miniatures — Page 94

A Miniature Lollapalooza of a Day

December 19, 2013 at 8:32 am by Claudia

Yesterday was a Miniature Lollapalooza of a day. The mail brought 3 packages addressed to yours truly; I was very excited to say the least.

I ordered some plates from Carrie Lavender, who lives in Australia and has an Etsy shop. I chose them because they each had a bird in the design. They’re made of ceramic and are quite lovely – Carrie shipped them very quickly and they arrived here much sooner than I had even begun to hope for.

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(Sorry for the shadows, I took this picture in the late afternoon.)

There is a method to my madness. I knew exactly where I wanted to use them.

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Right here on the wall in the den. I had that visual firmly fixed in my mind and I was determined to see it come to life. The little bird plate in the middle is actually the saucer that goes with that mug on the table (made by Sofia in Spain.) I decided it needed to join the other bird plates.

The owner of Hummingbird Cottage loves birds and collects bird plates. Do you blame her?

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In this shot you can see I’ve since rearranged the placement of the plates. I like this placement better.

Don’t you love the way our little white Christmas tree is reflected in the window?

Don looked at the plates on the wall, then looked at the whole dollhouse and said, “Can we move in? Can we squeeze in there somehow?”

I wish we could.

I also received a package from Judy and one from a faithful reader of this blog, Maryanne. Judy’s contained some lovely sheep (you know I love sheep) and some ornaments and a vintage edition of Shakespeare’s plays (Don can’t keep his hands off it – it’s so lovely) and a couple of items for the dollhouse. Maryanne sent me all sorts of minis; food items for the kitchen, little mini Christmas presents for under the tree, little animals, and a piece or two of furniture – it was a treasure trove! (Maryann, I’m sending you a thank you note in the mail because I don’t have an email address for you.)

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This dry sink came from Maryanne. The drawers and cupboard door open. Isn’t it lovely? The wrapping paper, bows and ribbon came from Judy.

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Adorable with a capital A. I figure the owner will be wrapping things in her craft room, don’t you?

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Judy also sent this mini carton of Egg Nog. Let the holiday celebrations commence!

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And one of the many little minis in Maryanne’s package was this rolling pin. I added that piece of furniture that the mixer and rolling pin are on to the kitchen the other day. The owner simply didn’t have enough counter space and she likes to bake.

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Little packages from Maryanne.

I. Love. My. Dollhouse.

I. Love. Miniatures.

There, I’ve said it.

And I’m so grateful for the wonderful and generous friends who think of me and Hummingbird Cottage. So many items in this dollhouse are from generous friends and, just as in my life-sized cottage, every item has a story to tell. The dollhouse is enriched and made beautiful by those special gifts. One day I will do a post on these treasures and I’ll tell their stories. Thank you, dear friends.

Today’s Holiday Bokeh:

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The little white Christmas tree in the living room. That’s the hydrangea in the foreground.

Happy Thursday.

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Misadventures & Miniatures

December 12, 2013 at 8:33 am by Claudia

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Yesterday? A day fraught with challenges. For starters, I’m still struggling with this sinus thing and I feel yucky much of the time. Nevertheless, I looked at our upcoming schedule, along with the predictions of a significant snow event Saturday into Sunday and figured it was time to get the Christmas tree. That went smoothly. We had the tree picked out in no time. When we got home, we stopped to have some lunch and then we hauled the Christmas decorations out of the shed, along with the tree stand. Along the way, I realized I had wrenched something in my lower back, which was evident when I was going up and down the stairs. Drat.

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Then it came time to bring the tree inside and fit it in the stand. This requires crouching on all fours on my part. Stuffed up head. Aching back. Try as we might we couldn’t get the stand to lay flat. The legs were uneven, which was perplexing as we had used the stand plenty of times in the past. We tried bending them this way and that and eventually Don started putting pressure on the legs with his booted foot to try and right the situation. He didn’t have his glasses on and stomped on a metal leg while my middle finger was still under it. I screeched in pain. There was a lot of bleeding and a chunk of skin missing from the tip of my finger, but thankfully, nothing was broken. It’s painful and my finger is covered in bandaids, making typing a wee bit difficult. Don felt terrible, of course, but it wasn’t his fault. These things happen.

He had to go back out and buy a new stand.

Decorating the big tree will not happen until tonight or tomorrow night. But it’s very pretty. The little white tree, as you can see from the first picture, has been put up and looks lovely.

The other day, my little package from Spain arrived. Spain! How exciting! What was in it?

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Be still my heart. Miniature plates made out of ceramic, in the most luscious vintage patterns.

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A cup and saucer.

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Another cup and saucer.

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And a matching platter.

Oh my lord. Clearly the owner of Hummingbird Cottage loves china, especially vintage china. She swoons over beautiful, old-fashioned patterns. She haunts antique stores and flea markets, looking for more china for her collection.

Does that sound like anyone else you know?

I’m not sure where these will eventually end up but I’ve been playing with them.

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These pieces are so beautifully done, I can barely stand it. Swoon-worthy. Just as in my life-sized house, there is limited space here in the dollhouse for china.

Will that stop me? No.

These pieces of china came from Sofia’s Etsy Shop – Twelvetimesmoreteeny. She does exquisite work. Stop by and feast your eyes on the loveliness. I could go nuts there.

Happy Thursday.

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Mad About Minis

December 7, 2013 at 8:47 am by Claudia

foggy snowy morning

You’ll be happy to know that upon rising, I immediately grasped the fact that today is Saturday. Looks like I’m back on track. We had predictions for lots more snow than this rather paltry amount. I was actually a little disappointed. Scout loves to play in the snow and I was in the mood for a snowy landscape.

We don’t even have to shovel.

It’s a lovely foggy morning here. The candles are lit, husband is reading in his chair, I’m in my blogging chair in the den, and Scout is shuttling back and forth between us. We’re drinking Peet’s French Roast; mine with half and half, Don’s black. I’m just starting to get the urge to decorate, but I can stem that tide until next week. There’s plenty of time for the house to be decorated for the holidays. My dad and I were talking about that the other day. When I mentioned decorating for Christmas, he immediately said, “You don’t want to do it too soon. You’ll get tired of it.” Bingo.

Dad gave away most of his decorations this year. It’s too much work for him and since Mom is in the nursing home and not at home with him it just makes him sad. He only displays a decoration or two, mostly for the cats to play with.

dollhouse miniatures fireplace

I painted the bright brassy andirons a metallic black. I like them better this way. And I added some birch logs. Very hard to get a good photo yesterday as it was gray and rainy all day long.

dollhouse miniatures entry foyer

And I added this mirror to the entry. One of my readers sent me this a long time ago, specifically for the dollhouse. I was thinking of using it in the bathroom, but I like it better here. The owner of Hummingbird Cottage likes to check her appearance before heading out the door. (Don’t we all?)

Wouldn’t some mini paperwhites look good on that dresser?

I am so sorry but I can’t remember the name of the wonderful person who sent this to me. I’m thinking it’s Linda, but I’m not sure. If you’re out there and you see this post, can you leave a comment? I want to thank you properly!

I was all set to start in on the craft room/office but I wasn’t feeling inspired. I’m not sure exactly what I want to do with the walls. I have an idea which keeps calling to me and I think I’ll give it a go today. I also need to add some more molding to the top of the walls in the living room and bathroom.

I could spend hours, and have, looking at miniature blogs and the dollhouse mini listings on Etsy. Oh my goodness, what a treasure trove for the senses! After I’ve finished putting together the basics in the dollhouse; wallpaper, moldings, trim and furniture, then I get to add all the little touches that will make Hummingbird Cottage look lived in. Books, dishes, pots, towels, rugs, more books, lamps, and I don’t know what all else. I did find some little treasures from two sellers on Etsy. One lives in Spain, the other lives in Australia. I’m crossing my fingers that the little package from Spain will arrive any day now. I just ordered from the seller in Australia, so I don’t expect it to arrive before Christmas. Eeeek! I can’t wait to see what’s inside. Oh, and I ordered one kitchen accessory that should be arriving any day now. None of these ‘littles’ cost more than a few dollars.

Honestly, if you gave me a new credit card (which I need like a hole in the head) I could go nuts in the dollhouse miniature section on Etsy.

This hobby is addictive.

Yesterday I asked Don if it was wrong to love my dollhouse so much.

He immediately answered no. (Smart man.)

Happy Saturday.

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A Miniature Lollapalooza of a Day

Misadventures & Miniatures

Mad About Minis

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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