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You are here: Home / Archives for Blythe dolls

Snow and Glitter

December 6, 2024 at 8:17 am by Claudia

On Wednesday, snow fell overnight and throughout the day. We always love the first snow, but boy, is it frigid here! I took this photo as soon as it became light. We had a wind advisory (the result of a clipper passing through) and once the winds kicked in, it was relentless. You know I don’t like heavy winds. We sit in a valley and the mountain range is quite close to us; the end result is rather like living in a wind tunnel.

After the sun came out. I think we got about 2 – 3 inches of wet snow. The high will only reach 30 today, so the snow will stick around for another day at least.

I’m already over it.

It’s still windy this morning and the sound of the wind chimes is driving me crazy.

But it’s pretty out there.

More in my Queen series:

Queen Holly.

Queen Pru.

Of all the girls, Pru seems to have the most changeable face. Depending on the angle, she can look very different from photo to photo. I spent quite a bit of time this morning trying to get the best angle for her photo. This was the last one taken and I like it the best.

Pru was customized by one of my favorite customizers, Dragonfly Blythe. Sadly, she is no longer customizing. In fact, Nina, my other Dragonfly Blythe, was one of the last dolls she customized. Now, her work is finite, therefore more desirable. I’m lucky I have two of her girls.

We’re staying home today. It’s really cold and windy. Bitter, actually.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 24 Comments

Glitter, Miniature Decorating, Winterizing

December 2, 2024 at 8:02 am by Claudia

The tree is up in Dove Cottage. I was trying to focus on the tree, rather than the furniture – hence, the blurriness in the foreground. I aim to keep the decorating in the little houses as spare as the decorations in my big house: the Christmas tree, a few putz houses here and there, and that’s about it.

The Lake Cottage, Mockingbird Hill Cottage, and Don’s studio have trees. I may switch out the tree in Don’s studio with the vintage dollhouse in the kitchen. He doesn’t care, so why not? That way, I could get a glimpse of the tree through the windows of the house. Hmmmm.

I did a lot of work outside yesterday and it was incredibly windy! Lots of trips back and forth to the shed, as I begin to move porch pots for winter storage. I used a dolly to move the vintage pots that live in the secret garden to the porch. They’re really heavy! I also swept the floor of the shed. I’m getting ready to hang the lights on the porch, cover the sideboard with a tarp, and store the cushions for the winter. It’s really, really cold with nighttime temps dipping down into the teens. We – at least here in the Hudson Valley – are unofficially in winter.

The pansies are still going strong, though I haven’t looked at them this morning. I hope they hang in there as long as possible.

Four more girls wearing their crowns:

I’m having a lot of fun with this series. The photos have to be taken in the early morning, with a certain kind of morning light. Yesterday, I slept in, so there I was – no coffee yet – blindly grabbing Nina, trying to get everything in place for a picture.

Since Maeve has gold glitter on her eyelids, I couldn’t resist.

Such are my days; crowns, glitter, dollhouses, and winterizing….

Stay safe.

Happy Monday,

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, dollhouse, miniatures 18 Comments

Crowns and Chairs

November 30, 2024 at 8:25 am by Claudia

As far as Christmas decorating goes, I now have a little white tree on the table next to my chair. I have been using it for a series of photos of the girls. I found a crown ornament at Target for 5 bucks. I looked at it and thought: that looks perfect for a Blythe head.

A daily series on my Blythe feed called “Queen for the Day.” The first one was of Chloe.

I’ve also decorated the girls’ cubbies.

I haven’t done much, if anything, with the dollhouse. I am  propping up one of the floors.

With Hilary Mantel.

Something is off with the placement of the third floor, but I don’t think there’s much I can do about it. I’ll try to reglue, but there’s quite a gap. “Hilary” is helping in the meantime.

I purchased that bed on eBay. It’s made by the same woman who made my other beds. She’s not making them anymore, so her daughters were selling the remaining stock and I grabbed this one.

You know that I have to have a look in mind – even before I do all the repair work on a dollhouse. For this Victorian, I want to go for the opposite of the ornate exterior. Very spare, with period furniture, wood floors, art and sculpture – that kind of thing. I purchased my inspiration sofa last year from an auction run by a guy I know (he’s rather big in the miniature world.) He lives outside of NYC and often runs auctions of miniature collections/estate sales.

I just snagged two chairs from his most recent auction. They’re made by Bespaq, a well respected maker of quality miniatures.

Aren’t they beautiful?

I envision a round table set in the bay window to the right, along with the chairs.

I usually invest in a higher end miniature to anchor the main room and fill in the gaps with less expensive pieces. And I do my best to get the higher end pieces in auctions. I got a very good deal on the sofa and the chairs. Sort of a steal!

Anyway, that’s what I have so far.

Rehab work starts this week.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, dollhouse, miniatures 20 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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