Merry Mini Christmas, to ME!

For the past few years I've been hunting for this specific house, a Skilcraft Cape Cod. I saw one on eBay, but it was overpriced and I couldn't quite tell if the box had been opened. I don't usually spend money on myself during the holidays, but a couple weeks before Christmas one popped up on Marketplace. An unopened kit, still with the plastic wrapper on it. It wasn't a local pickup, it came from California, and not only was the price low but the shipping was free. It showed up on my doorstep in just 5 days, during Christmas week! 

I have also been on the hunt for a reasonably priced Real Good Toys "New Orleans" house, or a vintage Batrie "Bradley" house, but had decided that whichever house I found first would satisfy my craving for a "Cape Cod" style house to build. Skilcraft wasn't a high end brand, but this will be a much lighter house than either of the other two and I will make it awesome. It also has a unique feature that the other's do not, a carport!

 

I actually own another Skilcraft house, the "Colonial". One of my oldest friends gave it to me when she explained that her Mother was cleaning out her storage shed and was going to throw it away. It was her childhood dollhouse, which she had completely forgot about. I told her I would rehab it and make it a fabulous Colonial Estate house. One day in the future if she ever wants it back she can have it. She had very fond memories playing with that house as a child. 

I have not started the actual renovations yet, but I have collected quite a few construction parts for it - a front entry door, columns, shutters, siding, etc. Skilcraft houses are plywood, but come with plastic siding, windows and shutters and the roof shingles are strips of thick pre-cut black paper. So all that will be replaced with wood parts and roof shingles. Here's the house the day she brought it over (after I stripped the roof). I have all the extra parts that came with it in a bag:

 

Here's a diagram of some of the Skilcraft Dollhouse models, which is a photo of the back of the box of my new Cape Cod house. It doesn't include their "Nob Hill" model, which is a grand scale house or their "Federal". Also pictured below are close up photos of the two houses I currently own. I've also had my eye on an eBay listing that included the Victorian Mansion plus a matching Coach House (not shown in the photo). I love houses with mansard style roof's, and the coach house is really cute too. I've actually seen several listed on eBay, but all the box conditions were kind of terrible, so I didn't want to risk it.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and looking forward to another New Year of miniatures! Lots of fun and exciting projects to get to. 

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack

Dollhouse Miniature Room Boxes-Wall Boxes

I love to go thrift shopping, because you never know what you're going to find. For a miniaturist, it's more like a treasure hunt. After all, it's true that "one mans junk is another mans treasure". My goal for every trip is to find a dollhouse, furniture or a dollhouse kit. But finding random accessories is always fun too.

I came across this set of five square boxes, that the previous owner had spray painted gold. There are three sizes: two large, two medium and one small. I painted each of them solid white so they would blend on the wall - but the rest of the decorating is individual to each box. The boxes gave me an opportunity to display some of my favorite fun pieces, and to also use a lot of leftover trim, etc. in smaller spaces. I made the back walls with foam board and most of the wallpaper is scrapbook paper.

As an afterthought, I remembered I had a set of 5 disc lights that work on a remote control and offer multi colors and dim levels. I attached those after the boxes were already hung on the wall, and they look great at night!

Here's is the video that shows the details a little closer, and the boxes with the lights on. Enjoy!

Let me know if you have any questions about any of the pieces or techniques. Happy weekend and thanks for visiting!

 

~ Mini-Shack

Key West Inspired Renovation

I've had this dollhouse for a while now, it was rescued from a thrift shop and in pretty good shape. Originally I thought it was an Alison Jr. by Real Good Toys, but then realized the floor plan is reversed. After some research I found the original kit, and now I know it's a "Petite Dreams Victorian". It's practically identical to the Alison Jr, but built with hinges instead, and the trim on the outside is a little different. I've also noticed the doorways are more narrow than a standard RGT house.

After staring at it for several months, I decided it's better suited as a Key West - New Orleans - Charleston style house. I wanted it to be colorful, but didn't want the colors to get too overwhelming so I made the base house color white. That way the soft pastels and the green landscaping would "pop" a little more. I live in South Florida, so I've seen many houses as inspiration for both the exterior colors and the landscaping. I don't usually landscape my houses, but this definitely needed it. I bought a 2ft x 2ft plywood board at Lowes and sealed the house to the board before I began. It's a permanent part of the house now.

I haven't started the inside yet, but my intentions are to make every room white, and use my collection of white wire metal ornate furniture throughout the entire house. As you can see from the photos below, I've included some pieces outside already. Each room will have a very faint pop of a pastel color. I've been collecting white wire pieces for almost 10 years now. Some are Alice Lacy brand and some are Windsor Collection brand, and some are just beautiful unbranded pieces with intricate ornate designs. I've been buying them based on my taste, not so much brand name, but I have a feeling my collection is worth a pretty penny by now!

Once the inside is complete I'll do another video for my YouTube channel and post pictures here. For now though, please enjoy the exterior photos:

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack