My Miniature World makes a hit on the News!

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well and are keeping safe from the high temperatures. It's been quite hot this week. Just popped in to say a quick hello. Like always it's been a very busy week with too many going on's I would say. I still can't believe that it has been a week today since My Miniature World makes a hit on the Maltese National News.

After being seen on The People of Malta, I was approached by Maria La Barokka Muscat from TVM (Television Malta) for an interview without me knowing exactly where this was all going to.

The next day Maria visited My Miniature World with her camera man and all. Honestly I was shocked!

Maria was quite impressed and she enjoyed the tour of my houses. We spent some time talking and she made me feel quite comfortable I would say. The only thing is that I didn't have an idea that it was going to be broadcast on the TV National News and on their site the next day, News TVM

Just in case the link breaks and doesn't work here is the article Mother of Three plays with dolls and builds houses for them. There is also the Maltese Version which I think is much better.  Omm ta’ 3 itfal tilgħab bil-pupi u tibni d-djar tagħhom

Here is the video clip which was on the news. Even if it is in Maltese I'm sure you will still like it.

I have to admit, I am quite proud of myself. It's been a long journey to arrive where I am today and I wouldn't have done it without the support of my family, friends and you.

I had quite a positive feedback and even after a week I'm still receiving more.

Also I wanted to remind you that tomorrow is the closing date of our Free Give Away

All you have to do to take a chance to win this book is.

1)  Be or Become a follower of My Miniature World Blog.

2)  Like and share our Face Book Page.

3)  Leave a comment on this post so I'll know who wants to take part in the draw.

Closing date will be 27th July 2018 and the lucky winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Don't miss out! Good luck to all!

So this is all for today. Keep tuned for the next update on the progress of the Master Swordsman & Inn as it is close to it's end. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

The Barmaid and The Lady in the Painting

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all fine and that you had a great weekend. It has been a very busy week for me I must say, with quite some excitement too. I didn't really have time to work on The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn but I couldn't resist not sharing with you a new comer to Regent Street and the story line behind it. 

During the week I received another lovely doll made by my friend and doll maker Beverly Senatore. I am just thrilled with her and I have to admit she has to be one of my favorite dolls and for good reason. 

I would like to introduce to you the Barmaid of The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn; Susanna. 

Susanna The Barmaid

Beverly and I agreed to have this doll similar to the Oil Painting 'A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by  Èdouard Manet

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère was painted and exhibited at the Paris Salonin in 1882, is considered the last major work of French painter Èdouard Manet. It depicts a scene in the Folies-Bergère  nightclub in Paris.  The venue opened in 1869 and its atmosphere was described as “unmixed joy”. In contrast, the barmaid in Manet’s representation is detached and marooned behind the bar. The painting originally belonged to the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, who was Manet's neighbor. The painting is currently in The Courtauld Gallery in London, England.

I was curious not only about the artist who painted the painting but very curious in the lady herself. The painting is rich in details which provide clues to social class and milieu. The woman at the bar is a real person, known as Suzon, who worked at the Folies-Bergère in the early 1880's. There isn't much about her. Manet has also painted Suzon's Portrait in 1881. I think she was very beautiful. 

(Suzon) The Model for the Folies-Bergère

I keep wondering how her life was. Was she happy? Did she live a long life? Did she have a family of her own? So many questions that I will never get to know. If only she knew that after 136 years since the painting of the barmaid in the bar in Paris, there would be a miniature doll of herself. 

Suzon is a Hebrew name for Susanna. I thought it was kind of sweet to keep her original name so I opted for Susanna. 

Finally the day arrived when I received her and I was just thrilled. Beverly has made such an amazing job on her. From here I want to thank Beverly for giving my dolls houses more character with her lovely dolls. 

The Story in Regent Street 

Mr. Joseph Rookie was locking up the  J.R. Art Gallery, after a busy day. He was finding it difficult to be creative. There was nothing special to inspire him. Before calling it a night, he decided to stop by for a drink at The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn. There at the window he saw someone new.

The new barmaid at the pub was quite pretty, withdrawn and kept to herself while she served the clients.

Finally inspiration hit our artist at Regent Street. He couldn't resist not painting the image of Susanna at the bar.

After a few weeks, in J.R. Art Gallery, there was the famous painting of the new barmaid which inspired him and now welcomes him with a glass of white wine each time he drops in. 

  

 The miniature painting, printed on canvas of 'A Bar at the Folies-Bergère' by Èdouard Manet is also part of J.R. Art Gallery. 

Hope you have liked the new barmaid. She brings quite some history with her and also a good story line for Regent Street. Keep tuned for the next update.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

The First Appearance in Malta!

Hello everyone,

Just popped in for a quick post with some news!

Some of you already know that the term "dolls houses" and whatever is related to them, here in Malta, is a complete 'taboo'. I am sure that there are a few out there that do have a dolls house on the island but there are no shops that sell miniatures or anything that fits for our hobby.

A few weeks ago I was approached by Stephen Buhagiar  from "The People of Malta" for an interview about my dolls house collection. "The People of Malta" is a private entity that works on this amazing artistic project to share emotions, stories, personalities, moods and contrasts depicted in pictures and in citations of the Maltese people. Recently they have also published their first book. 

Stephen was interested to visit my dolls house collection, have an interview and take pictures. Coming to think of this, it was the very first time that a Maltese approached me for an interview about my dolls house creations and miniatures. I know it's quite surprising when you think that I have had more publications and articles abroad and not even one in my own country. Obviously I agreed to do it. 

The day came and Stephen visited my new dolls house area which will be opening very soon for the public. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I will be having the opening in August. 

Stephen was quite impressed with what he saw. He asked several questions, took notes and a few pictures. 

Last Tuesday, "The People of Malta" posted the interview and picture of me with my dolls houses on their FaceBook Page.

The caption was in Maltese and in the English language. Here is the English Version of it.

"This is my world, my miniature world. Doll’s houses have fascinated me since forever, from when I was 4 years old. I used to see how I could create a house for every doll I had. When I was 17 I wanted to start building my doll’s houses myself. This meant that instead of buying them ready-made, I would build them myself. You don’t find the material, teachers of the technique and sellers of items connected with doll’s houses, readily available in Malta. I embarked on this hobby thanks to the internet. I remember quite clearly the day when my parents had dial-up internet installed at home. This opened a whole world of opportunities to me.

Every house I build is in 12 scale. I manually craft every detail, no matter how small. There are parts made from wood, cloth and some parts are even made of ceramic. The beauty of doll’s houses is the adherence to the historical periods. This encouraged me to study historical eras, as in order to furnish the internal structure of the houses you need to make use of items in fashion at that particular period. The variety of styles ranges between Victorian, Modern, Georgian, Medieval, Post-War and Tudor.

Whatever I produce with my hands is the result of the passion I have for this hobby."

I was surprised with the feed back and reactions I got especially from the Maltese.

Surprisingly I had many persons asking me where could they see the collection and if it was open for the public. Just from their face book page I got over 1,200 likes so that was quite big for me.

From here I want to thank The People of Malta especially Stephen for giving me the opportunity to share my passion with them. 

And to add some more good news! My Miniature World on Facebook has reached over 17,000 likes.

Once again, I want to thank you all for the support and encouragement. This means so much to me.

To show my appreciation I will be giving out a free give away. 

It's one of my favorite miniature books called The Children's Object Book which is fully illustrated.

All you have to do to take a chance to win this book is.

1)  Be or Become a follower of My Miniature World Blog.

2)  Like and share our Face Book Page.

3)  Leave a comment on this post so I'll know who wants to take part in the draw.

Closing date will be 27th July 2018 and the lucky winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Don't miss out! Good luck to all!

So this is all for today. I will keep you updated very soon with the latest progress on The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn. Make sure to keep tuned. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx



Photograph taken by Stephen Buhagiar from The People of Malta

Completing the Roof Terrace at The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn

Hello everyone,

Another week has passed by. Time does fly by so quick when you are busy and enjoying it at the same time. Hope you all had a great weekend. I have been very busy during last week but I have to admit that whatever I had planned, it was done quite successfully which also included my dolls house project.

For the past few days I have been working on the roof terrace of The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn and I am very happy with the end results.

Even if  it was just the roof terrace I still wanted to give it my full attention and detail. I first started working on the garden furniture. I have added two garden tables with chairs which are made out of white metal.

 They took me quite some time to paint, especially to bring out their weathered detail.  At the end, the task is always rewarding.

I added a few plants, a tree and a stone garden bench. The plants and their pots like most of all new miniatures looked too new and not realistic. The stone garden bench definitely needed a touch of paint to make it look more old. 

I have weathered the pots, added some soil and even weathered slightly the branches of the tree. At least now I can say they look the part. 

The last piece was the Lion wall fountain made out of resin that I got for this project. 

I liked the piece, but still I knew I could improve it.

First I have weathered the piece with earth color paints.

Then I added the last touches of water effect.

Once placed on the side wall, I also weathered the wall accordingly. 

And here are a few pictures of the complete roof terrace.

Hope you have liked how it turned out. I'm looking forward to finish this project now. Keep tuned for the next update on this project; The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Adding more pieces to the Parlour in The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn

Hello everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend. Here it's getting hotter just like every year. Have been busy like always with new miniatures at my etsy shop and also with The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn. Before I start, I want to welcome the new followers to my blog and also those at Google +; WELCOME!

As the Master Swordsman is at it's final stages, it's time to start adding those extra details. There is still a lot that I want to add.

The Parlour

The new additions that I added were three pieces of furniture to my favorite room the parlour. These were kits by Melissa Miniatures from The Netherlands. I have built and painted them to match with the other pieces.

I always enjoy building these kits and they do look authentic.

I used the largest one as a hall table. This one turned out quite a nice, piece especially using a marble top for it. I have also painted a pewter miniature Stallion in bronze effect to put on top of it.

The next piece was a very small side table which I placed close to the fire place. I have painted it in dark brown and used lighter shades of brown for the top and drawers.  This will be holding the detailed phonograph that my father built and painted.

Among the other items that I added to the room was another picture printed on canvas of my father, which was placed on the fire place mantel. 

The miniature framed picture of my father

The final piece was the tiny coffee table, painted to match with the other furniture. It's quite small and I decided to put it between the two armchairs. 

As this was the parlor, I wanted to add the chess board game. A few years ago my father had painted the tiny chess pieces but I never got to use them for any of my other projects. I thought that this would be ideal and I got myself busy and made a chess board just for the set.

The chess pieces are very tiny and very patiently I have placed the pieces in their rightful place.

I love the tiny chess set especially now that it had it's board and it looked just right in it's place on the small table. 

Here are a few photos of the whole room so far.

This is all for today. Hope you like what I have done so far to this room. Keep tuned for the next update on this project.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx