Miniature sightings in Ravena, NY

My fiancé and I went on a leisurely drive yesterday and stopped at a couple of smallish shops south of Albany since we were in the mood to do some antiquing.

I had seen a couple of fun dollhouse/miniature-related items I'd like to share with you.

First, there was this cute dollhouse:

And this cute shadow box:

I didn't pick anything up, but as usual, it was fun looking around! Oh, if you're in the area, these items were at the Leisure Time Flea Market in Ravena, NY. Lots of treasures here!

Vermont haul :)

So, I promised a post about my trip to Vermont and what I picked up at the Real Good Toys Summer Clearance Sale in their factory outlet store in Barre, VT. Well, here it is!

One of the bigger things I picked up was this neat room box. The wallpaper, ceiling, and flooring can be removed and are also reversible! And the whole thing is electrified! Unfortunately this one didn't come with a cable, but Jason has some expertise in electronics so he's going to figure out what we need so we don't get the wrong polarity...

Now, the box came with the orange and blue lamps. The baskets, vases and table were purchased separately at the Outlet store. While there, I also picked up some tiny books, doorknobs for the historical society, and some gifts for friends an family (early Christmas shopping FTW!). I can't show pics of the gifts, because I think some of the recipients read my blog. ;)

The shelves below were bought at an antique shop on Route 7 somewhere north of Rutland. I wish I remembered the name of the place because it had some other dollhouse furniture too!

Now you may be wondering who manufactured this awesome little box? Well...

...that "AG" stands for American Girls! One of the women who works at RGT told me that American Girls did a short-lived1/12 scale line, but I guess it never took off? Here's a link about the series, and apparently some electronic pieces were defective. We'll see about this one. There's also some stuff from AG Minis on eBay. Lots of mod stuff, too, if you're interested.

I think these were demo kits that they had in their warehouse. They even threw in the drawer for free!

Here's a close-up of the lamps:

We also stopped at a couple of other places on the way home. One was a great little bookstore called Monroe St. Books, also on Route 7. I picked up three PA Dutch books and two dollhouse books there.

And one more place we stopped was Camelot Village just west of Bennington, VT. OMG. This place is awesome. Both my fiance and I have passed it going to and from NH on our trips to see each other when we lived apart and wanted to stop. But we *finally* visited, even though the shop was only open for about another half hour. We did a quick breeze-through. I found some dollhouse furniture, but we definitely didn't see everything. This place is really big and if you like crafts and antiques it's definitely worth the stop if you find yourself in this area! On the way out the door, I noticed a dollhouse in the window, but they were closing so I didn't go back in. Next time... :)

Here's what I did pick up - table and chair set and a bag of marbles (for etsy stuff):

So...that's it for now. It was a great weekend trip. :) Hopefully more etsy and other updates soon!

My next project(s)

In my last post, I hinted about my next project. I guess I can elaborate a little more on that here. :) I've had the Canterbury in a box for a while and have been trying to figure out what it's going to be. At first, I thought about turning it into a library, a tea room, a bakery, or something like that. Then it hit me! I love history and one of my favorite places to go visiting, antiquing and learning about the area is Lancaster, PA and the surrounding area. This part of Pennsylvania is full of Amish farms and museums, as well as lots of Pennsylvania Dutch history. (For those unfamiliar with PA Dutch, these folks lived in PA around the 18-19th centuries and were actually German Descendants. The word Dutch here is actually an alteration of the word "Deutsch," the German word for, well, "German." My ancestors on my father's side were PA Dutch and Irish, and the PA Dutch side had lived in the Lancaster County region at one point).

Anyway, I digress... for my next project, I want to build a historical society of a fictional town in the Lancaster area with lots of PA Dutch, Amish, and historical artifacts. This is going to be a lot of fun. I foresee a tiny meeting room, a research area, and an upstairs museum. I know the Canterbury is small, so I won't fit a ton of stuff in there, but I think I have plenty of pieces already (and in kits) that will work. Plus, this house comes with its own furniture too, so I can fill in the empty bits.

I've already picked up some stuff from an antique shop in Cambridge, NY: tintypes (to frame and put on the wall) as well as a wooden nickel as an antique advertising piece.

We have a color laser printer again  and I am going to make some hex signs, advertising and more historical photos. I've also picked up a little working wooden filing cabinet (for the research room) from Mainly Minis.

 

I can't wait to start on it. I've been itching to build lately and this particular kit is small so there's actually room to display it and I may even finish it over the summer. This build also gives me an excuse to hit the antique shops for more ephemera. :)

One more find in Cambridge is a gorgeous Japanese box:

I think I am going to turn it into a room box and perhaps sell it on Etsy. Hmm, we will see. :-)

More goodies from Vermont

Over Easter Break, my fiancé and I had a little getaway in the Green Mountains. This is always coupled with some shopping (especially in thrift and antique stores). So of course, I kept my eye out for goodies to add to my collection!

We checked a really nice (and quite large) Goodwill in Burlington. I found a jackpot there! A display case with minis inside - all for five dollars!

Here are some detailed view of the minis inside. First there are some general store goodies:

 Then, there were some carved wooden animals which I think I might put in the herb shop.

 Next are some brass pieces:

And finally, miscellaneous stuff, including a really creepy little clay figure on the right which I might give to Jay. ;)

I have to repair some of the things in here, but they are in good shape and just needed some cleaning.

We also stopped off at a couple antique shops. One in particular, in Morrisville, VT, had a cute tin dollhouse full of all different scale furniture pieces. I loved that pieces were individually price as there were a few things that were really cute. I picked up two little benches and a round table with benches.

I found other bits as pieces as well, including some marbles and a lovely wooden napkin ring adorned with palm trees which I might give to Jay for his tiki bar.

I've turned those marbles into crystal balls which will soon be on Etsy. :)

Pottery from Carolyn Curran

I noticed I have 101 readers. Welcome new folks!!! I am going to announce the blog giveaway on Sunday, so stay tuned!

This weekend, I am treating my significant other to a weekend in the Lake George area for his early birthday present. We visited a few lovely antique shops and had a lot of fun today.

One particularly awesome find were these lovely little stoneware miniatures created by IGMA fellow Carolyn Curran.

Apparently, she used to live in this area (Warren County, NY) but has since moved down to North Carolina. I found her autobiography on her eBay page here: http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=carolyn-aka-cncpottery

Apparently, her work has been sold by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City and the Smithsonian. I am very excited to have found out about this artist and her work as I haven’t heard of her before. I love this kind of stoneware pottery in 1:1 scale, and finding it in 1:12 scale was pretty awesome. There were many more pieces of pottery like these in the antique shop but my bank account would have hated me for picking up everything! :) 

However, I am tempted to go back and pick up a couple more pieces and do a display...

Would anyone be interested in getting one of these pieces for themselves? I am here until Sunday and could pick some more up…

Inspiration, the new year, and yeah, I know I've been quiet!

Life, my job, and everything else has taken over and I haven't had much time to craft. So, yeah, I realize it's been rather quiet here at Linda's Minis. My last post focused on the General Store, but funny enough, that lovely dollhouse has actually been given to my sister and her girls. After Jay moved to Albany (permanently) and the rest of our stuff came with him, we just didn't have the room. So I knew something had to go. I had good intentions with it, but I still have to finish the Glencroft (I know, I know) so one project at a time for me.

Now I've been rather inspired over the holidays. We visited PA for Christmas (my parents) and New Year's (Jay's parents) and along the way, saw lots of beautiful houses. In both central and eastern PA, there are many beautiful stone houses, and in the Montgomery County region, there are some beautiful homes covered in stucco. This led me to finally deciding to finish the Glencroft chimney in plaster over brick, and to age the tudor finish a bit. (I still have to finish shingling, which I think is my least favorite dollhouse hobby venture).

While in eastern PA, we visited a thrift shop in Birdsboro, PA. (Here is the address: http://maps.google.com/maps/place?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=birdsboro+pa+thrift+shop&fb=1&gl=us&hq=thrift+shop&hnear=0x89c679ea4653aa45:0x31e78b63b088be0d,Birdsboro,+PA&cid=9471547859574324149)

There is a lovely farmhouse-style dollhouse there for sale. It is 99 dollars, in decent shape, and comes with lots of furniture. It could use some minor rehab, but if you are looking for a good second-hand project, and live in the area, it was still there as of yesterday afternoon. I looked at it carefully but said no (surprisingly!) because of the lack of space and certain lack of time with the upcoming semester. Again, one project at a time for me!!!

Lastly, while in central PA, we went to Antique Depot in Duncansville, PA (address: http://duncansvilleantiquedepot.com/index.htm). They have tin dollhouses, very little furniture, but two lovely dollhouses that almost look like engineering or drafting projects. The crafters were definitely building them in the style of real houses and both that were there (as of Dec. 26th or so) were unfinished and were (I think) half-scale. I was very tempted to pick up the larger one for 150.00. Again, though. Little room at the moment and ONE project at a time!

If you live in either area, or know someone who does, and procure either dollhouse, do let me know! I hope these hints lead to a cherished new addition to a collection! :)

Columbary House and Earth 'n Tree goodies

In my last post, I wrote about an antique store in Cape Neddick, Maine called Columbary House. Well I finally found my camera battery charger (and it was in the most obvious place *rolls eyes*) so I can share with you what I found there.

For the miniatures (because isn't that why we're all here?), I found this adorable white metal screen and table. A little more "frilly" than my usual taste, but I fell in love with them. I have some ideas for future shabby chic projects that may incorporate both of these. Until then, I will display them somewhere in my home.

 

Here's everything I bought at the shop: the miniatures, Simon and Garfunkel music for piano and guitar (I play the latter and have this album), an antique key (I am obsessed with old keys!), and a wood plaque that says Välkommen! (Swedish for welcome). The latter was so cute and only a dollar. I thought it'd be nice to put in my foyer somewhere. I am not of Swedish descent, but it matches my PA Dutch (which makes up about half of my heritage) decor.

I drove from New Hampshire to New York today and stopped at Earth and Tree Miniatures on the way (I really love that place, and everyone I talk to there is always friendly and just wonderful!).

I picked up a few small items:

 

I haven't put together too many kits and so I think the bookcase will be a nice place to start. I'd like to do it in shabby chic with peeling paint (I might try Tim Holtz' Distress Crackle Paint on this one...).  I love American Miniaturist and will someday break down and subscribe already. :) A few things caught my eye in this issue (E and T has a lot of issues of all the popular magazines available at any given time). And last, I saw this miniature cat shelf in one of their displays and absolutely had to have it. I don't know about you, dear reader, but it gives off a 70s feel to me and will look awesome in the Glencroft living room when I am done with it! Now to decide what belongs in that little shelf. Hmmm....

I'll be having a little getaway in Vermont this weekend before my summer research really gets underway next week, so I may be sharing any goodies I find during the trip. Now that I have ALL the parts to my camera, I may try some photography, too. :) Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

Another antique spot in Maine with miniatures

Wow, I just realized I have 84 followers! How exciting!!!
I do want to sing the praises of a lovely antique shop on Route  1 in Cape Neddick, Maine called Columbary House that I visited this past Saturday. They have a lot of miniature furniture in one of their three buildings. I bought a CUTE white metal table and privacy screen. (Sorry about the lack of pictures as I cannot for the life of me find my camera battery/charger anywhere). They have several shelves of wooden furniture and resin figurines. If you are in the area, it may be worth checking out.

I am in New Hampshire at the moment and ready to drive back to New York tomorrow, and will probably be bringing the General Store with me. I hope to make some time this summer to clean it up and bash it into an antique store for a lot of the miscellaneous miniatures I have.

Edit: I have also been shingling the Glencroft! Pictures available when I finish (and when i find that darn battery and charger!)

NH Farm Museum furniture; similar hutches

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had gone to the NH Farm Museum in Milton, NH over July 4th weekend. There I bought two pieces of furniture: one hutch and one chair.

Yes, the hutch's price is correct...it was 3.95. And the "captain's chair" was 0.95! Very cute and very inexpensive.

I also like the shopping bag the Museum used to pack my goodies in...

I think it would be awesome if the scale on the ads were smaller, for the antique shop. But I do have a camera and a computer, so I could make it possible. :)

Now, the thing that struck me about the hutch was that it looked an awful lot like two other hutches I have in my collection.

The hutch on the left is the one I found at the antique shop in Maine. The one in the middle came in a lot from eBay. The one on the right is the one from the Farm Museum. They all have the same heavy, sturdy construction and similar hardware. In fact, there were others at the Museum gift shop that were similar but I had to drag myself away before I bought everything. ;)  I am thinking of making a display with these three hutches if I don't use them in any of the houses.

 

Of course, if you're wondering, Oscar would love to have them in his yet-to-exist antique store, but we'll see. I told him he could have the chair.

But he complained his hind end didn't fit in there too well. Then again, his hind end doesn't fit in any other chair that well, either...

In the mean time, Esme is relaxing on the chaise lounge she insisted on having in front of the shop. It's the weekend after all, and it's time to kick back and relax.

Manor House Minis order + some good local mini finds

Hello everyone!  I recently ordered some great stuff from Manorhouseminis.com and decided to make a video slide show to show you instead a long list of pics. I had a lot of fun doing this and may do more in the future!



Seriously, I have no need for the doll or the pediments as neither of them work with any of the projects I am currently working or plan to work on in the near future. The doll's hat is glued on her head, but the dress may be removable...maybe. If you want them, let me know. I wouldn't mind swapping the doll or the pediments for some mini books or whatever you may have and not need...leave a comment. :)

I have also made some great local mini finds. The first is from Bo-Mar Antiques in Wells, ME (where I found my general store!). There were several pieces of dollhouse furniture, all very cute. I restricted myself to buying just one piece, which cost less than 5 dollars: a little handmade rocking chair with a woven seat.

I love handmade stuff so this was perfect. There were also some corner chairs there and a few table and chair sets. So if anyone is nearby, it may be worth visiting. The variety of items at Bo-Mar changes frequently so I  recommend that if you like something, grab it while you can.

My local used bookstore sometimes has miniature books, but not very often. I happened to find The Complete Guide to Remodeling & Expanding Your Dollhouse by Nola Theiss in the "woodworking" section of the store. They do have a craft section which occasionally has books on the hobby as well. But again, the selection of books varies as the store has a lot of turnover.
Here's a picture of the book:

There is some good stuff in here, and a few color pictures. I haven't yet read the whole thing, but so far I like it.

Jay and I are going to Vermont this weekend and I am really excited about the Real Good Toys Factory Outlet Store! I just learned about it - on CraigsList of all places. But here is the website: http://www.realgoodtoys.com/about-our-company/dollhouse-factory-outlet-store/

Even though RGT is shutting down their factory and shipping departments for a long vacation starting on the 28th, the store will remain open. I look forward to checking them out and seeing what is there. I'll probably post what I find when we get back. :)

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

New Addition!!!

I found the *coolest* thing today at Bo-mar Hall Antiques in Wells, ME. I took my parents there today, as they are visiting from PA this week. My dad loves trains and they have a ton of train stuff. My mom has varied interests and she found lots of things to look at and buy. Well I was walking through the store with Jason and we turned the corner and saw this:


Yes, a 1:12 scale general store. It looks handmade and one-of-a-kind. It's also very solidly built. And get this...according to the tag, it was 45 dollars. At that price, it was a steal, right??? Well when Jason and I carried it to the front to buy it, it cost 33.08 w/tax, because it was on sale!!!!

I know, right?

So now it's sitting in my living room, waiting for a place to live, and to be cleaned and touched up. :) Here are some more pics:








As you can see, the front panel comes off, and Jason said he could put it on hinges. I want to take out the paper on the second floor. I am not sure if I will repaper it or just paint/stain it. We'll see what it says to me. :) This is going to be such an exciting project! I might put a lot of the stuff from the "Chic Boutique" in here to fill up the shelves.