Does this happen to you?

Here is Colette's new home office. I happily arranged all the tiny rement stuff and when I went to take a picture the seat to the chair had fallen off. It is somewhere in my room.

The troubles with miniatures!

The file cabinet is a sideways vintage Fisher Price refrigerator.

Gotta go, I was just invited out for sushi. I will give names of manufacturers when I return.

CM

Red couch minimodernistas

navy arm chair DDR

rubber plant Tomy

desk DDR

office supplies rement

tension lamp Pinchopepper

grey armchair strombecker vintage

chartruse pillow minimodernistas

buddah from Texas Tiny

Rement love

Ohhhh,

I never understood what rement had to offer... BUT I just got a whole set of something called "Girls in the City". Was this before or after the "Sex in the City" craze? I love all of it but will have to paint over some of it's pinkness to make it right for Colette.

CM

House MH1

Colette Caco

bed Minimodernistas

lamp vintage Strombecker

vase Bozart

accessories Rement

My damask adventure

On Dale's Dreams blogspot I saw this beautiful screen she made. I LOVE IT!

http://dalesdreams.blogspot.com/

This is my 1:1 kitchen in my house. My daughter had me buy this black and white damask patterned material. When I saw Dale's screen it inspired me to use some of the left over curtain material to make furniture. So I made the little set up on the right. Blog hopping rocks! CM

I made this

I watched Oese's tutorial. I had this material left over from kitchen curtains my younger daughter had me make.

I had always thought miniature furniture had to be made of wood... I think I saw Contar's chairs too. But while watching "Glee" last Wednesday I started cutting out cardboard and gluing the fabric to it. I had also seen another blog that used cardboard so it was sort of a "mashup" of tutorials...

My future son in law was at a bar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge called Noir with my daughter and he pointed out this menu and said "This might be good for your Mom's dollhouses as a screen". Is he a good catch or what?

Modern Dollhouse: How to

Welcome to fun!

How to build a modern mini

Color Xerox your favorite art to make it smaller.

Find an antique mid century design lamp (Strombecker)

Cut up a rattan placemat for a rug.

Cover a box with material, plain color add pillows or a throw.

Do not go on German ebay and buy DDR furniture ( tables, hutches, etc. because it's all for me)

Buy one modern TV or computer and Voila! A modern scene.

Less is more so it's easy! xoxo CM

When you make a scene you are supposed to give credit to the makers of the items used:

Minimodernista couch(ebay)

My nude is by my friend Oese, who has an incredible collection of miniatures. She is a major contributor to the Modern Miniature group on Flickr and be sure to see her post on her blog about making minis from other items (http://Raumfuerraum.blogspot.com/) She also started a flickr group called Modern Miniatures re re re (examples of repurposed items in miniature scenes) http://www.flickr.com/groups/1379135@N20/ She is very creative! (where the cool kids are...)

The Andy Warhol Elvis picture is from a bathroom nightlight) My family is fumbling around in the dark...

Strombecker sideboard and floorlamp (ebay)

Bozart Toys lamp, (ebay)

little Mexican pot and bowl, (ebay)

rug is a mousepad

kidney shaped coffee table and navy chair (http://www.ebaydeutschland.com/)

BE SURE TO PAY ATTENTION TO SCALE... I still buy items that don't fit. This is 1:12 or one inch represents one foot. Centimeters make it tricky...

My house is a signed Wes Christensen MH1 (don't buy it I want the only one...everyone else buy Brinca Dada (not 1:12 scale) and the plastic Kaleidescope house, please ;) )

Pinchofpepper makes a tension lamp

Look at this incredible lamp. (I am taking a small detour from the Christian Hacker house to show you this) it was made by Pinchofpepper. You may be familiar with her work on Flickr.

I had one

just like

it in

college.

It is very heavy made from real metal.

Thank you Pinchof-

pepper it is awesome!

"I get by with a little help from my friends"

Pinch says,"The angle poise lamp is is made up of 2mm and 3mm brass box section tubing held together with piano wire pins. The base is a selection of washers. The lamp shade is the plastic cap which covers the springs on a 6v lantern battery and the teeny springs are fuse wire wound around a thin rod. Then the whole thing was sprayed with radiator enamel paint. The bulb in a 12v grain of wheat bulb."

It is so realistic! I love it, CM

black chair above rement

red couch, white screen, lucite coffee table and Dwell Magazine by Minimodernistas ( did you see that hilarious post the Shopping Sherpa put on her blog about a month ago UNHAPPY HIPSTERS? It fratures Dwell magazine pictures. I will go find the link, too much!!!!http://unhappyhipsters.com/ )

Chanel purse by Dawn Carrol CDHM

"Elvis "Andy Warhol from a night light

Tomy rubber plant

circular side table child's rubber block

carpet contemporary import

oh, and beautiful white tension lamp by Pinchofpepper, oh did I already say that?

Victory for Modern Aficionados

Well another milestone for Modern Dollhouse collectors!

I received my latest catalog from HOBBY BUILDERS SUPPLY and guess what they have! A Modern Chair collection.

This catalog is like the Sears catalog of dollhouse accessories. Mainstream. Now they are featuring MODERN

DESIGN. (ok some are midcentury) Thanks to you Mini Modern! Your bringing modern miniantures to the fore has paid off. I'm not sure how the prices compare with international fees.

Happy March. Colette had a thought...

Colette woke up with a jolt. It was March 1st!
As she told her friend MerryJingle it was only 10 more months till Christmas. Well, usually she started planning THAT in July and as Spring was slow to raise her head this year Colette wasn't ready to tackle that!

Everyone else's thoughts had turned to sunshine and maitais. So she accessed her situation. She had made a supreme effort to stay organized. But somehow the house was cluttered again! Already.

She looked around her and saw her daughter's wonderful dollhouse.

One of her friends had suggested she go through all her dollhouses from beginning to end. Survey the collection. Gosh she had 18. If she started with the first week of each new month with a survey of one house a month that would take over a year! Then the rest of the month she could talk about whatever she wanted. Should she try this?

If she started at the oldest, in era, not manfacturer, that would be the Colonial house. She only had this blurry old image. Maybe it WAS time to update.

She had found it 10 years ago by the curb. It was delapidated and owned by a old woman who lived in 1790.This woman was named Charlotte Revere and was related to Colette through her mother's family long ago. (suspend belief at this point, as if you haven't already)

Colette wondered about the tradition of keeping the hair covered by woman. How universal was that. The women wore mob caps or lace pieces. Colette wondered how often they were able to wash their hair in 1790. Maybe that is why women wore braids so often.

Well, she would have to do some digging on this topic.

Modern dollhouse Room Divider

Colette is showing you her new room divider from Minimodernistas for the MH1.

It will separate the livingroom from the dining area.

It is windy and dark today in Northern California. We are expecting rain later so this picture is over exposed due to the flash. xo CM

Minimodernistas white globe lamp,

red couch, pillows and room divider.

Bozart table lamp.

Antique bamboo table, Bozart clear plastic chairs. Design Interiors Collection Vol. 3 chair. Imported contemporary area rug.

Colette is a Caco doll, dressed in men's pants and older jacket. In the MH1 by Wes Designs.

The Art of Drawing

Colette decided on 3 pieces.
Her friend Florine agreed on the nude which she placed in the livingroom. Then she could just cuddle up in her afgan, relax and stare at it.

She placed the other nude and the watercolor in her bedroom. She thought maybe a bamboo frame would be perfect.

furniture Minimodernistas, original art by Oese.

Everything is NOT black and white

"You say you want a Revolution" really we're feeling blue about now.

You say you want a revolution...

This is a college dorm in Boston in the 60's. OK so neat maybe it's a grad student. Where is that revolution?

MH2-finished

MH2-finished6
Originally uploaded by wesquatch

Wow! This looks SO Californian. It reminds me of a lifeguard station at the beach.

Hmmmmmmmmmm. Would I rattle around in there?

Originally uploaded by Wesquatch of Wes Designs go to his flickr page to see more incredible work. See My Modern Minis.

Ok I replied to a comment twice again! Honestly! Honestly!

OMG such design

ext3
Originally uploaded by aburahouses

Colette looks at the "Villa Sibi" she is giving her daughter for Christmas

Colette looks at the "Villa Sibis" she is giving her daughter for Christmas
Originally uploaded by More2view

Colette got a package in the mail. It is the "Villa Sibi" she ordered for her daughter.
She is sooooooooooooooooo excited. It is so perfect!
Where will she hide it? She really wants to play with it herself!

It isn't clear to me why this picture is no longer here, click on it to go to flickr and I'll work on it. C


Thanks Oese!

How cool is this!

IMG_2098
Originally uploaded by pinchofpepper

Tv made from a small frame

Originally uploaded by pinchofpepper

You can see more of pinchofpepper's work on Flickr

"Don't spend a fortune on clamps to hold your pieces when they are gluing. Get a flat piece of steel and some magnets. They're perfect for holding your minis in place. I use jewellry pliers when I'm bending metal and needle files for filing metal. I also use a scapel and blades. You don't have to buy specially made tools for miniature making most of them are hanging around in your tool box. If you know any joiners/carpenters become their best friends. They are invaluable for sand paper and little bits of wood." Yes, miniturists are friendly people!

And, "Don't throw anything away! I find loads of bits that I can use in broken electronic pieces. I've taken computers to bits. I've used old phones and plastic from DVD boxes intead of paying for sheet acrylic. Oh watches are good too for mini buttons for your pieces.

I love to see what people invent with their miniatures!"

Thanks for sharing pinchofpepper! It's amazing what you do!

Ikea style table by pinchofpepper

IMG_2110
Originally uploaded by pinchofpepper

"If you want to get into building furniture from scratch then a table saw is a must. You can hand saw wood and plastic, but you have to be extremely good to cut mitre joints well. I bought a Proxxon saw for 95 Pounds at a hobby store, which seems expensive but if you are going to be using it for many years it is worth the investment."

She made this table by spray painting a pattern on a piece of acrylic.

Modern Kitchen

kitchen7
Originally uploaded by pinchofpepper

I bet you thought this was my kitchen. I wish! It just shows you how beautifully crafted contemporary miniatures are. It is the work of pinchofpepper.
Bit of a contrast with the 1930's kitchen below.

Update: 7/28/2011: This was about my 4th post on my blog. See the next 3 posts to see more of Pinchofpepper's work.