Small sized hobby of mine

I've had a dream about a small dolls house in my mind about 2 years now. I've searched the net and found amazingly realistic dolls houses and decided I would want to try my skills to do that too. I did built a big, three and half storey, plywooden dolls house (on my own design) about 6 years ago, but realised that I don't have the consentration needed for doing something like 100 windows that are the same! I want to do one or two things and then change to something else. So I was really happy when I found this from flea market last month:

It's made to contain herbs and pepper and salt, but I saw the potential! This will be the base for my Dickens-spirited house. It will be on poor condition and positioned on some narrow alley of dubious reputation. Maybe in London? Haven't figured out yet what the house will be called or on what "street" it would be in? Any ideas?

The interiors are starting to form.

The first floor will have a fireplace and clazed doors and I'm trying to figure how I could make the door open and look like there really is a street or courtyard behind it. The best dolls houses I've seen have an illusion of continuity. Some cunning tricks are needed!

The 2.nd floor is darker and already has a door, but not much else. I'm seeing an absent-minded biologist having a work space in this room... Will see about that.

The last floos is the attic. I'm pleased on how this window turned out. It looks realistic when light comes from behind it. Hard to get that photographed! The attic has a funny wall paper that I found from the net and then printed out. It has bats on it...I'm so funny! I have bats in the attic!

Welcoming the year 2009

New year went peacfully with friends and good food. Christmas time was full of relatives and, well, good food (my favorites being sweet raisin "soup" with whipped cream! And some rice porridge too)

Here are some of the presents I got (last year, oh!). The shoe is made by LOVELY Tilda instructions.

These really fine wool socks are a gift from Jaakko's grandmother (she is a really skillful knitter)

And this hand made, one of a kind! train for the doll house children to play with ;) Thanks Lissu!

Tahvo got this cool life jacket! This will make our trips to the summer gottage more safe than ever! (we need to travel about 1,6 kilometers with boat to get there)

Then we can joke about officer Tahvo ;)
Maybe he will arrest us because of our bad sense of humour...

5.12.

This card really melts my heart!! The text mostly does it: "Once we were not very good, But that was a long while ago". Who of you couldn't agree to that?!

In the miniature frontieer I must show you this :) It's not my own, but from a talented miniaturist Nanna, who has many good ideas that I wish to make myself.

4.12.

This picture is actually aprint for fabric. I Think it so beautifull I replaced todays card with it. I didn't got the manufactures name, but I found this from the web page of an American lady who makes aprons from it.

I also made some miniatures last night. Wanna see? Jeee! So I was in a mood for christmas baking... for my doll house! Christmas pudding (that we actually don't eat in Finland), gingerbread and other pastry. One candle and a jack-in-a-box:

I made the food from Fimo and I used cardboard for the box of the jack-in-a-box. It has a real spring from an old pen.

My miniatures

I might have to learn to try to get better pictures of such a little things! In the first picture there are little "paintings" and a newspaper. And the second picture has couple of books and my doll house's dollhouse :D Thats my most demanding work this far. Oh, I had to add one more picture about this doll house's doll house because I'm really proud of it: Click the picture and you can marvel the details.

Doll houses; scale 1:12

That kitty just shows the scale really well :)
I have so many pictures I chose some of the black and white ones here. The maker of these are really skilful! Maybe tomorrow I show some of my own creations. This is one of the great indoor things you can do when the fall is getting dark and wet like it's now here.

I don't remember sharing this hobby here before. I really can't resist these little but so real looking things and the calm order of the doll houses. I forget that this is a rare hobby in Finland because I can see the thousands of busy bees making miniature things from the net.