Happy 2022 everyone! I'm hoping it's a better year than the last couple that's for sure. I didn't manage to get much done for Christmas in the Farmhouse...I made a start  but as usual time ran out on me. I also started making things for Christmas in La Maisonette...so that's a small start on next Christmas!   The idea of a vintage style New Year's party came to me after Christmas and as there was nothing else that I had to do I started working on making tiny things. Kim Saulter made the cake...I think it was one of the first things she ever sent me. I managed to print a teeny t ..read more

              I know it's been a while...but life seems to throw unhelpful situations at me these days!                                                                Progress has been made on the patisserie. I've built a bakery counter with a marble top. Not exactly sure where it should go yet. I made the display case next. Then the cabinet for it to sit on with drawers for supplies in the shop ..read more

Let's start with the outside...or if you want to see where the drinks trolley found it's home you can scroll down first. It took a mammoth effort to finish the exterior of the Maisonette but I am so glad it's (mostly) done! I figured there would never be a better time than Lockdown to get things finished. I'll no doubt still add things to it...there's always another idea! The stairs were challenging as they needed to be quite steep. That funny little booth with the map is hiding the back of the built in cupboard in the patisserie. I found some paint that was a close enough colour to the ot ..read more

Every now and then a random idea pops into my head of something La Maisonnette needs. At the beginning of lockdown (6 weeks ago now) I thought I should make a drinks trolley. It turned out to be one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried to make. The whole thing kept twisting out of shape and it was always leaning forwards.  In the end I had to pull it apart and remake it. It's now been standing up straight for weeks!  But because there's no reason to hurry during a lockdown I have only just set it up with drinks. Now, I'm no drinker so the labels on the pink bottles are j ..read more

Well, this lockdown started out being two weeks then it was extended to four weeks and now we're into week five!! I've been working most days on getting this little project finished.  This is the third and FINAL transformation of this room. I still love that Rossevelt Rose wallpaper but the time has come to change this room completely and make it look more like it belongs with the two floors above in the maisonette.  I didn't rip the wallpaper out, I've just covered it up - in case I change my mind again one day, so if someone in the future renovates it they'll find the ori ..read more

I have no idea what they call the entrance hall in France. This is the view from where the actual outside door will be. I am happy to report that after months of the door languishing on my husband's workbench, now we're in lockdown he has fixed it for me. Just love the lighting in this pic! I looked through my vast stash of dollhouse furniture trying to find the right piece for the entry. But it suddenly dawned on me that so far I have made every piece of furniture in this little apartment myself.  So really there was only one thing I could do! I would love to have a bow front c ..read more

  Welcome to a very tiny kitchen! This little space has been quite a challenge. No room for appliances in this compact space! And as you can see from the pic above,  I've used the space right to the very edge of the Maisonette. I should have probably built that cupboard a bit smaller but clearly measuring isn't a great skill of mine! Originally I made a marble benchtop but it didn't look right so close to the marble fireplace. I was making the hole in the benchtop to fit this bowl but the bowl looked too new.  I prefer a slightly grungy, lived-in, vintage vibe. You knew ..read more

This was the first building I ever built when I joined a Miniatures club that happened to meet  once a month just around the corner from my house.  When I joined the club they were building a row of Victorian shops for their biennial show.  It was a good way to learn the basics of miniature building. It also made me realise I never want to make or glue hundreds of sandpaper bricks ever again! And there's the delightful Liberty when she was two and a half years old back in 2007.  Time really does fly! In 2011 I changed the building into a bakery. However there's not a lot ..read more

After searching through my miniature hoard 'stash' I decided to make a table and chairs from scratch for the Salon. I probably could have found a table and chairs that would fit there but sometimes  I just feel like making stuff!?  For the chairs I looked at the instructions in Lea Frisoni's book.  I didn't have everything that she used to make her beautiful chairs but I was able to improvise.  Do what you can with what you have! Cardboard, toothpicks, thin cord and jump rings! I've had that fabric for a long time.  This just seemed the right time ..read more

Mirror, mirror on the wall... Uh, oh!!!!! This week I was searching for just the right mirror to go above the fireplace. Everything crashing down like that has happened so many times. The only place I was searching was through all the stuff I have. This was my first option but after surfing the web (for quite some time)  I decided the mirror needed to be taller. I found this one but it was a bit  too tall.  So...I went at it with my trusty craft knife, it was unfortunate that it broke in the middle. However, it went back together ok. I'm happy with the result. It fits th ..read more