Zinc Roof for Le Château

Hello Everyone,

Hope you all had a great weekend. It has been a busy weekend and finally I got to finish the roof for the new project 'Le Château'. It took a while to complete but at the end I managed to get it right. 

For this particular house and having a French style design, I decided to do a zinc roof. It is quite a long process. Fixing the battens in the right angles and make sure that they have the same distance between one and the other is not an easy task. It actually reminded me of the world's situation at the moment with the social distancing. It made me smile.  At least the battens will abide to the rule. 

Once the battens were done. I painted the roof in grey and let it dry.

While waiting for the roof to dry. I worked on the chimneys and the dormer windows. 

  

I wasn't very happy with the dormer windows. The window frame didn't have any muntins so I decided to design and make my own. 

I think the windows do look much better. 

The last task was to add the details to the roof by weathering it.  It took me a few hours to get it right. Finally I can say it is ready. 

There is a good chance that more details will be added to the roof once I complete the front and side walls of the house. 

I hope you like what I have done so far.

I am looking forward to continue working on the rest of the house, so make sure to keep tuned for the next update.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Regards,

Rebecca xxx

Kasper - The Bisque jointed Doll

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all well. Here we are all set for another weekend. The days here are getting warmer by the minute and I wouldn't want it any different. 

Today I wanted to share with you my newest addition to my miniature collection.

Kasper

Here is Kasper! Kasper is a miniature Hertwig bisque jointed doll. He stands seven centimetres tall. Made in Germany in the very early 1900's. 

Bisque dolls or porcelain dolls are made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic, skin-like matte finish. They had their peak of popularity between 1860 and 1900 with French and German dolls.

The second I saw him, I fell in love with him. Luckily enough the little tot was meant for me. Some of you might find him creepy, having a hunched back and a fat tummy but all that disperses when you see the sweet smile on his face. 

 

I was intrigued to find more about the origin of Kasper.

Kasper known as 'Kasperl' is a famous and traditional puppet character from Austria, German-speaking Switzerland and Germany. Its roots date to 17th century, and it was at times so popular that Kasperltheatre was synonymous with puppet theatre. The older, more traditional 'Kasperl' shows are very similar to 'Mister Punch' in Britain. There are also 'Kasperl versions' of the Grimm and other fairy tales and of 'modern fairy tales'.

Kasper is the hero of German puppet theatre. The name Kasper probably comes from the ancient Persian meaning 'keeper of the treasure'. Tradition holds one of the three Kings or Magi who visited the Christ Child was named Caspar.

The puppet character currently named Kasper first appeared in Munich in 1858 in a marionette play "The Enchanted Lily" by Graf Pocci. Like his cousin Punch, the early Kasper used a slapstick to beat the devil, witch and crocodile.

I am so glad that I got him. I took his photo shoot in the Dickens Book shop in Regent Street. Here are a few more pictures of him. 

For now my tiny Kasper will fit nicely in 'Matquel's Antique and China Shop'. 

I hope you enjoyed the historical part of Kasper and my tiny 'keeper of the treasures'. 

I will be working further on my new project during the weekend and I can't wait to share with you my progress, so make sure to keep tuned for the next update. 

Wishing you all a happy weekend. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

The Start of the New Project 'Le Château'

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are all well. Here I am once again and today I will be sharing with you my new project 'Le Château'. 

'Le Château'

'Le Château' is another discontinued Dolls House Emporium kit and it was their very last designed dolls house that they made. 'Le Château' was sent to me all the way from Germany as a special Christmas gift given to me by my dear friend Michael Mursanow.  I was so excited to start it as soon as I was done with my beautiful 'Pembroke Grange'

There is always the non-exciting bits when starting a doll house but they are the fundamental parts of the project. There is no turning back if you mess up in the beginning.  Besides......it is part of the fun!

So like always I start by dry building the kit, study it, take notes and see what I need to add or change.

I have to say I am quite impressed with its size and dimensions and I totally love the design. There will be just minor additions added to it. I have decided to have it decorated in a French Style. 

It  has six nice sized rooms and a nice staircase in the center. 

Once I got all my notes done, I started painting the wood panels accordingly, before building the walls and flooring. 

I decided to alter two walls in the building. The first room on the left and the wall in the attic. I will be adding the walls to the edge so I can add doors. I prefer having an entrance with a door than just having an open wall. 

Once I receive my internal doors I would be able to open the wall so the doors can fit. 

Finally I started painting the doors for the front. That's the most tedious part but like I say, it's part of the fun.

So that's all for today. I know there isn't much to see for now but it's the start! Hopefully next weekend I will start working on the roof of the dolls house. So make sure to keep tuned for the next update. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca

Miniature 1930's Litho Pram

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all well and that you are enjoying your weekend. I have started working on the new project 'Le Château' and there is so much to do before I can really share with you any of my progress. 

Yesterday evening I got to make a miniature pram that I have been wanting to do for quite some time. 

The Litho (lithography) prams which go way back from the 1930's came in different sizes and shapes. They were made out of tin with beautiful designs and patterns. Most of them were made in Germany.

Original litho Prams dating early 1930's

Sometimes, you still find a few of these in auction sites and they do come with a high price tag which is totally understandable. 

I decided to make my own, a tiny one for a little girl. I have placed it in my 1930's dolls house the 'Tudor Manor' for now and being my first I have to say, I am very proud of it.

I hope you like the tiny pram that I made. 

Looking forward to share the start of the new project very soon, so make sure to keep tuned.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx