Breakfast in the Dollhouse

I finally got courage to put together and paint

the toaster kit I'd bought for the dollhouse.

Knowing my previous failures with painting metal

I was really unsure of how to go about it.

Elizabeth at Studio E recommends nail polish

for lots of dollhouse details

so I tried that first....

it chipped off as it dried :((

Ok,

time to try Tamiya Metal Primer.

That stayed on and gave me hope!

Tamiya Gloss Black over the Primer,

hold breath, cross fingers.

Yay!

Success!

And I love this toaster!

Additions to the Miniature Population

With thanks to

Robin

the lovely lady who made them!!

Lil in her new domain.

Much persuasion was needed to induce Lil

to emigrate Downunder.

Janet and Jim

were in dire need of some quality help

with their large family

so Robin was asked if she knew of a nice

trustworthy lady who might like to travel

and see a bit of the world 

and take up a position with our family.

Lil was consulted but she wasn't immediately convinced,

she had the possibility of a good position

coming available close to home.

Inducements of a well appointed kitchen

and the great Australian weather

didn't appear to be much help convincing Lil to leave England.

I had a very nervous weekend waiting to hear

what her final decision would be...

Joy when the news came through

that Lil would be coming!!

(Gossip had it Lil was persuaded to emigrate

only when she heard that her dear Vicar,

whom she'd

"done for"

for years,

had accepted a posting Downunder.)

The Vicar is visiting to chat with Young Jim

about christening arrangements for the babies.

Lil and the Vicar appear to have taken

"The long way round"

on their journey to Australia,

arriving many days later than expected.

Robin and I feared Lil had had her way with the Vicar

and the two of them eloped.

Perhaps we'd never see them again!

They eventually showed up,

nonchalantly unpacked themselves

and made themselves at home,

without forwarding any explanation 

re their tardiness.

The Vicar is saying nothing whatever of their whereabouts.

When questioned, Lil firmly closed her lips

around a tiny smile.

 As soon as

the new arrivals had been revived from their journey

with a good cup of tea,

a photo session was arranged

to commemorate the occasion

but Lil was nowhere to be seen.

A frantic hunt ensued.

Grave fears were held for her safety.

Miniature people are warned

on their arrival

of the danger of

Miniature-Eating Wolves

lurking about.

(Chihuahuas - who also eat miniature crochet)

To everyones great relief

she was found to have

skived off to the computer desk for a quiet fag

(a habit I hope I can break her of soon)

and wasn't happy  about being required

to pose for a photo.

Her mood improved markedly

when she was shown the kitchen

where she immediately donned her pinny

and set to work with mop and bucket.

Woe-betide anyone

who walks dirt through her domain

again!

And finally,

our older teenage daughter.

A horse mad lass!

She wasted no time

but made a beeline for the stable

to feed her horse an apple,

give him a good brush down

and pop a saddle on him for

a lovely ride.

7 Little Australians

Or

The Continuing Tale of the Dollhouse Family.

The lovely

and talented

Robin

of

Coombe Crafts

recently completed the rest of our dollhouse family,

so here we have a little of their story.

Each of these little people has been named

with my own families names.

We have a couple of sets of twins in the extended family

and the name Robin appears twice

so together with the creator of the

Dollhouse Family

being also Robin, we of course had to have a Robin.

Hilda Grace and James George

are an amalgamation of family characters.

James/Jim is so often used

my mother used to say-

"We have old Jim and young Jim

and young Jim's son Jim

and baby Jim as well."

True Story!

I've had so much fun endowing these little people

with characters and names

in memory of loved ones

and Robin has given them faces to go with their character.

Well, enough history, on with current events.

Mum Janet has been enjoying the warmth

of the late autumn afternoon sun

on the upper balcony

reading to the 3 year old twins 

Pip and Pippa.

Dad Jim arrives home from work

and knows where to find his family

so he's headed straight upstairs

after a quick pat for a couple of the dogs.

Jim owns a small bus company.

He started out driving buses when he first arrived Downunder.

He saved very hard and, 

thanks to a loan from his dear Dad,

he was able to buy his first bus.

With good management,

being handy and doing his own repair work,

he now has the beginnings of a fleet of buses.

A hug for his wife and a pat on the head

for Pip who has run to greet him.

G'day to Gran and Granddad

who have also been enjoying the weather.

Looks like Granddad is hoping for a game of chess

with his son before they have tea.

One of the 8 month old twin babies has woken from an afternoon sleep

so Gran brought her upstairs for some fresh air.

She is excited to see Daddy!

Young Jim has been looking for his slingshot,

it must have been on the seat beside Mum!

He's glad to have it back in his possession,

that annoying little brother would love to get his hands on it ;)

Oh, no, Pip is playing with Young Jim's billy-cart!

He's going to get a good scolding from big brother!

Pippa is the quiet one of the three year old twins,

she's happy to play dollies

and enjoy the company of the bunnies

and the chihuahuas.

The two older girls are sharing a bath

after their busy day at school.

You can see Robins pet rat

sitting patiently on the chair

waiting for her to cuddle him again.

Sissy is horse mad but she doesn't bring her horse

into the bathroom!

With so many

Little Australians

in the family,

Robin and Sissy know it pays to get in early!

The sun is sinking quickly

and the evening chill will soon

send our family indoors for their evening meal

and later,

some happy time sharing the events

of their day.

It's evident that

7 Little Australians

will be

8 Little Australians

in a few months!

Janet and Jim don't mind another mouth to feed,

they always wanted a large family

and they love their brood.

(I can't help thinking two sets of twins is enough though,

lets hope the new arrival is a single!)

Gran and Granddad are reveling

in their life with their loved ones.

The migrants are here!

A belated welcome to new migrants

Hilda Grace and James George!

With thanks to Robin for all her help,

superb packing and travel arrangements,

and making sure our much loved couple

departed their land of birth safely.

This is a tale of a family.

Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent,

some have not,

Some of the tale is dollhouse fiction,

some is not :)

Part 1

In the beginning

there had been a love match

between

Hilda Grace and James George.

They produced and raised a much loved son who,

in the way of young men,

sought adventure along with fortune.

You may hear more of his adventures

in the future but for now,

this is his parents story.

Adventure led young James Downunder

and fortune he found.

Love found him.

He married an Aussie girl,

and settled down in marital bliss

which was wonderful news to his parents

but they missed him deeply

and wished so much to meet their Daughter-in-law.

Before they knew it Hilda and James became grandparents.

Hilda wept tears of happiness,

tinged with sadness

that she couldn't cuddle her first grandchild

or see the pride in her sons eyes. 

Then they became grandparents again.

Hilda found her thoughts turned constantly to

the grandchildren she hadn't met.

James George was stoic

but in his heart

he too longed to see his son

and to meet those grandchildren.

The decision was made to travel Downunder for a visit.

Arrangements were begun and then - 

they became grandparents again. 

With the family increasing in Australia

and retirement on the horizon

it seemed natural to make a permanent move

so they made plans to sell their house

 - that took some more time -

and they became grandparents again.

Finally all the arrangements were complete.

Passports in hand the elderly couple said a sad farewell to England

(and Robin)

and set their faces toward the new life awaiting them

in their new homeland

with their beloved son and his family.

By the time their ship docked,

they'd happily become grandparents again :)

(Help Robin, a couple more grandchildren are necessary to complete this story)

Here the author allows a peek into the happy arrival.

Just in the door,

being greeted by Daughter-in-law Janet and the most recent grandchild,

while son James Gordon puts the car away.

Hilda Grace couldn't wait to get her pinny on and start helping out,

but first things first,

her arms are aching for the long awaited cuddle of a beautiful grandchild.

So,

while James George takes the luggage upstairs,

Janet hands over the baby to a very happy grandmother

(who hopes the little dear won't screech).

In honour of the important occasion

baby is wearing the christening robe

that Hilda Grace made and sent for the families Christenings.

Oh dear,

it's looking like there's to be yet another grandchild.

Hilda Grace is in her element!!

James George somehow manages to fit their chest

and a couple of suitcases into their room,

they will have to be unpacked before the rest

can be brought up from the car.

Hmm, he thinks, chihuahuas seem to have taken over the whole house.

He smiles to himself,

between grandchildren

and dogs

and a happy Hilda

life is going to be warm and wonderful.

The story to be continued!

Thankyou Robin for these super grandparents!

Begin at the beginning part 2 - or - The On-going Tale of a Miniature Addiction

Having realised I was in fact a miniaturist and part of a wide community rather than believing the love of all things tiny was some sort of personality disorder that needed to be hidden, I proudly came out of the closet with miniature crochet hook in hand in 1976.  Proceeds from miniature crochet bought a scroll saw and a couple of books and I was on my way!  Nothing whatever could be bought at that time, certainly not furniture, not even basswood for the handywoman.   A cabinet maker was co-erced into putting some Heart Totara through his thicknesser and miniature furniture began to fill any moment spared from the demands of real life.

The following year brought with it the opportunity to go to night classes in joinery to build a 3 storey Georgian style dollhouse to  house the growing collection of furniture I'd been slowly making.  Unfortunately that dollhouse had to be left behind when life brought me home to Australia but all the "doings" came along and waited patiently for a new dollhouse home.  Patiently.................

Real life took some twists and turns so, unable to build another dollhouse myself, a friend entered into an agreement to build one for me - a tall narrow house along the lines of a Paddington Terrace house but with a balcony at the top.  Great excitement about 2 years ago when it arrived.

Patience?  it only took 30 years to replace that first dollhouse and worth the wait I might add.

   

The equestrian chap holding the shotgun is visiting while he waits for his new home in a stable.