Summer loving and lovely minis!

This must be the longest I have ever been between posts lol I do love to natter!! We have been up at the caravan for the past fortnight meaning we have been up 3 weeks in the last month which was fab!! We have had some wonderful weather and its been one of the best summers for a while. I love having everyone around off college and work etc it will all feel very quiet when they all go back at the end of the month. I don't do anything mini when I am away but have done lots of reading, 10 books so far this summer which isn't bad going! I did get a trip to the Dolls house shop though as we had to pick Bethany up from the airport so it wasn't a totally mini free holiday! The van is rented for the next 3 weeks so I have some time to spend on the village.

Lots of new things to show you!!

First up I had a little play with the witches house before I went away. The hinges had split the wood so the door was a bit dodgy so I decided it made sense to invest in some nice new hinges. I filled all the old holes and will reattach the door when I have repapered it as I bought some nice dark purple paper which I think will look fab. I was hoping to get some stairs but will get some shortly. I decided to move the wizard into the attic as I had so many gorgeous hats they needed 2 floors really. Vince moved next door so he has a new home! I stained the flooring a darker colour and moved everything in. Its works really well I'm really pleased with it.

I was thinking of some kind of shelving or bookcase but it was awkward because of the low ceiling. I spotted the shop shelving in the DH shop and thought if I stained it and covered it with bottles of potions that might work. I couldn't believe just how perfect it fitted in the space!! Lots of things to do on it to keep me busy for a while!

I also picked up this lovely seat in the DH shop. this was my wow item, I just loved the colours and thought it would go nice in the witches shop.

 

Also in the DH shop was a nice DHE chair in a reduced box. I had been on the lookout for a nice one for the vicar for his desk so it was just the job!

Before we went away I managed to snap up a couple of Ebay bargains. I spotted this lovely lady which was listed as a DHE doll. I knew she wasn't I could tell she was one of Dettas so I decide to take a chance and hope Ii was right. No one else bid so I won her for just over £5 including the postage. She is def one of Dettas and she's just fab! I added her lacy tights and some fur round her boots and she's now Lynda, Staceys mom!! She came with the little dog who is very cute and called Wilfred!

The little knitted doll had been knitted by a family member of the seller in the 60's and she was just so adorable! The detail is amazing she even has little socks! She was a total bargain at £2.75 including the postage.  I thought she would make a nice model in the baby shop!

After lots of deliberation I came to decision that I would buy Lobster Pot from my good friend Deb. I had been drooling over it for a while and really couldn't afford it after my recent splurge on houses but temptation got the better of me and I decided to go for it! It will be a community centre with the café and the doctors and school. It should arrive soon its all down to finding big enough boxes lol!

Sadly this means that something had to go and that something will be the pink shop, Babs Boutique. Babs will move into Butterfly so it will be sold empty. I will be gutted to sell it but Lobster will give me just a bit more space and an outside area which will look nice as you walk in the room.

I have used the name plaque on the new little pink house and Rose cottage just seemed to suit it perfectly. I added some pink roses and def think it suits it just right!!

I have added a few more bits and bobs to the gallery. Some more glass fish and a few seaside items. The silver balls are in a vase of crushed shells displayed on a serviette holder that my friend Scarlett gave me!

Bethany had a nice time down South with her Dad and she picked me up this little scooter for the garage as a pressie. Bernie looks much better with this one as its a bit bigger!

She also bought me this lovely clock which is perfect for Quayside. I have such a thoughtful and generous daughter I am very lucky!! :-) xx

 

Lots of lovely new buildings!

Not updated for a little while so lots to show you today!! We were up at the caravan for a week last week and had some glorious weather! For once we got the right week lol! Wasn't too sad to come home as I knew I had a delivery due on Monday or Tuesday! Luckily it came Monday so I didn't have to wait too long!

I have expanded Upper Quayside with 3 lovely new properties!

The first I idea I had was the toilets! I of course went to Julie with my idea although not sure quite what she made of being asked to make public loos lol!! But she certainly did the village proud! They are amazing even better than I imagined and the are just a bit smaller and different in shape to the shops which makes them really stand out and its obvious immediately what they are!

Edna is busy cleaning as she wants to make sure they win best Village conveniences again this year!

I have added a small wall mounted sink and a mirror.

Ednas bucket is one of my favourite accessories and came with one of Dettas dolls who is in the village hall.

 

Oops! Arthur forgot to lock his door!!!

I think Arthur is up there with Beryl for making me smile!! The toilet is borrowed from the Manor house as I don't have any to go in there just yet!

My next idea was for a little garage. I have lots of shops and was trying to think of something that was a bit different. Julie came up with the great design and she bought it to life. Its fabulous so pleased with it!!

Of course a garage needs a mechanic and having spent up of buildings I had to save some pennies and make my own this time! His name is Bernie and he will run Bernies Bike shop!

Lindsay is getting me a bit of wood today so I can add an upper floor for storage or a crash pad for when Bernie is working late. I already the ladders and it seems a shame to not make use of he extra space.

Paul has popped in so Bernie can have a quick look at his scooter as its making a strange noise! Its not really big enough even though it was sold as 1/12th!

This is another little shop that caught my eye as it had unusual windows. It was going to be the gallery but after moving everything I didn't like it so not quite sure what it will be yet!

Last but by no means least is a new house. I wanted another little house to go with Cockleshell and The Barn. This is Foxglove cottage. Its sits perfectly with the others and completes West Quayside! Not 100% sure what it will be yet, maybe the nursery shop?

I also decided it was about time I got a few more signs of the lovely Julie Lawton. I had a couple of nameless cottages so I started out just ordering a few for the ones I needed! There ended up more than expected as I kept getting more properties and added on one more then another one more lol!!

Foxglove for the new little pink house.

The Barn which is one of my favourites its so cute!

Cockleshell Cottage!

She also sent me this lovely little picture as a gift. Handmade from clay its just gorgeous I am very lucky!!

Bamboo cottage reflects nature of the business inside!

Lilac Cottage is Wishes and Dishes

Rubbish pic but lovely sign on Forget me not cottage.

And last of the bunch Anchor cottage!

Of course now I have the pink shop I still need just one more!!!!

Pizza and playtime

Another busy weekend in the village! We were actually home yesterday as the van is rented for this week, our first booking of the year! We always rent a few summer weeks to cover our fees for the next year. Last year was a bad year but this year we have 5 weeks booked in so we are more than happy with that! The cleaning part is not fun though as we have to empty it all out and it has to be spotless!

Anyway being home meant a bit of time spent in the village. I had taken a lot of the cakes out of the bakery to fill the new tea shop counters. I decided to make Luigis into bakery come deli so it would still sell pasties and bread etc plus some nice deli items and of course pizza!

I had a small shop unit which I sprayed silver so it would work as a hot counter for the pizzas. I will also add some hot pasties and sausage rolls.

I couldn't resist the cheese and stuffed olives which I won on Ebay for a couple of £'s as they looked perfect for a deli counter.

Maria is hard at work weighing out some nice ham and cheese for a customer (although there's no customer there yet lol)

 

The pizzas are hot and ready to go!

Luigi is hard at work as always!!

I also decided the village was missing a school! I don't have room for it a whole building just yet so for now I thought I would use the little mezzanine at the top of Rose Cottage.

 

I wanted to make this one on a budget as there's lots of new arrivals planned for the village and I wanted to save all my pennies for those. It just means being inventive with what I have for the insides for now. It worked well on the Tea shop so spurred on by that I thought I would have a rummage give it a go!

The only thing I had to buy was the child's desk as that was something I didn't have at all. Its was only a few £'s from good old Ebay so I told myself that was ok lol

The teacher is the doll I got from the Dolls House shop a while back just redressed in Bratz clothing. She needs some books and things on her desk!

The desk is very cute and a little different as I didn't want one of the ones with the attached seat as it would have been too big!

The table and chairs is perfect and was given to me by my good friend Carol and is all set ready for snack time with healthy fruit of course!

I found a picture of a playmat on Google images, printed it onto canvas and stuck some felt on the back. That turned out really well so I was very pleased with it. The little car is a Fiat 500 phone charm that had a broken cord....I knew it would come in handy one day lol!!

Lastly here are a few photos of my garden and almost midnight last night! it was so light it felt like daytime! One of the best parts of living up here is the long summer days. This is pretty much as dark as it gets this time of year and by 3am it getting light again!