Wonderful book by Barbara Brear

I have bought this spell book from Barbara Brear. It is so beautifully made, it looks so real! On the outside it is covered with the thinnest leather. It is now on the wizard`s table in his cottage.

Weekend in Italy, and a souvenir from Rome

Last weekend my husband and I went to Italy. We traveled with two other couples. We spent the first day sightseeing in Rome, and three days in a small village an hour outside of Rome called Vasanello.

I kept my eyes open for miniatures, and in Rome I found this....

We saw the Trevi fountain....

had some tasty italian gelati...

stumbled upon a Valrhona shop and bought some chocolate....

and we visited the Colusseum.

In the small village of Vasanello we went for a walk, it was such a lovely and calm place.

On the wall in a restaurant I saw this "dollhouse"-picture. It was really pretty and well-made.

We also went to a vineyard for some wine-tasting and a lovely meal.

And of course I just had to try some real italian pizza! It was delicious!

Here`s the whole group at this wonderful little hidden gem of a restaurant, it was my favorite.

(me in the grey cardigan).

And this is another village where we had dinner one evening.

All in all a fantastic trip, I enjoyed every single moment! Nice people, calm surroundings and fantastic food!

My very own dollhouse room!

Finally! After years and years of waiting and wishing, I am getting a room for my dollhouses! Earlier this week we bought a house, and it has five bedrooms! That means the kids doesn`t have to share a room anymore, and in addition the masterbedroom, my husband and I each get our own room for our hobbies. I am so looking forward to moving in all my mini-stuff! :-D

This is the room...

The house is very close to were we live now, only a 5-10 min. walk. We always knew we wanted to get a house close to where our appartement is, cause we really like this neighbourhood. When I first saw the house for sale online, I just knew it was the right house for us straight away. It has plenty of space and a nice garden, and the interior is in light and neutral colors. I can`t wait to move in! I`ve already started packing. I spent more than two hours packing up my miniatures! And that was just the small items, not the furniture! It is quite a job to pack (and unpack!) eight dollhouses, but it`ll definitely be worth it!

Mini Le Creuset

My husband is the manager of a shop that sells kitchen supplies, and he recently went to LeCreuset`s showroom in Oslo. They gave him these cute pots, that are really refridgerator
magnets! They are a little bit big, but not too big, as the full-size pots come in large sizes. They looked really nice on my mini Aga stove. :-)

Craft Retreat 2010

Today I went to the norwegian dollhouse show at Sola, just outside Stavanger. I met several of my "mini-friends", including fellow bloggers Rita, Janne and Synnøve. And I did some shopping, of course! Sadly I forgot to bring my camera, so these two pictures taken with my phone are the only ones I have from the show.





These dollhouses were made in a class arranged by Tone.

These are the things that I bought! The decanter is by Glasscraft, the dress is by Solveig Gulbrandsen, and the other items are from Minst.

The dress went straigt to a hanger in my little girl`s bedroom.

And the teddybear sits nicely next to a bear I already had.

The decanter went in my Country Victorian dining room.

The china is by Stokesay Ware, the candlesticks are by Royal Tunbridge Wells, the silver tray is by Mike Sparrow, the other silver items are by Simply Silver, the cake is by The English Kitchen, the gooseberries are by Christel Jensen, the wine glasses are by Gerd Felka and the lace tablecloth is by Eleonora Cappelletti. Table and chairs are Bespaq.

The old wash basin/bucket is now in the wizard`s cottage.

Looks like he`s been in the forest and found some mushrooms....

One of these small baskets are in the wizard`s bedroom...

And the other one is in the Tuscan Villa.

I also brought my two sons to the show. This is what my oldest son Noah bought. The buns were made by a thirteen year old boy. I was impressed, they look great!

Kasper also wanted a wreath....

We all had a great time at the show! It`s always so much fun to admire other people`s work, and chat with fellow miniaturists. :-D

Mini-baking

It`s been a while since I have made any minis from fimo, but here is my latest project. Some chocolate chip cookies. The "finished" cookies doesn`t look very edible though, I might have to make some new ones. I made the two-tier tray using plain metal plates, a long, thin nail (the kind used for earring making), and some beads. The baking board is a laminate sample, I got a whole bunch of these from Cocco.

Tray

I saw some lovely trays on this blog, and I wanted to try making one for myself. This is the result...

I used some very small tiles I found on sale in a craft shop.

Bespaq Baby House

I have just started working on my Bespaq Baby House, and I have finished the wallpapering and flooring. I used free printies found online, and minimized them on my computer. I plan to make furniture for it, but I have never made furniture this small so I don`t really know where to start...

A new chair

I have made a new chair for the bedroom in my Country Victorian house. The fabric matches the curtains that Janne made for me.

Scrolls for the wizard

I found a tutorial here on how to make scrolls, and I just had to try it! I found this Harry Potter printie online, and I had everything else I needed except the dye used to age the paper in the end. So I just need to buy that to finish my scrolls.



I think the wizard is quite happy with them...

His cottage is still a work in progress. He needs LOTS of wizards stuff! I think he`s the messy type, so I imagine his house will eventually have magical things in every nook and cranny.

Meet the wizard!

I have finished my wizard! He is a doll kit by Sherri Colvin, and I have painted, wigged and dressed him. He has now moved into the Cottage. I need a name for him, any suggestions?



His beautiful owl, made by Annie Willis of Fine Designs. The owl also needs a name, and I`d be grateful for suggestions! :-)

The Give Away winner is...

My oldest son, Noah, helped me with the draw....

And the winner is.... NORMA! Congratulations!

Now I just need your address, and I`ll send you your prize. :-)

My first give-away! Part two

You still have a few days to sign up for my first give-away. I addition to the hat, the winner will also get this shelf....

And some flowers and chocolates....

And I`ll also add some extra surprises!