Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for Don

Baubles, Bangles & Beads

December 14, 2014 at 8:38 am by Claudia

12-14 - Stringing beads2

I’ve taken to stringing beads.

There was a time, a few years back, where I became excited at the possibility of making jewelry. I purchased beads and tools and wire – everything one might need to fashion an earring or a necklace. And, in fact, I did make some earrings, some of which I still wear. And I made a necklace, which remains unfinished to this day.

It wasn’t for me.

But I have these supplies, you see, and I find myself dipping into them occasionally for the dollhouse. For example, the doorknob on the front door is made from a jewelry finding.

Since I want the newly made dollhouse Christmas tree to last, I am hesitant to glue anything to it. Ideally, I’d like it to be like a real-sized Christmas tree; ornaments go on, ornaments come off, and the tree is unchanged. That would give me some decorating leeway from year to year.

Today I planned on making tiny individual ornaments. However, I quickly realized that I did not have either the skill or the patience for that little exercise.  Oh, no.

“What about a beaded garland?” said I. Which led to a long bead stringing session, longer than I had planned. I took breaks to do the dishes, vacuum, dust, take a shower, and do the laundry.

12-14 - Stringing beads

Lots and lots of beads.

I ended up with this, which I will most likely tweak and tweak again. I also plan to add another garland in multi-colored beads.

12-14 - beadedtree

Caroline might like a bit more on the tree. We’ll have to negotiate.

12-14 - DHtreeinden2

12-14 - DHpresents2

Caroline has been wrapping presents. I haven’t even bought any yet. Caroline, you’re embarrassing me.

But it’s not quite enough. Caroline agrees. Off to string more beads.

12-14 - DHtreeredux

Better! Those are pretty little glass beads that I had in my jewelry stash.

The wreath is on the front door:

12-14 - DHfrontdoor

And a quick shot of the new bedroom rug – this time with accurate colors. I didn’t want it to be pink. That’s why I went with this rug. There’s a little bit of pink in it, but it’s predominately ecru and light brown.

12-14 - DH bedroom

We’re off to NYC today. It will be a quick trip. We have our girl to think of and we have to make sure she’s not alone too long. We’re taking the train this time because it arrives in Grand Central Station, which is absolutely glorious at Christmas (or any time of the year) and then we’ll head over to Don’s new agents’ office, near Times Square. I’ll hang around waiting for him, then we’ll head up to Rockefeller Center. After gazing at the tree and indulging in hot chocolate, we’ll hightail it back to the station and head on home. I wish we could spend a bit more time there but when both of us are going, we just don’t have that luxury. Little Scootie (another of my nicknames for her) is more important than anything.

Happy Birthday to my cousin Eileen! Eileen, I hope you’re reading this today. Sending lots of love your way.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: Christmas, dollhouse, Don, miniatures 37 Comments

The Tree & The Snow Globe

December 11, 2014 at 9:21 am by Claudia

Yesterday was one of those days where I was mildly, and sometimes not so mildly, irritated all day. It started with the discovery that my email had been hacked (don’t open any links from me) and went on from there.

You know that sort of day, don’t you?

When the time came around to decorate the tree, neither of us felt like it. I started to doze in my chair. Don started to doze in his chair. Thank goodness for my husband, who eventually said, “Let’s put on some Christmas music.”

And off we went.

Xmastree1

Xmastree2

Simple. I have to tweak a few things, some segments of cord are bit too evident, but this is basically it. Our ornaments are a collection of vintage Shiny Brites that I’ve gathered over the years and ornaments that have a special meaning for us.

Since the tree is in the den, I can’t really get a distance shot. Even these shots involve some gymnastics on my part.

Xmastreeorn1

Xmastreeorn2

Xmastreeorn3

I love them all, but my favorites are the bottle brush ornaments. They’re big and old-fashioned and I think they provide some wonderful contrast to the rest of the ornaments, giving the eye a place to land for a moment or two.

neccojar2

The Necco Snow Globe is in its new holiday home on our bookshelves. For those of you who are newer to the blog, I found this vintage Necco Candy jar a few years ago and fell in love with it. It’s quite large and was clearly used for display in a store. I lived not too far from the factory where Necco candy is made when I resided in Cambridge, so that makes this even more special. It has graduated sides with a definite Art Deco feel (love Art Deco, always have.)

neccojar1

The font on the lid of the jar is definitely Art Deco.

It holds various things throughout the year. Sometimes I leave it empty. At Christmas time, it becomes a snow globe. By the way, I use Kosher Salt for the snow. The kind of fake snow you can buy in the store doesn’t do it for me. The pieces are too big. Kosher Salt works beautifully.

There’s a wreath on the door. The lights are up on the porch. I’m still debating whether to put the little white tree in the living room this year.

I probably will.

I use less and less each year. I think it works better. Those decorations that I do use stand out more.

I got a late night call from a former colleague of mine last night and I’m going to do a wee bit of coaching for him tomorrow, which means I’ll be traveling to Manhattan. Don and I are planning to go into the city on Sunday, as well. He has a quick meeting with his new agents and then we’ll pop on over to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, something we always plan to do, but rarely get to do.

There will be a book review on Just Let Me Finish This Page today. I’m off to write it right now!

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, Don 32 Comments

A Chatty Post

December 9, 2014 at 9:04 am by Claudia

So far, the weather ‘event’ is simply rain and lots of it. But I expect that to change as the day goes on. Predictions still vary, but the prevailing thought seems to be a wintry mix.

The dire predictions sure spurred me on, which probably is a good thing. We got our tree yesterday (a few days earlier than is our norm), I hung the outdoor lights on the porch railing, the ornaments have been brought inside from the shed. We’ll decorate the tree this evening.

baretree3

Not sure why the upper portion of the tree looks like it’s a different color. It isn’t. Probably the early morning light combined with the lamp light in the den. We always buy a real tree and our preference – since the days in which we first celebrated Christmas together – is for a Noble Fir. I’ll say this: it sure smells good here as I sit in my blogging chair!

Even with the weather predictions, I am proud to say I have stayed true to my ‘nothing until the second week of December’ rule. Of course, that probably only matters to me, but it does matter, because it nicely separates Thanksgiving from the Christmas season. Two different holidays. Two different seasons. Don feels the same way, maybe even more so, because he always needs to be motivated to get the tree. I think even the second week of December is too early for him!

And though I admire and applaud everyone’s Christmas decorations and tours here in Blogland, I would feel overwhelmed by having to meet a deadline that is just too soon for me. Besides, we decorate for us. Except for a slight variation here and there, we use the same beloved ornaments on our tree every year. We’ll put up the little white tree in the living room. I’ll put together the little Christmas snow scene in my vintage Necco jar. We’ll hang a wreath on the door. And that will be it. Oh, and the dollhouse will be decorated, of course!

You know what? It’s just the right amount for this little cottage. Simple. Serene. And, hopefully, pretty!

So far, except for the bare tree, the only decoration I have is this:

whitebottlebrushytree

On sale for $3.00 at Target. I have an excessive fondness for bottle brush anything.

agatebookend

I also found this agate bookend at Target. It’s really heavy. I love agates and geodes and crystals and there were only two left (on sale) so I grabbed one. After all, the books on the new bookshelves need bookends, right?

I’ve given us a deadline. By Thursday night at 10:00, each of us must submit a list of what we want for Christmas. Right now, neither of us can think of anything except socks. Pathetic. As a girl who has a birthday in late November, it is sometimes hard to come up with yet another list of ideas. I’m trying.

By the way, Don just came in and presented me with a plate of hash browns, raisin toast and an avocado omelet.

Oh my god. That man makes a great breakfast.

I have a few dollhouse-related projects that I’m going to tackle today. It seems to be the perfect day for little projects. Hint: one of them has to do with Christmas.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, dollhouse, Don 48 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 151
  • 152
  • 153
  • 154
  • 155
  • …
  • 218
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

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

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2026 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in