My First Miniatures Show!

I finally made it to the Tom Bishop show in Anaheim, CA last month.  I was blown away! So much talent! There were only a couple of vendors selling MCM and modern style furniture and accessories, but still!! The talent!!  I spent most of my money on handmade ceramic vases (so cute), but I also picked up some furniture (sectional, two chairs and a bookcase), clay flower pots, a throw, a painting and an LED lamp.

This light blue sectional and the bookcase were purchases I made at the show.  The sectional was only $6.00 and I bought it with the intention of recovering it, but I thought I'd use it in a scene first since it's such a pretty blue and I figured I wouldn't be able to do as nice a job when I get around to recovering it. Oh, and I need to put legs/feet on the sectional. Now I feel like I should have bought more sectionals--I mean three pieces for $6.00? NEVER. AGAIN.

I'm using the Target "Loft to Love" house for this scene.  I removed the loft section and the stairs near the window.  Sometimes I have a vision for who's living in the space and I'm pretty sure a single young lady lives here since, in my opinion, it's feeling fresh, light and girly, and not because I was an old-lady-snoop-with-no-life and checked the mail box! Tell me what you think.

The stuff: iPad mini box for the "tiled" fireplace / table by Kaleidoscope / credenza is a painted Lori piece from Target / books by PRD, Phillip Nuveen and me / sectional and bookcase from the Miniatures Show / odds and ends from thrift stores, HBS, Etsy and me / floor lamp by me / credenza lamp from Insta: @aweebitteeny (who I had the pleasure of meeting at the show).

Presidio Dollhouse by Pottery Barn Kids

Yes, I went MIA (missing in action) again! But I can assure you I'm always thinking about minis and still making purchases. I thought to kick start myself back into action, I would buy another dollhouse. My last purchase was the Lori "Loft to Love" (which I still love) by Target, but I wanted something bigger.  For my Internet search I typed in "1:12 scale modern dollhouse" and the Presidio popped up. This house is from Pottery Barn Kids and it's on sale for $98.99, marked down from $249.00.  It's not perfect, but it's very tweekable (is that even a word?) It doesn't take up much space and it's easy to move around.  It comes with sturdy, kid friendly furnishings which I won't be using, but I'll save just in case I have to entertain some little people one day--fingers crossed--smiley face.  The outside walls are slightly angled and there's an "elevator", which I'll be removing.  SO MANY POSSIBILITIES.

I wanted to play right away and I needed it to be quick because I needed to complete another project I was working on. I used my MoMA Sculpture Garden Play Set that I purchased three years ago on a trip to New York.  The colors in the set are black, white, red and gray so I pulled together furniture in those colors and it went very fast. What's not going fast is this post because I've forgotten what to do, I also forgot how to work my camera. Maybe part of that is age.😁

Here we go!

Cute house, huh? I think I'll be satisfied for a while.

Furniture pieces are from Minimodernistas, Kalaidescope, HBS and CB2.

Well alright, my work is done.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and I hope to be posting a Christmas scene, guess I should get started on that now yesterday.

Peace and Love, Beany.

Blush Christmas

So, I had plans to do a rustic, traditional, cabin-y Christmas with a lot of red and green, but I made a trip to Michael's Craft store and saw their blush Christmas items on display, and well.....instead, we've got a glam, non-traditional, condo-y Christmas with a lot of blush.  We'll have to visit the cabin in the woods at a later time!

The stuff:  Laboriously (but with love)  glued on beads and wrapped tiny gifts. Made a rag table skirt, a little house, sparkle trees on coffee table and pillows.  Michael's is playing a huge part in this room! I've used all the furniture pieces before.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season with family and friends!  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Until next year----Beany

P.S. After posting, I noticed that a wine glass fell over at some point, but check this out, no wine spilled onto the table! Miracle wine.

Dark Blue - Kind of Sexy - Yes?

Dark blue walls, love them when I see them, but something I'd never do at home.  I also love the look of black, dark grey, and teal walls, but once again, I'd never do it at home (although I do have one dark brown wall).  I've tried colors throughout the years and at some point, I always go back to neutral walls.  I get my snipets of color from artwork, rugs, pillows, accessories and flowers.  I've learned what I can and can't live with.  So, one of the reasons I love putting these little rooms together is that I get to play with lots of color.

This room was inspired by a navy blue sofa I saw in a Z Gallerie advertisement.  I had to have it, so make-it-mini! So, I made this little sofa and in the process, I learned so many "what not to do's". Trial and error.  I also made the chair and once again, I learned some little lessons (little, get it?). I made this bar cart last year while I was on hiatus and never got around to putting wheels on it. Just recently, I purchased a brass one to use in the future.  The pattern behind the fireplace is a photo copy of a Nate Burkus tile (wrapped around foam core) that I bought at Target.  The tile itself was too large to use. The rug is made from strips of trim sewn together. So, do you remember the unfinished dollhouse hutches that you could find at Michael's for a couple of bucks?  There were about three different styles. Well, that's what the black cabinet is in the corner.  I separated the top from the bottom. When I realized that they weren't restocking these little goodies, I bought about 10 of them from three different Michael's in the area.

This room has a collected flea market look, nothing matches, there's a lot of pattern and there are lots of global items. Sophisticated Bo ho, that's what I'm calling it.

Mine

 Z Gallerie

The stuff:  Sofa, chair, bar cart, rug and pillows are by me. Paris photo is a coaster. The round table is coaster sitting on a basket.  The hexagon shaped table was part of a patio string light set. The chandelier is a X-mas ornament. The little side table next to the chair is a Pier One drawer pull (screw portion was sawed off). The floor is contact paper.  The table tray is covered with Washi tape. Accessories are from Hobby Lobby, Michael's, HBS, Etsy, Ebay, and Wish.com. I think that's it. BTW - Wish.com has quite a few dollhouse items for very reasonable prices.  Everything comes from China, so it takes about 2-3 weeks to get your items.

That's it for now, I plan to start my X-mas scene now....yeah right!  No really, I'm seriously thinking about it.

Blessings to everyone.... Beany

The Loft in the "Loft to Love" House

Hola! In my last post I said I'd show pictures of the loft section in the "Loft to Love" house at a later time, because I was going to make some changes.  Well, I didn't make the changes I had in mind, but I did do a few things. I added some greenery since I was itching to try the tutorial for snake plants that Mini Mod Pod posted. Her instructions were easy to follow and I could do it while I was watching TV, so over the course of several days, I made four snake plants. I got excited about the outcome and attempted to make a tropical plant, but the leaves were too narrow since I was using floral tape, so the leaves on my hybrid (bird of paradise/banana tree?) look like they need a healthy dose of plant food. I'll be attempting to make this plant again using crepe paper and my hopes are high!

In addition to adding plants, I changed the "bedspread", added a pillow, a hanging plant and masks on the wall. So now I can move on to something else. It takes me forever to do a room because I'll set up the big stuff and then I usually make and gather the little stuff as time permits. I tweak and re-tweak and finally I'll take a lot of bad pictures. Then I want to leave the room up to enjoy it a little before tearing it down, and I leave it... and leave it... and leave it some more. I finally get to the point where I can't tear it down fast enough!  Anyone else do that? I keep telling myself to just do a wall or a corner or vignettes. You know, keep it simple and keep it movin'. So far, it hasn't worked.

You can see my real snake plant through the window

 

So, here's the stuff: The headboard is a thrift shop trivet painted white; the bedspread is a dish cloth; the armoire and basket are thrift shop finds;the African "masks" are pendants; the plants, plant hanger, tote bags, black pillows, yarn "juju hat" are by me. I used trim to make the totes and pillows.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Later for now,  Beany.

My New House

HELLO! FINALLY! Where have you all been? I've missed you and thought about you often!
A lot has happened in the last 15 months--LIFE! I retired in July 2015, and the hubby and I have done some traveling to some fun cities in the U.S. and in the Caribbean. We've also been making some changes around here to make it more "resort like" since I'm on permanent vacay and hubby's off during the summers. Things haven't been all fun and games around here though, because that's just not how life works. Am I right? But I try to stay positive even while I'm working through the crap, so I'll just spare you all the "ugly".

So, even though you all have been gone for awhile :), I've still been making and thinking minis.  I had completed most of the rooms in my huge house, and by that I mean the walls, floors and large pieces of furniture were in place, but I was working on the little details because I like little details! Well, we needed to use our spare bedroom that my house was set up in, so I packed up everything and put the house in the shed.  The bedroom has now been available for three months, but I haven't felt like hauling that monstrosity of a house back in. So, about two months ago I finally purchased the "Loft to Love" house from Target.  I had been eyeballing this house since Christmas. Had it been in the toy section, I never would have seen it, but at my Target store it was displayed on an end cap right across from the food section, so I saw it every time I went in (at least three times a week).  Anyone else do their grocery shopping at Target? I don't know what took me so long to buy it, and for only $49.99. I love it! I've graduated from the IKEA Lekman! (not really). I'm definitely loving the style, size and the portability. It has a loft area and brown kitchen appliances were included. I might have to paint the interior white, paint the appliances, remove the yellow pendant lights and replace the front door. There are all kinds of possibilities with this house. The ladies at Modern Mini Houses and Call of the Small have purchased this house and have some great pictures of it.

Here are some pics of the lower level. I'll share the loft next time since I feel some changes in the air.

The stuff:  I made the sofa, pillows, console table, white floor vase, coral, necklaces, two large plants. The black floor and little rug are made from place mats.  The bookshelf is from  IKEA. The plant stand is a napkin ring. The coffee table and wall shelf are by Patie of minisx2 (Etsy). The wood side table is a stamp of an elephant turned upside down (Cost Plus). The "coral" is made from a sea sponge painted white. The tall branches and table branches are from the back yard. Other little accessories are from the thrift shop, Hobby Lobby, HBS and Dollar store. Throw and rug are pieces of fabric.

Okay now, don't be strangers! This took FOREVER since I forgot how to navigate the blog and forgot to save and had to retype some things. I even forgot how to use my camera 'cause I use my phone 24/7. Can't let this happen again.

That's it for now.....Beany

Cultural Blending

It's May and I need to replace the Christmas scene! Ya think? Even though I haven't commented on blogs recently (and I do feel guilty about that) I've been checking in. When I first started blogging, I thought I'd post a scene once a week, and when that wasn't realistic, I thought every two weeks, then I thought once a month, then I thought every two months.....Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to create, I'd rather think about it. I've been working on the big blue dollhouse I bought, which is now tan.  I've been making tiny little things for the house and I'm not concentrating on any one room, therefore, there aren't any completed rooms yet.

In the meantime, I thought I'd do a scene featuring a table setting that I bought on EBay two years ago. There's a little Chinese, Japanese, and Taiwanese goin' on here.  I call it...blending.

The stuff:  The only thing worth mentioning are the items I bought on Ebay (placemats, chopsticks, cups and sushi).  Everything else is basically from the thrift shop (framed art, vases, umbrellas, red pillow,and "lantern". The rest of the stuff is thrown together.

Well, that's it for now.  Meanwhile, I'll continue to work on the house. I'll get back to you before Christmas! :) Just kidding!

Later, Beany.