National Dollhouse Miniature Month - Day 6 - A stroll down memory lane.

One of the things that make miniatures so much fun for me is all the great people that I've met while learning and working with miniatures.    I started reasonably slow in the miniature world - it was such a mystery to me on how to get all those things done.  

 

In 2008 after giving a couple of speeches to my sorority group, one of the ladies in my sorority was the Director of the Florida Keys Community Library and she asked if I would like to display my miniatures in their Library.   Well, of course, I said yes.   There were on display for about 2 months and I had great feedback on them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I displayed 26 room boxes at the show.   Here is the listing of those boxes.   

 

1	Roadside Stand
2	Pantry in a Box
3	Explorer's Den
4	Boy's room
5	At the Beach
6	Sister's Visit
7	Trick or Treat
8	Perfume Shop
9	Christmas Tree
10	Toy Shop
11	Sewing Room
12	Country Store
13	Small Raggedy Chair under dome
14	Large Raggedy Room
15	Laundry Room in Detergent Bottle
16	Christmas Kitchen
17	Fireworks Stand
18	Garden in a Jar
19	Pet Shop
20	Store Front
21	Outdoor Sun Room
22	Small Office
23	Sweet Shop
24	Antique Shop
25	Bakery in Cake Stand
26	Ice Cream Shop

 

 

If you do a search in the box on the top right of the blog, you will find write ups of most of these projects.     All the above projects are one inch scale. 

 

Stay tuned for more strolling down memory lane. 

National Dollhouse Miniature Month - Day 5 - Antique Shop with more antiques!

In 2008 I was getting ready for a showing of my miniatures at the Florida Keys Community College and wanted to finish my antique shop.  As I've stated many times, I love shops - consignment, antique, etc.    My mother did own an antique shop for years and sold as "Antiques by Gladys".   She loved it and did mall shows for years.   She saw 48 of the 50 states and always regretted that she didn't make them all.   In most of the contiguous states she did an antique show.  

 

That shop was featured HERE

 

Well as you can see it had lots of things in it but I decided I had more 'antiques' to add.  I rarely pass up an antique swap in the miniature groups that I belong to. 

 

This is the shop without any additions.

Here you will see 2 doll houses, 1 shelf, candle rack and a painting.
I still have all the shelves in the cabinet where I can add things in the future. 

At the corner you can see the yellow plate shelf with 5 plates and bottles added.   At the end you can see old pictures.   The foxy lady in the black frame is my mom when she was in her early 20s.   On the top of the curio cabinet is an elephant statue.

Three more doll houses, these on the counter and in front of the counter is a bell stand.  

You can tell this shopper comes often.   She brought her Corgi with her to help sniff out the bargains.  

There are 2 new glass pieces on the top of the shelf. 

Candle and shell arrangement added to the back counter. 

I don't know if you were counting, but 18 things were added to this scene.    It looks like a fuller antique shop and that is just the way I like it, plus I hate to have minis languishing in a box. 

Come back tomorrow.  

National Dollhouse Miniature Month - Day 4 - Consignment shop revisited

I have always loved consignment shops, flea markets, antique shops etc.   I still love them and frequent them at all opportunities.    Much earlier, I did a consignment shop.  I loved it and thought it was good.   There was something missing and I have taken time to fix that.   The original post is HERE 

Here is it this morning:  

I still like it.   A couple items needed to be glued.  The humidity in Florida plays havoc on my minis.   I have a lot of mini purses that needed to be displayed.   I had a coat rack that was not being used.   I drilled holes thru it and used those fancy toothpicks to make more poles to hang purses on.   When done and glue had dried, I painted black. 

Here is the stand with lots of great purses.   I know I would buy one or two or .....

 I also added a red & white purse with gloves and blue purse with gloves to the counter.   I expect the customer trying on the blue shoes will buy the blue purse and gloves.  

Don't hesitate to add to a miniature scene.   It helps keep them current and gives you an opportunity to enjoy new acquisitions.

Come back tomorrow.     I love my followers!!11

National Dollhouse Miniature Month - Day 3 - Additions to the Dome House

In May I posted about the finished Victorian Dome House by Sharon Goldsmith.  You can see that original post HERE    I absolutely love that house and was quite pleased with it.   However, there were a few blanks in the house that I thought needed to be filled.    They are now filled.  

 

The bedroom is a very dynamic statement.   It didn't need much, but it did need something.   I found this great picture of flags flying.   I believe that is all the wall needs.   It is a very cute picture and appropriate for the room.    I also added a Corgi.   I have 2 Corgis and 1 Jack Russell in real life, so a 2nd Corgi is perfectly suitable.   Do you know where the other Corgi is located?

The roof was empty.   I've tried a picnic table and an umbrella table with benches and didn't like any of those.   I thought this great chair with a book was all that was needed to show that it would be a favorite spot to relax and get a few sun rays.    Do you know where this chair came from - hint - if you are familiar with Quarter Connection, you will know. 

I love the men's pool room.   However I finally decided it needed a little booze and some snacks.    The table is large, but men would need this room.   The bottles are 1/2 scale (the house is 1/4 scale) but I believe it looks right.  A tray of cheese and crackers with a flower arrangement on the table, make it looks finished.   I wonder who will win the pool game. 

 I thought the kitchen was pretty good, but there was a blank above the stove that was driving me crazy.   I like the little shelf.   Now I am on the lookout for a collection of copper pots and bowls for the top of the row of cabinets.  

The entrance was nice.   I tried several chairs next to the door and they all looked out of place.   This nice plant on a plant stand was the perfect addition.  

 

 

I believe you can continually have your miniatures growing to reflect a continued love.   You keep adding things in your real life house, you should consider it in your miniature world.

 

 

National Dollhouse Miniature Month - Day 1 - When is Done, actually Done? Farmer's Market

In 2008 I posted about a Farmer's Market Stand.   One I love the theme and two, I love farmer's markets in real life.   Recently I participated in two Market Stall swaps.   One with a Yahoo Group and one I hosted as Swap Coordinator with the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts.   You can see that original  post Here    That project looked complete, but look at it now.

 When I have a completed scene, and find additional things for that scene, I will generally put them on top of the scene.   You can see several packages on top of the clear box.

The box looks okay,but the poor farmer is having a hard time staying on his feet.

 The Ziploc bag contains the things from the Yahoo group and the loose items are from the NAME swap.   There are a lot of things to be added. 

 

The most visible addition is the banner at the top.   I'm sure that will draw people to the stand.  

In this picture you can find pickle barrel and olive barrel, 3 pints of fruit, honey glass jar and basket full of honey pots, metal container full of egg plants, cucumber crate, banana crate, plant arrangement, and crate of mixed veggies. 

 Another view of some of the additions.   You can also see in this angle a bushel of applies and an empty flower pot. 

 On the top shelf are two empty fruit containers and a container of seeds for next year's garden. 

 Close to the farmer is a basket of Free Kittens.  Aren't they cute - I'm sure they will have new homes by the end of the day. 

 The back of the stand has a pumpkin arrangement of 3 pumpkins, two apple crates and a barrel of Florida oranges. 

 Once the fruit was added, a big blank wall had to be addressed.   Signs and room for more signs. 

The scene is clean and neatly arranged.   The Farmer is standing.   I know it's a stand that I would stop for, how about you?     Did you count the number of new additions??   Over two dozen items added.   Still room for my little people to get up to the Farmer to buy some of the goodies.  

Did I add everything in the Ziploc and the tub?   No - still another project in mind.  

Happy Farmer's Market Days!  

2013 Virtual Cruise - Day 7 - The Cruise Ends

Day 7, Sunday, September 22: Debarkation   Oh my goodness, it's been a week already.   Ending the cruise there are a couple of auctions and that is always fun.   Maybe I will get something.   The silent auction got 'too rich for my blood', so I will try for other things.

One of my favorite parts of the cruise was the souvenir box and you can see the finished project HERE

 

Shopping is always fun, especially when I'm buying miniature items. 

 

Time to pack up and go home.   Ohh, it's over.

 

 

It is so close to October, remember October is Dollhouse Miniature Month and I post everyday of October about miniatures.   Be sure to check back with this site.   If you don't want to miss it, please sign up to get email updates of postings.   

2013 Virtual Cruise - Day 6 - the Galapagos Islands.

Welcome to Day 6 of our Virtual Cruise! We’re at the Galapagos Islands!   


Lots of activities are winding down with this cruise rapidly coming ot a close.   Auctions and Sales Rooms are selling stuff and there will be a live auction tomorrow on the last day.   Wonder??   What will I buy???

The Galápagos Islands, official name:  Archipielago de Ciolon are a cluster of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 575 miles west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.

These are unusual islands so a little history lesson. These Spanish speaking islands were discovered in 1535 by a Dominican friar was blown off course when heading to Peru, but it was not until the pirate Ambrose Cowley surveyed the islands in 1684 that they were recorded as being there.

The group consists of 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets, which is a very tiny land mass.  The islands are located at the junction of 3 geological volcanic areas known as Plates which move approximately 2.5 inches per year.     They are also on top of a hotspot where the earth's crust is being melted from below by a mantle plume, creating volcanoes.

 

Some of the older islands have disappeared below the sea as they moved away from the mantle plume, the youngest islands, Isabela and Fernandina are still being formed, with the most recent volcanic eruption in April 2009 where lava from the volcanic island Fernandina started flowing both towards the island's shoreline and into the centre caldera or cooking pot where steam explosions still occur.

 

So now we know not to go wandering off, especially in sandals, so let's enjoy a guided tour of some of the many attractions

 

 

I hope I don't run into this guy on my tour of the island. 


Got to go to the beach.