1/12th Scale 'Primrose Cottage'

Here is 'Primrose Cottage', a 1/12th scale seaside hideaway to take your mind off the horrible damp and cold weather and make you think instead of holidays by the sea. Mrs. Smith (by Susan Emsell) has once again popped in to make sure the cottage is neat and tidy and she has even brewed a pot of tea for any prospective purchasers.

1/12th Scale 'Lavender Blue'

I love bay windows! I added this one to the upper floor of my latest shop and it provides just enough space to display a Christmas tree. The ground floor window is all handmade and it turned out a little bit Edwardian in style. A great little property for a shabby chic emporium!

The Lodge Gets an Extension!

I thought that The Lodge was lacking a certain something so I added a little outhouse on the side to create space for a toliet. There's also space now for a small paved garden area - just enough room for a chair and some potted plants and the new occupant can sit and watch the world go by!

1/24th Scale 'Bay View' Cottage

This is 'Bay View', a simple one room 24th scale cottage. Great as a stocking filler for the collector or the beginner. Also great fun to build!

1/12th Scale French Style Shop/Mews House

Here is a new 1/12th scale French style shop or possibly a mews house. The lovely large window on the ground floor lets in plenty of light and would look lovely with a silver Christmas tree on display inside. I've used a new colour on this building - called Mount Fuji for some reason - and it's a pretty pale shade of blue.

I've Been Busy Building!!

I've been busy building 1/24th scale cottages the past couple of weeks. I've always wanted to try pastel colours for my cottage walls but never quite been brave enough - pink is an awkward colour to work with and can turn out looking so sickly or too Barbie. I decided to have a go and paired a pale blue with a pale pink and I was really pleased with how they turned out. They remind of seaside cottages in Aberaeron where we used to go on holiday. I put all my cottages together to make a street (apologies for the poor quality photo - it was such a dark and dismal day when I took it the light was dreadful). This is how I always think of my cottages when I'm building them - as part of a seaside street!

1/12th Scale 'The Lodge'

Just listed on ebay 'The Lodge' is a 1/12th scale cottage complete with furniture - an ideal Christmas present! Mrs. Smith is doing her bit as a good neighbour and making sure that everything is tidy for when the new occupants move in. This is such a cosy cottage when the lights are on and the fire is lit - ideal for dark winter days. Mrs. Smith was made by Susan Emsell and the flowers are by Marianne Cook.

1/12th Scale L'Atelier - Two Storey Shop/Studio

After adding the upper storey to my Christmas shop I thought I would make another two storey shop/studio. As the interior is only 6 inches deep I thought this would be great for people who don't have enough space for a full size house. This would make a lovely gift shop or a cupcake bakery - the choice is yours!

1/24th Scale 'Cranberry and Walnut Cottages'

I've been forced to take these photos indoors today - the weather is just too wet and miserable to venture outside. Here we have two new 1/24th scale houses - 'Cranberry Cottage' and 'Walnut Cottage'. I enjoyed making Holly and Ivy Cottages so much I had to make another pair of semis. There's Joe having a quick look round before the houses go on the market. This bad weather means he can't go out to sea so much so he would love a nice warm cottage for the winter.

Extended 1/12th Scale Christmas Shop

I decided to add an extra floor to my little Christmas shop - extra space for Santa to build toys or to have a sit down with a cup of tea. The building is still small enough to sit on a shelf or even be wall mounted if needed.

1/12th Scale French Style Shop

This is another 1/12th scale property which has recently come back to me and is now looking for a new home. I have repainted the exterior walls and have changed the colour of the big shop window from dark to light blue - it looks much better now I think. This would make a great shop for shabby chic accessories or flowers.

1/24th Scale Beach Hut

I know it's the wrong time of year and certainly the wrong kind of weather to be thinking about the seaside and beach huts but here's a new 1/24th scale hut looking for a new home. I was asked to make one for a customer and made a spare as well. It's on ebay right now and would make a lovely gift!!!
Before I go I must mention a wonderful blog I've just found  http://dollshousediaries.blogspot.co.uk/ Go and have a look at Karon's lovely photographs of her houses. Not that I'm biased at all (!!??!!) but check out her French house and see what she is doing with the interior. It's hard to tell whether the hallway is in a dolls house or a full size house!

1/12th Scale 'Spinney Brook Cottage'

Here's Sam looking round the latest cottage to come up for sale in the village. This is 'Spinney Brook', a 1/12th scale house I made some time ago which has recently been returned to me to be rehomed. I've given it a lick of paint and changed the colour of the window frames and door and now it's as good as new. Sam was made by Robin Britton and the lovely flowers are from Marianne Cook.

1/12th Scale 'The Little Flower Shop'

This is another little shop in 1/12th scale and designed to sit on a shelf or a bookcase out of the way. I thought it would make a nice flower shop (to show off all Marianne Cook's wonderful potted plants!) but it could be used for anything - the choice is yours. Listed on ebay last night so please go and take a look.

1/12th Scale 'The Lavender Barn'

Here's a new little building just completed and listed on ebay yesterday. It's called 'The Lavender Barn' and it is in 1/12th scale. It can be used as a stand alone structure or could be a useful addition to an existing cottage. Possibilities for use are endless - a pottery studio, an artist's studio, a writer's retreat, a shabby chic gift shop - the choice is yours! Marianne Cook made the gorgeous flowers.

1/24th Scale 'Holly Cottage' and 'Ivy Cottage' Semidetached Houses

Here's Joe looking round two new properties on the market today - Holly Cottage and Ivy Cottage. Two little semidetached houses - great for a seaside village! Joe was made by Susan Emsell of Suecraft Dolls.

A New 1/12th Scale Christmas Shop

I had such fun building the Christmas shop for Paula I decided to make another smaller version. This one is just 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep so will happily sit on a shelf or window sill out of the way. It could be filled with lots of Christmas goodies or used for something completely different - a flower shop maybe or a bookshop? I've just listed it on ebay if you would like to take a look.

A 1/24th Scale Seaside Village

And this is what all my recently built 24th scale houses were designed for - a tiny seaside village! A customer aksed me to build a small village of 5 properties, each one different but all similar enough to look like they belonged together. After completing the last two cottages last night I couldn't resist putting them all together in the garden to see how they would look.

A Pair of 1/24th Scale Cottages

Just finished a pair of 24th scale seaside cottages for a customer. These are little one room basic dwellings for fishermen - each 6 inches wide so they take up very little space. Once again the lovely potted plants on the doorsteps were made by Marianne Cook.

1/24th Scale 'Periwinkle Cottage'

This is Periwinkle Cottage, a 1/24th scale property just completed for a customer. Joe the fisherman is just having a quick peek inside before the new occupamts move in. Joe was made by Susan Emsell and the lavender was made by Marianne Cook.

1/12th Scale 'Cosy Cottage'

It's a hive of activity down at Cosy Cottage today with Bill busy cleaning the windows and Mrs. Smith just popping in to make sure everything is spick and span inside the house for the new owners to move in. Bill and Mrs. Smith were made by Susan Emsell and the lovely lavenders were made by Marianne Cook. Cosy Cottage is on ebay right now if you would like to take a look.

Mrs. Smith

I only ever post pictures on my blog of houses I've made so this is a bit of a change for me but I just had to share this lovely lady with you. She was made by the very clever Susan Emsell (who also made my wonderful window cleaner Bill). She is 1/12th scale and isn't she lovely? Her face is so gentle. She's just popped in to Ferry Cottage to give it a clean ready for whenever the new owners move in and has obviously decided to put the kettle on for a cup of tea. If you would like Susan to make you a lovely little person for your dolls house please drop me an email and I will let you have her contact details.

1/12th Scale Christmas Shop/Santa's Workshop

This is a new shop just completed for Paula's Quayside village - it's a Christmas Shop/Santa's Workshop. It's a bit wider than the usual little shop boxes I make so Paula can fit lots of lovely festive goodies inside. And in case you're wondering what the white thing is on the roof - that's a chimney for Santa to come and go!

1/24th Scale Shop

This is a tiny 1/24th scale shop recently completed. It will sit nicely on a shelf out of the way. Perhaps that's why my husband likes 1/24th scale houses so much more than my 1/12th scale ones.....!

1/12th Scale 'Boatman's Cottage'

Bill is busy cleaning windows again - this time at 'Boatman's Cottage', a new 1/12th scale house on the property market. The windows and front door are all handmade on this house - the windows may be a bit wonky but I think that all adds to the realism (that's my story anyway!!) Can you see Marianne's wonderful plants at the front of the house?

1/24th Scale 'Clover Cottage'

I love making these little houses in 24th scale so much I try to always have a project on the go alongside my 1/12th scale houses. This is 'Clover Cottage', a basic one up and one down home with handmade stonework on the external walls. Just visible on the doorstep is Marianne's lovely pot of pansies - so delicately made!

1/24th Scale 'La Petite Maison'

I bought some lovely 1/24th scale wallpapers a couple of years ago at Minatura and have never found the right house to use them in so I decided to make a house specially for them. This is the result - 'La Petite Maison'. The photo isn't too clear but I hope you can see Marianne's lovely lavender and daffodils on the doorstep. This little house is on ebay right now if you want to take a look.

1/12th Scale 'Ferry Cottage'

This is 'Ferry Cottage', my latest 1/12th scale dolls house just completed and photographed in the garden this afternoon between downpours. My idea was to make a couple of small garden areas where outdoor items could be displayed without always having to be moved when the front of the house is opened. I wanted to be able to show off Marianne Cook's wonderful potted plants - her lavenders are always gorgeous but her latest are more beautiful than ever and the iris (just visible in the right of the picture is so real it's amazing. I think Bill our resident window cleaner has taken a fancy to this little house and seems to be doing more nosying through the window than cleaning!! Bill was made by the very talented Susan Emstell of Suecraft Dolls and it's shame he has his back to the camera because her people have the most lovely faces. Ferry Cottage is on ebay right now if you would like to take look.

1/24th Scale Beach Hut

I know I said I had made the last beach hut of the summer but when a lady contacted me to ask if I could make a hut in 1/24th scale I just had to have a try. It was something I had been thinking of trying for a while but I just wasn't sure I could make something quite so tiny. It was tricky cutting out such small pieces of wood with what felt like a HUGE electric saw without cutting my fingers off but I managed it and here is the result. I found the boat at a fair ages ago and it's travelling along the the hut to a new home today.

1/24th Scale 'Bay View'

This is my latest house - a 1/24th scale Georgian style house called 'Bay View'. The windows and door are from Malcolm's Miniatures and they are wonderful - so finely detailed. Hope you can see Marianne's lovely lavender on the doorstep.

1/12th Scale 'Lifeboat Cottage'

A small building plot became available in Paula's Quayside village so we decided to add an old Lifeboat Station which has been recently converted to a cottage. It has a handmade feature window to the front, a useful double door with additional stable door and two of Paula's favourite round windows (there's one on the side too). It will be travelling up to Paula in Scotland at the start of next week.

1/24th Scale 'Shrimp Cottage'

This is 'Shrimp Cottage' a tiny 1/24th scale one room house. This size of house would be ideal for someone just trying out 24th scale to see if they like it. It would also be great for those miniaturists who are seriously short of space because it can sit happily on a shelf out of the way. Hope you can see the lovely pot of lavender on the doorstep made by the very clever Marianne Cook. Her flowers are so beautiful I am seriously thinking of building a flower shop just so I can buy lots more!

The Last Beach Hut of the Summer.....

A bit like seeing the last swallows of the summer.....here is the last beach hut. A shame really given that the weather seems to have finally turned summery! It's for sale on ebay and etsy at the moment so if you would like a little taste of summer through the winter ahead why not give it a new home??!!

The House With No Name!

I was asked if I could make a house similar to Breakwater Cottage which I built a little while ago and this is the result. It is all packed and ready to travel to it's new home in Edinburgh. Sam had a quick look round the property before I started to pack it. He liked it but as it was already spoken for he decided to have a look in the estate agents window again for a cottage for himself.

New Shops for Quayside

Paula asked me recently if I could build some more shops for Quayside - the village was expanding and needed some more retail space. Here are the three ideas I had. We tried out some new colours and also a completely new style in the witches shop - the one on the left hand side of the photo. The shops are on their way up to Scotland now - hope they arrive safely!

1/24th Scale 'Rose Cottage'

This is 'Rose Cottage' a new 24th scale dolls house which I will be listing on ebay later today. A bit of a change from the usual blue or green paintwork this time. I was looking at a Cornish cottage holiday website this week and saw a house there with similar coloured windows and thought it looked quite effective. It seemed to fit nicely with the name too.

1/24th Scale 'Beach Cottage'

This is 'Beach Cottage', my new 1/2th scale cottage listed on ebay yesterday. I tried out the new windows made by Malcolm's Miniatures - they are great to use and far more detailed than most 24th scale fittings available. A little bit fiddly to paint but well worth the effort.

1/12th Scale Beach Hut - Again!!

I do like making beach huts! Perhaps it's because they remind me of a lovely holiday we had in Norfolk a few years ago - there was a whole string of huts along the beach in every colour imaginable. This little hut is in 1/12th scale and is on ebay right now (seller name juliefben).

1/12th Scale 'Railway Cottage'

Here is Bill, hard at work again cleaning the windows of Railway Cottage which has just come onto the property market today. I tried out the brick impress molds again on the cottage front - time consuming but very satisfying to do. I made the windows and front door myself and stained them instead of painting them in my usual 'seaside' colours. This little house is on ebay right now.

1/12th Scale 'Quay Cottage'

This is 'Quay Cottage', new on the market today and Sam has already been to the Estate Agents office and been given the keys for a look around. How handy this little house is - so close to the quayside - Sam can almost moor his boat right at the foot of the steps to the front door! (Sam was made by the very clever Robin of Coombe Crafts).

1/12th Scale 'Harbour View'

This is 'Harbour View', my latest 1/12th scale cottage/shop. With that lovely big window this little property would make a great shop or a tea room or it could be a shabby chic style weekend hideaway at the coast. Bill (by Susan Emsell of Suecraft Dolls) is busy once again keeping the windows nice and clean ready for the new owners to move in. Luckily the sun shone yesterday when I took these photos - that doesn't seem to happen very often at the moment!!