Mockingbird Hill Cottage

From no activity on the dollhouse for almost 5 years to lots of work for three days in a row. I will admit that I am hooked on this hobby once again. (But I do have to take a break today – too much overstimulation!)

I managed to wallpaper the wall on the left and another section of that same wall on Monday. This involved contorting my body while shoving a piece of copy paper into this section in order to trace the proportions and the doorway – because I can’t see it from my chair. I end up using that piece of paper as a pattern for cutting out the wallpaper. But I check and recheck because it’s all too easy to get it wrong and I had exactly one sheet left of this pattern. Amazingly, with very little tweaking, it worked. But since this particular brand of wallpaper is so thick, I had to put a book against the wall to make sure it stuck.

This is the other section that I completed.

Had to put some “Roseville”on that mantel.

Yesterday, I decided to hold off on laying down a floor in order to build a one day project. This took place at the kitchen table so I could chitchat with Don as I worked. I’ve had this kit on hand for a few years and it was time to tackle it.

The piano. It was tricky and messy, but I did it.

I’m so, so happy with it! Isn’t it cool?

It’s a kit from Mini Mundus, a German family-owned company that just recently announced their retirement. I would say “Why does this keep happening??” (my favorite miniature supply shop just went through the same thing) but then again, what are Don and I facing right now? Same thing. Anyway, they make beautiful kits and, thankfully, you can still find their products on eBay.

Lots of fiddly work, but very clear directions. I ended up changing out the fabric on the bench to this pattern.

Whoo, hoo! I’m just tickled by the way it came out. At the end of the day, I was so overstimulated that I couldn’t quite calm down. Today is cold and sunny and I’m going to think  about the dollhouse but I’m not doing anything with it. Except maybe clean up a bit because it looks like a tornado hit my tiny little work area.

I have lots of ideas, but virtually no budget for any of this – the problems with the economy/tariffs have hit us very hard, as I’m sure is the case for everyone – and neither of us has work. In the next month or so, I have to pay for plants for the porch as well as the cost of renewing my blog host/server for one more year. So, I need to be imaginative and do this as inexpensively as possible. I’ll buy wallpaper as needed. And I have some more kits on hand that will be fun to put together.

Anyway, there you go – the latest on the Beacon Hill.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Well, Easter was a gray and rainy day here in the Hudson Valley. Ah well. We need the rain. Today is colder and we will be dealing with cold temperatures for the next 3 days or so. Then we’ll swing back to the 60s and 70s.

And that’s your weather update from MHC.

But we have a few daffodils – not as many blooms as last year, but these pops of bright yellow make me smile. The forsythia is blooming as well. I saw the flashes of yellow from the bedroom window.

I spent a lot of the time on Easter working on the dollhouse. I decided to start wallpapering the living room. I have to say, bending over and trying to maneuver wallpapering a miniature room is harder than it used to be. My back and neck complain. And as usual with the kind of dollhouse work that I do, it’s trickier because it’s already been built and the surfaces are uneven in a way they might not have been had I built it. This particular wallpaper is thicker than usual, which made dealing with bay windows and lots of angles a challenge. I still have two sections of room to finish, but here is what I have so far.

I staged it with a potted plant that I stole from Dove Cottage because there is paint on that window from its time with the previous owner and I can’t figure out how to remove the window and replace the acetate. It won’t budge. So it might always have to have a vase, or a plant, or a small sculpture in front of it. I have a kit table that I’m going to eventually place behind the sofa. I have to assemble it first.

The fireplace came with the house kit. I have two of them. I like it a lot. I might use it or I might replace it with another. But it gives you an idea of the space. It’s not the best wallpaper job ever, but considering the fact that this room is very, very deep which makes it a pain in the tush to do anything in the back of a room, I’m okay with it.

The floor will be made of wood: the usual coffee stirrer sticks, individually stained, while I deal with glue all over my fingers.

I like the white floor, but I don’t want the room to feel too precious, so wood it will be. I have a round table that will tuck into the bay window and 2 vintage Bespaq chairs. Presumably this is where the owners dine and or do jigsaw puzzles.

I’m still on a search for more wallpaper. I have one pattern here that might work in the bedroom. And I have another in mind for the hallways.

I moved the dollhouse back to the long work table because I need the light coming from the windows and it’s an inch or two higher than the sewing table.

Anyway, mark Sunday on your calendar. Claudia finally did some interior work in the dollhouse!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.