Having fun with Ironman....

As some of you may have noticed, I have a quirky sense of humor. Recently, I have become somewhat enthralled with not only the superhero movies of Ironman- I own all three ! But the Avengers as well. I have tried to put my willpower to not allowing myself to watch S.H.I.E.L.D. but to no avail...lol I think part of my recent fascination is my memory of buying comic books and watching Batman and Wonder Woman in the 70's when I was a kid, as well as Shazaam! & 'Oh Mighty Isis' which came in a two part show. Now, I blame it on Hot Toys for coming out with simply AMAZING head sculpts and accessories from these movies. If it can be believed, these action figures are MORE expensive than Fashion Royalty dolls! 
I have long wanted to purchase the House Party Protocol and one of the Hot Toys Ironman suits for Tony's workshop--- but I simply can't afford it. Today I gave in and purchased the cheapo plastic Ironman at Walmart for $9.97. I was wondering if I couldn't figure out how to build the placements for his workshop out of something similar...
Anyhow, today I had a few pics fun. I think Ironman 3 was one of the best, but I like all three. I haven't yet seen the Avengers, and I'm trying not to as I have been tempted to buy the heads and find bodies later!

High Visibility Agnes looks like Pepper Potts with her hair up. I couldn't resist this picture- " Put it there on with a crow bar, babe,"

"Woah, where are my doughnuts? Jarvis, we need to recalibrate this one, he forgot my wristwatch- it's a special limited edition Hello Kitty one- and the doughnuts. "
Poppy appears to be nonplussed to seeing Ironman at her bakery...

Special delivery! Poppy still doesn't look happy as the doughnuts weren't purchased from her! 

Enjoy! LOL...

Having fun in the Dollhouse....

Since I have been sorting and tidying the doll room, I have been having loads of fun.  Yesterday I did a little photoshoot and finally had time to catch up on which dolls are part of the 'families' of my doll town. 

Here are Giles and one of my Victoires playing chess. The chess set is magnetic, and was made by a friend of mine for a swap I did on a miniature forum years ago. 

Agnes, of course is attending to correspondence, planning one of her never ending parties. I'm wondering who it is in honor of??? 

Perhaps...

Maybe for her sister, Online Event Agnes, who just arrived. 

* I have had a few moments with this doll. She was not immediately deboxed and it was not until I went to the W Club forum did I completely understand the email the W Club admins sent explaining about the 'new' body which is supposedly has the ability to switch out her head, arms at the shoulders and elbows, and even her torso. I have not took her apart nor have any wish to, but am curious. Just a heads up out there, the FR AND THE NUFACE will begin to have this type of action figure body. *

Anyhow, since this Agnes looks so much like my favorite, she will be Agnes' baby sister. Victoire, Monte Carlo, will be the Dowager Baroness and Giles will be her baby brother, the oddball of the family who followed the family tradition of becoming a 'watcher'. (can't leave his Buffy the vampire slayer out of the picture- I loved that show) I might have to come up with a mother for Lady Agatha, my black haired Agnes Von Weiss..who is Agnes' cousin, lol.

I still have Grand Seduction Victoire to debox, so that might become Agatha's mother and the Dowager Baroness' other sister. 
Some more pics of shopping at La Belle's. I used the new Agnes' outfit for my autumn windows and it turned out looking good....

Iused some of the mahogany Bespaq in the shop for fall...it looks really good.The vanity I took the mirror off and made it into Agnes' desk.

I went through all of my dolls yesterday...and I have alot! I have wanted to get the set ready for halloween photos, but that may be hard, as I still have a few things to prepare for the FR Convention at the end of October.  I have an idea what I want to do with Mistress of the Manor coming, so I may do a few different shoots with that particular doll. I have a stack of Twilight dolls that need deboxing if I intend to use all of my vampires. 

And, recently, I received 'Midnight in the Dollhouse' a very good book off of Paperback Swap . 

For those who have never heard of it- it is a great place to swap your books with other members. Accounts are free, and there are restrictions on what you can post- as to condition of the books- no books with mold or water damage, that have highlighter or notes written in them, and so on. They also have DVD and CD swap, which I belong to as well. You are only out the cost of shipping the book to the person, and then you get a credit when the person receives their book to 'shop' for books of your choice. If you are looking for a certain book, you can put it on your wish list and they will notifiy you if it is available- and then you use your credit to buy it. I have just begun listing alot of books back on there as I would rather get credits for more books than just give these books away or sell them at a yard sale. I love to read but it can get expensive. One of my pet things is books about dolls or dollhouses, and I have some gems in my book collection- The Dolls House by Rumor Godden, The Dolls' Christmas by Tasha Tudor- Racketty Packetty House by Frances Hodgeson Burnett, and more. I loved these stories as a kid and still do now. I also have A is for Annabelle which is how my reproduction French Fashion doll got named. 

If you'd like to join and see my profile, here is my link to my Profile on Paperbackswap.com 

Have  a great weekend!

Lunch with the Baroness...

I have a very active Flicker album, and recently I participated and was tagged there in a Tag game called 'Lunch'- take a photo of your doll or dolls and how they have lunch, anywhere.  I had had this photo of my favorite Diva, Agnes, the Baroness, who 'owns' (she thinks!) the dollhouse, and the town, and all the best outfits that come into my possession. Some dolls! 
Here is my photo in my Tag Games album. Behind her are Andrews, the butler (the Great Oz) and Ann Marie, her maid (That Girl! Barbie outfit is from Ebay)

I have had two dolls or three dolls that have come into the doll room only they are not deboxed- and one of them is an Agnes! shudder. I do not know what it is about that particular character, but I adore how snobby and arrogant she is...
Above, Agnes is 'only' having lobster for lunch- and then her coffee- no dessert for this diva, she must protect her figure! She has such a very tight schedule today- only an hour and half for lunch, no time for dawdling! These appointments with designers for her new fall wardrobe are sooooooooo demanding and exhausting! 

As a kid I adored the show 'Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous' with Robin Leach, it was so funny and cool..So...Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams!

Nightlife perspective....

Yesterday I did alot of cleaning up of the dollhouse and clearing out of the clothing and stuff piled on top of it. Made room for my lights and stands. I waited until evening to take these photos, with all the little trees and lights lit up, as if the dolls are shopping at night. Enjoy!

Still experimenting with the camera settings and getting used to taking photos at night. No lights were on in the room except for the lights around, really gave a nice effect I thought. I want to do alot of creep night horror goth photos for Halloween and am experimenting about with lighting to get that effect of darkness, spooky, etc. 

Sunday Morning Set building...

Ok, quiet on the set! (muffle, shuffle shuffle shuffle..)

'And.....ACTION!'

You may noticed I started this post as if a movie was being filmed. I have this corner of the diorama table set up with the lights clamped to the edge of the dollhouse ledge shining down. Great part of this is that light and others can be moved about so I don't have to hold them while I take the photos...More and more as I experiment with this scale, I realize the scope of how you can take 1:6 scale to the level of miniature set buildings for movies, film, and videos. 

I have a new board on Pinterest called Miniature Set Building and I encourage you to go to the link pages of the pics on this board-- very fascinating and extremely interesting how they do this. Another link is to Ray Harry Hausen
the creator of special effects in the original sci-fi Godzilla movies of the 40s and 50's. He has passed away but his work is amazing. This type of miniature artistry is generally thought of as Concept Art. We never think of all of the animation needed for those movies such as Trolls, Frozen, and more, but they take miniature creation to a whole new art form. (Personally myself, I would rather work and create with the artists who make it happen than watch the actual movie!!) 
Another artist who inspired me on this journey was Caroline McFarlane-Watts, mainly a 1:12 scale artist. She owns Pixie Dust Miniatures, HummingBird Miniatures and has been featured in American Miniaturist, Dollhouse Miniature Magazine, Dolls House World, and Miniature Collector, too I believe. Her work on her own stop motion movie has been exciting and I encourage you to browse her blog Tall Tales  Scroll back all the way to the beginning, the artistry of her work in building a set for her movie is amazing and useful, because building sets is not about 'one' scale, it is the use of several scales to create depth, life and realism.  

Onto the dollhouse. I did some cleaning and tidying in the bedroom and the salon of Maison de la Royale (the Manor) and I switched out fireplaces in the bedroom. I placed the Jim Coates fireplace and screen and it created more room than the Bespaq one. That is going on the drawing board table to be altered for another diorama. One thing I like about the dollhouse is the ability where I can switch the furniture in the salon and dining room and have a library, kitchen, or ballroom if needed. I want to give the illusion of a huge mansion in the French provinces without having permanent dioramas. 

Here is the bedroom-

I used a long light and it really made the difference in the photos over natural light, which has way too much shading for my liking. But these photos of the cats and the dog, create the lighting when people wake up, the cat stretches on the bed or carpet and also life. Both Natalias are getting up or still sleeping. Both are IT direct lottery dolls. I made the loungerie they are both wearing as well as the bedding and pillows on the bed. 

The Salon-

First, I have a shot of the entire dollhouse. The dining room on the ground floor is not done yet, as that means I have to get on the floor and then get up. That doesn't happen easily and I am going to be working on that room without distractions but the Salon did come off nicely after all the junk and excess dolls were out of it. I want to create the illusion of a large mansion so I will definitely need more dolls in maid and cook and houseman uniforms. I have even thought of having footmen in old fashioned breeches and wigged. That may come later. Right now I have one maid and one butler. The great Oz makes a great butler and That Girl Barbie is the maid. I have long wanted to do a scene with Agnes getting out of the car and the household staff is lined up to greet her like Downtown Abbey's opening scenes. So I will need housemen, or footmen, maids, cook, and housekeeper....
Note- Please check the blogs to the side that I follow, I have added some new ones that I think everyone will enjoy, as well as the links resource box has been revamped as well. More to come, and happy Sunday!~Lisa