dollhouse — Page 98

Corners of the (Doll)House

April 13, 2014 at 9:43 am by Claudia

I’ve been sharing a corner or two of our real-life house with you the last two Sundays. However, I had a meeting with the owner of the dollhouse the other day and she made it very clear that I should feature the corners of her little haven this Sunday.

Ahem.

She seems to be quite strong willed. (Like someone else I know.)

Very well. Here we go.

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Potting Shed

Bench – made by me; pots and potting soil – from miniatures.com; trowel – from Weston Miniatures/Etsy.

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Studio/Office

Work table from miniatures.com – painted by me; knitting – found in a little dollhouse shop; ribbon – a gift from Judy; scissors – a gift from Maryanne; sewing basket – one of the very first things I bought, before I even had a dollhouse, from a dollhouse shop in San Diego; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; floors and paneled wall made by me from popsicle and craft sticks.

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Bathroom

Chair – made by me from Léa’s tutorial; flip-flops – a gift from miniaturist Jill; sink cabinet from miniatures.com – painted by me; vinyl floor from a hobby shop; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; beadboard and trim from miniatures.com.

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Potting Shed

Crate from Weston Miniatures/Etsy; pots from miniatures.com; flowers from my stash; flower basket – gift from miniaturist Jayne; sink – taken from another piece, legs added by me; floor made from beadboard and painted by me.

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Living room

Chest found in an antique shop (from the Ideal Petite Princess line); mirror – a gift from reader Linda; potted sansivieria – a gift from miniaturist Jayne; tote bag – a gift from miniaturist Jill; table – from a bag of dollhouse furniture given to me by Heidi, painted and aged by me; teacup and saucer – found in a hobby shop; plate from Carrie Lavender/Etsy; chair from Dollhouses and More; pillow – a gift from miniaturist Marsha; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; floors – made from popsicle sticks and stained by me.

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Den

Plates from Carrie Lavender/Etsy and Twelve Times More Teeny/Etsy; sofa from Dollhouses and More; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini.

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Bedroom

Bedside table (from that bag of furniture given to me by Heidi) – painted by me; lamp – from the Ideal Petite Princess line, found on Ebay; magazines – made by Norma; bed made and dressed by Norma; floors made by me from craft sticks; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; beadboard, bricks and trim from miniatures.com.

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Kitchen

Table from miniatures.com – painted and aged by me; chairs from miniatures.com – painted by me; plate – a gift from miniaturist Jayne; cup and saucer found in hobby shop; cake – a gift from miniaturist Marsha; floors made, painted and aged by me; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; beadboard and trim from miniatures.com.

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Kitchen

Kitchen cabinets and sink from New England Miniatures; plates from Carrie Lavender/Etsy and Twelve Times More Teeny/Etsy; pitcher found in a hobby shop; tile backsplash added by me; retro refrigerator made by me from a wooden box; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini.

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Living room

Fireplace – a Christmas Gift from Don – painted by me; andirons and wood from miniatures.com; blue bowl – a gift from miniaturist Jayne; painting – found in now defunct dollhouse shop; armillary – a gift from reader/blogger, Lady Hawthorne; window frame – pulled from another piece and painted and aged by me; flowers and pot from miniaturist Jayne; wallpaper from Itsy Bitsy Mini; floors – made and stained by me.

Listing and referencing the story behind all the items in the dollhouse is a good thing for me to do. It reminds me where things came from, whether I found the piece or made it or if it was a gift (as so many things in the dollhouse are) from a reader and/or blogger. When I get around to doing the before/after posts about the dollhouse, this information will be essential.

It takes a village to make a dollhouse a home.

Happy Sunday.

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Letting The Light In

April 11, 2014 at 8:32 am by Claudia

I’ve been working outside the last couple of days and it’s been wonderful but tiring. The fresh air, working for hours….I’m not used to it! Yesterday I cleared some of the saplings that sprout up around this property and are usually too close to already established trees. Then I started on the dreaded battle with the brambles/wild roses that take over our property, sometimes strangling the small trees that I do want to flourish.

My hands are full of wounds from the prickers (thorns.) We always called them prickers when I was a kid. Anyway, I’m going to have to continue this battle over the next few days. Yikes.

Then Don and I worked on the trail that we established several years ago in our woods. In the past few years, we let it languish. No more. We cleared branches, brambles, edged the paths with limbs that we found here and there on the floor of the forest. We love taking walks there, especially when the canopy of trees in full leaf creates a quiet getaway. We’re going to mark the trail and add some little touches that make it ours.

Lots of work. Exhausted. But happy.

Now, onto my potting shed in the dollhouse:

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Notice anything new?

Yes! I’ve added a skylight.

A potting shed needs a source of natural light, don’t you think?

I came up with the idea a couple of weeks ago and then I ordered the window, along with the pots and potting soil. It sat here for several days until I made the decision to go for it. Since the walls of the dollhouse are MDF, they are a little tricky to work with. The only other time I used a keyhole saw on the dollhouse was when I enlarged the opening for the front door. And it wasn’t easy!

But I was determined to do it. The window came with a template for the opening, so I used a pencil to trace the template on the roof of the shed. I grabbed my drill and made a couple of holes that eventually gave me an opening in which to insert the saw. Don braced the house for a bit and kept asking me if I wanted him to help with the sawing, but stubborn girl that I am, I said no. I quickly realized I needed to move the dollhouse to the floor where I could work more easily. Then Don left me to it as he took Scout for a walk.

I wondered if I was making a mistake but my gut told me it would work. So I kept sawing. And finally, there was a square opening for the window. Would it fit? Yes, and with no adjustments necessary!

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Ah. Much more conducive to creative work in the shed!

I am very excited about this modification. In fact, I have a skylight in my studio upstairs, so it seemed only fair to install one in the potting shed. (And the owner asked me to. Very nicely.)

Oh, wait until I get to work on the roof garden!

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I also added some flowering bushes to the urns by the front door.

Love.

I hope you’re enjoying the fact that Spring has sprung and that you’re able to spend some time outside, my friends.

Happy Friday.

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A Gift – All The Way From Australia

April 10, 2014 at 8:53 am by Claudia

Remember when I told you that something was coming in the mail for the dollhouse? Something a special someone had made? Just because?

It came in the mail yesterday. All the way from Australia.

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Yes, you’re right. You can’t miss it. It’s that incredible bed! (Pardon me while I take a moment to scream with happiness.)

Do you believe this?

Let me tell you the story. My friend Norma, who is a very talented miniaturist, lives in Australia and we have been blogging friends for quite a while now. (She once sent me a stuffed koala bear when I was working temporarily in San Diego. That post is here. ) I’ve said it before on this blog; dollhouse and mini bloggers are amazingly generous people. They are willing to share their advice and their tutorials and are always ready to answer a question. When I first got the dollhouse, a couple of bloggers sent me some pieces to help me get started. Just because.

Norma sent me an email after reading a post in which I mentioned that I still needed to find a bed and said that she would like to make me one. My jaw dropped. Could I pay her, I asked? No, was her answer. She simply wanted to design a bed that would suit the bedroom at Hummingbird Cottage.

We had a conference about style and fabric choice. I chose a toile and decided to go for pink. And Norma took it from there. She sent it out in the mail last week – on Monday. I’ve been watching the mail like a hawk ever since.

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Yesterday, as I was raking outside, Lori, who is our mail carrier, stopped and called me over to her vehicle in order to have me sign for a package. Was it from Australia, I wondered?

Yes!

I ran into the house, shouting “It’s here!!” I’m not kidding.

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Norma made all of the bedding. It’s exquisite.

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The lace is gorgeous. The fabrics are wonderful. The bed is perfect for this attic hideaway. (The owner loves pink.)

She also included a few other treasures. I don’t have photos of all of them yet, but I’ll share the ones I managed to get.

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That’s a box of macarons from Laduree.

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A tea towel for the kitchen.

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And another.

There’s even more but I have to get out my macro filter to take some sharp close-ups. Coming soon.

I’m thrilled with this new addition to the dollhouse. But even more thrilling and heartwarming is the fact that Norma took the time to do this for me. This is a treasure, pure and simple, made with love and heart. Another beautiful story for the dollhouse, which is full of things that many of you have sent to me. They are what makes the dollhouse a true and loving home.

Thank you, dear Norma. I can’t stop looking at it. Bless you.

By the way, I have wanted to do something with the potting shed and, with some trepidation, I finally did it yesterday. That’s a teaser, my friends. More tomorrow.

Happy Thursday.

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Corners of the (Doll)House

Letting The Light In

A Gift – All The Way From Australia

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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