The Merriest Day of All -- The Day After!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and that you're still enjoying the holidays. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday and I love wrapping gifts, seeing out-of-town relatives, strolling the outdoor malls with a Starbucks in hand while pretending it's cold outside and hosting my family's annual Christmas Eve party, BUT, I'm oh-so-glad when it's over and really glad that it only happens every 12 months!

Well, these might be a day late, but I managed to capture Santa relaxing and snacking, so I could only show these AFTER Christmas, right?

 

Merry Belated Christmas to All!!!
Beany

This House is Huge!

I've been wanting a dollhouse for a while because I wanted doorways, windows, ceilings, angles, nooks and crannies to stage rooms in (it's called dollhouse envy). I've been scouring yard sales, Craigslist and thrift stores looking for one.  WELL, I found one....a HUGE one on Craigslist. The dimensions weren't listed and I didn't think to ask, so when I saw this monstrosity, I wanted to turn around and run! The base measures 2' x 3' and I'm tempted to buy a utility cart with wheels because it takes two people to move it (not that heavy, just very awkward).  BUT, it was only $100 and a box of furniture was thrown in.  OK, my thoughts are that 1) someday I'll have a permanent spot for it 2) it was only $100 3) it has eight rooms to play in 4) I'll have a real project 5) lots of playtime 6) again, the price 7) the rooms are a decent size and 8) I can get rid of it any time I want. The seller didn't know if it was built from a kit or if it was an original design, and I haven't researched it, so if anyone recognizes it, let me know. I know the second floor hallway near the stairwell is not to scale but I can't do anything about that.  It has eight rooms and an attic for storage. I might possibly dabble with lighting, although I'm intimidated by it, so I might do some creative cheating with the lighting (for sure! cheating) and I'll eventually repaint the exterior. Well, I'm anxious to get started and I have some ideas for the interior.  I think I'm going "modern global" to include African, Indian, Moroccan, and Asian decor with a lot of natural elements, (a well-traveled professor and his design addict wife owns this house, tee-hee).  I'M SO EXCITED!

Where shall I start?
Later......Beany

Orange, Orange, Orange and Turquoise

Hello again,

I purchased some orange gladiolas at the grocery store, which are blooming quite nicely, so while admiring my beauties, I decided to make them my backdrop for an orange and turquoise room, which I've been wanting to do forever. I love all the patterns going on. This is the quickest scene I've ever done, but it was a spur of the moment thing, I didn't have to make anything and there aren't any walls. I could get used to these quickies!  Hope you enjoy! 

The white ''room divider" was a dishwasher basket from the thrift shop (panels are slightly different).  I've used all the furniture pieces before.  The mirrored tables are from the Etsy shop CufflinksCowboyBoots (only one mini in their shop right now), the chair is from HBS Miniatures, the love seat is by Minis x 2. Accessories are by me (pillows, lamp & popcorn, yes that's supposed to be popcorn) and Hobby Lobby. The Buddha is from Tao Restaurant in Las Vegas, and I'm done!

Peace people........Beany (It's 11:45 pm and I have to get up at 5:30 am)

The Zen of it All

I hope everyone is having a great summer!  It's been a busy one for us and there's no sign of it letting up yet. I need a drink!  I need a break! I need a drink! I need a.....bath???  NO, I need to relax, chill, veg, escape, dumb out,  tune out....... 

The stuff:
-The tub is a soap dish, spray painted black with gold feet. There's bubble bath in the tub but I didn't        select a picture that shows it.
-The bookshelf is from the IKEA's kid set.
-The Buddha head is from TAO Restaurant in Las Vegas (The Venetian). The pedestal is a painted piece  of  wood.
-The black dish is from Crate and Barrel. I made the backdrop for Buddha and pedestal.
-Side walls are cork and the Martha Stewart punched back wall is cork printed scrapbook paper.
-The floor is a place mat (can't really see much of it.  The tub is sitting on a bamboo coaster.
-Accessories - I made the lotion bottles and candles from a dowel, made the soap, teeny tiny cotton           balls and the floral arrangement.  Other items are thrift shop, HBS, Michael's and the Dollar Store.

Thank you to a few new followers.  I'm also following some new and exciting blogs but I haven't put them on my side bar yet, but I'm checking in on you all.  I'm so not a computer person.

Go have a zenful moment or two!

Until the next time, Beany

Outdoor Living

I visited a couple of nurseries in Laguna Beach last month and boy did I leave there inspired!  Not only in the real world , but also in the mini world.  There were themed rooms set up in the nurseries that I could live in and I picked up some great ideas (a lot like touring model homes!) I don't consider myself a gardener, but I do love beautiful outdoor spaces.  So, after being all inspired, we started sprucing up with more flowers and plants, and I have to say it's made a big difference.  As part of my sprucing up plan, I added a shelf to my back patio and purchased a greenhouse from Hobby Lobby (perfect for a little garden scene) to add to the shelf.  I thought I'd try to duplicate a mini version of one of the spaces I saw, but it's turned out to be a combination of a couple of spaces I saw, ideas from my own outdoor spaces and then, of course, things come to you after you get started.  Scenes seem to morph into something very different than the original vision. After looking at the photos, I can also picture a fully loaded bookshelf out here. I placed some ferns in the background to give it some fabulushness.

Ooops, toilet paper roll alert! Should have covered that with moss... next time!

The stuff:  Greenhouse, garden bench, plant stand, chair, lanterns - Hobby Lobby.  Sofa - part of Kaleidoscope sectional. Floor - my favorite brick paper. Plant wall and hanging "lamp" are made with ribbon moss. Mirror - painted dollhouse window backed with mirror. Mantel - made from old trellis.  Plants & accessories - several craft stores, thrift shops, HBS, and me.

Oh yeah, the lanterns light up! (My first lights in a scene, pretty cool)

Until next time......Beany

I went to the MoMA in New York City!

Last week I did a tag-along to New York City with my hubby, who was attending a conference. Lucky for me, I get to do that sometimes!  But, before I share my little goodie with you, let's talk weather.....I'm a 90 degrees kind-of-girl. Need I say more?  ABSOLUTELY. I love cold weather clothes because I like fashion, but here in Southern California, we wear the stuff,  but we don't need the stuff and I'm sure we look stupid wearing the stuff! Dressing for 9 degree weather turned out to be more like a 20 minute workout! It wore me out. I learned that I had to turn the heat off in the room before I could even start dressing. I had to undo and redo way too many times. I've acquired new skills that I never want to use again!

The one thing that I really wanted to do was go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).  We got there prepared to pay $25 per person, and what a nice surprise that it was Free Friday (late afternoon only), but first we had to stand outside in line for 20 minutes! Remember, I'm that 90 degree girl! OMG!  But, the museum was worth every minute that I froze my butt off!  I was just so excited to be there!  So, of course after spending much time checking the place out, I had to hit up the MoMA store, and what caught my eye? A graphic miniature scene encased in a clear acrylic box (acrylic box not included).  It's inspired by The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at the museum and the artist is Liz Roache, an art educator who trained with Ati Gropius in Bauhaus principles of color, design, and sculpture.  You can read more at the link below.

Picture from the back of the box, it's approx. 10" x 10"

Every piece is reversible for endless combinations, made of
 lightweight cardboard and includes a storybook

Punch out sculptures and people

I'm just playing around now -  here are some quickies

Also bought these postcards - Joan Miro: Person Throwing a Stone at a Bird

Jacob Lawrence: In the North the Negro had better educational facilities

Georgia O'Keeffe: Evening Star

It's available at the MoMA Online Store for $35.  The tricky part is getting everything back into the box!

I hope you're having a great weekend and I'll check you later --- Beany

Golden Glow

It's 2014!  Happy New Year people!

I must say I'm disappointed that I didn't get around to doing a Christmas scene.  I bought the stuff and never got around to it.  I did the same thing last year, so I've got two Christmas scenes to do. Maybe I'll work on them and take the pics and at least have them ready for this year.......HA HA, well it sounds good.

This room was inspired by Target's Nate Berkus Collection.  I practically live in Target because it's a block from work and I spend much of my lunch times there. What I like about his collection is the masculine feel, earthy tones, use of natural materials and tribal patterns, but what really gets my blood going is his use of GOLD to liven up the party!  I've always been a "golden" girl when it comes to home accessories, but it seems to have disappeared for a while and now it's back!

Ooops, that's my red plaid farmer shirt in the mirror.  It's nice
 and warm, but I don't wear  it out of the house, really, I don't!

The stuff:  IKEA Lekman Box.  Grass cloth walls (leftover paper from my dining room, turned out great! Lowe's).  Floor (leftover tiles from my bathroom, also turned out great! Lowe's). Rug, piece of patterned felt-Michael's.  The wall unit is a bamboo organizer-Container Store. I made the fireplace from a box, craft foam, and a stone image from the Internet.  The vases on the mantel are painted pen parts.  I made the sofa and I've used it before, pillows also by me. The coffee table is made from wood pieces.  I purchased this beautiful little gold chair from CufflinksCowboyBoots shop on Etsy.  The table beside the chair is a painted plastic center that comes in the pizza box. The bowl holding the plants on the coffee table was cut out from plastic that held 4 pieces of chocolate candy. The mirror is part of a hoop earring with a mirror glued to the back. The gold trees are cut from a larger branch from Michael's and the planters are empty K cups made for the Keurig coffee makers.  The art over the sofa is a postcard.  The accessories are a mix of HBS, Michael's, thrift shops and me.

Hello and thank you to a few new followers!  I'm really going to try to post more this year.  I have so many excuses I can use for not producing, but I'll just keep them to myself and try to work on doing better. We'll see how it goes!

Until next time, later (but hopefully sooner) - Beany.
Blessings to all of you for the new year!