Fiesta Table

This is the project I was able to finish today. It is one inch scale. Another wonderful kit from Jane Jacobs bought at the Gateway Miniature Show in Spring 2010. The kit took a little longer to make, but still fairly easy. I had reservations about making the donkey pinata, but sometimes just plunging in is what's required. That and having a good picture to work off of.

There were a lot more stuff to make for this table setting---4 margaritas, hot sauce bottle, a bowl of guacamole & salsa, 2 place settings, 10 tacos, a donkey pinata, a sombrero with two maracas, a bowl of tortilla chips, a cactus plant, and napkins.

I don't think I would have been able to finish this if I had taken the workshop. Anytime you have to chop up food (mini food at that) you can forget about finishing up early. Plus I always get distracted by what other people are doing and get insecure about my own set-up. Working on my own, I can proceed at my own pace and let my imagination loose.

This is a side view of the table. I'm ready for some margaritas, how about you?

Fall Table

Hello everyone, I completed two one-inch scale UFOs in two days---I'm on a roll LOL. This Fall Table is a kit I bought from Jane Jacobs back in April 2010 at the Gateway Miniature Spring Show (St. Louis). Boy, talk about an easy kit, I was able to complete it in one evening. I used virtually all the materials that came with the kit, referred to the one picture I had of the completed kit, and voila! It went really fast because a lot of the items were pre-painted and we only had to glue the items in place.

This is the overall view of the table. Even though the tablecloth is black, there are punches of bright colors throughout which livens the overall look. I loved being able to use orange, which isn't seen often.

The table is all set for a festive evening (I have never hosted a Halloween party in real life, but in minis anything is possible LOL). There is a tree sprouting bat "leaves", an acorn bowl with potato chips, a pumpkin with flowers & greenery, orange paper plates, napkins matching the tablecloth, a punch bowl, and candles in a pumkin holder.

I forgot to mention there's a Bundt cake with chocolate frosting, a bowl of popcorn, and utensils in an apple-like holder.

If you liked this, your comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

Quarter Scale Retro Kitchen Roombox

I was able to complete this retro kitchen roombox Thanksgiving 2010. The kit is from Luci Hanson of Cascade Miniatures. She taught thisworkshop in Indiana, and I was able to get one of the kits even though I did not actually attend the workshop with the help of Cindy McDaniel. I was stuck with how to decorate the interior until Laura Miller shared a link (American Vintage Home.org on Flickr) which had lots of pictures of American kitchens from the 1920s to 1960s. After a few browsing sessions on that website, it took no time at all to complete the kit.

This is the front view of the roombox, which has a kitchen on the left and dining area on the right. I used just about everything included with the kit, but made a few changes to personalize it. I changed the wallpaper to one with fruits to go with the theme of kitchen. For the ceiling, I painted a warm white and added Roll-a-tex to give it a textured popcorn ceiling effect.

All the cabinets were included with the kit and came already painted! You wouldn't believe what a time saver that was. We had a choice of colors for the fridge and stove and hood, and I chose avocado. The cabinets came white, but I painted them all Ceramcoat Eucalyptus (what I had on hand) to add color to the room. In my RL, I am all neutral (tan, beige etc), but for my dollhouse projects, I use color whenever I can. I really liked the look of the fridge and stove/hood---they were just too pretty to have one appliance in a corner, so I had them both front and center to show them off. However, this doesn't follow the triangle principle of efficiency for modern kitchens. I also added the dining table in the kitchen area, which is a departure from true kitchens from this era, which in general did not have an island; but I did this in order to anchor and balance the room so it didn't have a big empty space on the left side of the roombox. Besides, you can think of this as an updated vintage kitchen.

This is a view of the kitchen from the top. The dining table came pre-fabricated (Luci always goes the extra mile to make her kits easy to assemble). Instead of the styrene tile, which was white, for the countertops, I used scrapbook paper I bought eons ago from Michaels. It added color and a subtle pattern while complementing the whole color scheme of the kitchen (I got lucky I had it). On the left cabinet I put cookies, pie, and chocolate roll I made from Janet Smith's chocolate shop workshop (see previous post). I made the clock from a printie and the canisters from wooden dowels and printies. I loved the coffeemaker which was included with the kit---so clever, but simple, and effective.

This is the dining area. The kit came with a mirrored hutch, but I didn't have enough room for both the hutch and the dining table that came with the kit because I had made the kitchen area larger by having both fridge & stove on one wall, so I left out the hutch and made a small dining table from pre-cut wood shapes you can get from Michaels or Hobby Lobby and paper clips for the legs---simple in theory, but tricky in execution. It took me several tries before I got the look I was after. The chairs came with the kit and were already beautifully painted.

The kit also came with a shelf and printies for the plates---half I used for display on the shelf display and half I used for the desserts on the opposite wall. The steps leading to the sliders were made using the spacers that came with the kit. The sliders go on a false wall that helps hide the wiring if you decide to light the box.

The table is all set for supper. Thanks for being my guest!

144 scale Princess Castle

This is a 144 scale Princess Castle I completed several weeks ago. It is from a workshop I took with Joanne Trainor at the NAME Convention in Seattle July 2010. Wonderful workshop and so complete. All the furniture you see came with the kit. The only thing I had to add were the tiny accessories (perfume bottles, flower vases etc). We put together the structure in Seattle, and Joanne didn't have the furniture for the castle at the time of the workshop so she gave us a choice of getting the furniture completed or in kit form. I chose the kit form. I was hesitant about working with such tiny furniture, but Joanne made it so easy---I had all the furniture done in less than 2 hours. The accessories took another day to dream up and complete. All in all, one of the MOST satisfying and COMPLETE kits I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Bravo Joanne! I love the castle, but in the end I gave it to my mini friend MaryJo Douglass and her happiness made mines complete. Enjoy....

Thanks for looking!

Quarter Scale Chocolate Shop

This is a quarter scale chocolate shop I completed today (10/20/2010). The kit is from Janet Smith of Desert Minis. I was scared of doing FIMO food, but Janet's kit had everything needed to make cake, brownies, pies, and cookies. Janet is one of the most organized person I know, so order from her with confidence. She will help you get over your fear of Fimo. The original kit had one bakery display case, but since it was called the chocolate workshop, I made the two shelf units from scratch---one to display truffles and chocolates and the other to display the cakes and cookies I learned from taking Janet's workshop. Enjoy!

The sign on top says "Chocolate makes life bearable."

Thanks for looking!

Quarter Scale Miss Ivys

This is Miss Ivys from Bruce and Judy Steinke (BJMinis). Fell in love with it the first time I saw it. Wonderful kit to put together. The shingles, wallpaper, and exterior paper are all laser cut---no need to size. Kit puts together within 1-2 days easy. I followed the theme of Miss Ivy giving piano lessons to the neighborhood kids around turn of the century. I imagined Miss Ivy as young, pretty, and eligible, but picky and star-crossed, similar to Edith Wharton's protagonist in the House of Mirth. Come take a tour of Miss Ivy's.

Miss Ivy likes to sit on her porch and watch the neighborhood children play after dinner.



Miss Ivy loves flowers. There is a book of butterflies and wildlife opened on the table.

Right side of house.

Left side of house

Miss Ivy and the boy at the piano are from Suzane Herget. Beautiful dolls. Miss Ivy has bloomers and black high heels (didn't have chance to take pics).

It's 3:00 pm and the little boy's mind is elsewhere. A plate of cookies and tea is waiting when the lesson is finished, but he's struggling to finish the hour.

The doily on the piano and console is also from Suzane Herget and just wonderful.

This is Miss Ivy's bedroom. A picture of her lost love is on the nightstand.

On the 3rd floor Miss Ivy goes to quilt, sew, knit, and petit point.

Thanks for looking!

Quarter Scale Dinner at Grandma's

This is a quarter scale roombox from Quarter Connect to celebrate NAME Day October 2, 2010. The roombox and frame came from Luci Hanson (Cascade Miniatures), dining set and sideboard from Karen Cary, and hutch designed by Debbie Young (Young at Heart Miniatures). Only 100 kits were available. I am so happy I was able to get a kit. Wonderful project, very easy to put together. I also participated in the tote exchange where you make 11 items and get 10 items in return. Several of the exchange items appear in the roombox. I made all the other accessories myself.

I painted the hutch barn red to bring attention to it since all the furniture are a bland golden oak stain. Dinner & salad plates are on the top shelf, canned foods in vintage labels on the 2nd shelf, essentials (flour, tea, coffee, salt, pepper ) napkin caddy on the 3rd shelf. Hard to see, but there is a laser cut cutting board beside the napkin caddy. The "grater" is from an earring finding.

The place settings were from an exchange---wonderful! Dinner (rolls, turkey w/carrot & tomato bed, and salad) is set.
The rug is from a jacquard ribbon.

The sideboard has a plate of fruits (grapes, oranges, apples), brownies, and chocolate pie with whipped cream and cherries on top.