Published

Shortly before Christmas I received an email from Katie at Dolls House Magazine saying she'd read my Apples Tea Rooms blog and would like to do an article on it.   Boy, was I surprised!

 

All I had to do was answer a few questions and send pictures as large as possible and they would do the rest.

 

At the end of the year I received my copy.

 

Thank you Katie.   You and your team have shown my little property off to it's very best and I'm very pleased.  

 

 

 

Did I say this was finished?

 

Yes, I'm sure I said this property was finished but I'm also sure I said I may add bits and pieces as and when I found them.

Well, I found one!

I was at the York Fair at the beginning of the month and the Tearooms just weren't in my mind at all.    In fact, the last time I looked inside this property is probably about the time of my last blog post.

It just goes to show, they're never ever really out of your mind!

I saw this little clock - it's a printed face on a cork circle - and immediately the Tearooms sprang to mind.   Perfect for above the stairs.

 

 Now - I wonder what else is out there..........................?

We have a winner...

Genevieve of Miniacollection

Congratulations Genevieve!   If you send me your details, I'll get it in the post to you on Monday.   Thanks also to my sister Valerie for doing the draw. 

A big " thank you " to all who entered, it's lovely to see so many people interested in what I'm doing.

Although the Tearooms are finished, I will - from time to time - post an update of anything changed or added.   In the meantime -

Thank you all for following my blog.

 

My Thank You Giveaway (and a new blog).

By way of a small "thank you" to all the followers who have shown an interest in my little Tea Rooms, I'm having a giveaway.   

I've never done a giveaway before so after thinking long and hard over what to offer - bearing in mind that I don't really make miniatures, well not the way a lot of you make such marvellous things - I settled on an item that could be Tearoom/Gift Gallery related and something that whatever your style, be it traditional or shabby, hopefully you could find a use for it.

I'm giving away a Jane Harrop Luggage Rack and Butler's Tray kit* - that way the winner can either varnish or paint it, depending on their particular style.

All you have to do to enter is be a current follower and leave a comment. I shall be making the draw on Saturday, 28th January.

I understand from a couple of followers that they've been having problems leaving comments.   If this is the case with you and you wish to be included in the giveaway, please email your comment (address on profile) and I'll make sure you're included.

Now that The Tea Rooms are finally finished, I can now quite happily share my new blog with you.   The ultimate intention is to have one blog covering all properties.  (If I'd been more "blog aware" I'd have only created one blog to cover all properties, but I wasn't!).

If you're interested, drop in here: Small and Stately and have a look.   All welcome!

* The giveaway is for the kit only, other items in the picture are my own.

Good luck everyone!

............and finally!

Well, I've come to the end of my photographs and the end of the project.   It's been a lovely little property to work on - easy to build, no decorating problems, lots of interesting things to collect, the discovery of paper kits and finding out I could make tables!   I've also discovered some lovely online sellers (quite a few from blogland) in my search for suitable items.

Apples Tearooms (continued)

Continuing on for yesterday's posting, here are the final two floors of my Tearooms. The Gift Gallery was the next area to get my attention and consists of two rooms both decorated in a similar fashion.

Mostly the items here were purchased from fairs with the exception of the bracelet stand - that came from Susanne's lovely miniature shop, Petit Bracante.

Yes, I printed off and cut out all the little cards in the display stand!

I struggled for quite a while with these two rooms, moving things, changing things, as for some reason they just didn't sit right with me.   It wasn't until I added the counter and changed the colour of the cabinets that I felt I was finally getting somewhere with it.  I'm sure there will still be items added to The Gallery even although the main work is finished.   It all depends on what little gem presents itself!

The hat boxes below were my first introduction to kits and since then I have made quite a few.

The cushions in the blanket box were printed off and made by me and there are quite a few items in these rooms that have been purchased from Art of Mini and various fairs.

Finally, we have the living accomodation in the roof space.   These were odd spaces to decorate due to the sloping sides which can be quite restrictive.   I've been hunting for ages for a suitable television to place at the front by the staircase but I've not seen anything yet.   There's still a chance I will change my mind about that  depending on anything else I see to occupy that space.   In the meantime, the flowers look quite happy there.

The little pictures here were printed off and placed in empty frames and the clock on the left is a working watch face.

I'm pretty pleased with the way the bedroom turned out given that it's quite a small space.   The hat is a creation from The Mini Miliner. and the little lamp on the left was purchased from a German seller a couple of years ago at NEC.

The little slippers were made from the directions given via Sabiha's blog - thank you Sabiha for sharing that link.

Apples Tearooms is now (finally) open for business.

The inspiration for this property is numerous trips to York and the little surrounding villages that all seem to have traditional Tearooms, some with gift shops included.   Whether or not they have living accomodation above, I don't know but it seemed fitting to have that here.

I have been taking loads of pictures for you now that The Tearooms is finished.   There are still one or two items to be had but I can't do anything about that until NEC in March and they don't really affect the overall look.

It's the plan to post a couple of "floors" a day and then show the final whole interior so please bear with me!   Today it's the basement which contain the Kitchen and Storeroom/Office and the Ground Floor which house the actual Tearooms themselves.

The exterior finish was created using a Richard Bromley stencil and compound.

I can now turn the board showing "Closed" to reveal the menu which has remaind hidden for two years.

The little set on the table was purchased from Carol Cook.

As both the Kitchen and the Storeroom/Office are in the Basement, the theory is that the door back left of the Kitchen leads up to one of the doors to the right hand side of the Tearoom itself (the one marked "Staff Only"). One item I would point out is the dishwasher to the right of the picture. Press a button and it makes "working dishwasher" noises. A brilliant addition, I thought and purchased from Elf Miniatures as was the kitchen itself - one of the flexi kits.

Items here were purchased from a variety of sellers both through ebay and various fairs.   My favourite items just have to be the two pastries, shown front left from Paris Miniatures.

There is still some space in the store room cupboard that can take additional items as and when I see them.

Note the Scottish potatoes - well, I had to, didn't I?

Every Secretary appreciates a cup of tea, especially if the wastepaper basket is anything to go by - it doesn't look like she's having a very good day.

On the next level up are The Tearooms themselves.