Saturday.
Until next time!
Yay! I'll be off to the annual Dollhouse Shows in Illinois tomorrow! (Bishop International and The Spring Showcase) I'll try to get photos of displays, etc. and show some of the things I find.
So...in the meantime, figured I'd show the fun items I got in the annual Half Scale Group Swap a few weeks ago. (Click photos for full size.)
Look forward to this every year. Been doing it for years and never disappointed!
The theme this year was Antiques. It's a starting point, but you don't have to stick with the theme.
Top: assorted items.
I made art and the trophies. The statues could be smaller but it's what I found to work with... Trophies, of course, are all sizes...
These have been staying up online so I'll post the link:
The latest Episode 5 (and the first 4 episodes) of the UK minis show, The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge, are (so far) still viewable online. See link. to catch up.