The winner of the Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse book has been announced! You can find out who it was by going HERE and scrolling down to the end of my original post.
When I did my post about my dollhouse I found many kindred spirits in the miniature collecting world! I asked to share these with my readers. The first one is a miniature greenhouse owned by Shelly in Kentucky....
You can visit her Blog HERE to see her photos and read about it.
Sharon Calvert in Alabama shares the log cabin (below) that her husband made for her. I'll let her tell the story....
In 1987 my husband, Tom, designed and built my 12:1-scale log cabin dollhouse from the ground up. He used ready-made items (roofing shingles, stairs/railings, attic ladder, etc.) and hand-made items (logs, wood flooring, stone fireplace/
flooring). The rocks for the flooring and fireplace were gathered from the shores of Cave Run Lake in Kentucky, and individually ground down and shaped to fit. Wiring for lights is concealed within the walls and beneath the platform, with a toggle switch for electricity or battery; once a light burns out, there will be no replacing it!
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| Side view |
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| Come up on the front porch..... |
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| ....and follow around to the other side of the cabin |
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| Back at the front door--let's go inside! |
We didn’t keep a record of how long it took to complete; but while he was working, I was hunting and gathering. Most of the furnishings were purchased from Lillian Vernon catalogs, while accessories have come from hobby or craft stores or as gifts from family and friends. Wooden rods were woven through strips of lace to make valances for window treatments. I purchased handmade mats at craft fairs to use as large area rugs, and crocheted some smaller throw rugs....
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| Decorated for Christmas (Sharon also decorates for Autumn) |
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| That's a photo of a fire in fireplace |
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| There are more accessories not displayed |
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| They used the space under the stairs to make a pantry |
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| Go up those stairs to the bedroom.... |
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| Sharon said she thinks the bathroom needs a curtain across the doorway for privacy ☺ |
These days, our eight-year-old granddaughter, Lauren, has become chief housekeeper/decorator. As we have only one doll so far, we have invited some fuzzy little bears, rabbits, and mice to spend time here instead. On a recent occasion, there was a celebration tea party in honor of Susan Branch's new book, A Fine Romance; it received a 5-star review....
Thank you Shelly and Sharon for sharing your wonderful miniatures!
If you would like to share your miniature photos, please send me a link to your Blog post, or if you don't have a Blog, I'll be glad to post them here.
UPDATE: Shelly has posted a LINK to her mother's Blog where you can see her Mary Cassatt front porch scene. Once you get to the end of her mother's Blog post, be sure to click on the label "Miniatures" to find more posts about her miniatures.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Click HERE to see close-ups of Mary Cassatt's front porch scene.
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Cathy, thank YOU for sharing your blog and creating such a beautiful post; it is a joy for me to share my 'little home' with your readers. Shelly's greenhouse is simply gorgeous; I commented to her that Tom once built me a real greenhouse that gave me much pleasure to play in! Congratulations to Elaine on winning your Tasha Tudor giveaway :-)
ReplyDeleteDoes Tom still build miniatures? He just might get some requests after people see this! And he can come to my house and build me a real greenhouse. It's on my ToDo list for my hubby, but I'm sure he won't mind if someone else builds it for me.
DeleteTom doesn't build miniatures per se; the dollhouse was purely a labor of love! He did build a 3-ft. model houseboat with cutaways for Cave Run Lake marina to use at travel shows to promote rentals. He recently completed a wooden model of the whaling ship, Charles W. Morgan, and currently is building a model submarine Gato-class that was used by America against Japan in WWII. (Did I just say he doesn't build miniatures? lol)
DeleteHa ha ha....Yes, it sounds like he was smart enough to make your dream cabin first so he could spend the rest of his time building guy things.
DeleteSharon, this is simply stunning!!! I LOVE it!!! AND, Cathy thank you so much for sharing my greenhouse! :-)
DeleteMy pleasure, Sharon!
DeleteCathy, thank you for posting these wonderful miniatures! Sharon's log cabin is so charming! I see another Susan Branch fan. Sharon's husband is quite the talent it sounds! Such patience you gals have. Thank you for sharing. ♥
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad to do it and hope others will share their miniatures either here or on their own Blogs.
DeleteLoved seeing Sharon's log cabin!! It is so nice of you Sis, to share other folks miniatures. It doubles the pleasure :)
DeleteFor me, too, Sandy. ☺
DeleteCathy, I have tried to avoid collecting dollhouses and miniatures,but it's getting more and more difficult, especially after seeing my cousins fantastic antique dollhouses on the Corgyncombe Courant Blog. My mother made about 20 dollhouses, and I haven't taken one yet.. I am rethinking it. It just looks like such an all consuming habit... but one I could easily get addicted to. Just look at all that adorable stuff in that cabin!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the "consuming habit" especially for an artist like yourself....I'm sure you'd want to make everything yourself. The thing you need to do is not have too big of a house...that will force you to stop...unless, of course, you decide to add-on. I put mine in a cabinet and adding on wouldn't look right. :-) I have to pass up things I see because I don't have room for them anymore.
DeleteOh, but Cathy ... you see, when you find something new that you'd like, you get it and store something else away for a period of time. Then, your little granddaughter can sort through and change things around whenever she pleases!
DeleteSharon, Yikes! Don't get me started down that route! I'm the Queen of Saving Things (I have a full attic) and have been trying to break myself of saving things or buying things at yard sales for "just in case" someone I know might need them!.....and now I'm getting a little girl in the equation.....I really don't trust myself to not run wild! Ken is already extending a great deal of patience with me when we come upon a store with a clearance sale on baby items.
DeleteThanks for posting these. I should do a little post about the little room I made one time--a baby nursery for my sister when her baby was coming. I looked up your Paul M. photo--great job!
ReplyDeleteYes, please do! And I'll link to it on this post for future reference!
DeleteSharon's cabin was such a labor of love; the stonework is amazing. I'm so glad to see the photos.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, there should be a tea party for Susan's book release. Hubby gifted me with a copy for my birthday last year and I am ready top read it again - after I read and dream through Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse. I am so happy to have won the book and thank Cathy again for her generosity in hosting the give-away.
I'm eager to see how the book inspires you to dabble in miniatures!
DeleteCathy, just now seeing the 2nd update of the close-ups on the Mary Cassatt front porch: amazing! That little chipmunk is too cute ...
ReplyDeleteIt is isn't it! Did you see the draperies her mother made for another doll house. It's on her mother's Blog in February.
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