Surf's Up

The wallpaper of this room in the Lundby Stockholm inspires fun, so I created a sporty teenage girl's room, complete with shoes, makeup and a chill spot for watching TV. She also has a deck conveniently adjacent for cool chats with her friends - lucky girl! An art set is nearby if she feels inspired. I added a Pop Art headboard of a 1961 Roy Lichtenstein painting (courtesy of a postcard) to lull her to dreams.

Surf's up for me, too. In a few days, I am traveling overseas with my husband and kids for a dear friend's wedding in Spain, and then we are going to France. I don't know if I will be able to post while I am gone (certainly no scenes!), but I hope to make my way to mini places of interest.

Credits: Bed is from the Villa Sibi; coverlet is Bozart; pillow is IKEA; side table is Lundby; gold chair, bedside lamp, surfboard, art case, shoes, deck coffee table, and purse are Lil Bratz; "wastebasket" is Re-ment; shelving unit is two small Bodo Hennig chairs stacked on top of each other; TV is a UK eBay find; chairs on deck are all Reac Japan; accessories by Re-ment, Lil Bratz, Manor House Miniatures, and AG Minis.

Re-ment: The lava lamp is from the Megahouse Living Room #4 set and is good for 1:12; the wastebasket is actually a food container from the Tea Time #11 American Kitchen set and is best for 1:6, unless you are re-purposing it like I did. The white perfume bottle is actually a secret set from the Cosmetics "Princess" set that I luckily purchased from our local toy store. It is a bit on the large side for 1:12, but works. The spritz perfume bottle and powder box hiding on the top shelf of the unit are from the "Oriental Season" Winter set and are good for 1:12. The art markers are from the Primary School Stationary set #8, and are good for 1:12.

Sleep Tease

This scene is mocking me...sleep is not really a big part of my life. It should be, and the dark circles under my eyes tell me I should get more sleep, like I did 10 years ago before I had kids. Oh, I used to sleep solidly; nothing would wake me up. Now I could hear a pin drop and its echo.

I liked the idea of making the K House great room into a bedroom. Pretty luxurious amount of space for a bedroom, eh?

Some artwork up high...

A reading "nook"

I also did very quick setups in adjoining rooms. Not sure if this one room was meant for a garage, but what the heck.

A little office off the bedroom...

This weekend kept me busy with the usual, but I also took some time to continue stripping wallpaper in the Citadel. My goal is to strip everything down to the original white walls and paint. I did one door a few months ago and it was pretty quick and painless. The other door and interior walls are NOT easy in the least. It's slow, torturous work. The previous owner put a layer of (ugly) wallpaper and then painted it (ugly), so there's a lot to come off and it comes off in tiny strips. Grrrr...Here's a few pics of what I was able to do this weekend.

I had to take the door off to get complete access to the challenge:

Credits: "Headboard," light, and coverlet are AG Minis; "bed" is a marble candle base from TJ Maxx; bed pillows are Lundby; bedside tables and artwork in balcony are Bozart; flooring under bed is from the nice Japanese film crew; zebra couch is Creative Playthings; coffee table is Ryan's Room; chess set is an eBay find; Corbusier love seat, Eames chair and ottoman, and white office chair are Reac; "rug" is origami paper; storage cubes are Re-ment; red desk is vintage eBay find; lamp is vintage German; console is Paris Renfroe; recycling basket is Re-ment; rug is The House That Jacq Built; plant is from Lolly's; car is Lil' Bratz. Accessories are Bozart, AG Minis, Manor House Miniatures, and Re-ment.

Re-ment: The plate in fireplace and vase in storage cubes are from the Megahouse Japanese Room set and the storage cubes and two small magazines on side table are from the Megahouse Scandinavian Room set. All items are closer to 1:18, but workable for 1:12. The red clock is from the Stationary School Set #9 and is perfect for 1:12. The wire basket is from the Bread & Butter #3 Happy Bagel Basket Set, and is a bit large for 1:12, depending how you use it.

Sisters

Growing up, I always loved sneaking up to my sisters' bedroom way up in the attic while they were out at school or with their friends. Eight and seven years older than me, they had lots of interesting things for me to check out: clothing, hair accessories, pocketbooks, and perfume. Diaries. Books. Letters. I could spend hours up there.

One sister, the eldest, is the impulsive dreamer with a funky side who always dated musicians; the other is type A, prim, and punctual, who always liked to match her clothing. I recently got two tea service-related sets and thought it might be fun to use the Villa Sibi to recreate their attic space (with many liberties, of course). By the way, doing this scene made me think of *annina*, one of the more amazing mini artists and photographers out there in my opinion. In addition to creating her own 1:12 furniture, she crafts scenes that are truly stunning. Her Flickr shots show her gifts -- pots and pans, clothing, books, etc., set in unbelievably realistic living environments. I wish I had a fraction of her talents, because I would have tried to re-create sister #1's tendency to leave her clothes strewn around, but alas, my mini world tends to be an orderly departure from the real world:)

I should mention that my sisters fought on occasion, being 15 months apart -- the bookcase, while used by both, and is a kind of dividing line.

Can you guess who is who?

Credits: beds, watermelon rug, modern tea set and small white table are by Bozart; wood bedside table is from the Villa Sibi; pink coverlet is from by Lolly's; bookshelf is IKEA; round yellow table and orange chairs are Wolverine; radio, light fixture, cat artwork, and whirligig are AG Minis; wooden couch is an eBay find; white bedside table is vintage Lundby; lucite table is Petite Princess; pink tea set and dollhouse are Re-ment; accessories by Re-ment, AG Minis, and Bozart.

Re-ment: The pink tea set is Princess Tea Party #1 and is a bit large for 1:12, but the storage dollhouse is good for 1:12. The blue bear on the bookshelf is from Toy Storage #7, and is large for 1:12, unless you use it as an over sized teddy bear. The pink phone and clock are from the Megahouse Living room #1 set, and are good for 1:12. The piggy bank on the top shelf of the bookcase is from the Primary School Stationary set #9, and it is perfect for 1:12. The pink purse is also from that same set, #6, and it's perfect for 1:12 as well.

Beauty Nook

Part of my job is to oversee any filming that takes place where I work. A wonderful, courteous (crews are not always like this) Japanese film crew came last week, and gave me a few small gifts, as is their custom. One of the gifts was one of the nicest mouse pads I have ever seen -- lacquered and lovely. The mouse pad came in a great decorative paper case, which I have cut up and used as the wallpaper here for this scene.

By the way, when I was taking the crew around, I had to *really* resist the temptation to ask them about Re-ment, because then I would risk exposing my obsession -- down comes the professionalism and out comes...an addict.

The wallpaper then led me to turn this into a nook for beauty (and beauty rest, of course) in the K House. Again, I continue to be amazed by the opportunities for contrast and color in this house, especially in natural light. I had to turn the house around to get these shots, but it's worth the effort.

I am attempting to better track Re-ment for 1:12 in preparation for the sizing resource I am developing, so I am starting to include more precise information on what I have used in my posts, under "Re-ment."

Credits: Cowhide daybed from Paris Renfroe; sink is an eBay find; vases, chair and artwork are Bozart; towel rolls under sink are Lundby; laptop is Elf Miniatures; rug is from The House that Jacq Built; accessories are Re-ment, our local toy store, and AG Minis.

Re-ment: The mirrored vanity is from the "Oriental Season" Winter set and the shoes from the Summer set. Both are closer to 1:6, but usable. Most of the makeup items and the black case are from the Cosmetics "Actress" set. The makeup items are good for 1:12, but the makeup case is closer to 1:6. I also used parts from two Megahouse Room sets: Japanese and "Scandinavian." The red Scandinavian chair is best for 1:16 and the Japanese Room light and vase on the floor are also closer to 1:18 or even 1:24, but both are doable for 1:12 as small accents.