All change!

(Apologies to anyone who reads all my blogs as this appears (with minor changes) in them all)


I have just spent the best part of today re-jigging all my photo albums for my Blogs .  It was prompted by Google telling me I was running out of room.  This led to having a grand sort out.  On the one hand it was great to have all the new (purchased!) room, on the other hand it was a load of work re-assembling various folders to share with you.  Whatever web album storage I look at, it never seems to do what I want it to do, which is simply to replicate my photo collection as it is in my computer.  The major problem is (with Google web albums and others) that I can't nest folders within folders as I would like to and I end up with a bunch of small folders all jostling for position.  I then have to rename them all so that they will clump together in some logical way.  For example all the albums to do with any of my miniatures need to start with the same word, so they've become  - yup! - Minis.  This doesn't make files particularly simple to construct and probably not that easy to find.  I promise I have done my best with a duff system.

The re-jig means that any blog prior to this date which has a link to an album will be defunct.  I am sorry for that but it would have always been so at some stage.  I was already having to remove the older albums to make room for the new ones.  Hopefully, with all the extra space I now have, the future links will last a lot longer.  

On the whole it will be fine.  When I write a post and create a new album or add photos to an existing one I will give you the link.  You won't have to go hunting and searching for it.  Additionally, if at any time you are visiting  the blog and just want to find something not being written about you can click on the link in the right-hand column labelled  All albums  and that's where you will end up.  When you get there if you click on the drop down arrow of the 'Sort By' option where it says Album Date you can select Album Title instead.  That puts them all in alphabetical order (obviously!) and should make it much easier to find what you want.  The first clump of albums is Clavering then a bunch of Garden albums then a mass of Minis.

Happy wanderings.

California dreamin'

I left you at the end of October bemoaning the fact I would have nothing to share for the next five months.  Not so it seems....

On the sixth we took off for a trip down the West Coast from San Francisco to San Diego.  This was a treat for my birthday organised by my other half.  If you are interested in the tour itself that will appear in Clavering.  There will also be a couple of small posts in Chocolat and Starfish Cottage as I bought a couple of things for them but the main chatter about the shops and museum we visited is here in Bentleys. 

Friday 9th November 

We arrived in Sacramento and visited a doll's house shop called The Elegant Dollhouse.  This was run by what I am finding is the usual lady of a certain age who has been there for years and is sharing her own passion for the hobby as much as running a business.  I  spent a reasonable amount of time in there and was reminded how much difference there can be between American and English dolls houses and their 'fillings'.  In her thousands of items I couldn't find anything on my list of Bentleys' needs. I only managed to spend twelve bucks and some change and nothing for Bentleys. 

I bought another paper project - roses - so I have something to do here, assuming we ever manage to settle back in this year.
The other couple of things were for the other two projects.


Saturday 10th November
We set off again on our lovely coastal drive towards Carmel stopping off in a great little town called Pacific Grove (Monterey Bay).  It was filled with lovely little artisan type shops.... Our destination... Number 213 Forest Avenue was what seemed like the only closed store on the street!!  We are pretty resigned to looking up dolls shops on the web then driving there only to discover they don't exist any more, so it wasn't a huge surprise. We really must try ringing them before setting off.  We keep saying that.

We got to the main event of the day -  Smallsea Museum but dangled the satisfaction a little longer by having lunch first in the adjacent restaurant (serendipity).  Smallsea is located in a great mall called The Barnyard in Carmel.  It is full of interesting small shops (and restaurants!) in a pretty layout of different Barn style buildings with not a generic store in sight.  The museum was just such a joy and was the highlight of this trip. the chocolate shop was pretty good too.

The collection is described as A Metropolis in Miniature and is the creation of Diane and Howard Birnberg.  They build the structures and collect fine miniatures from all over the world.

Diane Birnberg was utterly charming and spent a lot of time talking to us about her passion. For those of you who already know this gem of a museum, they are currently working on a couple of huge new projects.  They will also be moving the entire Metropolis to larger premises next year.

On of the projects is to put (I think she said) three of their smaller shops into a large store setting.  The other big project which has been in the pipeline for some years is a two-wing museum (for English readers this means Art Gallery).  Diane said she has been collecting hand painted miniatures (and a piece of sculpture) for five years ready to begin.  I hope I will be able to return to Carmel some time, maybe when this is finished, to see this all again.

I have more than a hundred photographs from Smallsea and that's after editing out as much as I could bear to part with. This has led me to realise I really do have to do something about getting Cloud storage for my computer.  I hope to sort that in the next week or so and I'll let you know where you will be able to find these pictures and all the rest of my mini stuff albums.  It has proved nigh on impossible to choose examples to post here.  Just to give you an idea of the scale of this museum they have over a thousand figures in their various settings.  The figures are all just wonderful in themselves but the quality of the buildings and settings and the care which has gone into the selection of the thousands of items which make up Smallsea is just mind-blowing.  This is more than a full-time job, it is a life.

Monday 12th November 

We had a bit of a panic moment this morning when we realised Monday was part of the Veterans Day weekend which is a holiday for a lot of people.  We wondered if the two shops Ken had planned for today would be open.  (Always assuming they were still there)  Luckily the gods were smiling on me on my birthday.  Our first port of call on a blue sun-shiny day was Lariann'es Small Wonders in Ventura.  

This was such an incredible dolls house shop.  There were so many beautiful things to look at it was exactly the equivalent of going to a major doll's house and miniatures show.  I spent over two hours in there and could, in all seriousness, have spent the whole day.  Much of their stuff is beyond my budget but it was a joy to look at it all and dream and get ideas and find the occasional item to buy.  My daughter had sent me dollars for minis for my birthday so it was even better!  I ended up with several bits and pieces for sixty bucks.  The joy of having gift money is that it allows me to buy something like Dale R Kendall's lovely laser cut doilies which the rest of the time I just tell myself is frivolous.  I have wanted them since I started this game and now I own some. (a picture of these will be in Chocolat as they are for that project).  

For Bentleys I bought a lovely Bespaq book holder which I will be using for a potted plant stand.  It looks very clunky in this photo - no idea why - I promise you it is very fine in an Arts and Crafts way.  The hot water bottle and probably the basket are also for Bentleys.  The lock and hasp are for Starfish cottage.

The staff were incredibly helpful and nice.  Even kinder, when I got back to Naples I discovered I had been charged the full price for my book holder.  It was from a 50% off shelf and marked accordingly on the bottom which obviously the lady hadn't noticed.  I emailed them and they immediately emailed me to say they would send a cheque for the difference.  This is a shop worth travelling half way across the planet for.  Certainly one to go to if you are anywhere within range at any time.

Back in the car and we were off to My Doll's House in Torrance.  This was another really interesting shop.  It was very much a family business staffed by mother and son when we were in there, both of whom had a real love of dolls houses.  

The son kindly gave us a lot of his time and was really interesting to talk to.  He showed us several absolutely wonderful houses made by various people and their equally lovely contents.  

My particular passion was for a room box made (I think) by his grandfather.  It was fashioned from a leaf of their dining table and was  breathtaking in its simplicity and beauty.  The wood was perfectly cut and polished. A really, really beautiful piece of work.  I so hope that it will go on and on being loved and cared for.

I also hope this birthday doll housing becomes an annual event!

If this post has whet your appetite  for more pictures don't forget to come back next week by which time I hope to have sorted out a place to store all my dolls house photos. 

Hiatus

Would you believe this is me in my Florida clothes?

Hiatus as in pause not as in hernia;  though right now it feels like the latter.

I am now ensconced in Florida for the winter, with the exception of a small break back in the UK for Christmas.  I have been parted from Bentleys; it really was too large for the suitcase.  I have brought some small paper and Fimo projects to have a go at some time over here, but right now (day two) I can't imagine ever getting round to them.  It is strange being removed from my desk and stuff and, of course, Bentleys itself.  I will do my best to escape the lack-of-a-doll- house doldrums soon and have a go at something so that I can keep in touch via the this Blog.

Basically this post is to say that posts may be a bit thin on the ground for the next few months but I will do my very best to find things to share to keep us ticking over until I can return to the mini fray next April. So, please stick with me, I will be back.

Identity theft

Poor old Ellen has become Molly and Molly (this picture) is now Ellen.  No good asking me why they just seemed to be the wrong characters for the characters, if you see what I mean. 

Any way - here's (the new) Ellen going through her accounts in the workroom.  Molly is now stuck in the shop with Mrs Singer .

Anyone who is as cracked as me and wants to know the story of Bentleys can find it in the links at the top of the Blog.  There is all kinds of stuff there including what is happening (in each room) on this day - Wednesday 11th October 1911.  For anyone who has already been there - you might want to take another dip as I keep messing around with it.... the latest body swap being a good example.

Light box

My camera is a very basic Sony point and shoot and needs all the help it can get.  I promise you it isn't me - I can take photos OK given the right tools.

I get fed up with its inability to deal with uneven light levels and camera wobble - all of which its advertising bumf claims it does brilliantly. Maybe I am pickier than their average customer.  Any way I decided a small tripod (borrowed from him indoors) and a light box might help.

This is an obvious bit of construction if you want to try it and costs next to nothing.  Take one cardboard box: cut out the  top and two sides, leaving roughly an inch frame all round each hole, cover the holes with baking parchment to filter the light a little.  This particular parchment may be too dense.  White tissue paper would probably do better.  I now need three lamps all exactly the same.  I tried jiggling around with two lamps but their lights are totally different and they keep fighting with each other and producing masses of shadows.  I did end up using the best light as a single spotlight.  It is standing on a couple of boxes to gain enough height behind the light box.  Even as basic a set up as that gave better results than just taking photographs of stuff balanced on desks, windowsills and beds trying to catch the best light in the room.

I did have 37 to do as I am taking bits and bobs to EBay in America so I really noticed the difference.  I might just invest in three lamps if I can find some really, really cheap ones.  

Workroom boxes

It seems the main characters in my projects are, somehow, my alter ego.  A bit worrying?  Ellen, therefore, is super-organised. Not for her a chaotic workroom..... a place for everything and everything in its place.

Here's the wood I bought on Sunday converted into boxes on Monday.

This is the old counter which she uses in the workroom for all sorts of things and it needs to be kept as clutter free as possible.

The boxes in the counter were simply made by cutting five pieces of wood and gluing them together.  At this thinness they can be easily cut with a craft knife.

I rounded off the edges with 200 grade sandpaper and gave them a couple of coats of the 'shed' paint and a final rub down with wire wool. You might know the top row of cubby holes in the counter were slightly larger than the bottom ones, so I had to figure out two sets of dimensions.  The labels were just printed on my computer using a small setting.   Ellen had to make them using cardboard and a steady hand with pen and Indian Ink.

The box beside the counter with the rolls of fabric was made in the same way.  This time I painted it with one coat of a mix of green acrylic paint and water-based matt varnish.  I then added a bit of brown and went over it again while it was still wet.  I wanted it to end up looking like mucky old wood.  Looks OK to me.

The rolls of fabric are made from chopped up bamboo BBQ skewers and strips of three inch (36 inch wide dressmaker's) fabric.  I put small spots of glue here and there as I rolled them up to keep them in place.  I am sure you could do it by pre-soaking in spray starch or hair spray, but this was easier, dries faster and doesn't show.  I gently coated the tops of the fabric edges with a little glue so no stray threads give the game away.  The top edges look like proper selvedges.

The wall unit above the counter was originally in my Wentworth bathroom.  I had already added a towel rail under it that I had to pry off.  Super-glue works really well sometimes!  I then made four cardboard rolls to go on the rail.  These are a straightforward construction of rolled paper for the tube centre and two discs with a hole in the centre for each end.  Sounds easy,  but they were very fiddly.  If you were making these in any number, or if you are already a crafter with paper tools, any cutter which would do the two circles would be a joy.  I bodged away with embroidery scissors.  I then rolled on dental floss (!) for string, half of some white bias binding for some broad bias fabric which would be used in all kinds of ways when making hats and in dressmaking and two stiff tapes that I have that look a bit like buckram.  Again, all these were rolled on using spots of glue to keep them in place.  

The storage boxes on the shelves are made from a small basket printie.  I made them in paper and painted them with matt varnish to strengthen and finish them.  I added labels like before.  The shelves also have a basket of leather strips used for belts and trimming.  Yes, they are real leather.  There are some squares which look like felt made out of a glass cleaning cloth.  I attached a hook and scissors for good measure and  I will add a couple of tins or boxes or glass jars to fill the odd spaces at some time.

Another reason for having this storage was so that I didn't have to buy masses and masses of haberdashery stuff.  I might buy a few things and pad out the boxes in some way and add a couple of things to the top of them so they look as though they contain what they should.  I don't know how you can tell they are empty, but I think you can.  It is slightly less obvious now they are in situ at the back of the room.

This photo was taken in my half-finished light box.... that's a post for another time.

PMP Fair, 14th October, Pinewood Hotel.

On Sunday we went to a dolls house fair in Manchester (Handforth), which was a great location for us as it was only about forty minutes away.  

It was a fairly small fair, but all the stalls were good ones and there was something to look at on each of them.  Admittedly I only spent about an hour there: I am so picky now about what I do and don't want that I am not a good example of how much most people could get out of it.

I bought a handful of things and spent under a tenner in total.  It cost us more in petrol and the £2.80 a cup hotel coffee than I spent at the show.  Incidentally - for future reference - there was free tea and coffee at the fair.  As my other half reminded me - it isn't about balancing the books it is for the pleasure of  'mooching' around little things.  Also, I really like the few things I bought, so I came home a happy bunny.

I even managed to remember to get a business card with each purchase, so I would know what I bought from where.

I thought all these three from Matlock Miniatures were really finely made and fantastic value.  The stools were £1.50 each and the (milk) jug was £1.25.  The jug is already nestled nicely in Bentleys.  It is on my food cupboard's marble top and is covered with a crocheted (beaded) food cover.

The stools could be used in Bentleys but they are being saved for Chocolat or even Starfish.

This was a truly fortuitous find.  There weren't any stalls selling 'construction' stuff.   One or two had a few bits and pieces of trim.  Luckily one stall - Loverseeds - had a few pieces of wood.  

I had started making some boxes for the shop on Saturday and had run out of wood and was hoping I could get some at the fair.  Hey Presto, just what I wanted and at a good price (?).

These two pieces are 1/16th thick, 3''wide x 18''long.  I'll show you the boxes I made from them in my next post.

Another example of my magpie trait is my inability to resist ribbons and fabric.  I easily convince myself they will prove really useful.  We'll see.  

Why bother to wrestle your conscience when they come at these prices.  The ribbons were 3 bags for 50p and the bag of two kinds of fabric and lace and ribbon was £1.25.

These were from Pan Miniatures.

Last, but not least, I bought a really tiny magnifying glass.  They are usually way out of proportion, even allowing for people having large  magnifiers, so I was pleased to see this one for £1.49.

I didn't buy it broken, I managed to do that myself!  Using the micrometer bit of my brain I decided it was just a smidgen bent so I thought I'd just straighten it....  mmm....

Luckily - using a magnifying glass! - I super-glued it back together successfully and I will have a word with the residents of Starfish to treat it gently.

This came from Platts Mini Packages.  If you don't get to any fairs you may not know them.  They have literally thousands of all sorts of packages covering a wide span of history.  Certainly enough choice to go at for stocking a kitchen or a shop.  You can find them on-line.