The Conservatory, part I: the first steps.

Be welcome, dear reader, I hope you're well!

This is the first in a small series of blogs about my latest project, titled "The Conservatory."

I have published some stuff on this subject here before; mostly pics of items around the project (accessories), but not really on the conservatory itself.

Well this blog is gonna change that, so let's get started.

The project is based on a (discontinued) kit by The Dolls House Emporium. Above is a picture of the box with an illustration of a finished example. Between you and me, and if you promise not to tell: I don't like one bit how it's done! So mine will look totally different.

 

Above and below: images of the kit (more or less) as it came out of the box (and seen here resting on a pizza box). Thankfully, it was partially pre-assembled. Considering the amount of work needed to be put into this thing, this came as a bit of a bonus.

The roof** came like a game of Mikado, and the assembly instructions were not very clear either to a dummy like me. But, luckily, I could draw on the knowledge and advice of my good friend and famous dolls house guru Rebecca Micallef, who had built a kit just like this one some years ago. So here comes the old saying "a friend in need..." really into play.
** More about the roof in a separate blog.

The below images show the conservatory walls sporting their first, very thin coating of paint. Inside rests the roof, still in pieces, but also showing some paint work. Nothing spectacular, just a first touch; there's gonna  be plenty of additional painting and weathering applied to this thing before I can call it done!

If you look carefully at the below image, you'll see that the exterior trimming already misses some of its 'teeth.' This isn't a manufacturing flaw, but yours truly already attempting to give the poor conservatory a look of abandon.

That's all for now! Part two will follow soon! Thanks for visiting, keep safe, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Social distancing.

Welcome, dear reader, I hope you're doing well!

During these strange, Covid-19 days, one hears a lot about "social distancing," which means keeping a safe, 1,5 meter (about 4,5 feet) distance between yourself and any other person you may encounter.

This may be somewhat challenging to some, but not so to these two ladies, having an informal evening chat in The Centennial dolls house.

You see, in the old days, those fashionable, wide dresses, apart from being beautiful, came with a generous, built-in 'social distance protection' of their own.  Just imagine them getting entangled in each others dresses for getting too close..

That's all for now! Thanks for visiting, stay healthy, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Peonies.

The month of June reached its zenith today, and with it there came this lovely bunch of peonies to my living room.

In the news few days they'll open up and reach full bloom, and I'll keep an eye on them while I work from home. I must admit that I really enjoy that, working from home that is, so that's another unexpected and very positive aspect of this whole Covid-19 situation. I don't miss the office one little bit; the 'vibe' is so much more positive and serene here, surrounded by miniatures, dolls houses, antique toy trains, and many other objects that call my living room their home...

That's all for now, folks!  Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of the week, stay healthy, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

A little sieve, or how to honour small things.

Hi dear reader, I hope you're doing well!!

In The Netherlands there is this proverb that, literally translated, says: “Who does not honour small things, is not worthy of great things.”

And you know, I think there is a lot of truth in that. Just as people say that the devil is in the details, it's also true that appreciating the small, 'humble' things in life somehow enriches us, making us more 'worthy' of 'bigger' things.

Being able to enjoy the small things we see around us every day -and which remain invisible to those devoid of that ability- also makes us happier people. 

With this in mind, I always give the same level of attention to every miniature object I work on, no matter how small, or hidden. Be it a garment in a closet, a box in a forgotten corner, or a little, 'insignificant' sieve, like the one starring in this blog. Because, giving each item in a project the attention it deserves, makes the difference between a good project, and a great project. Besides, why wouldn't the modest sieve be worthy of his fifteen minutes of fame, same as an expensive (miniature) dress?

The little sieve was old, yet quite shiny for its age. I bought it together with some other kitchen stuff, to be used in my 'Centennial' dolls house. Yet it missed something; it didn't look 'used.'

 So I decided to work on it, and as you can see on these images, it does look used now! And with 'used' I don't mean dirty, I mean having been subjected to the daily wear and tear that, with time, leaves traces behind, especially in the corners and crevices of these objects.

And so the humble sieve became a little gem, alive, with its own story to tell. Same as 'The Centennial' dolls house were it resides with other objects full of stories of their own...

That's all for now, folks!  Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Tea time for The Girls in The Centennial.

Hi All, I hope you're well.

Today I received a rare, very vintage, German wooden miniature tea set, as shown in the below image. It was sent from the UK, courtesy of Claudia and Phoebe, so many thanks ladies for the wonderful set!

Needless to say that I totally love it, so minutes after arrival I had already placed it in The Centennial dolls house, and took a few pics.

Only later, while working on the photo's, it hit me why I had placed it there; or even why I had bought it. After all, everything happens for a reason (or so I believe). This set contains three cups, and as mentioned in a previous post, the ancient Centennial was made for three little girls, a hundred years ago. Three... the magical number.

Will they come for a tea, now that I have laid out a nice tea set for them? Who knows, maybe tonight, at midnight..

 

That's all for now, folks!  Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!

© José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.