20th Annual Creatin' Contest Winners

It's one of my favorite times of the year... the announcement of HBS Miniatures.com's winners of their annual Creatin' Contest. Every year I love to be inspired by the creativity and talent that so many people bring to this contest. Here's my coverage of the 19th annual and 18th annual contests and my 18th annual favorites.

Without futher ado, the Grand Prize Winner is Nancy Enge Sea House Pavilion. Talk about incredible photographry. That is the best background scenery in any of the Creatin' Contests to date. I love the ceiling and there are just so many fantastic details in every nook and cranny. How cute is the miniature version of the contest dollhouse kit?

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Here is the what the kit looked like to start with: Charming Cottage Shell Kit.

First Place Winner - Margo Givens The Merry Minxster. I love the tree on the patio. The interior of reminds me of an English pub in Tahoe that we've been going to for years. Very realistic.

YEAH BRAE!!! Second Place Winner - Brae Oktober Walnut Bay Light. These pictures just aren't enough to really enjoy this house. Go to her website www.otterine.com to really marvel at the beauty she puts into every detail. Outstanding!!!

Third Place Winner - Betty Taft Charming Tree Cottage. Maybe its that TreeHouse Masters show on TV that my husband is hooked on, but I'm kinda loving treehouses right now. I really wish there were more interior pictures, this tree cottage looks incredible.

The treehouse inspiration found it's way to other entrants. First Time Entrant - Nancy Weinberg Shipwreck Housing

First Time Entrant Winner - Sherry Pittman Treehouse Cottage


First Time Entrant - Jessica Christian Beachfront Guest House. This was one of my favorites. It looks like such a relaxing retreat.

Repeat Entrant - Norm Schini Hometown Depot. This is one of my favorite photos from the contest, great lighting and background. Plus the finishing work on the house is just gorgeous.

Honorable Mention - Evelyn Allen Oasis Diner. I love 50's diners and this oasis version looks spot on. I love all of the trim and exterior details.

First Time Entrant -Darlene Chaplin Country Cottage. I really need to make an exterior with water. I just love this house over water design.

First Time Entrant - Anne E. Brown Summer Camp Cabin. I love the beach landscaping.

First Time Entrant - Flo Paulin Discovery Cottage. I thought this one was really playful. The gardens and interior look like a great home away from home for your kids.

Repeat Entrant - Kim Kehoe Bapa's Pets. This just screams cute to me. I'd love to see more interior detail pictures on this one.

The light is on for this house. First Time Entrant - Jodi Hippler Bev's Ocean Front Retreat. Dollhouse + Lamp = Love it.

First Time Entrant - Karen Dircks The Miniature Meeting. Wouldn't it be fun if there was a mini meet up place in your town?
First Time Entrant - Milo McNally Kitty's Bar. Dogs playing poker... awesome, what else can I say.


These are just a few of the houses that stood out to me, if you have 20-30 minutes, head over to Miniatures.com to see all of the winners and entrants, there are tons of them.

(all images from Miniatures.com)

New dollhouses from The Contemporary Home in Miniature

Leanne Bartlett from The Contemporary Home in Miniature has two new contemporary houses to add to her offerings. The Water's Edge, 1:12 scale dollhouse, starts at £495. "The three roomed town house with open plan living area, bedroom with en-suite shower room and funky kitchen extension. 610mm high x 648mm wide x 431mm deep."


The Spinnaker Court,
1:12 scale dollhouse, starts at £1095. "Two homes in one innovative, space-saving footprint. With two separate duplex apartments to furnish, there is a chance to really let your imagination take flight. A cantelever roof and offset balconies as well as sliding internal walls, give this duplex a real designer look. 960mm high x 760mm wide x 510mm deep."

Leanne also sells furniture as seen on her website here, but doesn't have an online store so contact her directly. You can also check out her facebook page here.

(all images from http://www.thecontemporaryhomeinminiature.co.uk/)

PRD Miniatures at Tom Bishop Southern California Show

Did anyone make to Tom Bishop's Southern California Miniatures show last week? I couldn't make it, but hope to go next year. Paris of PRD Miniatures sent me this video of his display. I LOVE this first room. I want a whole dollhouse to go with it. Paris also has some cool new beds with working lights built into the night stands. TO DIE FOR!!!

If the video below doesn't display for you, you can check out the video on my facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=586990184717339&l=8776724769595715267

Post by Modern Mini Houses.

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?

As part of the January Cure (Assignment 6: Choose a piece of artwork to frame & get the process started for framing it), I made a trip to IKEA to get the needed picture frames for two pieces of artwork we're framing. I saw the Lekman box is now available in solid white, and at only $12.99 I couldn't resist picking one up. It makes a great mini studio space.

The de-cluttering and cleaning process is coming along. I tackled the kids art table and the backyard, and figured I deserved a break. I set up the Lekman box and cut a piece of wood grain contact paper (shelf liner) for flooring. I had done a swap with Pepper but one of the items and a lamp broke at the time, but her swap was better than mine so I figured we were even. Pepper completely surprised me with a wonderful Christmas package stuffed with mini presents (and chocolates that I gobbled up right away). The Lekman Box seemed the perfect place to showcase her incredible work.

Deets: Pepper, MitchyMooMiniatures - red chaise, floor lamp, wood framed mirror, rug, coffee table, credenza, table lamp, and luggage (I will find the artisan that made these, I know she's mentioned her on her blog, I just couldn't find at time of posting). minimodernistas - sofa, pillows. PRD miniatures - books. Accessories - craft store, show finds and Kaleidoscope House accessories.

Dirty Little Secret meet the January Cure

Assignment #5. Pick a project to cross off your to do list. We have a small kitchen and ended up with shelves of stuff we don't use all of the time. I moved items we haven't used in over a month into the garage and found new homes for things to keep.


New Basil, Rosemary and Thyme plants help brighten up the space as well as hide the appliances stored behind them.


I bought some storage boxes for the kids paint and clay supplies. I still need to find better homes for everything stacked on the floor, but it is a HUGE improvement.


I moved my tea pot and pitcher collection to on top of the cupboards and got rid of a few serving bowls we never use.


I moved all of our recipe books to one place and finally cleaned the top of the refridgerator.

I'm usually not a dumpster diver, but when I was taking out the recycling and trash, this vase with rocks and a Christmas bulb were sitting next to the compost bin. I ditched the dead bulb and cleaned this up for my Friday Flowers. Every week part of the cure is to liven up your home with fresh flowers. "Think of the purchase as a gift to your home. It is an enjoyable, (affordable!) luxury but it goes far beyond just that. The flowers are a visual symbol of your commitment to caring for your home." – Apartment Therapy


Another project on my to do list: prevent table from being a dumping ground for art and random stuff. Just because a chair is never used does not make it a storage space.


Assignment #7: Weekend Chores - Kitchen Organizing and Cleaning Today I spent 2 hours on these two cabinets. I emptied and cleaned all of the shelves and shelf liners. Threw out expired food. Found way too many duplicates - 3 opened bags of powdered sugar, 3 packages of dark brown sugar, tons of Hersheys bars (we only went camping once, I don't even remember buying duplicates). I sorted the shelves by function splitting the decaf and regular teas to different sides of the top shelf. Then a snack/medicine shelf, cans/beans/bread shelf, pasta and cooking shelf, baking shelf, and pots and pans shelf. Tomorrow I will tackle the rest of the cabinets.

If you can use some de-cluttering help head over to Apartment Therapy and check out the January Cure. You can download the Calendar here.

Happy cleaning!

Clutter is the art of delayed decision making.

I am an expert at it, but I don't want to be. I am indecisive and have a bad habit of piling stuff to deal with at a later date. That date only arrives when people are coming over and I stash my piles on other piles out of plain sight. I'm always washing laundry, but we end up wearing clothes out of the laundry baskets before we get around to folding and putting it all away.

I came across the January Cure on Apartment Therapy (via Christina) and a few things really struck a chord with me. Clutter wastes your time and money. I hadn't really thought about it like that, but it reminded me of how much time I've wasted and frustration I've caused, looking for things I've misplaced. Additionally, I've wasted money and more time by going out to buy something I couldn't find and ending up with duplicates.

Clutter is stressful. My kids can't get dressed on their own sometimes because they are out of clean underwear and socks, then we waste those limited minutes before school digging through baskets to find them. Clutter is overwhelming and makes it hard to focus on what to clean/sort first.

"If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it." – Olin Miller

I'd rather be surrounded and inspired by beauty then distracted and depressed around clutter. So, I signed up for the emails and printed out the January Cure Calendar. I may not finish in January, but I am checking steps off along the way. Here is some of my embarrassing mess and the progress I've made so far.

My new motto is "Don't put it down, put it away." If I can't find a place for something then it needs to go away. No more delay, just decisions.

"Organization isn't about perfection; it's about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money and improving your overall quality of life."
– Christina Scalise

My goal is to get my house and my life more clutter free and organized, and make more time for the things that matter most (minis!). I'm going to go fold some laundry now.

Second Chances - MiPad could be yours...

Elaine Shaw's MiPad Ultra Modern Doll’s House project is back! Elaine has relaunched a new kickstarter with a longer 60 day duration. (Kickstarter is a really cool website the helps creators/inventors/artists/authors fund their projects and bring their ideas to life.) Last time, is was just word of mouth and a short duration around the holidays. For this relaunch, world wide media coverage starts on Monday 6th January 2014 thanks to a news agency in London.

If you pledged before, please go pledge again, if you didn't head over and be one of the first to get one of these amazing customized dollhouses.

The kickstarter will run for 60 days. At the end if Elaine meets her goal, then everyone's pledge gets paid and the houses go into production with an estimated delivery date of May 2014.

Elaine gained notoriety when her Clearview Dollhouse debuted in 2010. The Clearview was a stepping stone to bigger and brighter designs, and Elaine is thrilled to offer you a chance to get in on the ground floor and build your own dream dollhouse out of her newest idea the "MiPad". Check out all of the details at the new kickstarter here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/115382705/mipad-ultra-modern-dolls-house

Laurie Simmons real house for sale

We all know and love the Kaleidoscope House created by artist Laurie Simmons and architect Peter Wheelwright, but I stumbled upon Laurie Simmons' real house in Tribeca New York that is on the market for $6.25 million. The house was featured in her daughter Lena Dunham's movie Tiny Furniture (yep, Lena Dunham of Girls fame). You can check out more pics of the 2 bedroom 2 bath loft here.



"The family that comes with the house is based on the two designers and their children."
"Our individual work in photography and architecture has focused on these issues, and the promptings of our respective children have often figured in our thinking." - Simmons/Wheelwright

For years I had assumed Laurie and Peter were a husband/wife duo because of the references to "their" and "our" children. I mistakenly thought meant belonging to both of them and not their respective kids. Laurie Simmons is married to artist Carroll Dunham and "their" two kids are Lena and Grace. Back when the Kaleidoscope House was being created Lena would have been around 14 or 15 years old and Grace 8 or 9. I'm guessing the smallest of the girl dolls was modeled after Grace, but I'm still trying to figure out which doll was modeled after Lena. Any guesses?

Happy New Year (a little late)

What a year... On top of work, kids and volunteering, I launched my modern miniatures shop this year. Sadly, it has taken time away from blogging, but happily, I'm making modern miniatures that don't exist in the market. I'm hoping in the new year I can better balance both. This year brought some random health issues that really set me back, torn tendon, fall down a flight of stairs, surgery, twisted ankle, just to name a few. Apparently I'm accident prone. I'm planning on 2014 being much more healthful. Knock on wood.

What's to come... More posts more often. New Year Give-away; I missed my six year blogoversary, so I'm putting together a giveaway soon, come back and check it out. I'm working on new designs for my shop to have in time for my first miniatures show.

Thanks for sticking with me, I hope to catch up with everyone soon! Happiest of wishes for a healthy and miniature filled 2014!



Deets: minimodernistas, PRD Miniatures, TinyFixation, The Shopping Sherpa, Modern MC, Pepper, dotsan, stuff from my shop. (Please ask if you want links on where I got specific items.)

Final countdown for MiPad Doll’s House

3 days left!!! Elaine Shaw's "MiPad Doll’s House for Adult Collectors and Children" is on it's last call for funding. Check out all of the details on her kickstarter page here: http://kck.st/If1IIP

Elaine is trying to encourage people to do what they want to do in life, not what they think they have to do. "Many people find it hard to decide what they want to do in life. I believe you should do what you are good at for a living because it's probably what you love. The more you love it, the more you want to practice it, the more you practice, the better you become at it and we all WANT you to do what you're best at because you'll do a better job at it than something you don't like. It's your gift and your duty to share it with the world." - Elaine Shaw

Elaine's first Clearview Dollhouse, that sold almost 100 houses, was a great learning curve and helped her to address many pieces of this new design. The MiPad is easier to assemble, has less wastage with the window frame cut outs, faster packaging for shipping, and is customizable with many gorgeous designs to choose from for each floor. This can truly be your dream dollhouse with even more designs in the works. I hope Elaine continues to do what she loves as she is sooo good at! Don't we all want a dollhouse this amazing!?!?

Read more here http://kck.st/If1IIP.