Productive, on a Large Scale

It's been a long time! I have had a ton of distractions that have prevented me from blogging, but mostly all productive. I have missed communicating with my readers and the larger "mini" community, but the time provided me with some clarity about my collection and its organization -- it's difficult to create scenes and work with your houses when things are in complete disarray.

One huge obstacle was flooding in our basement, which is where my collection lives. Our hot water heater decided to break and we had a real mess on our hands. Luckily, very little of my collection was affected, but it did impact the entire basement space. So, we've been spending the past few months on cleaning, mold remediation, painting, and reorganizing. This work forced me to *really* look at my collection and how I was maintaining the houses and accessories.

The results are really nice so far...I'll have more to share once we complete the last room, but here are a few snaps:

Ignore wire

New Worktable!

 Yes, lots of sorting...

This process has provided a nice opportunity to reconnect with my collection, too.

While my work continues, I managed to set up a quick scene in the Loft to Love house from Target.

See those stairs? I made some carpeting from remnants of FLOR tiles that my husband used in his home office. They work pretty well!

Hopefully, more soon!

Credits: Chair is Reac; table is by MitchyMoo; wall shelving is by Dragondee; rug is a dollhouse plant is by AG Minis and it is in a napkin holder from the Crate & Barrel outlet.; wallpaper is from Paper Source. Accessories are Re-ment, Dragondee, Manor House Miniatures, Paris Renfroe, AG Minis.

Vintage Children's Book DIY

 

There's probably nothing I love more than a straightforward and easy DIY, especially when inspired by a charming vintage children's book.

One of my youngest son's favorite books is How to Make Flibbers, etc: A Book of Things to Make and Do, by Robert Lopshire (Random House, 1964).

The book is filled with easy crafts with simple materials -- mostly paper, scissors, and glue. It charmed me from the first read, and my son and I even shared some of the simple to-dos with his preschool class. But, the mini potential did not occur to me until recently, and I was able to give the "Limp Lamps" activity a go!

Here are the pages from the book for the lamp:

Super easy, right? I figured it would be simple to replicate this activity on a smaller scale (I chose to eliminate the handle), and indeed it is. Here is my mini tutorial (not that you need it!):

Choose a paper. I used origami paper with a pattern, like these sheets.

 

Cut the paper into a rectangle shape, measuring about 2-3/4" x  3-1/4", but feel free to experiment with different sizes

Fold in half and score

Cut strips from the score and stop just before the top

Unfold and glue at the tops, with the score oriented along the center

Voila!

I used other papers as well and tried out the activity in different sizes -- works!

The sofa is a new acquisition, purchased on my trip to Denver in July

I even used one of my flameless tea lights from Pottery Barn as a base -- neat!

Let me know if you do your own "Limp Lamps!"

Two other crafts from the book that have mini potential are these: "Party Mats" and "Stickit Picture"; I might try them next!

By the way, one of the reasons I was able to see this craft through was because I cleaned up my entire mini space. Remember my "struggle with clutter" post? Well, I just got in the right frame of mind and did it! We took some vacation time at home and I had a four-hour block of time to myself and just powered through. The only thing left to do is un-box and sort about 40 sets of Re-ment, purchased over the past two years! Yes, TWO years!

Here's some pics of my newly organized dollhouse room...hope it stays this way for a while.