And, the new line is...

I am pleased to announce the name of my new line is.... (drum roll please) AMERICANA! This has been the result of months of work and research. It has been a collaborative effort, I've joined forces with Linda Sweigart of CalicoJewels at etsy and Katie Reid of KatiesClayCorner and blog of the same name, also at etsy. Linda is well known for her Medieval, Tudor and fantasy furniture. Katie makes all kinds of cute accessories for the dollhouse. The listings for the new line of Americana miniatures will go live in our shops on Labor Day. 

Are you following dalesdreams on facebook? 

If you are and you share the announcement post about the new line, you will be entered in a drawing to win a sneak peek preview of the line with an early option to purchase before the listings go live. 

Have you signed up to be on my mailing list? To receive the latest news and information from dalesdreams simply email me at [email protected] put mailing list in the subject line and you won't miss out on any important news, information or sales details. 

Thank you all for your support and encouragement during the creation phase.

Sharing Sundays! :)

This is a new thing I am starting for Sundays.

 

I want to document my collection of miniatures so I can get them out of the packaging and get to enjoy them.

 I was just going through a bunch of stuff and I had no idea what I had bought.

That's no fun, right?

So, I'm going to document them all here and where they are from and who knows, you might find a new place to get something, or find something that you have been looking for. :)

Deb made this custom for me in pink, after I caught eye of one she made in chocolate.

Isn't it cool? 

It's a large cake, it's for a very festive party, with lots of guests! :)

You can find her etsy shop here.

Chairs I bought from MothersMiniTreasures on etsy.

I want to redo the upholstery on these. 

A beautiful black acrylic hat stand by the wonderful Tom Saunders.

You can find his shop here.

Which reminds me, I really want to make some hats.

I made a pillbox hat for an Easter swap last year? or was that the year before?

I should make some more, it was fun to do.

See! Already getting distracted and side tracked.

Where were we?

Two pink glass vases, almost iridescent, from Cookie's Bits & Pieces.

I got these one year at Philadelphia Miniaturia, which, lucky for me is virtually down the street.

I also bought this lovely handwoven basket there, by Julia Sudol.

I think women have a thing for baskets. Do you? I know I do, in real life and in miniature.

Maybe, it's because we are gatherers. :)

and the last share of the day...

Wine glasses from The Little Dollhouse Company.

Prior to this purchase, the occupants of the house had to swig directly from the only bottle of wine.

So, glasses were very important! And, they are surprisingly really sturdy little things. 

Thanks for sharing your Sunday with me.

I hope you enjoyed what I had to share.

dale :)

ps. I'm going to try to make my other postings on Thursdays, we'll see how that goes. ;)

Latest Acquisition and WIP

I bought a new dollhouse last week. :)

Did I need a new dollhouse? 

Absolutely not, if you recall, I have two other houses already.

This one, that I left with my friend Richard over the summer, he's wiring it for me. :)

Which reminds me I have to send him some fixtures to put in it!

Wow, this is in far rougher shape than I remember. ;)

And, this one, that my hubby surprised me with, he nabbed if off the curb. I was so tickled when he found it. He wasn't sure I wanted it, but, of course I did!

So, yup! Another house. This one is actually in the best condition of all that I have.

View of the inside. There are two more rooms on the top floor, but you look down on them through the roof when removed or just peek in the windows.

The first thing that had to go was the pink accents. It just really dated it back to the 80's.

I wanted the majority of the house to be a dark charcoal gray.

Many people have suggested using the little paint samples that you can get from your local hardware or paint stores. I was worried about it not being enough paint, but took a chance and only bought the one container. It is just the right amount, thank goodness! This is Besalt D36-7 Paint Pod from Ace.

The white trim was just a bit to stark and bright for me. I toned it down with Oyster White from Ceramcoat. It is just the most subtle difference from white to off white, but, I think it has a richer look to it. 

Cutting in around and in between the gingerbread and trim was so tedious! 

It's so dark it looks almost black, but it's just a dark charcoal.

And what is more welcoming than a red front door?

This obviously needs a few more coats on it.

Does anyone else think Elizabeth Arden Red Door?

As cute as it is, the quality of craftsmanship is not the best, but, I'm not going to complain all that much, because I am not a builder! Originally, I had the window trim on the third floor painted the oyster color. But, it just cried out how crooked those dormers were, so I painted them black along with the roof. They seem to fade back now a bit.

Still need another coat on that door! That is Folk Art Lipstick Red.

The roof is Crafter's Edition Acrylic Paint , Black.

And, with the roof on. I still have a bit of touching up here and there to do, that blue base must go!

I'm pleased with the progress so far. :)

Amazing what a difference a bit of paint can do, isn't it? :)

I hope all those that are celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends have a wonderful and safe time. :)

More Furniture from Minibuilder in my Collection :)

This is the first piece I bought from Ray.

It is so darling, it sat on my desk for weeks as a source of inspiration for mini making.

Then, I got this table, actually, I got two of them for end tables for either side of the couch in the living room.

I'm not really a light wood kinda person, but, I wanted some diversity in what I use to display the minis I have for sale. This is a cute set and it has a country or cottage appeal to it.

I love these chairs, of course, they're not upholstered yet, as I can't decide what I want on them.

Maybe, I'll make several different seats so I can play with them a bit more.

Ray had sent me this dining room set for me to upholster the chairs and I knew immediately when I opened the box that I had to have them!

Here's just the chair. Again, no upholstery. lol ;)

Ray sent me this as a gift. I love it!

It's going to look great with a plant on it. :)

In real life, I have a thing for tables and footstools, I'm sure it's going to be the same thing in the dollhouse. That and stuffing it full with as much stuff as I possibly can. ;)

I was really busy making miniatures last week. I'll share some of what I was working on next time. So busy working, that I'm behind on keeping up with my blog reading. Hoping to get to a bit of that this week, it's always so interesting to see what other people are up to with their minis. :)

Welcome to new followers, Angela, Kiva, who makes miniature food and has a funny sense of humor (I found her through Tom's blog) and Richard another team mate from teamMIDS, who doesn't blog, yet ;) but, you can find his etsy shop here.

So, three followers away from 100 now. I'll be celebrating you followers soon with a giveaway!

This weekend is the Philadephia Miniaturia, I'm going! Anyone else out there in blog land going to be there?
I am so looking forward to it. :)