Finally! The Japanese room decor arrived!

Customs had me waiting for more than a month to get my stuff!  I even had to submit a lot of documentation online for the package to be released.  Just crazy!

But finally, it's here!  I painted the shelf units immediately, as I was eager to put them in place.  A simple sanding and black paint did the trick:

Love the modern, simplistic style

 And this is how the room looks now, with everything in its place:

Wow, a lot of new things!

The picture if finally in the wall.  I used the big unit to display a battery operated lamp, an orchid, and some boxes - they hide objects inside when not in use, such as the food when the table is being used for other purposes - like studying, writing or playing.  I still have to put a couple of pictures on the silver frame.  You can also see the aquarium:

A tray with sushi waiting to by munched, and a tea jar with painted goldfish (from Reutters).  Also, new plates and a sake set:

I designed and made the floor lamp, and printed it on vellum paper, and used a balloon light inside to ligth it.  The beautiful katana and stand come from the talented hands of Manu, and the set of pictures from Ana Circea.  The books are the work of Véronique:

The outside walls are still not printed - I am lazy to go to the shop, LOL!  I have a vase and a smaller set of teapot and cups that need to be painted.  Hopefully I´ll do that soon...

The cellar has lights!!

Kassandra is very happy today.  She finally was able to get some appropiate lights for the cellar, and we just got them installed.

She wanted some modern, stylish lights, but also practical for a barely used room.  She found them at Tienda de Casitas, a very nice dollhouse shop in Seville, Spain.  She says that industrial style lamps are in vogue now, apparently, and she liked these ones very much:

She is very happy about how bright they are.  She says soon she will post pics of some of the rooms in the house, so you all can see how many things she already got in place...

Two new hand-made minis

I had seen recently a nice wood box containing a pair of flintlock dueling pistols.  I fell in love with it, but the selling price was way out of my range.  So I decided to make my own.

To do that, I purchased a simple and inexpensive sewing box (the same model I used to make the coin collection):

I stripped it of everything it had (it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be):

Then I took red suede paper to cover the inside:

Then I was adventurous and tried to put some hinges in the lid, which was hold by a strip of masking tape.  It took some effort, but it was doable:

The pistols fit just barely, but surely!

Then I decided to use the little drawer to hold some bullets, that I made of silver polymer clay:

Finished!

The original one had a green interior, and no drawer.  And the main compartment was bigger.  But I am very happy with it, and it looks wonderful in the museum:

Also, I made a couple of lamps with vellum paper and some LED lights:

It looks great in the patio!

These are the beautiful children of Suzy, go check if there is something in her shop that you like!  Kassandra is very happy to have modern, but no-so-modern lights in the house!

The ballet studio has lights!

Finally!

It's been a waiting period of more than three months.  The original package got lost, but I got it replaced and the second one arrived in less than a week.

The ligths are awesome, they look fabulous, and the studio can finally be used by Kassandra!

Off...

and on!

Peeking through the window...

Here too

I absolutely love the modern designs of the lights!  They can even be positioned!  

The only thing lacking is the barre, but I will probably try and make one myself. 

Happy MiniBirthday!

Today is my birthday (yayyyyy!) and my mother has gifted me a couple of oh-so-beautiful minis that I could not wait to share!

My vampire tenant had been complaining for years that the round white wire table she had in her studio was SO not to her taste and that she wanted it removed and replaced for something adequate to her dignity.  I was always sorry to inform her that I had not found any suitable table, although I had never stopped looking.  

Well, when I purchased for her the tapestry depicting Sir Galahad, she suggested that the talented lady that made it maybe had something that she could use as table.  And indeed she was right!  But the table she liked was out of my budget, and my mother bought it and gifted it to me today.  

I just came back from redecorating the studio.  This is how it was before:

See the dreaded table under the velvet cloth

 And after:

She is so so happy with her new writing desk!  The lid can hold papers and books, and it lifts to reveal an storage space underneath.  The drawer opens and it even has a small key hole. Another wonderful piece from Linda Sweigart. 

I like the room very much now: it's more visually appealling, it looks like it has more space.  I am waiting the delivery of a gothic chair to match the desk, which I know will make my vampire tenant ecstatic.

She is also very happy to have a new chandelier in the drawing room:

It's another LED lamp with batteries.  She says it will be great to read her new collection of books - I will tell you all about them very soon, as well as the reformations that had been happening in the drawing room...

More new minis

So, here are the promise pictures of the new minis from Linda Sweigart.  This is probably my new favorite thing in the dollhouse:

It is a wonderful tapestry entitled "Sir Galahad".  My vampire lady says it reminds her a lot of her beloved, who used to be a knight of the realm too.  You can see there is a picture of "The Accolade" very near it.  Also, a coat-of-arms that I purchased ages ago, and that I just recently finished painting:

I also have a stack of medieval pages (you can see them on the red chair), also the work of Linda, that are waiting for their new place to be.

There are too new lamps in the bedroom and in the exterior wall of the house:

I love these lamps!  I was too afraid of wiring my dollhouse for electricity, so up to now, it had no lights at all.  All the lamps were just props, and did not work.  But some time ago my mom told me about a new type of lamps that worked with batteries and had LED lights, and that did not need wiring; you just attach them to the walls or ceilings with a magnet.  She purchased one for me, and I acquired these two.  They are great!  They have an ON/OFF switch (just like the real ones) and have a lot of shine.  They look wonderful when it's dark.

As of today, I am going to make renovations in the drawing room, and I just purchased a new bookshelf that is going to be full with books and papers.  Books with pages, as I do not like dummy books.  I am also waiting for the first book to arrive, and I have more that I intent to purchase soon.  More info on that when they arrive...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

P.S. My mother decorates her dollhouse and scenes for Christmas (trees, gifts, cakes, decorations, Christmas cards, nativity...)  Do you as well?  My vampire lady celebrates Winter Solstice, but she does not decorate.