New Cabinet

I am ashamed to say it but the only thing miniature wise I find I have time to do these days is shop!
I just purchased a beautiful antique mirrored back cabinet for my miniatures so I can enjoy them until the doll house is finished.  I have acquired some brilliant new minis including Stokesay ware, copper pan and meat dome plus my newish Roberson Royal pram which I have not shared until now.  I also had a wonderful woman in Great Britain knit a pram blanket and christening gown set for it but will show on another post very soon.... I hope very soon.

Beautiful Jane Newman and Stokesay ware

Lisa Johnson- Richard's doll Emma and Jane

Roberson Royal Pram

Progress on Washtub

I am finding that the best way to work on my little Washtub Cottage is to do everything in tiny bite size pieces, so I am plugging away a tiny bit at a time.
 Here is the progress thus far.....

The Cottage is meant to look rustic and since I made a mistake and had the wires for my main floor lightening coming out on the wrong side, the wood flooring is  now extra rustic.  As you can tell, the little cottage is so wee sitting next to my cup of tea and biscuits.

1:48 scale furniture

It has been very difficult over the last few months to accomplish anything miniature wise, or otherwise for that matter.  We have been working non-stop at the auction house and at the minute I am cataloging three auction!
 We recently were given an estate of a model train collector and it was extensive. So much so, that we have decided to do just a train and vintage toy auction.  Alas, no dolls or doll houses just boys toys.  We are also going to start selling firearms in the coming months which meant I had to take firearms course.  Talk about out of my element!  First a course on long guns and rifles and then one on hand guns and semi-autos etc.  I am proud to say I did extremely well, although some of the guns presented quite a challenge size wise.  Off to auctioneering school in the coming weeks. We will see how that goes....
I did manage to work on a little bit of 1:48th scale furniture for my Petite Properties Washtub cottage which I hope to have more time this week to work on.  I would love to get that finished before the snow flies, which judging from the temperatures today doesn't feel so far off.

New Jane Newman dressing table

It has been a great month for finding lovely Jane Newman miniature pieces and I am so pleased to have acquired this lovely dressing table. I am ever so slightly Newman obsessed as her pieces are so well scaled and lovely!

I am also pleased to tell everyone that I made snap decision yesterday and booked a ticket to New Orleans to attend the UFDC (United Federation of Doll Collectors) annual convention. I haven't been to convention since 2008 and I have working so long and hard lately that I am due.  So there you have it, that is all my news. If there are any antique doll houses (which there always are) I will snap pictures of them and share them when I return.

Oh and my husband reset the original stone from my engagement ring into a pretty new setting-and I am pretty pleased with that too!!

Lots of lovely new miniatures!!

I have so much to tell you and to show you!!!  This week has been a mini bonanza....
Firstly I received my new smaller Jane Newman dresser as my other one was a bit big for my tiny doll house kitchen.  This one should fit much nicer.  Now I have to work on getting more Stokesay ware to fill it.

I also received a whole bunch of new Royalty plates as I am a Royalty nut.  My mum and dad just returned for a trip to Britain and I had ordered some Staffordshire Royalty china to commemorate the
Diamond Jubilee. They transported it back from England and saved me the postage costs.
I managed to find a Royal Staffordshire miniature plate that matches my china so I had to have it.
-did you see my little William and Kate biscuit tin on the bottom of the dresser?

 Last but in no ways least, my new Lisa Johnson-Richards doll Jane arrived!!!!  Isn't she beautiful???  She has come to live with her sister Emma in my little (soon to be finished?, maybe?) doll house....
She is very similar to Emma and they both are sporting their beautiful crisp white regency gowns, but Jane has long sleeves and a shawl and Emma has long gloves.  Jane's hair is a lovely platinum colour where as Emma's hair is a lovely honey blonde.  I am thrilled beyond all belief!!  I felt poor Emma was a bit lonely and what better company than her own dear sister?  Here is a little secret.... Jane and Emma may be getting a wee baby soon!

Doll House Parrot

I decided to make myself a little doll house parrot using the tutorial by Kerri Pajutee. Although he is a far cry from Kerri's beautiful work, I think he turned out quite cute. http://www.cdhm.org/tutorials/learn-to-sculpt-a-miniature-parrot.html

Most abandoned blog on the internet!!

I think I may be in danger of having the most abandoned blog on the internet! What with car crashes, work and home, life has been pretty hectic around here. I am showing my new and wonderful finished Janet Granger needlework kits completed by wonderful Sue in the UK. I have a new bolster cushion, beautiful firescreen, framed Georgian sampler and a tiny foot stool. So pretty! Also you can see I have finished installing the flooring and lighting in my room and will show it lit at a later date. I have included a picture of my nearly completed bathroom although baseboards and crown molding are absent in all rooms. Progress is slow to say the least but I am still plugging along. (just click on pictures to make bigger)