My Snow White Wicked Queen Gatehouse and new Potting Shed! !

As you know I have a thing about looking out for second hand dollshouses! I have got many a bargain on ebay. My hairdressers was under £50 but it always puts the cost up if you get one sent. So lately i have been only searching on ebay using the Distance search and within 10 miles or so to see if there are any bargains.
A few weeks ago I found a lady selling several of her houses off. She lived only 15 minuites away from us and had loads of great projects up for grabs. I kept them up to watch thinking I may bid if they stayed cheap, but didnt expect to win any, let alone so rediculously cheap. The night of bidding came and the prices hadnt gone up! First up was a llittle shed/stable all with brick flooring, really nicely done even with a little light! A perfect little project to make into potting shed for a witch I thought . In went my bid, and Winning bidder at only £7! Bargain no 1!

Next came the 2 storey Jenny Wren project that i showed before for Lola, only £10

Lastly that night, the Dollshouse Emporium gatehouse, 2 storey with working shutters, and a gorgeous wrought iron style spiral staircase. And Michelle, I didnt have to build it woohoo, all the hard work done for me, what a cheat eh!! Will need your help and advice on stone work and colours on this one lol!
Well I remembered seeing the staircases were expensive on their own so if it was going to stay low it was worth getting for that alone!
I won the gatehouse for £16!!!!! This is going to be my Snow White wicked Queen tower! It will house her Potion table and books, her magic Mirror etc! The brickwork will need changing. it is beautifully done so a shame to redo but I need it to be more stone like so may use paperclay to go over it. The flooring is perfect as it is upstairs and down.
The perfect project to sit aside Snow's house dont you think.

So the total for 3 new projects was £33. Cut the food shopping down to no luxuries that week and it was paid for!! Funny how i justify things! We dont drink or smoke but as you can see my addiction is miniatures! Still the way I look at it, lots of women spend a small fortune on clothes and make up every month and Im not one of them, I budget carefully and allow some pennnies for our hobby instead, more fun! Plus I'll let you into a secret! John and I both have swear jars and its quite amazing how full they get ( she says ashamedly!) and they have paid for a fair few miniatues in their time lol! The pounds add up and I have been known to raid one and find enough for a great new purchase!

The bidding even went on to the next night! Another 3 items were on. The first was a beautiful Pavilion which only sold for £25 but I didnt bid as I knew Id never use it. The next house I didnt bid again. It was a 3 story shop , all fully lit with outside lights too , lovely staircases etc. When it sold for only £36 John was going on at me that I should have bid on it, but I thought, firstly where on earth would I put another shop, and secondly, I have already got one similar and havnt even got round to doing that up yet. Saying that, when I picked up the other things and saw it, I was cross I hadnt gone for it, it was beautifully made and decorated, a real steal!

Her last item I HAD to bid on. I thought it would go up far higher than I could afford, being such a fabulous house. John and I had seen this house in the window of a dollshouse shop near us years before, but when we went back to buy it for a Christmas present the shop had closed down. Turns out this lady is a freind of the owner of the shop and these houses were all old shop stock that had been sitting in her house! John loved it too and insisted that If I won it it would be the childrens present to me for Mothers Day. ( Did rather well didnt I as John got me pressies from himself too, as well as from all 5 children!!) So I did........................wait til later to see my lovely new house and the crazy low price I paid for it!!!!!!