Latest Custom Order

Just wanted to do a quick share with you all.

This is a custom order I just completed for a Moroccan setting.

My client seems to be real pleased with the end result. :)

Be back soon! <3

Vote for me! :)

Yes! The next time about.com has a vote, vote for me. Oh, not about best mini blog, I surely don't qualify, but, for worst blogger of the year or ever? Definitely! And, I am counting on your vote! lol, just kidding, but, that is what I feel like, worst blogger ever! :( 

I have been busy!

And, I can see from my shop stats, that I get busy this time of year. Not the year after I started my shop, but, since then, this month represents my kids' lives have been moving on.  For some reason I thought when they reached college age they would not need me so much. Not! ;)

I have tried to keep myself busy in the interim. Recently, I picked up my eldest at Penn State University, brought her and her pigs (guinea pigs) back home and then loaded the car back up and drove her down to an internship in VA. NASA, yes, NASA! How cool is that? I think it is pretty awesome. :)

So, my youngest, my son is about to graduate from high school, God willing, and then start in less than a month for schooling for diesel mechanic and that will go on till the second December passing.

Middle is moving into a house soon nearby her University...

and, I'm trying to make minis...

take care of the house and home...

Oh, did I say I got back to gardening?

I did. :)

and home renovations?

Yeah, we are back at it!

Slowly but surely!

So, when I say I am busy.

I am. :)

Please, join me on facebook :)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/dales-dreams/107190135987923

You can also do a friend request, I'm always happy to accept a new friendship. :)

Oh, yeah, these items can all be purchased from my etsy shop.

click below

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dalesdreams

I'm especially tickled about the chair and already one of the kitty pillow sets has already been purchased.

There are more sets available in my shop.

Bear with me, I will be back to socialize and I very much appreciate your support.

dale :)

Sale! at dale's dreams and dale's dreamsII

That's right, I'm having a sale in both shops until the end of this month.

Use coupon code April2012 during checkout and you will receive 20% off your entire purchase, excluding shipping.

click on either shop link below to begin shopping

dale's dreams designer decor for the dollhouse

dale's dreams II everything else, vintage, handmade and supplies

Have fun! :)

and thank you for your patronage! <3

dale :)

Look what has come in the mail! :)

Aren't these just so cute? 

I love the rooster, I can see him in a French Provencal inspired kitchen, can't you?

This was a very pleasant surprise that I received from Karin of

Karin's mini and maxi interior 

A while back she put out a plea for small seashells for her mini surf shop. Being the avid beach comber and shell hoarder, I was able to send her off a bunch of shells I had gathered to help her out.

We had fun emailing each other back and forth and were busy using Google Earth to look at each others homes.

Thanks so much, Karin!

This was so sweet of you, you didn't have to do this,

but, I'm glad you did.

<3

dale :)

Sharing Sundays!

Okay, this was me just playing. ;)

Credits at the end of the post.

Well, a girl has to have some fun, right? After I took some pictures of my minis, I took a few minutes to play and threw this scene together. Now, I know why you gals create scenes like this for your blogs!

It is so much fun to play!!! :)

The more I added the better it looked. When I added the plants, the whole scene came to life.

Hubby and I are sitting here, Sunday morning, having our coffee and tea, catching up on reading the mail and reading the Velveteen Rabbit to our little Tommy. :)

Okay, now on with the show!

 This adorable tole tray was a recent purchase from

GlimpsesofNewEngland

I have a huge collection of tole painted trays in real life much like this one. I have so many, I could wallpaper the walls with them. I admit, I am in impulse buyer when it comes to minis. I know many of you have lists of things you want to add to your collection and I admire that. I just know, when I see something, I want it, I buy it. ;)

And here is one of the very reasons why I am starting to catalog my miniatures.
I bought this at the most recent Philadelphia Miniaturia...
and I have no idea who I bought her from or how much she cost. :(

Not really fond of her resin coloring. I'll paint her up a bit so she looks more like a stone carving at a later date.

Anyone know where she might have come from?

You might recall having seen this before. This is a handwoven basket that I received from my friend Sans!
Right now, she is busy with a month long travel through Europe visiting blogging friends.
You can follow her travels here.

I know I have shown this on my blog at least three times. I can't help it. I love it so much, even though it is just a bottle cap, it combines my love of little black cats and flowers. How can I not celebrate that?

You can find Lisa's etsy shop here.

I hope you have enjoyed Sharing Sundays with me.
Thanks for stopping by!
dale :)

credits for top photo:

large urn of greenery Golden Unicorn Minis

bird of paradise flowers Cecilia Colo

black IKEA inspired tables Amatheria

turning Tom Saunders

velveteen rabbit book Pat Carlson

letters Linda Carswell

occasional stool, rug, bust, and pillow dale's dreams

couch, shopping bag, mug, cup n saucer, pottery my private collection

PS light bulb moment

found this bead sorting tray in my bead drawer.... since all of my beads are organized, I had a wonderful revelation that I could use this to store the teeny tiny minis. I had nabbed this from one of my daughters and knew it would come in handy someday... the day has arrived! :)

<3

 

Sharing Sundays! :)

This is a new thing I am starting for Sundays.

 

I want to document my collection of miniatures so I can get them out of the packaging and get to enjoy them.

 I was just going through a bunch of stuff and I had no idea what I had bought.

That's no fun, right?

So, I'm going to document them all here and where they are from and who knows, you might find a new place to get something, or find something that you have been looking for. :)

Deb made this custom for me in pink, after I caught eye of one she made in chocolate.

Isn't it cool? 

It's a large cake, it's for a very festive party, with lots of guests! :)

You can find her etsy shop here.

Chairs I bought from MothersMiniTreasures on etsy.

I want to redo the upholstery on these. 

A beautiful black acrylic hat stand by the wonderful Tom Saunders.

You can find his shop here.

Which reminds me, I really want to make some hats.

I made a pillbox hat for an Easter swap last year? or was that the year before?

I should make some more, it was fun to do.

See! Already getting distracted and side tracked.

Where were we?

Two pink glass vases, almost iridescent, from Cookie's Bits & Pieces.

I got these one year at Philadelphia Miniaturia, which, lucky for me is virtually down the street.

I also bought this lovely handwoven basket there, by Julia Sudol.

I think women have a thing for baskets. Do you? I know I do, in real life and in miniature.

Maybe, it's because we are gatherers. :)

and the last share of the day...

Wine glasses from The Little Dollhouse Company.

Prior to this purchase, the occupants of the house had to swig directly from the only bottle of wine.

So, glasses were very important! And, they are surprisingly really sturdy little things. 

Thanks for sharing your Sunday with me.

I hope you enjoyed what I had to share.

dale :)

ps. I'm going to try to make my other postings on Thursdays, we'll see how that goes. ;)

Christmas Swap Results!

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! :)

Sneak Peek, News and Updates!

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

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! :)



Faux Painting, a Shabby Chic Tutorial

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! :)

.

Epic Failure! :(

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?