York fair

Quite an age since I last posted, life often gets in the way of doing things we like. However it didn't stop me from going to the December Dolls' House fair in York. As usual there was far too much to tempt us.

We made Christmas roses at the workshop with lovely lady from Ladies Mile Miniatures and the equally lovely Jane Harrop talked some of us through furniture makeovers, some fab tips and she even e-mailed us with some notes afterwards including some on French polishing.

I bought a miniature teddy kit which I plan to make over the next week. He is going to be a bit of a challenge as he is only 1.25 inches tall, yet he has moving limbs. Or he might have, depending on how patient I am with him. More to follow.

 

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Toy theatre in 1/12 scale

I've admired some of fellow miniaturists' toy theatres that they have made and placed in their dolls' houses.

One of the ladies kindly copied the cutouts for the theatre and I made it last week. It features the story of Cinderella.

The theatre includes a curtain screen, and three sets: Cinderella's home, the ballroom, and the castle that she ends up living at with her prince.

The curtain is just about to rise ...

Here, Cinderella is with her ugly sisters with her home as the backdrop.

Cinderella attends the ball with her Prince Charming ...



Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother ...

A view of the rear of the theatre

 

The Swan is complete - but the bar remains unstocked...

My 1/144 scale pub, 'The Swan', is complete. I finished adding the bushes, flower boxes and roof ivy today and I love the result.

It is a challenging scale to work with, and is pretty much a case of following the kit instructions. I found it very difficult to be creative. With 1/12 scale, everyday materials can be used to make thrifty items, and the satisfaction that comes with making something from scratch that looks amazing in scale, and that has negligible cost, is priceless.

Not so with 1/144 scale I found. How can I make glasses, wine bottles or food? Perhaps there is a way. If anyone can help me fill the bar I would be grateful!

The last two photos have a penny displayed to better indicate the scale.

 

144 scale pool tables

I'd been putting off painting the pool balls for the Swan pub. They've been on my 'too hard' pile for months. Given that I'd had my paints out recently for the toy kits, it seemed a good time to give this a bash. I'm now pontificating about pool cues... what to use?!

 

Pull-along dog and duck

The 24 scale dog and 12 scale duck are kits for Jane Harrop. I bought these at York Fair where Jane gave a useful talk on scaling down real life objects using your PC and printer. The kits are easy to understand and detailed enough to satisfy my craving for fiddly projects!

Toy fort

This fort is made from another kit from Aidan Campbell Miniatures. Easy to make within, say, 90 minutes. Great if you like a quick result. I'm thinking now of creating a mini toy shop ...

 

Up to date shop pictures

The shop owner has decided to offer haberdashery as well as fine foods in his store. A sensible move to embrace diversification given the current economic climate... ;) 

 

Dolls' dollhouse

144 scale is so tiny and very challenging for the model maker. This 144 scale house is the equivalent of a 12 scale dolls' dollhouse. It was easy to make as it is simply paper with no parts or accessories, but looks sweet.

144 scale and N gauge items are generally interchangeable. N gauge is used for trains and model airplanes.

 

Goodies from York

The York Dollhouse fair was as splendid as ever. Stalls galore and far too much choice. I've now got my routine set. A full walk around, checking against ranges and prices, followed by a cup of tea in the upper concourse, then shopping...

There is a huge range of items that caters for all pockets. I tend to be fairly low end as I find it hard to justify the cost, plus I love to make things. It's a great place for picking up ideas, as a lot of the items, particularly soft furnishings and food, can be made at home, with a bit of practice.

Today I bought a 24count cross stitch cushion pattern. All the threads, fabric, backing and stuffing are includes, even a needle. I also bought two toy kits, both pull-along animals, one a 12 scale and one a 24 scale. The dog and duck need painting first.

Still on the toy theme, I bought two fab kits from Aidan Campbell miniatures. One is a fort and the other a dollhouse. I can feel a toy shop coming on ...

At the workshop I made a pot of delphiniums. I must admit to not knowing that delphiniums even existed so it was an educational workshop on a number of fronts. To the left of the photo above is a set of tols that are used to shape paper, these work well for flower making.

 

I adore these glasses of lemonade that include lemon slices and straws. And the jug of orange was too cute to walk by. The chair was a bargain at just £2 and the clock is 24 scale for my 1950s house.

 

York doll house fair tomorrow!

Really looking forward to the fair at York Racecourse tomorrow. There will be dozens of exhibitors, some lovely people and hopefully a workshop or two. I'm particularly looking for items and ideas for my new - and so far unbuilt - 24 scale house project. More tomorrow!

Dressmaking... a first!

My nearly non-existent dressmaking skills were put to the test this week. The project at dolls' house club was to create a hanging dress with honeycomb stitching on the chest.

I finished off the dress at home as the stitching took most of the session. I'm quite pleased with it for a first attempt, and may try others.