Four months ago, I (mostly) finished the exterior of my little Toy House. I felt, I was on a real roll and so excited about how it was all coming together. What happened, you may wonder?
I have been tinkering a little bit, but haven't made any major progress. Having said that, the shelves in the shop are filling slowly with toys that I have gathered so far. Some I have bought, some are made from kits and some from scratch.
I thought I would start listing them here as a way to somehow log what they all are so that I can look back and remember what they all are when where I found them.
These three little pieces are some of my oldest tiny toys. I bought and painted them.. many, many moons ago. I am guessing they are phoenix miniatures. I rediscovered them in a box when I was cleaning out the shed and almost threw out - before deciding to play with them instead.
I painted this family of teeny wild animals more recently. As you can see, they are the tiniest of tiny. The Ark is from a very basic little kit. I made groves in sides and roof to add just a bit of details before painting it.
The polar bear is just a cheap plastic micro mini - I think he might need a bow around his neck to make him look a bit more friendly.
The Humpty Dumpty Circus boxes at the back are made with the graphics from original lids that I found online and scaled down.
One day, I might like to make some tiny Humpty Dumpty circus figures to go in the boxes.
Some of the first toys, I made from scratch are these three. It started with the monkey seesaw, made mostly from paper, with a little bit of balsa for them to sit on and pins for the mast and for securing the wheels. The little seesaw boat is made from a bit of balsa with the tops of fancy toothpicks for the little sailors.
I love antique toys, so I have had a lot of fun looking for ideas for toys to make for the little shop. So when I saw this pull-along monkey, I just had to make one like that too.
Another paper toy - a tiny merry-go-round. I found this brilliant download and tutorial HERE. Although it is in French, the pictures are excellent so it is pretty easy to follow.
Next a few little dolls made from kits from Tower House Dolls (the website is currently under reconstruction). The larger doll was a full kit and my first attempt. For the slightly smaller doll, I just got the porcelain doll and made up the costume from silk ribbons and fine lace trim. I am not overly excited about the hair, but it will do (for now).
I had so much fun making these little ladies and I can highly recommend Sandra's kits if you are ever looking for a really special mini doll for your mini people.
The dolls house is also from a kit - well partly. This one is from Jacominis. The print is really excellent, but I was so disappointed when I discovered the beautiful front was just to be glued onto a wooden block! That wouldn't do.
After a bit of trail and error, I managed to create a paper interior on the computer, that when folded made four rooms. Looking at the photo, I now see the front edges are a little bit wonky (another thing I need to fix) but I still prefer this to a wooden block. Notice the wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom is a scaled down version of the living room above the toyshop :-)
I have been looking for some 1:144 furniture, but have yet to buy some to fill the house.
There are many more toys on the shelf already, perhaps I need to pull them out and log them shelf by shelf.
Take care everyone,
Anna
