I am soooooooo overdue in updating my blog!   So sorry to those who have been consistently viewing and reading it!   My day job keeps me busy and rarely have time to make anything worth blogging about!  But after a year and a half - here is another tutorial - it seems like it should have been very simple but had a lot of pieces so I made it a two-parter. Part 1 ..read more

(...with Spoonflower, Yes!) First let me apologize for my lateness and not keeping up with posting since February and to thank my readers for their patience!! (clap clap)Onto the rugs...I have been trying to find rugs printed on velvet that look nicely scaled.  Most are just printed on a woven cotton and don’t have a nap.  I like the velvet as a base for a rug because I think it is more like a ..read more

Are you a miniaturist and not sure what glue to use for a particular project?  Something that is unique about the dollhouse miniatures hobby is that incorporates many other hobbies such as woodworking, sewing, paper crafting, jewelry/beading, etc. This can be daunting and intimidating for new miniaturists.  How does one know what glue is best for wood furniture kits?  How to glue fabric to ..read more

 Many years ago I purchased a collection of framed prints in an auction.  They were nicely scaled and finished, even covered on the back with nice wallpaper and signed “Bob Von Fliss”.  Much later I learned Bob Von Fliss was one of the original founders of NAME and the first Editor of the N.A.M.E. Gazette (so this is part tutorial, part miniatures history lesson!).  You can download the first ..read more

Love those storage baskets with pom-poms and tassels on them.  I made these for the playroom of my big dollhouse and filled them with toys. Here is a tutorial to make some for your dollhouse from simple supplies.  You will need:Basket forms (see left side of photo above). I used a clear plastic 35mm film container (yeah...remember those - from before we all had cameras on our phones???), a rubber ..read more

French Country Kitchens may not be as popular as they once were but I still love the style.  In fact, I'm REALLY thinking about updating my Brooke Tucker Kitchen in a more modern country style...(doesn't everyone renovate their dollhouse displays???)...but I digress.   Here is a tutorial for making drawer pulls and knobs that would be great for French Country but also, any style.  The upper ..read more

 Last blog I told how I embellished an old chandelier with jewelry findings and crystals.  This time I am sharing some hints and lessons learned I experienced while doing this project.  Hopefully my readers can benefit from my problems and mistakes!  We learn from each other, right?  I know I appreciate all the blogs I have read which have helped me and saved me a lot of time!But before I get ..read more

I feel it is very hard to find miniature light fixtures that aren’t dated-looking or that look like they were from a big-box hobby store (common).  I don’t like most of those battery fixtures – the bases are very thick and the bulbs very squared off, they don’t look like candle flames when on sconces and chandeliers.  They have their place – like maybe in a room box, where there are only a few ..read more

A few years back, NAME (National Association of Miniature Enthusists if you haven't heard of it) had a NAME Day project called Window Shopping.  It was a small display with lots of shelves to display a grouping of minis like they were in a shop window.  Ingenious! NAME Window Shopping Prototype from Gazette July 2015I LOVED seeing all the examples of this project sent in by Gazette readers and ..read more

This is a short but cute tutorial.  Make a Priority mail box and packing peanuts (yes! mini packing peanuts!).  To make the box:Download the pdf file with the graphics.  You will need a printer that can print on the front AND back side of the paper.  The box lining (brown with "Priority mail" printed all over it) should line up with the front graphic.    Here is the pdf link: Box Priority Mail ..read more