Granny and Granddad find a cozy home

Granny and Granddad have decided to downsize and they have just discovered the perfect house.

"Isn't it lovely dear?" Granny says "I just love the garden. It looks nice, but won't need much maintenance."

"If you like it Sugarplum, I am happy to live here." Granddad has learned over the years that life is good when Granny is happy.

With the furniture in place, they get settled in and Granny puts on the tea.

While the kettle boils Granny brings out the final touch for their cozy new home.

"What's that thing?" Says Granddad

"Dear, this is the sampler I made years ago when we were first married. You know that. Don't you think it would look lovely on that wall?"

Granddad realizes that he won't be able to watch the telly until he hangs the sampler so he goes for the ladder.

"How does it look here?" he asks.

"Very nice. Now you be careful on that ladder."

"Woah ...."

"What's that dear?"

"Yowwww ... oh, no!!"

CRASH! KABOOMB!!

"Oh no! Are you all right. Oh my dear, you could have damaged our new home, or my precious sampler!"

"My, but the sampler does look lovely dear. Thank you for helping me hang it. How is your tea?"

"It could use a shot of gin." Granddad mumbles.

"What's that, dear? Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, my Sugarplum. I am very comfortable now." answers Granddad.

He is happy that he can now see the telly and that his sore leg will prevent him from doing any more chores.

Come visit again sometime.

Hugs,

Susan

My 'New' House

My 'new' house arrived from England last weekend thanks to Carol and her daughter. It is the same scale as my Rich / Keystone look-alike - 3/4" or 1/16. I think Lundby is the same scale.

The door and walls are made of fibreboard, I believe.

I am very excited to have it. It is almost identical to the Tudor house, dated 1966, on page 56 (upper left) of Dian Zillner/Patty Cooper's Antique and Collectible Dollhouses and Their Furnishings.

The main differences are as follows:

My house has a red chimney (white on the Tudor) and burgundy window frames (green on the Tudor).
The door on my house looks exactly like the windows. The Tudor house has a white door with an oval window. The Tudor house lower floor looks as if it comes out from the front about an inch and doesn't have the indented area where the front door is. The slot over the front window once had a canopy.

The painted foliage in mine is more green and verdant than the one in the book. My tree has red fruit in it.

There is a label on the front porch of my house. According to Zillner/Cooper the house in their book is labeled (they don't say whether it's a Tudor or GeeBee label). Apparently Tudor sold their houses under the GeeBee label from 1946 to 1978.

They also say that the house in their book is plain inside, but as you can see from the pictures below, mine has one end of the bedroom papered and the entire back wall of the downstairs. Perhaps there was paper on the other walls once. I don't know.

Carol included the following furniture with the house. I am sure many of you will recognize some, or all, of it. I think there is some Lundby/Barton/Caroline's home. i am not sure what the wooden bedroom suite is, but I know the bathroom is Kleeware.

If you know anything about this house or the furniture please leave a comment.

Hugs,
Susan

100 Followers

Marleen (marleen's miniaturen) is my 100th follower!

I welcome Marleen and the other 99 followers. I am so happy to have you here. I find this blog community so wonderful!

There is always something to learn, to share, to read and to laugh about. I love you all. Keep reading my blog and I will keep reading yours.

Here's to the next 100 mini lovers.

Hugs,

Susan

If one inlaid table is good, two must be better

I found another inlaid box and a different set of chopsticks, so I decided to make another table.

See my first table here.

The chopsticks have a pattern that looks like inlay on them, so it seemed a natural match.

As with my previous table, I removed the box top from it's hinge, cut the chopsticks to the appropriate length and glued them on.

Here is the finished table with the Reac Macintosh chairs. Don't you think it makes a great card table?

It's wedding day in mini-doll-land.

The lovely young bride is a vision in white with green accents. She does look a little overwhelmed by it all.

The groom is very dapper in his wedding clothes, boutonniere and top hat. It looks like he has lost half of his bow tie, but he still seems very happy.

I found this wonderful couple at the St. Lawrence Antique Market last Sunday. They are approximately 2 inches tall (minus the top hat) and made of composition (including the top hat). They are jointed at the hips and shoulders. Their faces are painted

The grooms suit is felt. The white shirt and bride's gown appear to be nylon.

I find the groom a little scary. I keep calling them Chucky and Bride of Chucky.

Chucky is so proud to show his young bride their new home.

"It's all ours, my dear." he brags while she trys the couch.

"Oh Chucky, it's wonderful!" she says. "However did you manage to do this?"

Chucky is pleased. He looks around proudly. Seriously, the last picture is just to show you the molded curls on the back of his head.


I will have to see if I can come up with more adventures in newly-wed land.

Leave me a comment if you know anything about these dolls.

Hugs,

Susan

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