Linda's Minis

A crazy coincidence

2012-01-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

So, I've been looking for a book that I got out of the library a lot as a kid (about crafting dollhouse furniture out of everyday items). I couldn't remember the name or author of the book, but I could recognize it on sight if I had seen it. I've searched multiple used bookstores, antique shops, and the Internet to no avail.

Well, I was searching the 'net for local cool places the other day and found out that there was a neat used book store in Schuylerville, NY - about a half hour north of us. So we decided to check it out today. This morning, I woke from a dream where we went to the bookstore and I pulled the aforementioned book off the shelf. 'Awesome,' I thought! Then I woke up. Oh well...my brain likes to play tricks on me.

So, we drove up to Schuylerville, had good conversations and coffee from Dunkin Donuts in the car on the way there. There were a few things I was looking for on this trip: some miniature stuff, history, science, good fiction, etc. As soon as we got inside, there was the craft section, so I perused the books. I pulled a few dollhouse books off the shelf - one I already had, one that looked somewhat interesting. And then, wait for it, I pulled down a very familiar-looking book (and somewhat familiar title) from the shelf. I exclaimed, "Are you kidding me!?" Lo and behold, it was THE book, the one I've been looking for and just had a dream about not a few hours before.

Now I think I might be paranoid next time I have a nightmare - lol.

Well here is the book. It's called There's a Decorator in Your Dollhouse by Melanie Kahane. She was an interior decorator in the 1960s, I understand. Here's a link to an article about this book and Ms. Kahane (which I found now that I finally know the name of the book!)

This book is great for kids and teaching them how to look at everyday items and using them for crafting. It's also a great idea book for adult miniaturists as well. You may see something here that could spark an idea for a project...who knows! I want to sit down with it and read it like I did so many years ago and hopefully get some fun ideas. :)

By the way, the bookstore we visited was Old Saratoga Books. Here is their website. (And, yes, we met Sam, their feline mascot! He was delightful!)

PS: Hmm, 97 followers! Only 3 more until I announce the grab bag giveaway! Here's a photo to entice you - a box that's full of crafty goodies that I will be giving away!!

House of Miniatures!

2012-01-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

Who likes House of Miniatures kits?

I think I am becoming a collector! I bought my first one just a couple of months ago at Aunt Katie's Attic in Scotia, NY. She has a basket in her shop (on the second floor) that is chock-full of miniatures (of varying scales) on any given day. I always love to stop in and see what she has (plus there's a lot of life-size vintage goodies, too!).

I then discovered the wonder of shopgoodwill.com about a week ago, thanks to a friend on Facebook. I found a lot of 3 kits for very cheap and bid on them there.

So, right now I have 4 kits: Chippendale Desk, Single Low Post Bed (Chippendale), Chippendale Wing Chair, and Hepplewhite 3-Piece Dining Room Table.

Well tonight, I won 3 more on eBay (2 different auctions) for very low prices (yay!), so soon this collection will grow to 7. I've no plans for them at the moment, but I love having kits on hand in case I get the creative, need-to-build-something-now feeling and am not inclined to work on a bigger project (which happens more often than one would think). And there is a bit of pride in displaying furniture that one has made herself. :) Who knows? I might make a period-specific roombox! Or perhaps one of the dollhouse kits still in their box will become a scene with HoM furniture? We shall see! :)

Oh, I also found this useful site, if you are interested: http://www.houseofminiatures.info/hom.php

It not only lists all of the different kits out there, but includes pdfs of the instruction sheets! :)

(And HELLO to the newest readers of my blog. Just 5 more subscribers until I announce the giveway!)

Dollhouse architecture: Dutch Colonial Revival

2012-01-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about writing short blog entries about styles of home architecture I find inspiring. While there are many, including Tudor, Carpenter Gothic, and Spanish Revival, I would like to start with Dutch Colonial Revival, a style common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I finally got around to looking up the style of my childhood home (where my parents still live) about two days ago. I knew when it was built and that there are quite a few styles of this house in PA (and here in NY), so I googled “house plans 1929” which eventually (after a lot of clicking) led me to Dutch Colonial homes. According to antiquehome.org, these houses are characterized by “[a] gambrel roof, with or without flared eaves, and the frequent use of dormers.” Interestingly, since I was little, I always thought my house could be considered a "farm" house because of the gambrel roof (even though we lived in the suburbs and I had no idea what a gambrel roof was at the time). Below is not a picture of my parents' house, but a sample I found on the web that looks somewhat similar, in order to illustrate this style.

Photo credit: Antique Home Style

Sears and Roebuck, as well as other companies, offered Dutch Colonial plans in catalogs (see links at end of entry) that future homeowners could purchase and have built.

Having reviewed the floor plans for these homes, it seems to be common that these homes have a living room that extends the full length of the house (which results in a very narrow room) with a fireplace at one end or in the center of the room (as is the case in my parents’ home), a dining room and kitchen taking up the rest of the first floor, and 3 bedrooms and bath on the second floor.

Working with dollhouses has introduced me to many new kinds of architecture and has increased my interest in architecture in general. Likewise, I often try to find dollhouses that model a particular style that I like.

Here is what Google has yielded when I searched for “Dutch Colonial Dollhouse”:

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/14906938

http://www.blujay.com/item/Doll-House-Plans-No-783-Dutch-Colonial-six-rooms-Toadstool-Studios-10110500-3558050

http://earthntree.com/miniatures/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_5&products_id=21

I would love to build a scale version of my childhood home and I love how the first dollhouse link shows someone starting such a project in 1/2” scale. It certainly would not be difficult to build (at least a prototype) in foamboard once I get all of the needed measurements. Add that one to the list of things to do!

If anyone has any more information on Dutch Colonial Dollhouses, please feel free to comment!

More Links on Dutch Colonial (Revival) homes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daily-bungalow/4170559204/

http://www.antiquehome.org/House-Plans/1925-Gordon-VanTine/Fillmore.htm

http://www.antiquehome.org/Architectural-Style/dutch-colonial.htm

http://www.antiquehome.org/House-Plans/1924-Bilt-Well/24bw-4208.htm

Mini books and a sidewalk

2012-01-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

I am starting small (no pun intended!) in getting back to crafting minis, so I made up two books I got in a kit I bought from minikitz.com that I had in my stash for a few years. They are a medieval manuscript and an herbal. Both would fit in my herbal shop, so that's where they shall go.

Speaking of the herb shop, it needed a sidewalk leading up the door. In the picture below, you can see that the line where the two sheets of grass meet and, well, that won't do.

So, I took a thin piece of basswood, cut it to size, glued on some Paperclay and carved in lines between the flagstones. Once that dried, I painted the walkway and added a coat of varnish. Here's the finished product.

The paint and the cracks in the paperclay give it a nice weathered look. I need to go to a craft store and pick up more landscaping materials, so I can fill in the space along the sidewalk. Maybe I'll do that this weekend; we'll see. I really want to do some work on the Glencroft.

Lots of inspiration this evening though, much of which will result in a few blog posts in the very near future: an entry on Dutch Colonial houses (for inspiration) and some book reviews (as inspired by this entry in the Greenleaf forums).

Here's most of the dollhouse/miniature books on my shelf, which I will start with, if I do some reviews...(this will make me sit down and carefully read these instead of just looking at the eyecandy inside. ;) ).

I have a few others (The Big Book of the Dolls' House by Jean Nisbett, to name one) that don't fit on this shelf.

GIVEAWAY

2012-01-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

When I logged on the other day (after an extended absence), I noticed that I have 91 followers! (Hello new friends!) I am really excited to announce that I will be doing a giveaway when I hit 100 followers. It's a bit of a grab bag of things that may be useful to dollhouse builders, miniaturists and crafters (some of which are straight from the RGT recent Open House sale!), plus a gift certificate to peacecrafted.com, which is the home-based handmade bath salt business that I and my better half run. I figure it's a good thing to relax after a long day in the workshop. ;) So, tell your friends, pass this on and stay tuned to learn how to enter this giveaway!!!

Inspiration, the new year, and yeah, I know I've been quiet!

2012-01-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

Life, my job, and everything else has taken over and I haven't had much time to craft. So, yeah, I realize it's been rather quiet here at Linda's Minis. My last post focused on the General Store, but funny enough, that lovely dollhouse has actually been given to my sister and her girls. After Jay moved to Albany (permanently) and the rest of our stuff came with him, we just didn't have the room. So I knew something had to go. I had good intentions with it, but I still have to finish the Glencroft (I know, I know) so one project at a time for me.

Now I've been rather inspired over the holidays. We visited PA for Christmas (my parents) and New Year's (Jay's parents) and along the way, saw lots of beautiful houses. In both central and eastern PA, there are many beautiful stone houses, and in the Montgomery County region, there are some beautiful homes covered in stucco. This led me to finally deciding to finish the Glencroft chimney in plaster over brick, and to age the tudor finish a bit. (I still have to finish shingling, which I think is my least favorite dollhouse hobby venture).

While in eastern PA, we visited a thrift shop in Birdsboro, PA. (Here is the address: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=birdsboro+pa+thrift+shop&fb=1&gl=us&hq=thrift+shop&hnear=0x89c679ea4653aa45:0x31e78b63b088be0d,Birdsboro,+PA&cid=9471547859574324149)

There is a lovely farmhouse-style dollhouse there for sale. It is 99 dollars, in decent shape, and comes with lots of furniture. It could use some minor rehab, but if you are looking for a good second-hand project, and live in the area, it was still there as of yesterday afternoon. I looked at it carefully but said no (surprisingly!) because of the lack of space and certain lack of time with the upcoming semester. Again, one project at a time for me!!!

Lastly, while in central PA, we went to Antique Depot in Duncansville, PA (address: http://duncansvilleantiquedepot.com/index.htm). They have tin dollhouses, very little furniture, but two lovely dollhouses that almost look like engineering or drafting projects. The crafters were definitely building them in the style of real houses and both that were there (as of Dec. 26th or so) were unfinished and were (I think) half-scale. I was very tempted to pick up the larger one for 150.00. Again, though. Little room at the moment and ONE project at a time!

If you live in either area, or know someone who does, and procure either dollhouse, do let me know! I hope these hints lead to a cherished new addition to a collection! :)

The general store is now in New York!

2011-06-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to the Albany apartment. I brought over the old General Store (you may remember from this entry ) from New Hampshire. This will be an antique store with a hip cafe on the top level. This is the plan:

1. Continue giving the shop a thorough cleaning inside and out. I got most of the dust out of it, but there are still areas that need some detailing.

2. Remove and replace the bannister going to the upstairs rooms.

3. Remove the wallpaper from the upstairs rooms. I tried one room as the wallpaper was already starting to come off, and it left a gross residue. Time to apply the Goo Gone!

4. Refinish the floors with art paper or planking

5. Refinishing the walls - paint? wallpaper? boards?

6. Convert the horse stalls into flea market stalls.

7. Redo the signs on the outside...remove or cover the existing letters.

8. Add in windows and doors (possibly handmade).
9. Electrify or not to electrify??? (Or perhaps get those battery powered lamps that miniatures.com sells...?)

I can't wait to work on this piece. Currently, I am still shingling the Glencroft, but this is a slow process, and I figure moving the General Store/Antique shop over will at least let me work on some miniature stuff in the meantime. I really like the flat roof, which will provide more storage, as well.

For the hip cafe feel, I have been brainstorming a list (and have asked the help of facebook friends as well!). We've come up with quite a few ideas and I am exciting to make this as fun, funky, and realistic as possible, while preserving the uniqueness of the original piece.

Oscar stands in the antique store-to be (he'll be the owner, at least of the downstairs portion - isn't he dressed appropriately?):

Not really sure what the thing is that he has his hand on - perhaps the original owner had something hanging there? I'll probably remove it, especially since I snag my hand on it every time I reach into the shelves along the back wall (ouch!).

Daisy House kit and Tim Holtz Crackle Paint

2011-06-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

So I built the book shelf with drawers kit from The Daisy House and it was a positive crafting experience! The directions were well-written, and everything I needed was included (sans glue and paint, of course!). I used Tacky Glue for building, without a jig, and everything went together quite nicely. For the finish, I painted the entire piece in light blue (with acrylics) and then covered it with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle in Picket Fence. After this dried, I wiped Distress Ink in Tea Dye on certain parts of the book shelf and wiped it off immediately for an aged patina. I really like how it looks. Here are some pics:

Storage solution :)

2011-06-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

So I have been doing a little redecorating today and found a fun way to display my miniature furniture until I finish the Glencroft and the antique shop.

This is one of those storage cube arrangements you can buy at Target. :) Makes a great temporary display area!

Columbary House and Earth 'n Tree goodies

2011-05-26T20:43:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I wrote about an antique store in Cape Neddick, Maine called Columbary House. Well I finally found my camera battery charger (and it was in the most obvious place *rolls eyes*) so I can share with you what I found there.

For the miniatures (because isn't that why we're all here?), I found this adorable white metal screen and table. A little more "frilly" than my usual taste, but I fell in love with them. I have some ideas for future shabby chic projects that may incorporate both of these. Until then, I will display them somewhere in my home.

Here's everything I bought at the shop: the miniatures, Simon and Garfunkel music for piano and guitar (I play the latter and have this album), an antique key (I am obsessed with old keys!), and a wood plaque that says Välkommen! (Swedish for welcome). The latter was so cute and only a dollar. I thought it'd be nice to put in my foyer somewhere. I am not of Swedish descent, but it matches my PA Dutch (which makes up about half of my heritage) decor.

I drove from New Hampshire to New York today and stopped at Earth and Tree Miniatures on the way (I really love that place, and everyone I talk to there is always friendly and just wonderful!).

I picked up a few small items:

I haven't put together too many kits and so I think the bookcase will be a nice place to start. I'd like to do it in shabby chic with peeling paint (I might try Tim Holtz' Distress Crackle Paint on this one...). I love American Miniaturist and will someday break down and subscribe already. :) A few things caught my eye in this issue (E and T has a lot of issues of all the popular magazines available at any given time). And last, I saw this miniature cat shelf in one of their displays and absolutely had to have it. I don't know about you, dear reader, but it gives off a 70s feel to me and will look awesome in the Glencroft living room when I am done with it! Now to decide what belongs in that little shelf. Hmmm....

I'll be having a little getaway in Vermont this weekend before my summer research really gets underway next week, so I may be sharing any goodies I find during the trip. Now that I have ALL the parts to my camera, I may try some photography, too. :) Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!