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You are here: Home / Archives for dollhouse

The Blog, Broadway & Pip

December 21, 2021 at 8:29 am by Claudia

Remember when I told you that Google was no longer going to support Feedburner, which sends emails of my posts? And I told you to bookmark the blog and that I was not going to pay for an email service? Well, if you haven’t bookmarked the blog the time is now. Since I’ve been back posting regularly, the email version of the post has gone out at all times and hours. Yesterday morning’s post went out at 2 am today. I can always tell when this happens because I get no comments on the blog – or very few – and the number of people visiting the blog drops sharply. I’ll check on the blog and sure enough, the email hasn’t gone out. It’s clearly the beginning of the end for Feedburner.

I am not going to change over to another email service. I already have to pay quite a bit of money to keep this blog going and I have to draw the line somewhere. So it comes down to you. I always post by 11 am EST. I am back to posting every day. Come to the blog directly. Thanks!

Final coat of primer. Except for the green parts, they need one or two more. I’m ignoring the porch floor at the moment.

The list of Broadway shows that are closed because of Covid grows longer. My friend Derek Klena’s show, Jagged Little Pill, just announced that it would not reopen again. My heart breaks for everyone that is finally – after two years – working again only to have the show close because of breakthrough infections. (Derek was the lead in Anastasia.)

I could go into a rant right now but I’ll spare you that. You know how I feel and I know you feel the same way, too. Just imagine a stream of cuss words coming from my mouth.

An outfit arrived in yesterday’s mail and I immediately put in on Pip. Since she has never worn something her sisters haven’t worn first, I felt she deserved it. Oh my heavens, she is adorable in it!

The scarf, the dress, and the tights are from Miema Dollhouse, based in Germany. The little bunny came with the dress.

I can’t stand it, she’s so cute. I really love this dress.

Why can’t I get away with something like this? The only real-life designer that I know of that does stuff like this is Gudrun. Maybe I should shed my jeans and t-shirts and start wearing striped tights and print tunics…

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: blog, Blythe dolls, dollhouse, Pippa 57 Comments

Priming & Spoiler

December 20, 2021 at 9:41 am by Claudia

I spent the afternoon putting primer on the dollhouse.

Where I started.

First coat.

Second coat.

I’m going for a third coat today. I’m using Killz primer and it’s still taking more than one or two coats.

Yikes. Remember the red and brown interior rooms? Imagine how much primer it’s going to take to create a neutral palette! Yikes again.

I haven’t painted the porch floor yet, because I’m not sure if I’ll paint it or cover it in some wood veneer. Heck, I have no idea what color I’ll paint the dollhouse – though, just as happened with Hummingbird Cottage, a neutral color seems more and more appealing to me. Maybe just because I’m so glad to see that garish yellow disappear. Or something tone-on-tone, if that’s correct, like the photo above. A subtle main color with white accents.

As is always the case because I rehab dollhouses that have already been constructed, getting around areas like the porch posts and trim takes some body contortion. But it sure is nice being able to stand up at the work table Don gave me and work on the dollhouse.

For those of you who asked:

Don playing Spoiler. That circular metal disk is part of the resonator. It’s a Gretsch, which is a great brand.

Okay. Have to get a move on.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: Beacon Hill Dollhouse, dollhouse, Don, guitar 18 Comments

Saturday Morning

December 18, 2021 at 10:02 am by Claudia

The view from my chair this morning.

It’s rainy today. There was a chance of some snow as well, but I got up at 5:45 and there wasn’t a flake to be found. We sort of wanted to see a bit of snow this morning. Ah, well.

I worked outside for a few hours yesterday, emptying pots, stacking them near the shed, carting all of the outdoor chairs to the winter shelter of the porch. Then I did my best to stack everything in one of the dry areas of our roof-leaking shed. We have someone coming to look at it right after Christmas.

The Beacon Hill dollhouse is up next. I still have things to finish in the English cottage – the bedroom, specifically – so that is ongoing. Since I got busy with the film, I couldn’t really work on the Beacon Hill, and it smelled really musty. So, over the course of 3 months or so, I tried dishes  of baking soda, lysol, and coffee grounds. Nothing worked until I used activated charcoal, and lo and behold, the smell has greatly decreased – it’s almost gone. While I start to put primer on the exterior of the dollhouse, I’ll keep some charcoal in the interior rooms. Hopefully, by the time the outside is primed, the smell will be gone. I’ve already removed the exterior shutters (in order to paint and reposition them in the correct place next to the window) and I’ve fixed the wonky porch as best I can – it will always be a bit wonky, but so is our real-life porch. I have to add some pieces near the base of the kitchen window and I’ll be good to go. Haven’t come up with an exterior color yet.

By the way, Don named his guitar “Spoiler” after the movie. Perfect, right?

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Beacon Hill Dollhouse, Christmas, dollhouse 28 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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