Creatin Contest 2nd & 3rd Place

Here is the second place winner for the HBS Creatin Contest.

And third place.

Congrats to Brandaen and Michelle.  Way to go!!

The Beautiful Behemoth

Back in November, Brae (Otterine) posted on her blog that there was a Citadel dollhouse kit originally from Lolly's in the Chicago area for sale on Ebay.  Of course, I had to check it out.  It was an unused complete kit still in the box.  I thought about it....for about 3 minutes and clicked on that crazy "buy it now" button.  Seriously, I had a huge smile on my face and giggled.

Several years ago before kids, I was in sales and would regularly go to Chicago for my job.  Of course, whenever I was in the area I would hunt down dollhouse shops.  Lolly's was one of my favorites.  Every time I went in there, I saw the Citadel house gleaming with all of it's glory.  It had a hefty price tag (around $900 as I recall) and at the time, I don't think they were selling the house in kit form.  Needless to say, I looked at it longingly. 

Here are some pics of the Citadel I found from Lolly's. 

After I had gotten back into miniatures, I saw the Call-Small's adventures on procuring her Citadel house.  She drove a long way to Chicago to pick hers up.  So, when I saw this one on Ebay for a buy it now price and free shipping, I HAD to jump on it.  It was a now or never situation.

I, like many of us have a tendancy to buy great miniatures and do nothing with them for awhile.  I got the house in November and just started on it last week. I've been a little busy, what can I say?

Anyway, along with the kit the seller sent me this awesome deck and hut tub kit which was a really nice surprise.

I took pics of the other two boxes when they arrived, but I can't find them.

I have had a couple of blog friends ask me about it which gave me a kick in the pants to start building it.

 Yes, that is an air compressor you see in the background.  I used it to nail this sucker together as I glued it.  I like power tools!

It's so big that I had to put it on the floor to build it.

Here is where I am at now.  I have the primary structure finished.

There is a yard stick leaning against it to show that it is nearly 3 feet tall and almost as wide.

I realized after it was put together, (glued and nailed) that I put the second floor in backwards and that one of the dividing walls was crooked.  Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do because the wood glue was already dry and the nails wouldn't allow me to knock anything free with a hammer.  This sucker is solid! I can disguise the floor part though.

Note to self, do not try to build a dollhouse all at once. It's all good though, I can live with it and nobody will notice...unless you are reading this.

  I'm considering a slight modification...

 Here it is with the curved tower, which is what came with the kit.

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I'm toying with the idea of using two doors in the center and making the rest of the "tower" glass.

Any thoughts?

This has always been my all-time favorite dollhouse.  I have seen some amazing ones, but this one makes me drool.  I can't tell you how happy ecstatic I am that I am the proud owner.  I can't wait to do some more work on it!

Thank You, Brae!!!

If you hadn't posted it on your fantastic blog, I would have missed out!

Hanging With the Big Dogs

I know that one place MJ wanted to see while she was here in Indiana is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Being winter here, there isn't much to see there.  So we thought it might be a good idea for her to get better acquainted with dogs.  Afterall, she is going to have a furry friend named Chester waiting to meet her when she does arrive home in Australia.

These girls are like my allies with all the testosterone in our house. 

 Getting cuddly with Katy

Katy is more like a giant 70 pound cat, she will sit or even lay on your lap if you let her.  She is in her usual spot...right in the middle of everything. She also snores.

Taking a ride on Lucy

Lucy is my baby, she follows me everywhere.  She is also deathly afraid of thunder and the air compressor.

 (dog nose and my foot in the corner, sorry!)

Alas, it's time for MJ to go on to her next stop. It was a fun visit. 

  Where will she be going? 

And First Prize Goes To........

Lyssa!!!!!

 

 

See more about Mt. Olloppa on her blog!

 

Congrats, Lyssa.  Your Mt. Olloppa Lodge for the Creatin' Contest is wonderful!

Great Modern House

I just saw this very modern vintage dollhouse on Ebay.  It's too small for 1/12 scale, but it has such great lines!

 

It needs some love, but It's fabulous!

Creatin' Contest

Since Miniatures.com has officially announced the 2012 Creatin Contest grand prize winner, I guess it's ok for me to talk about it.

First here it is....The Grand Prize Winner!

Congratulations Kerry Ann Norell!

Unfortunately, they have not announced the first place, second place, third place, first time entrant or honorable mention winners.  At least not officially.  Secretly, I know who a couple of them are and their entries are wonderful!!!  I'll let you know when they are officially announced.

I did however get an Honorable Mention award...I'm a little dissappointed, but it was lots of fun and I really like the way the house turned out especially the inside.  I also learned a lot about wiring.

 

Lesson learned...don't wait until the last day to take pictures!

Congrats to all the winners. I can't wait to see all of the entries!

The real Jazzi's 50th birthday coming up.  To celebrate, she is having a big birthday give away.  http://www.jazziminis.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/birthday-giveaway.html.  If you haven't already entered, you still have time!

Happy early Birthday Jazzi!!!

Mini Convert

My husband recently got a new toy tool...a router and more recently a router table.  He has been toying with the idea of making miniatures for profit for awhile now. The original idea was to make mini midcentury modern coffee tables. 

The first miniature he built is this awesome outdoor shower.

He used the router to make the worm holes.  There is a bench and a large planter.  It needs to be finished of course.  It will have a little sink and a towel rack too.

 Here he is using his new toy.

 This is the shape of the new mid-century coffee tables.  They will be for sale on my Etsy shop soon as will the outdoor shower.


UPDATE: 

 Here are some of the finished MCM tables that we made today.

These two have brass hairpin legs and a cool laminate top.

Still a fab laminate top with aluminum legs.

They will all be available on my Etsy shop and Ebay.  It's called the "Bob Table" after it's creator.  It will come in a rainbow of colors and patterns, some sets and book matched pairs.

The Day After

OK, So the last post left many of you wondering what happened with our friend MJ and Mr. Powers...We all know Austin Powers has a way with women and by the pics...well one must assume the worst. After our conversation about her assumed behavior, she said she is planning on waiting until she is in a loving and responsible relationship.  I believe her!

Dawn, MJ and I had a nice girls only evening this evening,  We shared lots of laughs and a bit of wine.  We also watched "Bridesmaids"-- too funny! My favorite wine ironically is called "Mad Housewife"...go figure (the big bottle is mine!).  If you look closely, Dawn and MJ have some too. After a couple of glasses, we found out that Mr. Powers is actually a gentleman...believe it or not!  They just were being a little silly...and did a lot of snuggling!  He gave her an amazing massage, which she deserves after the travels she has taken,  Jet lag can be brutal!

Stay tuned!

Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing

Remember from the last post I made about MJ's visit?  When I said we will fix the fact thet she didn't get to ring in the new year ?  Apparenly, MJ has a wild side...or maybe it's the company...  MJ made fast friends with Dawn and her friends.  They are all 7 ft tall models you know, unlike us 5 ft. tall moms.  Anyway, that had a LOT of fun making up for missing the New Years celebrations!

 They are having a groovy time talking to new friends! Austin Powers is sooo Charming!

 It looks like one of the girls had to visit the powder room...or get another drink...or both!

  

We will all keep this a secret...what happens in Indiana, stays in Indiana!

Uh...no comment...let's hope she drank a lot of water! Otherwise, she will need some aspirin and a lot of sleep!

Stay tuned!

Around the World She Goes, Where She Stops Nobody Knows!

Mini Jazzi has arrived in Indiana.  Actually she arrived on Friday January 4th.  I couldn't post anything because we were about to be bombarded with 6 8-9 year old boys for a Birthday slumber party.  Needless to say, it was chaos!  Anyway, she has gone from the much warmer California bay area to snowy Indiana!  My guess is that she was traveling over New Years and didn't get to ring in the New Year.  We will fix that. 

 Apparently MJ has not seen snow in real life before and just couldn't wait to jump in.  She is standing on top of our grill.

 Next, she wanted to make a snow man.  I helped a llittle.  It looks like she needs some warmer clothing.  I'm sure her legs were freezing.

She named her new friend Mr. Blizzard.

Stay Tuned!