Curious absence and a deal on a House

I know, I dropped of the face of the blogosphere with nary an explanation. At first, it was just the crush of three-ish crazy months of work. I would look longingly at my houses, and even set up a few rooms, but I never had enough time to myself to actually get around to photographing (much less blogging) the new rooms.


And then . . . i got news. The sort that tells you you are going to be really REALLY busy say . . . in like nine months time.


As glee (mingled with trepidation) turned to reality, my better half and I had to admit that our "play" room, filled with my houses and his massive collection of urban vinyl and even MORE massive collection of sneakers, would have to make way for more demanding tenants.


So, I've really been dreading writing this, but over a very long painful weekend, husband and I packed up everything (ok, I salvaged one or two pinky girls for a bookshelf) and sent it to my parents' house, where everything waits until we buy our own home. One that's not an apartment, and has more than two bedrooms and some space for a cat.


I've had so much fun with this blog and the world of modern mini fans out there, and still a bit sad that it came to an abrupt (but not entirely unexpected) temporary end.


Lest you think my mini instincts have completely dissappeared, instead of looking at real suburban houses, I snagged one of the Green Dollhouses by Plan Toys that MiniModern featured. It's currently on sale at the Land of Nod here, for $114 including furniture. If you poke around, you should be able to find a free shipping code somewhere too.

I begged and pleaded with husband, who didn't see the point of buying something we don't have space to set up. I argued that it was an investment. And it was for erm . . well . . for someone ELSE. And well, since he couldn't really stop my mouse clicking, I bought it. It'll go straight aways into storage, but I'm glad I managed to sneak in one last dollhouse purchase. (i swear, husband, honest!) If you've always wanted one of these houses, hurry! There appear to be limited quantities available.

Kaleidoscope Accessories on ebay

For those of you that recently picked up a Kaleidoscope house (*waves* at callsmall) or have been hunting after that accessories set for the Kaleidoscope house, (you know, the ones with the Adler vases), there are two on ebay right now for a BIN price of $15. I've seen this set go for much much higher so grab yours if you don't have one already.

Here and here.

The same seller also has another going at auction for a current price of $22 (*scratches head*) as well as a whole bunch of other KH furniture.

Update: both are SOLD, but there's another one here.

Update again! Yet another BIN sold - but check the seller's other auctions, there appears to be a never ending supply of adler accessories! Huzzah!

Also - as callsmall brought to my attention, there does seem to be a curious flooding of Bozart KH furniture (and other assorted toys) on ebay at the moment. For those of you still lusting after the Jasper Morrison white sofa, there are two on auction currently, here (with less than a day left) and here.

Frank Lloyd Wright by LEGO!

I am BEYOND thrilled at these new Architecture sets from Lego. PrairieMod has the full scoop, including the text of the press release from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation here. The Architecture series appears to be limited edition (and distribution) and from a few quick google searches, so far includes the Sears tower, the Empire State Building, the Space Needle and the John Hancock observatory (pictures here from ifitshipitshere blog).

After the initial Lego-induced euphoria wore off, I read a little more and realized that these are tiny little sets, mostly for collecting purposes. This will not be your 20+ hour Taj Mahal assembley (or Millenium Falcon or Death Star, if you prefer). Also, I think the Guggenheim set resembles Moon Base Alpha a little more than the iconic museum. In such a small scale, it's difficult to capture the graceful lines of the gradually expanding levels.

I do wish the Fallingwater set was on a larger scale (Husband is shaking his head vigorously "NO!"). This one on youtube is pretty amazing: Fallingwater on Youtube.

Here's to hoping they continue to expand the line! Meanwhile, Fallingwater shall be mine.

You can purchase the existing landmark sets and the Guggenheim set here at brickstructures.

Images copyright LEGO, Brickstructures and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Update: pubdoll confirmed that the scale of these sets is TINY. (but still rather cute). Check out her Guggenheim here.

Paris in Springtime

I wish I was taking a trip to Paris, but a new batch of Paris Renfroe minis is a pretty good way to bring some spring fever to the dollhouses. I've had the new sofa, coffee table and mirror for a month or so, but hadn't gotten around to cleaning out my previous setup in the Kaleidoscope House great room. The arrival of some new Megahouse miniatures and the new Reac chairs provided the proper incentive. I really like the new blender and coffee machine/pot.





I'm starting to think I need a new kitchen set, much as I love the Miele appliances, combined here with the ELF stove unit. Maybe it's time to take a look at the ELF kitchens again, or perhaps a PRD kitchen . . .





Of course, the PRD sofa is wonderful...



And one of the new Reac miniatures made it in - the Eames elephant! They come in a matched pair, one natural finish, the other in a slightly metallic orange.





My four year old niece came over to play yesterday, and uncannily made a bee-line for this room, before I had a chance to photograph. She's never had much interest in the Kaleidoscope House previously, preferring the Stockholm instead. It took all of my wheedling skills to refocus her attentions on the Stockholm (I emptied out the downstairs room for her to decorate entirely on her own . . .she really just wanted many chairs to seat the pinky girls). Kitty also gamely contributed to the bait-and-switch effort by allowing herself to be fed treats and petted.



One last shot of another of the new Reac chairs . . . .

Credits:
Sectional sofa, coffee table, and wood-edged mirror are Paris Renfroe Design.
Entertainment unit is Selecta.
Kitchen is Theo Klein Miniworld with a stove/oven unit from ELF Miniatures.
Dining table is By Barb, with Design Interior Collection Chairs from Reac.
Accessories are: Re-ment, Megahouse, Lil' Bratz, Reac Japan, Bertie's Dollhouse Miniatures.
Art is a coaster.

New Reac Chairs

I just received my order from Hobby Link Japan of the Design Interior Collection Series 6 chairs. Oh man, they are some good looking chairs. My favorite is the chaise.



The detail is amazing - especially when you flip it over. The screws, the mini buckles on the straps. I can't wait to use this in a scene.

PetitPlat Contest

The incredible PetitPlat is having a contest to celebrate her first anniversary on etsy.

The details are on her blog here, but the nitty gritty is that she's giving away a $35 shopping spree on her etsy store.

An example of her tremendous skills:

And my favorite - mini salmon steaks (as earrings)!

Makes me want salmon tonight . . .

I highly recommend checking out Petitplat's etsy store, if just to marvel at the amazing detail!

Home Sick Home

I've been sniffling a little bit with general itchiness that I've chalked up to allergies. This morning, however, I woke up and felt measurably worse. I sneezed, Husband took one look and declared that I was unfit for work. Yeah, there's this little thing called swine flu that been making a few headlines. I haven't been to Mexico recently, and I've been nowhere near the geographic region of the suspected outbreak in New York, but I'm still pretty sure people wouldn't take well to my walking around and sneezing on them. I generally get pretty annoyed when someone who is sick comes into work, touching all the door handles and xerox copiers, sharing their viruses.



This is the first bathroom I've put into the Kaleidoscope House. As I mentioned previously, I was holding off so I could use the ELF vanity unit I had been working on. I also put in the duck board from the ELF shower kit. I love the ELF kits and am looking forward to putting together the other vanity unit I have.











I would write more, but I need to lie down and rest my head. *sniffle*

Credits:
Vanity unit by ELF miniatures.
Bathtub is yet another dish from Muji.
Toilet is from DHE. Table from Voila.
Accessories are from Re-ment, MiniSquare, wanju, voila, ELF and DHE.
Art is "Instant" by Lisa Beck.