Wednesday, September 29

New Plans

The Flamingo Bar and Grill has had a change of heart and a change of plans. It wants to be a beautiful white stone church, with stained glass windows and a steeple!


White Stone Church
White Stone VA

I found this photo of the White Stone Church today and will be using it for my inspiration. My house already has lots of big windows. All I'll need to do is build a new front entry and add the steeple.

I can just imagine it all decorated for Christmas with beautiful lights and poinsettias! I can almost hear the church bells ring too.

Sometimes when things don't seem to go your way, there is a better way to go. :D

Hope you have a beautiful day!


Tuesday, September 28

I Had A Dream

I had a dream of what the Flamingo Inn might look like someday and here it is!

Robin Carey's Coral Island Dollhouse!

Isn't it just absolutely gorgeous?!! Every detail is perfect right down to the landscaping! I LOVE this house! Don't you?!

Guess it's back to the drawing board for me. Sigh...

The Flamingo Bar and Grill may become the Key Lime Grill, who knows? Now, what to do with all of those flamingos? Paint them green? LOL

Thanks Robin for making my dream come true! Your house is amazing!


Monday, September 27

More Mini Furniture

I found this previously painted 1/4" square wooden dowel this morning. I don't remember what I had planned to use it for, OR why I had painted it green?


As you can see, it sparked some ideas for more furniture for my little house.

I started thinking about how to paint these pieces? Then I saw this.


Lulu paints the cutest folk art furniture! Love that little table in the front of this photo!

I'm thinking that something like this would be perfect for my tiny house? I just might have to go back to Michaels and get more of those extra fine point pens! More colors, more fun!

Hope you have a happy day!

Saturday, September 25

Tired Eyes

My eyes are very tired this evening. You can see why here. There is a toothpick in the photo just to show you how tiny this furniture is!

The bed is made from card stock folded around a block of wood. The chairs are slip covered with white fabric! The table needs some adjusting and paint.

I was going to get my clay out and make new appliances and a pedestal sink and tub for the bathroom. But now, as the clouds roll in and the sun is about to set, I think my eyes need a break!

I used Anna Carin's miniature tutorials to make the table and chairs. She has free DIY patterns and instructions in all scales. The ones I used are for 1:144 scale furniture.

Another great mini-mini site I found is by Frances Armstrong. She passed away in 2008 but her site is being maintained. There is a wealth of information there for beginners, like me.

I'm nearly finished with the building part of my little house. I'm going to try to do some landscaping around it too.

IF I ever get it finished, I'll have to find the perfect place to display it in my BIG beach house! There may be more of these little houses in my future. A tiny modern house perhaps?

My eyes are telling me to go do something larger for a while! They just want to keep closing for some reason...

Hope you had a lovely day!



Downstairs

This is the downstairs of my teeny tiny house. Sadly, there won't BE any stairs. There is just no room for them!


I've been having fun today. Hope you are too?


Friday, September 24

Quick Question

How do you "plant" plants around the outside of your dollhouse? I don't want to put them in pots. I just want them to look like they are growing out of the ground, like this little garden I planted in Florida. These plants got HUGE! Mine will be mini, of course.

How can I keep them from falling over? Ideas?

Thanks! :D

Window and Floors

I was hoping my new black pen would work for "stained glass." It does! Oh, the possibilities!

These are the floors, upstairs and down. Still thinking about the walls. It really takes a LOT of thinking to make something this small!

So glad it's Friday, aren't you?

Thursday, September 23

Painting on Plastic

I went to Michael's yesterday to get a few things for my little house project. I found some really cool pens that will write on plastic, glass and just about anything else.

They are Sharpie Poster Paint pens. They are oil based, water resistant and opaque. I bought the extra fine point pens in black and white. I tried the white one on clear plastic and cellophane. Then I made some windows for my little house.



The more things I add to the house, the more things keep falling off! Again, I can see little things I need to fix. I don't like the tiny window at the top. Maybe a round one would look better?

I won't tell you how long this took so far. I don't want to remember that part.

Hope you have a really good day.

Wednesday, September 22

Let's Build Something Together

I'll bet that Lowe's never thought that one of their Eddie Bauer paint chips would ever be used for a dollhouse porch. I found it to be the perfect thing for my teeny tiny house!


It's called Quartz Stone Granite and really looks like cement. There are mica crystals in it so it even has a bit of sparkle. :D

The porch will have columns to support the roof.
I can't attach it permanently until I finish the walls inside. The lattice is a piece of perforated cross stitch paper. I still need to add "glass" to the windows and make some shutters.

When that's finished I'll turn the house over and start working on the interior. That will be the really tricky part! Hopefully, there will be two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. I'm still thinking about where to put the stairs?!

Hope you have a happy day!

Tuesday, September 21

House In A Box

I made the flooring with colored pencils. The black and white kitchen "tiles" are a little too big. I love the zebra rug and gray carpet. :D

Here are the kitchen appliances ready to go in the oven. They are a bit wonky, but remember this is my first attempt! LOL

The fridge is 3/4 inch tall and 1/2 inch wide! This is SO much fun!

Hope you have a nice little day!

Monday, September 20

Teeny Tiny House

I've taken an interest lately in 1:144 scale houses. They are just too cute! I did some window shopping and checked prices for kits. Wow. They are so expensive!

Since I can't afford to buy a kit, I'm trying to make my own pattern instead. I can already see where I need to add some tabs to hold the roof on. If this one fits together I will try making one out of heavier card.

This little house is 2 1/2 inches tall by 1 1/4 inch deep. I don't know if that is correct scale, but it's small enough for me! The door is 1/2 inch wide!



I think it will be fun to decorate if I ever get that far? I already have ideas for the exterior. Sure hope I can do this? :D

Have you made a teeny tiny dollhouse? Got any tips for the beginner here?

Saturday, September 18

Sofa and Two Chairs

I finished my new sofa and made TWO chairs. I learned a lot while I was making the sofa so the chairs are a slightly different design. I really like how they all turned out. :D


Here they are with the little tables I made a long time ago. I really need to get my staircase finished so I can put the living room back together!


Do you remember Caterina's Summer Swap? The gift I made for Beatriz in Mexico never arrived. Perhaps it was seized by the customs officials?

I decided it was time to make something else for Beatriz. Better late,than never. Right? I'll be sending one of these little chairs to her.


I hope she likes it AND that it makes the trip to her home in Mexico!

Hope you have a lovely day. I'm going to go relax on the sofa. :D

Waste Not Want Not

A friend of mine once told me, if you cut your toothpaste tube in half you can get another couple of days of toothpaste out of it. That's true.

Works for wood glue too. :D

My sofa is finished except for the frame. I think I just might have enough glue. Now I just have to wait for it to dry.

Hope you have a wonderful day making minis!

Friday, September 17

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

It is still dark here this morning so I had to use the flash on my camera to show you the progress on my new sofa.

I am still trying to figure out how to do the arms of the sofa. They are always what gives me trouble.

That is my favorite coffee mug. It's by Sandra Boynton. On the back it says "Grin and ignore it." :D

I'm SO glad it's FRIDAY! My co-worker hasn't been in to work for the past two days. She's "sick." I'm just putting one foot in front of the other, keeping calm and carrying on.

Tomorrow I'm going to do this!






Thursday, September 16

Sofa Pattern


I decided to make a new sofa for the living room. Right now all you can see is the paper pattern and the cushions.

This is rather tricky. I'm hoping it will work out? If it does, I'll make a chair to match.

Hope you have a lovely day!

Wednesday, September 15

I Made a Pillow


Sorry for the blurry photo. I'm not sure if it's my blurry eyes or my camera. LOL
I'll try to get a better one tomorrow.

Thanks for your kind comments yesterday. I really do appreciate ALL of your comments!

Nite nite!


Tuesday, September 14

I'm Tired!

I love these coasters I found at Advanced Healthcare Shop today.
I've been working very hard lately. My co-worker is going back to school and leaving two hours early every day. I feel like a mouse on a wheel and I'm TIRED!

At least my boss has noticed and even asked me how I was holding up today! I wanted to tell him I was OVERWORKED, UNDERPAID, and wanted to GO HOME!

Of course, I didn't say that. I just told him I was "feeling a bit tired lately." He actually said he knows how hard I've been working and appreciates all I do. He even said he is thinking about some ways to help. It's so nice to have a great boss and a great job too!

I'm going to bed now. I'm tired!

I hope to have some finished projects to show you soon? Ten days without minis is too many days!



Sunday, September 12

Progress in the Workroom

I'm making some progress with my work room. One wall is finished!

I moved these shelves from the other side of the room. I was happy that they fit nicely around my desk. Now I have my supplies close at hand and some of my favorite things to look at too.
:D


I have a beachy painting and a mini shadow box to hang on the wall below. The blue cabinet contains all of my tools and wood. I just might paint this book shelf blue also? The drawers are still empty! Yea! The closet is filled with stuff I still need to sort.


I got these stackable drawers at WalMart and the Dollar General. They contain my flower making supplies, paint, glue, paper and cardstock, stencil stuff, doll clothes fabric and trim.

The dresser was a gift from a friend who was moving and didn't want it. Silly man! I love all of the drawers! They are filled with sewing supplies, fabric and accessories.


I still have lots of work to do, but I'm making progress! Can't wait to get back to finishing some minis and starting some more!

Sandy and Grandpa are sitting on the unfinished sofa with our new friend. He is a VERY handsome Horsman doll I found on Ebay. He just may become the bartender at the Flamingo Grill? Grandpa is not happy with the way he is looking at Sandy!

Just as soon as this new guy arrived, Grandpa tried some Grecian Formula in his hair! LOL He definitely needs some clothes!


Well, I'd better get back to work. Hope you have a great day!

Thursday, September 9

What If?

What if I wanted to add some "neon" lights to the outside of my restaurant? Wouldn't that be cool?

I found this light strip at Save-On-Crafts. One of my favorite places to go for ideas. This light strip might work? It is battery operated, comes in different colors and is 1/8" inch in diameter.



They also have this 3/8" white wood strip. Siding, wainscoting, furniture?



This little bag of plastic beads would make great stuffing for pillows?

I have one hour before I have to go get ready for work. Time to stop surfing and clear off my wall shelf so I can move it to over my desk. Will I EVER be finished with this room?!

Hope you have a good day!

Wednesday, September 8

Let There Be Light?

I need your help. I've never wired a dollhouse before. I don't even know where to begin!?

Cir-Kit Concepts has several kits. Do I need to buy one of these? If so, which one?

I would like to have lights in my new house/restaurant. I guess this needs to be done before I start working on the exterior? I would appreciate any advice you may have.

I've promised myself to finish cleaning my work room, finish my sofa, finish the staircase AND finish my new bed before I start on anything else! I just keep getting distracted!

Hope you have a lovely day!



Tuesday, September 7

Tropical Dreams

The pink house and I shared some thoughts this morning. Houses do speak, you know!

We did some searching and found a photo of this fabulous restaurant in Sunset Beach, North Carolina.


I love the green roof, peachy exterior and white trim. The tropical plants and palm trees really look great too. If you notice way over on the right, you'll see how they used larger columns on the lower front of the building and smaller ones on the top.

My house has BIG columns going all the way up to the roof.
I really don't like them and may do something like the photo above when I remodel the front of the house?


Here's a photo of the entrance to this restaurant. LOVE the colors and design.



The bar is amazing! Love the tin ceiling and the long bar. The mirrored shelving behind the bar is awesome too.
It will be a real challenge to build something like this!



Of course I'll need to serve tropical drinks like these found on Babette's blog Maiden America.



She found these pretty mini drinks at Michele K Miniature Food! Michele will be sharing her tutorial for making these soon. I can't wait! :D

Then I can only dream of Leo's wonderful creations! They are the ultimate of a mini tropical paradise!

Hope you have a great day. I didn't finish my work room this weekend but I did make some good progress. I'm motivated to complete that project so I'll have space to start this one!