Garfield Manor - photoshoot for American Miniaturist

American Miniaturist, Issue #156!

My Garfield Manor got featured on American Miniaturist, Issue #156!

Bathtub Mirror

Inspired by the photo below, I have added a Bespaq mirror above the bathtub.

Mirror was priced at $8 (+$2.95 S&H) on eBay.

New Aquarium in the Study

Bought a beautiful aquarium by Patricia Hamilton from eBay last year.

Below: photos of the old aquarium from 2013

Sundial & Birdbath

A few months ago, I bought a matching pair of pedestal sundial and birdbath by Mark Evans of Island Crafts and Miniatures. They are cast in heavy gun metal and finished to look like aged bronze.

They were listed at $15 (+$2.79 s&h).

Painting the Bricks

I have finally painted the bricks after four years; I had finished sculpting the brickwork right before I had my son. The walls are parchment -- warmer than the natural color of paper clay. The brick borders around the windows are now rusty red. I am not sure how I feel about the color scheme yet. I was so used to the white.

 

This is a house in our neighborhood that inspired the colors.

 

Working Grandfather Clock

I have been away from mini-making for a long time. I was sick since last November, and had to undergo surgery which kept me home for six weeks this summer. I ended up buying way too many miniatures on eBay -- will share photos when I can.

One of my most favorite finds was the working grandfather clock kit by Arrow Handicraft Corp. The kit was from circa 1975, and the clockwork is still working after 40 years.

The glue and the stain was obviously dry, but the rest of the kit was intact. I had so much fun building the kit!

I love watching the pendulum swing ... so mesmerizing!

The Adventures of Moving a Dollhouse

We moved the dollhouse to our new house, but the base was too big to pass through the doorway of the inner rooms. My previous house had an office with French doors, so I did not need to worry about the size of the dollhouse. But the new house has narrow doorways which are about 32 inches wide I believe.

I had to cut the base of the dollhouse on one side. It felt horrible because I spent so much time creating the perfectly even lawn only months ago. But leaving the dollhouse out in the family living room was not an option either. I had too many close calls from toddler nieces and nephews who have not mastered the concept of playing "gently."

Even after cutting the base, we had to take the door off the hinges so that the dollhouse would pass through into one of the smaller bedrooms which we are using as our office/workroom. 

Dancing in the Courtyard

We moved houses recently. The Garfield arrived safely at the new house, but with its base, it is too wide to pass through the smaller work-room door. Right now it is in the living room, which makes me nervous due to the small nieces and nephews I have visiting sometimes. My three-year old has left it alone so far, and I hope, will continue to do so until I find a safer place for it.

No new photos of the dollhouse to share for now, but I did take photos of my dolls in the courtyard of the Garfield a few months ago, so I thought I'd share them here too. I do love the how the tiles look.

Herringbone Brick Pathway

I settled on a herringbone brick pattern for the pathway that leads to the front stairs. At first I thought I would use sand to create a cemented pathway, but I like this so much better!

Right now the brick is white, but I need to decide on a color eventually. I am leaning more towards gray tones than red. Maybe I should create test strips of paper clay brick and experiment with colors.