Autumn Days

Posted on 5:41pm Friday 28th Sep 2012

Well, it must be officially Autumn. Days are drawing in earlier, leaves are starting to drop, and there's a definite nip in the air. The grass is jewelled with dew drops in the morning, and the smell of barbeques in the evening has been replaced with core-warming soups and bacon sandwiches.

This picture was taken a couple of days ago from outside the Magpies Miniatures HQ. Those aren't leaves on the upper branches, but hundreds of birds, each chirping away. Cumbria really is a lovely little corner of the world, if a little damp. But hey, those lakes in the Lake District weren't made from sunshine- so if you can't beat the weather, join it!

A favourite wet weather day pastime in our household is something my 3 year old refers to as "welly walks". This is the kind of activity us "grown-ups" love as we get to behave like a 3 year old too. There's no age restrictions, and even though passers-by may look at you like you're crazy, I know they'd jump at the opportunity to have as much fun too!

So why let the seasonal changes stop there, how about incorporating them into your doll house world too. Here at Magpies Miniatures in our ONLINE SHOP, you will find a huge collection of products to match any season.

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For only £3.50, you can pick up two pairs of Wellington boots- one pair black, the other green, and both made from rubber! Prop them up at the front door along with a rain mac and umbrella, and anyone can see you're set for the wet season. Also a perfect addition to any shed, allotment, garden or even farm scene. Where do you keep your wellies?

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 Any hallway wouldn't be complete without somewhere to keep your soggy umbrella too, and as luck would have it, we have this covered too! This wonderful umbrella stand comes complete with black umbrella, walking stick and cane. The level of detail on this piece is simply wonderful, and is a popular choice with many of our customers too. This particular 4 piece set costs only £9.85, although we have other umbrellas and stands starting at only £1.27, pick up a rainy day bargain while you can!

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Drip, drip, drip... What to do with those drips? Fix the leak? Or carry on snuggling under the blanket with a nice Hot Chocolate, blazing fire, and X-Factor, and let a good old bucket do the hard work?
I know which option I'm taking, and for anyone on a similar wavelength, here's a nice little selection of drip-catchers for you to choose from. Also fabulous for general garden diggery, and Halloween Apple Bobbing!

Remember, everything is available from us in our SHOP, and if you can't find it (we're going to be working on that Search Feature(!) ) just drop us a line and we'll point you in the right direction.
That's all for now folks. Stay safe, keep well, and stay dry!

I'm going to leave you with my favourite Autumn song I used to sing in Primary school... Wonderful choice of lyrical goodness. Enjoy.

- Niccy

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Dolls House Miniatures: Bargain Boxes

If you've checked into the New Arrivals page within the last couple of hours, you will have noticed the Bargain Boxes. These are SPECIAL PURCHASE collections of items, seperated into room categories for easy shopping. Each Bargain Box contains an array of accessories from the relevant category, For Example, Looking at one of the Garden Bargain Boxes, you will find accessories such as Miniature Plant Pots, Flowers, Furniture, Foliage, Hosepipes, Water Pumps etc etc.

The contents of each Bargain Box varies, and often includes more than is shown in the photographs, so be sure to check the listing on each page.

Currently listed are Garden Bargain Boxes, Music Room, Toy Shop / Christmas Workshop, and a Haberdashery selection.

Upcoming in the next few days will be Kitchens, Bathroom, Bedroom, and some clearance furniture.

Snap up a bargain before it's too late, Head on over to NEW ARRIVALS now!

War Years : Dolls house Miniatures - Magpies Miniatures

In our previous Blog Post we looked at some pinnacle periods in British history,which people often choose to theme their dolls houses, including Georgian, and Victorian. In this post we're going to look at the period between 1914-1945..ish. This covers both World War I, and World War II, but it took many years for life to resume to 'normal' afterwards, so 1945 isn't considered a specific cut off date.
Now there's so much to look at when decorating and using Miniatures for War periods. Style of furnishings of course is important to portray the right era, as are accessories. But how about the setting? Are you looking to furnish your whole house this way, or are you looking for a side-line project?

In British culture, children are taught about the World Wars from a young age in school- History is important in our education. I recall when I was of Junior School age (somewhere between 7 and 11) learning all about air-raid shelters, or Anderson shelters. I also vaguely recall making a scale model of an Anderson shelter using corrugated cardboard and papier-mache. While reminiscing, and scouring Google at the same time, I came across this website: Collectors Club of Great Britain which has step by step instructions on how to create an Anderson shelter from .... (I love this)... a Baked Beans Can! How fantastic! Much better than the model we made back in school, and I'd love the opportunity to be able to decorate it with dolls house accessories to really make it come to life.
Let's have a little look at some of the War Years accessories we stock here at Magpies Miniatures.

Rationing was an important part of War Time life, not only in the UK, but across other countries too. My historical knowledge is somewhat limited to British history, and you may like to verify information with other sources if your dolls houses are based on another cultural background. I believe it would be advantageous to look up information about rationing, as it will tell you a lot about the foods that were and were not available, and same applies for materials- so may change your opinion on what fabrics and clothes you were going to use in your scene. Wikipedia has some really useful information, and much more than I can write here: Wikipedia on British War Time Rationing .

You may note in Wikipedia's article, that it wasn't just food that was rationed in the War Years, but clothing too. Clothes became much more basic, no laces and frills, because this meant they used more material. If you find it difficult to find dolls which fit this description, and don't come with detailed clothing- did you know here at Magpies Miniatures we stock a  range of 'Undressed Dolls' for your Dolls' Houses, so you can find, or even make clothes to suit your particular style or era.



War Gardens, or Victory gardens were also commonplace in War Time Britain. These were plots of land where vegetables were grown to ease the pressure on the food supplies. They were created in any free space, public and private, to keep supplies up. Families often used the land surrounding their Anderson shelters to make their victory Garden, so if you like the idea of creating one of these shelters, think how you could use the space above and below.
Don't forget we have a wonderful range of scale garden miniatures here, including plants, vegetables, garden tools and watering cans, even wellington boots. Plenty of supplies to create a wonderful Victory garden in miniature!
If you'd like your Anderson shelter to have a worn and weathered look, have a look at our 'Scenic Rust' product. It makes the new look old, and is easy to apply to any surface which is considered 'paintable'. Opens up a new window of opportunities and special effects to the miniatures we stock here.

Hope this has provoke a couple of thoughts and helped to inspired you. There is much more I could go in to, but the best way to learn is to read, and have a browse of the website to see what wonders we have to help your scenes come along.

Come back soon for more blog updates

- Mandy & Niccy @ www.magpies-miniatures.net

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Dolls Houses in History - Part 1 - Magpies-Miniatures.net

A Historical Introduction

Posted on 5:33pm Thursday 30th Aug 2012

You can't have a dolls house without some dolls.Well, you COULD, but it may seem a little incomplete. So I think it's time I introduce you to a few of our little friends down here at Magpies-Miniatures.net
We have many dolls available, including Ceramic and Poseable dolls, and resin figures. The designs cover a wide range of eras to suit various scenes. For those of you out there who are interested in recreating Tudor, Georgian, or Victorian dollhouse scenes, then this blog post is for you.... (Now's the time to get yourself a good cup of tea, and relax before scrolling down.)

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Tudor 1485-1603
The Tudor period is an era which if often referred to in schools in the UK, and I recall being taught about the Tudors and Stewarts when I was about 8 years old in school, a main reason fir this is the focus on a particular King. Who knows the rhyme..."divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived"? This, of course, refers to the six wives of Henry III, who was King from 1509-1547, the middle of the 'Tudor Age'.
This time period was one of ill-health and poverty, with recurring outbreaks of the Black Death hitting the UK, with rats spreading infection. People often lived in small homes, often comprising of only one or two rooms. Stools were seen more often in homes, as opposed to chairs, and houses often had thatched roofs with wooden, hand cut beams. The outside of houses were painted with limewash, which gave them their white colour. The wood was left natural- the black and white look we know now as being "Tudor Style" was actually a Victorian addition- the Victorians treated  the wood with a black tar to prevent rotting, which gave them the darkened colour. Glass was first used for windows in Tudor times, but was very expensive, so more poverty stricken households often used cloth, or even paper. Chimneys, again were for the wealthy, and poorer households would have a simple hole in the roof to let the smoke escape. Wealth was often shown through the use of glass in the design and build of the house.
Tudor Past times include watching plays, as Shakespeare was an aspiring playwright of the time, and the Globe Theatre was built in 1599. Other pasttimes include a type of football game, with the rich enjoying jousting and fencing games.
Fashion for the rich meant detailed and ornate clothing, as clothes were a menas of expressing wealth. Ladies wore tightly fitting corsets, and padded skirts with long gowns to cover. Men would be seen wearing silk shirts with frilled detailing at the necks and wrists, hose, and  a doublet. 'Fashion' for the poor meant simple, loose-fitting clothes made from wool cloth- trousers, tunics, and floor length dresses.

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Georgian 1714-1830
The Georgian period was an age of change in Britain, as it saw the Industrial Revolution. If any of you saw the Openining Ceremony for the Olympic Games, London 2012, you would have seen an insight into this time.
This era saw more defined boundaries between classes, a complete change in landscape and architechure
as cities were revolutionied for factories and their workers. Georgian fashion was exaggerated with full length skirts, bows and frills, with ladies hair being pinned up high. Corsets were still a must for the ladies. Men often donned the 'Frock Coat'. This was tight fitting on the arms and torso, and  flared out at the bottom. Waistcoats were also popular, as were cravats.
Houses ranged in styles, including huge mansions for the wealthy, and terraced homes for the working class. Simplicity, symmetry, and solidity were the important elements in British Georgian architecture.

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Victorian 1837-1901
The Victorian and Georgian periods are very close in terms of time, and fashions. Many people choose to decorate their dollhouse in a Victorian fashion, as it is considered to be quintessentially 'British'. It is a period which is focused on by fimmakers, authors and directors. Think Oliver Twist, and Charles Dickens and you can't go far wrong.

The Victorian period saw many major developments that made travel, communications and trade easier. The railways allowed people to travel cheaply and rapidly, opening up new possibilities for both rich and poor. The postal service expanded after the introduction of the 'Penny Post'.

Many of the things we take for granted today, such as photography, telephones, electric light bulbs and cars were invented during this era. In Fact, rather than list them all- have a listen to this...

so don't be putting teddy bears in your Victorian house if you want to make them authentic!!
As far as dolls go, Victorians (along with modern day) are probably our most catered for and most wanted here at Magpies Miniatures, which means we have a really lovely collection! Head on over to THE DOLLS CATEGORY to see the full range.

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As there is still so much to cover, I will return with another blog tomorrow looking at the War Years up to modern day, so please come back again soon to see what other little treasures we have to show you. I can assure you you won't be disappointed.

- Mandy & Niccy @ www.magpies-miniatures.net

Want to keep updated on latest arrivals and news at Magpies Miniatures?

Keep coming back to the blog, checking in at the NEW ARRIVALS page,

and give us a 'like' on Facebook by following the link below. Looking forward to seeing you soon!