It's nice to have hired help.

With the nurse upstairs in the nursery taking care of the children, Mom & Dad are free to sit in the living room and enjoy a nice bottle of wine. As much and as often as they like.

Mom: "Honey, my glass is empty."

Dad: "How about that? Mine is too."

Mom: "Well, pour us another glass."

Dad: "Huh?"

Mom: "From the carafe"

Dad: "Where!? Where's the giraffe? No, Honey, those aren't giraffes. Those are our dogs."

Mom: "Never mind, dear. I think we've had enough for tonight."

Come back and visit again sometime,
Hugs,
Susan

Another dollhouse, another nursery

My $5.00 house is furnished with lovely Strombecker furniture and a vintage Caco family lives there. I had a lot of fun wallpapering the house, but I never did get the attic finished. I had been using it for storage until last week when I acquired a pink bedroom set.

Now the Caco nurse, sister and little brother and the baby have their own room. I used a couple of strombecker chairs, tables and desk to make it comfortable for the nurse.

I added the crawling baby on the paper carpet because he just looks too cute. And of course the kids have their dogs with them too.

I have been buying old issues of Architectural Digest at the thrift stores to use for inspiration for dollhouse decorating. They usually have one or two pages advertising oriental carpets with full pictures of the carpet. The carpet shown here is one of them.

I've been wondering if I can scan them in and then print them out on fabric. Does anyone know how to do this? Or where to get the fabric for the printer? I haven't researched it, but it sounds like a great idea. Please leave me comments if you have done this.

Hugs,

Susan

Rich / Keystone look-alike

When I first caught Dollhouse Fever I bought this little dollhouse on eBay. I didn't know anything about it other than it was cute. The decor is right on the walls and the carpets painted or silk screened on the floors much like the tin houses.

Thanks to Florine (My Vintage Dollhouses and other treasures), I know that similar houses are attributed to the Deluxe Game Corp and sold by Sears in the mid 1940's. It has a lot of charm.

I have had it for about a year now, but didn't have it on display since I had no furniture that worked with it. So it sat in a bedroom neglected, until . . .

. . . recently I won another eBay auction and my problem was solved. I thought I was ordering 1 foot to 1 inch Strombecker- type furniture, but when it arrived it was much smaller. Eureka! it is perfect for my little house. Here are all six rooms, very stylishly furnished.

Notice the pink curtained window in the left top bedroom. It came with the lot and is made from the same fabric as the bedspread. The window it is on is cardboard. Sooo cute.

Don't you just love the mirrored cabinet in the front hall? It is so elegant and deco. It is a Nancy Forbes piece from the late 1940's (Thanks, Florine). Maybe I will eventually find more hall furniture, but for now I think it looks just right. The bathroom is very deco too. There is a better picture of it further down.

The living room is also very deco with the flocked couch and chair and the lovely rounded side tables. The lamps, bowl, vase and radio came with the lot. Those of you who know will notice that I have the bathroom scale on the end table. I thought it was a clock. I have done a little research since I took the picture and now the scale is in the bathroom.

I always thought that those little squat toilet was very modern, but since I have been researching dollhouses I have discovered that it is a 1930s design. The things you can learn in this hobby.

The lovely pink bedroom is just adorable. I have removed the homemade window so you can see the room as it should be. I didn't get any kitchen furniture with the lot, so I moved the dining table and two chairs into the kitchen. The cupboards and appliances painted on the walls will have to do for now.

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The furniture in the second bedroom didn't come with this lot and are not in as good condition. I found the couch, radio and piano at a garage sale. I didn't have a second bedroom set, so I decided to make this room a music room.

Side view of the house. The pillars a a bit wonky, but I don't want to glue or screw them in as that wouldn't be original. I think they just add to the charm. All the windows and doors open. Some of the pieces are taped back on. I will have to deal with that old tape someday, but for now I will just leave it as is.

I hope you enjoyed your journey to the past.

Come back real soon.

Hugs,

Susan

Dolls in the Nursery

Baby Clara has a lot of dolls in her nursery.

The round painted doll was purchased in Sweden recently as a gift for the dollhouse.

The first doll in yellow is a little princess that I got in the 70's. She is so cute. She may become a baby for a family of Erna Meyer dolls, but for now she is a toy in Clara's nursery.

The little doll in the yellow crocheted dress has a rather ugly sequin on the front. I think it must have discolored. A safety pin is crocheted into the doll's panties on the back. I guess one was intended to wear it as a pin. I got her at the antique market with a bunch of other vintage minis. I think she is a wonderful doll's doll.

The two little porcelain dolls are reproductions made from antique molds. I got these in the 70's too.

The little dutch dolls were a garage sale find recently. They were still in their original package which is why they are so clean and mint. They are about two inches tall, hard plastic, with jointed arms.

The last doll in the pink crocheted dress was a thrift shop find. I just love her. She may become a child instead of a doll in a different dollhouse. She is a couple of inches tall. Just right for a toddler.

A quiet afternoon at Green Shutters

Nanny and little Flossie are in the nursery trying to quiet baby Alice. Cook was supposed to bring up some hot milk, but she has not arrived.

Nanny can't leave baby Alice and little Flossie alone while she goes to the kitchen to get the milk.

The baby is becoming inconsolable and now little Flossie is starting to whine.

Nanny is realizing that very soon she will have to bundle the baby up and take little Flossie's hand and negotiate the steep back stairs to the kitchen.

Oh, where is Cook?

It is tea time in the parlour. Bridie has brought the tea tray for Mrs. Green, the twins, Gertie and Gadys, and Mabel, but she doesn't have fresh milk. Cook said she would bring it right up once she had poured some from the pail into a suitable pitcher.

The tea is getting cold and the children are starting to fuss and tease each other.

Where is Cook with the milk?

Oh no! The puppy has knocked over the milk pail. He was chasing the kittens around the kitchen.

The kittens have given up the game in favour of nice fresh milk.

Doesn't Cook see what is happening. Why hasn't she shooed away the animals and cleaned up the milk?

There's Cook. She is in the kitchen after all. But she has forgotten about the milk and she hasn't noticed the naughty puppy or the kittens. She is busy trying to capture the family's fish course for tonight's dinner. It insists on crawling out of the bowl and pinches Cook when she trys to grab it.

Oh dear, what can happen next?

We hope you have enjoyed your visit to the quiet and orderly Green Shutters.

Hugs,

Susan

Mindolton Nursery

Ruby has been working on baby Clara's nursery for some time and has finally decided to show it off.

Ruby is not really satisfied with it. The wallpaper was there when they moved in and Ruby finds it a little boyish. She will change it as soon as she has the rest of Mindolton Manor in order. That's why she hasn't hung the vintage prints, or put up curtains yet.

Little Clara is very spoiled, being the baby of the family, and the room is bursting with dolls and toys. Fortunately, little Clara is too young to know she is spoiled. She just knows she is loved.

Little Clara is the one in the crib. All the other little ones are her dolls. A doll post will be coming soon.

Hugs.

Susan

Who is this?

Can anyone identify this little lady?

I picked her up at the antique market last week. She has such character, I couldn't resist her.

She has a few scrapes and a badly repaired top, but she is still a little charmer.

She is standing in front of my Marx tin house, and is about 4 inches tall. I don't recognizes her from my childhood, but she definitely has a 1960's look.

Let me know if you know her name.

Thanks,

Susan

Kreativ Blogger Award

Linda at Linda's Minis has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. I am pleased she thought to include me and to hear the kind things she has to say about my blog. I have to list seven things I love and then pass the award on to seven Kreativ Bloggers. I have decided to combine the two and list the blogs I love. You lovely bloggers can respond to the criteria of the award if you haven't already been tagged. Here you are in no particular order:

1. Casey's Minis: A favourite blog of this community and of mine, Casey's daily posts are anticipated by all of us. I am never bored in any waiting room now. I just pull up Casey's blog on my blackberry and enjoy Tessie's latest adventures.

2. Dale's Dreams: Dale makes beautiful mini treasures that we can easily acquire through her etsy shop. She also has a twin to one of my vintage dollhouses.

3. Room for Room: or raum fuer raum in German. Oese finds the most wonderful modern furniture and accessories for her little rooms. It is like visiting a mini version of another time and place.

4. Tiny Treasures: Debbie has been through a lot in the last little while. We all waited anxiously for news of her operation from her wonderful son Ben. Now that she is on the road to recovery we are eagerly waiting to hear about her minis, both in doll's houses and horses

5. Marlies en minies: Marlies always has something interesting to share from the Netherlands. I really enjoy her blog and her comments on my blog.

6. Rebecca's Collections: Rebecca is in Australia and collects vintage Erna Meyer dolls and vintage minis. She is happy to share her extensive knowledge and helped me date my Erna Meyers finds,

7. My Vintage Dollhouses and other treasures: This is a newer blog with soooo many wonderful vintage minis. I love the pictures. I can't wait for then next blog entry.

I love all the bloggers I follow but can't list you all here. I enjoy this blogger community so much. Thanks for including me.

Hugs

Susan

Why I love thrift shops

I am in love with my new dining room table, (or games table, or desk - depends where you put it). It is inlaid by hand in lovely colors and has a rich patina to the old wood.

It looks wonderful with the Reac Macintosh chairs, and would suit any house furnished in the last 100 or so years.

I haven't decided yet which dollhouse it will look best in, but plan to try it in several.

I found this lovely inlaid box and these fancy chopsticks at a thrift shop last weekend, and the light bulb went on over my head.

Using a dollhouse dining table as a guide for height, I cut the grooved ends off the chopsticks and sanded them smooth on top. At least I tried to sand them smooth - they are almost smooth. I kept the top of the chopsticks and the bottom of the box for future projects.

I removed the tiny screws from the hinges of the box and glued a leg to each corner of the inlaid top.

I had been itching to use these lovely Reac Macintosh chairs in a dining room and was delighted to see that the colors of the chairs matched the inlaid box top perfectly.

I waited impatiently for the glue to dry - I have a bad habit of picking things up too soon and knocking off the pieces I have glued to them - and set up the new table and chairs in my cardboard Ikea house for a photoshoot.

The carpet is cut from a page in Architectural Digest. I don't know how it would look in on a wood floor, but it looks just fine in the cardboard house.

I am so pleased with myself for finding the box and chopsticks and seeing the potential. Let's all pat Susan on the back ; )

Hugs to all

Susan

Just for fun

I was cleaning up the storage space on my phone this week and downloaded these pictures to my desktop so I could delete them from the phone. Since I haven't had time to take new pictures I thought I would share these, just for fun.

The images are a little off - color and sharpness-wise - but that's what you get when you use your phone. The house is actually all white inside, but the pictures make it look like pastel colors.

Since I took these I have wallpapered the entire dollhouse and put in floors and baseboards, etc. It's a Tennyson I bought from Craigslist. It was beautifully built and finished, and all painted inside.

The picture above is a sitting room on the second floor. I built the fireplace table and chest from House of Miniatures kits. The china cabinet and living room suite are eBay finds. I don't know if you can see the lovely bowls in the china cabinet. They are salt sellers decorated in gold and white. Poke the picture and it will enlarge. All rugs in the house from eBay.

The kitchen below has an eBay find cupboard and the stove that came with the house. The table chairs and dry sink are House of Miniatures kits. The table cloth is a vintage doily and the vegetable basket is a fridge magnet.

The bedroom features a House of Miniatures canopy bed, highboy and bedside table that I made. The bassinet, complete with lovely porcelain baby, and the toy shelf came with the house.

I dragged that bed kit around with me for 30 years before I got around to making it. I moved it from house to house as I moved over the years and never gave myself permission to make it, but that's all changed now.

The bed kit was missing one of the posts, so when I finally got around to making it I used a chopstick cut to the right length. You will be able to see that the bed has one unturned post if you poke the picture. I don't think anyone would notice if I don't point it out.

In the picture below you can see the settee, chair and fireplace that came with the house. The fireplace fan and tools and the sampler on the mantel came with the house too. I built the clock, hanging shelf and table from House of Miniature kits. I dragged that clock kit around for 30 years too.

Here is an overview of the whole house. the furniture in the attic is also from some HofM kits I ordered from eBay. I really enjoy making them. You can see some of my other treasures in the background. I am not sure what is hanging in the hall. I probably should have cropped that out. Oh well.

I will try to post some picture of the house as it looks now with the wall paper, etc. I just never seem to have time to do photo-shoots - even amateur ones.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Hugs

Susan

Mindolton moments

I haven't had time to blog lately, but thought I would share some recent pictures.

Jake and Ruby are welcoming new neighbors to Mindolton. The dogs are excited too, but I am a bit worried that they will start a game of tag and make a shambles of the front hall.

The children are upstairs in the third floor hall. they are tired and cranky, and could do with a nap. They don't seem to be aware of the gathering happening just one floor down.

Marx Colonial Dollhouse #4018

Toronto's Sunday morning St. Lawrence Antique Market is a lovely place to enjoy your first coffee of the day. It is also a wonderful place to find miniature treasures. I was there yesterday and I got this.

A Marx Colonial Dollhouse #4018. This model was sold starting in the early 1950's. I don't know how many years it was on the market. It is all tin and the door doesn't open, the front windows are pierced. I was surprised to get most of the original furniture with it.

What stares I got on the street as I carried it along. Every woman (of my generation) who passed us said, "I had one of those when I was little." I couldn't help but notice that I was the only one crazy enough to buy it.

It has two rooms downstairs - a kitchen and a large living/dining room/front hall, all decorated beautifully for the new bride and her family. I love the avant guard 1950's color scheme inside.

Upstairs everything is bright and new. The nursery is decorated with toy soldiers. The bathroom has cheery towels and shower curtains on the wall. The bedroom has a lovely romantic fireplace and paintings on the walls. It is a very inviting home. Still, I wonder why there is a gun hanging over the living room fireplace. (hmmm.)

The furniture is original, and seems a little small for the house, but it fits perfectly into the painted rooms. The bathtub fits exactly between the shower curtains, the sink fits under the mirror, the sofa sits prettily in front of the hearth rug, and the dressers have their own spaces in the bedroom.

I was lucky to get most of the furniture with the house. I am missing the kitchen table and a couple of chairs, as well as three dining room chairs and a few other pieces, but I am not complaining. I love this little dwelling. I had one very much like it when I was a little girl. Where that one went, I have no idea.

I hope to get more pictures posted soon.



Happy blogging.

Hugs,

Susan