Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Corners of the (Doll)House

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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.

sundhcorner3

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.

sundhcorner4

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.

sundhcorner11

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.

sundhcorner9

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.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

It’s All Right

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saturdaybudslilacs

We look for signs of spring, signs of new growth. After a winter that lingered much, much too long, we’re off to a late start this spring. But the signs are there, if you look closely – buds on the lilac bush, for example.

saturdaytulips

Tulips leaves poking out of the ground.

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Tiny little signs. Buds on the Wiegela bush. Day lilies showing themselves and sedum buds in the garden.

Tiny, almost imperceptible buds on some of the trees.

The entrance to the woods looks like this:

pathentrance

Leaves on the ground, trees still bare. But soon there will be a canopy of leaves, and we will once again see that the ‘woods are lovely, dark and deep.’ (Robert Frost) This woods of ours will be transformed.

Yesterday, as we were still in bed, waking up slowly, Don and I sang:

Little darling
it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling
it feels like years since it’s been here.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It’s all right.

(George Harrison)

I can’t imagine a more fitting lyric for the winter we’ve just been through, as well as the time we’ve had to spend apart.

I love that song and now it’s cycling through my mind all the time.

It’s all right.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Letting The Light In

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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:

dhskylight

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.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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