Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Who, What, Where: Dollhouse Kitchen

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As in the real-life decorating of Mockingbird Hill Cottage, decorating the dollhouse’s rooms has been about collecting things over time, about gifts given and/or inherited and proudly displayed, about re-imagining older pieces of furniture and making them ‘new.’ I looked at each room this week and wrote down the story/source of each item. I wanted to get it all down on real and virtual paper – partly for me, and also for you. I often get emails asking me about where I source things for the dollhouse. I will provide all of the information I can for you. Links will be at the end of the post.

Today we move to the kitchen. It’s rather long and tunnel-like, so getting a good photo can be a bit dicey. Here goes.

WWW - dollhouse kitchen 6

First, the kitchen as a whole.
Floors: made by me from wooden popsicle sticks, which were painted white and aged with gray paint; Wallpaper: Itsy Bitsy Mini; Moldings, Trim and Beadboard: Hobby Builders Supply/miniatures.com.

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Sink unit and Shelf Unit: Made by JBM Miniatures, purchased from New England Miniatures.

In the Shelf Unit: Canisters: a gift from Barbara; Plates: a mix – some purchased from a craft store, some from A LavenderDilly (an Etsy Shop), some from Barbara; Pitcher: from a craft store; Birdhouse: a gift from Jayne.

In and on the Sink Unit: Green tiled backsplash: added by me, made from the same material I used for the brick wall in the bedroom, painted to match the kitchen, from miniatures.com; Tray: from AtelierdeLea, an Etsy Shop (Paris); Cake: a gift from Karen; Enamel baking sheet: from A LavenderDilly (Australia); Cake cutter: a gift from Barbara; Faucets and taps: miniatures.com; Dish soap: a gift from Barbara; Coffee canister: a gift from Barbara; Tea tin: a gift from Lee; Cutting board: from A LavenderDilly; Tea towel: a gift from Norma; Enamel baking tins, etc.: from A LavenderDilly; Granite Ware: a gift from Karen; Curtain under the sink: made by me; Flatware in the drawer (not seen): a gift from Karen.

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Refrigerator: made by me from a wooden box, painted green with a high gloss clear top coat, handle made from a picture hanger; Wooden bowl: Weston Miniature, an Etsy shop; Corner shelf: made by me from a kit purchased at Chautauqua Miniatures; Silver tea cup: a gift that was handmade by Debbie Greenlee; Pot and flowers: miniatures.com; Window Shade: made by me; Hanging pendant lamp: miniatures.com; Table: miniatures.com, painted by me; Chairs: miniatures.com, painted by me; Plate on table: a gift from Jayne; Flatware: A LavenderDilly; Cup and Saucer: from TwelveTimesMoreTeeny, an Etsy shop (Spain).

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Green cabinet: from my stash; Mixer: from IntotheWoodsVintage2, an Etsy shop; Rolling pin: from my stash; Tin: a gift from Barbara; Aga stove: a gift from Don, from New England Miniatures; Copper Pots: from miniatures.com; Tea Towel: from A LavenderDilly; Shelf unit on wall: made by me, it’s a bash from another piece; Architectural salvage type brackets: from my stash; Brass Rod: miniatures.com; Plates: TwelveTimesMoreTeeny; Pottery Jug: a gift from Barbara.

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Little bird plate on wall: TwelveTimesMoreTeeny.

It’s rather fun documenting all of this. I hope you’re enjoying it, too!

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Who, What, Where: Dollhouse Living Room

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As in the real-life decorating of Mockingbird Hill Cottage, decorating the dollhouse’s rooms has been about collecting things over time, about gifts given and/or inherited and proudly displayed, about re-imagining older pieces of furniture and making them ‘new.’ I looked at each room this week and wrote down the story/source of each item. I wanted to get it all down on real and virtual paper – partly for me, and also for you. I often get emails asking me about where I source things for the dollhouse. I will provide all of the information I can for you. Links will be at the end of the post.

Today? The living room.

WWW DH LR1

Wallpaper: ItsyBitsyMini; Moldings and trim: Hobby Builder’s Supply/Miniatures.com. Flooring: Made by me from popsicle/craft sticks.

Sofa: Made-to-order by Etsy shop FloraDollhouse (Italy); Shutter: from my stash, originally ordered from miniatures.com; Throw pillows: gifts from Marsha, Casey and Flora; Blue table: from a bag of dollhouse items given to me by my friend Heidi – I painted and aged it; Tea cup: from a set purchased at a craft store; Plate and fork: from Etsy shop, A LavenderDilly (Australia); Blue flowered chair: from Dollhouses and More; Aubusson rug: from A LavenderDilly.

WWW DH LR2

Fireplace and andirons: a gift from Don, I painted the fireplace white and the brass andirons black; Logs: from miniatures.com; Flowers and pot: a gift from Jayne (who sent me all sorts of wonderful things when I first started on this dollhouse.) I painted the pot aqua; Blue bowl: also from Jayne; Armillary: a gift from fellow blogger Lady Hawthorne of Canterbury Cottage; Painting over the fireplace: purchased at a dollhouse shop, frame was ‘aged’ by me; Architectural salvage window: a bash from another piece (given to me by blogging friend Rizzi), I painted and ‘aged’ it; Little painting on the wall: purchased at Chautauqua Miniatures.

WWW DH LR3

Chest: from the Ideal Petite Princess Line which was made in the sixties. I have two of these – one I found in a local shop, one was found on eBay; Package and mail: a gift from Barbara; Mirror: a gift from Linda; Tote bag: a handmade gift from Jill.

WWW DH LR4

Botanical Chart: from Etsy shop of L. Delaney.

Sources

Hobby Builders Supply/miniatures.com
Itsy Bitsy Mini
Flora Dollhouse (an Etsy shop)
A LavenderDilly (an Etsy shop)
Dollhouses and More
Chautauqua Miniatures
LDelaney (an Etsy shop)

I hope this helps those of you who are working on your very own dollhouses. Of course, I already have plans to add some things, so the list will change over time. But the basic information will stay the same.

Stealing a little: It takes a village to make a dollhouse come to life. That’s for sure.

More tomorrow.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

An Upside-Down Kind of Day

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Yesterday was one of those days where I felt mildly irritable and slightly ‘off’ all day. The simplest tasks went awry. You know what I mean? And through it all, I was completely aware that my reaction to everything was totally up to me, that I could change it all with an attitude adjustment. But I didn’t.

As the day went on, things got better. Don was having the same sort of day, so I guess we sort of wallowed in the whole thing. It was cold. Wintery weather is most definitely here – too early for our taste. An upside-down kind of day.

But I managed to noodle around with some things for the dollhouse. By the way, on an upside-down day, trying to maneuver fully adult human hands and fingers around the miniatures in a dollhouse makes for a lot of cursing.

Oh yes. Quite colorful, I might add.

I bought a little kit when I was in Chautauqua (now I wish I’d purchased two) and finally put it together.

sat little shelf

It’s a little Victorian corner shelf with wonderful scroll work that was laser cut. Once I got out the glue, it was very easy to put together. I was going to paint it, but I decided I liked it better ‘au naturel.’

Gosh, it’s hard getting good photos way back in the depths of the kitchen!

A while back, Linda, a generous reader of this blog, sent me a box full of kits from The House of Miniatures. One of them was for a cupboard that would function as the top of a secretary. But I had a different idea. I put it together yesterday. Then I stained, painted, and sanded it.

sat cabinet on wall 2

I wanted it to look vintage and salvaged. (I’d like one of these for our real-sized cottage!) I never liked the free-standing bookcase I had in here. It was really just a marker of sorts until I figured out something else to do here.  I stained the piece first with some antiquing gel, then I painted it and sanded it to show wear and tear. I deliberately left some parts of the doors unstained.

sat cabinet on wall 1

Then I put some of the books I’ve made on the shelves. There will be more added eventually.

(I took these photos late in the day.)

So, in spite of an upside-down day, I managed to create a couple of additions to the dollhouse. That makes me happy.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

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