Well on the way now and some newly made miniature bags.

Yesterday I really progressed with my doll house and put the window settings in the roof. I am still not sure about the plastic windows that came with the dollhouse so I have blu tacked them into place to live with them for a while to see how I feel after a few days

In the meantime I have not been idle and made some new bags 

I love making bags!

Building my house update

Well work is proceeding on my dollhouse. The first problem I had after I had put together the basic carcass was my youngest granddaughters little fingers and hands. My temporary solution to that was to make some keep out signs and tapes to put across the front and it worked. I told her that the fairies, she believes I am best friends with fairies, put up the tapes as warnings.

However since then I have decided to work on the front of the house as that will be a more secure barrier. I have made up the front doors although I have not attached them to the house yet as it will be easier to work on the inside if I can remove them. I have finished the lower floors and am working on the window frames for the attic. A little difficult as I have to curve to roofs of the attic windows and it is not the easiest thing to do but getting there.

 

The actual windows in the kit are plastic and I am not sure that I like them very much so I am trying to decide on whether to make the windows out of strip wood, probably will.

In the meantime I have bought hundreds of wooden lolly stick which I am going to cut the curved ends off and then use them as floorboards, I think it will work.Let you know.

I have started my dollhouse

Yesterday and today I have really cracked on with my dollhouse. The basic carcass is glued together and I have begun to paint and decorate the rooms before I finish putting it together as it is more accessible that way. I am really determined to keep doing a bit every day to get the assembling done so that I can start the exciting job of fitting out the house. Keep watching!

Capes

Today I at last finished the two fur capes I have been making, one short and one long. I do like the short one but to be honest the fine fur fabric I have used on the long one is so beautiful, soft and hangs wonderfully. I think I will be making a short one in the finer fur fabric. I just think it will be nicer. Still you never know how things are going yo work out until you try and I think I will probably used the longer pile fabric for something different. Maybe a fur rug would be nice and it would work fine as that. I do like the short one but it just hasn't turned out quite as I wanted

I am in print!

Just seen the May issue of The Dolls House Magazine with the article about me and my hats. I am really happy and feel very honoured to have this recognition.  It is one of the nicest things about what I do that so many lovely people around the world buy and like my little makes and the feedback I get back from them is always lovely. On top of that I now have contact with some lovely people all over the world who I consider my friends. It is only due to all those lovely people that I have kept going and therefore made this come about so thanks to all of you and I will just keep making!

My new embroidered dress

Today I have just finished part of a big project of a special dress.  I decided some time ago that I would like to make a really different dress with a long train probably for a wedding, so I began work on embroidering around the skirt first and at last I have finished that part of the dress. As you can see the embroidery is very tiny and there is a lot of it . Next to do is the bodice so more embroidery

                 

My big project

Well it is about time that after 2 years of it sitting around in pieces I started work on my dollhouse so yesterday I got all the pieces out and piled them on my dining room table, everyone will have to eat on their laps for a while. I have taken stock of what there is to do and what bits and pieces I need next. 

I want to concentrate on the kitchen first so bought the doors I wanted. They have arrived and wouldn't you know it they are too tall, assumed that they would be right so before I get around to putting anything together I have to make all the door openings larger, not difficult but a nuisance, anyway just so pleased I found this out before I put everything together. So that will be my task for the weekend and the hopefully all go. Will keep you updated

This is what I am faced with Keep looking in to see how I go!

My Easter decision

I decided over Easter that my beautiful dollhouse and all the lovely things I have bought for it and the many things I have made have been sitting around for long enough and so I am determined to start work on the house.

The first thing I am going to do is put the house together. I might change the windows from the kit ones to working ones but will see what I think when I have it all together.

The kitchen will be my first room, I have lots of ideas of how it will look. I am going to make a pantry area so have purchased a door which I will leave open so that the contents on the larder shelves will be easily visible.

I am really excited that at last all the pieces of the house will be put together, I cannot believe that I have left it in pieces for two years.

In the meantime I have been thinking that I want lots of vases of flowers all over the house and that is a lot of flowers as there are 8 rooms all pretty big and that is without the hall and two large landings. Anyway I therefore decided to start making some roses. I got some copier paper then dyed it with Rit dye and when it was dry cut out loads of petals which I then shaped into cups and from them I assembled the roses. Just got to sort out the stems and leafs now!

Hello

Things have been difficult this year so far health wise but seem to be coming to the end of the problems or at least got things under control, I hope!

Have made a few new hats and even a dress but plan to get much busier all being well

Here are a couple of hats and a bonnet I have just finished

Two pretty hats and a bridal bonnet

It is ages since I wrote anything on my blog, I have been rather unwell and am still having days of feeling awful but to compensate for all of that have had some great news! A lovely lady from the magazine Dolls House World has asked me if they can do a 2 page spread about me and my hats. How exciting is that!. I have been busy trying to get together some of my favorite hats and bonnets to photograph for the article and these are some I have decided on

                       

Add caption

 

I am so excited about this and feel very honored indeed. I will have to wait for some months before the issue of the magazine is published but it will be something great to look forward to in the new year.
Adding my page on Pinterest
 http://www.pinterest.com/minimarvels/my-miniature-dollhouse-makes

Today is Friday before a long holiday weekend with Monday Bank Holiday so no excuse for not getting my creative thinking cap on for some new designs. I really fancy designing some new bonnets and dresses but I am also busy doing some miniature knitting which will post when I have finished. In the meantime some more of my recent makes

I love this hat I think it is such pretty colours

and this is its matching bag.

 I would like a real hat like this and somewhere nice to go in it.
Love the bag too!

Hope you like the hats on this post I will be back soon and a happy weekend to everyone.

Today I finished the patchwork Mad Hatters hat. I ironed bondaweb onto different pieces of silk then cut them up into small pieces and them arranged then on some backing fabric. When this was all bonded together I cut out my pattern and then made up the hat. I think it looks as if it is reals patchwork and I am very pleased with it. Again this was my daughters idea to make this so thanks again sweetheart.

It has been ages since I posted anything on here. Life has been up and down but my world of miniatures goes on and keeps me sane!!
Here are some of my newer makes hope you like them.

This is a pretty miniature dress I have made with lots of beautiful soft butter coloured net and pretty delicate ivory lace. I love it .

Someone asked me if I had ever made a Mad Hatters hat.
I decided with the black one that although I like it as it was it was lacking something so I painted a design on the black silk in gold and I do think that it lifts it a little. Also if you look at the Mad Hatters hat in the Johnny Depp film the hat he wears has a very feint design on it which was my inspiration. 

This one I thought that I would make in pink, well in reality my daughter suggested it, thanks hon, so here it is.

These are a few of my 1/12 scale new creations the ones with the pleated brim remind me somewhat of a cottage garden. Don't ask me why!

I love this dress the colours are so pretty and it turned out just as I wanted it to which is not always the case, also it is very difficult sometimes to get fabric that the design is just the right scale and this was perfect.

The black dress is so pretty in real life but I don't think the photo does it decent justice and again, as with the Mad Hatters hat I painted the black silk for the bodice to make it a little more interesting.

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Hangs so nicely too as though it really has some weight in it just like a real dress would.

Due to family matters I have not posted for ages, sorry about that but will now try to keep up with my lovely miniature world.
Wanted to make a more special dress that gave the feel of silk ribbon embroidery and I think I have managed to achieve that in this dress.

I love the colors and the effect I have managed to get

Been having a rough time with health recently so not really done much lately. However been trying to finish a few projects that I have started and not finished before so thought I would post some of the finished items just to prove that I have not been entirely idle.

Firstly some hats that I have been working on and now finished

This is a lovely dollhouse cape that I made out of the most beautiful pink silk and then did some silk ribbon embroidery on. I am very pleased with it

A really beautiful dress that can be used as a wedding dress or as a ballgown I am very pleased with the way this worked out although it took days and days to finish.


Below are two other dresses that I have finished also very pretty.

Today I have finished a new miniature dress. I am really happy with it. The pictures do not really convey how pretty it is

front and back views 

View from side

The dress is made with a beautiful fine ivory silk. The skirt is decorated with tiny silk ribbon bows. At the head of the sleeves is an ivory silk ribbon bow on each finished with a little detail of tiny pearl beads

I have not been on here for a while as I have not been too well but have made a few new bits and pieces

A really pretty 1/12th scale bag

A little 1/12th scale bag covered in tiny pearls

Some new hats