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Hello and thank you for joining my blog. I am working on tweaking my blog to improve the look of it, and being new to blogs, I am still figuring out how everything works. I hope you like the content so far. Don't forget to check out my pictures at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Dollar Tree store finds

The below are my latest dollar store finds. You may be familiar with some of them already.

Dollar Store Finds 5

Above is two packages of foil embossed stickers. You could use these as food containers or picture frames. If anyone has a different idea, let me know.

Dollar Store Finds 4

I received one of the above containers in a filled box swap. The woman had cut down the plastic container to about the height of an under bed box and filed it with mini scrapbook stuff, including a label. It was so cute! I had to ask her where she got the container. I also got these 12 oz. containers with colored dough from Dollar Tree. They come in a 6 pack. You can use the clay AND you the containers once empty. The containers would be great for storage or you can cut them down. You will find them in the toy section.

Dollar Store Finds 3

The above is a Nail Art Kit I found in the health and beauty section of The Dollar Tree store. It comes with 120 real tiny gems in different colors! You can use these to make jewelery for your female dolls or for a boutique or whatever. They would work as gems for necklaces. Or you could use them for decoration on something like a mini purse.

Dollar Store Finds 2

This aquarium above, which is sold in the toy department of the Dollar Tree store, may be a little big but could work in a restaurant setting. But, I think it could work in a dollhouse. If you think about it, some aquariums that people have in their homes are big. My next door neighbors use to have an aquarium that held I think 50 gallons and nearly took up one whole wall! Many of you have probably seen or heard of these cute aquariums before as they have been around for awhile. You could take out the stuff and put in your own fish and decor.

Dollar Store Finds 1

I have been asked by some of you for pictures of some of my dollar store finds, so here are the latest ones. The picture above is one of I think twelve or so. These cute little 1 inch sized clear containers with lids can be used to store craft supplies, minis or perhaps you can make something from them?? If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

New Miniatures I Have Made

I made this weight bar with weights for a Man's Swap. These were fun to make.

New Miniatures I Have Made

Sorry, this picture did not turn out well. It is a bowling trophy I made for a Gold Swap.

New Miniatures I Have Made

I bought this felt with the cat print in a bag of six sheets that was on sale for $1.49, was $3.99. I bought them at Hobby Lobby. I love to check their clearance section for miniatures as well as anything else I can find and use.

New Miniatures I Have Made

I made thesee bottles for another NAME swap. They are suppose to be bottles of shampoo. They are made from Light Brite Pegs and shampoo labels I got off the internet. I really like they way they came out.

New Miniatures I Have Made

In the picture above is a plant I made for a NAME swap. The theme was Southwest. I painted the design on the pot, used coffee grounds for dirt and used the kind of stuff they use in railroad modeling for greenery.

New Miniatures I Have Made

The above is a dog bed. I already had the basket. I made the bed from a piece of foam and covered it with material.

New Miniatures I Have Made

The picture above is a dish drainer I made from plastic canvas. I am going to be teaching my club how to make these at our next meeting. When gluing, I found a glue gun, high temperature, worked really well. The dish sponge to the right is a round toothpick glued inside of a piece of yellow foam.

Click here for Yahoo Groups

Online swap groups are a lot of fun. It is like Christmas when you get a swap box in the mail. For those of you who have never participated in an online swap group, I encourage you to give them a try. Once you join the groups, you can sign up for the many different kinds of swaps they are doing. Participating in a swap group is a great, economical way to obtain a variety of new minis and perhaps learn a new technique from the minis that you receive. I find the most satisfaction from making something that others enjoy. Above is a link that will take to the Yahoo Groups. There, you can search for the many miniature groups that are out there. Above all, have fun!!

The Small World Daytimers Club Donated a dollhouse

Last summer, a dollhouse was donated by the Small World Daytimers Club to the local YWCA's battered women and children's shelter. I had bought an opened dollhouse kit at a local church rummage sale for the unbelievable price of $1.00, not knowing if the kit was complete, but I found out later on that it was missing some parts. Last spring, I donated the dollhouse kit to the club, seeing what we can do with it. We decieded to donate it to the local battered women's shelter. Club President and store owner, Sally Miller, had her son-in-law make the missing pieces for the dollhouse. Club members helped to assemble, paint and decorate the dollhouse as well as donate and buy furniture for the dollhouse. By the summer, we were finished with the dollhouse and myself and another club member, Sallie Brown, delivered the dollhouse to the shelter, on behalf of the entire club. The staff of the YWCA were so impressed with the dollhouse that they proudly placed the dollhouse in a glass display case for visitors to see. In the fall, my mother and I were asked to be keynote speakers for an annual fundraiser the YWCA puts on since we are survivors of abuse and spent time at the shelter in the late 1970's. The staff had the donated dollhouse on display at the fundraiser for all 300 guests to view. In my speech, I mentioned the dollhouse and all the time my club had spent on fixing up and decorating the dollhouse. I spoke about this wonderful hobby, which to me is more than a hobby. After the event, some people walked over to look at the dollhouse and were really impressed. Donating and giving is good for the soul. And, in this case, will bring some comfort to children who are hurting and away from home.

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Inside the Alison Jr. Dollhouse Apartment

Above is a picture of the inside of the Alison Jr. dollhouse that I am turning into a small apartment building. I already have several dollhouses and had wanted to create an apartment building for quite awhile. I thought of using one of my small bookcases but none of them fit my requirements. I am doing the hall, living room and bedroom of three apartments. On the first floor apartment lives an elderly lady. She has a lot of vintage furniture. She loves to sew. In her bedroom is a sewing machine and a tall cabinet for sewing stuff. On the second floor apartment lives a single guy. He is a typical young single male who loves beer, sports and music. On the third floor lives a single girl. She has very modern and nice furniture considering she has a good office job. I am not done with the apartments. I still have to finish gluing in trim around the doors and windows and making doors between the living rooms and bedrooms. This apartment has been really fun to do. It gives you a chance to use a mix of different dollhouse furniture by creating different styles.

This is the horse version of the zebra riding toy.

One of the ladies in my club, Helen, came up with this riding toy. She made horses as well as zebras. They are also made from Popsicle sticks.