The general store is now in New York!

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!).

Another antique spot in Maine with miniatures

Wow, I just realized I have 84 followers! How exciting!!!
I do want to sing the praises of a lovely antique shop on Route  1 in Cape Neddick, Maine called Columbary House that I visited this past Saturday. They have a lot of miniature furniture in one of their three buildings. I bought a CUTE white metal table and privacy screen. (Sorry about the lack of pictures as I cannot for the life of me find my camera battery/charger anywhere). They have several shelves of wooden furniture and resin figurines. If you are in the area, it may be worth checking out.

I am in New Hampshire at the moment and ready to drive back to New York tomorrow, and will probably be bringing the General Store with me. I hope to make some time this summer to clean it up and bash it into an antique store for a lot of the miscellaneous miniatures I have.

Edit: I have also been shingling the Glencroft! Pictures available when I finish (and when i find that darn battery and charger!)

NH Farm Museum furniture; similar hutches

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had gone to the NH Farm Museum in Milton, NH over July 4th weekend. There I bought two pieces of furniture: one hutch and one chair.

Yes, the hutch's price is correct...it was 3.95. And the "captain's chair" was 0.95! Very cute and very inexpensive.

I also like the shopping bag the Museum used to pack my goodies in...

I think it would be awesome if the scale on the ads were smaller, for the antique shop. But I do have a camera and a computer, so I could make it possible. :)

Now, the thing that struck me about the hutch was that it looked an awful lot like two other hutches I have in my collection.

The hutch on the left is the one I found at the antique shop in Maine. The one in the middle came in a lot from eBay. The one on the right is the one from the Farm Museum. They all have the same heavy, sturdy construction and similar hardware. In fact, there were others at the Museum gift shop that were similar but I had to drag myself away before I bought everything. ;)  I am thinking of making a display with these three hutches if I don't use them in any of the houses.

 

Of course, if you're wondering, Oscar would love to have them in his yet-to-exist antique store, but we'll see. I told him he could have the chair.

But he complained his hind end didn't fit in there too well. Then again, his hind end doesn't fit in any other chair that well, either...

In the mean time, Esme is relaxing on the chaise lounge she insisted on having in front of the shop. It's the weekend after all, and it's time to kick back and relax.

Introducing Oscar and Esmerelda...

Well, two new folks have moved into town. Meet Esmerelda:

Esmerelda's dream is to run an herbal shop...with wares from around the world. Hmmm, I think I can hook her up with such a place. Tomorrow, I might have to show her a shop I know that needs such a person.


Her friend Oscar has also moved into town...

He's a packrat, and really into antiques. In fact, he's been known to wear some vintage early 1900s clothes. I don't know how he can stand wearing a suit in the middle of the summer, but I suppose if he isn't complaining, then neither should I. Anyway, like I said...he's a bit of a packrat:

Stuff he's inherited, bought, received as gifts, etc. has piled up considerably and he needs a place to keep it all. In fact, he'd love to open his own antique shop...something with an apartment above it would be ideal - nothing fancy, a studio would be fine...he's a bachelor after all. I might have another piece of property I could show him. It may need a little work, first, however.

The bedroom does need to be big enough to fit his antique bedroom collection, though.

Oscar: "I hope I can find a first floor apartment. I don't want to move all this stuff."


Esmerelda: "Well, don't look at me..."


Oscar: "Awww, come on. I'll give you 10% off at my antique store!"

Esmerelda: *Sigh...*



----
So everything shown above came in an AMAZING lot I received from a seller on eBay. I was looking at the listing, staring wistfully at the items, thinking it wouldn't be feasible to spend money on so many minis right now. Jason saw what I was looking at and decided to bid on it for me and he won! Yay! I was so excited to get all this stuff, and I love the dolls! Even though Oscar's wardrobe is a little dated, I think I can weave a story to make it work. Esmerelda's clothes translate nicely to a hippie/new agey style, especially when I make her some jewelry. :)


Here's the rest of the stuff in the lot:

New kitchen stuff. The copper items are definitely going into the Glencroft kitchen!

Flatware set. And I LOVE the whisk!

Some odds and ends...shutters, a window pane and a neat display.


Tune in for more adventures, when Oscar and Esmerelda check out their new digs and visit some of the other houses in the area. ;)

Happy December!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long. My dissertation and post-school job search have been taking over my life, so my time for minis has been short. Unfortunately! However, I plan on making time tomorrow to complete my entry for the HBS Creatin' Contest. I am not set on winning, but the piece I am making fits perfectly in with another of my mini creations. :) I promise pictures after it's finished.

There's not much new in the mini world over here, unless you count that I just bought myself a little something on eBay last night: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=300376276394
I am not sure where it's going to go, but I think it may be a nice chest of drawers for my Glencroft bedroom.

Anywho, hmmm, what else has happened recently? Oh yeah....I very recently turned 30. And so my wonderful partner has been bestowing me with many a lovely gift, one of which was Doll's House Inspirations by Jean Nisbett. Love that little book! So many great ideas and tips!

I am planning on a total renovation of the Glencroft bathroom again, I am going to keep the Japanese style but it will be very simplified...hopefully, I will make time to work on that during the Winter Break from school. I am also looking for ideas for the "Wine Country" kitchen in the Glencroft. I found a few possible appliance sets I like, and a few dining tables and chairs I thought I liked. Then I found this: Harvest Table. If anyone has experience with Daisy House kits, I would be happy to hear it. I was thinking of having the table pushed against a wall, with a bench and two chairs. What's cool is I can paint the table and bench to match my decor!

Well, I believe that is all for now, but I am really looking forward to finishing up some projects soon! After the Glencroft I am going to tackle that General Store! I have a great idea for it!

Another new addition!

So, it seems as if when I post lately, I have an awesome new addition to my dollhouse collection. Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint, so I will share with you my brand new Alison/Petite Dreams. I don't know which it is. It is the reverse of the RGT Alison, but is identical to the Petite Dreams house, and I suppose it could be either. Perhaps I can solve this mystery with your help - if not today, then maybe when I post more pics in the future when I begin to rehab it.

Here she is:

Oh, and guess how much I paid for her? Go ahead, guess!

You done guessing?

She was F-R-E-E!!! That's right! My labmate and friend, Helen, saw the dollhouse at a yard sale, where it was being given away (for what reason, I have no idea!) and thought of me and picked it up! I swear that I did ask if she wanted to keep it, but she gave it to me! :-D I am a lucky friend!

The dollhouse is BIG! I am going to keep her the same color, but there are many changes I will make to her inside and out. As you can see right away, there are shutters missing, but I do not care that much for the shutters anyway, so I may order brand new ones from HBS or pick some up at Earth and Tree (I need a reason to go there anyway!)

The roof doesn't match up perfectly with the exterior left wall, so I will do something about that. Most likely, I will just paint it to match the shingles as I don't want to crack anything.

When wiping down the inside of the house, I ended up tearing off the felt used for carpet. I am going to either paper or repaint the walls and put down some real floorboards and tile.

I may also replace the front door, and I am definitely going to install stairs (there are none, but holes where there should be.
And I thought the Glencroft dwarfed my shop!!

Speaking of the Glencroft, you might be wondering where she is. Well, Jay and I did some cleaning and decluttering this week and got rid of the old futon in the spare room. Turns out, that freed up a lot of space. We have an old massage table we never use (but should! lol) and I put the Glencroft and the general store on that. :) It's basically my workshop area now (minus the stuffed animals, which really make this look like a little kid's playroom - LOL).


The area beneath the table provides a lot of room for storage. Below are the boxes for what remains of the Glencroft pieces, and for the Canterbury House (which I am putting off on building til I get my other projects done!)

New Addition!!!

I found the *coolest* thing today at Bo-mar Hall Antiques in Wells, ME. I took my parents there today, as they are visiting from PA this week. My dad loves trains and they have a ton of train stuff. My mom has varied interests and she found lots of things to look at and buy. Well I was walking through the store with Jason and we turned the corner and saw this:


Yes, a 1:12 scale general store. It looks handmade and one-of-a-kind. It's also very solidly built. And get this...according to the tag, it was 45 dollars. At that price, it was a steal, right??? Well when Jason and I carried it to the front to buy it, it cost 33.08 w/tax, because it was on sale!!!!

I know, right?

So now it's sitting in my living room, waiting for a place to live, and to be cleaned and touched up. :) Here are some more pics:








As you can see, the front panel comes off, and Jason said he could put it on hinges. I want to take out the paper on the second floor. I am not sure if I will repaper it or just paint/stain it. We'll see what it says to me. :) This is going to be such an exciting project! I might put a lot of the stuff from the "Chic Boutique" in here to fill up the shelves.