My Chandra

My Chandra was inspired by Chandramukhi from the movie Devdas. She is dressed in gold ghagra-choli, and is sparkling from head to toe in traditional Indian jewelry: the tiara, vindi, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets. Her hands and feet are decorated with henna.

Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi

My Dev: the Indian Prince

Dev is so very special to me, since he is the first 1:12 scale male doll I ever made. He is an Indian prince, dressed in white kurta pajama, a sage green sherwani intricately decorated with golden paint, and a pair of nagra shoes from Jaipur.

My Kumari

Inspired by the Royal Kumari of Nepal, my Kumari is dressed in her regal garb of red and gold. She wears her hair in a topknot, and has the agni chakchuu or ‘fire eye’ painted on her forehead as a symbol of her special powers of perception. Kumari was made for Helen in Honeychurch, UK.

The Kumari of Nepal


More Photos of My Kumari

A Tour of Titania's Palace

Danish children's book author Shane Brox guides you through one of the most beautiful dollhouse palaces in the world; Titania's Palace. It was the name given to an intricately constructed edifice created by British peer Sir Nevile Wilkinson as a dwelling place for the Fairy Queen Titania, inspired by his small daughter Guendolen's imagination. The Palace, which includes more than 3,000 pieces of miniature furniture and treasures, took almost 30 years to complete and was officially inaugurated by Queen Mary in 1922. It was exhibited throughout the world and raised the equivalent of 60 million danish kroner for the benefit of deprived and handicapped children, before it was sold by Guendolen in the late 60's. As her father, she had a good heart too and the entire sales of the palace was donated to a children's home. Today the palace can be visited at Egeskov castle in Denmark.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This plump turkey sitting on a platter of figs, apples and berries, hails from the kitchen of artist Kiva Atkinson. The rest of the sumptuous feast consists of butternut squash soup, mashed potatoes and maple glazed mixed squash, the chestnut/cranberry dressing, and the cutest, sweetest pumpkin pie decorated with pastry leaves!

For more wonderful minis by Kiva Atkinson, visit:
artist's website: http://www.kivasminiatures.com
eBay site: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZjklr4

Betsy Niederer on the Martha Stewart Show

If you have missed the episode of the Martha Stewart show where mini food artist Betsy Niederer appears and shows you how to make the wonderful Christmas cookie ornaments, here is the link to watch it online: http://tinyurl.com/68puex

Betsy Niederer links:
website: http://www.angelfire.com/art2/smallstuff
CDHM site: http://www.cdhm.org/user/kachookie
eBay: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkachookie
blog: http://kachookie.mycdhm.com

The City Club ~ Robin Carey

This is the City Club! It was the first of the town house, row houses, and sits on the same block as the Bed & Breakfast hotel. The City Club is host to four different meetings of the finer pursuits in life.


On the first floor is the Ladies Literary Society. The members are currently discussing and reading copies of my two favorite books. The first, a novel entitled… The Ladies of the Club" by Helen Hooven Stantmyer: a 1176 page story of women’s lives in the aftermath of the Civil War. She wrote this book at the age of 88. The second book, "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" is a simple collection of personal thoughts, poems and observations of Edith Holden. Edith died at 49 years of age, when she accidentally lost her balance and drowned in the Thames River, reaching to pick flowers from a chestnut tree.


On the second floor is the Music Club. A mix of string and vocal is being performed today. A few members are missing as many also perform professionally, and scheduling overlaps often occur.


On the third floor are the public facilities, and enjoying themselves immensely are the members of the wine and cigar aficionados. This club always has a good turnout for their meetings. This club being of course, for male members only.


The Art Club prefers the tower room and the open inspiration of the city at its feet atop the roof. Many mediums are found in use for this creative and talented group. Clay sculpting, oil and water color painting are all found in use today.

~ Robin Carey

Miniature Memories in Charleston, SC

I was privileged to visit Miniature Memories in Charleston, SC while visiting for the weekend with friends recently. Not only is it jam-packed with every conceivable miniature item but many are artisan quality and by local artisans. And in the back is a Miniature Museum featuring room boxes by many nationally and internationally known miniature artisans. Above is Barnabus Collins of Collinwood by Andrea Ledford. Next is a Christmas room box by Brooke Tucker.


The following one is Robert E. Lee's living room by Tony Jones, and the last is Scrooge and the ghost of Jacob Marley created by Andrea and Steven Ledford. You can visit their website here: http://www.prophouse2000.com/miniatures.html.



And this is the interior of the shop as you go in--case after case of miniatures, Christmas trees decorated beyond belief, dollhouses of every shape and description and then a museum in the back. I was with two friends who aren't miniaturists and we were having a girls weekend but even they were in awe and marveling at everything! I wanted to live there. it's really a good thing I'm about four hours away in the Upstate of SC or I'd be poorer than I currently am! You can see their website here and they welcome people calling to see what's in stock and they will gladly ship: http://www.memrees.com.


And lastly, I'd like to thank Smehreen for inviting me to contribute. I am passionate about miniatures and hope to find my niche in that realm one day. You can visit me at Mini Leaps and Bounds and please leave a comment to let me know you've been to 'see' me!