Monday, August 5, 2013

A New Life



Hello Everyone,

Two weeks since my last post and I have been very busy bringing new life to an old Dollhouse. I mentioned in my last post I have acquired a couple of extra Miniature Dwellings, both have possibly seen better days and are in need of some love and attention. 

Today I would like to show you the house my sister in law and I bought through an online auction for my niece Brooke who has developed a love for miniatures, (welcome to the club Brooke) each time she comes to visit she loves to explore Ambrosia Place which lead us to work together on a room box for her. Recently I was fortunate enough to come across a house exactly the same as Ambrosia Place and couldn't resist, it came fully furnished with nice quality furniture and was a third of the price we purchased ours for fully assembled, so we snapped it up.

Once home I realised that the original description of excellent condition was not quite so, it had been in storage for a while and was quite water damaged, I'm sure the Lady that previously owned it saw it as perfect but not perfect enough for my niece. So I set to work and who doesn't like a before and after??





The windows and doors were not in good condition, unfortunatly  I pulled out the doors before I took photos, but they were water damaged and falling apart and the windows had yellowed glue smeared all over them, painting every window frame took some time but it was worth the final result.





As you can see the inside wasn't too bad but I couldn't resist making a few changes to the decor, I hate to tell you though, with all the excitement and rush to have it ready on time I didn't take photos of the interior but I am happy to say that I put to good use the green leaf wallpaper and rug for the nursery and  lots of other extras and it looks lovely. I will hopefully take some pictures next time. There was quite a build up to the presentation, children whisked away on other activities while I snuck in and set it all up only to be revealed from under a sheet on arrival. When Brooke arrived home I said "oh it's your Birthday???" and I forgot to bring a present....but perhaps you would like this instead???? Jaw dropping disbelief was what followed and we couldn't tare her away from it!! 






Now I wish I had taken some better photos but I was cutting it very fine between completion and arrival but this will give you the general idea. I took these just before she arrived and the lighting wasn't the best. Modern colours to suit the decor of my Sister in laws house and a red door I think any little girl would love, number 10 for ten years old and if you look closely you can see a topiary tree with gardening tools and a little puppy watching on, a good example of the little treasures inside that came with the house.

Well thats it for now, I hope you enjoyed, the experience has given me lots of ideas for Ambrosia place not to mention the new/old Dollhouse, but more on that later.

A big welcome to my new followers thanks for taking the time to have a look. 

Ta,Ta for now!!!

ML Fi XX







48 comments:

  1. Hello from Spain: I'm glad to read that your niece also collects miniatures. Congratulations for the work that you do to restore the house. I really like your work. I adore the gateway in that tone of color. Keep in touch

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  2. I asked for a dollhouse for my tenth birthday, but by the time my dad finished building it, I was a few months shy of 14! In a rush or not - you finished on time and I'm sure it made a grand presentation.

    Any little girl would be very, very lucky to have such an experienced miniaturist fix up a dollhouse just for her.

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    Replies
    1. Sad face for you late birthday Dollhouse....at least he did finish it though!

      ML XX

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  3. What a lovely gift for your niece, you did a great job on fixing it up, love the paint colors you used on the house and well done for finishing it in time.

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  4. Wow, what a difference! You made this house look incredible. I wish I had an Aunt like you when Ii was growing up!
    Well done,
    Sam

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    Replies
    1. Haha...me too!! I always wanted a Dollhouse when I was a girl but never had one, I guess I've made up for it now!

      XX

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  5. Wonderful makeover! It's beautiful! :D

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  6. What a dreamy house! I think I might add columns to one of my houses now after looking at how nice yours looks! Lucky to have such a lovely house and an aunt to match!

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    1. Thank you, the Columbus are nice aren't they.

      XX

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  7. What a wonderful birthday gift! It would have been my dream as a child! You have got to be her favourite aunt!

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  8. Hi Fiona, so good to hear from you! You bought a lovely dollshouse for Brooke and transformed it in an even more beautiful one. Hugs, liduina.

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    Replies
    1. Hello my lovely,

      Yes I had such fun doing it.

      XX

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  9. Dear Fiona,

    I am so envious of you right now! What a wonderful find. Good luck on the new house. I'm sure you will make it look WONDERFUL! Take care!

    All best,
    Brad

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  10. HI Fi! What a precious moment at the unveiling! I hope that someone got pictures of the look that must have been on her face when she saw what was awaiting her!? What a pleasure for You to be able to give so much joy to your niece, Brooke and what hours of discovery and fun that the 2 of you will now have together. It was also very considerate of you to think about where this house would be stationed within your sister's home. No doubt that your sister, appreciated that too! I am pretty sure that this event, will always be the one Birthday that Brooke Never will forget!
    Well done Fi!

    elizabeth

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    1. Hi Elizabeth,

      Yes, it was all so enjoyable, especially the look of disbelief on her face, I beleive her mum can't tare her away from it.

      XX

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  11. What a lucky girl to have such a generous Auntie, I bet she loves it. Perhaps you could take some pics of the interior to show us later, the outside transformation looks gorgeous.

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  12. Oh, Wow, Fi!!! What a Fantastic surprise for your niece!!! She will Never forget this gift!!! And it is so Wonderful that it is just like Magnolia Place!!! I just Love that idea!!! I understand what being in a hurry because of deadlines can do... so I think you are a Magician to get it ready in time! Bravo! It sure looks elegant! What a lucky girl!
    I can't wait to see what else you have been making...!

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    1. Hi Betsy,

      I have been busy playing catchup with home duties but plan to do some miniatures today. Perhaps some pictures of the new DH coming soon.

      ML Fi XX

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  13. Hey honey, sorry I'm late.
    What an amazing job you've done! How we love a duckling to swan story!! And the grey is such a cool modern colour. I love the red door, and using Brooke's age as the house number was really inspired.
    She's a lucky girl!
    Hugs
    Si xx

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    1. Hi Si,

      Don't talk to me about being late.....I'm late replying but so glad to see you in blogshere!!

      XX

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  14. Great colour scheme! Looking forward to the interior shots. Wish I had a niece!!

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  15. Hello Fi,
    It looks lovely. You really did a terrific job breathing new life into this poor neglected house. It can stand tall and proud now. What a wonderful gift.
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    Replies
    1. Hello dear friend,

      I'm glad you like it, it was a good feeling to see it rejuvenated.

      XX

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  16. What a sweet and lovely story! You did a beautiful job, this house is wonderful.
    Geneviève

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  17. I think you have done a wonderful job with the restoration! What a difference!

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  18. What fun to see the before and after. And what an exciting moment when your niece discovered this treasure was HERS! Thanks for sharing. xo Jennifer

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    1. Hi Jennifer,

      Yes, I think she was quite over whelmed.

      XX

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  19. What a wonderful Red Door, Fi! I love it! I'd like a red door myself. Or a shiny black one. But because our hall, such as it is, is rather dark, we decided to put glass in the door panels, which works very well from an illuminating point of view...but it does mean we can't have a shiny brass door-knocker, and I can't pretend to be Scrooge at Christmas (Though Andy might tell you otherwise....)

    Well, a very interesting parcel from Australia arrived while Andy was visiting his family in Deal, but this afternoon, now we are joyfully reunited, we all sat down for afternoon tea and opened it. We had the most marvellous time unwrapping our wonderful gifts - and, I giggled with glee when I unwrapped my very special painting. I've never had my portrait painted before - and certainly not is such a superb costume. Little did I know when I gurned and growled in that ruined Norfolk church that I would be immortalised in more ways than one!!!! I am absolutely delighted with my picture, Fi!!! Words very nearly fail me (but not quite). It's so beautifully painted and there's certainly no mistaking who it is!! It will have pride of place in my Cabinet - or, actually, somewhere rather more prominent. I wonder if Andy would let me hang it up in the cellar of his Georgian Mansion with a few miniature cobwebs on it? Anyway, this is just a very brief thank you from the bottom of my heart!! We loved all the other things too - the banana spoon is unique. Does it come from a place that grows bananas? I didn't think Australia grew bananas. Perhaps it doesn't...! Iris and John are delighted with her flowers of various forms - and Andy's landscape is amazing! Anyway, the dinner is cooking and I have to make sure it's not getting burned. I will be in touch again very soon - so have a look on my blog soon!

    Much love - and a thank you thank you thank you!!!

    David xx

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  20. Hi David,

    I'm so thrilled you like the little miniature painting! I had such fun doing it, at first I was stumped as to what I could send you, I racked my brain for a couple of days and then bingo, it came to me....... David in his castle of Gothic Horror! I thought you would have a giggle over it, one always gets a bit nervous about giving such things but I was having a little giggle to myself as I was painting it so I thought you would too. When I finished I called Jay and Mia up stairs to have a look and they both laughed....they loved to see David as the count!!

    As for the Banana spoon.....yes we grow lots of Bananas here! Coffs Harbour is a nice little Holiday place up on the North Coast of NSW and yes they grow Bananas there. We grow just about any tropical crop in Queensland and Nth NSW, Pineapples, Mangos, Sugar Cane, Avocados, Macadamia Nuts...well pretty much any fruit or veg really. Interestingly enough, in 2011 there was a terrible Hurricane that wiped out most of our Banana crops, we normally pay around $3-4 a kilo but we had none for a long time and they were a bit of a luxury when the finally did grow some at about $14 a kilo. Well there you go, a little bit of info on Australian crops...just what you have always wanted to know!!

    Any way...I thought you and Andy would look a bit cute together stirring your tea with cooky spoons...lol

    ML Fi XX

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    1. Oh yes, Fi, the spoons will add a certain Hinge and Brackett element of eccentricity to our afternoon tea time. (You know about Hinge and Brackett, I hope!) I might even use my banana spoon for the Sunday morning boiled egg. So many applications!!!

      Yes, I am looking at my portrait now, which is actually leaning against a copy of Poe's tales (quite coincidentally, actually. It's temporarily resting on the bookshelves, awaiting specific placement! Mind you, in this house, it's quite easy to rest against a copy of Poe, as I have so many editions with different illustrations.

      I've been really busy in the garden recently. And now, since we gave away our very large fish to an enthusiast, we can make the pond rather more decorative that it's been for about ten years. We've bought some pond plants (including a very elegant Egyptian papyrus plant - who is very aloof from the other plants, with long wavy hair and a supercilious, though perhaps also sinister expression), water lilies, Zantedeschia, and floating water hyacinths, etc. And I've moved some pots and urns around to create a more "Italianate" feeling. Mama Mia! Here I go again.. (to coin a phrase...)

      Thanks for the banana info. Such interesting fruit. (James Bernard, the Hammer horror composer, also wrote a Jamaican musical that was never staged. It had one song in it called "I want a Jamaican banana tonight." I asked him if he wrote the lyrics, which continue: "a hot one, a cold one, a long one, a short one") and he said "Oh yes, David: that was one of my naughtinesses. Such a dear man! I have such happy memories of my afternoons with him when I was researching the book! He really was a lovely man. Whoops, rambling again...You must see my new beard!
      David x

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  21. Well, what a transformation!! I think you worked wonders, and your niece must love playing with it! Love the red door, perhaps you could call it Arden House!! (Actually, if you added a W at the beginning of that it would be my old school!! Warden House, so maybe not!! LOL).

    I'm enjoying all my little gifts, and will make a big show of them on my blog ASAP.
    I am very pleased that you enjoyed the little treats I sent you too!

    hugs
    Andy xxxx

    PS, Scrooge could certainly learn a few things from David at Christmas!!

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  22. Hi Andy,

    Yes, latest reports are that she is still playing with it none stop!

    I'm glad you like your little gifts, I have just seen Davids on his blog...lol!

    ML Fi xx

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  23. Oh God!
    This house is beautiful!!! Have a nice day.
    D.

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  24. Amazing!! you did a nice job, I have made some miniature tools you might be interested in

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