Miniature Madness!

Some business to take care of first...

Please check out my giveaway in the post below!  March is my birthday month, the perfect reason to have another giveaway!

Also, wander over and visit the Finish-It-First blog and get some of your UFOs finished this year!  We'd love to have you join us!

Now back to the post for today...

When I was a young girl, my Mom and I used to walk everywhere due to lack of a car.  Sometimes we took transit, but if it was nice, we could more often be seen strolling along the tree-lined streets in the older part of our city making our way to shop or home again.  At the end of one of the blocks we passed by there was a hobbyist shop in a fancy old building that sold miniatures for dollhouses.  It was a little out of the way, but once in a while we would take that route on purpose just to look in the window and see all the tiny things that look so real.

A most beautiful and realistic lady's hat.

 Somehow through the years these memories of the shop at the end of the block stuck with me and I have always been fond of miniatures.  I never had much opportunity to do anything with these dreams and memories in the way of realizing their potential until now.  And boy am I ever excited!  During my trip home in February I dragged my family with me to two of the only three miniaturist shops left in Ontario since Alberta seems to be fresh out of them.  What a thrill!

My first trip was with my step-Dad to Out of the Ordinary in Cambridge.  It's a darling little spot, loaded to the brim and almost bursting with all things miniature for every sort of miniature dream you can come up with.  The owner was kind enough to come and open the shop on a Monday, a day she is normally closed, just for me to browse and have my pick of things!  It was so much fun!

Not only is there a wall to be reckoned with but there are tiny treasures in every direction and displays showing decorating ideas all around you.  I spent two whole hours in there trying to sort through all the ideas in my mind and stick to some sort of plan... Thank goodness I had a list!

The next shop I went to is called The Little Dollhouse Company and it is located right in the heart of Toronto.  This time my Mom and I went and I was the lucky one who got to drive - Mom "doesn't do Toronto"!  We found the shop in good time and instantly I was blown away, and I do mean right away, I hadn't even made it into the shop yet!  The store was huge and stacked to the roof with products.  They not  only have every style of anything you want, but they also will build you the dollhouse shell if you are unable to!  The store is family owned and the husband and wife really are a great team.  I got excellent pointers on building a structure as well as some more great ideas for putting it all together.

So, here is some of what I brought home with me!  I have succeeded in twisted Mr. Confessions (somewhat rubber) arm into making this a "couples" project so that we can work on it together.  He is a very handy handyman in just about anything wooden, nailed, glued, measured, or otherwise to do with building, so why not use his talents for something miniature too!  The table was one sale and too shabby chic to leave behind, and yes, that really is a Starbucks cup on the left edge of the table!

My Mom was the one who pointed out the little bear in a small, wooden box of various sized bears at the store in Toronto.  I couldn't resist.  Several of the items were purchased by my step-Dad as a surprise upon my arrival - the rusty pail, the metal washtub, the lamp, and the cake were among them.  Isn't that tiny house figurine so cute!  The perfect item for on a mantle or shelf!

I'm not quite sure when exactly we'll begin this new building adventure since there are a number of things around the house that have to happen first - including an overhaul of the basement, but when it does, I'll likely be posting more photos of our progress.  My miniature dream has been a long time coming and I am happy to be able to plan a project together with Mr. Confessions!

Heather