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

Mini-Mini Brimbles Mercantile - BB SWEETS!

The quarter scale Village kit and Town kits from Greenleaf are really cute, and fun to build. Needless to say, they don't take long to put together. The first house I grabbed was the mini Brimble's Mercantile, which was the whole reason I bought the kits to begin with. As I was building it I was reminiscent of BB Sweets and how much fun it was to complete. I wanted to replicate the original as close as I could, I think it turned out adorable! 

Here it is next to the 1:12 scale version - Brimble's Mercantile, "BB Sweets"

 

 

I tried to match the shingles as best I could, and of course the columns and vines in the front. This particular house is completely sealed, so there was nothing to decorate on the inside.  Here are some closer photos:

 

The kits also include a mini Arthur, I will post photos of that one when it's done. I'll be making it a mini replica of my 1:12 scale Arthur as well. I may even try to do real stucco on the quarter scale version. I'm pretty sure I still have the original paint color from the Arthur. The colored shingles may be a challenge however.

Meanwhile I still have the beginnings of my Artply Highland under construction, plus the multiple built houses that need rehab, and oh yeah the stack of kit boxes that have houses screaming my name, plus the room boxes that are sitting empty, and/or half decorated. I guess I know when I retire I will never get bored!

 

Thanks for visiting :-) 

~ Mini-Shack

Miniatures of Miniatures and another Travel Trailer

One of my first miniature builds was the Greenleaf Travel Trailer, which I gave to my daughter as a Christmas gift. Recently I received an email from Greenleaf that the Travel Trailer was back in stock so I went ahead and bought another one. While I was on their website I decided to go ahead and order the Village Kit and the Town Kit too. The Village kit includes a miniature Arthur, which I have built in 1:12 scale, and the Town kit includes a miniature Brimble's Mercantile, which I also have - BB Sweets. Both kits include many other cute little houses too, but that's the main reason I bought both. There's a cute little Tudor house in the Village kit that I already have, I received it free when I acquired a Harrison Dollhouse. These houses are 1:48 (or 1/4) scale and I plan to decorate them the same as my 1:12 scale houses.

I haven't decided yet what the decorating theme of the Travel Trailer will be, I've been looking around the internet to get inspirational ideas. My first one was a traditional red/white retro themed, so I'd like to do something completely different this time. I'm leaning towards a surfer, California beach trailer with a deck off the front. 

Quick shout out to Greenleaf Company- my box arrived in less than a week, I appreciate the quick shipping!

 

For the weekend I'll probably get these little houses together - as I'm also still in the middle of building my Artply Highland mid-century modern house so I need to make some space in my craft room!

Currently waiting for another house to arrive in the mail, I was able to find an Emerson Row brand new sealed in the box! More on that later....

Thank you for visiting! Happy Weekend!

~ Mini Shack

Video ready for the Brimbles Mercantile by Greenleaf

I finally got the video uploaded for BB Sweets, my Brimble's Mercantile candy shop and bakery. I took a lot of photos, with three different cameras, in both natural light and artificial. The result of that was several hundred detailed photos to edit and select for final video insertion. I was a little overwhelmed, so I picked the best that I could and threw together this video.

I also documented the entire build from start to finish. I like to do a separate video for the builds, since there are so many photos involved. I personally don't care for videos over 5 minutes, so I try not to create them either. I like to make a "build" video in case anyone gets stuck doing the same kit, they can pause the video and hopefully it will help them out.

So for now, please enjoy the interior and exterior video of the finished product and imagine yourself in a sweet and yummy place to feel like a kid again!!

Thanks for visiting!

 ~ Mini-Shack

My Brimble's Mercantile by Greenleaf aka "BB Sweets"

My sweet shop is finally done. Lovingly named BB Sweets with my grandson in mind, who calls me BB.  I didn't keep track of build time because I paused a few times while working on this. This was made from a kit by Greenleaf called the Brimble's Mercantile. I've been thinking of a bakery for several years, so to get to the end and have this completed is a real joy. I spent many nights in front of the TV rolling tiny candy, making tiny cupcakes and cakes, making boxes with labels and filling tiny jars full of colorful treats. As you can see it's very detailed on the inside, but the exterior was time consuming as well. 

 

Brimble's Mercantile by Greenleaf

 

I always imagined my bakery with a striped awning on the front. I was able to use the wood roof structure that comes with the kit because of it's shape, all I had to do was add the hanging tabs. They're actually snipped off tongue depressors, and the measurements worked out in my favor because the stripes lined up almost perfectly.

The siding was measured, cut, and glued on one strip at a time. The shingles were cut and painted, then applied one by one (no fun around the dormers!). The structure sits on plywood that is extended on both ends. I used this space to create extra patio area, with faux brick on the front and stone in the back. I used Paperclay for both ends. 

The major endeavor was the exterior staircase. The original kit intends for the stairs to be on the inside. I didn't care for this idea because it took up a lot of space, both downstairs and upstairs. I sealed the two windows off downstairs as well, I needed the wall space. I moved the staircase to the back of the building, and was able to keep it the same shape with the upper landing close to the upstairs window. I made the window into a door and then built a landing with railings. Made a few adjustments on the bottom level and it lined up pretty well.

Once I can grab the perfect sunlight hitting the bakery I'll post proper interior detailed photos, and create the video. I'm finding that flash photography doesn't do this justice. 

Getting excited about my next project, The Mint Julep!

Thanks for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack

Now what?

Well...today I am officially the owner of a new-in-the box Brimble's Mercantile kit by Greenleaf. From the moment I thought about doing a bakery I wanted to do it in the Brimble's. It's been over a year, maybe two, since I started looking for one. I missed out on several on eBay, etc. so I kind of gave up looking. I started looking at other kits instead that were smaller, and I decided on the Greenleaf Buttercup. I picked one up for super cheap NIB...then I flip flopped to The Ashley by Dura Craft because I also found one cheap. So here I am with two cute little houses that are very similar, that will not end up as my bakery after all. I'm having thoughts of kit bashing the two together as one house. Or possibly building them both, and designing them similar to the Brimble's and making a coordinating bakery, tea shop and some other sort of shop. Currently I have five of my built houses on display in a row,  if I add these three I could end up with a village in 1:12 scale...oh my!

I'm thrilled to finally have a Brimble's, I don't have any photos yet but here's a lovey stock photo:

It's perfect for a bakery. It comes with some store fixtures such as built in shelves, signage and display cases. The upstairs will be the work and storage area and the downstairs will be the bakery. It's actually more than a bakery, there will be candy and ice cream too. The name of it is "BBs Sweet Shop". I am excited to get started! I will document this build along the way with photos, as I do with all my builds.

Here are some stock photos of The Buttercup (yellow house) and The Ashley (pink house):

They're both so cute, but as you can see they're very similar. I'm sure it will come to me, I'll know what to do with both of these houses when the time is right. It always seems to work that way :-)



Thanks for looking!


~ Mini-Shack

Ahoy! The Brookwood is ready for occupancy

After years of planning, and a few months of building, The Brookwood is finally done! I made a video with detailed shots of the interior and the exterior. I also did a separate video of the construction of the house, documented step by step. I found it helpful when I was building the ones I've done so far, so I wanted to share mine as well with the hopes it may help someone else.


Video of the Brookwood-Inside and Outside:

Video documenting the building of The Brookwood:

I kept the kit basic because frankly I was intimidated when I started building it. A few minor changes that I made include making the 2nd floor fireplace square instead of oval, leaving the staircase open as floating stairs to save space in the kitchen, and the obvious changes to the bar area railing. I modified the ladder to the attic simply by using the pop out's of the ladder in the wood sheet as steps for the ladder. They fit perfect of course! I did not use the brace that goes across the front of the house either. I tried, several times, with several modified versions of it, but it just didn't look right.

Maybe it's just me, but I feel a connection to each house. For this reason I like to keep original designs prevalent as a nod to whoever originally designed the kit. I used the kitchen set that came with the kit too, and honestly I had to because the space is challenging and it was a good size. I flipped it though from the way they show it on the box. Each kit I finish I save the wood sheets that all the parts have been popped out of, and the instructions, in the original box. When I was planning the balcony on this house I recalled the porch railing on my Greenleaf Arthur house. I used those pop outs (supposed to be discarded wood) as the decoration on the balcony. A nod to Greenleaf, it's a common pattern for many of their kits.

I also have special items in this house, as I do in every house. The attic is an art studio, and the artwork was painted by my adult son. He's a beach kid, always will be, this house is actually perfect for him! Most of the shells throughout the house were collected by me over the years in my hometown, which is on a beach. The chart maps on the walls are all of the Gulf of Mexico and Florida. One of the large maps on the wall features the Boca Grande (FL) Lighthouse and a large tarpon, our local catch and release sport fishing star.

Of course, there are also several elephants in the house, as usual!


I wouldn't mind building another one of these to be honest. Now that I know how it goes together, I have ideas of some kit bashing and I think I could do it. If anyone has any questions about the construction please feel free to ask!

I have several projects in the wings, ideas are flooding my head because three of the projects are all different directions: 1) a Bakery  2) a shabby chic 2 color only redo of the Alison Jr and  3) these two huge Harrison's!!! I also have the Dura Craft Pioneer log house sitting in the box ready to be built....and for some reason I bought a Dura Craft "Ashley" kit. It has a spiral staircase that I will probably use somewhere else, plus I love Dura Craft windows, they have such great silk screen designs. It was $20 sealed in the wrapper still, I mean come on!!!!! The staircase alone justifies it... HaHa. I still have the Greenleaf Buttercup kit too. One of these two houses will end up as a bakery, just not sure yet. I am still thinking about that Brimble's Mercantile I just can't get it out of my head, and there are 2 on eBay right now ughhhhhhh. Stay tuned, one way or another I'm doing a bakery.


Thank you for looking!

~ 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

Meet the Brookwood Boat House

Update on The Brookwood by Greenleaf....after years of talking about it she's built and ready to decorate! What started as a beach house moved more towards a boat house, so I've started calling it my boathouse instead. She's even got a little boat called the SS Brookwood. These pics aren't the final resting place, they're staged for the photos. I'll be adding more little details as I go and will post the final pics once the interior and exterior are completely done.

A little bit of lighting for night fishing or star gazing. The lights are around the deck, the balcony, a tiny light in the mini lighthouse/birdhouse and spot lights on each side of the house in the trees.

First level:

Second level:

More night lighting photos:

I am hand-making a lot more in this house than I ever have before. I've been taking photos along the way to post tutorials, so those will be coming soon too. I'm still working on the inside of the house, it's coming along but I have so many ideas that I can't fit them all in one house!! I'll post updated photos soon. Thanks for looking!

~ MiniShack