Daybed

Susan H. and I keep an eye out for each other. She frequently picks up treasures at estate sales and if it is 1:12, she lets me know about it (she works in 1:6). We've swapped Re-ment and other fun stuff over the past year.

Our latest swap involved an Asian-influenced daybed that she found recently, marked "George Spencer Dollhouse Collection." Anyone ever hear of him? Based on some quick we searching, it looks like it's from the 1980s. I was so pleased when the bed arrived...it is in excellent condition, and has lovely carvings. Since the piece runs a bit closer to 1:10, I decided to try it out in my Large VERO.

I covered a cushion in some nice Asian-inspired fabric from my local Jo Ann Fabrics store and used another swatch for a long bolster. What do you think? The two enormous heads are from a rummage sale. They actually came in a group of four, and I passed them by a few times before circling back and picking them up for less than $1.

These are the times that I say "What the heck" and throw stuff together for kicks. When will I get to use the heads again, right??? And who would have thought they would end up in a German-made house from the 1960s???

The light fixture is part of a string of clear ball Christmas tree trimming from Crate & Barrel. I cut a few off, tied them together in a circle and strung it from a hook that hangs from the ceiling. The floor is new paper from the Paper Source. I go there often enough that I can easily spot the new stuff. I do like this pattern a whole lot, and I think it helped set the scene -- the actual flooring did not mesh well.

So, that's my crazy scene for the day. Thanks, Susan!

Only a few hours to go before my UMBRA giveaway closes...you have until 11:59 p.m. EDT tonight to leave a comment HERE NOW CLOSED for a chance to win one of two great products! Nearly 50 people have entered -- good luck all around and thanks again to UMBRA!!

The time it took me: 45 minutes

Credits: Daybed is George Spencer Dollhouse Collection; cushion is AG Minis, covered in fabric from Jo Ann Fabric; carved heads are from a rummage sale; round table is vintage Brio; chair and dresser are vintage German; pillow is handmade by The Shopping Sherpa; planter is a napkin holder from Crate & Barrel, and the fixture are ornament balls from there as well; flooring is from the Paper Source. Accessories are Michaels and dollhouse store finds.

Checkered

The floor of the upper room in my Large VERO house has always charmed me...it is a black and brown checkered linoleum and has such a strong vintage vibe. This room is intended as a bath, and I actually spent months scraping and re-wallpapering it (you can see the before and after in this post). The green cascading stripe design is from a roll of vintage 1:1 scale papers and they do work well. You might not be able to see it in this scene, but there is also a green tile on one of the walls. I tend to hide most of it in scenes because there are tears and holes, so that's how I ended up using my Brio Mobilia desk set.

The lovely vintage German lamp was purchased from my blogging buddy Amy of Amy's Miniatures and Smalls. I've had it for some time, and this is the first time I have used it. The base consists of two stacked oval pieces of wood and the curved neck of the lamp swivels so that the shade can be positioned as needed.

The yellow and gold vase is actually a bead from a local store, The Place to Bead.

It was labeled "vintage German," and I just loved the shape and color. This helped guide the yellow and blue color scheme in the desk area. See that blue package of vanilla wafer cookies by Re-ment? I just bought a 1:1 bag for some hungry little folk in my house. I would do a "big and small" photo, but I don't think I can equal the talent in the Re-ment Addicts Group on Flickr -- check out their big and small photos here. And here is Fishmo's take on the big and small wafers -- genius!

Photo by Fishmo

Brings a big smile to my face!

A postscript: the reality of making scenes...and not cleaning up!

Credits: Couch is VERO; lamp is vintage German; desk set is Brio Mobilia; chair is Reac; stone elephant sculpture was purchased at an estate sale for $2.50; plant is from Lolly's; pillow is by minimodernistas. Accessories are Re-ment, handmade by The Shopping Sherpa, beads from The Place to Bead, AG Minis, Mighty World, Three Blind Mice dollhouse show, Petite Princess, and Bandai.

The time it took me: 50 minutes

Keeping House

An older style iron inspired this scene, along with its compact flowered ironing board. I decided to use the bathroom in my large VERO for a cleaning room, complete with a sewing kit, a chair for knitting, and a vacuum should the need arise for further tidying up.

Some flowers brighten things up while keeping house.

Speaking of keeping house, I wanted to share a very neat set of Keystone Village houses, purchased on eBay recently ($29). This set appears to be complete, with trees, grass and cobblestone squares, brick walls, and a complete complement of houses: cape, garrison, colonial, etc., as well as a garage, church, and restaurant. Charming, right?

Have you seen Rebecca's post about her Keystone mini houses? They are slightly different, but equally lovely, and she even paired them with some N scale Preiser figures. Rebecca also posted a very interesting and thorough history of the Keystone company, here.

On that same scale....a custom mini train display in a larger train display in a "pop up" Lionel Train store in New York City. The train was motorized!

We visited there for Thanksgiving, and did a lot of walking with the kids. The train store was a major highlight, especially for my littlest. We all love trekking along the city streets, with the towering buildings, and gorgeous scenery, like this lovely tree by Wollman Skating Rink:

New York City is also home to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which in all my years a city kid I had never seen it for real, just on TV. For those of you who may not be familiar with this event, Macy's department store sponsors huge parade of MAMMOTH balloons that fly uptown, along the New York City streets, on Thanksgiving morning to the joy of many, many onlookers who line the sidewalks 15 deep! The balloons are often popular cartoon or book characters, and they are held by trained string operators. Marching bands join the fray, and their ordered lines look fantastic from above.

This year, my brother and his family invited us to watch the parade from their apartment roof, which was a treat. Now that I look at things a bit differently through mini eyes, the whole experience struck me as both amazing and...odd!

On a final note, my sister-in-law and brother are in the garment business, and I could not resist photographing the lovely spools attached to their home sewing machine, by one of their windows.

Credits: Ironing board, iron, flower pot, watering jug, cleaning supplies and basket, and vacuum by Re-ment; clock is Bandai; cabinet, sewing box, table, and chair are vintage German; pillow is by minimodernistas; basket is by Peppercorn Minis; light is AG Minis; folded shirt is a dolls house store find; "rug" is an envelope from the Paper Source.

Re-ment: The ironing board and iron are from Nostalgic Household Goods #8, and are large for 1:12. The flowers and watering jug are from Pure Flower, Pansies, and are slightly large for 1:12.

A Quick Study in Orange

I was walking past my large VERO and the orange patterned curtains in the bedroom popped out at me. I had just received two vintage Bodo Hennig Panton chairs in the mail and thought they might make a match with these retro curtains. In went a new green psychedelic lamp and some accessories to show the contrast of a sunny inside to a cloudy outside :)

Credits: Chairs and table are vintage Bodo Hennig; credenza and couch are vintage German; stools are vintage Lundby; plant is vintage TOMY; boots, umbrella, bowl, and crate are Re-ment; table lamp is an eBay find. Accessories are Re-ment, AG Minis, LiLu on Etsy, and Manor House Miniatures.

Re-ment: The crate and rain boots are from Storage Beauty # 9, and they are large for 1:12. The umbrella and change purse on the credenza are from Oriental Season "Spring," and are good for 1:12. The yellow bowl is from Grandmother's European Dinners #7, and is large for 1:12.

Fall in the Large VERO

The trees in their fall glory and a full moon inspired me pull together a quick autumnal scene in my large VERO. When I last worked in the house, I shared its new wallpapers, but upstairs. So, downstairs we go into a kitchen/living area.

See those lovely glass pieces? These were custom made by artisan and teacher Nancy Tobey. Aren't they stunning??? Nancy wrote to me about how she was inspired to create work in 1:12 or smaller scale for her new Keystone dolls house, and wanted to share with me some of her first pieces. These are truly gems...you may be on to something, Nancy.

By the way, if you are like me and are always on the lookout for nice retro or modern wallpapers, please check out this new resource, Doll House Retro Mania, run by Madeleine. Justin A., whose house you project you may have seen on Modern Mini Houses, clued me into Madeleine's treasures (thanks, Justin!). She has a wealth of designs, for both 1:12 and 1:16 scale, and also offers flooring, rugs, and wall art. Here's some of my favorite wallpapers:

And here's some great 50s flooring!

Sign me up!!!

Credits: Living room: couch (VERO), chair (VERO), clock, bookcase, lamp, sideboard, and leaves in vase are all vintage German; boomerang table is by Paris Renfroe; glass vases by Nancy Tobey. Kitchen: table is vintage Bodo Hennig; lucite chairs are eBay finds; MCM shelf is by Paris Renfroe; copper pot and small side table are Re-ment; logs are from Michaels; cat and hanging lamp are Playmobil; cat dish is a dolls house store find; rug is by Peppercorn Minis; flower vase is vintage German; glass piece on table is by Nancy Tobey. Accessories are Re-ment, AG Minis, Manor House Miniatures, Barbie by Jonathan Adler, and random doll house store finds.

Re-ment: I have written about the Re-ment in this scene with some exceptions. The apples in the glass bowl are from Grandma's European Dinners #1, and are slightly large for 1:12. The copper pot and canned jam on the bottom shelf are also from Grandma's European Dinners, but from # 7. The copper pot is large for 1:12, and the jam is good for 1:12. The blue jug on the top shelf is from Megahouse Pop 'n Kitchen #4, and is a bit large for 1:12. The two blue sugar and flour canisters are from Kawaii Kitchen #7, and are a bit large for 1:12. The blue biscuit package on the top shelf is from Black Cat Italian Restaurant #8, and is good for 1:12. The blue fish-shaped dish on the second shelf is also from Black Cat Italian Restaurant, but from #4 and is good for 1:12.

Large VERO Wallpapers

One little scrape was all it took to let my curiosity get the better of me...my large VERO has been apart these past few months, patiently sustaining the workings of my paint stripper as I attempted to reveal its original papers. I am pleased with the results, but not without a fight on my part!

First, a refresher...here is what the house (and its wallpapers) looked like when it arrived from Germany last year:

The previous owner did some lovely restoring of the house, but I did not care for the flowered and somewhat plain cream papers. I scraped off a corner in the upstairs bedroom and then never looked back. I could see the original papers underneath and wanted to see if I might be able to repair them.

Here's what I found in the bedroom:

Nice, right? I carefully scraped off the new papers and then used an eraser to reduce the appearance of some of the darker smudges. The partition wall papers are in great shape and needed no repair, which was great.

The papers in the bathroom were unfortunately very damaged, as you can see:

I debated for a very long time what to do and tried a few different things, including scanning the green tile paper and trying some hexagonal tile paper. Neither worked. Then, I decided to use some of the vintage 1:1 papers I bought a few months ago (and blogged about here), and I think they work.

What do you think?

The papers in the kitchen downstairs were too damaged to keep on one side; the partition wall was salvageable:

So, I used some of those great scans from Annina's VERO for one wall there, and also used it for the other side of the partition wall, which was also too damaged as you can see:

Now covered!

The other living room wall is pretty beat up, but I could not bear to cover it. I carefully scraped on and off for a few weeks and decided to keep it with its rips and other scars. You can see the before and after here:

I am happy to have my little gem shining a bit brighter!

Credits: Bedroom furniture is a vintage German set that came with this house, and the clock is also vintage German, but purchased separately; the plant in the corner is vintage TOMY. The bathroom sink is an eBay find; the bath is a dish from Crate and Barrel (the tap in the tub is actually a funnel from the "Mike the Mechanic" set by Mighty World); the shelving unit is by Paris Renfroe; chair is vintage Petite Princess; side table is AG Minis; cowhide rug and book on table are handmade by Oese; white wooden rug is from a window treatment card sample from Lowe's; plant is vintage TOMY; light is vintage Lundby. Accessories are AG Minis, Tynies, Re-ment, made by me, Playmobil, Manor House Miniatures, and from France.

Welcome Home

Nothing like a new set of doors to call a place home! My large VERO, while in lovely restored condition when I received it from Germany earlier this year, was missing the original front doors. I emailed the very talented Elizabeth Le Pla of Elf Miniatures and she agreed to make custom doors based on a picture of the original.

The original:

And Elizabeth's custom pieces to recreate them -- the threshold is first to go in...

Then the left side filler piece, since the door frame is uneven (some creative holding of the glue bond)

Followed by the top bar and doors (kids' blocks come in handy!) and then the right side filler piece, also requiring sanding and fitting.

Done!

Thanks, Elizabeth! They look great and your directions were superb, even for a carpentry-challenged gal like me. I truly hope I did not get anything wrong.

Now that the doors are in, I want to turn my attention to the wallpaper on the second floor of the house; a reminder:

The previous owner used vintage papers, but the flowers are really not to my taste and do not match the nice original papers on the back wall. I have been looking for new (vintage) replacements for a while, and came across two (perhaps from the 1960s) 1:1- sized papers on US eBay that I think will work very well:

Aren't they great? They are both labeled "Eisenhart," which is a wallpaper company that is still around. I can also put them to use in my other VERO, and perhaps even the Citadel. By the way, I received a very large roll of each, so I might be up for a little swap with someone down the road who might be interested in one (or both) of these lovely papers.

Fitting these doors and thinking about changing the wallpapers reminded me to share this wonderful little book, The Doll Family, which was printed by Wonder Books in 1962. Here are a few pages, which show the family of Erna Meyer dolls packing up to move into their new home. I sure like those glimpses of vintage German furniture, lamps, and plants!

Good night!

Day of a Lifetime

This scene evolved from a moody lounge into one about a dear friend who is taking the leap next week and is getting hitched. She met the man of her dreams and I am so happy for her. And, I am so happy that my husband and I will be on hand for the big day.

Perhaps this captures that moment when she is alone, preparing to dress, contemplating all the good that lies ahead.

How about a close-up of those little chocolates...??!

Credits: Mies van der Rohe daybed by Reac; chairs, sideboard, and plant are vintage German; side table is Lil' Bratz; wooden sculpture, vases on windowsill, and artwork on sideboard are Bozart; pouf is AG Minis; rugs are by Peppercorn Minis; car is by Schuco; lamp is vintage Lundby; box of chocolates, laptop, champagne glass, coffee cup, plant, and black cosmetics box are Re-ment; wedding dress is a scrapbook craft from Michaels; birch painting is a mini original from Gigi Studio.

Re-ment: I have written about the Re-ment in this scene with a few exceptions. The chocolate box is from Elegant Sweets #2 "Chocolate Lovers," and is a bit large for 1:12. The coffee cup is from Megahouse Cafe de Cake, #4, and is a bit large for 1:12. The glass on the windowsill is from Princess Tea Party #3 "You're Invited to a Champagne Party," and is large for 1:12.

The Rest of My New VERO

I have set up the other side of my new VERO as a bedroom and kitchen. I definitely know I will replace the flowered wallpaper -- it just doesn't blend with the original paper on the back wall and is a bit too "plain vanilla" for me. I have been searching for vintage papers and will continue to do so. If you see anything you think would work, drop me an email from my profile page!

Here are some pictures of the bedroom:

The kitchen is here; note on the front door -- I am working with Elizabeth over at Elf Miniatures to fabricate one like the original. I just need to sand down the sides to get the frame even enough so that she can do her magic:

And the whole house:

Speaking of wallpapering, I did more in the Citadel, and decided to focus on the interior wall that runs the height of the house. Here is what it looked like before:

I found some very nice neutral brown and silver papers on UK eBay and pasted them in sections, here:

You see my challenge with the remaining walls on this side of the house -- they were painted (over two layers of paper) in a terra cotta that does not work for me at all. I think I might try for a creme or something that picks up on the silvery gray in the new brown papers. Because I had to paste it in sections, you can see seams, which is not ideal. I am somewhat comforted by the fact that the very large three-section stairwell (now in pieces, needing repair) will join to this wall, so I think it will conceal the flaws.

Credits: Bedroom set is vintage German and came with the house; coverlet is Bozart; pillow is handmade by Tarkus; red lamps are vintage German; hexagon rugs are by Peppercorn Minis (thanks, Glenda!); Eames chair and ottoman are Reac; dress form is by Manor House Miniatures; kitchen pieces came with my Citadel House; table is vintage Modella; lucite chairs are vintage eBay finds; plant is vintage TOMY; cat is Playmobil City; accessories are Re-ment, AG Minis, eBay, and DRAP in Spain.

Re-ment: I have written about the Re-ment in this scene with a few exceptions. In the kitchen, the coffee pot and box of coffee are from Megahouse Pop 'N Kitchen #7, and are good for 1:12. The gold mirror in the bedroom is from Pretty Placement #10, and is good for 1:12.

My New (Old) VERO

I still remember the feeling of coming down into my kitchen on the morning of my fifth birthday and seeing a brand new white dolls house with pink trim sitting on the table as a surprise. I rubbed my eyes, clapped, and jumped up and down in my yellow nightgown. Isn't it funny how we recall the small details of what were such monumental events in our childhood?

Well, perhaps that same memory surfaced when I saw this VERO house on German eBay last month. Unlike my other VERO, this large house came disassembled (as is intentional - it is called "das zerlegbare puppenhaus," or collapsible/able to be taken apart dolls house) and is oriented more traditionally at 1:10 scale. You can see a picture of it here on the puppenhausmuseum website; it is from 1966 and is identified as VERO via a marking in the wonderful green "stained glass" window upstairs, in the picture above.

Here is the front. The doors are unfortunately missing, but it is my intent to try to get them fabricated.

The lovely owner restored the house with love and care, and packaged it extremely well for its long journey from Germany. It is in wonderful condition and retains the original floor coverings and some wallpapers. She replaced some of the papers; at some point, I might re-do the flowered paper as it is not completely to my liking.

The living room scene features some furniture that came from the seller with the house, and they are lovely complements to the flowers in the large window. I am pleased that the window has no tears and is in excellent condition.

Very sleepy = I'll post on the other rooms soon!

Credits: Couch, chairs and credenza are vintage VERO; coffee table is by Paris Renfroe; lamp is vintage German; sink is an eBay find; tub is a soap dish; and toilet is IKEA. Accessories are Re-ment, Bodo Hennig, Bozart, MAR Toys, and Mighty World.