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

The Sparrow Lane Video

They say you're never really done with a dollhouse, and I have found that to be true. I could keep going with this one but I really do have other projects screaming my name. So for now, here's how she'll sit. Enjoy the quick little video!

Thank you 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

We have a name!!

It was really bothering me that I didn't have a name for this great little house I just acquired. I posted photos of it all over the internet asking for help identifying it, because I knew it was from a kit. It was recommended to me on the Greenleaf Forum that I contact Gary at Real Good Toys Company, as he'd been in the business for about 30+ years. So I sent an email to the general info email account along with a photo of the front and back. The next day I got a reply with an ID from Gary! Not only did he reply, he attached the original assembly instructions and schematics. 

Drum roll please........

THE SPARROW LANE by BATRIE

Model DH 26K

 

The original owners built it exactly as the instructions provided. It seems the stucco kit must have come with the original dollhouse kit since it's included in the instructions. I actually thought it was odd that this was done so well in stucco, and now I know why! It's the one thing on the house that I did not have to touch. I even liked the color!

Here is a before and after photo:

 

It's good to have the assembly instructions on file too - I keep a folder with all my assembly instructions and schematics for all my builds. I have paper copies and .PDF files for them all. You never know when someone might need them! 

I'll go ahead and park these here in case anyone needs the instructions: Batrie DH 26K 

Thank you for visiting, and a special THANK YOU to Gary at Real Good Toys!

~ Mini-Shack

The still un-named house has a makeover, and a fun game room!

This was a pretty well built house, the original owners did a decent job building it so I didn't have too much to do really. I made a foundation, added exterior features such as new shutters, new paint, hanging Chrysolite lantern and welcome mat (with a key under the mat), new roof trim, new siding in the peak, removed all the gingerbread trim, new flat white roof, white trim throughout. 

On the inside I took out one of the walls upstairs and opened that room up to be a game room - loved having a lot of space to work with! Added interior doors, custom made staircase railing, staircase rug, new flooring, new wall coverings and window treatments.

Here's a few photos of the makeover:

 

I have more detailed photo, I just didn't post them all here. As usual, I took photos along the way so I will get together a video and upload it to my YouTube channel. I'll post it here too :-)

 

Thanks for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack

Oops I did it again....

Okay, I really have no business looking on Marketplace or Craigslist for local dollhouses for sale, but for some reason I checked Marketplace the other day and this house popped up as the first listing. It was just listed for about an hour. It looked like it was in good shape, and it included a box of furniture, so I put it in my "saved" list. I had recently been looking for a similar house, so I just couldn't get it off my mind. I went back to the listing and the seller had already dropped the price for some reason - I felt like it was meant to be so I contacted the seller and made the arrangements. I didn't even have to drive far, about 10 minutes from my house. I'm having trouble identifying this house, I think I've narrowed it down to Walmer, but so far no luck researching it and no luck from the websites I've posted it on.

 

It's a great house, it's 1:12 scale and measures about 3ft wide and a little less than 2ft tall. I'm going to paint the front door red, strip the trim and add shutters to all the windows. I'm not sure if I'm going to paint the exterior, I actually like the color it is now. It's been painted as stucco and I like the white trim already. I love that it has a mansard roof too. 

About a month ago I bought an eBay auction that was full of HouseWorks windows, doors, fireplaces and staircase kits. I bought it because it was a super cheap auction and I knew I would use those items eventually. It just so happens this house didn't include doors, and I'm going to replace the aweful staircase that came with it, so it just reaffirms that I was meant to have this house, HaHa! The exterior will be an easy make-over, there's not too much to do and I have everything I need. The interior has good quality wallpaper and trim, but I just don't like it so it will get stripped and replaced eventually.

I am also in the middle of building my Artply Highland mid-century modern house, which I'm excited about too. I may have to set it aside and work on this little cottage instead, or maybe even work on both at the same time? I don't usually do that but I've expanded my workspace so I think I can pull it off. I will come back and post before and after photos once I'm done with this little house. 

I do have a small dilemma, however. I always name my houses the same name as the manufacturer. For instance, The Arthur, The Brookwood, I don't re-name them. Since I don't know the name of this house I'm just going to refer to it as the Cape Cod house, for now.

Here are a few more photos that show the mansard roof.

 

Here's a closer look at the front entrance. Definitely needs shutters!

Stay tuned for the transformation :-)

Thank you for visiting!

~ Mini Shack

A pivot to mid-century modern

I was fortune enough to receive a set of dollhouse furniture as a Christmas gift, it's a mid-century modern set that my friend got at Hobby Lobby. It's simply beautiful, I was so excited because it was so unexpected! Since I have so many dollhouse kits in boxes waiting for me and I was on the fence on which to start next, I immediately thought of my Artply Highland. It's meant to be a mid-century modern dollhouse but I had planned to make it a Spanish Style mansion. I'll stick with mid century now though, I have always admired the architecture and decorating style of that period. Now I have a jump start with my new furniture. It has motivated me to get going, it's a new year - new dollhouse. 

 

 

I was born in the 60's, so I lived through this time period and remember it well. I have fond childhood memories when I see some of the inspirational photos I've been looking at. I've been doing quite a bit of researching on the architectural features, just to confirm what I already know however. I came across this great description of the period:

"Sometimes it takes a generation or two removed from an architectural style to appreciate it. Such is the case of mid-century modern. Mid-century modern is a style of design, from roughly the 1930s through the mid–1960s, characterized by clean lines, organic and streamlined forms, and lack of embellishment. It reached is height of popularity after World War II, where it was used in residential structures, with the goal of bringing modernism into America's post-war suburbs."  Link to article

 

I've been looking at DH furniture from this time period on several websites and certain pieces are quite pricey. There's some great stuff available that I would love to have, I guess you could call them "designer" pieces. It's unlikely I will indulge, since a lot of items from this era can be hand made because its a simple design. The color palette is important as well, and the pop's of color can make or break a room. The decor is easy, lots of globes, geometric shapes, starbursts and wood grains. I made this wall decoration in about 10 minutes, which I may or may not put a clock in the center eventually.

 

So as soon as all the Christmas decorations are put away and all my spaces are back to normal I'll be getting the Highland ready to go. I have yet to open the box, I always look forward to that moment. Then the construction shall begin. As usual, I will document the build step by step so I can do a video at the end. Even though this is a large house, I really don't anticipate taking as long as I usually do. There are minimal details involved, intentionally, and that's where I usually spend most of my time. Here is the Highland as she sits:

Here is a closer photo of the house as the manufacturer imagined it...notice it has a garage, which is kind of unique for a dollhouse:

 

 

 

I remember when I found this house on eBay, I was so excited to finally find one and when it came in the mail I was smiling for days. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to get to it right away, so I've always had a happy little feeling inside knowing it would always be there waiting for me. As I mentioned above, I had been drawing plans to bash it a little into a Spanish Style home, and I have some goodies I've been collecting already for that style, so I'll have to get creative with a different kit to go in that direction. In the meantime - my focus is back in time to the 60's!

Happy New Year and thanks for visiting!

~ Mini-Shack