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.

Drill Baby Drill

I'm pretty psyched. I started this ELF vanity kit a few months ago, and assembled it mostly over the course of two days, setting up the main body, then installing the doors. Then I got stuck - I didn't have a miniature drill for drilling the faucet and handle holes. A miniature tool kit I purchased from HBS had a pin vise - but the drill bits were far too small. I almost went out and purchased a whole set of drill bits, but common sense prevailed and I sent an email off to ELF Miniatures for some guidance. After some very helpful tips from Elizabeth LePla (thank you again, Elizabeth!), I set off to the hardware store armed with drill bit measurements. Luckily, I took a sidetrip to visit my niece and nephew on the way, and my brother, after asking what I was up to for the day, exclaimed: "Hey - I have a drill bit set, you can borrow mine!"

It's a good thing I did too, since I actually ended up using four different sizes to get the right holes drilled. Also, my fingers got caught in a minor skirmish with some crazy glue near the finish line, but the kit is finally done! I can't wait to use it in a scene - I haven't done a bathroom in the Kaleidoscope House yet - I've been waiting specifically for this vanity unit to be finished.

Overall, I had a great time putting it together. It wasn't too difficult - if you have mild crafting experience, I would say the kit ranks about a 4 or 5 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. I would have taken more "before" and "during" photos, but I . . . forgot. =P

Credits:

Vanity unit kit by ELF miniatures.

Contemporary Ranch by Shershe (and Real Good Toys)

I was poking around on Flickr last night, uploading some long past due photos, when I came across this incredible dollhouse in Shershe's photostream. The dollhouse is the Contemporary Ranch by Real Good Toys. I've looked at the Contemporary Ranch before, but Shershe's masterpiece is really inspiring me to pick one up for my first attempt at building a dollhouse kit.


The stock photo that Real Good Toys has doesn't do the house justice. The tall ceilings are great, as are the wide doorways. The loft and spiral stairways are wonderful touches as well.







I LOVE the red painted door. What a wonderful pop of color.

There are many many more photos of the whole assembly process on Shershe's photostream - you should check it out. I think next time the HBS April Fool's Day sale rolls around, I'm picking up the Contemporary Ranch.

Photo credits: by Shershe.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

This is the room I wish I had back when I was a teenager. My room decor went straight from a frilly canopy bed to very adult furniture. Granted, it was pretty stylish 90's formica furniture (LOL), but if it hadn't been for my massive stuffed animal menagerie and Depeche Mode and Erasure concert posters, you might not have known it was a room for a teenage girl.

The Pinky girl who lives in this room is a multi-faceted complex girl who likes to read her Lucky magazine and gossip on the phone with her friends. She can also pull kickflips and ollies with the best of the boys. Instead of posters of Britney and Justin (or is it Taylor Swift and Zac Efron? Kids these days . . . ), she's also just the teensiest wee bit angsty and has a huge dark mural from her favorite artist Deth P. Sun.

Although she has a perfectly good desk, she spends most her time lying on the floor, doing homework or just lounging around (much like I did).

The teensy weensy eraser is my favorite.

Although her mother has a rule against food outside the kitchen (as mine did), she nevertheless sneaks a snack or two up to her room . . . on a daily basis.

Maki, Tohru and Sacchin are caught mid-gossip.

Sakura peeks in, wondering if they are talking about her. As my boss is fond of saying: you should never say bad things about anyone behind their backs, save it for when you can say it to their face.

Credits:

Bed is a designer bed! No kidding, it's a DKNY home soap dish rescued from the sales shelf at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Eero Aarnio ball chair and Panton chair by Design Interior Collection by Reac Japan.

Table is By Barb.

Side tables are craft blocks painted white on a rainy weekend day.

Accessories are Re-ment, wanju, Plan Toys, Megahouse, AG Minis, Mighty World and misc. Ebay finds.

Mini skateboard decks are by Tech Deck.

Art is by Deth P. Sun.

Blame it on the Rain (and an inadvertant ghost story)

I've had a few setups ready to go, but the weather has not been cooperating. That coupled with the fact that I'm far too lazy to drag a lamp across the room to provide sufficient illumination means . . . no dollhouse photography. I took a few photos over the weekend, but wasn't crazy about how they turned out so kept on meaning to take a few more. Then this morning after I woke up, worked out and showered, I stepped out of our bedroom to realize that the shy sun was peeking around the clouds after three straight days of grey. Yippee!

This is a room I designed originally for blue-eyed Kokoro, but Rui liked the room so much, she came out of her blister packaging to check it out. Now they *both* think that it's their own room and can't figure out why their stuff keeps on being moved around when they are not home.



"Hm. . . Someone's been sleeping in my bed," mused Kokoro, "and resetting my alarm clock!"



"Someone's been eating my Pocky sticks," cried Rui, "and watching Susan Boyle on my laptop!"



"Is somebody there??!!" they both gasped.

Credits:

White sofa is Bozart Kaleidoscope House.
Tiger stripe wood platform bed in its previous life was a rather striking soapdish. Husband at Bed Bath & Beyond: "That's not a soapdish, that's a bed!" Ah, I have him well trained now. . .
Flooring is more of that lovely Lama Li bark paper.
Wall art consists of a Frank Lloyd Wright bookmark and brooch, respectively.
Assorted accessories from Re-ment, AG Minis, Voila, Plan Toys, DHE, etsy and ebay.