Sleeping with beads

So  I have accumulated beads and equipment over the past 3 days. And made friends with 2 bead shop owners. And here is what I learned. Copying this antique lamp is one of my ambitious desires.
I found that the only contemporary beads that are exactly the same as antique ones are the little seed beads.

To copy the long beads, my stores only had them in silver tube or bigger bone. I also looked on ebay. My clever owner at Taos Beads suggested cutting coffee stirrers. Apparently they are hollow and come in different colors. So tomorrow out for coffee.

After I assembled one strand (the longest example) it was clearly the wrong scale for my dollhouse, even though the beads closely approximate the antique ones.

                                     
                             Hence the workshop on the bed.

                 I found these pieces at the bead store and made this.

And here is the cruel example that set me off on this phase. From
                                        Belle Epoch site.

My version.

Another piece of advice... don't put on hand cream before starting.

So I may have been absent for months but I am on a roll. 
 (oh my, I meant to blog this on http://Myrealitty.blogspot.com but this is good because you can go over there and hear how I moved to Taos, New Mexico. Can I still call myself "Leftcoastmini"? Do I have to become "Cactus Mini Casas"?

Cheers, CM

Spirit Houses in Bankok

anonymous photo by request

The Problem with Collecting...

I love antique toys from England. I had a nice little Barrett and Sons "cooker" that was minus the oven door and top rack. Then one showed up on ebay. It took 4 years from the time I found my first one for another to show up.

Left new, right old. 

I don't have a house for them right now. My house from the appropriate era has a Brimtoy kitchen in it, but what is a Collector to do? Improve her collection I think.

I better check with Rebecca of Rebecca's Collections to make sure I have identified this correctly. 

Cheers CM

Design Trends

The first sign! We were just talking about the likelihood of 1970's style raising it's lovely head last week. It was 45 years ago!
Where did I find this harbinger of change?

from Retro Planets blog

Décor Accessories
Lighting was innovative and new design solutions included the lava lamp, arc floor lamp in chrome and large, white globe lamps. Chrome and plastic were the most popular materials for lighting. In contrast, accessories made of macramé were also fashionable, such as hanging plant holders and wall hangings.

Potted trees and floor pillows became popular in the 1970s.

So my question is which dollhouses represent this best?

1970s wall décor was modern, with abstract paintings and sculptures being preferred. Paneling was used on the walls of family rooms and rec rooms. There were also unexpected outdoor materials used for interior walls, such as brick and cedar shingles.

Bold, foiled wallpapers adorned kitchens and bathrooms. A single large wall may have been covered with a wallpaper mural depicting a scene from nature done in natural colors, creating a contrasting backdrop to the modern furniture and accessories in the room.

- See more at: http://blog.retroplanet.com/1970s-decorating-style/#sthash.EvcjgLUv.dpu

And which dollhouses typify this '70s style?

Tomys smaller homes and Lundby?

On ebay from seller: ilovetomy
OK one trend I do hope returns is the Navy Blazer. I hope Kate Middleton brings it back, With jeans.

and yes Ralph Lauren won the 1970 Coty fashion design award and is responsible for the Annie Hall look. Let me know the minute you see any more of this 1970 comeback. 

Cheers, CM

UPDATE: 2/21/15  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/21/70s-hair-new-york-fashion-week-fall-2015_n_6717214.html

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'70s Hair Made A Huge Comeback At New York Fashion Week

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The girl can't help it!

As I am waiting, poor little American that I am, for one more hour to pass until I get to see the next episode of Downton Abbey... I came across this

Shop il.va.se

Which brought me to my little pile of Spot Ons.

1/16th scale

I guess I just love all things English.  And saying that WHEN do we get to see the Cumberbatch marriage photos. Yes I am a Cumber Nana, and I AM Sherlocked.  Are you?

 Kleidescope House wall art, spot on buffet with books and red chair behind table, Dol toi table, Marx plastic brown chairs, minimodernista ceiling lamps.

DDR era German red spotted floor lampand mantle clock, Spot on furniture, Kage fireplace Kleidescope house urn, baby block central table, Spot on TV, Grecon dolls and minimodernista ribbon lamp, contemporary treen coffee cup.

Shown in my Canadian made Eagle 1950's dollhouse that came on wheels!

I have always loved that printed on shag carpet.

For more info go here:  http://spot-on-collector.com/index.html

 Marketed as Jenny's Home by Spot on.

Love this room box, do not have one. If you have any other places to see spot on, past posts etc. Please share. 

Forty minutes to go, Sigh. CM

Mid Century Modern, Well I don't MEAN to blog but there is stuff to notice!

I am on my email and here is an add today from Joss&Main. And I admire it.

Then I look over at my favorite shelf of collected furniture and there is this:

And I thought, "That looks familiar".

I had purchased it on German ebay several years ago as an antique, over 50 years old. I was going to store  it in the Albin Schnorherr house but now I think I may keep it in my MH1, my most modern house as it is so contemporary.

Which I used in this scene of other German Furniture from that era
plus a little minimodernista in the lamp, room divider and pillow, and Texas tiny in the Buddah, and maybe a Strombecker floor lamp.

That's me with my camera unwittingly taking my portrait in the mirror. So that add reminded me how much I like this chair and I think I just might have to play with it some today. Well that's what it is like being a mini collector! Cheers CM

Modern Southwest Design

Bratz doll with make up, and same doll without!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/21/bratz-dolls-make-under_n_6518002.html?ir=Women

NO! Resist

         From Architecture and Design Magazine

News Flash on CNN: Crafting benefits your brain!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/

Ventral view of the brain knitted by child psychiatrist, Karen Norberg from Scientificamerican.com. (housed at Boston's Museum of Science).

image from Sciencedaily.com

The left image is you brain reading, the right your brain while searching  the internet.  Reading all those other blogposts is healthy!

But then YOU knew that didn't you... So never think of it as wasting time. You are actually helping your brain and the article suggests, even fighting aging.   Cheers CM