International Children's Book Day.

Hello Everyone,

Today it's International Children's Book Day. We all know how important books are for children. We all know how important story time is for them. It helps them broaden their imagination and knowledge. As a child I always enjoyed reading an adventure or one of those classics that you just could't put down until you reach the end. I definitely had more time to indulge myself in a good book when I was young.  

Today at The Dickens Book Shop in Regent Street there was an open day for Children to enjoy the library. There was also show and tell and reading sessions. The Children enjoyed every bit of it. 

That is all for today until next time. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

The Barrel Organ at Regent Street

 Hello Everyone, 

How are you all? Hope you had a great weekend! Today it must be one of the coldest days here in Malta so I am trying to keep warm. 

Today I have a very special project that I have just completed. It was a project that I always wanted to try to do and finally I put my head to make a miniature Barrel Organ. 

I was so thrilled that I got to build it and hand paint it. I also managed to add a winding music box that plays the tune of 'Swan Lake'.

It had been a while since I painted in miniature but I really enjoyed painting the tiny flowers and leaves. 

Mr. William Harris is the owner of the beautiful barrel organ and he spends his days playing it in Regent Street. 

Mr. Harris also has a companion that steals the show every time. Mr. Twiggy the cheeky monkey is a darling that loves children. He is always with his cup collecting coins. 

Mr. Twiggy was made by the Dutch artist Betty of Betty Miniatures.

I also got to make a small video so  you can hear the tune it plays. 

The Barrel Organ is now set up in front of the Dicken's Book Shop. 

Mr. William Harris and the little girl are both made by the doll artist Beverely Senatore. 

I hope you like what I have done. It took me a couple of weeks to complete but it was definitely worth the time. 

This is all for today. Make sure to keep tuned for the next up date and latest news. 

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxxxx

3rd Day of Christmas - Visiting The Dickens Book Shop

 Hello Everyone,

"On The Twelve Days of Christmas, Miss Holly will be visiting Regent Street to bring joy and wonder during the magical time of Christmas. "

One of Miss Holly's favorite pastime is visiting the well stocked Library in Regent Street, 'The Dickens Book Shop". The lady loves reading books.  Every Saturday her first stop of the day would be at the library to exchange her books for something that she never read. Thankfully the librarian Mister Henry Dickens adds new books to the shelves on regular basis.

Today was no exception, Miss Holly was all set to visit her favorite Library and Book Shop, only that today she wanted to add something new to the shelves herself. She looked for her two favorite Christmas Books in her old trunk that she had. She lost count of how many times she read these books over and over again, that she could recite the entire books without missing any words. 

Mister Henry Dickens greeted Miss Holly with a smile while doing some paper work at his desk. Miss Holly returned the borrowed books and gave the librarian her two Christmas books one called 'Christmas Morning' and the other one called 'Robin's Christmas Eve'.

She explained to Mister Dickens that she wanted to add these two books to the library for Christmas so the community can enjoy them as much as she did and maybe through the books she could bring happiness to those who read them. 

 Henry was so impressed with the kind gesture of Miss Holly. He always knew that she was special in a certain way, only that today she had proven it. She was always polite when visiting and returned the books on time and in the same condition that they were given. There were occasions that the books were also returned in a much better state than they were before.

Mister Dickens  was delighted with these two Christmas Books. They had beautiful illustrations and what surprised him even further was that he never came across these book titles before. He lead Miss Holly to the bookcase and gave her the honor to put the books on the shelf herself. Miss Holly blushed but was so grateful for the opportunity. Carefully she chose a partially empty shelf and one by one she slid the books in their new rightful place. 

Mister Dickens thanked Miss Holly profoundly and told her that she was always welcome to the book shop and that if she ever was in need of help, his doors were always opened to her. They said their farewells and parted their ways until the next time they meet.

So this is all for today, make sure to keep tuned for the next Days of Christmas at Regent Street.

Take Care and See You Soon,

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Sophia and The Pop-Up Books

Hello Everyone,

How are you all? Hope you had a good weekend. Here we are again back to the old grinder, working on miniatures and new projects. 

Today I wanted to share with you a small project that I have worked on during my short holidays.  The Two Miniature Pop-Up Books.

Mr. Dickens thought of adding more to his book shop during Christmas time. He wanted to add something completely different that children would love. He added two Pop-Up Books.

Mr. Dickens was inspired by his neighbor Lady Adelaide, 'The Miniaturist' to get these pop up books. One is called 'Dolls' House' which he was sure that Lady Adelaide would love to have and being in the Christmas season he got another called 'Merry Christmas'

Both books came as a flat kit format and I enjoyed making them. The end results are so impressive especially considering the small size of them.

The 'Dolls House' Book is built to have two floors and the whole book has eight rooms.

The 'Merry Christmas' book is much smaller than The 'Dolls' House' book and it has four Christmasy Rooms.

Here is a small video that I made to show how these cute pop-up books open.

The second Mr. Dickens put these books in the Dickens Book Shop window, a young girl entered the shop to have a closer look at them.

. 

Miss Sophia, a beauty made by my dear friend and doll maker Beverley Senatore. Sophia hasn't made any appearances in Regent Street yet but she was keen to play the part in this story. I wonder where she'll fit in Regent Street. Keep an eye out for her because I am sure that her time will come to shine. 

Miss Sophia fell head over heals in love with the 'Merry Christmas' pop-up book. She definitely looks happy and proud to have it. Mr. Dickens was so pleased with himself that he got these books that he's quite sure that he will be getting more different ones.

That is all for today. I hope you like these new pop-up books. Make sure to keep tuned for the next updates as I have so much to share with you.

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Closing the Curtains to The Dickens Books Shop & The Miniaturist

Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here in Malta is basically Summer! Wonderfully Sunny and Hot. Great for swimming and a stroll by the sea in the evening. Can't wait for the kids to get their summer break from school. I enjoy spending some quality time with them. 

Today I get to share with you the final post on the three room boxes; The Dickens Book Shop, The Miniaturist and The Miniaturist's Bedroom which have been shared on the Tv Show 'Life & Style' on the Maltese Channel Net TV. 

What I love about these three room boxes that I got to design them myself and make them fit on top of each other so eventually I could turn them in a one project which now is called 'The Dickens Book Shop & The Miniaturist'.

In the last episode on the 'Life & Style' I shared the bedroom which completed the whole project. I have added the room box to the rest and fixed the lights in place. 

Once the roof was in place over the other rooms. I have noticed that the building on the outside needed something more to make it look as a whole unit and not just boxes on top of each other.

The roof on top of the below room box

I didn't like it one bit so I added the trimmings at the front and on the side walls were the rooms meet.

There was something missing in the front especially between the windows on the first floor. It looked to plain and too empty. I couldn't think of anything until I looked at the library and saw the portrait of Charles Dickens. The man actually inspired me to make a wall plaque. 

 Today 149 years ago, to be precise Thursday, 9th June 1870 the world lost one of the most amazing authors, Charles Dickens at the very young age of 58. The man never fully recovered from his train accident which happened a few years before. I knew that day was close so I decided to make a wall plaque with the year '1870' using polymer clay. 

It fitted in so perfectly and added that little detail. 

Being satisfied with the new details, the project was complete and the three room boxes became one dolls house. 

Here are some pictures of the whole structure and the complete rooms. 

The Dickens Book Shop

The Miniaturist

The Miniaturist's Bedroom

Finally The whole dolls house now stands proudly next to The Master Swordsman Pub & Inn in my Regent Street. 

I still can't believe that I actually  completed it and to think that I shared it's progress through a whole season on a Tv show. In June 'Life & Style' comes to an end for the Summer Holidays. 

Update post 11th June 2019

Today The Dolls House Emporium also featured the complete project on their Facebook Page. Thank you DHE for the feature and for being my greatest inspiration throughout the years!

I hope you have enjoyed this project as much as I did. It is hard saying goodbye to it especially when it took me seven months to complete. Now I am looking forward to start a new project during the summer months. Make sure to keep tuned for the new updates on my blog and definitely for the new dolls house.  

Take Care and See You Soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx