February Design Challenge Round-Up

Seven short days ago, I laid down a quick & dirty challenge for modern miniature enthusiasts everywhere to create a scene honoring their favorite holiday (or observance) in the month of February. You've all responded so enthusiastically and I'm so feeling all the love! (cause who wants to be talking to themselves, right?) As of today, we have quite a nice round-up and while Valentine's Day was by far the most represented holiday, a few others had a moment in the spotlight even a few (gasp) that don't fall in the month of February.  We also had recurring themes like decadence and indulgence, as well as a few repeating icons. Any guess as to which ReacJapan designer chair made the most appearances in scenes?

The journey began with color and glitz of carnival over at Minis-B-Happenin' with a mini-sized float for one of the many Mardi Gras parades that was large on talent, creativity, and diva personalities. We were then asked to consider what makes Valentine's Day different from (college) spring break over at the Hard Way. Remember all the excess of young love? Apparently, there's a reason why the young guys want to make sure a girl's glass is never empty. Then we had three scenes that turn up the romance quotient.  There's a chic, mid-century scene set for a pair of "LOVE"birds over at Mini Mod Pod while Modernist Molly prepared a cozy custom made bed in a lodged decked out with all the modern trappings.  It's all hearts and rose petals at Mini Modern Mind. Wouldn't we all loved to be so spoiled (grins from ear to ear)? We're  then hit by a cold dose of heartbreak with Jazzi Mini's ode to the single woman. It's a macabre Valentine's scene that takes a turn towards the horror of Halloween. Finally, I created my own take on Valentine's Day that I called, A Love Supreme. It's full of love but  not solely the romantic kind (wink). It overflows with references to many other holidays and observances as well.

A Love Supreme, a room bursting with references to love.

Thanks once again to everyone for such a wonderful trip.  Haven't pulled together a scene? There's still time, just let me know the link and I'll add it in an update to this post throughout the rest of this month. Happy (holiday of your choice) Day to everyone!

Update 2/28/2013:

Mary's scene is at http://msminiandmore.blogspot.com/2013/02/happy-valentines-day.html

Mini Dork's scene is at http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/2013/02/loss-for-words.html

  

Challenge Reveal: A Love Supreme

Earlier this month, I began working on a scene to feature some of the new items I purchased or received as gifts. Last week I decided to pull the rest of you miniaturist in when I posed a quick and dirty little challenge but then I went and got all more is more. Hey it's all still very modern, plus it tells a story or 10. 

Welcome to the craft room/studio for two sisters. Meet the Illustrator and the Cellist, neither has a valentine this year so they chose to be one another's. Their month has been busy thus far. They've attended a number of events from a Wear Red dress fashion show to raise money for heart disease in women, to a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day seminar, to performing in the Vagina Monologues which raises money to end domestic violence.

These ladies are so full of talent they each suffer a bit from adult ADD (attention deficit disorder) and this room truly reflects that fact.  

After spending time earlier in the week enjoying songs from the John Coltrane catalog like A Love Supreme and making cards and such, they've decided to spend the evening watching movies. Up first...Imitation of Life. A powerful story about maternal love. Followed by...KamaSutra. It's about...well, the name says it all! Breakfast At Tiffany's, The Notebook and Love Jones round out the roster of pull-at-your-heart-strings tales of love (and/or romance). The snacks are in place. Tonight they dine on sushi and chocolate. Why you might ask? Because it's great to feel sexy always, weather one has a man or not, no? 

Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to click through the link to read more about the February Design Challenge reveals.

Details: Lil'Bratz Stylin' Space from eBay; cork side table with script from PRDminiatures, bottles filled with micro beads purchased from The Dollar Store; scrollwork mirror purchased from local flea market; red vase inside bookcase was swap gift from Mini Dork; "Love" cut-out was a gift from The Shopping Sherpa. 

Remember Your 1st Apartment?

Remember your first apartment? You had to make do with hand-me-downs from relatives, thrift store finds or even pieces abandoned on the sidewalk. Well, that's sort of what I was going for with this scene.  Improvising a bookcase with planks of wood and concrete cinder blocks (or milk crates) was a ubiquitous piece in the starter apartments I remember. Immediately, that's what came to mind when I saw these miniature cinder blocks.  Each has a magnet embedded in real concrete and are intended to be used to keep notes and such on your message board. Of course, that's never stopped a miniaturist from making a thing or two work in 1:12 scale. Two folding chairs (albeit uncomfortable after a while) are easy to borrow from the family. Right? Placed facing the improvised-coffee table makes for a quick conversion to a card table. Bid Wist anyone? The guy who lives here has the basics: dice on hand for gambling, recycled cookie tins for extra storage, a place to shove books and hold up the TV and telephone. That's organization on a budget. When he's not playing cards, craps or watching the game, the dumbbells are nearby for a few reps of biceps curls and triceps extensions. Oh, yes a pair of souvenir sarapes (again, from family) warm the walls. So there you have it, a starter-apartment  in 1:12---circa 1987, maybe.  For me it was tiny cinder blocks, now tell me what miniature piece(s) have you designed a room around?

Concrete block magnet by Kalki'd fresh out of the cb2 packaging.

Details: folding chairs and dumbbells were part of action figures purchased from the dollar store; bowl, picture frame, 'H'-block, all wood, wheels and acrylic block from Michael's; rug is a sample from The Shade Store; telephone is Rement; model motorcycle is a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament; TV by Kikkerland; wire basket is an Etsy find; sarapes, brown book and white box from Minimodernas; dice from Morgan Imports (Durham, NC); books in basket from Dolls House Emporium; blue and yellow books are Kaleidoscope House accessories; thick black book and square tins are eBay finds

A Pink-tastic Christmas Day!

I staged this Christmas scene in 6th scale with a more is more, Hollywood-glamour type of vibe. Before you ask...the answer is NO---no I couldn't get enough pink! It amped up that glamour factor. My Barbie Collection lives on a narrow vanity in my studio guest bedroom/study made from a mirror hanging over a shelf. You might see a sliver of a miniature black chandelier at the edge of this photo. This hangs above a Jonathan Adler sofa (in Barbie-scale, of course). A lamp and side table also by Adler flank the couch. In the corner, at the edge of the shelf, stands the star of the show---an old pink tinsel Christmas tree (by Paperchase) with a pink mini string of lights. The angel tree topper is made from the tops of two perfume bottles. The body is from L'eau D'Issey and the wings are a cut flower off of the Marc Jacobs' Daisy lid.  Luxurious little gifts clutter at the bottom. What on earth could be better than bags and purses? Good Santa!

Glamorous Tree

Here's a closer look at that gift haul.

The So In Style kids dolls also fair well with Santa. They received plenty of toys and even some props for dress-up.  Tea with the little princess, anyone?

Well, all this beautiful hall-decking did not just miraculously appear, head on over to my Flickr.com photo stream for the details of the decorating story depicted in thumbnails here. 

                        

  

      Good.

Great!

                   

                      I hope your day was indeed merry and bright.

A Modern Eclectic Style

All I want for Christmas is the new collection of modern furniture pieces from Dolls House Emporium. This room setting from their website was captioned, A Modern Eclectic Style. And indeed it is! I am surprised at how DHE continues to add contemporary and modern pieces to their inventory each year. My number one pick added to my miniature lust list? The Ghost Chair, of course!

Will You Have Some Tea?

I added another area to my livin' easy scene. While sitting on the couch enjoying the cool breeze blowing through the open French doors, here's what I see as I look back towards the interior of the house. A bistro table and credenza make a great place to prepare that perfect cup of tea.

Details: credenza, white vase and tea set by Dolls House Emporium; tray is the top of an AMAC box from The Container Store; orange vases are Kaleidoscope House Accessories by Bozart Toys; chairs by Reac Japan; tabletop is from a coaster set; table legs are napkin rings by West Elm; mat underneath the table is a sample from The Rubber Flooring Company; and the mug on the table is an eBay find.

Livin' Easy

One of my contacts on Flickr, MurderWithMirrors often uses magazine pages as backgrounds for her miniature scenes.  I've decided to try this technique myself.  My inspiration---the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day is fast approaching. This has me thinking about carefree outdoor living.  I envisioned an airy room that with grand doors that provide for seamless indoor-outdoor living.  I used floor tile samples from Lowe's and The Rubber Flooring Company.  Add in a few standard furniture pieces then sprinkle with an accessory or two...voila!  I think it turned out nicely.  What do you guys think?

Setting up the shot.

Details: flooring from Loew's; rug from PRDminiatures; table made from West Elm napkin rings and The Rubber Flooring Company sample; sofa and vases from Kaleidoscope House by Bozarts Toys,  and wire basket from Etsy.

Mid-century Modern Kids

Little Nest thinks moms would love to attend a tea
party tricked out with these modern diggs. I agree.

Lovers of mid-century modern design have discriminating taste and work hard to curate and express their design aesthetic in their nests.  Once the nest begins to fill, there's no reason the nursery design should stray too far from the chic style found throughout the remainder of nest home.  There are more and more resources like Dwell Studio and Little Nest to help parents remain faithful to their modern design roots.  The result can be some pretty sophisticated children's spaces.

With that in mind, here's my version of a modern kid's room. A Panton "floor cloth" matches one of two modern prints.  A bed with fun sheets at little people height against a bookcase headboard that has storage for everything. The lil' one has outgrown those building blocks but why throw them out when they make great decoration.

Details:  Bookcase and storage inserts are from Doll's House Emporium; bed is Kaleidoscope House by Bozarts Toys; Rocker and table are ReacJapan; and wall prints are gift tags from an old issue of Domino Magazine.

It's That Time...Again?

Turbo Tax or H&R Block?  Just a tiny lil' ode to tax day! 365 days of your life in dollars and sense cents, oh joy. Even though we've been given two extra days, I was rushing around this weekend to get those pesky taxes done.  I did a lot of work for myself last year so, well I had to hire some help!  Here's hoping everyone else doesn't have to go down to the wire. If you aren't all done, then perhaps your extension is all lined up. He he he.

Details: beautiful cherry and magnolia desk by minisx2, laptop by Rement, red AMAC box from The Container Store, mug from an eBay seller, chair by ReacJapan, rug by PRDMiniatures, and paper from craft store.

There will be no eggs...

Continuing with the idea of "going bold" I used this paper (it's actually called Spring & Summer) to serve as a backdrop for this quick scene. Although we've been waiting and waiting, apparently there will be no eggs to decorate for this Easter holiday.  What to do?!


HAPPY EASTER! or HAPPY PASSOVER!