Sylvie's drawing room

For those of you who have been following the work that I have been doing on Sylvie's dollshouse, I thought you might like a little update. We started talking about ideas for the drawing room before Christmas and Sylvie loved a set by Bespaq with gilt woodwork. She sent me some paint samples from the Farrow and Ball collection and the colours that had been used to decorate the room were Lichen and an antique white with slightly bluish tones.

Lichen by Farrow and Ball

Sylvie chose the DuVille set by Bespaq

I looked at lots of  fabrics to use on this room. I wanted to try to keep it as light as possible but still create a very opulent and special room and blend together the colours. It was almost by accident that I came across a duckegg blue silk with a slightly bronze stripe that when held against the 'lichen' looked as if it was made for it! I only had a small piece and it is no longer available but it meant that I could add in another tone into the decor and the blues and greens combine beautifully with the golds.

Bespaq DuVille sofa re-upholstered in duckegg blue silk with olive stripe from the Silk Route

Over the following weeks I was able to find another green silk shot with gold which I could use for the curtains and combine with some bluey/green silk brocade. I printed some asian style silk for the cushions and for a small throw which will drape over one of the chairs. We decided to leave the 2 chairs in the original green for now as it toned in fairly well with the rest.

Two sofas and two co-ordinating chairs will furnish the large 12th scale drawing room

To finish the room we also ordered matching tables and plant stands which are finished in a green/grey marble effect and a huge gilt cabinet to show off Sylvie's china or figurines. I can't wait to see it all in place when it arrives in the UK!

Back at last!!!

Well, that has to be one of the longest Christmas breaks in the short history of my little blog! Apologies to all for my absence and a BIG thank you to all the new followers who have signed up in that time!...family life and a long line of commissions have kept me spinning since November and, just when I thought I was catching up with things, our carnival season arrived.

Those of you who have followed my blog since last year will know that I ADORE the Carnival here in Lanzarote and, as always, every room in my house is taken over by costumes, make-up and (last year) a huge pink flamingo! We are tripping over giant pirate hats and fairy wings this year and somehow, in under 3 hours, managed to create a crocodile from a shopping trolley. After our little group´s success in carrying off the first prize for group costumes with our 'Alice in Wonderland' theme last year,  we were very excitedly planning 'Peter Pan' for this year. Well we didn't win this time but the kids had a great time and the crocodile seemed popular...we had to drag a toddler out from between it's jaws at one point!

All set now for the Grand Parade on Monday!!

I have added a couple of snaps taken last night but hope to get some proper photos taken next week at the Grand procession.

Frilly undies for tiny ladies!

I am absolutely delighted with the fuss that's been made over my quarter scale bits and pieces over the last few weeks! I have met some lovely new customers and become hooked on this tiny scale that I couldn't believe I would enjoy working in.

I have even returned to Ebay and love the buzz of checking to see who is bidding and what has sold. I have just added a few new little pieces for this week if you fancy taking a look...including a set of 1/48 chemise and bloomers!

The link for this week's auctions is

http://www.ebay.com/sch/miss_amelias_miniatures/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

A romantic 1/48 day bed...

I added this little day bed to the selection of quarter scale miniatures that I have for sale on Ebay this week. The kit was by Karen Cary and I stained it mahogany and then dressed the bed with a lovely plump mattress covered in cream silk charmeuse. The tiny pillows are trimmed with cream and fawn lace. Only 1 7/8" (5cm) long!

The link to this auction and to the other items is http://www.ebay.com/sch/miss_amelias_miniatures/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

Thanks for looking!

Mourning Millinery - a small selection

 I love working with black. I love the way the different textures and fabrics create a depth  and richness of their own. Over the years I have been fascinated by the mourning fashions of different eras and have spent countless hours poring over 19th century fashion magazines, millinery texts and searching through vintage boutiques to find out as much as I could about this astonishing mode.

I don't know whether it's the approach of Halloween or just the fact that I have been sorting out winter clothes but, around this time of year, I always seem to get the urge to re-stock my mourning millinery section and below you will find the four latest additions.

As always each design is unique and with the tiny, unexpected details that make it special...

This last is, of course, not strictly a mourning hat but I thought a 'goth' bride might appreciate it!

Quarter scale bedroom set - Lafayette

I had a lovely surprise in the post recently...a selection of  furniture kits, beds, chaises, armoires etc...all in 1/48 scale.They were sent to me by Sharon Goldsmith of By Sharon Miniatures. I had mentioned that I would have a go at dressing these tiny items but I wasn't expecting so many and such a lovely selection of designs! Now putting together these little kits is not my strong point but I do love dressing them and couldn't wait to start playing with ideas.

Below are a few pictures of the first set, the Lafayette. I used a blush pink silk and a very pale rose fabric with pale vine design. I must find a way of getting the doors on the armoire to open and close but for now I have fixed one open so that you can see the garments inside. I still have a tiny loveseat and dresser to match but I thought I'd show these for now...

 

This OOAK set is available for sale on my website

http://missameliasminiatures.com/quarter148collection/148dressedbeds.html

Don't forget I have some quarter scale auctions ending on Ebay over the next couple of days

 Click here to go to my auctions at miss_amelias_miniatures

Sylvie's Dollshouse - the maid's bedroom

For those of you who have been following the progress of Sylvie's dollshouse, the last room to be completed was the maid's bedroom. Obviously we didn't want this room to be quite as elegant as the 'family' rooms but it still need to be comfortable and have a certain charm of it's own.

We decided on a wrought iron bed which we bought from the DHE and I began to rummage through my boxes and boxes of fabrics to get some ideas for the bed dressing. I am a fabric-holic and have a huge selection of both new and vintage pieces to choose from. Eventually I found just the thing...a cotton/linen dress that had belonged to my daughter when she was 2...a lovely pinafore country style design which was made up of layers of ecru and palest sage green stripes. The subtle tones are just what Sylvie likes and the texture of the fabric seemed suited to a maid's bed. Sylvie also chose the lovely round backed chair in soft walnut and I made a small tapestry style cushionfor it  in the creams and greens to blend into the room.

                                                                                                                                                              
Amazingly enough there was enough fabric for 3 sets of curtains...two for the maid's room and one for a small adjoining sitting room. I have never made so many curtains as I have for Sylvie's house and I try hard to find unusual designs to dress her windows. I used a white muslin for the 'nets' in this case...tinted in tea to get the antique creamy colour.

 We didn't want the maid to be sitting twiddling her thumbs in the evenings so the family decided to treat her to a very special new-fangled sewing machine! This really is a beauty by Bodo Hennig. The table top has a stunning inlay and everything works as it should...even the needle goes up and down. I dressed it with a few little details and managed to make some tiny bobbins from the end of cocktail sticks.

   
 

 

And of course a spare uniform hangs on the back of the bedroom door :)