Miniatrues/dollhouses

Posted by: Louisa

Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 01:30 PM

Anyone else into dollhouses and or miniatures? I did this years ago with some friends and had several dollhouses at one point. Still have two of them in my son's basement that will go to my granddaughter. I bought a new one last year and got into it again.
Posted by: TVC15

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 01:33 PM

I've never been into it Louisa but I love to look at them so maybe one day I will try one of my own. I bet it's a lot of fun.
Posted by: Dianne

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 03:13 PM

I love miniatures. All of mine are in storage right now. Haven't attempted a dollhouse but would love to some day. Do you have any pictures you could post? I'd love to see them.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 03:35 PM

Her stuff is beautiful! I love them too and if you find one at a bargain, you better grab it. They are few and far between. I found ONE....and gave it to Lea.
Posted by: Lola

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 07:30 PM

I'm a dollhouse hobbyist as well, Louisa. It was a hobby that I had set aside for a very long time and just picked up on it again after my divorce. Now that I have the ex's study as well, I now have room for dollmaking and dollhouses. Three are finished and furnished but unlit: Victorian, Edwardian and a Tudor cottage. The fourth is a Tudor cottage as well but, still a work in progress because I would like it wired for interior lighting. I have just ordered a fifth kit for my granddaughter which I hope to paint and decorate with her in the summer. It is four feet high, three-level and can accommodate 12-inch dolls. Do you build yours from scratch? I usually get my furniture from antique markets here where ceramic miniatures can be had for a song. But, I made some of the pottery as I am also an amateur potter. I don't know how to upload photos from my camera but will post as soon as I get the hang of it.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/21/07 07:54 PM

Get this...the one I got for Lea I found one day when I say a man putting it into a trash bin. I'm not lying. I was in my car and drove right up next to him and said, "Mister, are you about to throw that away?" He said, "Yep, I sure don't want to, but we are moving and my wife said it had to go. I built it from scratch for my daughter who is grown now. Even the shingles are real."

I was flabbergated that the wife/mom could let go of something her hubby had made, or that was her daughter's...why not save it for your grandchild?

Anyway, I asked him if I could buy it from him, and he said, "You may have it. I'll be very happy knowing that someone who values these kind of things will have it." I assure him I would treasure it. And I have!

Lola, I can't wait to see your houses! Oh boy! Oh boy! I never get tired of seeing what other's do with them.

I wonder if there are clubs for people like me who love them and tinker with them?
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 03:56 AM

Diane, I have some photos of it. I'll try posting a couple.

Lola, I made the current one from a kit. I've done that before and have also bought them all built. One that is stored and being saved for my granddaughter I bought a long time ago. It must be about 75 years old now. It was hand made so the rooms are a little under scale, but it a just so cute.

We have one at work that was donated. It is a museum quality piece and just gorgeous. Sometimes when I am stressed, I like to just go stand in front of it and look at the pretty rooms. I have some photos of it as well and will try posting those too.
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:06 AM

This is the living room in mine. You can't make it out, but the picture on the wall next to the door is my wedding picture. I scale photos down and frame them for the house.

Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:08 AM

This is my office/computer room.
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:10 AM



this is the one at work. I'll try to upload one I have of the living room. It's beautiful. This one has closets and is electrified.
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:34 AM

Don't you just love this bathroom?
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:35 AM

The living room.
Posted by: chickadee

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 06:34 AM

Wow Louisa,I never imagined! How beautiful.

I sold miniatures on Ebay for years and made a mint. A little egg basket with eggs no bigger than a flea, sold for over 40 bucks. Some Dr.in New York and another guy were bidding like crazy for it. Now I know why. They were decorating.

I'm impressed with your decorating girl.

chick
Posted by: Edelweiss

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 09:35 AM

The livingroom wallpaper is awesome. I wonder if they used a wallpaper border for that? Thanks for posting these Louisa. What fun!
Posted by: Mountain Ash

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 10:47 AM

Last week I gifted y Dollhouse to a good ause to raise money for their work. BUT>>>>>I kept my special treasures.I hope to have a one room home for these items. A pram made in real pink leather a cot a beds sofa matlepiece and other things.Its the best way to destress...Lovely to hear about everyone elses homes.I have pictures but dont know how to put them on the site...
Mountain Ash
Posted by: Lola

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 11:04 AM

They're beautiful, Louisa. Thanks for posting the photos. I truly enjoyed viewing them. I like the special touch with your wedding photo. Might do that with the granddaughter's and add special touches since it's bigger and will accommodate larger furniture and accessories. Did you do the wiring yourself? I am dependent on others along that line. I'll post mine as soon as I can. My computer freezes each time I attempt to upload direct from my camera. So, I'll have to use a cameraphone, e-mail it to me, store it in my computer, upload to photobucket then upload here. A loooooong process but I'll get there eventually. Is the house all wooden and altogether a 1/24 scale?
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 12:14 PM

Lola, I think it's a 1/12 scale which is pretty much standard. Both houses are. The second one isn't mine. My house is not wired, but I once had one that was partially wired which I did myself. I didn't bother with this one. The one from work is kept inside plexiglass which is why there is so much glare on the photo. Some of those pieces are so expensive.

Chick, Ebay wasn't around when I made and sold the stuff, but we did quite well going to local craft/hobbie stores and local people who owned dollhouses.

Hannelore, I don't know if that's a border or not, but it has tile flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. I almost bought the same sofa set for my house, I loved it so much. But, it was oversized and would have bee too big for my living room. The rooms in the other house are huge.

Now I want to stay home today and play with my dollhouse.
Posted by: Mountain Ash

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 02:05 PM

Here we can buy specially sized down wallpaper.Even the smallest border can be too big .I love the pictures...
Mountain ash
Posted by: TVC15

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 02:22 PM

OMG, thank you for sharing the pictures with us Louisa. Every one of them is gorgeous. I love looking at miniatures. You are very talented!
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 05:15 PM

The one I have only has three rooms, although its two-story.

Mountain Ash, I hope you find a way to get your pictures up. I would love to see them and I bet everyone else would too!
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 10:42 PM

I'm happy you enjoyed them, TVC. JJ, your's almost sounds like A-frame or townhouse. I made a townhouse once. It was so cute. The one I am saving for Katie is the one I bought that was almost 50 years old at the time. It has real glass windows. I decorated it to be old victorian and an old lady lived in it. I bought the sweetest old lady doll for it. I named her Mrs. Ticklefeather. I wish I could find her now. I had a small box with some special little things in it that I don't know what I did with. I've been wondering if I hid it inside one of the houses and it might still be there. Mrs. T. might be in there too. I keep telling "son" (as JJ says, only mine, not hers) to look for it. I've asked his girlfriend. Maybe she will look for it. I would love to find that box of special little things and Mrs. T.
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/22/07 10:47 PM

I just had a brainstorm. I'm trying to come up with a cover for my next book. I think it's going to be Sweet Violets. Nostalgia, of course. I may not even market this book. I'm doing it as my "60th year" project. I might just do it for friends and family. I've been playing with cover ideas. Maybe I can put something together with miniatures and take a picture of it. I'll have to play with that idea tonight. I do have a teacup that I think has violets on it though, but the mini stuff could work. I don't want it to be all flowers. I don't have any pictures of violets, but I have lots of pansies. This will be personal stories about growing up, family stories, poems and some of my nostalgic stories from the papers and Rehal World stories about life as I see it now and things I've learned along the way. The muse has been hovering a lot lately.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/23/07 01:44 AM

I love the visual this paints for me Lousia and think its a great idea. You could always have the dollhouse in the background, like watermarked, and have the teacup in the forefront...just a thought. Whatever you do will be lovely!
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/23/07 03:03 AM

Thanks, JJ. I have a chair in the dollhouse that has flowers on it that look like violets and I have a table where I have a vase and an old phonograph with a horn. I'm seeing some things in the dollhoue itself that I could use to create a picture for the cover. I like the idea of using the house itself in the background. Or, I have a bone china teacup that has blue violets on it. I could create a nostalgic still life with some lace, the cup, etc.

There was a song in the early 50s that Dinah Shore sang called Sweet Violets. My aunt and I used to play the 78rpm record on this big old RCA Victor phonograph that was in a mahogany cabinet. One of the stories will be about the phonograph and how my aunt and I used to sit in front of it and sing the song along with Dinah Shore. That's why I want the name for the book. It just all kind of ties in the way I want it to. But, is there any problem with using a song title as a title? One of the stories is called Puppy Love. But, that's a common phrase so I think I'm ok.

I know I'm going to get side-tracked shortly when Katie makes her appearance so I'm not getting too into it yet, but I am gathering my ideas.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/23/07 03:14 AM

Sweet Violets couldn't possibly be a protected (copyrighted) name, I don't think because it is generic. I would think that would fall in the public domain thing/law. Not being able to use that would be like not being able to use say, ... Twlight, or Moon, etc...Water....on and on. But it would be an easy thing to check out.
Posted by: Louisa

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/23/07 03:44 AM

That's what I'm thinking. I worry too much. Gail said if I'm not planning on going global with it, I shouldn't worry about it. That name has been calling me. I almost used it on the last book until I came up with Carousel Kisses. I made a book of poem once with that title in a presentation booklet. I used a picture of mime from Disney for the cover, but it wouldn't fit with this.

Did I post this thread? Miniatrues? I just noticed that.
Posted by: jawjaw

Re: Miniatrues/dollhouses - 01/23/07 03:50 AM

Not to worry...no spelling police around here, plus we speak LouisaEASE....