The Brocante is stocked at last!!

I'm pleased to FINALLY be able to give you an overview of the Parisian Brocante, the repository of many treasures from around the world   It takes up the full ground floor beneath the apartment. Some pieces will move off to other projects and new ones will take their place so it will be a permanent 'work in progress'. I'm having fun rearranging things, and remembering the special people and happy times associated with many of them. When I post close-ups I'll include the names of their creators, for now please just have a look around and perhaps imagine you're browsing in your favoutie Parisian Brocante. Take your time, you can rest and refresh soon enough at your favourite cafe, sipping your coffee and watching the world go by. 

It's my blog birthday!!

 In some ways it seems to be much longer, in others it seems like yesterday. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has followed along on this journey, and to new friends, your support is greatly appreciated!

Salle à manger update

There have been a few changes in la salle à manger, thanks in large part to the generosity of talented friends. 

 

Pretty tea cosy is by Linda Park, cute little cupcakes are from Elizabeth of Studio E.

Handbag, parcel (which may well contain ham or cheese for the picnic) and cool dotty shoes are by Linda Park. Linda made the shoes to match a pair of loafers I had at the time, girls just gotta have fun 😊

All packed for a picnic - let's hope the little mouse doesn't get into it first! I found him in an interesting shop that sold vintage and newly made treasures near Bastille Market in Paris. He was made in Toulouse and was part of a selection of miniature porcelain animals. Basket is by Lidi Stroud and was a birthday gift from friends a while ago.  Plates are purchased, packet of croissants by Elizabeth, all other contents are by Linda Park. 

A close-up of Linda's grapes and radishes - that little mouse is getting a little close for comfort! 

I hope you've enjoyed a look at the Paris apartment salle à manger again. More apartment updates are to come.

Instagram - find me there! @makeminemini

 

Although I've had an Instagram account for years it's been totally inactive until recently, I've finally got my act together and started posting. If you have an IG account please come find me  instagram.com/makeminemini/

See you there!

French apartment bedroom update

There have been a few changes and additions in the French apartment bedroom over the last few months. 

I'm loving how the silver perfume bottle from Shew-Jewelry House is aging. It now has two new 'friends', pretty little perfumes from Elizabeth at Studio E.

Blue crystal perfume is also by Elizabeth, eyeglasses by Alice Zinn. The silver hairbrush (also from Shew-Jewelry House) is developing a beautiful patina. 

Pretty little doll is by Lea Frisoni. She's hiding the most adorable underwear under her blue dress. 

The single bed has been replaced with this larger one. Petit point pillow is by my talented friend Linda Park (as are the slippers in the previous photo).

I have everything I need now to complete the ground floor Brocante but I've been distracted (as usual!) and I'm working on a rustic cottage. Pics and more info to come soon. 

French bedroom - major progress ...

This is the current 'state of play' in the French apartment bedroom, it's taken a long time to get this far!

I started fiddling with possible furniture placements in 2015! 

This was at the beginning of lots of moves with full-time housesitting so it was put into storage for a while at that point and didn't come out again until 2016 when I started playing around with wallpapers finally settling on the pink before it went back into storage AGAIN.

Fast-forward to 2020 and we finally have a completed room, same wallpaper, same chest of drawers, same dressing table and chair (although the chair has undergone some 'surgery', details on that at a later date) different bed, armoire instead of  the corner cupboard. 

The bed is painted with Annie Sloan 'Old White' Chalk paint then aged with a wash of strong tea. I printed the fabric to match the wallpaper. 

The very handsome little is cat by Alice Zinn, I've named him Gillou. 

The red toile hatbox is by Marg Taylor (Argus Minis on Etsy), the pink one by me.

The be-ribboned box is by Bea she's on Etsy at Le Miniatures di Bea, the ballet slippers that are hanging on the back of the door came in this box. 

The chair is painted and upholstered by me, the seat fabric is silk dipped in tea to age it. The cushion and mats are printed by me too. A chair in the same style is available in my Etsy shop (the framed Marie Antoinette portrait will be available soon).  I wasn't sure how the chest of drawers was going to come out when I put the dark grey coat of paint on it but I'm happy with it, the patina is achieved by dry brushing with pale grey. I like that there is a little piece of the gold trim missing on the front of the top drawer, it hints that this piece of furniture has seen a long life. Never mind the expression "if walls could talk", imagine if furniture could talk - what tales a piece like this would have to tell!

The lovely lamp is from Marg Taylor. The beads were a gift from Susanne who sadly left this world early this year. Some of you will know Susanne from her blog and Facebook as Petite Brocante. We started blogging around the same time so were online friends for quite a few years and I have very happy memories of spending time with her in Denmark in 2017.  It's very special to have some of her work in this room and elsewhere to remind me of her creativity and warm heart. She is deeply missed.

The fabulous boudoir vanity tray is from my dear friend Linda Park, some of the bottles/jars are by Elizabeth @ StudioE. Linda blogs (occasionally, certainly not as often as we'd like) at Linda's Mini World - she's a fantastic miniaturist and I'm so lucky to be the recipient of lots of her lovely work including some beautiful petit point slippers (below). 

The ballet slippers are by Bea ( Le Miniatures di Bea), ballet skirt by Susanne, amazing leather shoes are by Patrizia Santi (Website). 

I love the stockings and wish I had more as they add such a nice touch but unfortunately I have no idea where I bought them, they've been in my stash for a very long time.

 Box by Bea (Le Miniatures di Bea)  

The dressing table and chair from Vilia Miniature (Etsy)  (Facebook) were a special request birthday present from my family a few years ago (the chair has been altered, the back and seat were originally upholstered). 

The beautifully made basket is by Lidi Stroud, Basketcase Miniatures (Facebook), linen bundle is a gift from the talented Elizabeth @ StudioE.  The pretty paper roses are by Lea Frisoni (Facebook) (Website) (Etsy), they are a special reminder of meeting Lea at the Paris show in 2017.

The lamp is by Brooke Tucker. 

The pretty, delicate, pink perfume bottles are also by Elizabeth @ StudioE. 

The exquisite silver is from Russian silversmiths Shew Jewelry House. It was a highlight of our 2017 travels to meet one of their team members, Dmitri Shevenko, in St Petersburg when I collected some of their silver for myself and a couple of friends. They are IGMA members and in 'normal times' attend some of the European shows. To visit their website click here, they have an amazing range of  high quality miniature silverware from small inexpensive pieces to show-stopping tea services. 

Most of the room will stay as you see it here but I've decided to swap out the smaller white bed for the larger one with the faux cane ends so watch this space for the update. Ceiling lights still have to be installed as well but that's going to have to wait for the moment as I'm busy preparing new furniture and accessories for my Etsy shop ready to trade from there in an online Australian Miniatures and Dollhouse show on 7-8 June.  

Thanks for taking a room tour with me - I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed working on it, albeit in small instalments over a long time. 

Etsy, the good news and the bad news

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MakeMineMini

My Etsy shop remains open but sadly it looks like international shipping is becoming increasingly problematic so I'm only selling within Australia for the moment, with free shipping. I have a few more pieces to list soon including some cute French breakfast trays.  

Make Mine Mini on Etsy - nearly ready to launch

Just a few finishing touches to do before sending listings live!

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MakeMineMini

See you there soon!

Let's relax in the courtyard ...

It's challenging but interesting to have to think of different ways to present miniatures to appeal outside the usual 'dollhouse' community. I hope the folks who come to the French Country Market will appreciate this little piece of courtyard serenity in miniature...

The pretty French graphic was transferred using the freezer paper technique, if you're not familiar with it there are several tutorials on YouTube including this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUdIOjZ8dlA  Give it a try sometime, it's lots of fun. 

Une petite retraite à la campagne

Since returning from our trip to UK and France (Paris and Normandy) I've been working on several projects including this fun little country retreat. While it's tugging at my heart strings I will nevertheless be taking it with me to the French Country Market which is coming up very soon on 9 November. 

A big motivator for this project was this French magazine that I picked up at Gare St Lazare in Paris while waiting to take the train to Normandy. 

For a great instructions on making mini lavender I recommend Annie's video on YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGuLLr18oHA

My first and so far only pot of  hydrangeas :)  The paving stones are egg carton. 

Window box filling is several mosses with tiny flowers cut from a miniature 'tree' intended for miniature railway landscaping https://fairymeadowminiatures.com.au/flowers/trees/8cm-tree-with-pink-flowers.html

Pompom hydrangeas by Jody Raines

Fireplace and mirror handmade by me using picture framer's mount/matte board.
Don't you just love the little angel? 

Unfortunately this window is no longer available to purchase as the manufacturer has gone out of business. Maybe you could make something similar yourself though following Lea Frisoni's instructions for opening French windows in "The Big Book of a Miniature House". 

Instructions to make the French window closing can be found in Lea Frisoni's book on page 33. 

Right, back to work for me - still LOTS to be done before the market!!