Dollhouse Book Reviews

[havanaholly]

Karin, I gave away all but three of my Jean Nisbett books (at one time I had them all, begun when I was a beginner). They are good introductions to what someone can do in mini, but once you get into making and building more and more of your own items the books are less useful, as you find others more specific to what you want.

[WyckedWood]

She was so cut and dry about what should or should not belong in a specific room, it seems to take all the fun out of it. Very odd book to me, just not at all what I was expecting. I prefer DH books written by American authors, for one thing I understand what all of the supplies are, and where to purchase them.

[havanaholly]

You want delightful miniature-making books by English authors? You NEED to "discover" Patricia King!

[WyckedWood]

I have her fireplace book, I do really like it. It gets the imagination going for sure. Although thanks to her I have a big Rubbermaid full of cast off items like broken cameras and perfume bottle tops. If anyone finds that and opens it they would think I had lost my mind lol

[Dalesq]

I have her fireplace book, I do really like it. It gets the imagination going for sure. Although thanks to her I have a big Rubbermaid full of cast off items like broken cameras and perfume bottle tops. If anyone finds that and opens it they would think I had lost my mind lol

After finding little jars full of miscellaneous "stuff" my sweet hubby now just hands me things before throwing them out saying "thought you might be able to use this for something."

[WyckedWood]

Haha...sounds like you married one of the good ones;-)

[Blondie]

I have a great book about the history of dollhouses. It was first published in 1953 and the one I have is an updated version from 1965. The old language is very "flowery," which makes the book very charming. It's NOT a tutorial book -- it's a history book -- but it does have a healthy dose of black-and-white photographs of really old houses. I got it off amazon marketplace for $2. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but what I have read covers a wide variety of times, styles, and interesting tidbits. I really like it!

A History of Dolls' Houses by Flora Gill Jacobs

[WyckedWood]

@ Blondie, that sounds like a neat book, I put it on my wish list. Great price too.

[WyckedWood]

Since my last review was more of a rant...I wanted to do a positive review of a book that is one of my favorites. Le Grand Livre De La Maison Miniature by Christina Lea Frisoni. I know it has already been discussed here but I wanted to give my two cents. This is a large beautifully made book with 191 pages of gorgeousness. The blank pages are done with black and white floral designs...so even the pages that aren't part of the main content of the book are pretty. Its written in French...however a picture is worth a thousand words in any language. I would buy this book again if it were reprinted in English...but if you wanted to do any of the many tutorials (furniture, light fixtures, buildings, flowers, etc...) you could always try using an online translator. Her style is shabby chic meets farmhouse meets French chateau. She doesn't have a lot of expensive looking accessories, but they are beautiful and recognizable pieces from places like miniatures.com...giving the feeling that these looks are achievable for the average person on a budget. She takes everyday light fixtures for example and paints them,etc...to make them special. The few drawbacks...the price, obviously. I bought mine from Canada amazon and saved a little. But as much inspiration as Ive gotten from this book and pleasure at seeing the beautiful rooms, it was well worth the price to me. The only other criticism I have is that there is a tendency (just like in better homes and gardens décor books)to repeat a picture from slightly different angles. For instance the picture on the front cover occurs at least 4 times in the text, and there are several others that also repeat often, but when they repeat its mostly because she is showing how to achieve the look...so its not really too gratuitous. I included a picture to show how large and wonderful the pictures in the book are, there are pages and pages full of these full size, full page photos. In short: HIGHLY RECOMMEND:-) 4 out of 5 stars only because I cant read a word of it LOL.

[-defunct account-]

4 out of 5 stars only because I cant read a word of it LOL.

Hehe. If you get really curious about something in particular you can always use Google Translate to decipher it. The translation is pretty sad, but usually gives the gist of the sentence. If we ever meet in person, bring your book I'll read it to you

[WyckedWood]

Thanks April, I will take you up on that for sure! :-) I took two years of French in high school but I don't remember any of the little I payed attention to lol...this book is almost worth trying to at least learn to READ French if not speak it:)

I did try the google translater for the flowers but,youre right its slow going and you still have to puzzle out what is (exactly) meant even after the translation.

[beyondbaffled]

I recently bought an interesting book from ebay. I haven't had time to read it all yet, but I definitely like it so far. I got it mainly for the high-rise apartment plans. Still haven't come across my dream dollhouse plans, Toadstool Studios #786, but this gives me something to dream about in the meantime. It includes detailed drawings of the houses and measurements. Now I just need lots of time and money!!! I tried to upload a photo of the cover to this post, but that forum feature has never worked for me. I can add a photo to my gallery if anyone wants to see it.

----------------------------------

Make Your Own Dollhouses

by: Richard Cummings

copyright 1978

Contents:

Basic House - two stories, six rooms, pasteboard shell. Requires simple tools and basic skills. House opens at rear.

Cape Cod - two stories, four rooms, plywood shell. Requires tools found in most households. Opens at the front and features storage-box base. Can be electrified

Colonial - two stories and attic, five large rooms, plywood shell. Requires some special tools and skills; detailed instructions are given. Features attic dormers, large chimney, folding stairway, front steps with flower boxes. Chapter contains explanation of wiring and lightning systems. House opens at rear.

High-Rise - apartment building with eight apartments, two per floor, with lobby and penthouse. Requires some special tools and more advanced skills. Plywood shell, open on two sides. Features plate-glass windows and operating elevator. Can be electrified.

Victorian - two stories, eight rooms and attic. Plywood shell opens at rear. Requires special tools and more advanced skills. Features tower, balcony, gingerbread woodwork.

-----------------------------------------

There are so many things that I can't wait to try. There are instructions for building doors, windows, stairs - including the foldy attic kind, dormer windows (which is a question I posted about recently!), how to build your own wiring system, and basically every other dollhouse part that I've ever wanted to make. I think I really need to invest in some sort of craft saw though. So far I've been cutting everything by hand :/

[havanaholly]

I found this photo on adlibris:

[beyondbaffled]

That's it! Thanks Holly! That cover looks better than mine, and the original owner of my book signed their name to the inside cover, but its nice to think that they passed it along for someone else to get good use out of it! I'm sure I'll be making my own notations before long!

[CheckMouse]

HBS just had a sale on items they are discontinuing and I bought a book I've been wanting for a long time: Dolls' House Shops, Cafés, & Restaurants. By Jean Nisbett. I seem to gravitate to shops and stores and public buildings and I've wanted this book for ages. It's 152 pages, (8.5" x 11") and is full of pictures and diagrams and instructions. It shows different period-style shops: Medieval, Tudor, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian, Modern Times, and a General Store. Since I have a Garden Bistro I'm eager to see how I can improve and expand it.

[WyckedWood]

I found a great deal on a grouping (lot) of 12 dollhouse books on ebay. I had one of them already...but there is one rare wicker book and a dollhouse quilt book that are worth the price of all (to me). Cant wait to get them I love getting a book in the mail...so fun to sit down with a cup of tea and a new dollhouse book...you never know what new interest you might discover..

[WyckedWood]

You mean her first book, Making Miniature Food and Market Stalls? I used it to make cabbages, cauliflower and pumpkins that grow in my Coventry Cottage's garden. I like that even though she gives the approximate proportions of clay colors, she advises to get the RL veggie' food you want to reproduce in mini, to get it "right".

I thought I'd do a quick review of the pile of thin paperback books and booklets I've acquired in my pursuit of mini-making references.

As mini of us know, Dover Publiications puts out books of 1:12 wallpapers and stained glass windows, but didja also know that there are other 1:12 scale books of dh porjects? The four that I have are

Miniature Iron-On Transfer Patterns for Dollhouses, Dolls and Small Projects by Rita Weiss and Frank Fontana; I did the heart & leaf wreath quilt top and the lily-of-the-valley chair seats for the Cambridge.

Miniature Needlepoint Rugs for Dollhouses by Susan McBaine has charts that make up to the finished size using #18 canvas and single-ply persian tapestry wool yarn, and include two animal print rugs.

Miniature Macrame for Your Dollhouse by Marjorie Ames specifies the size cord to use for each project to turn out in scale correctly. All the traditional macrame techniques are nicely diagrammed in the front part of this book.

Dollhouse Furnishings for the Bedroom & Bath by Shep Stadtman includes the patterns for bedspreads, shower curtains and simple furniture to dress up.I have been fortunate to run across a number of booklets in my travels, published at different times as Craft Publications, Inc and Diminutiques and even, at one point, by Plaid; also a few other publishers.

Basic Federal Furniture: volume 9 by Helen Dorsett includes plans and directions for building 20 different pieces of Federal furniture from articles that originally appeared in The Scale Cabinetmaker.

Baskets in Miniature by Grace C. Kabel aren't all in 1:12 scale, but using smaller diameter materials might give smaller results; this is the Plaid publication.

I have two Diminutiques publications, Handcrafting furniture in miniature, by Jean Dickey. One has full-sized patterns to make furniture for the living room, dining room and bedroom, and covers decorative techniques of metallic waxes, tole painting, gold leaf and decoupage. The second one is titled Volume II: Furniture for the Living Room and contains patterns for an Empire sofa, a melodeon, a curio and other items of furniture necessary for furnishing a mid-to-late Victorian parlor.

Amongst the Craft Publications booklets I have include

The Victorian Parlor: Interior Trim Carpentry in Miniature by Margaret M. Leonard. This was the very first booklet I ran across, given me by a friend of ours for whom I made my first "scratch" kitchen table with working drawer. In addition to an ornate fireplace with mirror overmantel she shows how to use millwork trim (from Northeastern Wood products) for ready-made Houseworks windows & doors, but if you can figure out how to make your own the directions will work.

Trim Carpentry in Miniature by Margaret M. Leonard is the book that shows you how to make YOUR OWN working sash windows, panelled doors, STAIRS and casings for everything!!! IMO it makes up for the frustrations I felt with her prior booklet.

Bread Dough Fruits & Vegetables by Barbara Meyer uses the white bread, white glue & glycerin recipe to make all sorts of food items, with very clear drawings and recipes for RL food (inspiration, I suppose?).

A Craft Publications, Inc, booklet I have by Jean Dickey is How to Light a Doll House and is a general guide to round-wire lighting techniques for roomboxes & dhs.

Boynton & Associates, Inc, put out some booklets, and of those I have

Meyer's Florist Shoppe by (who else?) Barbara Meyer adds lemon (or lime) juice to her bread dough recipe and makes all kinds of gorgeous flowers & plants (no recipes this time).

Period Floral Designs in Miniature by Donna Henricks, Judy Otto and Marge Shapler describe how to make 20 floral arrangements from six different historical periods, and uses bread dough, papers and polyclay to make the flowers.

Mini Dressings for Mini Rooms, volume II by Jackie Stephens has full-sized patterns and directions to make six set, two each for kitchens, dining rooms and patios.

Granny's Kitchen by everybody's favorite how-to miniaturist, Joann Swanson is NOT a book of furniture patterns; instead, it's projects to make all the kitchen gear; pudding pan, colander, baking pans, rolling pin, and all that gadgetry we sho love to putter in the kitchen find so useful; Stove necessaries like a tea kettle & coffe pot, among others; sink items like a dishpan & dish mop, etc; cleaning supplies that include a mop & bucket, etc; andlaundry items like an ironing board & wash tub, etc.

Contemporary Living by Helen Ruthberg (how could I resist?) was a Nutshell News Plans booklet published by Boynton includes directions for making & upholstering a two-piece sectional love seat and making the tables and lamp.

I have two of the Houseworks' 1" to 1' Dollhouse Plan Books. One is Townsend Towers and the other is Les Shoppes and both are by Garth Close; I have not built either one. Yet.

Finally I ran across Doll Costume Design (for female dolls) and Tailloring for the Male Doll by Ferbie Fox Claudon. The title stated it was for 1/2" scale dolls, but it's actually a sketchbook for designing clothes, and the templates are 1:12 scale.

Holly, I thought you might be interested to know that Joann Swansons book Grannys Kitchen is currently available on amazon for the low price of $2474,88. Maybe you could sell your copy and take a vacation to Paris :-)

[WyckedWood]

Before anyone goes out and spends the rent money on this rare book...I was just checking out Joanns blog (which Im surprised doesn't get mentioned more) and she has some projects from her kitchen book in it http://www.joannswansondiyminiatures.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-morning.html#comment-form

[mygrommi]

I'm interested in comments/review on ABCs of Dollhouse Finishing by Barbara Warner (the updated version published in 2007).

Thank you

Renea

[lauker]

I just reviewed Microcrafts by Margaret McGuire et al. on my blog (here is the link: http://lindasminis.blogspot.com/2013/05/book-review-and-owls.html). I found it very fun, while not necessarily geared toward miniaturists, but definitely adaptable for our hobby). More details are given if you click on the link. ;)

[lauker]

LOL I have that book too...hmmmm. ;)

Holly, I thought you might be interested to know that Joann Swansons book Grannys Kitchen is currently available on amazon for the low price of $2474,88. Maybe you could sell your copy and take a vacation to Paris :-)

[WyckedWood]

Lol, and it's not just amazon, everywhere I looked for it, if they had a copy it was at least 1000.

[WyckedWood]

Ranea that is a book that I don't have, but if you do buy it,let us know how you liked it :-)

I thought I would review one of my favorites. Its called Doll Kitchens 1800-1980 by Eva Stille. This book doesn't come up if you do a search on amazon for "dollhouse miniatures" ...its not specific to 1:12, but is such a neat book the way it goes into the history of the kitchens and all of the items in them. I have a lot more respect and awe for those old pieces of tin dollhouse items we see on ebay, that are just slightly out of scale,old and usually expensive. Now I realize that its a miracle they have survived at all and how treasured they would have been to the lucky little girls who owned them.

Lots of inspiration in the many photos for things we could make ourselves, although there are no how to projects. I made the broom holder in the seahags kitchen inspired by one that I had seen in this book. Many photos with different types of hutches that would be interesting to replicate if you are into furniture making. A nice substantial soft cover book (200 pages), full of info, history and color photos. Of all the books I have, I would place it in my top 4 or 5 for just pleasant reading and inspiration, especially if you love to decorate the kitchen area of your dollhouse :-)

[WyckedWood]

The Decorated Dollhouse by Jessica Ridley. Now for one of my 5 least favorite books. This one is (in my opinion) a 2 star. Jessica is the great granddaughter of the man who designed Queen Marys Dollhouse. If she weren't the great granddaughter of the man who designed Queen Marys dollhouse would she have been given this book deal ? No. The book is large has lots of photos and instruction...she is a painter so the book covers a lot of paint finishes. There are some decent projects, the sea shell grotto is my favorite....and there are always things from every book to learn and take in. The work is just a bit amateurish for what I would expect...but that's just my opinion. Ya, we can all make really clumsy looking hats,or fill a room with oversized items, but then can we write about how we did it and have the work published in a huge dollhouse book? No.

This is my main beef with this book:

Do not buy it because you want to learn how to make the chandelier on the front cover. (Like I did.) Why in the world would you expect to be given instruction about something that is strategically placed on the front cover? I'll save you the trouble.

"The chandelier is made by threading beads onto a flower wire frame." that's it...that's all of the instruction for the chandelier...one sentence.

The nicest thing I can say about the book, is that it is large and has nice big color pictures.

[-defunct account-]

The Decorated Dollhouse by Jessica Ridley was the first dollhouse book I had, originally published in 1997. I'm not disagreeing with Karin on any points, but I will say the internet was not what it is now at that point. Today, there is no way that would be published, the one liner tips and tricks are easily accessible to a new miniaturist online, usually accompanied by detailed photos and step by step instructions. Her family name probably didn't hurt for getting published either.

It's probably still a nice book for a newcomer, but certainly not for a veteran like Karin ;) I bought about a year ago through goodwill for under $5, mostly for nostalgia reasons and to add to my dh book collection (I realize half the reason I like it is due to the nostalgia factor on my part). It does have couple of very pretty rooms to look at.