Breaking into Blythe

Hi All!

 Just wanted to do a quick post showing a couple of the Blythe scale chairs that I have finished.  I have noticed that some of my clients that have doll houses also have Blythe Dolls and fashion dolls.  We'll see if they do well!  But it was fun to work in a larger scale... I feel like these chairs are huge!!!!

If you are interested in either of these chairs please visit my Etsy Store! (this link is on the right side of the page).

Cheers, Ara

Model Monday: A New House!

So.... I have tried to do Model Monday before...  But the house I was using never really worked for my purpose.  It was too small and not very easy to change around (I chose very bright colors for the walls lol!).  So anyway, I like to browse Craigslist every now and then one of my main searches is 'dollhouse'.

I found the deal of the century (or so I think)!  I bought this house specifically for taking photographs of my items and of course my little models will move in there and take care of the place!

The house is an old farm house with wood floors and bright open rooms!  From the story the lady told me about it I believe it must be at least 40 years old.  The surprise that I got when I picked up the house is that it comes fully furnished!!!!!!!  With accessories and everything!!  I think all the miniatures that come with it have been collected over the lifetime of the house and just put in bags waiting for someone to play with them!

So here is the Modelmen Family being welcomed home!  Murph, Esmerelda and their son, Paulie!  My goal is to have Model Monday to show you the Modelmen enjoying their new home and also showcase some of my new miniatures that will be available in my Etsy store!  It will be kind of like a storybook catalog lol.   I hope that makes sense!

Happy Monday everyone! -Ara

Getting my Piano on....

Hello all!


Just a quick post to show you a fun commission I just finished!  It was for a spooky piano!  I put in some melting candles to up the spook factor.  Still waiting to hear if the client likes it! Fingers crossed.....  hugs, Ara

Details: 1/12 scale
Materials: Wood and Stain
Fun Fact: Keys move up and down!

Big Birthday SALE!!!

 My dear daughter has turned one and it is time to celebrate!!!!  We had an Alice in Wonderland themed party and so now I am having a party on my Etsy site as well!  All Wonderland items have been marked down and are ready to move!  This sale will only last through next friday (6/15/12) so take advantage while you can!

Of course I had to put a photo of my own little Alice (Bella)!

Here are some of the new Wall Hangings that you can find in my store that are crazy cheap!!

 There are still some Wonderland upholstered chairs left in my store (sorry all of the Alice chairs are gone but there is a White Queen chair!)

I also have these fun toadstool stools that would be fun for an outdoor scene or a fairy scene!

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you find something in my store you like!  Off to chase my baby down and get her to take a nap!  phew!  Happy Birthday Bella!!!

Just click the link to the right to go to my store or you can click here. **Look for the items that say BDAY SALE in the title.**  Thanks! Ara

New Pianos Listed!

Been super busy but had time to fit in a couple of pianos! These are the ones I have done before with the moving keys. They are fun but VERY tedious..... hence why I don't make them very often! Enjoy!

Just click on my Etsy link on the side of my blog if you want to see more photos of them!

Not too "Shabby"

So, I've gone a little crazy with my white paint and sandpaper and created a few fun Shabby Chic items for my store. This is just a quick post to show you what I've been up to! The little munchkin has gotten better at playing on her own and its given me just a little bit of spare time!



I am hoping to get back to my other projects soon too... The Addams Family Mini-Mansion and My Clue House. So many projects and so little time!!! Am I right?!?!

Trying something a bit different....

Sometimes the furniture gets a bit technical and repetitive! I needed something new and something a little more free flowing. Here it is.... my first hand sculpted fearie house!


Let me know what you think! Should I make more??? Currently this one is for sale in my Etsy store.

Thanks for looking! Hugs, Ara

Model Monday: Working on the house

So you may have noticed that I use little wooden models to show off my furniture in my posts. However I don't think I have ever introduced them! I have a family of three that help me out and work for free!!! Because of their hard work I promised them a house..... and I promised it quite a while ago......

Anyway, recently I have been working on it and they have been oh so excited! It is furnished with a lot of the furniture I have for sale, but I will be making some special pieces just for the house because I hope someday to pass it down to my daughter!

Here is the progress I have made on the house so far.... I need to add trim, and do the outside of the house, but the inside is getting there. This is a Greenleaf Orchid house. I probably won't be putting a lot of the frills on that it comes with.... as you can see, the models have more of a modern taste.



Also I will officially introduce the family. First the man of the family, Murph. He's checking out the pool table I am letting them borrow (it's for another project that is way behind on schedule). He was my first model and has been a real asset to my business...



Second is his dear wife, Esmeralda (Or Esmey for short). She is very sweet and has been very patient with me as I struggle to find time to work on their house! She also has reminded me that I need to put drapes on the to-do list.



Lastly, is their son Paulie. He's sitting on the kitchen floor waiting for cookies to come out of the oven. Looks like I need to work on a kitchen dining set!


That's all for this edition of Model Monday. Stay tuned for additional episodes in their little wooden lives!

Who doesn't like candy???

Well I was sitting with my sister going through all of my fabric trying to come up with some new ideas. I thing I have stared at my fabrics for so long that I just felt uninspired :(

Thankfully my sister has a creative eye as well and pulled four completely different fabrics out and said "This looks like candy!" And from that sprang the idea for my Candy Bar!!



It's something completely different from what I have done in the past, but I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together. It includes a brightly colored bar, 4 barstools, 2 display stands and some brightly colored jars of candy!



Here is the Etsy listing for it if you are interested in reading more: click here

Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for improvements!

Hugs, Ara

Muffy Chairs in their Place

Hi All,

I know its been a while.... I have been hard at work! First I wanted to just do a quick post showing you the Muffy chairs I did in their final setting!


I hand delivered the little chair and sofa and got to sit and play with my customer putting this scene together! It was a blast!

I am thinking I will be doing some more Muffy Vanderbear furniture in the future!

I have been a busy bee so I will be doing a few more posts tonight showing my work!!

Hugs, Ara

Slowly making headway... Bear Furniture!

Hello all,

I'm still super busy with a growing 3 month old, but I am finding time here and there to continue with my furniture making business.

Before I had my baby, my aunt asked me if I could make her a custom set of chairs for her Muffy the Bear collection. I don't know how many Muffy's she has but she has a nitch in her kitchen for a new scene every month! She said Muffy definitely needed some new furniture and she gave me the fabric she liked. She also gave me a bear to do the sizing off of. Here are the chairs:


And here is one of the chairs with Muffy Vanderbear herself! Don't tell my aunt she's naked... she'd freak out.... but she gave me a bear with a Valentines Day outfit on and it just didn't mesh well with the black and white chairs lol.

It was kind of nice working in a scale other than doll house scale for a little bit. But never fear, I will always make doll house furniture... working on something rather tedious right now. Will post when I get further along with it!

hugs, ara

Hello out there!

Hi Friends.... I am starting up this blog to journal and help promote my miniatures business! I tried doing one before but gave up when business got slow... but not this time. I plan to record all my business triumphs and fails... have fun posts on how-to's and a post every Thursday called "Thursday's Things"!

I have a 2 month old baby right now so working on my mini's can be tough... but I now have a little help watching her during the week so I plan to get stuff done! whoo hoo!

For those of you new to my blog and business, I only sell my items on Etsy. I can take requests over the blog but they must be paid for through Etsy. It's not too hard to join the site if you haven't already. And all the items on there are worth joining anyhow!

I am showing a picture of my most recent furniture for sale (pre-baby) but will have new stuff soon enough!

Hugs to all, Ara