New Acquisitions and Inventory Time

I usually browse Facebook Marketplace with a simple keyword search: dollhouse. The results are mostly plastic children's play toys but occasionally wood dollhouses and dollhouse kits pop up.  If you've followed my blog you know I've acquired some great houses on Marketplace. When I did this recent search a garage sale popped up because they mentioned a dollhouse in the description of the post. I contacted the seller to inquire if the dollhouse was wood or plastic, and she replied with TWO wood dollhouses for $30 total. She attached pictures of the houses, and I couldn't do the electronic payment fast enough. I purchased a DuraCraft Sweetheart that is completely finished and fully electrified, including two working light fixtures and the second house is a Walmer Cranberry Cove, unfinished on the inside and missing the front porch attachment. I can do a lot with this Walmer house, I'm looking forward to working on that one.

 

Walmer Cranberry Cove, 1:12 Scale

 

DuraCraft Sweetheart Cottage 1:12 Scale

Both of these houses are new projects for me, as I intend to finish off the Cranberry Cove, and completely redo the Sweetheart as a Tudor style with a thatched roof. I just can't look at the roof lines on this house and not see a thatched roof. I'm not fond of the current colors either, or the decorative hearts all over the house. I could possibly get carried away and make it a fairy house, the potential is there, but as of now I'm thinking of a clean lined tudor.

The Cranberry Cove may end up with a solid brick exterior with no front porch, or my second vision is a smaller front porch than the original, that just covers the front door area. If I do that I would try to add a bay window on the first floor as well. I'm still looking at both of these houses carefully, to get a clear vision.

I wasn't able to blog about this next acquisition, because four days after I bought it my home flooded in the storm surge from Hurricane Ian in South Florida on September 28, 2022. This is a Hofco Federal Victorian, that I drove 2 hours one way to pick it up. I also found this on Marketplace, and honestly didn't realize how big it was until I picked it up. Not only is it the largest house I have, it's made of MDF wood so it is very heavy. The back is solid flat because it's a front opening dollhouse, so it's a lot like a piece of furniture. It's similar in size to a small dresser. The house is in pretty good shape, a few pieces need to be reassembled and the hinges need reinforced, but overall it's great.

HOFCO Federal Victorian Front Opening Dollhouse 1:12 Scale

Since I have a dollhouse display room now, I'm starting to absorb the size of my collection. In addition to the houses I have listed below, I have many room boxes, lanterns, odd scale houses and my built Quarter Scale houses. Once my dollhouse room is completely set up I will post a video and photos. 

CURRENT DOLLHOUSE INVENTORY
Listed in order of acquisition

 

Built Houses:
1949 Keystone of Boston
Greenleaf Travel Trailer
Greenleaf Arthur
Greenleaf Brookwood
Greenleaf Harrison Rehab
Greenleaf Harrison Partial Build
Petite Dreams Victorian
Greenleaf Buttercup
DuraCraft Ashley
Greenleaf Brimbles Mercantile
Whitney Tennyson
Batrie Sparrow Lane
Skilcraft Colonial
Greenleaf Washington
Skilcraft Cape Cod
Lundy Gotenburg
Hofco Federal Victorian
Walmer Cranberry Cove
DuraCraft Sweetheart
Four Greenleaf 1/4 Scale Houses

Dollhouse Kits:
DuraCraft Pioneer Log Cabin
Real Good Toys Princess Anne
Real Good Toys Victorian Cottage Jr.
Artply Highland
Walmer Mint Julep w/Left and Right Wing Additions
Greenleaf Rosedale
Greenleaf Orchid
Greenleaf Travel Trailer
Greenleaf Village Kit
Greenleaf Town Kit
Greenleaf Emerson Row
Real Good Toys Beachside Bungalow
DuraCraft Newberg
Real Good Toys Conservatory

I have several projects in mind that I want to get started on, I need to decide which one I should tackle next. Most likely it won't be a new kit, as I have several built houses that need to be refinished. In the meantime, I think I will stay off of Facebook Marketplace for a while, Ha! 

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini - Shack

A Sister house, the Greenleaf Buttercup

I recently finished building a Greenleaf Buttercup dollhouse for a special family, with the colors chosen by the new owner, Linsey. This house will be in the same bedroom as the pink Dura Craft Ashley dollhouse I built about a year ago for her half sister Jenise. 

Linsey has a different personality then Jenise so she chose more fun bright colors for her house. She also chose purple for the front door color. I gave both of the girls these houses bare so they could add their own decorations and furniture, etc. I managed to get this done just before Christmas, so I hope they're enjoying them both!

 

 

I also uploaded a quick video of the completed house on my YouTube Channel Mini-Shack, with more detailed interior and exterior photos. As with almost all my videos, there are clips of the building process at the end of the video. Here is the video on YouTube:

 

 

Now that I have built both the Dura Craft Ashley and the Greenleaf Buttercup, I can say they are pretty much the same size and take the same amount of time. Originally the Ashley dollhouse kit came with a spiral staircase, but I chose not to use it and built a straight set of stairs instead. So when I started building the Buttercup and realized it doesn't come with any stairs at all, I decided to use the spare set from the Ashley! So in case anyone has noticed - YES, the Ashley spiral staircase is installed in the Buttercup. 

Since the Buttercup is done now, I started working on my new Cape Cod Skilcraft house. It was my Christmas present to myself, and even though I have so many other exciting projects to choose from I couldn't wait to open the box and get it started. It's not a large house, so I don't anticipate taking too long to complete it. I really wanted cedar shake siding to make it as authentic as possible, but was dreading the task of applying the shingles by hand. So I went to one of my favorite dollhouse websites miniatures.com and did a quick search. I was delighted to find exactly what I was looking for: a sheet of pre-molded shake siding. I painted a few layers of different tones of grey, did some rubbing, and the weathered look came out perfect. I'm excited to get the rest of the house together, as I'm doing a little bit of kit bashing as well. More on that later!

Thanks for visiting :-)

~ Mini-Shack

Spring Cleaning

So it's time to take inventory, because I've acquired enough dollhouse kits to last me the rest of my life. The way I see it though, I'm setting myself up for retirement. Not financially, I mean something to keep me busy, HA! Here is my current situation:

Dollhouse Kits in boxes:

Walmer Mint Julep with Left and Right Wing Addition

Greenleaf Emerson Row

Greenleaf Rosedale

Greenleaf Buttercup

Greenleaf Orchid

Greenleaf Travel Trailer

Real Good Toys Princess Anne

Real Good Toys Beachside Bungalow

Real Good Toys Victorian Cottage Jr.

Dura Craft Pioneer Log Cabin

Dura Craft Newberg

Artply Highland

Artply-Whitney Tennyson

1/4 Scale Town Kit

1/4 Scale Village Kit 

 

I couldn't get them all in one photo, because they're scattered all over the house now, but here's a few:

 

 

Here's how some are stored temporarily (pardon the mess! Construction zone):

 

 This is the Travel Trailer and Quarter Scale 1/4 Building Kits

 

 

 

Houses in progress:

Greenleaf Harrison Partial Build

Greenleaf Harrison Rehab

Petite Dreams Victorian

The base of the Artply Highland

These are just the dollhouses. I have 9 room boxes and 3 lanterns that could be done at any time too. It seems I have managed to also acquire quite a bit of furniture, fixtures and construction parts. It was time to reorganize my stash and thin out the parts/pieces I didn't need to keep. By the time I was done, there wasn't much in the "get rid of" pile but I did manage to rearrange all my stuff in appropriate bins. It also gave me a chance to take a look at everything again, which was a pleasant experience because I forgot about a lot of really cool pieces I have! 

I also spent time repairing pieces that were set aside because they needed work. While I was repairing a side table I noticed how beautifully detailed the carvings on the wood were. Once I found my reading glasses and tipped it over I saw that it was a Bespaq™ table. Nice little surprise. 

So for now I'm getting ready to build the Tennyson that will be given to a family friend, a 9 year old girl. She request turquoise and yellow as her colors, so this will be a fun and bright colored house. This will be only the second time I've built a house for a little girl to actually play with, so I won't be furnishing it, just giving her the house. More photos and details to come!

Thanks for visiting!

~ Mini Shack

The Ashley Dollhouse Video

Pleased to present the short little video for the Ashley Dollhouse. The video includes the construction process as well.

This was built for a sweet little 6 year old girl named Jenise. I asked her if she wanted me to make her a dollhouse and she said YES! Then I asked her what color she would like it and she said PINK PINK PINK. I built this in about 2 months, just working on it a few nights a week and weekends. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack

A cute little project, The Dura Craft Ashley

I just finished building a Dura Craft Ashley dollhouse for a sweet little 6 year old girl for Christmas. This is the first house I've ever built that was meant for a child to actually play with, so I did a few things different. I reinforced the floors and walls as I went along, I sealed the front door shut and I did not use the spiral staircase that comes with the kit. I think it would have been too fragile and may have broken easily. Instead of the spiral staircase I made my own out of mini Jenga blocks. I intentionally angled the staircase the way I did, so that she would have more living room space to play with.

I usually furnish and detail my houses as well, but she'll be receiving this empty so all I did was add some cute little curtains, and added flower boxes to the front dormer windows. I really had to stop myself, I wanted to keep adding more and more details, out of habit. She'll have plastic "play" furniture for the dollhouse, as she's still a little too young. The house has already been picked up and no longer in my workshop, so I can only hope now that she has a magical Christmas and gets many years of enjoyment out of the little Ashley.

I will make a video of the documented build step by step, including making the Jenga staircase. It's not a very large house, and it's not a complicated one either. I would consider it a quick build, except you have to cut all your own trim with this kit so that's pretty time consuming...and there's a lot of trim required to make it look decent. They do provide the trim for you, which is great. I used that, plus some extra trim that I picked up at Lowes. 

Also, as I do with all my houses, there is a large decorative embellishment on the front of the house and also on the side of the house. I put her name on the front of the house as well, just to make her feel extra special.

Here's a few photos:

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

Dura Craft Ashley Dollhouse

 

Keep an eye out for the detailed video. Thank you for viewing and Happy Holidays!!

~ Mini-Shack

BB's Sweet Shop

Well I've done it again...I need to stay off internet resale sites...I couldn't pass up a deal for a Greenleaf Buttercup kit new in the box, which will eventually become "BB's SWEETS", my bakery and sweets shop.

I picked it up from a lady in my town and she also included a handy book called "Everything You Wanted To Know About Dollhouses But Didn't Know Who To Ask" written by Nancy Van Horn from the company Houseworks. Some of the information is basic, but there's a few good tips and tricks in there that I've found useful. Here's a photo of the cover of the book and the table of contents:

I'm excited about the Buttercup kit. For a while now I've been picturing a bakery in my head and scouting out different houses for the shop. I was really stuck on the Greenleaf Brimble's Mercantile, but I'm too thrifty to buy one new from Greenleaf. Plus, they only sell laser cut kits now and I want an original kit. They have come and gone on eBay, and I missed out on a few by hesitating. I decided to go smaller so I had narrowed it down to the Ashley by DuraCraft or maybe the Adams by Greenleaf. What I like the most about DuraCraft kits are the cool etched windows they always include. Plus the Ashley had a spiral staircase, which I was going to put in my Alison Jr. instead. But that's quite alright, I am very happy with my Buttercup purchase. I'd like to get it going right after the holidays..it's fresh on my mind but I do have several other projects sitting here staring at me, plus I need to finish off the interior of my Brookwood, which is what I am currently working on.

My plans for the bakery are fairly typical - shades of pink with decorative stripes and polka dots, with a lot of yummy treats in display cases. I'd like a few cafe tables or at least a counter bar as well. 

The kit came in a plain brown box (pictured in the photo of the book above) so I don't have a photo, but here is a stock photo of the Buttercup. Coincidentally it actually shows a sample of a shop:

 

Wish me luck on time and project management! HaHa.

Thanks for looking!

~ Mini Shack

A tale of two Harrison's

A few months ago my Mother called and asked if I was interested in an old wood dollhouse. Their neighbor's had passed away and their house sold and was getting torn down. Since the kids had already gone through it and removed all their parents belongings, my Mom and Dad walked over there to look around and they saw this dollhouse. She sent me photos from her phone and as it turns out it's a Greenleaf Harrison, about 80% built with the parts still laying on the inside. The best part is the windows are all there and still in great condition!

You can sort of see in the photos that the rest of the chimney is there, staircases, remaining roof pieces and other parts.

My parents live about 10 hours away from me, and if you know the Harrison, it's a huge house that does not fit in the backseat of my car or my trunk. So the next time I go up there I'll rent an SUV, or if someone else in the family goes they'll bring it back...one way or another I'll get the house down here so I can start finishing it.

In the meantime, I was browsing Facebook Marketplace and saw a DuraCraft Log Cabin "Pioneer" kit NIB for a good deal and pretty close to me. I went to go pick up the kit, and had a nice conversation with the owner, and mentioned that I had built several houses already. I left and about 5 mins later she text and said she had another dollhouse in the garage and would I be interested? I turned around and immediately went back. A few other ladies came out of the house and we went into the garage. There sat a beautiful, finished Greenleaf Harrison! They explained that their Mother built it and she passed away 7 years ago. They tried to fix it up, but didn't really know what to do - which also explains why the windows are gone, they tried to replace them. They offered the house to me for FREE on one condition - that I send them photos of the house once it's been rehabbed. She did a good job building it, and it has copper wire already run through it. She wasn't able to finish the inside, but it came with electrical supplies and quite a few lamps and a nice wood triple wide bookcase. Also inside was a miniature tudor house that she built. I later found out it is also from Greenleaf, and part of their set called "The Villages". I don't own any goodies for a 1:44th scale, but I'm going to finish off the mini tudor house too. I sure wish I could have met the lady, but I'll do my best to restore her house and all it's glory!


Here's the house when I brought it home (that's a Toyota 4 Runner it's sitting in, that's how big this house is!) Not shown in the photos is the rest of the roofing already shingled. It just needs to be re-attached. The balcony needs to be recreated, and of course - THE WINDOWS. That's the major stuff, the rest is minor.

The inside is like a blank canvas....I can start from scratch. You can see the little mini tudor sitting inside it for scale.

The mini-tudor house...it's so adorable! 1:44 scale

The best part is I also have a new log house to build whenever I get around to it! It's going to be challenging for me, which is one of the reasons I wanted it. It's a little "outside the box" for me. It's not a plywood build, it's actual logs. I'm not quite sure how to decorate it either, but I think I'm going to go with white-washed wood logs and a cozy ski mountain house, with black-white-red checkered country fabrics. Here it is still in the box:

So that's three more projects sitting and waiting for me! In addition to an Alison Jr. (Real Good Toys) make-over that I'm dying to get done, and three amazing room boxes that I picked up at a thrift shop for $10.

I also managed to pick up a Greenleaf Buttercup kit NIB for just $20 so I couldn't resist, I've had this bakery planned in my head for years so I can finally get that going too!!!

Oh yeah - it's also the holidays - lots going on!!!! 

Thanks for looking!

~ MiniShack