Redwood Retro

I was cleaning the garage last week and came across an old cigar box that had fallen behind a shelf. Perfect size for a dollhouse bookshelf but then I remembered I really needed beds for my newest house.  If you are a miniaturist you probably look at every piece of household scrap as a potential mini.  This box is 7 inches in length ( makes a 7 foot bed) and wood.  I believe cigar boxes are made from a type of cedar?  Its very thin and cuts easily but it is strong.  I used to have a full box of cigar boxes that I picked up from a smoke shop. I've used them over the years for all sorts of projects. They are great for storing small items and stack very well. Visit your local cigar/smoke shop if you can find one and I'm sure they would gladly give you a few boxes to play with.    I gave it a good scrubbing and removed the paper labels. I glued the flat pieces together (The top and bottom of the box).  The inside of the lid holds the mattress and the inside of the box is the unders

J Day Minis   -  Free Halloween decorations, a witch book and paper plates Small Stuff's Print Mini - Printable Trick or Treat Bags. Be sure to visit this site for a ton of mini printies including Halloween decor Wallpaper Safari  - This page has printable dollhouse wallpaper but also has cool book, decor and holiday printies. Quirky Artist Loft   - This blog has some cool printable including a Harry Potter style spellbook. Visit the page for the entire book as a PDF Mini Tarot Cards   - From Flickr Make Mini Halloween Books Project - From Paper Glitter Glue

New Miniatures this week in my eBay Store Redwood Retro   

I broke down and ordered one of those Miniature room kits off of Amazon.  If you haven't seen these yet they are complete miniature kits that come with everything you need to make a little room.  The reviews were pretty mixed lol. Most people found it easy to put it together so I'm feeling pretty confident. One thing I noticed is that the kits seem to be mostly in the 1:24 scale range. I'm a little nervous about that as I haven't worked in that scale in more than 20 years. Might need to get stronger reading glasses for this project. I don't currently own a 1:12 inch scale dollhouse. For the amount of crappy junk food I ate during the pandemic I could have had one of those beautiful Greenleaf mansions to build. I would still like to get one but I think I am wise to practice on a room kit first. Have you made one of these kits? I would love to see photos and hear your opinion on them. Which ones were your favourite? There are so many and honestly, I

Miniature printables with a summer theme.      Ice Cream Truck - This site run by Parents magazine has so many sweet printables and activities for kids including this adorable Ice Cream Truck. Picnic Baskets Check out this fairy garden with a Circus theme Click here for a really cute Flag Holder

May 18th Shop update - I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I'm starting to list miniatures this week in my eBay store.  I'm still a little nervous about shipping delays but letter mail service seems to be improving so fingers crossed :)

I've recently discovered the Schleich brand of toys and now I am obsessed.  For plastic animal figures, they are very well detailed and pretty close to 1:12 inch scale. The company was founded in Germany in 1935 and is one of the largest manufacturers of toy figurines.  I'm sooo bummed that it took me this long to discover them. The main reason I collect figures is for photography.  I photograph the miniatures I make myself on a daily basis (for selling online ) but taking photos of toys is just for fun.  Schleich Cow photographed with a Google Pixel and edited in Snapseed - Redwood Retro I like to use other toy brands as well.  When I found this lovely creature in the garden, I couldn't resist posing it on a Hot Wheels car  (yes, I collect those too lol).

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