Dixie & the tinies settle in....

Dixie silently typing on her laptop,,,

Type type type....
(Dixie hears something, turns around...)

Oh my, didn't you give me a start! Hello there! What? Oh yes, Miss Lisa has me hooked on barbiecollector.com Research you know- soon the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse, the diva's dollhouse, will be coming home from the shop soon, so I have to know what type of dolls I will be dealing with...you startled me! But this house is pretty old. I'm not crazy about my office- it will be redecorated soon...

Well, I guess I should catch you up on how we tinies here are settling in at Strawberry Hill Manor. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. My office is going to be repainted and Miss Lisa brought home an unfinished bookshelf- it's behind me- and my office will be done in modern, painted white. I will order my computer desk when Minuette decides what kind of stove & sink she wants in the kitchen. As for settling in...
everyone kind of has their own routine now.

Maizie helps in the kitchen...

She's really great at making pies! My favorite is being made right now- banana cream pie! Maizie is one cool doll.
We also got a new dining room set, which looks much more nicer with the pretty wallpaper, and brighter...

We all had dinner last night on the new dining room, with the new Rement coffee cups that had arrived. It was a treat! Last night it was baked ham...Minuette, Maizie & I talked about the preparations for the new tiny who will be here in a few months...

Minuette takes care of our mail, and general tidying of the house, which isn't easy-- since this is such a big house! Today she received a package from  Sparrow Post Va.  (we have our own version of Sparrow Post down here in the South- pretty fast since the birds are always migrating south, we get our mail quickly.)

And me, I'm settling in as well.

My office is really coming along. Hopefully I will have some lamps in here as well so I can do my work.

Wow, it's good to stretch. I've been working most of the day to update the blog,. Hope you enjoy the pics of us settling in!
~Dixie the Brownie

More of Strawberry Hill Manor dollhouse...

So as promised, I took some more in depth pics of the Strawberry Hill dollhouse that is going to be the tinies' home for a little while. This dollhouse was a yard sale find for $20 at a church yard sale and came with some old furniture, the only thing missing was the components for the slant roof over the attic rooms. I am in the process of looking for some battery powered lights for it. But in these pics you can see the dollhouse front with the doors closed, and open. It currently sits on a small wood cube stand in my display room. I love the furniture in the kitchen and dining room, but it needs to be more comfy & modern. The office, next to the parlor, will be updated with a computer for Dixie as well, and a bed in the night nursery will be added too. I still have an attic bedroom not finished, that could be Minuette's room, since she doesn't like the furnished children's attic room- says the bed is not comfortable. dolls....the Realpuki when she arrives may sleep inthe night nursery.

Minuette loves the kitchen, but it is dark and cramped, and the best use of space hasn't been made. I may move that large hutch into the dining room, it will match the white & pine table and chairs I have for it already. The scandanavian table and chair are just too adorable, and they and the stove were given to me by Susan Sirkis, one of my miniature doll friends. But the stove needs to be more modern, so the sink and stove will come out and make way for a more modern one ,
All for now, more updated pics as I do more on the house, and working on cleaning out the display room.

Tiny Bjd's 'rent' a home...on Strawberry Hill.

Hi All. Dixie here.  Well, me & Maizie have been helping Minuette with her sweet shop, and it's been a hit. She is thinking about expanding to fresh breads & cheeses, and pastries, & having one of us run that shop next door to her candy & sweet shop, if her cousin in Florida will front the candy, er cheese. But that's another story. We tinies were tired of sleeping on the big dolls' bed. So with all the miniature real estate that abounds in Miss Lisa's house, we asked the Mad Hatter, Tarrance, our realtor, & he said he knew of a family of dolls that wished to rent out their large home Miss Lisa rescued from a yard sale a few years ago & fixed up for them. They are  a large family of what Miss Lisa calls "artist' dolls and resemble peg wooden dolls. The house is so big it has a name- Strawberry Hill Manor! I'm here sitting in the parlor right now, and though big, it is cramped, but perfect for us tinies. Miss Lisa said I should speak to Miss Elizabeth Woodenhouse, & work out the rent and details with her.

At first, Minuette & Maizie didn't know how we were going to pay for it....& then they found out Miss Lisa had said it was important, because ANOTHER TINY was coming home in a few months from Denver Doll! A RealPuki Soso!

                      Maizie: ' another TINY! Is she serious???
Minuette: We are still living in my shop...
ME: Look guys, This Woodenhouse lady is really nice, Miss Lisa said we could stay there if it was Ok with her..

Minuette: Is there room for another tiny??
Maizie: I'm tired of sleeping on the candy shop floor
ME: So am I...what do ya think?

Minuette: Is it furnished- are there beds?
ME: Miss Lisa has enough to get us started, remember, some big dolls are leaving the dollhouse room tomorrow.
Maizie: LET'S DO IT!
So onto Miss Woodenhouse we went to meet with .....

Needless to say, we met with her in her parlor. It was cramped and not as modern as we had hoped. For one thing, they don't have any electricity!! Candles everywhere....Mrs. Woodenhouse explained her family was simply too large now to accomadate them comfortably. The rent was quite reasonable, and she said with Miss Lisa's approval, we could make any alterations we wished. The family had moved out and left what furniture they wanted to, Mrs. Woodenhouse left us the key and suggested we tour the house today to decide what would be needed. With that, we all decided to explore the house, which has three stories, plus two attic rooms that had been converted into children's rooms. I decided to check out the right attic bedroom first, since it was furnished.

It was filled with toys, and antique nursery wallpaper. Miss Lisa thought the new Tiny would like this room since she was a little young. I agreed with her on that.Minuette could sleep here now until we furnish her room.
Minuette checked out the 2nd floor rooms, while Maizie checked out the larger bedroom, which we would be sharing.

Miss Lisa explained the brass bed was someting from her childhood dollhouse, and she wouldlove it if Maizie & I used it. Her mother made the tiny yo yo quilt and pillows on the bed.

I checked out the kitchen, which made me a little hungry.....so I started a banana pie

There was another problem that Mrs. Woodenhouse & Miss Lisa forgot about- this house came with ALOT of animals!

We counted three dogs right here. Minuette 'found' a pet owl in a huge cage in what was supposed to be the night nursery right next to our bedroom!

Miss Lisa later explained that the owl had been created by an artisan friend in England, and was made for this cage. Minuette thought the owl would make a great pet for the Realpuki coming, and make her feel at home.

All in all, it isn't that bad of an old house. I see why Miss Lisa likes big old houses, the older the better. We tinies like it too, & Miss Lisa said she would look for some more up to date furnishings for the kitchen such as a modern stove . She is planning to really re-do her very very FIRST dollhouse her dad built her, which would be more to scale for our more comfy furnishings and has a closet for our Christmas decorations as well, and her beloved Rement. Soon the Woodenhouse family will want to  move back in, so we will just be here temporarily until the new project of the really old dollhouse is redone.

It's going to be really nice living here, and enjoy the pictures!

Author's note: Since Dixie did not have her laptop, Lisa transcribed this into the blog for her...*

Old & new pics of the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse...

These are some older pics of the dollhouse in my shop window- where it is still residing until we move it home...one reason my display room is in such a mess so we can make room for my favorite dollhouse next to Tara & Minnie's bakery. I have already brought home my tupperware bucket of dolls that I can't live without at the shop so they can reside on my shelves...when did I acquire so many silkies and Fashion Royalty dolls???? One reason for the basic membership at the W club, even though I was lusting after both the Kyori & the Avant Guard- and she looked like Poppy! Since there are other dolls who haven't made it home yet, we are sticking to our doll list for 2011 and no ifs ands, or buts. lol. The pictures above remind me of when I was a little girl and received my first dollhouse- it looked huge, because it was on wheels and I loved loved loved it. I stilll have it an intend to take it back and restore it, it was built on a scale of 1 1/2 inches to the foot, so it will be perfect for the pukifee I want to bring home, and a wonderful place for my tinies to reside with all of the Rement I am obsessed with collecting. I now have the Hinamatsuri set I purchased, I may set it up in one of hte bedrooms of that house if they are clean enough.

The kitchen still  needs some work. I haven't decided whether I need to stick with this table, it is perfect for my bjd tinies like the brownies, pukis, and too small for Barbie, but would be great for my old childhood dollhouse, I suspect my 8 inch madame alexanders would fit in it perfect. Becky works ok in it but she's shorter than Barbie. In order to add the rest of the Sindy furniture like the oven range, I need to take the foamcore floor out and redo it. I wouldlike to do a scene in the dollhouse for Valentine's day, but don'tknow if that will happen anytime soon. hmm..Another excuse to drag out my Luxury french Rement...lol

I worked so hard on getting this scene just right before we set up the house in the window, I never tire of standing outside when I have time to see all the details I added. It has been most rewarding to share this wonderful piece in my collection with my customers and just passerby the shop. One thing that is neat is to be at the shop early in the morning and watch the joggers slow down on the sidewalk to take a look, that gives me such a good feeling to know that the house brings happiness to so many people. It really is trrue that there is a little bit of love of little things in all of us,...
I received more Rement from my favorite seller in Hong Kong, when I was bidding onthe seperate sets of Hinamatsuri, will take pics later today when I feel better. The flu has struck me again after I had it very bad on Sunday night Monday all day, and Tuesday as well, when I did not go to the shop. It struck both my husband and I again this morning.
I will be posting more pics later, probably of Minuette's sweet shop, when I rearrange it and get a little skit together. I think I have more of the Mickey mouse McDonald's madame alexander happy meal dolls, a boy which I need to add in the mouse sweet shop. I am trying to prepare a scene for Valentine's day and the Brownies needed new outfits, which are on their way. All for now- Lisa

Cute dolls at Cracker Barrel..& Minuette's candy shop...

I couldn't resist posting today...yesterday hubby & I went to Mass, then went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. They are brillant on marketing strategy with a gift shop...I found these two adorable little dolls to add to the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse when it comes home...I hate the fact Mattel is revamping Kelly, or doing away with her altogether.

The little pink one came with a little white poodle, which is now residing in Minuette's candy shop. They were about $5 each, so if you have a Kelly or generic Kelly weakness like I do, go to Cracker Barrel! Their Valentine items were out & I couldn't help buying a pink rhinestone studded shirt to wear for my Lady Slipper dance unit for the Shrine. yeah, me!

Minuette's candy shop has come home to the display room, and some new or old items have been added. Still needs more Rement, which is on its way..I added another table & chairs and another Sonia Messner bakery rack. The cups and teacups look great on them. The bicycle out front & the little cat are from Hallmark, the bike is an ornament. Minuette likes the new location & thinks she'll get more business...I told her just hope that another mouse doesn't move in with a cheese shop, & she'll do fine.

I acquired some more Rement, it was a set I had bid on on Ebay- the ladies of the court in the Hinamatsuri set, it arrived today. It is so detailed! I think it might be nice to have an extra set of the ladies, and there is even a little box to store them in. This set came from Canada, I have an additional set coming from Hong Kong I bid on- it was the palaquins, I think.
The display room cleaning project is coming along- I will get some more pics soon. So many boxes of minis to go through I don't know where to begin. I'm also cleaning out older dolls that take up room as well.
~Lisa

Hinamatsuri Rement has arrived!

My Re-ment Hinamatsuri set has arrived! Squee! I found this set and had wanted and wanted it- especially to sell in the shop, but the distributor was wanting an idiot price wholesale- not really, since this set retails for $89-139 ON Ebay! However, I used The Find to price compare and found it at Katharines' Cottage a doll shop in California, for $69.95!!! This was one of my musts on my project doll list to do this year for 2011...to celebrate Hinamatsuri or the Japanese Girls' Festival, or Doll Festival as they do in Japan. I have long lusted after soem of the Hina dolls on Ebay, and will probably slowly begin to collect them...I have some wonderful geishas from Japan that belonged to my wonderful mother in law, Mrs. Neault, and we treasure them here, especially my husband, who is used to dusting dolls & is interested inthe Hinamatsuri celebration as well. On the third day of the third month- March 3rd, girls in Japan celebrate this event. I amhoping to have kimonos made for Felicity, Rebecca, and my bjds Gracie & Dottie by that time. I have kimonos for the fashion dolls, so the set wll probably be set up in the One Sixth Scale Dollhouse when it comes home.

On another note, my A Doll A Day Project 2011is going very well. I have always wanted to do something like this. My most recent pic from yesterday is the little 8 inch Madame Alexander ballerina I received when I was six or seven, she was one of my favorites. My first dollhouse made by my dad was built on a scale 1 1/2 inch to the foot, using her as his 'scale' for the windows and doors, lol. I am still working on my project list , which includes cleaning out the display room.

Shown above is the room after I had moved alot of items out of the way, mostly boxes and shipping boxes dolls and minis have come in. The items on the floor are my habit of accumulating fabric & craft supplies, which I am going thru at this time. The large dollhouse on the table is a yard sale find, Strawberry Hill Manor, which houses my collection of reproduction of Dutch penny wooden dolls by the late Fred Laughon I collected. Not shown are teh shelves which house the roomboxes and the fashion dolls, or my Barbies. Today Iw ill be dragging out the boxes and reorganizing the layout of the room to make room for the dollhouse displays from the shop- since I am having to close my brick & mortar shop, King William Miniatures. (Don't worry, I will still be online!)
I haven't yet taken out the Rement out of its box, but took pics of the Emporer & Empress, they are so detailed. Forgive my blurry pics!
On another note, please follow my blog- I am planning in the upcoming months to do some work on the one sixth scale dollhouse - finish the kitchen and the garage, which will be Ken's mancave. I am excited about the new Jason Wu dolls, so there will be more characters coming to the dollhouse!
~Lisa

Happy New Year..and a New Year's Resolution

Happy New Year everyone!

I wasn't feeling too sporty on New Year's eve, or I would have posted some cute photos I had been planning. that was stopped by the awful flu/cold bug so I was sick pretty much. Did however, watch Rocky Balboa movie on New Year's eve, and had never seen this movie, inexcusable for a Rocky & Sly Stallone fan such as myself.

Well, I don't make new year's resolutions- but this one was important. My new A Doll a Day 2011 project is in my flicker album, and I WILL post one photo a day of a dolly doing something! This will be so much more interesting than the regular ones- lose weight, stop smoking, etc. etc. lol! Wish me luck!

Oh, and Happy New Year!~Lisa