Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Lake Cottage: Christmas Edition

December 19, 2022 at 9:06 am by Claudia

Okay. I managed to get some new photos of the Lake Cottage. This involved dragging a heavy wooden chair that normally lives in the kitchen to the den. I used the big-girl camera for everything except a shot of the tree, which happens to be placed at the back of the miniature living room – a very dark corner. So I shoved my iPhone in the room, hoping I was aiming at the right place and kept taking pictures until something passable appeared.

A few photos of a dark interior on a dark day.

But here we have a brighter photo of the exterior.

The living room. I haven’t really done anything to it since I first grabbed some pieces of furniture and accessories that I had on hand. I did my best to fill the bookshelves and supplied a cozy chair and sofa for the owners to sink into as they sit in front of the fire. The only new piece is the Arts and Crafts side table by the sofa. I purchased that at a miniature show. Looking at these photos has made me want to do more with the interior – at the very least, add some more books and rugs.

This little house is funky. The two rooms next to the living room are very small. I can barely get my hand into the one that is by the front door. I often think about trying to add a bed – but how? I do have some ideas. But the only way you’d get to see it is in a picture shot from outside the front window.

The kitchen – or kitchenette – has hardly any room either. I have added a piece exactly like the kitchen island in Dove Cottage. I bought it because I knew it would fit. It’s still in its raw wood stage.

I also think I could stick some “tile” down on the wood floor. It, like the wallpaper in the living room, would be installed with something temporary. It wouldn’t be glued in. The door is a bit too wide (wider than the front door!) and out of scale, but opening that door temporarily might offer another view of the bedroom for a photo shoot. Now, to figure out where I could put a little stove, because the left wall contains another door to the living room. There’s barely any wall space available.

The tree. It used to be in the modern dollhouse where it worked perfectly. It’s not what I would have initially chosen for this house, but after looking at it here, the glittery silver is much better than a dark evergreen tree. It stands out more.

It needs a skirt. I’ll work on that.

One good thing about this mini photo shoot: it’s inspired me to do a bit more with this beauty of a dollhouse.

Okay. I referred to the book about Dorothy Kilgallen yesterday. I want to add that it’s not perfect. It definitely needed better editing. At times, a word is omitted. The author sometimes repeats himself. But he has really done his research and none of those things have had an impact on my reading enjoyment.

Time to get going. The last January 6th Committee meeting will be televised today. It’s at 1 pm.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Christmas, decorating, dollhouse, miniatures 16 Comments

A Peek at the Lake Cottage and Christmas Sweaters

December 17, 2022 at 9:28 am by Claudia

Both of us slept in today, which is rare – so I’m running behind. I haven’t even had my second cup of coffee! The endless rain and mixed precipitation has ended, thank goodness, and I do believe the sun is making an appearance. And next week’s forecast has changed to another round of “mixed precipitation” and maybe an inch or two of snow. We want more  snow like you originally predicted, thank you very much!

I’m not sure why we have such a need for a white Christmas this year, but we do. I have my suspicions, life has been tough for all of us. Anyway, fingers crossed.

The Lake Cottage is very hard to photograph. It’s very dark inside, it’s up on top of the china cabinet in the den, and I have to stand on the old ottoman to take the pictures. So, these are not the best, but frankly, this is what you’re going to get.

The exterior of the Lake Cottage. For those of you who are new to the blog, this is an antique dollhouse that I found a few years ago. It’s handmade and incredibly charming. But, because it’s handmade, I am reluctant to change it very much, as I can feel and see the love and care that went into its construction. I’ve not painted it and I won’t.

See? It’s funky but I love it. I consider both this house and the vintage dollhouse in the kitchen to be folk art. Therefore, they stay relatively untouched. I added the tree that I previously used in the modern dollhouse.

I had some other photos of the interior, but I’m going to retake them today. They’re blurry, most likely because I was balancing on the squishy ottoman when I was taking them. I’ll move one of the  kitchen chairs into the den this time. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Miss Lucy is our model of the day.

I just knew she had to wear one of the red sweaters.

Oh my goodness, she’s adorable. I’m really so crazy about her.

I have to tweak the other red sweater and then I’ll have made them all Blythe-wearable. A group photo will be forthcoming.

For those of you new to the blog: Maria asked I could take detailed photos of the dollhouses and descriptions of the pieces I chose. I’ve already done that! All of that information is up in the navigation bar under “dollhouses/minis.” There are posts showing the progress of each dollhouse and there is always a final post in which I describe everything and give sources.

Okay. Have to go.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Christmas, dollhouse, miniatures 23 Comments

Dove Cottage at Christmas

December 16, 2022 at 8:57 am by Claudia

We’ve been getting snow/rain/sleet/snow/rain/sleet and it’s supposed to last until tomorrow. It’s messy and rather ugly out there, not to mention dangerous. This is not the pretty snow that we had recently. Next week, hopefully, will be just snow. Don is disappointed that it’s raining and not snowing. They’re calling this a nor’easter. I’m calling it a pain in the tush.

A quick little tour of Dove Cottage at Christmas:

The owner had to move the furniture around to accommodate the tree.

As you know, I make these trees, starting with a cheap bottlebrush tree as the base. I glue pieces of lycopodium, which is a preserved pine, to the base. It’s very time consuming and a mess, as I get glue all over my hands. But much better in the end than a bottlebrush tree. I try to be as realistic as possible with my miniatures so that kind of tree wouldn’t work. As a small decoration, yes. You can see that I have a couple of small tabletop bottlebrush trees in the room, just like I have here at my life-sized cottage.

Sorry for the glare on the wallpaper. Light quality is very tricky in the winter. There’s a small bottlebrush tree on the island, too, but it’s hard to see here.

And on the front porch – a wreath on the door.

Tomorrow, we’ll visit the Lake Cottage.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: Christmas, dollhouse, Dove Cottage, miniatures 16 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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