New Youtube video!

Here is my latest video, a tour of the historical society built last year. Enjoy!

New project revamp, fun mail, and some banners

Hi all!

I have been wanting to update, but have had little time to do so. But I have some time now and want to share a few things with you. :)

First, I have been inspired to do a springy, happy scene lately (blame it on the cabin fever) and have been digging some cute owl pillows that I bought from Whimsy Cottage on Etsy. These are SO cute and I have yet to put them together. Maybe later tonight when I park myself in front of something on Netflix. :)

Anyway, the owls and my current musical fascination (okay, obsession) have led me to make a roombox dedicated to the great band Canned Heat. They are well-known for the song "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country" but are so much more than that (here are just a few examples). I am currently reading a biography about Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, who was the musical scholar and creative force behind the band (though not to discount the talent in the other members) as well as the voice you hear in both of their hit songs. Okay, before this turns into a blog post about Canned Heat, I am going to quickly show you some pics! :-p

I was going to build a room box for the idea I had when I realized I already had one that would be perfect: the AG Minis roombox I picked up for an amazing price at the Real Good Toys Warehouse Outlet Sale last year (and blogged about here and here)!

Here is what it looks like now. I am going to be making some changes soon, but I wanted to share what I have now (because sharing is fun!):

This is the room so far. It's a bit frilly with the white wire furniture, but it really gives a retro vibe to it. I think I am going to put more posters on the walls.

These charms are from Hobby Lobby and are super-cute.

This is an old frame I've had in my stash for a while and finally decided to fill it with a picture of the band that I printed out on cardstock. (From front to back: Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, Bob "The Bear" Hite, Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, Larry "The Mole" Taylor, and Adolpho "Fito" de la Parra.)

I made these miniature albums and covered them in plastic to look more realistic.

Some baskets and a little chest charm that actually opens adds a little detail to the white wire shelf. I'll probably change this around quite a bit.

These fabric covered buttons are really cute. I bought them on clearance at Michael's craft store and they make nice little 1/12th scale throw pillows. Once I make up the owl pillows, though, I think I will remove these and use them for something else.

One more album sitting on the bottom shelf. :)

I plan on building a miniature turntable and stereo which will be in the corner where that wooden chest is. I'd like it to actually play music wirelessly from my phone, so I am going to play around with that idea.

The other thing I wanted to share was some lovely mail I received from Monika at PuNo's Minis! We had been involved in a lovely swap several months ago and she sent me a lovely surprise card for Easter with some cute little treats: a tiny chocolate bar and a little Easter book! I love them both! Thank you, Monika!

Finally, I wanted to share these little silk banners in my stash. I found them at a cool antique shop in Vermont and I thought I would use them for something. One is for Norway and the other for Peru. I haven't been finding any use for them and wanted to see if anyone here would have a use for them before I find something to do with them.

First come, first served. If you only want one, that's fine. Just post a comment below saying that you're interested and in which one if you just want one. We'll work out shipping details via email. :)

If I don't hear from anyone here who wants the banners by April 15th,  I'll likely find a place for them somewhere. :)

Here's a pic showing both:

(Note: That white sticker was the price tag on the plastic bag and are not on the actual banners.)

Google Reader alternatives

Hi all.

Some of you may know that Google is shutting down its Reader service on July 1st. As a result, you may have to find an alternative to keep up with your favorite blogs. I thought I would offer you some alternatives that I now use so you can continue to read along with me and your other bloggers!

First, on the iPad, I enjoy Flipboard. It is a lovely app which reminds of a magazine. I follow all of my mini blogs there as well as many other sites, including Etsy blog, LinkedIn, CNN, NPR books, and many other home decor and wedding blogs.

Today, I also synced my blog reading list to another app called feedly. While I haven't tried it out on the iPad yet, I do like it on my laptop. I highly recommend, after syncing your blogs to it (click on the link to see how), to click on the "Latest" link on their page to see your favorite blogs in order from newest to oldest. It reminds me of the Google Reader layout just a bit.

There are other options as well if you want to try them out. Type in "google reader alternatives" in your favorite search engine to learn about some others.

I hope this is helpful to you and I hope you will continue to join me on this blog!

Cheers,
Linda

PS: If you have more alternatives, please put them in the comments!

Update on the Glencroft and new findings!

Hi all!

I have been so busy lately, but took some time tonight to clean out my miniature supplies. I was inspired to add a couple of things to the Glencroft and to the blog.

So, without further ado, here are some pics! :)

This is a painting I've done of a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop and I *love* it. (I play guitar, too!) So, I decided that it filled up some empty wallspace *very* well in the Glencroft living room!

Just a small addition to the kitchen: a miniature Betty Crocker cookbook I received in a swap a while back. :)

I added this owl painting to the living room as well. I was feeling very inspired a couple weekends ago and did some painting. I love the 60s era band Canned Heat and one of the lead singers (who passed away at the age of 27 in 1970) was nicknamed the Blind Owl. So...while I was listening to their music, I painted a very cool owl. :)

I also painted a bear (for Bob "The Bear" Hite, the other lead singer in Canned Heat's most famous period). I also moved the bed around a bit and put the laundry basket next to the doorway.

I was tired of the empty space next to the fireplace in the bedroom, so I put a little basket in there. One of my favorite little features of dollhouses is seeing just a tiny bit of something in a nook or in a hallway. It adds a bit of realism to the scene.

 I also wanted to show you these CUTE storybooks which would be perfect for any dollhouse children's room (they are sitting on the bedroom floor of the Glencroft so you have an idea of scale). I found these in the charms section of my local Hobby Lobby. They had eye pins in them, but I easily pulled them out with needlenose pliers. They look like perfect oversize books for your (1/12 scale) kid's library.

Here's the packaging, in case you decide to look for some. :)

Miniature sightings in Ravena, NY

My fiancé and I went on a leisurely drive yesterday and stopped at a couple of smallish shops south of Albany since we were in the mood to do some antiquing.

I had seen a couple of fun dollhouse/miniature-related items I'd like to share with you.

First, there was this cute dollhouse:

And this cute shadow box:

I didn't pick anything up, but as usual, it was fun looking around! Oh, if you're in the area, these items were at the Leisure Time Flea Market in Ravena, NY. Lots of treasures here!