the building continues.....

Today I started putting up the walls. This is a slow process, and involves lots of clamps, glue, tape and a square, but it's starting to take shape. These pictures are one of the living room walls and the staircase that will lead to the second floor, once there is one.


I'm loving the way the stairs are looking! I don't know if I could deal with them in real life though cause I have serious issues with heights. Still they look cool and will fit beautifully with the style of this house.
The glass windows are turning out every bit as great as I hoped they would. They'll look much better once the clamps and tape are removed, but I want to make sure that they are good and dry before removing them. Although the guy that's cutting my glass for me is being wonderful and really giving me some great deals, I'd prefer not to take any chances on some of that trim coming loose and a piece breaking.

Now, lets go around the corner to what will be the kitchen.


At this point, I'm hoping to be able to get the counters and cabinets in tomorrow. I decided that a BIG window was important in there too. Got to have lots of light to cook by. Where that glass wall ends, I'm going to put in a couple of glass doors. They are drying right now and should be in tomorrow.

So, until then......

The making of the new dollhouse

Today I sanded the first floor, then I sanded the floor, then I sanded the floor some more. LOL Yeah, using scrap wood to build makes for lots of extra work, but the result is amazing. See what you think......

There are a bunch of different kinds of tropical woods in there, and I think the varnish really brought out the colors. Personally, I am pleased.

Next I got the stairs cut and put together and finished.

They are looking good too and I can hardly wait to see them in place. It's hard to tell with them just laying there, but I think they will look perfect. Hopefully we will see tomorrow.

While I was waiting for everything to dry, I started to figure out the layout of the kitchen, and build the cabinets.

This is the basic layout. There will be a double over stack in the kitty-corner area.

Had to add this picture in too, because it kind of shows off the BEAUTIFUL wood I have found for the counter tops. It's called Poison Wood and wait till you see how the varnish brings it out.... again, hopefully tomorrow. At the very least, I'll have my fancy clamps off. LOLOLOL Masking tape is the best for some of this little stuff.

Until then....

My newest project....

Well, here I am in a new country, and all my dollhouses are thousands of miles away. I have built myself a makeshift photo studio so that I can take pictures of my stuff to put on line, but it's not the same.

Well, I have come up with a brilliant idea... or at least I think it is. I am going to build one from scratch. By scratch, I MEAN scratch. From design to finish, the entire thing will be from my mind and hands, and anyone who actually reads this, gets to come along for the ride. I have decided that this dollhouse will not only be of my design, but everything in it (except the house itself... and I could actually do custom orders if someone sees something in it they want) will be for sale. For example, if someone sees the dining set and buys it, I'll just design a new one. So, not only with this be a new toy for me, it will also be my showcase and model home.

When designing this, I had a hard time. A regular house floor plan doesn't translate well into a dollhouse because all rooms can't be viewed easily, but on the other side of that coin, a normal dollhouse lay out is just boring. I wanted to find a happy middle.

I'm going to do a Tropical modern style design.... lots and lots of glass. Here is my basic floor plan:

The kitchen will be the upper left corner, dining room will be upper right, and the living room will be a step down and the rest of the space. The black dot will be a two sided fireplace. Stairs will go up to the second floor.



The second floor consists of 2 large bedroom, a large hall way, a bathroom, and the master suite (A huge bedroom with a bathroom, walk in closet and a fireplace. Another set of stairs leads to the third floor.



The third floor will just be a single large room. This can be a game room, art studio or whatever I make to put up there. I'm sure it will change from time to time. There will be a door way of some sort so that the rest of the top of the second floor can be used as a patio area for this room.

Well, if I do this right, and I can find the materials I need, this could turn into a really cool house.

I cut the bottom floor out today, and laid a bunch of scrap wood I had, to make a "hard wood floor". Tomorrow I hope to get the floor sanded down and varnished and the few solid walls up and start the staircase and any "built ins" I decide need to be on this floor. I'll post pictures tomorrow night if all goes well. Until then.......
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April showers bring April flowers... and plants??

As soon as I finished my post yesterday, I thought to myself, "I haven't mentioned my 'for sale' plants and flowers yet." By all means, let me do that today!

I love making plants as you saw in my "dollhouse I left behind" blog. Well, I also make many for sale, and honestly, after looking over what I have up for sale, I need to sit down and make some more! It seems that most of my arrangements were seasonal. Hmmm..........
I'll work on that!

In the mean time, let me show you what I've got for now.

First on my list is my Flower cart. This was a labor of love and took many many hours to complete! Now that it's finished, I have to admit that it is one of my favorite pieces.


Now, if that didn't throw you into flower overload, here's another one of my favorite pieces. This is an Asian influenced arrangement, which I LOVE to pair up with modern or Danish modern furniture. I have used this piece in a bunch of different displays and photos just because it looks so awesome on a buffet table or side table. I really like this, and think that if I was smart, I'd make some more with a similar style. Maybe I should do a whole living room set with an Asian influence. Hmmm.... just thinking out loud.... or in writing.


I guess my most popular plant type thing would have to be my Boston Ferns. I make them in pots, as hanging plants or like you see here, which is perfect for dropping into your own landscape. There's something about a fern that everybody loves. They are happy plants, and I can make them in just about any size... from super small to what you see here.


Now, I want to talk about my bonsai trees. When I made my first one, it was just to see if I could. Apparently, I can. Since the creation of my first, they have become quite popular, and I have even gone as far as to make custom ones from photographs from and for customers (as you see in this one taken at sunset... thus the odd color). I know people get into them to relax, but I get relaxed making them from scratch. My daughter calls it my "reverse bonsai".



I'm also rather fond of this grape arbor. It doesn't seem to be quite as popular as a lot of my stuff, but as you have noticed, I'm not just about what's popular. My shop isn't what you'd call a "cookie cutter" shop. I DO NOT go with the tide, and tend to make my own way. This grape arbor is a classic example. I think it's cool, and kind of wish I had created it when I did my "Dollhouse left behind". It would have looked awesome in that garden!


And, to wrap today up, I'm going to throw in something that is a bit more standard. These window boxes were made by my daughter. I planted them up for her. Cute, huh? I guess I can't always be the rebel! LOL

On to the new...

Yesterdays little "walk" down memory lane was nice, but today I'm going to flash forward into some of the stuff I am doing now.

Since moving here I have discovered all the beautiful tropical hardwoods that are available for me to experiment with, so I have been building some 1:12 scale furniture. I think it's cute and fun, and I guess I'm not alone since I have had lots more views than normal and a couple of super nice sales.

I'm going to show off some samples of my most recent pieces. There are others too.




I know many people like baby type stuff for their dollhouses, so I recently added this crib and highchair.

The crib has all the baby bedding including mattress, sheet, blanket, and bumper pad. It also features a moving rail and a mobile. Included are the three matching plaques. Lots of detail and thought were put into this piece.

The high chair is a restaurant style chair. It is made to be pushed up to the table so that a baby or toddler can eat with the family. There are two of these. The other is in yellow.





I've also decided to try my hand and weaving and caning on this scale. I did several pieces, but these were two of my favorites. Apparently I'm not alone, since this rocking chair sold in less that 10 hours after it was put online. Both weaving and caning presented me with a new challenge since the materials used to do these had to be in keeping with the scale. For the rocking chair, I found some super thin twine at one of the local hardware stores here, that worked like magic, but I had to resort to upholstery thread to do the caning. I thought I was going to be permanently cross-eyed by the time I was done. I don't think I will be doing a whole lot more of that. I will limit it to occasional small pieces. Still, overall I was very pleased with the outcome, and will be doing more.





Coffee tables are always a popular item, and I love super modern ones. Playing with the wood and trying to make the most of the beautiful grains, colors and depths in the grains, brought about these two cuties. The lighter wood one is cut from one solid piece, and try as I might, a picture could not do justice to the beauty that was in this little piece. I like them both though and if they don't sell right away, I'll be using them in many displays in the future.





Finally, I have made a couple of desks. Out of my very strange little mind, came these two designs. The crescent shaped desk and chair were another item that sold almost as soon as it hit the internet. Here again, I love the modern styling. I think the little secretary is more "retro" modern though... which is still very cool. Yes, the drawer opens and is on a brass "glide", complete with stops so it doesn't fall out and get lost.

Anyway, this is a bit of what I have been up to recently. All the beautiful woods here inspire me to create beautiful things. I'm looking forward to many more.

To the house I left behind....

Just a few months ago I moved from the States down to Belize. I moved here because I needed to get warm and I was ready for a change. I am loving it, and thrilled to be here. However, when I made the move, lots of stuff got left behind, in storage. My many dollhouses were among those things.

Now, I need to explain here that even though I love doing the interior of dollhouses and room boxes, my true love is the exterior. I love creating all the plants and outdoor spaces. The expression that "Only God can make a tree." came as a personal challenge to me. NOT that I claim to be God, but I thought it would be fun to see if I too could create, in a "mini" way, all the outdoor beauty around our homes.

In this blog today, I am going to pay homage my favorite house exterior that is waiting for me in storage.








As you can see, I go to great lengths for detail. I always say that the difference between a good house and a great house is in the detail. If you can't envision yourself stepping into the scene that you have created, well then, it just isn't done! Keep going until you can't tell if the pictures are of a real house or a doll sized house.



My "green house" gave me the chance to explore and show off my plant making skills.





.......and yes, that is "Audrey" from "Little Shop of Horrors" in the corner of my greenhouse. No one ever said there couldn't be a touch of whimsy!

My first Blog about Minis

I have been creating miniature things for LOTS of years, but it wasn't until about 25 years ago that I started making things for sale. Now I have taken up residents at Etsy, and am told that bloging is the way to promote yourself..... so here I go.

I started making stuff for my dollhouses that I couldn't find other places. I found it to be a super relaxing hobby for myself, and sometimes even a bit of an escape. It wasn't long before I found myself being buried under way too many "cute" things and I had to find new homes for all this stuff, so I turned to stores that specialized in dollhouses.

About a year ago, someone told me about Etsy. I love that site! What a great outlet, and a chance to share my stuff with the world. You have to love the internet!

I will try to post in here as often as I can, and share the items and directions that I am heading in with my creative flow. Hang on to your seats. This could be a wild ride! I tend to be all over the place!

One of my specialties is my water gardens. I do small ones for the average person, and huge displays with them on request. Here are a couple of the ones I have done.