I'm a Giant Challengers

I am seriously blown away by the talent and creativity from Emily Henderson's I'm a Giant Challenge. I was busy working on my challenge so I missed out on following the progress of everyone else. I'm still trying to catch up. I built a page to showcase all of the challengers I could find with pictures and links to their websites. I tried linking directly to their dollhouse posts, please feel free to send me any missing participants, URL updates or any changes: modernminifan (at) gmail.com

Please check out all 83 participants here. Below is just a taste of the talent the challenge brought out:

I just love these kitchens, I could cook in these all day long. [left] Whiteowl: found — be still my beating heart. Are you kidding me, this is miniature?!? Unbelievable. I am blown away. [middle] Change of Scenery — I love all of your choices for this room and your whole house is gorgeous. [right] TinyFixation — I've blogged about here — I adore that chandelier and copper hood, and the cork inlay floors are pretty killer.

The creativity was abundant. [left] Call of the Small created this Rad Pad out of magazine file holders. [right] Lemon Cadet hollowed out an old iMac to make this cool abode. I'm hoping some other people will finish their ideas from shelves and boxes (*wishful hinting* you know who you are.)
[left] Onshore — the shoji screens and woodworking on this Teahouse are just incredible. [middle] Chinoiserie Chic — I love the patterns and prints Beth used in this house. I had no idea there were so many Chinoise miniatures this cool. [right] Asa Pearson blew me away with this ultra modern dollhouse design; the finished house is a beauty. You have to check out the lighting and cross beam ceiling in the man cave.

Two pieces I wish I had thought to make, are this incredible desk from Little Victorian and this gorgeous bathtub by Black Bird Has Spoken. I'm so jealous.
I love the bold use of color in these houses. [left] Make mine Mid-Century, [middle] My Mod Style and [right] Warm Hot Chocolate really brightened up their rooms with some vibrant colors. I'm kind of intimidated by color, but these rooms really inspire me go to bold.

Here are some bedrooms I really like: [left] This Magpie's Nest, [middle] With Two Cats and [right] Fade into Bleu.

[left] I really love Nicole's color palette for her whole house, GORGEOUS! — Making it Lovely. [middle] Morgan's A-frame and furniture are UhMazing — The Brick House. [right] Debra's father had built this mini green house as an accessory for the dollhouse he built for her and her sisters, but years later now her daughter is playing with it, along with the fantastic renovation Debra made to the main house — Cocoon Home.

Above are just a few photos of people's work. Please go here to see pictures of all of the participants for the challenge. Here is the website list of the 83 participants I could find so far. Please leave a comment if I missed you.

Emily's Original Homies

Inspiration Queen Emily: Style by Emily Henderson ~ www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com
Morgan: The Brick House ~ www.the-brick-house.com
Erin: Design for Mankind ~ www.designformankind.com
Orlando: Homme Maker www.hommemaker.com
Corbett: girl domestic ~ www.girl-domestic.com
Jenny: Little Green Notebook ~ littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com
Nicole: Making it Lovely ~ www.makingitlovely.com
Kirsten: Simply Grove ~ www.simplygrove.com

The rest of us that want to be her homies (listed alphabetically)

A Joyful Girl ~ theknowlesexperience.blogspot.com
a living space ~ a-living-space.blogspot.com
Annie's Oblations (pre-challenge) ~ anniesoblations.blogspot.com
ASA Pearson Designs ~ asapearson.blogspot.com
bijougirl ~ amandaconley.blogspot.com
Black and White and Loved All Over ~ www.blackandwhiteandlovedallover.com
Black Bird Has Spoken ~ blackbirdhasspoken.blogspot.com
BluBabesCreate ~ blubabescreate.blogspot.com
Cali Rezo (pre-challenge and ongoing) ~ www.calirezo.com
Call of the Small ~ call-small.blogspot.com
Carmen Jessee ~ carmenjessee.com
Change of Scenery ~ changeofsceneries.blogspot.com
chelsea-sparks ~ chelsea-sparks.blogspot.com
Chinoiserie Chic ~ chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com
Christy Crafts ~ christycrafts.blogspot.com
Cloudy Purple Sky ~ asukas.blogspot.com
Cocoon Home ~ www.cocoonhome.com
The Contented Renter ~ thecontentedrenter.blogspot.com (please build it!)
Copy Cat Chic ~ www.copycatchic.com
Cowboy Bunny ~ cowboybunny.blogspot.com
Design Thoughts ~ www.designthoughtsblog.com
Fade into Bleu ~ fadeintobleu.blogspot.com
Finding Eliza ~ findingeliza.com
Fleurishing ~ www.fleurishingblog.com
Flippin' Dollhouse ~ flippindollhouse.tumblr.com
The Frippery Factory ~ fripperyfactory.wordpress.com (come back, I want to see what you do with the box)
Giginstudio ~ www.giginstudio.tripod3d.com
Go Haus Go ~ www.gohausgo.com
Holly Recommends ~ hollyrecommends.wordpress.com
The Honey Hut ~ thehoneyhut.blogspot.com
House of Lovelock ~ houseoflovelock.com
JWK Style ~ jwkstyle.blogspot.com
KathieB's Minis (pre-challenge) ~ kathiebminis.blogspot.com
Keepers ~ facebook.com/pages/Keepers/123865814323216
La Vita Petite ~ lavitapetite.com
LeftCoastMini (pre-challenge) ~ leftcoastmini.blogspot.com
Lemon Cadet ~ lemoncadet.blogspot.com
Little Dash ~ dashislittle.blogspot.com
Little Victorian ~ littlevictorian.blogspot.com
Loganberry Lane ~ Loganberrylane.blogspot.com
Make mine Mid-Century ~ makeminemid-century.blogspot.com
Marcus and Rach ~ marcusandrachpond.blogspot.com
Michelle Corvino: Gnome Homes ~ picasaweb.google.com/106618329473965977306/IAmAGiantGnomeHomes
Mini*Aesthetics ~ miniaesthetics.blogspot.com
MiniMinimalDesign ~ www.flickr.com/photos/67276108@N08/
Modern Mini Houses (that's me) ~ modernminihouses.blogspot.com
My Mini Mod Pod ~ minimodpod.blogspot.com
My Mod Style ~ mymodstyle.blogspot.com
My Recession Kitchen ~ www.myrecessionkitchen.com
Noted Home ~ notedhome.blogspot.com
OneFortyThree ~ onefortythree.com (additional Instgram photos here: statigr.am/one_forty_three)
Onshore ~ onshore-again.blogspot.com
Opal Weekends ~ opalweekends.blogspot.com
Petite Plat ~ petitplatbysk.blogspot.com
Pinky Creations ~ pinkycreations-pink.blogspot.com
The Project Corner ~ theprojectcorner.blogspot.com
Redesign ~ www.reddezn.com
Silly Eagle Books ~ www.sillyeaglebooks.com
simplycoolstuff ~ simplycoolstuff.blogspot.com
Snow Fern ~ snowfern-clover.blogspot.com
Sophie and Lili ~ sophieandlilihandmade.blogspot.com
Stringfellow Art ~ www.stringfellowart.com
Summer Plays House ~ summerplayshouse.com
Tales of a Tumbleweed ~ www.talesofatumbleweed.com
TinyFixation (Large and in Charge) ~ www.tinyfixation.blogspot.com
This is Kara B. ~ thisiskarab.tumblr.com
This Magpie's Nest ~ thismagpiesnest.blogspot.com
This Posh House ~ thisposhhouse.blogspot.com
Warm Hot Chocolate ~ warmhotchocolate.com
Whiteowl: found ~ whiteowlfound.blogspot.com
With Two Cats ~ www.withtwocats.com
Wonders Will Never Cease ~ wonderswillnevercease.blogspot.com
wonderland.5 ~ www.flickr.com/photos/wonderland5
wordplayhouse ~ www.wordplayhouse.com
Here's the "I'm a Giant" flickr group to share photos: www.flickr.com/groups/1772598@N24/

Again, please send those that I have missed and I am eager to add them. modernminifan (at) gmail.com

Thanks for the inspiration everyone! See all here.

(all images from respective websites)

Fashion House Tour

So, yeah, the staircase is my favorite part of this house. It's made out of one inch acrylic bar with polished ends from TAP Plastics. I blogged before about the gluing jig I used to assemble the staircase. I used Seal All to glue the stairs to each other and the 3" x 5" one inch acrylic landing. Pillows are minimodernistas and chairs are CB2 igloo chair ornaments, gift from Modern MC (on sale for $0.50). Large verde plant is PRD Miniatures. I'm not positive what I want to do for the front door, so for now I'm using Callsmall's trick of deco tape on the plexi wall. I wanted the front of the house to have a grand, open feel, but I have to find a way to make it look more realistic.

Here's a look at the stairs through the side window over the landing. Then moving around the side we'll peek upstairs into the bedroom and bathroom.

Painting, rug, magazine rack over tub, bed and bedding by PRD Miniatures. Laptop by lilu. Small pillows on bed by minimodernistas, as well as boxed shells over loo. Tub and loo are IKEA. Magazines are X10NY. Remaining items are Kaleidoscope House, ebay and dollhouse show finds, along with gifts from MyRealitty and mini2b. The tub is tucked into an alcove I built for it. I'm debating between sliding doors or a hinged wall to cover the opening.

I used deco tape and masking tape on the window and door, sprayed with several layers of glass etching paint, then removed to add some privacy. The door actually works, the frame is made of styrene. I need to add a handle, but I was really excited it came together. It took over an hour to build; measure twice, cut once. CB2 Reed chair ornaments painted grey (on sale for $0.95. Thanks again MC!) Ribb Chaise is PRD Miniatures, gift from mini2b along with topiaries as well. Accessories AG Minis and Mighty World.

The working sliding doors head into the great room. I glued the mirror pieces together to add a little glitz. I have tons of extra pieces so if anyone wants one stay tuned, I'll blog later when available. I think its time for a give away. ;) The Essex Kitchen from PRD Miniatures was built for my Antrim, but fits great here too. I had purchased a kit from Elf Miniatures, but time did not allow me to finish. I'll blog the kit build later.



My original design called for a half bath next to the stairs, but I didn't have time to finish. The red parlor came together instead, so I'm not sure I want a half bath there now. Coffee table is Peter Tucker. Sofa, pillows, rugs, ribbon lamp, silver lamp, clock, green IKEA style bookcase, and grey slant bookcase are all minimodernistas. Kitchen, bar stools, chairs, paintings, frames, decorative accents, carpet tiles are PRD Miniatures. Designer chairs are Reac. Sideboard is AG Minis, gift from Doris. L'arc de triomphe from Modern MC along with TAP Plastics black and white boxes in green bookcase. Accessories from dollhouse shows, hobby shop and arts and crafts store.

I'm a Giant crazy person

It has been a mad dash to the finish line, but for now, all I can say is PHEW!!!

After more snafus (I'll tell ya later), the Fashion House was in one piece Tuesday night (the 13th) at 11pm. I ransacked all of my minis and started decorating. At 2am, I tore the garage to pieces trying to find my mini rugs (we moved a few months ago and I haven't unpacked everything yet). After 20 minutes of pillaging, I found my rugs in the bottom of the last box. Sigh. After many variations and changes these are the final rooms I came up with. Most of the minis are PRD miniatures or minimodernistas along with accessories I've made and other ebay/dollhouse show items. By 4am I was able to take pictures (I'll post more later) for the challenge and contest. Then I cleaned up the giant mess before the kids woke up at 6:30am. After 2 hours of sleep I packed our bags and the kids and we flew cross country for the holidays. I am still tired. I wish I had more time with the house, but I won't see it for a few weeks. I will post more details when I return, as internet access is limited out here in the sticks.

Emily, thank you for the motivation, but I'm so glad the challenge is over. HBS Miniatures, my contest submission is on its way.

Now to enjoy visiting family for the holidays. I'll post more pictures when I can.

Giant Tears

Since my last update, I finished cutting out the second story walls and floor. It took about a week of nights in the garage after the kids were asleep to paint and add the windows.

Thursday night, I was finally ready to assemble. I glued and clamped up the ground floor. First problem - my sliding doors are 1/8" but the wood from the kit was just shy of 1/4" so the upper track I added to hold the doors in place, snapped off when the doors overlapped to open. I'm going to replace two of the four panels with 3/32" and that should give enough room for everything to move smoothly. The big disaster came the next morning. The glue didn't hold. It cracked when I moved it and one wall fell down and another was disconnected.

I assumed I didn't clamp well enough, so for the second floor, I clamped the heck out of it on Friday night. I used almost every clamp we had. But come Saturday, despite being super clamped, the long wall was only connected to the floor a quarter of the length. After some Giant tears, I read the back of the wood glue bottle, and it recommends 45 degrees or higher. It was definitely closer to 40 degrees in the garage, so I think it was too cold for the glue to set properly. Tonight, I brought both floors inside and am praying the warmer temperature will set the glue properly this time.
At this point I figured I would be a lot further along. I'm not sure I'll finish in time, but I haven't thrown in the towel yet.

Gluing away...

The last two walls of the main floor are done. Framing the windows is taking a lot longer than I expected, but it is looking better than I imagined so that's a plus. I still have no idea what I'm going to do for the door, but I have to get building the second floor. I'm worried the plan was too ambitious with the time remaining, but I'm hoping I can pull some late nights to get it finished. Clock is ticking.