Just a small update.

Just an update of the garden patch.
Glued the sand down today so tomorrow I shall spray it and then paint it...
I also sanded the base of a plant pot thingy of mine.

Also I picked some colours for the house today... So I was jsut wondering which one you thought looked best, I personally prefer the one on the left.
Left (sun baked terracotta) It looks a little more yellowy than in real life tho.
Right (soft stone)

Idea's for My Cottage Retreat

Today I stumbled acroos these two great blog's, these two particular articles have given me some great idea's.

http://gardenofminiatures.blogspot.com/2010/01/bepflanzung-des-crooked-house.html
This one I remember reading about in one of my MANY dolls house magazines, I absolutely love the colour of the wall/doors/windows and may try and recreate that for my house, but with a thatched roof I think...

And this one...
http://lotjesdollshouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/roof.html
WOW! It's just amazing how she can create some so 'dirty' but that looks so amazingly interesting/different/unique and intriguing!

Also I have a selection of very early dollshouse magazines from 1990-1991 (before I was born scary...) if anybody would like one? I shall list tomorrow evening which one's they are :)

Cottage Garden Patch Makeover... Well sculpting makeover.

I have jsut purchased some sylvanian families garden items for my house, which I am sculpting/painting.
This is the original image (sorry I forgot to take one myself.)

STAGE 1

I sculpted around the piles of dirt as they stuck up WAY too prominantly, and I also sculpted the bricks on as before they were too small and didn't really stand out too much.

STAGE 2

I glued the vegetables in place.

It also came with some pumpkins, but I didn't glue them down. I have pulled the two punkpins off of the stem and they are soaking in some warm/hot water to peel the paint off, because the original paint was FLOURESCENT orange and it had all bubbled/chipped and simply wasn't very nice...

STAGE 4
Around the carrots, I sculpted some carrot mounds, Just to make them look like they have actually grown from the ground rather than put into the ground...

Just a side photo.

It is currently in my airing cupboard drying, the milliput only takes about 1-2hours to dry! So tomorrow after university I am going to add some 'earth', or in other words I am going to apply a layer of PVA and then some sand!
After this I shall spray it and then paint! :D
Can't wait! Hopefully it shall look ok, I'll keep you all posted!

It actually looks quite good with my 16th scale house, and it was quite cheap as well! They're always at carboot sales so keep an eye out for any sylvanian stuff for a project...

(My boyfriend is a sculptor and helped me with some of the bricks but I did do at least half of them) :P

PS
It doesn't matter how 'messy' it looks, as long as it it sort of smooth as it is going to be covered in sand and it'll just add to the effect of lumps/bumps of the earth.

 Maybe I could put some cheeky worm's poking there heads out of the earth in :P


.

Should I/Shouldn't I???

Ok on eBay there is a job l;ot of Lundby items, only half of the items I'm interested in but they're quite rare. The bidding has gone up quite a bit and there's still about an hour or so left...
I'm not really sure if I should bid or not, because I only want half of the job lot and I would more than likely sell the items I don't want...
Hmm!
They're £20+ for 9 items atm, some of which are rare (the one's I want).

Should I bid or not???

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay so I bid on the items and I won them, but for way more than I was hoping to... Ah well. I can't wait for them to arrive now! :D

Found A Great Thatched Tutorial!

I have just recently purchased a hosue off of ebay (70's printed house) which I am going to turn into a cottage for the owner's to use to get away from the lundby house :)
The house has some bright yellow printed thatch, which is a bit weird, so I wanted to thatch it, well 'thatch effect'.
My boyfriend told me that for miniature wargaming scenery they use fur for thatched housing but I didn't really believe him that it would work on a larger scale.
But I have just found a great tutorial on thatching dolls houses!
http://moreminis.blogspot.com/2008/10/thatched-roof-tutorial.html

Can't wait to get started now!

Possible Couple For My Lundby House?

I'm thinking of buying this couple from the new lundby range but getting my boyfriend to convert them as he is a sculpture for a model company (Alternative Armies.)

I think I would cut the womans hair off, and get him to sculpt some new hair, and maybe make them look old instead of looking like miniature Barbie and Ken!

I think I would also repaint their faces and make the clothes more fitted as they seem swamped by them!

But this is just an idea at the moment...

I Have Just Purchased Vintage Printed 'Toy Works' Dolls House circa 1972

I have just purchased a new house on eBay, just a last minute thing that I saw by chance and just loved it!
I'm not really sure what to do with it to be honest...
I have a couple of idea's

1. An artist's hide-away?
2. Something fantasy again?
3. Or maybe a holiday cottage away from the main Lundby house?
4. Possibly adding a small garden on the side with a chicken coop in it possibly? And a small garden patch as well?

I may try a bit more converting with this house, like adding a side door into a possible garden, but I will see when it arrives...
But any idea's would be great if you have any!
The seller said it was closer to 16th scale than 12th scale which is perfect for me! I think I have now been conversted from 12th to 16th, even if it is harder to come across!

These are the only photo's I have of it at the moment as I haven't yet received it, but I can't wait!!!

I'm sure once I have recieved it, the idea's will come flooding in more and I will know what I want to do, but like I said any idea's let me know!

I shall keep you posted on this house and all the other's I have! But I won't be starting this one or my fantasy clock untill I have finished my Lundby dollshouse, which I think is coming along quite nicely for my first house!

Selling Dolls House Items on eBay!

I am currently selling off a lot of dolls house items on ebay.
A lot of them are brand new/still with original packaging and half the RRP!
So please take a look over on eBay!
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/mytipsycat/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25

Good Luck!
Hannah :)

The Kitchen Windows

Who knew that windows would be such a pain in the bum to make! (This is the first time I have ever made any...)

Ok I know that they are a tad bit wonky but I love them :)
I had a fair bit of trouble with them as they didn't want to fit, didn't open or just simply fell to bits...

I now just have another 4 to do!
Oh yay.

Here are some photo's and I don't really know which room layout I like the best...
So please help me decide...

So please help me decide...

1. Just the dining room table
2. With the red dresser
3. Or with the white/red seating

Potion Jars for my Fantasy Clock

Ok yes I know I said that I wasn't going to start anything on my fantasy clock! But I couldn't resist...

1. 
   
   Today I bought some plain and really cheap glass bottles
2. Waterlcolour wash a strip of paper
3. Cut the strip to label sized labels
4. Stick the labels onto the side of the glass, it doesn't matter where really
5. Paint a border again with watercolours, I use my Windsor & Newton watercolours; they're a really good set!
6. Next get your boyfriend to come and paint some fake scribbles on, which resemble writing

Tell me what you think!

1. 
   
   All that you'll need to do know is fill them with bits and bobs!

I also bought these two decanters, which I'm going to fill with some kind of 'gunk'...

I got my inspiration for this little project from these really interesting blogs...

http://caseymini.blogspot.com/2010/02/come-on-in.html

I love SteamPunk! If any of you live in England you should visit the Science Museum in Oxford (my home town)  as they have a really good SteamPunk exhibit on at the moment!

http://glencroft.blogspot.com/search/label/Harry%20Potterin%20innoittamaa

A good Harry Potter inspired room box!

Fantasy Clock

This is a clock that someone on my boyfreinds course had as part of his art project and I loved it! I really want to turn it into a mini dollhouse, well a fantasy box-room at least...

I was thinking of turning the metal bit on the door into a window, it was lined with some old terracotta fabric, but it had gone all funny so I am going to make some curtains out of simular coloured fabric for the window... But I was going nto make them follow the shape of the window instead of being square (I hope that made sense) jsut to add to the charm...
This is a photo of the inside of the clock, I'm thinking of putting a weather beaten writing desk, full of old maps, potions, and trinkets inside with an old leather chair, maybe slightly tatty...

I thinkas well I might put up nloads of shelves full of potions, maps, scrolls, trinkets, plants like a mandrake and such... The shelves again will be weather beaten. Maybe an owl can be purched up high on one of the shelves??

I've got a large light fitting which would be perfect for the room as well, it's very ornate chandelier and hangs down quite low, but it's not gold or silver but a really nice tarnished bronzey colour!

On the back of the clock face, I was thinking of putting some of the original clockwork mechanism's in and maybe the pendulum...

I forgot to mention that I took these out to create more room inside! And I still have the original hands so at some point I will be gluing them back on...

Take a look at these blog's from other people that have given me inspiration for my project!

http://miniatureresource.blogspot.com/2008/03/we-found-these-charming-tudor-style.html

This shows a really nice old building with so much charm! I love the colours used and such...

http://smehreen-dollhouse.blogspot.com/2010/01/scrooge-and-marley-andrea-steven.html

http://glencroft.blogspot.com/search/label/Harry%20Potterin%20innoittamaa

http://community.livejournal.com/little_world/30571.html

But I won't be getting around to this project until I finish my Lundby House, because I am constantly stopping and starting project's, and nothing ever really get's finished...

So for once I have said I am going to finish something before starting another!

Keep wathcing this space tho, I will try and update you as frequently as possible, any idea's are welcome! The more the better!

I'm also looking for a name for the clock but nothing has come to mind yet... Any idea's again welcome :)

I am thinking of doing a few sketches as well of what I plan to do, but be patient I will do some soonish!

This is how my House is Looking So Far...

Delivery of Furniture For My House!

Here is my kitchen!

It's pretty much finished, I had to to a bit of hacking to the skirting board for it to actually fit! But you can't see it so that's ok :P

All that really needs doing now is adding a few accessories here and there, and finish the window. I've seen some good designs in a book MAKING DOLLS HOUSES by BRIAN NICKOLLS! It's a really good book, with some really helpful tips! I managed to pick it up recently from Astley Book Farm (HUGE 2nd hand book shop).

I've just won a vintage red dining room set with dresser, and I'm wondering whether or not to put it into the kitchen... Because then I can free up the room to the right of it for a library or study maybe??? I'll just have to see once it arrives through the post...

Good old eBay!

This is the lounge, it's still undecorated but some of the furniture is in! The new Lundby stuff I have to say is pretty good, I'd say it's as good as the older lundby!

Still unsure of what the colour scheme for this room should be, any ideas would be great :)

All I have to do apart from decorate is the window, fit a light and secure the banister, because at the moment it's only being held up by some blue-tac!

Just a closer look at the lounge, the sofa actually folds out to become a sofa bed as well! And the books in the case; me and my boyfriend painted them up!

The Bedroom!

Here is the bedroom!

All furnished with the new Lundby furniture! (It also includes some 12th scale items in there which I think fit really nicely). I actually had to blue-tac the cupboard against the wall as I hadn't realised how much the floor bowed!) But it still looks good. If someone asks me, I'll just say that's what you get with older properties!

Adds character!

Not much more to be done really so far...

• Finish the window
• Install a table lamp
• Buy an alarm clock for the bed side table maybe???
• Add a few accesories here and there to add charm
• Ooo and maybe make some curtains, not sure what colour though so far...

More photo's...

The kitchen (the green room, top photo) is going well, I had to rewallpaper it completely, I had originally wanted it to be blue but it just looked odd so instead I've chosen a soft green with cream and green tiles. It has to be my favourite room in the hosue so far...

All that needs doing now is finish off the window, fill in some gaps in the coving and furnish! :)

The hallway (2nd photo) which I think I'm going to turn into a library is almost finished as well, all I have to do now is fill in a few gaps around the coving and furnish!

I've actually put some 12th scale bits and bobs in this house, but I feel they fit in quite nicely and don't look too O.T.T

I had a lot of problems with the bedroom (3rd photo), as I couldn't make up my mind over the colour scheme

• 
  
  It was going to have a purple feature wall with reds and purple throughout the room
• Then it was pink
• Then it went yellow (the colour it is now but with a bright red wood flooring) the flooring looked too much like red lino! So that was covered up immediately once I found this nice wooden flooring which is craft paper! It's the same flooring as in the bathroom.

 All that needs doing now is the skirting board at the back, the window and furnishing! :)

Here's my roof (4th photo), it's actually real 12th scale terrocotta tiles, luckily my roof was strong enough to hold them all. Yeah they we're expensive (for me) but I think they look a lot better than paper, sadly the original roofing paper had got damp, slightly torn and extremely faded.

I can't finish the roofing yet untill I have lit the lounge which I can't do untill it's decorated which I can't do until I buy a light for my bathroom!

I just have to find the right light now...

Just some photo's of how it's going...

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the original condition of the house. But here it is, I have decorated most of the rooms now...

The last room is the lounge, still unsure of what colour to do it...

This is what most of the rooms looked like, all a bit ripped, damp and for some reason old tape on the walls around the windows. Maybe for the curtains? This is the last room to be tackled... Any idea's would be great, I was thinking green like the kitchen (picture in newer post) but what do you think?

The Bathroom.
I rewallpapered a neutral cream and laid some nice wood effect flooring, which is actually craft paper!
I stuck to the original Lundby bathroom, because I love it a lot more than the newer lundby bathroom sets...

Lundby of The Dump

2-3 Months ago I went to the dump and picked up a Lundby Dollshouse for £3!
Ok it was in a bit of a bad state, but I have wanted one since I was about 12 (now 18) and I simply fell in love with it;

• the floors were bent, slightly unstuck
• the floors and walls were slightly damp
• 1 interior door missing
• very dusty/mucky
• and the windows were all discoloured
• but it did still have the original label and the structure seemed ok all in all:)

Anyway, I forgot to get some photo's of it when it was ina bad state, but one of the rooms is still bad... The lounge.

So far all the other rooms are pretty much finished, jsut some slight adjusmtents to be made to them...

Ok some of you Lundby enthusiasts might kill me for stirpping it all back and modernising the original wallpaper/flooring but it couldn't be saved! And I think it needed a bit of revamping anyway.

Photo's coming soon.

Just missed out on a really nice red dining room table and 4 chairs! It went for too much I thought! It would have looked soooo nice tho!

So far I think that as this is the first house I have ever touched (decorating etc) with having to go to Uni (Illustration and Animation) and work (Costa) I think I'm doing quite well... Sorta.

Thing's to do...

1. Finish putting in skirting boards
2. Touch up on the coving
3. Decorate the lounge, I've been dreading this room as it's such an unusual shape
4. Light the bathroom/lounge/bedroom
5. Buy new lightbulbs for the hall light as I have allready blwon them bulbs! Oops...
6. Finish tiliong the roof (with real tiles)
7. FURNISH HOUSE!!! This will take some time as I don't really have much money, and I don't really want to blow all my student finace on my dollshouse...

But anyway like I said photo's are coming soon...