I love doll houses and miniatures. Apart from the undisputed fact that a tiny version of something is always infinitely cuter, I think Doll Houses offer a way to indulge in a fondness for period decor and luxurious old homes even if one can’t have a life size manor.

I had a little Victorian doll’s house when I was younger, but some day I would like to build a Chateau, inspired by Versailles but a little simpler, with blue panelled walls and painted ceilings and gilt furniture. It would take me a very long time to finish though and I have some other projects to complete first, such as my vanity.

I hope you will enjoy these links as much a I did. There are some really amazing dollhouse artists out there!

Greenleaf Dollshouse Kits
Greenleaf make a wide range of dollshouse kits. These come uncompleted for you to put together and paint yourself. From charming gingerbread cottages to grand manors they have so many different styles. I love imagining who would live in each of these houses.

Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle
This is my favourite dollhouse ever! It was put together by talented craftspersons using exquisite materials such as chinese jade and real jewels. Each room tells the story of a famous fairy tale and is amazingly detailed. There is even a library with miniature books. I wouldn’t mind living here myself.

The Dolls House Emporium
Another dollhouse store. They make some beautiful houses and furniture but I think they are a bit expensive. I just like looking at the high quality photos and getting ideas. I especially love their conservatories. Don’t miss their 3d dollshouse tour either!

Hogwarts Dollhouse
For the Harry Potter fans. This is a really stunning piece, every room is so full of miniatures all heavily influenced by the movies. It is such a big dollhouse I imagine it would be even more impressive in real life. I like the Gryffindor common room, it looks so cosy!

Fairy Woodland
For something a little different, houses for fairies instead of dolls! They’re made from natural materials and would blend in well in their woodland habitat. I adore the tiny fairy furniture and think it would be simply magical to have one of these in your room, all lit up from the inside!

Dollshouse Castle
Ok, I admit, I have a weakness for Castles. Here is another beautiful example, luxuriously appointed with marble bathrooms and chandeliers. The photos taken of the interior make them look like real rooms. It is 9 feet high, can you believe it? I like the piano room and the tiny gold and silver chess set. So much work goes in to these houses, they are masterpieces in themselves!

This weeks link carousel is all about delicious treats! I try to eat well most of the time but my weakness is a sweet tooth. My favourite local pâtisserie is Le Papillon and I also love the amazing cupcakes that are sold at the village markets near where the King and Queen live.

I would really like to learn more baking recipes, but even making simple cupcakes and decorating them can be a lot of fun! These links have given me inspiration and ideas, I warn you though, you might develop cavities after just looking at all these yummy desserts!

Cupcake D’lights by Zalita
Zalita is one of the most talented ‘cupcake artists’ online. She seems to be able to do just about anything with sugar and her little cakes often have miniature edible scenes or tiny worlds built upon them. Zalita has a great eye for colour and I’m equally fond of her simpler sweets, with tiny sparkling roses and delicate butterflies. Her Flickr gallery is also worth checking out! They all look too beautiful to eat.

Miette Pâtisserie and Confiserie
Miette is located in San Francisco and supplies a large range of cakes and confectionary. Their cakes are quite simple, but beautifully presented and they have some really original ideas for displaying candy. I especially like their potted gumball trees! It looks like a really fun place to visit, they even host birthday parties!

Ladurée
The pinacle of luxury cakes and pastries, Ladurée is famous for its amazing Macarons which sell in the thousands every day. They were also the exclusive pastry suppliers for the recent movie Marie Antoinette. I adore their packaging as well, everything is just so perfectly presented and elegant. It is one of my dreams to visit Ladurée in Paris!

The Pink Cake Box
Themed birthday, wedding and celebration cakes. The Pink Cake box has done some wonderfully creative designs and has a very unique flair. I like their crazy lopsided cakes because they look like something you would serve at the Madhatter’s Tea Party! Also worth browsing are the castle cakes and other designs by Manassas Cakery

Joy of Baking
If all of these links have stimulated your sweet tooth, you can find some recipes to indulge in over at Joy of Baking. They have categories for almost every type of sweet imaginable, this is the cake section and it all looks delicious. I want to try the Chocolate Pavlova and the Strawberry Charlotte! They have great photos to accompany the recipes which I find always helps.

I love Carousels, the music and lights and beautiful rococo styling. Horses, swans, strange fantasy steeds. No amusement ride could be more enchanting. A Link Carousel is something a little different though, it is a rotating series of links to interesting websites and articles provided regularly on a blog, and I’ve decided to start one for Princess Portal. The theme for this week’s Carousel is Fairy Tales.

Making Fairy Tales from Personal Stories
I found this article really interesting! Its about a method of creating Fairy Tales from personal experiences as a way of dealing with them and coming to better understand the emotions and meanings of your own stories. Fairy Tales use a lot of powerful metaphors and I wonder sometimes, how many of our traditional tales may have started off this way. The author refers to having a coach to help you with the process, but I think it would be feasible to try on your own too.

The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault
Many of the famous Fairy Tales we know today were first published in Charles Perrault’s Mother Goose Tales. His are in most cases my favourite versions of the tales, being both beautifully described and set in a world that was full of enchantment and royal splendour. His tales all have Morals, and tend to be a little more refined than some of the folk tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. You can also read his works in French here.

The Art of Kinuko Y. Craft
Of my favourite artists, K. Y. Craft would easily place among the top five. I first saw her work as a little girl, reading a picture book of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, wonderously illustrated by her. Even still, it is her images that come to mind when I think of this story, each work is laced with secrets, enchantment and something ethereal that I can’t quite name. If you ever get the chance to look at one of her picture books, it is well worth the time.

The Storyteller Series
Jim Henson’s little known series of Fairy Tale adaptions. They are a bit dark, a bit fey and very magical indeed. There are only nine stories in the original series and my favourite is Sapsorrow. The artistry of these productions is quite remarkable, considering they were made in the days before CG. Some of the tales may be a little scary for younger children. If you enjoy these previews please buy the DVDs and support the studio that made them!

SurLaLune Fairy Tales
This Carousel would not be complete without a link to the wonderful SurLaLune. This is one of my favourite websites ever, here you will find the history, interpretations, illustrations and adaptions of our most beloved tales. Many of the versions on the site are from Andrew Lang’s series of Fairy Books which are also well worth reading if you can find copies. If you’re ever curious about the origins of a tale, there is no better place to look!