Are you feeling creative and artistic, but on a small scale?

Blogs and websites that inspire

If you’d like to flip your own mini house, here is a contest you might be interested in:

The 21st Annual Creatin’ Contest from miniatures.com*

Everyone must use the Starting Point Garage Kit as their structure, and the entry deadline is December 16, 2014. Click the link above for more information.

If you need some inspiration, check out the 2014 Undersized Urbanite dollhouse contest website, showing results from this year’s (already completed) challenge.

*I’m not affiliated with this contest. Please direct all inquiries to the people at miniatures.com

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Souvenir ornament repurposed into a light fixture

Everyday objects repurposed

This trinket that someone purchased in Jamaica is going to make a fabulous light fixture! Here is the “before” version of it:

Jamaica ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Jamaica ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

It was filled with blue sand, little shells, a tiny starfish, and a little pail. My initial attraction to it was based upon the tiny shells, which I thought might be cute sitting on a shelf in my mid century marvel’s bathroom one day.

The only thing keeping the sand and shells inside was a small, easy-to-remove plastic cap at the bottom of the ornament.

Evidence that people spend way too much money when they're on vacation. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Evidence that people spend way too much money when they’re on vacation. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

I separated the stuff inside from the ornament:

The materials to turn my mid century marvel's bathroom into a tropical oasis of beachiness. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

The materials to turn my mid century marvel’s bathroom into a tropical oasis of beachiness. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Next I cleaned up the ornament with some nail polish remover. Without too much trouble the word Jamaica was erased. Here is a picture of it after about thirty seconds of scrubbing at the ornament with a Q-tip and polish remover. After another couple of minutes, the word was gone.

Using finger nail polish remover to erase the word printed on the ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Using finger nail polish remover to erase the word printed on the ornament. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

The word and the price sticker all came cleanly off, leaving me with this little globe:

Light fixture for a very small house. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Light fixture for a very small house. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

With a little more work, this small globe is going to be a great light fixture one day!

Back to the exterior color palette…

Flipping my mini house

A week or so ago, I was describing the West Elm measuring cups turned planters here, and shortly after that I was considering exterior paint choices here. I realized that I should have included my planters in the illustration I created, to get an idea of how their color would go with the house. Here are a couple new ideas to consider, along with a few more swatch combinations below. At this point I’m leaning towards a teal house with some combination of lime, olive, orange, or cream for the trim and front door.

Don't forget about the planters! Illustration by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Don’t forget about the planters! Illustrations by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.


Don't forget about the planters! Illustration by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

More color scheme ideas. Graphic designed by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

More color scheme ideas. Graphic designed by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Mini house demo time

Flipping my mini house

The tiny sledgehammers have been unleashed. I’ve been tearing out wallpaper, removing tiles, and prying away miniature baseboards. Here’s an in-progress view of the work zone. I’ll admit, a part of me thought it was ironic/stupid to remove actual mid century features like the wallpaper, only to replace them with my 2014 ideas of how mid century decor should look. Once I saw the back of the bathroom tiles (is that… rust?) and the wallpaper, all covered in mildew splotches and reeking of yesteryear, I knew I’d made the right decision. I have no idea how I’m going to smooth out the bathroom walls, but I guess I’ll figure out something.

 

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Bottle cap turned modern planter or end table

Everyday objects repurposed

This real wooden cap from a bottle of men’s cologne from the 1970’s or 80’s is going to make a great planter or end table. Flipped one way it has a spot for a plant. Flipped the other, it has a smooth table top. Here it is shown beside some books, to give you an idea of the scale. I found it at a thrift store for 90 cents, and it even came in a faux wood grain box (made of cardboard) that might come in handy for another project at some point. The only downfall is the stench of the cologne that I had to endure for the photo shoot.

Mini woven wallhanging

Handmade decor for my mini house

This simple project required just a mossy twig and some scraps of yarn. I used the arms of a chair as a loom. The entire project only took about a half hour and cost approximately nothing. I think it will end up in the master bedroom of my mid century marvel, since that room is probably going to be green.

Simple woven wallhanging. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Simple woven wallhanging. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Groovy mushroom wallhanging

Handmade decor for my mini house

I want my mid century house to feel homey and authentic, although it will be an updated, 21st century version of how a mid century house would look. This tiny mushroom and butterfly stitching project was created by me, but inspired by other 1960’s and 1970’s patterns I found online. I drew the mushrooms and butterflies on a small piece of cross-stitch backing, filled them in with stitches, added some stitched blades of grass, and finished it off with a wood bead border. The whole project took just a couple of hours, and was mindlessly completed while watching television. If you’re going to watch TV, you might as while create something at the same time.

Groovy mushrooms mini wallhanging. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Groovy mushrooms mini wallhanging. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Measuring cups turned oversized planters

Everyday objects repurposed

Everyday objects around your house can be repurposed in unique ways. I love these West Elm measuring cups I got from a friend, and now I have found a great way to show them off: The bigger measuring cups have joined a stack of small bowls in my (real life, full sized) kitchen, while the two smaller cups have been turned into cute planters for my dollhouse. I paired them with some plastic succulents from the craft store to give them a whole new look. They’ll be cute by the front door, someday in the future when I get to that stage. The best part? This project took approximately 1 second to complete, cost very little, and has no long term effects on the measuring cups, in the event that I change my mind and want to return them to their former measuring cup status.

West Elm measuring cups turned oversized planters. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

West Elm measuring cups turned oversized planters. Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

A mini macrame owl inspired by Jonathan Adler’s design

Handmade decor for my mini house

It’s nowhere near being move-in ready yet, but my mid-century marvel has been accumulating stacks of decor. Some of it I’ve purchased new, some at antique and thrift stores, but most of it I’ve made myself. This miniature macrame owl was inspired by Jonathan Adler’s design book 100 Ways to Happy Chic Your Life. In the book he shows several macrame owls and gives simple, step-by-step instructions to create your own owl. I used his instructions as helpful guidelines, but altered them to work for me. I used thin yarn so it would be the appropriate scale. I added the eyes with slightly darker thread, and I will reattach them once I pick up some thread that’s a match. Up close and with the camera flash the thread is quite noticeable, but until I can replace it, it’s actually not that easy to see in person. I’ve shown the owl with a regular pen so you can get an idea of the scale. Once it’s hanging in the house it will look like a pretty large wallhanging. I think it will end up in the living room, but I am not sure yet. The best part about miniature crafts? They don’t take very long to make!

Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

Photo by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.

A text message earlier this summer

Flipping my mini house

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My friend and her husband were at a flea market when they spotted two dollhouses. My friend was pretty sure I would find them enchanting so she sent me some texts with photos attached. She was right.

“Buy the Brady Bunch one and I’ll pay you back!” I told her. It was just $35!

The next weekend she and her husband delivered it. (How’s that for service?) He didn’t look happy; it is VERY heavy and was covered in spiderwebs, mouse poop, and who knows what else. I, however, was delighted. It was even better than the picture! It might have been dirty, but as they say in real estate talk, It had good bones. Here are some photos from our first day together:

The house that started it all. Very Mid Century. Very Brady Bunch. Click to enlarge. Warning: You might regret looking too close. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord." width="300" height="223" /> The house that started it all. Very Mid Century. Very Brady Bunch. Click photos to enlarge. Warning: You might regret looking too close. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord.

How my house looked when I first got it. Photos by Holly Tierney-Bedord.

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Copyright 2014 by Holly Tierney-Bedord. All rights reserved.