Storing My Collection

 Dear all, 

It has been a long time since I updated my blog but here I am with something a little different. I have not bought any new homes since I bought highfields farm. At the moment the only house on my radar is Cedar terrace. It's inexpensive and also big enough to fit a decent size family in there. I like how it has large rooms and I have seen a particularly interesting blog post about how it looks repainted, I have attached it below. 

https://lilacsandlittles.wordpress.com/2024/01/15/the-buckleys-expand-new-house-and-new-babies/

Does her house not look amazing! It has inspired me to try it some day. 

So while I have not bought a house, I did buy something that I can display my collection in. I bought a billy bookshelf from Ikea, as they are cheap and easy to put up. 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/billy-bookcase-white-50263838/

I don't have much room at the moment for a bigger display shelf. One day I would love one that is a cupboard with a glass front to keep the dust out. As this shelf unit is so small it's manageable to take all of my things out of it and then clean it. I have been doing so once a month and it hasn't been that arduous. 

I have a little scene on each shelf which I wanted to share for my post! 

The first is my pizzeria. I decorated this original Tomy building which was once the cottage hospital. Now Frasier Chocolate and Kenneth Furbanks run it as a stone baked pizza place. I painted the inside a nice green and aged the building a lot. Now it looks like it's been there for years! Outside there is an ornate table and chairs for those who have bought pizzas, the Beamans have done just that today. 

Elsie is selling her ice cream from her bike. Seems that's what the Beaman children are more interested in. For Mortimer and Ruth it is time for lunch as well. They have just picked up their order. 

Darcy is also there, he seems to be out seeing what his customers need. He is the village farmer and sometimes take orders himself when he feels like walking. His close friend Ian Wensley does this for him normally. 

Next down we have a cottage which I have shown decorated already. I often swap round who is living where so I can design new houses. Sometimes I will redecorate but often I just enjoy placing new furniture in there. At the moment the Brightfield Goats are living there. In my mind there are a row of cottages and this is just one of the homes. Paul and Ester are enjoying some freshly brewed coffee. Their daughter Pepper is behind them. Upstairs Valentine has her friend round for play time. Her friend's name is Evie. 

Paul is the village postman and has just finished his morning rounds. He loves nothing more than finishing all that walking and coming home to his wife and some coffee. 

They have their little kitchen to the side. Ester has baked some bread for their lunch and it seems she has also baked some buns!

As you can see, they are really big tea and coffee fans. Ester also loves her plants, she collects them. 

Outside their cottage is Ron riding his bike. His parents are also with him, perhaps they are going to the park? The sheep family are the most recent family I have purchased and I love their new outfits. They look so summery and happy. 

Such sweet little faces!

The next shelf down has the Blackcurrant Cafe. This is a joint venture for close friends Wilbur and James. They both loved cooking and coffee and decided to make that their living. It's very successful! What they both love is that their families can drop by anytime. Fliss often comes into help when she isn't teaching art classes. Today Sadie and Buddy have been trusted to bring their youngest sister Ava. James must be finishing work soon so he can accompany them home. 

Betty and Bob are enjoying a special lunch of a sundae and pancakes! 

Kaleb is out for a stroll with his wife and daughter-in-law. Kabe and Breeze love falling asleep in the pram so they are enjoying the fresh air before dozing away. 

James is busy cooking up some pancakes! Hopefully he enjoys his time off with his children shortly!

Below is my Sylvanian Families original cottage. I recently decorated it and didn't post it on here officially. I suppose I shall because I should commemorate whenever I do wallpapering! I don't enjoy the process but the results are worth it. For this house I wanted it to feel older, not so 'cute' like my other houses. It's like a family has always lived in here, for generations. 

Aubrey is enjoying some tea as well, he is the village plumber and carpenter. His daughter Madeline loves having tea with him. 

Non SF crockery but nonetheless it is stunning. Nancy has a well run kitchen. 

Nancy is very house proud, it is always very clean. Very hard when your husband is a carpenter, there are always wood chippings from his clothes. 

She loves having her own little room so she can read in peace. 

Upstairs she has her sewing machine. She would never go without it. She loves keeping all their clothes perfectly darned. 

Ben is meant to be doing a book report but the roof seems more interesting than his book...

Nancy loves that her children have their own space as well. 

(Now I think about this room I want to change it! I will post an update). 

Annoyingly this image is on the tilt! This is my berry grove school. I finished this project a while ago and did not give it a full post, which I should! I would like to make some more class room related things for it. 

James and his brother Jasper Marlowe both run the school. Their wives help when their young families do not need them as much. James is teaching the class some English Literature. At the moment they are each reading different classical books. 

Rosemary loves her dad being a teacher, although he is very diligently checking her homework most of the time! 

They even have a piano for music classes! 

Ivy is seeing if Rosemary will swap books, she has already read Oliver Twist! 

Olivia ready to study! After she drinks her milk though. 

Upstairs is my favourite room! I love the pictures, it really makes the art room complete for me. Maxwell clearly does not value art though, he seems more interested in tickling his own prickles. 

Rose wishes he would at least try complete his painting. 

Olive is setting into her new school nicely, it's not easy being the new girl! 

Jasper is supervising free time. While the students finish their painting he is making sure his wife's library is in good shape. 

MY SCHOOL LIBRARY! I love it so much. Admire this beautiful rug too! It was a recent rug I received. 

My last shelf is the nursery. I have the rainbow nursery but it's not that realistic. It's in storage at the moment because I still want to keep it, I just don't want it displayed. Instead I used the conservatory building! It looks much better I think. I love all the babies learning and playing. 

Oscar is one of my many favourites. He is adorable! 

My recent little fairy figure. She has escaped from their dress rehearsals! 

In the nursery they are learning about stars! Although it's day now they will soon be star gazing to learn all about the mysteries of the sky! 

The dress rehearsal for the summer play is going well! The three Marlowe triplets are the stars of the show! 

The children love their nursery! 

I hope you enjoyed this little tour and have seen some of the many projects I have going! I have done a lot behind the scenes! I will get everything its own proper post, I have done so much yet documented so little.

Best wishes, 

Helly