Room box idea

Hello everyone! I hope those in the Northeast US are safely digging themselves out of this blizzard! Here in Albany, we only got about 6 inches, which is rather minimal compared to what I've heard has been going on in coastal New England. Lots of friends without power and some serious coastal flooding in Massachusetts.

I have not been posting much as I have been very busy with my job and haven't had much time to think about, or create new, minis (except, of course, for filling any Etsy orders that come in!). I've also been indulging another hobby for the first time in a couple years: playing the guitar. Thankfully, I just need to get my tough fingertips back, but I look forward to playing music again.

Not to worry though! I am thinking about minis and I do read your blogs to see what you've been up to! There are so many wonderful creations and new designs and just simply amazing things being created by miniaturists everyday!

I did want to share with you one thing. I have those Carolyn Curran pottery pieces that I have blogged about before, and I wanted to display them since they are simply amazing. So, I went to my local Michael's and found a hinged, unfinished shadowbox. I built a floor inside of it and wallpapered the interior (adding moulding and a chair rail). It's simple but is a nice piece to hang on the wall. (It does come with hanging hardware, too).

This is the back of the shadowbox. The hanging hardware is pre-installed, but on the short end. I am going to remove this and reinstall it on the longer side so I can hang this on the wall.

The shadowbox is just wide enough for shallow pieces of furniture (e.g. hutches and shelves). This is perfect for displaying or more miniature collectible pieces.

Here is the interior with the lid open. I added a floor inside...

...so that you could easily see the hutch when the lid is closed. The little framed picture was given to me for my birthday, but came from Memoriesnminiature's Etsy Shop. It has photos of Paris and tiny hooks to hang miniature hats, umbrellas, etc. on them!

Here is a closeup of the hutch and pottery pieces. The hutch came from an antique store in Maine (which I had blogged about before) and these are the Carolyn Curran pieces that I bought from Sutton's Marketplace antiques shop in Queensbury, NY last year. I love these pieces! The toile wallpaper is from Hobby Lobby.

Columbary House and Earth 'n Tree goodies

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!

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.

Manor House Minis order + some good local mini finds

Hello everyone!  I recently ordered some great stuff from Manorhouseminis.com and decided to make a video slide show to show you instead a long list of pics. I had a lot of fun doing this and may do more in the future!



Seriously, I have no need for the doll or the pediments as neither of them work with any of the projects I am currently working or plan to work on in the near future. The doll's hat is glued on her head, but the dress may be removable...maybe. If you want them, let me know. I wouldn't mind swapping the doll or the pediments for some mini books or whatever you may have and not need...leave a comment. :)

I have also made some great local mini finds. The first is from Bo-Mar Antiques in Wells, ME (where I found my general store!). There were several pieces of dollhouse furniture, all very cute. I restricted myself to buying just one piece, which cost less than 5 dollars: a little handmade rocking chair with a woven seat.

I love handmade stuff so this was perfect. There were also some corner chairs there and a few table and chair sets. So if anyone is nearby, it may be worth visiting. The variety of items at Bo-Mar changes frequently so I  recommend that if you like something, grab it while you can.

My local used bookstore sometimes has miniature books, but not very often. I happened to find The Complete Guide to Remodeling & Expanding Your Dollhouse by Nola Theiss in the "woodworking" section of the store. They do have a craft section which occasionally has books on the hobby as well. But again, the selection of books varies as the store has a lot of turnover.
Here's a picture of the book:

There is some good stuff in here, and a few color pictures. I haven't yet read the whole thing, but so far I like it.

Jay and I are going to Vermont this weekend and I am really excited about the Real Good Toys Factory Outlet Store! I just learned about it - on CraigsList of all places. But here is the website: http://www.realgoodtoys.com/about-our-company/dollhouse-factory-outlet-store/

Even though RGT is shutting down their factory and shipping departments for a long vacation starting on the 28th, the store will remain open. I look forward to checking them out and seeing what is there. I'll probably post what I find when we get back. :)

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

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.

Mini hunt in Maine

Jason and I went on an antiquing trip yesterday in Maine. We started on Route 9 in our town of Somersworth, NH, crossed the Salmon Falls River and went into Berwick, ME. Route 9 goes through Berwick, then cuts over to Wells, joins with US-1, then cuts away again to follow the coast line. We continued up US-1 to Arundel, then turned around when the shops started to close around 5 to follow US-1 South to Kittery and hit some backroads to head home.

During our very pleasant trip, we stopped at quite a few antique shops. The first, Bo-Mar Hall Antiques and Collectibles, didn't have much in the way of dollhouse miniatures, but it had a lot of train goodies. My dad would LOVE this place and I will probably take him to check it out if they come up to visit this summer.

The next stop was at a group of shops further up the road on the right. I believe the group of shops is called Wells Union, and it includes a wonderful shop, that sells items made from recycled materials, named Smith - Zukas. They have small porcelain "water balls" which could be useful for all kinds of non-mini purposes I suppose. :) Also in this group were two smaller shops, names I cannot recall right now, one which had an amazing 1920s antique New England farmhouse and barn. It looked to be about 1/2" scale. And I am kicking myself for not taking a picture. We may have to go back to get dimensions and take some pics. The price was well over a grand, and it probably won't be going into my collection any time in the near or far future, but it's such a lovely piece just to admire.

Further up the road, also on the right was a shop where I hit the mini jackpot. Pay close attention, readers, if you end up in Maine and are hitting the southwest coast antique shops, go to Reed's Antiques and Collectibles. Here's the sign as I took it standing in front of the building:
It had antique dollhouse furniture and accessories in its glass cases, plus TWO dollhouses out on the floor. I was very excited!
The first dollhouse was a model of a home somewhere in Massachusetts, and I am not sure it was exactly to 1/12th scale. The rooms were very deep and the ceilings were somewhat lower than my Glencroft. Yet it looked to have 1" scale doors and windows...
Here's a picture:
I can't remember the price, but I remember it being between 70-100 dollars.

The other dollhouse was a pleasant surprise when I first saw it, because it is one of the dollhouses on my wishlist! A Westville by Greenleaf!
They were asking about 225.00 for the house. Some of the gingerbread was broken off, and whoever put the house together went overboard with the wood glue inside. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to rehab this beautiful little house, or the money to purchase this particular one, but it may be a nice match for someone out there who would like to put the time and energy into taking care of this pretty thing.

But having seen it reinforced that I do indeed want one. :)

I did leave with some lovely items. First, I want to mention that they were having some reasonable discounts on many of their items, including my new-to-me hutch:
It looks GREAT already in the unfinished kitchen of the Glencroft I'm building. :) As you can see I also took home two very lovely little pots, striped with my favorite colors: blue and green.
Here's a better picture of those:
They are going in the herb/world goods shop for a mini person to buy. :)

There were a few other pieces of furniture, some pewter minis and many accessories. It's worth taking a look around the shop. :)

The next, and last, shop we went to, was the HUGE Antiques USA building in Arundel, past Kennebunk, on US-1. We ended up not buying anything here, but my mini-addicted self was enjoying some of the fun finds, including one really old dollhouse and one very detailed little church (probably 1/4" or 1/2" scale - I really need to bring the tape measure along next time...).

Pretty, huh? There were also one or two 1/12th scale mini pieces, lots of 1/6th scale pieces, and plenty of accessories that were quite old in many of the glass cases. It's definitely worth taking a look!

Once we left this store, it was near 5, when all the shops were closing their doors, so we headed back to NH. :)