Bespaq furnishings and lovely handbags

I was fortunate enough to win Audra‘s giveaway recently. As the prize, she offered a gift certificate to a miniatures shop called Happily Ever After.

Some time ago, I bought a Bespaq Royal Marrakesh settee in walnut and have been searching for a matching chair since. I saw that Happily Ever After that a photo of the entire living room set on their site, so I wrote to Lori there to see if she had what I was looking for. She sent me a photo and a few days later, it arrived! :D

Here’s the new chair with settee I already had. This set will be for a future build.

The wood and painted details match perfectly, though there is a slight difference in the fabrics. No matter to me since they are very close so dollhouse lighting and added accessories should make up that difference. Thank you Audra and Lori for a wonderful giveaway!

Another package arrived with the new chair today. In it were two handbag sets from Dollhouse Ara. The first is a pale pink Chanel replica handbag and wallet. They are so well made and have a nice weight to them. Included in the package was a lovely vase with dried natural flowers. Very pretty.

This set will go in the Heritage since they are a nice classic style that shouldn’t interfere with the era of the house. Grandma has good taste! :D

The other set is a Burberry tote bag with a covered journal. So lovely. This set will be included in a more modern build to come.

Next up, a beautiful green striped Bespaq sofa and matching chairs. Dejoux Miniatures had an awesome sale right before Christmas, and since I’ve had my eye on these for some time now, I took the plunge. I added a Bespaq coffee table to complete the set, though the color doesn’t work all that well.

Quite honestly, I’m considering breaking up the set to use the pieces in separate projects. I could see a fine study with the two chairs. The chairs somewhat overpower the sofa when used as a whole set.

The sofa is beautiful and a perfect standalone piece. It could be easily coordinated with wood carved accent chairs.

The next item is not a purchase but a lucky find…sometimes the best kind of mini. I went to visit Lyssa in Florida. When I returned to the hotel one night, this card caught my eye. It’s a business card made with vintage playing card imagery. It had been run over a bit but the gloss finish is intact.

It reminds me of an old metal sign you’d see on the side of a building. :D Into the mini stash it goes!

Categories: Furniture, Miniatures
March 3, 2012 | 0 comments

African violets for my great grandma

My great grandma was a wonderful woman who lived to 104 years of age, nearly 105. She was warm and kind, the type of person you just loved to be around.

I’ve included her photo in miniature in Baslow Ranch along with a photo of her grandparents. :]

She was a very crafty person, crochet being her main creative outlet, and she taught me to sew when I was young. She loved African violets, so I bought a kit from Georgie at The Miniature Garden and made them up in honor of my great grandma.

The kit makes three colors of violets, but I chose the darkest purple since those are the ones my great grandma kept. Now, my camera just does not understand purple. It sees blue. I insist purrrrrrrrple, and it says baaaaalllloo. =shakes head=

I’ve had plenty of practice shaping tiny leaves, so I used the same technique for these using a ball stylus.

I added a bit of styrofoam inside the bowl and then glued loose tea over the top for dirt. The stems of the leaves and flowers are glued and pressed into the styrofoam core.

I’m not sure where in the Heritage these will end up, but for now I’ve photographed them on the coffee table in a separate vignette. The bowl might be a little big for this particular plant, but I really like it. This was my first time putting together one of Georgie’s kits, and I must say they are wonderful to work with!

I think my great grandma would have loved my miniature hobby. I definitely channel some of her warmth and energy into the Heritage build.

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees
March 1, 2012 | 0 comments

My 1920s inspired kitchen

Before delving into the final push on the first floor so I can begin the second floor, I went through my stash of minis to fully set up the kitchen.

Grandma has been out in the garden again. :D

I tried to not clutter the room, but just a few added accessories really change the feel.

For the Hoosier cabinet, I had to set up the vignette outside of the kitchen to get a decent photograph.

The kitchen sink is one of my favorite minis!

Grandma has her cleaning supplies and some extra baskets under the sink.

I love the way this room has come together. :D

Artist credits:
Hoosier cabinet by Keli; vintage photo art by Kelly; potted flowering plant by Michelle; autumn fruit basket by Hungarian Miniatures; tea towels – Marlene; white and brown baskets under the sink by Lyssa; aged silver pitcher on the range by Caterina; large basket by Lidi (Bonnie Lavish flowers assembled by me); tiny chick in the nest by Cathy Rohal.

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
February 28, 2012 | 0 comments

Heritage – kitchen crown molding

I’ve had crown molding painted for the Newport for some time but didn’t end up using it in any of the rooms. Since the kitchen has a partially textured ceiling and gaps in the non-textured part (a characteristic of the way the kit is constructed), I decided to add some crown molding painted white to match the ceiling.

The two inner corners have small protrusions created by the dividers used in the construction of the house. On the Greenleaf forum, Mike had posted a picture of corner blocks used in crown molding (here’s a real life example). These fill in the corners and you need to cut only 90-degree mitres – much easier than angled mitres.

I opted for 3/8″ wood blocks from Hobby Lobby, cutting a notch in the back to fit the corner protrusion. As you can see, it’s easier to cut these without the ceiling board in place yet.

Here they are held in place with some mini hold wax. I couldn’t install them until the ceiling board was glued in permanently to ensure a good fit. The corner blocks might be slightly too big, but they should blend well enough once they’re painted white.

After cutting wiring channels for the kitchen ceiling lights, I glued the ceiling board in place and used a few finishing nails for added structural support.

I installed the strip of wood across the front of the bay window to hide more ceiling gaps. Working in this deep, narrow room was not easy, so I am glad I installed all of the windows, window treatments, interior trims and baseboards before putting the ceiling board in permanently.

I really love the way the crown molding completes the room.

I glued in the corner blocks and decided to span the crown molding across the front of bay window ceiling board instead of continuing the crown molding inside the bay. The bay window is now a cozy nook.

As expected, there are some minor gaps here and there as well as some paint chips. I’ll fill those in next, but not tonight.

Once the touch-ups are done and the lights are permanently installed, this room will be done except for decorating! :D

Categories: The Haunted Heritage
February 23, 2012 | 0 comments

Fancy bookshelf

In addition to the banjo clock, I also put together the Jacobean book rest kit from Cynthia Howe Miniatures. It was so delicate that I ended up breaking a piece of the fretwork while removing the excess wood pieces. I cut the other side to mimic the design. ;D

The instructions said to put it together before staining, but I was worried about warping and I wanted to get a good glue hold, often better with bare wood.

I stained the shelf with Minwax English Chestnut, leaving the color light to show off the wood grain. This is some seriously psychedelic wallpaper! :O This is Flower Frenzy by We R Memory Keepers.

That’s better. :D I’m not sure if either of these papers will find their way into the bathroom upstairs, but I wanted to photograph them with some furniture to see what they looked like. This is Cute Little Diamonds by The Paper Studio.

The shelf will likely end up in one of the upstairs rooms in the Heritage, probably the bathroom. The kitchen and parlor are pretty much set for furnishings. :D

Categories: Miniatures, The Haunted Heritage
February 22, 2012 | 0 comments