Fixing A Miniature Door Of A Different Kind!

Ok.....having undertaken a fair bit of building and creating of the miniature kind over the years, cutting holes to accommodate small doors generally doesn't bother me.  However, having to cut a hole in our real life sized back door for a cat flap felt a lot more daunting I can tell you! I had been putting the moment off for a while now..... but today I decided I could no longer sit here and look at the box with the cat flap in.....so I took a deep breath and went for it!

Before .....

Following much deliberating, we had finally chosen a battery operated microchip cat flap and after watching some very good instructional videos on the manufacturer's website ranging from how to record our two kitties microchip numbers into the cat flap, to measuring and cutting a hole out acurately etc......I felt a little more confident as I wielded the drill and electric jigsaw!!

During...

Actually it was a doddle....very easy indeed and only took a few minutes. I wish I'd undertaken this sooner, instead of being such a wuss and pondering about it for so long.

And After....

We have a feeling that the hard bit is yet to come....even though both Freddie and  Mollie were nosey and canny enough to climb out whilst I held the little flap up for them almost straight away. But as yet we have been unsuccessful in trying to coax them back in through the cat flap. But it's a start.

I have a feeling that  this is going to take some time and we may have to embark on a bit of intensive training involving us being on our hands and knees whilst teaching them the concept of pushing open the door themselves...happy days!

Celia

A Collection Of Tri-ang Spot-On Items....Part Two

My plans went out of the window last week and chaos reigned but at last here are a few of the more unusual pieces from the much promised second batch of the lovely Tri-ang Spot-On Collection. They have been listed today on KT Miniatures website.  The first batch was featured in an earlier posting- which you can see if you click here

You will see that some of the items highlighted below rarely come along and have the added bonus of being boxed which makes them highly desirable.

 

First up is this wonderful dishwasher.....or actually it's official title is a Swanmaid Dish Washing Machine! The opening door drops down and reveals the racks inside. The top rack slides outwards which is a nice touch. It's doubly wonderful to have the original box too. There is also a second dishwasher available  that is not boxed.

This metal and plastic sink with box is unusual as it is a very pretty lilac colour......usually these are commonly found to be white/red or blue.

This  Bush TV Set &  Table rank amongst my favourite of the more usual Tri-ang Spot-On pieces. It is so refreshing to have the box.

Then there is this black Eavestaff Mini-Royal Piano with lift up lids....one revealing paper keys, the other revealing mock piano strings! The seat is sweet too......as the lid lifts up for you to store away your mini music!!!

And how about this wonderful Hoover Cylinder Cleaner......fully complete with all the various tools and components including rubber hose. Again, it comes with the original box. Very nice indeed.

And finally, there is this wonderful  boxed Lounge Suite  consisting of a red winged three piece suite.

There is a settee and two armchairs, all in nice condition. The box itself is actually quite rare. The inner box has an attractive wallpaper and carpet setting which then slides into an outer cover.

If you don't actually have a dolls house, this box would look wonderful displayed on a shelf.

To view these and lots more, please go to:

http://www.ktminiatures.com/Tri-ang.html

You Can Now Take A Peek At The Little Vintage Hall!

With just two weeks to go until our next Nostalgia In Miniature Workshop, preparations are in full swing once more. We can now let you take a peek at what we'll be making as photos of the prototypes are finally complete.

This is The Little Vintage Hall and is the first of three workshops based on an old vintage hall theme. As always with all of our workshops, the project can be worked in either 1/12th or 1/24th scale and although it has been built in the style of a Victorian hall, we will be joining it in the 1930s era.

Above is the 1/2th scale version and participants will be given a choice of contemporary 1930s colours in which to decorate their little vignette. Polished floorboards, aged distempered walls and panelling plus a few odd cracks here and there, will be the order of the day. The noticeboard includes all kinds of interesting information such as an undertaker's advert and various committee rotas. As we decided to stage this hall specifically in 1939, there are some early wartime posters too.

And this is the smaller 1/24th scale version.

 The whole project has been great fun to do with lots of scope for the participants to make this vignette something very special.

For more details about our workshops, see:

http://www.miniatureworkshops.com/

Ere.....whose that creeping into the photo!

Its only good old Fag Ash Lil & Billy No Mates!

Robin Britton is my Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops partner....but also she is a talented miniature dollmaker too and works in 1/12th, 1/16th, 1/24th and 1/48th scales under the trade name of Coombe Crafts!!!!  All the dolls seen above are her magnificent work.

To view more of Robin's dolls, see her blog: http://coombecrafts.blogspot.co.uk/

A Collection Of Tri-ang Spot-On Items....Part One!

A wonderful collection of 1960s Tri-ang Spot-On dolls house furniture and accessories has come in from Ireland.  Amongst the little treasures are some rare pieces that just don't come along very often, as well as many of the readily available items. What is also nice is that some are boxed too.  Due to the large number of them, I will have to split the listing session  into two....and today I have listed all the unboxed items. To wet your appetite, I have highlighted a few below.   

NURSERY

 For the nursery is a tiny Queen Ann dolls house, a wonderful pram that refreshingly is fully intact (these were commonly prone to damage) and a rocking horse with ears (they usually snapped off)! There is also a pretty pink cot with drop down sides and a teeny baby bath with stand. The stand was also prone to damage and many have just not survived the rigours of time!

HALL

 This set may look simple but believe it or not, it is quite rare to have all together. The umbrella and walking stick were not only easily lost but also prone to snapping in half. Often one is left with just the plastic stand! I wonder how many people have this plastic stand and think it was from an old game ie. a shaker for dice?!!!

OUTSIDE

 

 

There is a hammock seat and folding stools (although the stool doesn't actually fold) but that is what it's called in the original Tri-ang catalogue! Plus a glorious sun lounger.

KITCHEN

Then there is this Hoovermatic twin tub washing machine.....anyone remember these? We had a real life sized one throughout the late 1960s and 1970s! The kitchen cupboard is a very unusual pretty pale aquamarine colour with a tan coloured workshop - quite stunning. Then there is the tiny rolling pin and pastry board.....very rare....as I guess they got lost very quickly due to being so weeny! Finally, there is a magnificent saucepan and stand set, comprising of three saucepans (two with lids) and a frying pan.

 These can be viewed on the Vintage 1/16th Tri-ang Page:

http://www.ktminiatures.com/Tri-ang.html

I hope to begin listing the boxed Tri-ang items over the next few days and when the listing is complete, will highlight some of the more special pieces on here.

An Old Nursery Rhyme Book & Happy Easter To You All!

I adore old children's books and whilst rummaging through my vintage collection,  I came across this old treasure that I had not looked at for a while. Needless to say I found myself flicking through the pages, drooling over the illustrations once more.....they are simply gorgeous.

This is a well thumbed nursery ryhme book with 48 exquisite coloured illustrations, all by Margaret Tarrant. I am guessing that this particular fourth edition was issued around c1920.  

Mary Had A Little Lamb

Little Bo-Peep.

Mary,Mary, Quite Contrary.

Little Boy Blue

Humpty Dumpty

Although this book is 90 years old, the vibrancy of the colour in the illustrations are still retained and just beautiful.

I am closed over this Easter bank holiday weekend but hope to begin listing on the website some more  rather lovely vintage miniature goodies from Tuesday onwards.

Happy Easter To You All!

Celia