miniatures — Page 98

Work Resumes on the Dollhouse

July 19, 2012 at 10:40 am by Claudia

Most of the time, the outside of my dollhouse faces us as we sit in the living room. Since I’m in this room a great deal lately, watching over my Riley, I sauntered on over to it this morning and turned it so that the inside of the house was facing me.

Yikes.

I haven’t done any work on it for a long while. Some of the rooms are on their way to being finished, others are completely untouched and serve as a catchall for all my wood and trim scraps. I grabbed some paint and a paint brush and redid a side table that was very dark in its former incarnation.

There it is next to the chair. My friend, Heidi, gave me some furniture that was in a dollhouse she got at auction. Most of it is unusable, but a few pieces are just right – like the table.

The den is pretty much finished. I just have to add some crown molding and, of course, some decorations for the walls. (You can tell I was styling these photos – the same basket of flowers that was in the living room is now on top of the cabinet.)

The bedroom needs a bed. I’m envisioning something painted in a shabby white.

The kitchen has the Aga range and a table and chairs. It needs cupboards, a sink and a refrigerator.

The bathroom and the studio are completely unfinished.

Time to get cracking.

By the way, my darn camera has some dust under the top edge of the lens and I have to crop every photo around it. It’s not so much of an issue outdoors, but when I take photos inside the house, oh my goodness, is it annoying.

I want a new camera. I’ve said that before on this blog many times, but I thought I might take this opportunity to gently remind the universe.

Yesterday, I decided to mow the front part of the property and neglected to check the weather. 97 degrees with high humidity. Many hours later, with many breaks sandwiched in, it was finished. What was I thinking?

A little business: the winner of a copy of Night Watch never contacted me, so I drew another number and this time, the winner is Rosedel. Rosedel is a fairly frequent commenter on this blog, but I don’t have her email address. Rosedel, send me an email (look under Contact under my header) with your shipping address and I’ll forward it on to the folks at TLC Book Tours.

Don’t forget to check out my Connecticut Tourism post here. You have an opportunity to win $1000 to put toward your very own trip to Connecticut!

Dollhouse: A Hardwood Floor

October 4, 2011 at 5:49 pm by Claudia

Today: I’m cutting popsicle-type sticks with my Easy Cutter. Why? I’m going to stain them and construct a floor for the living room. Cut, cut, cut….then stain. Cut, cut, cut some more….and stain some more. Here’s what it’s starting to look like:

I haven’t glued anything down yet. I’m going for a wide plank look to the floor with a dark stain. I tested it out by putting my little chest of drawers on the wood. I like it. Visualize some faded oriental rugs on that dark wood.

I’ve had such fun the last two days, pouring over my catalogues and looking at all the amazing dollhouse miniatures on Etsy. Since I have a budget of just about nothing, I’ve just bookmarked my favorites. I did order some wallpaper and beadboard, as well as some molding and trim for the windows. I’m going to tackle this house one room at a time.

With all the stress and worry concerning my mom and dad, I find that working on the dollhouse provides me with an escape of sorts. For a few hours, I am immersed in the creative process and it brings me great pleasure.

My friend Norma wanted to see a close-up of the chest of drawers:

A little grainy, but it will do. Let me tell you about this piece (which is one of my favorites.) When I was a little girl there was a line of mini furniture for girls called Petite Princess – Fantasy Furniture. This was during the sixties. I remember bugging my mom to buy them for me but she didn’t go for it. A few years ago, I found some pieces which were mint in the box at a nearby antique store. This is by far the neatest piece and it’s made of plastic. You’d never know it, would you? And I love the fact that it was Shabby Chic long before our current craze. It’s been distressed (not by me, it came that way) and has a faux marble top. The drawers open, as well. The scale is a little off on some of the other pieces, but this one fits in perfectly.

Don’t forget Reality Shot Thursday. I will most likely have the post up just after midnight on Thursday. I’d love to have you join me! If you’re so inclined, please spread the word about my little meme.

I just so happen to be looking at this week’s bit of reality as I sit here writing this post. I wonder what it will be?

With Deep Sympathy

September 23, 2011 at 11:29 am by Claudia

I have to take a moment to write about loss. Sometimes I am hit with news that stops me in my tracks. That happened this week when I read the latest post by my blogging friend, Jayne. Jayne is a talented miniaturist who has the most generous of hearts. You’ve seen one of Jayne’s creations quite often on this blog.

Jayne created the lovely statue with flowers on the right.

What you might not know is that Jayne sent me a wonderful package with all sorts of miniatures, including this statue, simply because she likes giving to others and I was new to the dollhouse world – because her heart is a giving one.

Jayne and her husband, Mick, are British and live in California. They bought a home last year and had been working on it together. Last week, Mick suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of 51. He was on his way home on his motorcycle. Jayne wrote eloquently about Mick and shared with us what a wonderful and kind man he was.

My heart breaks for Jayne and her family. I am not writing this in order for you to go to her post and leave a comment. I’m writing this because Jayne is part of my blogging life and has touched my heart with her kindness in the past. I have shown that statue in many photos over the past week. To show it and not acknowledge the heartbreak and loss this lovely woman is going through feels wrong.

We can be here one day and gone the next. Life is precious beyond belief. As Jayne says so movingly in her post, “tell your family you love them each time you are saying goodbye.”

Dear Jayne, may you be enveloped in the love of your family and friends and may peace and healing find their way to your heart.

Work Resumes on the Dollhouse

Dollhouse: A Hardwood Floor

With Deep Sympathy

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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