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Why I needed a japanese house


Deb

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I finished the Samurai's Summer House (bashed Coventry Cottage) tonight and had that special fun of putting a new house in it's permanent space. Here is it in our den:

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<giggling> Can you see why I felt such an urgent need to make a japanese house?

If you want to see eye candy of the whole house, interior and the formal garden (my first total landscaping!), the pics are in my Samurai's Summer House gallery here

If you're interested in the building process and tutorials for the landscaping, it's in my Coventry blog here (tutorials for the other asian minis are here )

<yawning> I'm heading to bed now. I hit one of those totally obsessive modes on Friday night when I saw that the house was almost done, so I fell into the zone and didn't stop for much of anything till tonight.

Deb <sleepy, but happy>

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all I can say is WOW.......WOW!

you have such talent!!!!

the house goes great in your den!!

so what is next for you??

cannot wait to see what you come up with next!

oh btw if your house ever needs a vacation you could always send it to me!

lol

nutti :)

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Deb, I LOVE it!! You did a wonderful Job on this. My favorite movies are "the Last Samurai" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" and my mother has Japanese furniture with seashell painted Geisha all over it. I am trying to get her to give me her set because she is so done with it (She buys new furniture like every 2 - 3 years) :) .

OOHH OHH OOHHH I Just LOVE it!!!

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Wow Deb!

It looks fantastic - From the house construction to the garden to the interior furnishings it's Really Beautiful!! What a perfect little house! I hope if there is a miniature show in your area you get to go and display that there - it's too awesome not to show off!

David

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After reading her report on the Chicago show in Small Stuff Digest I emailed Alice Zinn suggesting she check out your blog. She's busier than a one-handed paperhanger trying to fill orders & prep for the next show, but I forwarded her the link to your gallery pictures.

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WOW!!!! The house turned out perfectly! Who'd a thunk a Coventry was really a Japanese house in disguise?

The landscape really adds a lot to it.... so tranquil....

And David's right. It should be in a show.

Congrats on a job well done!

Carol

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Thanks guys! <blushing> I love making minis, but I *really* love hanging out with other people who share the same enthusiasm and get as excited about the little things in life as I do. <group hug>

my mother has Japanese furniture with seashell painted Geisha all over it. I am trying to get her to give me her set because she is so done with it (She buys new furniture like every 2 - 3 years) :lol: .

OOHH OHH OOHHH I Just LOVE it!!!

I've seen that furniture style that your mother has and I don't blame you for trying to convince her to pass it on to you. Bribe her with designer shoes if you have to!! :) My favorite oriental store has a gorgeous dining room set with tinted mother of pearl inset that I pet whenever I'm in there. I settled for a set of wall panels of mother of pearl geisha instead. :)

Wow Deb!

I hope if there is a miniature show in your area you get to go and display that there - it's too awesome not to show off!

David

I'm not sure about any mini shows around here, but I think that I might just go ahead and submit it to DH magazine. Since some of the landscaping ideas were inspired by their articles, I thought they might be interested in seeing it. I've got to give it some thought about how to go about submitting it tho. I've never done anything like that before.

it is so completely different from anything I imagined a Coventry Cottage being.

That's got to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the Coventry! It's such an adaptable little house that it's like a blank canvas. Each person who puts their hands on one can see something totally different in it and that sweet little house just completely gives itself over wholeheartedly to the vision. I've been totally blown away with the individual interpretations of this house on the building team. Each one is so completely different and no matter what the style might be, they're each totally stunning. Of the houses I've built so far, the Coventry is the one that I'd want to build repeatedly just because I think it would turn out different each time.

The landscape really adds a lot to it.... so tranquil....

Carol

<smiling happily> I'm so glad to hear that, because that was my ultimate goal. I wanted a garden that conveyed a cool and quiet and peaceful retreat.........something that would almost make you feel the dew on your feet and smell the loam. (okay, so I'm still smelling the coffee, but you get the idea) I want to look at it on a hot summer day and feel refreshed.

Wanna know the really fun part of the landscaping? (besides making the rock walls that is) Using the rolling pin to tamp down the dirt and moss! I'm serious!!! Give it a try sometime and you'll see! I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with that idea in the first place when I was trying to figure out how to mash down the coffee and turf to make it stick, but you should have seen the look on Bruce's face when I went running up the stairs like a woman on a mission and then came blazing back down a few minutes later with a rolling pin in my hands and giggling like a maniac. He didn't say anything, but I noticed that he made sure the cat was in the family room with him for awhile after that.

Deb, I PM'd you Alice's comments about your house she sent in reply to my forwarding your link.

<gasping> OMG! She liked it!! Wooooooohooooooooooo!! Holly, if you could see me now, I'm spinning around in circles like one foot is nailed to the floor! After you told me about Alice's work, I checked out her webshots and she's just incredible! Her asian minis are just breathtaking and so inspiring. Holly, I don't know how to say thank you for sending her the link to my pics and for passing along her feedback. You just don't know how much that has encouraged me and how good it makes me feel!

Deb

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Deb, you did a wonderful job on the Coventry. It is an amazing transformation. Every detail is exactly right, so Japanese. The landscaping looks great too, the tree is most interesting, and the essence of the peaceful garden come through.

Great Job!!

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The landscaping looks great too, the tree is most interesting, and the essence of the peaceful garden come through.

Great Job!!

The tree interests me too. I read through your blog that you had found this tree, but did you do anything to the tree. It looks like it is wrapped in tape and then painted. Were the leafed branches already attached or did you do anything to it, or was it like this when you bought it?

-Susanne

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The tree interests me too. I read through your blog that you had found this tree, but did you do anything to the tree. It looks like it is wrapped in tape and then painted. Were the leafed branches already attached or did you do anything to it, or was it like this when you bought it?

-Susanne

The tree is just the way it was right out of the box. All I had to do was fluff up the leaves and branches a little bit, then build the "planter" for it to stand in. The trunk and branches appear to be tape wrapped wire with the fiber optics running thru them. I was thrilled with it because it does look so realistic. I was so happy with it that I ran back over to Big Lots and bought the only other one they had in stock to use on another house. Wanna know the best part? They were only $7 each.

Deb

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The tree is just the way it was right out of the box. All I had to do was fluff up the leaves and branches a little bit, then build the "planter" for it to stand in. The trunk and branches appear to be tape wrapped wire with the fiber optics running thru them. I was thrilled with it because it does look so realistic. I was so happy with it that I ran back over to Big Lots and bought the only other one they had in stock to use on another house. Wanna know the best part? They were only $7 each.

Deb

I have one, I think I got it a couple years ago at Walmart. Now it will have to come off the knickknack shelf and become part of a landscape. LOL It also has a power source that probably could be recycled to be used to light something up. Oh I haven't got time to think of all the possible uses now--got to focus on finishing the Cottage. LOL

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