dales_dreams dollhouse miniatures 1/12th or one inch scale

I always say, I won't wait so long next time to welcome in new followers. (Smacks self in head!) When will I learn? lol! Well, that is quite the list of new followers, but, I'm not going to tell you how long it has been since the last time I made a welcoming post. ;)

As usual, anything written in pink is clickable, so click away, check out some new blogs and meet some new friends. If you take the time to leave a comment, tell them I said, Hi :)

If you don't have a "google translater" widget on your blog, please get one. They are so helpful for those of us who read your blog from another language. Many times the google translate bar across the top of the page does not show up, so if you have a widget directly on your blog, you can be assured that everyone will be able to read your blog and it makes it much easier to leave comments, too!

There's another little widget that is now available that I truly love. It's the "follow by email" widget. This enables your blog posts to go directly into someone's email box. I love it! It's a great way to keep up on those blogs that you just don't want to miss a single posting from, but, the blog has to have the widget in place for you to follow that way.

I don't know what is up with blogger these days, but blogs either are not showing up or I'm unable to comment on them. I'm wondering if anyone will be able to comment here? I've changed the way my comments are posted, in hopes of getting to see the other blogs, that didn't work. Oh, well, I hope it is sorted out soon! :)

1. Photo credits: planter on stand, matching pitcher, smaller pitcher and bowl on left and floral plates on right, I bought from various dealers at the Philadelphia Miniaturia in the past. Small floral arrangement on the right is from Tallulah~Belle. Larger pitcher and bowl from a local Antiques/Thrift store- now that I am looking at it, I wonder if it is 1/6 scale...Pitcher in center, I can't remember where I got that from, I think I've had that for a while. Pink floral platters and trays from the most recent Philadelphia Miniaturia. Hydrangeas from my friend Pei Li when I was in Singapore. Lastly, the little stack of white plates I bought in Paris.

2. Photo credits: The two large matching urns I believe I picked up at AC Moore some years ago. The three in the center I picked up in the Smoky Mountains at a souvenir shop. ***Edit* Upon further reflection, I picked these up at the Museum Shop at the Winterthur Museum Shop. I brought baskets back from the Smoky Mountains. (Makes more sense, doesn't it? lol)*** The remaining three I purchased at one of the Antique Malls in Berlin, MD.

3. Folding screen, custom made for me by my friend Yuki. Felted black kitty custom made for me by my friend Hanna. Plate/wall hanging by lisaconfora

My original business mascot was my first cat named Thor, who has long ago, gone over the rainbow.

My new mascot, Tommy currently overseeing security. ;)

Christmas Swap Results!

2011-12-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

Caterina hosted a Christmas Swap on her blog. I got paired up to give to Flor, and I was quite tickled about this and to receive from Pepi. Pepi, I did not know, but through the help of google
translate, we were able to exchange our information.

This is what I received from Pepi.

It looks like just a plain envelope, but, look at the cute little box inside.
What is inside the box, you ask?

A ton of Christmas goodies!

A sweet little box, a wall hanging, a counted cross stitch pillow, and a tiny little card from Pepi. :)
But, what is in the little box?

A tiny perfume bottle and a single long stemmed red rose.
Thank you so much, Pepi! I love all of my swap items, it was a pleasure to have you as a partner! :)

For Flor, I popped over to her page on facebook and nosed around in her pictures to see what could I make that would compliment what she already has and would be in her style.

I discovered this Christmas scene, note the gingerbread men. :)

Well, off I ran to the fabric store and I discovered a tiny print fabric that featured gingerbread men. Great!

I made her a tree skirt (shown here with my tree that I purchased from De), a pair of pillows trimmed with bunka, and bunting- all made from the same fabric.

Recalling what her salon looked like, I thought some pillows from my shop might blend in well if she were to decorate the room for Christmas.

Her decor seems to have almost a Scandinavian feel, so I thought these pillows with their minimalist approach would suit nicely.

While I was at the fabric store, I discovered these foam gingerbread men and other decorations in the craft section. I know that Flor is pretty creative, so I added these in, thinking she could do something fun with them.

Well, there you go, there is my portion of the swap. :) Pop over to Caterina's blog to see all of the blogs. Remember, anything in pink is click-able in my postings.

Enjoy! Until, next time! :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T19:00:00.000-05:00

From my house to your house,

I wish you a wonderful holiday with your family and friends!

I decorated one tree entirely in pink this year.

I love pink! :)

Our Christmas tree filled with memory ornaments and red, white and gold decorations this year.

A tree filled with vintage balls and tinsel decorations from the 30's/40's.

Tchotchkes, for and from the children over the years.

Some more decorations, yes, I save everything!

I hope that your time is spent with the warmth of family and friends, eating good food and enjoying good cheer!

Best wishes,

dale :)

Sneak Peek, News and Updates!

2011-12-08T14:14:00.000-05:00

These wreaths and swags and hopefully more, will be heading into my etsy shop shortly. :)

I have been creating like a maniac as of late. Which makes me behind in all other affairs, home, life, correspondence and of course, blog reading! Am hoping to catch up with everything soon.

There just always seems to be so much going on.

I guess that is just life. :)

I finished up a custom order recently and totally forgot to take a picture. Well, I remembered after I had it all packed up. Oh, well! lol

I joined up with the Christmas swap on Caterina's blog. She runs the best swaps. :) Just mailed out my swap to Flor, so tickled to have her as my partner. I hope she likes what I have sent her. You have to wait until Christmas to see the results of the swap. :)

I want to show you what I recently received in the mail, but first, I have to share with you this little guy.

The stories get related, don't worry. ;)

I don't think I ever shared with you all our latest addition to our family.

This is our little Tommy.

A feral kitten found abandoned by the side of our house. We discovered him on probably the hottest day of the year, back in July and I bottle fed him since he was four weeks old.

Here he is more recently.

That he discovered the light box and feels so comfy in there should have been a heads up for me.

Here is the basket that Sans! sent to me, she wove this herself and I have to tell you how adorable and how well made it is. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity. :) Thank you, Sans!!!

I made the mistake of leaving the little basket in the light box as a reminder to take a picture of it to share with you all. Then, I discovered it's absence. Yes, Tommy had scooted off with it. I looked every where around the house. I almost cried. The basket was very special to me because of who made it, that they made it for me and a basket itself is almost a symbol of friendship. Woven together.

Don't worry! The story has a happy ending.! My son found it the next day. Tommy had scooted it under his bedroom door. I woke to a little basket being dangled in front of my eyes and I gave my boy a big hug and a kiss. :)

Black Friday thru Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-25T13:29:00.000-05:00

I am having a sale for Black Friday thru Cyber Monday in both of my etsy shops. Use the coupon code BFCM2011 for 25% off of both shops, links below.

dalesdreams

dalesdreamsII

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Latest Acquisition and WIP

2011-11-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

I bought a new dollhouse last week. :)

Did I need a new dollhouse?

Absolutely not, if you recall, I have two other houses already.

This one, that I left with my friend Richard over the summer, he's wiring it for me. :)

Which reminds me I have to send him some fixtures to put in it!

Wow, this is in far rougher shape than I remember. ;)

And, this one, that my hubby surprised me with, he nabbed if off the curb. I was so tickled when he found it. He wasn't sure I wanted it, but, of course I did!

So, yup! Another house. This one is actually in the best condition of all that I have.

View of the inside. There are two more rooms on the top floor, but you look down on them through the roof when removed or just peek in the windows.

The first thing that had to go was the pink accents. It just really dated it back to the 80's.

I wanted the majority of the house to be a dark charcoal gray.

Many people have suggested using the little paint samples that you can get from your local hardware or paint stores. I was worried about it not being enough paint, but took a chance and only bought the one container. It is just the right amount, thank goodness! This is Besalt D36-7 Paint Pod from Ace.

The white trim was just a bit to stark and bright for me. I toned it down with Oyster White from Ceramcoat. It is just the most subtle difference from white to off white, but, I think it has a richer look to it.

Cutting in around and in between the gingerbread and trim was so tedious!

It's so dark it looks almost black, but it's just a dark charcoal.

And what is more welcoming than a red front door?

This obviously needs a few more coats on it.

Does anyone else think Elizabeth Arden Red Door?

As cute as it is, the quality of craftsmanship is not the best, but, I'm not going to complain all that much, because I am not a builder! Originally, I had the window trim on the third floor painted the oyster color. But, it just cried out how crooked those dormers were, so I painted them black along with the roof. They seem to fade back now a bit.

Still need another coat on that door! That is Folk Art Lipstick Red.

The roof is Crafter's Edition Acrylic Paint , Black.

And, with the roof on. I still have a bit of touching up here and there to do, that blue base must go!

I'm pleased with the progress so far. :)

Amazing what a difference a bit of paint can do, isn't it? :)

I hope all those that are celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends have a wonderful and safe time. :)

Making Miniatures for and with Children

2011-11-14T10:17:00.004-05:00

A while back, I was asked to donate for a Girl Scout function from someone on etsy.

I have a special place in my heart for girl scouts, I was a girl scout, my daughters were, I was craft-mom for the scouts, cookie mom for five years. My sisters were scouts, my cousins, my mom. My aunt was a leader, my grandmother was a leader. I guess you could say scouting runs deep in my family. ;)

I did my research and made sure that it was a genuine request for a real troop. Well, when I did, I was quite impressed with the troop and it's leaders. They did a lot of philanthropic work in their area/community.

They were having a girls day and it would be of girls of all different ages, I was asked if I would provide a gift for a giveaway and perhaps a project?

Of course, I immediately thought of pillows. I know for myself as a child and lover of dollhouses that pillows were one of my first creations and, also one of the simplest things you can create.

I chose these two fabrics for the fronts and backs of the pillows. Although they were produced by different manufacturers, I thought they worked really well together. I especially liked the fabric featuring the girls. It spoke Girl Scout to me, because it represented all different types of girls, just like scouting does.

I sent the fabric cut so that the girls could easily put them together and sew them up by hand. Yeah, I sent along something for the giveaway and little extras for the girls, too. I later heard back that it had been a great success and they had appreciated my contribution. It's nice to do something nice for others, isn't it? :)

When I visited my girlfriend in June for her daughter's wedding, of course, I could not help noticing the Fisher Price dollhouse she had for her grand daughter. She's just a little thing, so I wanted to make her something that was relatively safe, but that she could have fun with as well. :)

In my etsy shop, I create for the adult collector. The majority of my items are too fragile to be used as playthings for children, plus, I don't have my items tested according to CPSIA requirements. I feel I have to make note of this for those of you that do buy my miniatures. Those that I create for sale are not intended for children.

But, I can create gifts for the special people in my life. :)

I remembered the fabrics that I had picked out for the scout troop. When making things for and with children, I like them to be tactile. That both of these fabrics were flannels, just felt so right for a little person. It feels nice and soft, you can rub it on your cheek. :)

So, I made as many pillows with the different gals as I could and made her a little quilt to play with as well.

Serendipity!

I discovered it could even be a learning tool! You could play a simple version of tic tac toe with the pillows on the quilt. Tic tac toe is probably one of the earliest games I learned to play with a piece of paper and a pencil. Good for hours of quiet play. :)

My one gf once told me that I was very intimidating when it came to raising my children. I couldn't understand what she meant. She said I was constantly teaching my children. I never realized it, it was just instinct, just what I did. :)

So, if you have a little person in your life and you want to get them started with miniatures, think about sewing a little pillow together. Even very young children can sew a simple pillow together if they are being supervised with needle and scissors.

Keep your eye out for vibrant fabric such as this, that feels soft to the touch.

If you are going to venture out to make miniatures or any items to sell for children, make sure you are informed about the requirements for CPSIA.

Happy Crafting!

dale :)

New listings.....

2011-10-02T21:25:00.000-04:00

are now live!

Come take a peak!

click here^^^^^

Thank you!!! :)

Just a taste! ;)

2011-09-30T19:47:00.000-04:00

Just a taste of what is coming to my etsy shop Sunday night! :)

Click here to see my etsy shop. :)

I hope you'll stop by and join in the fun. :)

A huge thank you goes out to all of my customers for their continued support in my creative endeavors. You all mean the world to me and making your dreams come true is making my dreams come true. :)

Creatively yours,

dale :)

My kids! :)

2011-08-29T11:20:00.001-04:00

In June, my middle daughter graduated, we had father's day and my husband's birthday all rolled into one backyard BBQ!

I wanted to do something special for my husband this year, so I took my kids to get their pictures taken.

Just getting all the kids together at one time and keeping it a secret from my husband was quite a feat! I left them at the photographer (while I ran off to get my hair done- scheduling don't you know!) with specific instructions for them to behave! lol They were allowed one silly shot, but the rest had to be good pictures!

I apologise for them being slightly distorted. I don't know how to scan, so I took pictures of the pictures. Actually, that's wrong. I do know how to scan... I just don't know where it goes after it's scanned. ;)

Imagine my surprise and joy to find these lovely shots of my kids. :)

I just wanted one good picture to hang in my living room. They were all so good I almost cried! I couldn't decide which to get, so I got some of them all. :)

The top pic I will have enlarged for the wall. So hard to pick just one!

Have you ever seen the website AwkwardFamilyPhotos? If you haven't you should definitely take a peek at it. It's very funny and puts all of us in stitches! There is a photo like this one, but is like a family of six laying on top of one another. So, when the photographer put my kids in this pose, they could not stop laughing. I can tell from the pic that my oldest in the middle there was in hysterics! :)

So, despite my oldest coming home with green hair (it was brown the last time I saw her), I think the pictures came out pretty good. And all the long hair covered up the majority of piercings, nice! :)

a pic of hubby and I from mumble, mumble, years ago. ;)

The last time I had their picture taken (besides the yearly school shots) was when they were two, three and four. I think they were those ages! lol ;) This one was done by a professional photographer. And cost almost as much as my wedding photography, but well worth it I think. I love this shot of my babies.

This time, we went to JCPenney's Portrait Studio. I don't think I have been there since I used to get baby pics of them. What a great value and my middle ended up with a job when they found out she was going to art school. It pays to brag about your kids! :)

I think my boy would make a great model. :)

Featured Artisan Anita from MiniPotteryByAnita

2011-08-21T12:07:00.006-04:00

On our trip down south in June, the first stop we made was at Anita's Pottery.

Anita and I have been chatting online for a long time now. She's a fellow member of TeamMIDS on etsy.

While we have chatted on the phone, we never saw one another and didn't know what each other looked like. It was so much fun to put a face to the voice.

And, to get a nice big hug in person! :)

Anita is a lot of fun and very animated and chatty, so I knew I was going to just love her, which I did. She has what I can only explain as a girlish charm about her, fun, happy and excited about what ever she is talking about and mostly that's pottery.

Anita lives in a town called Seagrove, NC. Hubby and I noticed driving through the many, many pottery shops that were there. I'm like, oh, my goodness, Anita lives in Pottery Heaven!

Actually, when Anita began her work in pottery in the late 80's there were just around 20 pottery shops. The area became a destination point for pottery buyers and eventually, other pottery makers as well. Now, there are around 100 pottery shops in the area.

Anita has a lovely country garden to walk through to the entrance of her shop. A kitty cat awaits on the stoop. There is her dog behind the counter, keeping her company.

The shop has a country appeal to it as well. She sells her own pottery, full sized and of course in mini. She also sells some vintage pottery and some works from others. It's a darling shop.

Anita has been featured in the local publication, "In The Grove."

Anita is one busy lady!

Not only does Anita maintain her brick and mortar shop, she has a shop on etsy, and a shop on artfire.

Of course, while I was there, I had to pick up a few items.

The stack of blue bowls is actually for 1/6 scale, fashion or barbie dolls, but, I could not resist them.

Look at the sweet blue basket! The little aqua pot directly behind has the sweetest detailing on it and the green one next to it reminds me of vintage pottery.

The purse on the right is one of her latest creations and was her gift to me. You don't even have to be a miniaturist to love it!

You can see more of her mini purses here.

Even hubby got into the pottery and bought this life sized vintage piece.

I love the frog holes. :)

All of the links in pink are clickable, have fun! :)

I'm almost at 400 followers! Yay! Thank you all for your support!
I might have to do a giveaway when I reach 400! :)

Faux Painting, a Shabby Chic Tutorial

2011-07-31T12:07:00.002-04:00

I needed some shabby chic furniture to use for display for some of the items I make for my etsy shop.

I had this country bench from my younger days, but, I was just never really thrilled with the color of the stain.

So, I thought I would update it with a new look and give it some great, shabby chic styling. :)

First, I sanded it down with a rough grit sandpaper to remove the sheen of the stain and to give it some tooth to allow the paint to adhere well.

Then, I gave it a good dusting with this paint brush.

I use this a lot when my minis get dusty from being left out too long, it does a wonderful job of removing any dust. Did you know, that is how museums keep a lot of their artifacts clean? With a paint brush, yes!

I picked out a green paint to use as my base color.

I love these little jars of acrylic paint that you can pick up at the craft store inexpensively.

The one I chose was Folk Art "Yellow Citron" by Plaid.

Well, I decided it was just too yellowy for my liking, so I grabbed another green, America's Mint Julep Green from DecoArt.

I mixed with my favorite and most universal tool, the bamboo skewer. I use these skewers for everything, they are just so handy for so many different applications.

These dispose-able food containers are great for mixing paints in. Just make sure you mix enough paint at one time so there is enough for your entire project. The lid can be placed on the container while you wait for a coat to dry, saving your paint from drying up.

I wasn't trying to be matchy matchy with the items for my etsy shop, as I would be keeping the bench, but, as so many of you know what I mean, I had a color in my mind's eye and that was what I wanted.

I call it Vintage Green. ;)

Finally, I was happy with the shade of green.

Two good coats were just what this piece needed.

Next to begin the shabby chic process.

I diluted Folk Art "Wicker White" paint from Plaid with water to make a white wash.

I didn't want a solid coverage for the top coat of paint.

Another coat of the white wash or two.

It looks more like a solid coat than it actually is, there is some of the green visible on the bench, it just didn't photograph as well, as I thought it did. ;)

Lastly, an all over sanding with a fine grit sandpaper to show some age, wear and tear.

I didn't add any type of clear coat to this, as I preferred the rustic, matte finish.

I think it has a lot more charm and character than it did before, wouldn't you agree?

Now, it's perfect for using in displays for my minis for sale and eventually, it will end up in my dollhouse in the shabby chic bedroom.

So, don't be afraid to experiment and have fun with your minis. It doesn't have to be all rule oriented, do what you want!

You don't even have to be an expert painter to make use of the shabby chic styling.

Would you like to see some other tutorials I have made?

Click here, to find a tutorial on how to faux finish some resin planters to make them look aged.

Click here, to find a tutorial on how to make replacement cushions for a popular rocker glider.

Enjoy! :)

Featured Artisan: Richard of Minibydesign

2011-07-24T13:06:00.000-04:00

So, if you've been following along, last month, my husband and I went to a wedding down south and along the way we met up with three of my fellow miniaturists/teammates from TeamMIDS on etsy.

I wanted to share with you all some of the pictures I took of Richard of Minibydesign's projects.

This is his art deco bar. I helped out with the bar stool cushions and helped him find the animal print rug.

Didn't he just do a fabulous job with it?

You can find more on the art deco bar on his blog post here.

From his modern house, which is huge and he wired the entire thing.

I love these stairs!

See the spots to turn on the lights at the bottom there? Normally, that's covered over with a bit of gardening.

Peeking in!

After he painted these modern bath fixtures black, then, they began sellling them in black.

Of course, I'm thinking his modern sectional should be graced with a few of my pillows. ;)

Kinda gives you a better idea of how big it is. I'm thinking it's just a bit bigger than a card table. This was the first house that Richard built.

Pretty good job!

I'm impressed. :)

Now on to his latest project, another house. This time, it's a colonial revival that will include some modern updates in the interior.

Think he'll be going for the stainless appliances in the kitchen? lol ;)

To see more of this project being updated along the way, see his blog.

I made him a runner to go up the stairs in the last picture.

It was so nice getting to finally meet Richard and his wife Gail in person.

And, their dogs, too!

They have too senior dogs, one is a retired grayhound named Wade and I fell in love with him at first sight. He's the strong silent type. lol! I should have gotten a pic of Wade so I could pine over him. ;)

Until next time, my friends! :)

Christmas in July Sale!!! :)

2011-07-01T12:15:00.000-04:00

Running all month long in both my etsy shops.

Use this coupon code when checking out CIJ611BS in either shop and receive 20% off in the mini shop and 30% off in dalesdreamsII at etsy.

Happy Shopping! :)

Vacation News and Pics!

2011-06-30T17:40:00.002-04:00

I was up before six am and ready to go by nine, but, hubby was still working, so we had a late start.

These are my hydrangeas in bloom. I love the deep purple color. :)

Whenever we travel, I'm always on the look out for trees and nature and birds.

This is a mimosa tree, I think the flowers are so cool, they remind me of Horton Hears a Who. :)

and another one!

My goal was to gain five pounds over the weekend. I got close! We were going into the land of bisquits and gravy, don't cha know. ;)

On the way down, we ate at a Cracker Barrel. My father always ate at them when he traveled around the country. I didn't get to go with him to one before he passed away, so we took this opportunity to see what it was like.

I had chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn and of course, bisquits!

I'm not sure about the dumplings. They tasted like a big wet noodle to me. I think I prefer Chinese dumplings. :)

This is a crepe myrtle. Love the tree and the name. They come in this almost lavender pinky shade, white and what my neighbor (a southern belle) called watermelon.

The watermelon is my favorite shade. The tree grows with multiple trunks so it almost forms a bouquet. Very pretty and they bloom for most of the summer.

Our first stop was to see Anita of MiniPotteryByAnita

I knew she was a chatty cathy from chatting with her over the internet and on the phone. Hubby said I kept up with her very well. She has such a girlish charm about her, her in her bare feet inside her real life pottery shop. We all went out to eat at a family restaurant and had big juicy burgers and hot fried potato chips with ranch dressing- an immediate hit with hubby and I. We're going to try to make them at home. :)

Then, hubby and I did some shopping.... more about that next time. :)

We met up with Richard of MinibyDesign and his lovely wife Gail. She graciously kept hubby in conversation while Richard and I yammered on about minis. (sheepish grin) I had no idea how the time had passed so quickly! I had hoped we could all go out to dinner, but hubby was tired, he did most of the driving during this adventure. I left Richard with my yellow house.

He's going to wire it for me. That means, I have to venture back down that way again. Hooray! :)

I'll have more about Richard and his projects in a future posting.

We were in Peach Territory!

This is a water tower, isn't it funny? :)

Next we met up with Jody of PeachBlossomHill and her lovely family. We just had the best time socializing with her and her husband and her children. The children were the best, so polite and gracious and funny! We did a lot of laughing. :)

Jody said, if we could give her an hour, she'd make us a typical Southern Dinner. I think hubby wanted to get going, but, I whined and we got to stay. ;) It was so worth it!

They all set to work in the kitchen working quickly and efficiently. The each seemed to have a station. Her son made the bisquits, her daughter made the country fried steak, her hubby was busy chopping onions. I don't think it took them an hour!

It was so good! I could so live in the south. We had country fried steak (a personal favorite) gravy, bisquits (I had mine with fig preserves) rice and there were onions and limas for the veggies. I skipped the veggies so I could have seconds. Hubby said they were good though. I know, I'm a little piggy! ;)

They gave us these South Carolina peaches to take with us to Georgia. I believe they are all still debating which state produces the best peach. ;)

Later, I realized we never talked minis. At all! lol But, we did have a wonderful walk about their farm and I took lots of pictures. More later. :)

Our final destination and the reason for the whole trip, my girlfriend Linda's daughter was getting married and I got to make her veil. :)

Belinda and Dan

Getting ready for the wedding, Belinda and my girlfriend Linda. :)

Too funny, purple flowered dresses were a big hit! ;)

It was all about the Harley. It set the tone for the colors of the dresses, the decor, the cakes, the flowers. Really cute. :)

Of course, I have to tell you about the food. I hope you didn't start out reading this post when you were hungry. ;)

There was fried chicken, chicken strips, pulled pork with bbq, baked beans, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad.... I know there was more! lol There was a lot of food!

It was my first Southern Wedding and the first time I was in a Primitive Baptist Church. It was just plain white in side and nothing else. But, I guess that helps you to focus on what is at hand. It was a lovely wedding ceremony. :)

Towards the end of the reception, the sky darkened to almost black. The trees began to sway all over the place. A storm was coming.... and the couple had to whisk off before they were caught in the down pour!

We had the most wonderful time visiting with Linda and her entire family. What a very special time we had. Oh, and the babies, there were lots of little babies and wee ones. :)

Heaven! :)

and back home we came.....

Road Trip!

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-04:00

The excitement continues on! ;)

Last month, amidst all the other activities, I made a bridal veil for the daughter of a gal I went to school with. Many many moons ago, I had a custom bridal veils and headpieces business, back when the hair was big and the bridal veils were bigger. ;)

Well, a lot has changed in the bridal world since then, I found out to my dismay. :( It was virtually impossible to find suitable trimming. But, I remembered a hint I got from Casey of Casey's Minis. Take an existing trim and trim it down. That advice was meant for miniatures, but it proved to be my saving grace for the trim issue for the bridal veil. I found a trim kinda like rhinestones, but it was three across, I trimmed it down to a single row and voila! I had it. :)

Next time, I will have pictures of the bride in her veil, no early peeks before the wedding, which is this weekend!!!

On our way down to the wedding, we are stopping along the way to meet three mini peeps and I am so excited!

We're going to stop by and see Anita, she has a shop on etsy.

I got these wonderful stacking mixing bowls from her. I love how they look like fiesta ware.

I bought a snake from her and sent it to Sans!

I felt for sure an Indian tribal house would have a snake charmer some where in it. ;)

Richard from MinibyDesign, shop and blog.

I got this modern dining room set from him, isn't it cool?

We've also collaborated on pieces together in the past.

I upholstered this deco couch for him in red, white and silver. It's striking.

He's also going to help me out with wiring one of my dollhouses. Yippeeeee!!!!!

and

Jody of PeachBlossomHill, shop and blog.

She makes wonderful upholstered couches and chaises. Seems I don't have anything by Jody, I'll have to fix that of course! :)

We are all members of TeamMIDS on etsy, Miniatures In Dollhouse Scale. We've all been chatting online for quite some time now.

So, the excitement continues on for a bit longer! :)

I'm so looking forward to meeting my mini friends, attending my girlfriends daughter's wedding and being off with just my hubby. :)

Daughter has graduated, seen on the right with a gal pal.

I also took all my kids to the photographers for pics for my hubby for Father's Day. They came out grand, and as soon as I can figure out how to share them with you all, I will.

Life should return to our normally scheduled programming soon! ;)

As always, every pink word is a click-able link, have fun! :)

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming! ;)

2011-06-09T18:22:00.000-04:00

The past month and half a been a whirl wind!

I hardly know where to begin.

Let's start at the very beginning.... ;)

(if you leave, don't forget to come back)

I received my swap items from Cecilia!

all the way from Mexico.

Look how precious!

Nesting baskets and nesting bowls, look at the tiny painted pigs!

I love them! :)

And, how cool is this? A handmade table cloth in one of my favorite colors from Cecilia's own personal line. So sweet of her to make this for me. :)

Thank you so much, Cecilia! :)

I also heard from Jaana. :)

Jaana gave to Sonya. Aren't they just lovely? :)

I've hired a business and life coach to help me expand and/or take my business to the next level. It's a twelve week program where she works with me one on one. It's like taking a college course, lots of information and lots of reading and hopefully, learning a bit along the way. ;) I'm directly in the middle of it, as of today.

My middle daughter went to her senior prom. :)

Another reason it's been a whirl wind around here.....

... were the many awards ceremonies we attended along with Grace. She has received more awards, honors and recognition than anyone I know. She's been a straight A student, in the top of her class and has excelled at pretty much everything she has tried. The majority of her awards were for academics, art (she's a painter) and television production. In the fall, she will be attending Tyler School of Art, at Temple University in Phila. where she will be studying Visual Arts so she can paint and do tv production. Immensely proud of her. :)

My oldest did not come home for the summer as she has a research position at Penn State. Very proud of her for garnering that position. It will continue in the fall when school picks back up as well, that will be her third year at Penn State studying meteorology.

So, next year, we'll be down to the boy and he will be a senior and the year will breeze by I am sure!

On a sad note, my aunt passed away on Grace's prom day. She's on the left with my Mom Mom.

It's an old picture, but, I love it. She was a pretty lady and will be missed.

oh, there's more... it will have to wait until next time though! :)

Testing

2011-05-27T01:30:00.000-04:00

One, two, three....

Just trying to see if networked blogs is working....

I'll be back ;)

Epic Failure! :(

2011-05-16T18:03:00.001-04:00

Yup, this was a big ol' failure! :(

I was making this for a friend and the fabric proved to be just too thick, even though I've used it in upholstery applications in the past,

like here;

and here;

The sectional proved to be more difficult than this;

and this

and even this;

But, I'm not going to give up all that quickly.

I'm far too stubborn! lol ;)

Kim was our lucky winner in the giveaway and she chose the blue set.

With any luck, she has already received it. :)

So, what do you do with the failures and the things that just don't cut the mustard?

Save them as a reminder of where you started?

Happy Mother's Day! Swap and Giveaway!

2011-05-08T12:17:00.000-04:00

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Mother's Day! :)

My middle made me this lovely vanilla and strawberry cake! Yummy!!! :)

Thank you all so much for joining in on my swap and giveaway! :)

This has been a lot of fun and look at what delightful items have been swapped!

Sonya >>>>> Lyssa

Lyssa>>>>>Cecilia

Cecilia>>>>>Dale

Dale>>>>>Kim

Kim>>>>>Rosanna

Rosanna>>>>>Linda

Linda>>>>>Marlies

Marlies>>>>>Patty

Patty>>>>>Fabiola

Fabiola>>>>>Chrissey

Chrissey>>>>>Jaana

Jaana>>>>>Sonya

Mine has not arrived yet and I've not heard back yet from Jaana.

You can click on everyone's names to visit their blogs. :)

New followers to Welcome! :)

Lauren

ultsu

Amazing Miniatures

Roz & Aidy

Sandra

Steinworks

Rosamargarita

carmen

brandyr.01

Mieke

Thank you so much for following my blog! :)

And for the giveaway!

The winner gets to choose one of the following sets;

Pink

Blue

Blue and Yellow

Hubby lent a hand to the giveaway process. :)

and the winner is.....

Sound the trumpets!

Kim!

Congratulations to Kim!

Thank you all so much for playing along, this has been the most fun.

I love all the items that were exchanged in the swap, everyone is just so creative and so thoughtful. :)

I so hope that everyone really gets to enjoy the day. Mine is most assuredly off to a great start after getting to see Mr. Darcy this morning. lol ;)

I'm off to go get my oldest at college with hubby while the other two are working. We'll have a nice long ride in a beautiful part of the country.

Enjoy!

I'll catch up with you all during the week. :)

News to share and this and that :)

2011-04-25T13:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday with family and friends, if you celebrate. :)

Isn't this the most darling thing?

I got this from De from De-Lightful Minis.

She and I are doing a little swap after I saw this on her blog.

She made me one with lots more pink (of course) I'm making her some kitchen chair cushions in return.

I thought her use of the one of a hook and eye as scissors to be nothing short of genius, but De always amazes me in more ways than one!

In other news, lol ;) I wanted to share with you what my friend Yuki from Spain has been making. Working TV's and laptops for the dollhouse. See this youtube video. This is his etsy shop; Amatheria.

My friend Sandi found some of her miniatures in this slide show after attending the Boise, Idaho Miniatures Show. :) You can find her etsy shop here. She also has a new shop on zibbet.

If you are on facebook, you probably already had a peek at this.

A new color scheme I am creating in for my giveaway next month.

Blue and Yellow.

Some close ups. :)

Ottoman and pillows.

I'm trying to give the winner of my giveaway some choices. :)

If you are interested in my giveaway, see this post and follow the directions.

I hope your week is off to a fabulous start and that you are busy having fun with minis!

Until next time, my friends. :)

Welcome New Followers! :)

2011-04-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

Oy, it's been a while since I've welcomed my new followers and there are whoa the many!

Nice to see I was even gaining followers in my absence from blogging, that was sweet! :)

And, just as spring welcomes us with flowers....

I welcome all of you! :)

lluna45

dee

Laurie H.

Beatriz Martin

inglebor willigenburg

CARMEN

PolkadotShroom

Violet

Debbie Mise

Pepita

GWCC

Eli en Karina

weelittlewest

Just

Lenira

Eva

Roberto Ferres

Miniatures by Natalie

berri

XIONY Miniatures

Enchanticals

Andriana Guedes

mini_babies

otterline

and..........

from out of the shadows we welcome...

erika

ta_pozzo

Marrin Powell

maushaus17

oneill686

rivervujc@comcast.net

mspapelita

mattysdolls

Mini Aussie

wrovsell

Thank you all so much for becoming a follower of my blog! :)

Everyone, there's lots of links to click and new blogs to be found!

Really, there are a lot of fabulous links here. :)

Stop by and tell them I sent you and tell them I said Hi! :)

If you have a blog and don't see a link at your name, please let me know by commenting on this post with a link and I'll try to catch up with my next posting. :) Hate to leave anyone out! :)

If you speak in another language, I strongly encourage you to add the google translate widget. You can steal if from my blog. While I love looking at the pictures, I also love to see the words you write and be able to read them in my language. :) Just a thought, you might gain more readers that way. :)

anyhoo....

If you haven't signed up for my giveaway, see this post and follow the directions! :)

If you are having any problems with getting in touch with your swap mate, email me and I will help you as best I can! :) dales_dreams@comcast.net

Hopefully, more info to come soon! I apologise for the delay, but, I've been compounded with computer issues as of late and you know, that stuff we call life... when we're not making, buying, playing with minis. :)

Wow, remind me to welcome followers more often! This took hours and hours to do! :)

But, I hope you all find wonderful new great blogs to follow as a result!

As always, if you've been following my blog for a while, you know, everything that is highlighted in pink is a clickable link, so click around! Have some fun! :)

Until next time my friends! :)

Would you like Pink or Blue? :)

2011-04-11T19:32:00.001-04:00

You can't see it too well in the pic, but there is a white faux fur rug there.

I adore the lace trim on these pillows, it's vintage. :)

Can anyone guess what the core of the over-stuffed ottomans are?

Those are things I've been working on for my giveaway. I also have two other color combinations I'm thinking about doing.

I've also been working on my swap items, but, I can't show you that, because it's a Secret! shhhh!!! :)

At the moment, I've got about twenty different projects on my work table in various stages of completion.

Do you do this?

I find I start one project, which makes me think of another project, which leads to another... and so on and so on and so one. lol I like having a bunch of things going at one time, makes the time pass so quickly.

I was working with some stuff, which led to this.

I know! Wrong season... but, I've had this greenery for a while and was just dying to see it come to life.

How about an alternative color combination?

If they can have a Chanukah bush, why not a wreath too?

If you are having any problems with the swap, just let me know or drop me a line dales_dreams@comcast.net

If you have not signed up to be in my giveaway, please see this post for instructions.

I have many new followers to welcome, I see. :)

So glad to have you all along, I'm behind in my welcoming, but will tend to that shortly.

For now, I say, Welcome All!

Enjoy!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I love to hear what you have to say. :)

Swap Details! :)

2011-04-04T14:12:00.001-04:00

So sorry for the delay! I had quite the busy day creating yesterday and by the time evening came along, the brain was just misfiring. ;) So, I had some leisure time and read blogs instead of posting on mine. :)

(naughty girl, I know!)

Okay, so here we go with the swap details.

I had to really rattle my head to think of a random way to figure out who was going to swap with who.

I know!

This required brain power on my part.

Which is why it was probably best left for a fresh start on a bright and sunny Monday, as it is here. :)

I alphabetised every one's blog names and that is what determined who would give to whom.

Sonya >>>>> Lyssa

Lyssa>>>>>Cecilia

Cecilia>>>>>Dale

Dale>>>>>Kim

Kim>>>>>Rosanna

Rosanna>>>>>Linda

Linda>>>>>Marlies

Marlies>>>>>Patty

Patty>>>>>Fabiola

Fabiola>>>>>Chrissey

Chrissey>>>>>Jaana

Jaana>>>>>Sonya

Okay! So, you see your name and >>>>> is who you give to. Does this make sense? I hope so! :)

See this post's comments to find their color preferences.

And, be sure to contact each other for addresses. :)

As soon as you create your item, please take a pic and send it to me here. But, don't share it until the big reveal on May 8th. I'm hoping we all have enough time to create and send and receive by then!

(wipes sweat off brow)

The top pic is a doll that Patricia made me. Isn't she just adorable? We even have matching bracelets, she and I. :) Patricia makes the most wonderful dolls and has fabulous films and stories on her blog.

The chocolate and cherry crazy cake was made by Deb. Isn't it divine? I love it so much! She's busy celebrating the return of her hubby from Iraq. You can find her blog here.

Since so many people have pink and blue as their colors of choice, I've been making things in pink and blue and thinking about what the giveaway prize will be. I wish I had more to show you this far, but I don't. ;)

If you want to be included in my giveaway, just follow the directions and comment on this blog post here.

I think we have a great crew for the swap and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone makes. :)

Thanks so much to all of you for participating!

Happy Creating!

until next time.......... :)

Swap Exchange Details

2011-04-03T20:40:00.002-04:00

Coming tomorrow. I'm tuckered out. :)

Giveaway, Swap and More! :)

2011-03-28T21:38:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I am going to do a swap and a giveaway!

First the swap. Since I've never run a swap before, this will be an education in the process. ;)

The swap theme is "Mother's Day" so anything feminine that you would give as a gift on Mother's Day would be appropriate. Mother's Day here in the USA is on May 8th, this year.

If you would like to be in the Swap, comment on this post and leave a preference for color and I will match peeps up and have names listed on this Sunday. So, time is of the essence for this one! It would be great if everyone could get their swap items made, sent and received by May 8th so we can all do a reveal on that day. Feel free to share this with your followers if you have a blog, the more the merrier! :)

Now, on to the giveaway. :)

The last time I had a giveaway was last year on Mother's Day, so, I think that will be the day I announce the winner. Only, the winner won't have to wait as long as the last one did, since life is much calmer here now. :)

There are many ways to increase your chances of winning the giveaway. :)

Be a follower of my blog and comment on this post.

Join in the swap and get another chance to win.

Mention my giveaway on your blog.

Like my fan page on facebook.

Favorite my shop on etsy.

Give here and you will get two extra chances to win, it's such a good cause. You only have until March 31st to do this. For privacy concerns, you can just email me the reference number, don't tell me how much, it will all add up. :)

So, you can have seven entries to win. :)

Now, do you want to know what the giveaway is or would you like to be surprised?

I hope this doesn't get too crazy! lol

So, you are probably wondering what these pictures are of, aren't you?

Last year, I had a client in need of some bird of paradise plants. I put the word out of my need and very graciously Cecilia Colo sent me one she had made. She thought I could make them myself, but one look, I knew it was out of my realm, they are made from clay. Isn't it lovely though? I've been enjoying it on my work table for quite a while now.

The urns were filled by my friend Cath of Golden Unicorn Minis. I love them. :)

I've been seeing a lot of birdhouses on peoples blogs lately and I wanted to share with you the one my dear friend Sandi of WhimsyCottageMinis gave me. She doesn't have any in her shop right now, as she is preparing for a miniature show, but, she said if you convo her on etsy, she'll reserve them for you. :)

Look how it comes packaged, isn't this the cutest thing?

Need a prescription for your addiction? ;)

What's this?

Oh, just a bit of shopping....

more to come on that later. :)

Minis Listed!

2011-03-22T13:59:00.003-04:00

My new line of minis have all been listed at artfire.

Click here to go directly to the shop.

Quick question! Does anyone know why my picture is not showing up on the blog roll?

Many thanks to anyone that can answer that one!

dale :)

Big Reveal!

2011-03-20T17:42:00.000-04:00

Happy First Day of Spring everyone! :)

I hope you are enjoying the day.

The sun is bright and shining, the birds are busy singing, and flowers in the garden are blooming. :)

It's a good thing! :)

This is my new line of miniatures.

Gingham in many colors!

This is what has kept me very busy in the studio for the past month.

I have made chair cushions, coordinating trimmed pillows and place mats complete with napkins in rings.

My inspiration.

Where do you find your inspiration?

This is from Country Curtains.

I enjoy the images in their catalog and have ordered from them in the past for my real life size house.

Always a positive experience there. :)

Gingham is very versatile, as it lends it's self well to many different decorating genres.

In black, it looks traditional.

Red looks great in cabin decors.

Classic blue and white looks wonderful in beach houses.

Pink for shabby chic styling.

I will be listing them in pairs (chair cushions, pillows, place mats and napkins) and also as an entire set, two of each, at a discounted rate for buying the entire grouping.

These will be listed this week in my new Art Fire shop.

You may have noticed something a little different around here?

My banner and avatar have received a little spring pick me up and refresher from my friend Beth of berrybluecreations on etsy. I had sent her a copy of my old business cards and she recreated the graphic digitally and revamped my avatar, banners and business cards. Beth was wonderful to work with, she was quite professional and very accommodating.

Have you seen this?

Brought to you courtesy of teamMIDS. :)

Are you on facebook?

Have you, liked my page?

I have almost four hundred following me now on facebook.

Thank you! :)

Many thanks to all of the new followers of my blog as well!

I have some welcoming to do! :)

Seems I passed over three hundred followers some where along the line. ;)

What to do to celebrate?

A giveaway? Seems like it's giveaway season in blogland. :)

How about a swap? Swaps are fun. :)

What do you think?

Let me know,

enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by.

dale :)

For Japan With Love

2011-03-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

http://www.forjapanwithlove.com/

Feature and a Favor! :)

2011-03-15T16:25:00.000-04:00

First, I ask a favor and that is to go over to Caterina's blog and see what you can do to help out. Click here. Thanks so much! I know it will be greatly appreciated! :)

Next, I wanted to share with you, that I have been featured on Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale's blogspot.

Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale is more commonly know as TeamMIDS on etsy. It is a group of sellers of dollhouse miniatures in one inch or 1/12th scale and smaller scales.

If you aren't a follower of the blog, I encourage you to begin following it. There are lots of pics, links and info about miniatures and the artisans that create them. :)

Our blog is maintained by my dear friend Whimsy of WhimsyCottageMinis on etsy.

Search TeamMIDS for quality artisan miniatures on etsy! :)

Along with the kitchen chair cushions that were featured...

I also offer these coordinating placemats and napkins in my etsy shop.

and in pink, too! :)

Thanks! :)

dale

Hello!

2011-03-12T18:11:00.000-05:00

Is it me, you're looking for? lol Channeling a little Lionel Richie. :) If you'd like to hear the song, click here. :) Just don't forget to come back and read the post, lol. ;)

I never dreamed that I would be gone from blogland for so long! I'm sorry, I thought I would just take a couple of weeks off and be back up and running, such was just not meant to be.

Life had gotten a little overwhelming here and you don't realise just how bad things are, until they change. The last five years have been more than a struggle to put it politely. Things have changed significantly and I now find myself evaluating goals, ideas and priorities. Who am I, what am I doing, what is important.... I just read recently that these are signs of coming out of mourning, for which I am grateful to begin living life again and to catch up on literally, a life that has been on hold.

While I will continue making my minis which have been an escape and a saving grace over the last few years, I add on to my list of things to do with projects around the home. I'm hoping to start a new blog that will document these as well as my passion for cooking, gardening and all things domestic, with a lot of decorating, life size! :)

It swells my heart and brings tears to my eyes to read all of the comments on my last post so many months ago. That the comments kept coming along while the blog was dormant, as well as the many private emails and messages I recieved from you my readers, let me know, that I wasn't alone, nor would I be forgotten and I'm so appreciative of that, more than you know.

I'm glad I had facebook in the mean time, to pop in and see what peeps were up to. Seems so many of you are on fb and that was just wonderful for not feeling completely out of touch.

This is what it looked like around here for most of the winter. Seems there was just one snow storm after another. We've been snow free for a few weeks now and the daffodils are just starting to poke out of the ground now, a sure sign that spring is not only in the air, but will be here soon!

We had a young gal living with us for a while and she recreated our entire family, including pets in clay for us as a gift. Not only did she capture us, but she did particularly well capturing the pets in their favorite poses. From left to right starting in the back is Sissy (mommy's baby), then Katrina (itty bitty kitty), Serena (mama's fat girl) and finally, Isabelle (belly girl). I thought the clay artists among you might appreciate the budding talent of the artist. :)
So, I'll be back to share with all of you, I've got new minis in the works as well as many minis bought as retail therapy. ;) And there's a lot of them, still in their packaging, waiting to be shared with all of you.

So now, I bid you adieu, but not for so long! :)
Thanks for still being my readers, I look foward to catching up with you and your projects and thank you to all that joined to follow in my absence. :)
tootles! :)
d. :)

Pause

2010-08-18T00:47:00.000-04:00

Having to put things on pause as real life takes precedence. I'm behind on emails, be assured, I'll be addressing these as soon as possible. I probably won't be making any blog posts for a while, but will take the opportunity as it comes to comment back on previous posts and catch up on new ones.

With hope, I'm not gone long or forgotten quickly. :)

Outta here!!!

2010-08-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

bbl.... ;)

News Flash!!!

2010-07-30T13:39:00.001-04:00

I've reached 300 sales in my etsy shop!

Many thanks to all of my customers! :)

New Acquisition or the New Kid in Town!

2010-07-26T20:41:00.000-04:00

So, what a find is this?! I think this deserves a second chance, don't you? :)

Hubby is so good to rescue this for me. :)

He was afraid I was going to tell him to put it in the trash, but,

Nooooo! This has potential!

I'm thinking this is from the eighties given the choices in colors.

Shame it's missing a dormer, but, I bet I can find a replacement or find two new ones that match.

I'm not sure whether this was ever all wired up, or did the owner just give up at this point?

Which makes me think of my other house. See this blog post here.

Both houses do seem to have a lot of similarities, but that might just be because they are both traditionally styled homes.

Wiring is what has gotten hubby and I stumped with the first house, but, I am determined now to get both houses wired and finished.

Determined! lol ;)

I figure we can wire the first house with wires and the second house with tape.

Then we can compare the two and see which we like better.

Who knows, there could be a third house waiting around for me next year! lol ;)

Well, I don't think that I need another house at this point.

At least not until I make some progress with the two that I have now.

So, when wiring a house with wire, you have to wall paper, right?

Is it the same when you wire with the tape?

I had wanted to just paint the first house. But, I'm told you have to wallpaper to cover up the wires.

I am warming up to the idea of wall papering. The idea of doing it on poster board first, is helping me out with the thought of doing it.

We know who made this house, unlike the first house.

I think it looks very similar to this house here.

And, we know who the house was intended for. :)

Maybe I can reuse the initials in naming the house.

Any ideas?

The cool part is that, now that I have two houses.... I can go forward with the ideas I had for decorating the first house and stop second guessing my decisions. Because I have another one to do different things with. :)

The ideas in the head are running amuck!

Late Breaking News!!!

2010-07-25T12:59:00.000-04:00

This just in! lol

Hubby just trash picked a dollhouse for me! :)
Pictures and details to follow! ;)

(happy dance!)

Join my mailing list! :)

2010-07-24T20:49:00.001-04:00

Just email me, dale's dreams, put mailing list in the subject line and you'll be informed of private sales. Your privacy will always be respected, I'll never share the list and you can opt out at any time. And, don't worry, they won't be that often! lol Maybe once or twice a year. :)

Got my background back!

2010-07-23T15:01:00.000-04:00

it looks a little different to me, can't say why that is, but, it's back!

Thank you all for helping me! :) It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and the same background was still available! :) (does a little dance in my chair)

:) Happy Day! :)

Oy!

2010-07-23T01:26:00.000-04:00

I might have lost my blog background. :( So sad! There are changes going on at cutest blog on the block, two great gals and I've promoted that site a lot. Wonderful blog layouts. :)

Well, until I find some technical expertise... I'm not techno, no how ;) The blog might look a bit barren, but, don't fuss!

The cornicopia is always full and flourishing! I might be back with a new look (sadly, I loved my layout and would never have changed it) but, I will be back, with or without a background. ;)

I'm sorry peeps! It's all about the visual, isn't it?

We carry on! :) We shall prosper once again! :)

C'mon in! We're having a little party! :)

2010-07-11T22:10:00.001-04:00

The table is all set, c'mon, don't be shy, have a bite to eat.

There's lots of sweet delicacies to enjoy. :)

Amongst all these goodies are the gifts I got from the girls. :)

From Pei Li

I very carefully, removed them from the box. :)

A sweet box of macaroons, beautiful hydrangeas and a tray of the most delicate, delightful desserts. :)

Amazing the details on things so tiny!

From Asuka

Lace cookies, all sealed in individual bags. To keep their freshness, of course! :) (how does she do that???)

Aren't these just super sweet? :) She made the box, too. I like how it's patterned on the outside and the inside.

From Cindy

A strawberry cake, that is pink, my favorite color. :)

Cute, cute, cute cupcakes. Look at the tiny silver sprinkles on them. All precisely placed.

A fruit danish, pain du chocolate and a croissant.

The best part, the tiny, tiny cupcake papers.

The size of them has me completely dumb founded!

And, she folds each crimp by hand. She showed Sans! and I how to do it, but, I'll leave it up to Cindy to be the world supplier of cupcake papers. :)

and some of her tatting! :)

Cindy showed us how she tats, but, it's beyond me, I'll never get that. I can't figure out how she is able to make patterns, it's just little knots, you know?!

From Sans!

More flowers! :) As if she were not already generous enough. She shared some more of her flowers with me. We were supposed to hit Bangkok, but there was too much going on over there. That's where these are from.

and trims! I'm sure I'll find uses for both of these!

Thank you ladies, oh, so much for the precious, precious goodies and for making my stay in Singapore so memorable. It's nice having a little bit from all of you to remember the trip.

While we're at it, let's welcome some new followers to the party as well.

Welcome!

Minnie Kitchen

Nyork

Lainie's Little Things

duendes

Veselina

Dark Squirrel Victoria

Terry

Emily

cecilia colo - Miniaturist

cinderellamoments

Trudy Hylant

C'mon in and make yourself at home. Don't forget to get a bite to eat. :)

It's virtual, it will never run out. :)

Additional credits for the party

Folding screen Yuki

Little black cat Hanna

Ferrero Rocher Paky

Additional croissants Betsy Niederer

Turning Mike Rowe

Brie, crackers and grapes NJD Miniatures

Bunny Bassom Bear

Pink flowers Tallulah Belle

Church bird house Sandy Copeland

Apples, wine and candle sticks I bought in Paris

Floral plates, pitcher, planter and stand I bought at my last local miniatures show

Table and chairs Ray

Everyone, thanks for coming to my party.

Hope you all had a good time. :)

All right, last one out, turn out the lights and blow out the candles.

I'm heading for bed. lol ;)

What I brought back from Singapore! :)

2010-07-08T11:32:00.002-04:00

Isn't this just so cute?! :)

This is a Maneki Neko. I saw these all over Singapore and I had to have one!

Especially given my love of kitties and pink. :)

You can read all about them here.

The mechanical ones really cracked me up. I'm going to add this little guy to my sidebar and maybe he'll bring me some luck. :)

That one is a little large for the dollhouse, it measures 1 1/4 inch or 3.5cm, I'll probably have him sit on my vanity where I can see him every day.

I found this one at one of the bead stores. Perfect size for the dollhouse, it's only a half of an inch tall or .75cm. It's just too cute! I love it. :)

I really think I ought to be able to claim the trip to Singapore as a business trip. lol!

Well, we did talk shop (minis) almost the entire time and look at all of the wonderful supplies I have brought home. :)

Some ribbons, mouse tail (isn't that adorable, the larger version is called rat tail) and trimmings.

A lot of this trim is going to go on upholstered pieces that I plan to get real busy with soon. :)

Of course, my favorite, fabrics!

Christmas fabric, which you can never have too much of and some fabric that I think might work for some custom work.

Fabrics from Japan. Love the details on the strawberry pattern and I think the fabric on the right will make a lovely room divider screen.

These are Japanese kimono fabrics. The one on the right was very dear so I only got a bit of it, but I absolutely love it!!!

There was wrapping paper very much like it in another store, but alas, I feared a roll of paper would not travel well and I think I'm right! There would have been no room in my suitcase for it! :(

More fabric from Japan

I absolutely adore this fabric, it is so me! don't you think? lol

I know just what I am going to make out of it and I'll be sure to make some for myself and not just all for my etsy shop. :)

And some more fabric

I forget where the fabric on the left is from. :( Sans!??

The pink fabric will make a lovely table cloth, it has a wonderful drape to it and some gold threads running through it. It would be good in a shabby chic room.

Origami Papers!

Some luxury papers, see how the piece in the foreground is similar to the fabric up above? :)

and some less expensive origami papers

I have plans for these, of course! ;)

I bought a lot of stuff from Japan! lol ;)

What can I say, I buy what I like when I see it.

The girls thought I was a very decisive shopper. ;)

I just try to make the most out of what I have to spend and try not to go off budget.

and the Mother load! lol

Just a few piecs from the bead store! ;) Okay, I admit it, I went a little crazy in this store. ;)

Yup! I got plans for these too! Some things on my list of things to do have been on the list for ten years.

Cindy has greatly enouraged me to get on these projects when I returned home, so, I'm gonna try.

I hope no one is setting a timer. ;) These will work with a probably equal amount of beads that I have been hoarding from my great Aunt. :)

I ended up checking in my carry on bag, as I was afraid there was no way I could lift my suitcase into the over head compartment. Those findings are heavy! Especially, when you buy an embarrassingly huge lot of them. ;)

Well, it seems like a lot when it's all spread out, but, it only took up half of my suitcase. If I had brought the box of krimpets with me, I probably would have had less clothes to wear and more room to bring back treasures. LOL! ;) I left the krimpets home with the kids and brought all my clothes. :)

I wonder if Sans is through all of the goodies yet? ;)

Well, come back and join me on Sunday and we'll have a little party with the real treasures that I brought home from Singapore. Gifts from "the girls." :)

Beauty every where you look!

2010-07-04T13:47:00.003-04:00

Warning! Picture Heavy Posting!

grab a cup of tea first ;)

(all of the images are clickable, which means if you click on them, they get larger and then you can click on them again and get an even larger image)

Some glimses of Chinatown. :)

I'd say there were about three major highlights of my trip of staying with Sans! in Singapore.

First, the first full day I was there, we had dinner with Cindy, Asuka and Pei Li. All delightful women and the chicken rice was very good!

Then of course, getting to meet San's mom. She made her famous chicken curry for us and she even made some mild for me. All of her cooking was just delicious! It was a pleasure to meet her and get to see her lovely home.

There are pictures of San's mom's home as you scroll down, don't worry, there's much to see!

I loved her home, it had wind chimes and Chinese laterns and just like Singapore, there was beauty every where you looked. :)

The third highlight of the trip was visiting the bird park, which I just loved immensely!

You can tell by the amount of pictures I took!

More pictures are on my facebook page, for you facebookers out there. ;)

This is a park right next to Sans' house. Nope, I never climbed all those steps!

Singapore Bird Park

San's has such a lovely home and she put me at ease right away. It was like being at a resort, between the warm weather, beautiful locale and lovely, cosy home. :)

We did a lot of shopping! I'll show next time the treasures I brought back. :)

We did a lot of walking! By the end, my feet and legs ached, but it was all so worth getting to see all that we did.

And we did a lot of eating! Every meal was like a buffet, as San's wanted me to try a bit of this and try a bit of that. I felt like they were fattening me up like a Christmas goose. lol ;)

Even Cindy's Bf joined us one day.

He's a real cutie and suits her just perfectly. :)

Cindy did a great job of showing me around even if we did meander off from our agenda. ;)

Such a beautiful country!

I felt very safe there and most people spoke English. Which was good for me!

The MRT which is their transit line, is written in English, Mandarin and Indian.

I thought that was pretty cool.

This guy scared the bajeebers out of me!

A very rich and diverse population, there seems like there's a little bit of everyone in Singapore.

A very international, metropolitan city. Very modern!

Oy and so many escalaters! They were every where.

I guess their malls tend to be more up and down from what I am used to, hence the escalaters.

It was fun looking at all of San's minis! The tribal house is so cool, much better in person.

I loved looking at all of her ladies and the fruit/veg market. All the hookah pipes.

Fun to see the different things that starred on her blog over time, like the wrong way and stop signs. They were just hanging out on the bookcase and I was like, "hey! I recognise these!"

I highly recommend visiting Singapore, it's just such a beautiful place to be!

Thank you so much Sans!

And thank mom again for me! :)

Thanks Cindy!

and Asuka!

and Pei Li!

Thank you all for showing me such a delightful time. :)

At the Malay Heritage Center, the grounds were phenominal!

Bali Lane to the left.

Bali Lane to the right.

The night sky, one night as I was walking up Sans' street back to her home.

Gorgeous, gorgeous sky!

High above the roof tops, is where San's mom lives. :)

Four girls heading into mom's place. :)

The view of the patio, soon after our arrival.

A peak at the grandchildren and their little toys in the containers on the right.

Beauty in every corner. :)

I wished I had asked to take pictures earlier when it was lighter out. The sun sets around 7pm there and rises at about the same time in the morning.

There's a koi pond in there!

Her alter.

On our way out, I snapped some more pictures, as I didn't realise on the way in that San's mom was responsible for all of this greenery!

Fini! :)

I hope you enjoyed the show and I didn't wear you out too, too much! ;)

slumish?

I'm home from Singapore!!! :)

2010-07-02T00:21:00.000-04:00

A most delightful trip in every sense of the word. I hope to write a nice post about it this weekend, after I've been able to gather my thoughts. It's been a whirl wind, but, so fantastic all. :)

Singapore!!! :)

2010-06-24T23:03:00.000-04:00

Sculpture Square

Indian Temple

Chinese Temple at Race Course Road

St. Andew's Cathedral

Swissôtel The Stamford Hotel Singapore

Singapore Art Museum

Art Garden: Children's Season

Keep an eye on this space.....

2010-06-23T21:52:00.002-04:00

Pictures of Singapore are bound to get here at some point and hopefully, sooner than later. ;)

Busy, busy, busy!

2010-06-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

My how time flies so quickly these days!

I'm normally busy, but it's been crazy busy around here.

Here is a sewing cabinet I filled for a client.

I think it came out cute and she's pleased with it,

that's the most important part.

If you'd like to see the progress on her house, click here.

The album now has 37 pages in it, enjoy! :)

I have not been up on my blog reading and I apologise to all.

Maybe, I can get a chance to catch up on my reading while I am on vacation.

I got to go out to lunch today and I met up with a gal from my town that is also a miniaturist and has an etsy shop as well. I was so tickled to me her. I don't know any miniaturists in my area, most of the people I know into minis are on line. Her name is Agnes and here is her etsy shop.

Too cute, she messaged me what she was wearing so I could find her, black carpris, pink shirt.

LOL! What was I wearing? black pants, pink shirt.

That right there is a sign. ;)

She belongs to several local clubs and said she would take me to them. That sounds like fun. :)

Well, that's all for now... I'm off to Singapore on Monday. :)

My shop is still open, but delivery of merchandise will wait until I return.

In the mean time, email me at dales_dreams@comcast.net

and put mailing list in the subject line.

I'm going to have a private sale over the summer, but you have to sign up for the mailing list to know about it. :)

A Jersey Shore Rental and Welcoming New Followers :)

2010-06-06T18:05:00.003-04:00

I promised my friend who is promoting her sister's vacation rental in Ocean City, New Jersey, that I would mention it on my blog. So here goes! :)

You can poke on the ad to see it larger.

Ocean City, NJ is on a barrier island and is a dry, family town. I think the majority of people from my town head down there to spend time in surf and sand. These rentals are close to the beach and boardwalk and are in a victorian building. It's very nice, so check it out if you are interested you can email here.

Price varies by the week. Don't forget to tell them that Dale sent you! :)

And now, I have quite a few new followers to welcome!

My very warmest wishes to all of you, welcome, relax, enjoy, leave me a comment sometime. :)

Cherrywood Miniatures

maria

pineapple man

btw, mr. pineapple man, your blog doesn't show up when you hit your avatar, either! does mine show up now? I knew you had one, so I went looking for it. :)

genevieve

Puppenstubennostalgia

Everything in pink is clickable, as usual! Check out all of the blogs and if I missed yours, just let me know, they don't always show up when the avatar is clicked.

Thank you all for following me! Hoping no matter where in the world you are, your week is off to a good start. :)

Going on a little trip...

2010-05-23T15:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I might need to pack the larger bags and not the mini ones. ;)

I'm going to Singapore to visit with Sans!

How cool, is that?!

I'm also going to get to meet Cindy, aka Snowfern.

And hopefully, I'll get to meet up with Jocelyn, Pei Li, and Asuka.

I've dubbed them the Singapore girls. All are members of TeamMIDS on Etsy. With the exception of Sans, who Cindy and I are trying to have join us as a collector member. Yes, you don't have to sell miniatures to belong to our team. :)

Needless to say, I am thrilled and excited beyond belief and am ever so grateful for Sans' enormous generosity. Thank you so much, Sans!

Sans and Cindy will be my tour guides and are going to immerse me in the Singapore culture. There is so much to see and do there. It's going to be a fabulous trip. :)

The luggage in the above picture is made by Whimsy Cottage Minis, one of my dearest friends. :) The hutch and carpet can be found in my etsy shop.

I used to think I'd have nothing to blog about. Now, I have so much to blog about and not enough time to do it all. I guess, that's why my blog posts tend to be on the long side. Oh, well! ;)

Some recent work for Ray of Minibuilder for one of his clients.

This is the inspiration photograph.

And, this is the finished result.

I was so excited to win Tallulah Belle's giveaway.

I cannot commend Jayne near enough for how she did this giveaway. Such a novel idea, with a big impact for others.

Isn't this just the sweetest thing ever? I love it!
And, it is so tiny! As it always is with minis, they are always so much better in person, than the picture. I thought this would be like water pitcher size, but, it's more like creamer pitcher size. Tiny! :)
Thank you so much, Jayne!
Thank you for making a difference in other people's lives. :)

Until next time, my blogging friends... :)

More Screens and visit Tallulah Belle!

2010-05-10T16:27:00.000-04:00

Does this screen look familiar? lol

I was inspired to make another, as the first one I made, I didn't even get it listed in my etsy shop and it was sold. That was a nice feeling and it's recipient seems quite pleased with it. :)

At Sans's suggestion, I went back to the store and looked for this same pattern in different colors.

This one is sage green.

This one is a chocolate brown.

They are all available in my etsy shop, click here.

You simply must stop by Tallulah Belle's blog, (click here or) if you hit on the title of this blog entry, it will take you directly to her blog. She is doing a giveaway with meaning. I strongly encourage you to participate in this. I will be taking a cue from her the next time I do a give away as I find this to be truly inspirational.

I hope your week is off to a good start! :)

Happy Mother's Day, Giveaway Winner and Welcome New Followers!

2010-05-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and those who mother out there! :)

This is the Madonna and Child inside Notre Dame in Paris. I thought it was fitting for mother's day.

My husband took this shot, I can't take credit for it.

And the winner of my giveaway is....

drum roll.....

Stephanie of PetitPlat!

Congratulations, Stephanie!

I am sure I will have a good time creating something just for you.

Thanks to all of you who participated in this giveaway, it was fun! :)

Well, I have a lot of new followers to welcome since the last time!

A very warm welcome to all of you and thank you for following my blog. :)

Sara Carlson

Pan

Naomi

Sagrario R.R-R

dana mocan

vivian-mimudoparalelo

Janice

auzilio

Alafosca

Turnings in Miniature

dollhouse_doll_jeanine

WENDY

and those avartar-less

Mary Sue

Chris

Alienora

fayjk

Until next time! :)

What's come in the mail recently!

2010-05-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

Finally, my urns have arrived! :)

They are from Golden Unicorn Minis, her shop has been on vacation, but it is now up and running again. :)

Don't they look fantastic? All the way around the plants are different, which is why I took a few pictures, I love all of the detailing, just like what I would have done with real life urns. Someday, they will flank the front door of my dollhouse.

If you would like to see the tutorial for faux finishing these aged urns, click here.

Porch or lawn chairs from Inside-Out Minis. She's taking a break at the moment, but, be sure to bookmark her shop for future reference. You can look at her sales to see previous work.

She customised these for me in black. I have these vintage chairs in real life and plan on vamping them up this summer and painting them black.

A mug tree, also by Inside-Out Minis. Another custom request from me, plain (without mugs) and painted black. Looks like iron work, doesn't it?

I have a tutorial from the gal at Inside-Out Minis to make clay tea cups. If one of you DIY'ers are interested in it, let me know in the comments. Some of you know, I'll never touch the clay, so I'll pass this along. If more than one are interested, I'll do a draw. It is completely detailed with color photographs, instructions and tools to accomplish it.

Table is by my buddy Ray of minibuilder on etsy.

I was able to get my mug and my husband's at a local craft shop, but, because my children have unusual names, they weren't available. :(

But, I managed to find a guy on ebay named facetmulti and he created the mugs that I couldn't find. :)

I've been crazy busy as usual with life, family, custom orders and collaborations. I'm way behind on my blog reading, more than usual. Probably doesn't help that I've discovered Facebook, lol, but, I see a lot of you out there, so that's nice. :)

I'm terribly behind on my personal correspondence and I'm hoping to get up with that soon, I haven't forgotten about you! :)

My giveaway is on Sunday, so if you would like to be included in it, just make a comment on that posting.

I'll see you on Sunday with the results. :)

As always, click on the pink links and poke the pictures to see them larger. :)

Merry Christmas! LOL ;)

2010-04-22T20:52:00.001-04:00

Okay, it's not Christmas, it's not even close!

But, when I found this, I had to make it!

These coordinating items, quilts, tree skirts and socks can now all be found in my etsy shop.

Etsy has a new treasury program called Treasury East. Stephanie of PetitPlat, you can find her blog here, put me in her lovely green treasury. Thank you, Stephanie. :)

One of my items was featured on Jill Draper Blogs she did a feature on miniature items after having read the recent NY Times article on modern minis. Thank you, Jill. :)

The aluminum tree was made by De of De-Lightful Minis and Minide.

I'm over whelmed at the response to my giveaway. This should be fun!

Hang in there with me, I've gotta play catch up! :)

Surprise Giveaway! Blog Anniversary! Over Two Hundred Followers! Hooray!!!

2010-04-20T13:14:00.001-04:00

Wow! So much going on, so I thought I would celebrate with you all. :)

May 8th of last year was my very first blog post and my very first dipping of the toe into blogland.

I have learned so much in this past year. I knew nothing about blogging and I'm still learning.

I never realised the people I would encounter, the friendships I would begin forming and the vast amount of things I have learned in the mini world. So much is out there that I never even dreamed of. I enjoy reading all of the blogs that take you along mini adventures in the miniature world.

So, nearing the first anniversary of my blog and seeing that I now have over two hundred followers, I thought I would do a special give away. This one is to be a surprise, something specifically created for the winner.

I will draw this on Mother's day which will be May 9th, so you have plenty of time to sign up. Just comment on this post between now and then to have a chance to win. :)

Now, to Welcome my latest new followers, they are;

lyy214

Leema

Thank you all, for following my blog. :)

So, I learned the other day though Casey, of Casey's Miniatures that tuquoise is the new color. You can read about it here. Funny, that I was working on the project above, it's the *in* color! If you've never been to Casey's blog, do check it out. She is very funny and is most generous with tutorials and helpful advice.

We must be on similar wave lengths, since when she had posted a tutorial on hat making, I had just made a hat for a swap. And, now the turquoise link. ;)

The Ikea inspired table was made by Yuki of Amatheria. The acrylic turning was made by Bertie of Bertie's Miniatures.The screen, pillows and rug/floor cloth will be heading into my etsy shop soon.

Currently, I'm working on Christmas items. I know, I know! What am I thinking? lol, but, I saw something that caught my eye and it just had to be brought to fruition. :)

As always, all the pink words are clickable so clickaway and don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be entered in the giveaway. Gotta run, I hear life calling me. ;)

***This post has been edited. I inadvertantly credited the wrong artist of the turning. It has now been updated to reflect the correct artist. My deepest apologies for my very embarrassing error! :( ***

Before and Afters

2010-04-10T20:57:00.001-04:00

Some custom work I've done recently.

For some reason, I did not get a picture of this bed before, so this is just the after.

Before, it was just a plain mattress, no bedding.

Before

After

Before, a vanity stool that will be in the same room as the first bed.

After, it now coordinates with the bedding.

Before

After, some pillows on the chair to raise the baby up to table height and a nice starched white table cloth for the table.

Before

After, painted to compliment the room's decor.

Settee 1 before

After, I made pillows also, but, didn't get a shot of them on the settee.

Settee 2 before

and After! :)

Lots of new followers to Welcome!

Thank you for following my blog. :)

My Realitty

Choupravril

lunanoa2003

Amy's Miniatures and Smalls

sonyait68

sminiatures

Meli Abellan

Julie Kendall

Glenda

minipotterybyanita

mini beginnings

All of the pink ones are clickable links, so go ahead and check out their blogs. :)

Thank you all! :)

Easter Swap! Swap Di Pasqua!

2010-04-04T19:40:00.000-04:00

Finally, I can show the swap pictures, Yay!!! :)

This was an Easter Swap run by Caterina. :)

I sent my gift to MiniLisa and I received mine from Paky.

Here's what I received. :)

It was wrapped really well for travel.

Oh, a cute box, what is in here?!

Lots of little goodies! :)

A shopping bag for Easter and an Easter basket filled with goodies.

A coloring book and colored pencils, exactly the kind of thing that I would put in my kids baskets when they were little. A bag of jelly beans! A teddy bear (is he made from a pipe cleaner? I've heard about that) Cute, cute, cute!

My most favorite part, the box of Ferrero Rocher, some of my most favorite chocolates in the world!

I'm going to treasure all of these little goodies for quite a long time. Thank you so much Paky, I love it all! :)

Even though, this was my first swap, I think it was the best swap evah! :)

Since Lisa has already shown her gifts, I can post it here.

I was originally going to do a wreath of flowers, but, I couldn't find flowers that I liked. When I saw this trim, I was inspired. An Easter Bonnet! (or an Easter Pillbox hat, lol). I was pretty sure this was an American culture thing, so I included the words to the broadway hit, In her Easter bonnet... in both English and Italian. I also sent along a little poster with bunnies and I made her some bunny and chick pillows.

This was so much fun!

Thank you, Caterina for running the swap. I can't wait to see what everyone has gotten.

Easter is Coming :)

2010-04-02T14:28:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy time in my studio as of late. :)

Since Easter is almost here, I thought I'd share some blooms with you in anticipation of the day.

And a peek at the Easter Swap run by Caterina.

and a little cutie enjoying the gorgeous weather. She's tanning. ;)

Here is my package I received from Paky.

Mine went to MiniLisa.

But, we have to wait til Easter for the big reveal. :)

So, on Easter, I'll show what is inside the box. :)

Later, I have lots of new work to share with you and hopefully some new items to list in my etsy shop. :)