Sunday 28 February 2016

The Coffee Corner makes it in Print on American Miniaturist!

Hello everyone,

How are you my dear friends? I hope you all had a very nice weekend. It is has been a great week indeed, busy like always and very productive. My Miniature World Shop at etsy has been doing extremely well. We have a new range of miniature Easter ceramics coming up and we are working on a new set of Children's books. I am also excited as tomorrow I will be meeting the lovely British artist Susan Fay of Elite Petite Interiors.

The Coffee Corner in Regent Street

I am also proud to say that The Coffee Corner has made in print on the American Miniaturist Magazine on the March 2016 Issue.


For those who haven't seen it The Coffee Corner is a small Victorian shop set up in my Regent Street and is placed next to Quelina's shop Matquel Antiques & China Shop. The Coffee Corner has a 4 page article which you can read here by clicking on this link A coffee shop For The Senses

The Coffee Corner Article
The little shop is another Dolls House Emporium discontinued kit. I just love it and there is so much to see. I have added lots of details to it. All the ceramics have been decorated with the Shops logo that I made. All cakes and pastries have been made by me with polymer clay. They are my first cakes ever and I am just thrilled to have them in the shop. I also have some of my father's hand painted miniatures like the gramophone, the weights and the cash register.

Some how it has a very special place in my heart but than again which dolls house hasn't? Here are some pictures of The Coffee Corner









I also made a small video that you can see below with more detailed pictures.


 So this is all for today. Keep tuned for the next update on our 1930's Tudor Manor.

Take Care and see you all soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx


Sunday 21 February 2016

The Start of the Kitchen in Tudor Manor

Hello everyone,

How are you my dear friends? Hope you are enjoying your weekend. The sun is out. There is a slight breeze and the day is just beautiful. It doesn't feel anything like February. It is more like Spring. I can assure you we didn't have a Winter at all this season.  I also wanted to welcome two new followers of my blog Jennifer Gibson and Beth Wilcox. Welcome!

This week I worked a bit on the kitchen for the vintage dolls house Tudor Manor. I am really excited about this one.

1930's kitchen
I have been through a lot of research and pictures and there is so much to see. Once again space is limited not only because the room is small but also because the house is slightly smaller. The wall paper and flooring are the original which came with the house. I have found this great site of Jane Harrop Doll's House Miniatures Kits & Bits. These kits are just brilliant easy to make and just right. I will be getting more of Jane's kits. 

I tried out the kitchen cupboard which you would find in any 1930's or 40's kitchen. As the rooms were quite small these cupboards where ideal not only to store but also served as a work table.




The Kitchen Cupboard
I also got the little sink kit which is perfect not only in size but also for the period. I will be adding a little curtain in the lower part 
The sink
My father also painted the Ascot Gas water heater for the sink which is an exact replica. 

Ascot Gas Water Heater
Another lovely kit that my father built and hand painted was the 1939's Moffat Electric Cooker. It opens both doors and being quite petite. 

The 1939 Moffat  Electric Cooker


The sink and cooker fitted in so well together by the back wall.


Finally I also built another kit of Jane Harrop which is the kitchen table. The kitchen table used to serve also as a work top in the kitchen.


Kitchen table
So far I have added a few accessories to the kitchen cupboard just to see how it all fits in.


Accessories in cupboard
So I guess this is all for now there is so much that I still need to add. I am planning to add maybe a washing machine which I have to figure out how to make. I am thinking of adding some shelves to fill the walls too.

So here are some more pictures.









So this is all for today. I hope you like the new additions to the kitchen. There is still so much to add. Hopefully some supplies will come soon. So keep tuned for the next update

Take Care and see you real soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Sunday 14 February 2016

The Beginning of Tudor Manor!

Hello everyone,

Happy Valentine to all you, my dear friends! I hope you have enjoyed your weekend and your have spent your day with your loved ones. I had a fantastic day with my hubby and kids. The day was quite nice and warm and we had lunch in our favorite restaurant.

So before we start off I wanted to welcome a new follower to my blog! Welcome Wendyrose!

Today I will be sharing with you the start of a new project. Some of you might already know about my Rare Vintage dolls House that I got last June called the Tudor Manor. Tudor Manor was built and decorated in 1979/1980 by Adam Purser and Jackie Lee who are the founders of the Dolls House Emporium.

Tudor Manor
I will be leaving it in it's original state with it's original wall paper and flooring. For it's age it is in a very good state. I only need to add one or two wall beams on the front and give it a good clean up.

As the wall paper has a 1930's - 1940's style I decided to go for that period. In August I had ordered it's main bed room from Elf Miniatures. Elizabeth and I have worked together to create this wonderful bed room. I still need to add more detail to the room.

Main Bedroom
 Also the new lovely couple that will be residing in this house have arrived. Please welcome Mr. & Mrs. V. Noble. Both the dolls were made by the talented artist Susan Emsell. Both dolls are dressed up in 1930's style.

Mr. & Mrs. V. Noble
As the house is slightly smaller than a 1:12th scale house I have to be very careful what kind of furniture to fit it.  I have to choose the right kind of furniture that is not too big for the room. I have found some nice pieces that fit the period.  At the moment I am just playing around and trying out furniture until I find the perfect pieces for the rooms. 

The dining room is quite small but I still managed to find what I wanted. I still have to add some wall shelves and so much more to this room. I also came across an Art Deco miniature Dinner Set with a Clarice Cliff design which will fit nicely in the cabinet. 

Dining Room




Clarice Cliff miniature dinner set
I also started working on the sitting room. The room is quite big but still adding to much to it will lose it's character.

As the sitting room has a built in fire place, I decided to go for a 1930's style fire place. The fire place is another lovely miniature that was hand painted by my father and it fitted the opening perfectly.

1930's fire place
I have also got one of Jane Harrop's Dolls House Kits. The radio was the perfect touch to the room and period. 

Radio
For the room I also got to choose the sofa set and as it is quite slim, it fitted in nicely.




This is all for now. I can't wait to really start working on it.


Free Give Away Winner!

I also wanted to announce the Winner of our Give Away Miniature Plate. The winner of the draw is Doreen Bell. Please contact me by email or message me on our Face Book page to give me your details so I can send it off to you. We will be having more give aways very soon.

This is all for today. I will try to start working on this dolls house one room at a time as now I have a clearer picture on the measurements and what fits. So keep tuned for the next update on this project.



Take Care and see you real soon.

Hugs.

Rebecca xxx



Saturday 6 February 2016

Closing the Curtains to Kate's Cottage

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. The weather has been very kind to us this winter and it hasn't rained at all. I wanted to welcome 10 new followers to our blog. Welcome DC, Melli, Mandie, Rita Brighton, Doreen Bell, Janet Bailey, Jennybee, Small World of Turner, Francy Guiducci and Teruka. A BIG WELCOME to all! It is just great to get to know new people and make new friends!

So at the start of February we will be closing the curtains to Kate's Cottage. I can't believe that this project has come to an end. I do feel sad when it comes to say goodbye but like I always say I always look forward to next project.

Kate's Cottage
Kate's cottage only needed the last touches and detail. So being in the Tudor period I have dirtied the walls both outside and inside. Using powder pigments and a dry paint brush I added some touches to the wall especially near the beam work.







 Outside the wall I have added a climbing plant just to give it a little bit more color and life.




Inside the cottage I have added some curtains. In the period curtains were very rich indeed but being in a bit...let's say primitive they usually made curtains using sack cloth to keep the houses warm of just simple linen if affordable. I have made some curtains using sack cloth. To add a bit more detail to the windows. I have also added some beam work.

Living area curtains




Also finally I got to lit up the house. It looks cosy as ever and  it is how I wished it would be.


Lights in Kate's Cottage





My husband Gilbert also helped me to fix the hinges. There is no way that he will allow me to use any sort of power tool. He is very protective as he thinks that I might get hurt. Thank you my darling for your love and support.


Hubby fixing hinges

And so this completes the project. Here are the completed rooms.






Catherine and her son Luke lived happily and comfortably in this cottage. They look very happy.

Catherine and Luke

This is the end of this project and I am so glad that I have taken the plunge and tried my hand with the Tudor period. It won't be the last project in this era as I have another Tudor House that is still packed and boxed.

I also wanted to thank Ashwood Designs for their guidance. They have also added Kate's cottage to their Photo Gallery and also added my blog to their links. Thank you.


I also wanted to remind you that we still have the free give away running for the miniature ceramic plate. All you have to do is leave a comment on our post and be a follower of our blog. Closing date is 12th February 2016. The winner will be announced shortly afterwards. I also wanted to thank the participants who have taken part so far. I can assure you all that you will be part of the draw.

Free Give Away
So this is all for today. Next time when we will me we will start working on our new project which is the Vintage Dolls House called the Tudor Manor which was built by the Dolls House Emporium Founders back in 1979. This will be decorated in 1930's -40's period. So keep tuned.

Take Care and see you soon.

Hugs

Rebecca xxx