Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Miniature Armoire

August 5, 2021 at 9:24 am by Claudia

I swear I sense autumn in the air. It’s too early, I know. But there are subtle changes of light, cooler mornings, a different…look. I know I said this yesterday, but I also want to add that I’m feeling that nesting/organizing thing kick in that always occurs for me in autumn.

This week has been lovely. Cool enough to mow without too much sweat, the plants don’t need to be watered quite as frequently, cool mornings and evenings. By the way, last night I insisted to Don that it was Tuesday. He assured me it was Wednesday. This morning I checked yesterday’s post and sure enough, I said “Happy Tuesday.” Oy. I swear it gets increasingly hard to keep track of the days of the week – and I have a planner! We haven’t worked in a long time, the pandemic rages on, and one day morphs into another. Anyway, apologies for that. I’ve since corrected it.

I don’t know whether I posted this on the blog or on IG, but a few months back, after looking for an armoire/wardrobe for the dollhouse, I chose to go with something relatively inexpensive that I could paint or stain. The photo of the armoire showed the doors closing cleanly with no gap.

This is what I received:

I was not a happy camper. I’m familiar with this brand and yes, they manufacture inexpensive furniture, nonetheless, this was unacceptable. I wrote the seller and she tried to say that this uneven gap was there to allow for layers of paint. Ummm….no. I am not new to working with miniatures and that, my friend, is total BS. I told her I wanted my money back and she said she would refund when I sent it back to her. Okay.

A few days passed and I realized it wasn’t worth the hassle. Packing it up, taking it to the post office, paying to mail it – all for something I got for $12? I did leave a review complaining about the difference between her photo and the actual item I received, but I decided to keep it. I had an idea to add a strip of wood between the doors that would look like part of the wardrobe. I found one in my stash that was just right and I cut it to fit. Fast forward a couple of months to yesterday and I finally painted the piece.

Here it is:

I think it works! I’m very pleased with it and I don’t feel the need to have clothes hanging inside, so I’m okay with it as is. Plus, I had to put something that was a little heavy inside the armoire because it didn’t have enough weight. I will most likely replace the hardware, however. The knobs came with the armoire.

This will go in the bedroom. I’m still debating about the bed, which is lovely, but I can’t help thinking it’s too high in relation to the other pieces of furniture. I’m looking into other possibilities.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, Dove Cottage, miniatures 41 Comments

Miniatures, Caterpillars & Books

August 4, 2021 at 10:44 am by Claudia

I saw this guy on the milkweed yesterday. He’s actually much more petite than this photo suggests. I walk to the milkweed every day, hoping to see a caterpillar. I’ve seen Monarch butterflies lay their eggs underneath the leaves in the past couple of weeks, but this is the first time I’ve seen one of these guys. By the time I managed to bring Don over to this leaf, the caterpillar had moved to the underside where he was happily munching away. I wonder where he’ll eventually move to make his chrysalis?

We mowed the entire front lawn yesterday – both sides – and we were exhausted at the end of it all. Both of us fell asleep in our chairs mid-afternoon. But it looks good out there and the temperature was rather mild, perfect for mowing. The mornings have been cooler lately, making me think of fall. I’m not nearly ready for it yet, but I have appreciated the cooler temperatures. This morning was foggy and misty and quite beautiful.

I plopped the red chair in the studio, but I’m not sure about it yet. I took this at a point in the day when the late afternoon sun was shining directly in the dollhouse. Without that, the chair gets lost in the shadows. Now, I’m not at all sure I’m going to use the modern IKEA-like low shelf unit – it takes up a lot of floor space and I’d rather find something more period looking. So, after I deal with that, the chair might work in a place more toward the front of the room. Or, I might find something else that looks a little more worn, an old chair that would survive paint drips, etc. Something the owner could plop in when she’s taking a break from painting.

In other words, I have more to do in this space. The red chair may end up back in the living room or it might end up in a future project, i.e., the Beacon Hill.

Decisions, decisions…

Don is up in the studio as I write this, recording a song. He’s been intrigued by Nordic Noir since we watch so many series produced in Scandinavia. So I nudged him toward reading some Nordic Noir. He just finished a mystery by Ragnar Jonasson that we picked up at Oblong Books, and now he’s going to start the very first in the Wallander series by Henning Mankel. It’s good to see him reading some fiction again.

I’m still reading Elly Griffiths – number 6 in the series, The Outcast Dead – and I have another one on tap. Then I might veer off and read the new John Connolly and, of course, the new Louise Penny appears toward the end of this month. But I tend to hold off on reading a new Penny because I want to prolong the pleasure; I don’t want to read it right away and then have to wait an entire year for a new Gamache mystery. We do have a Louise Penny/Hillary Clinton collaboration coming out in November (or is it October?) and I’m looking forward to that, as well.

Books purchased last week at Oblong:

  1. Slow Horses  by Mick Herron. Eric Idle, who reads a ton of books, has a blog and each month, he lists what he read, with a little blurb about each book. He is a big fan of Mick Herron, a British writer who writes spy novels. So I picked this one up.
  2. Orfeo  by Richard Powers. I read his novel, The Overstory, last year. One of the best books I’ve ever read. It won the Pulitzer Prize. He wrote Orfeo  in 2014 – it’s about art, microbiology and Homeland Security.
  3. Rachel to the Rescue  by Elinor Lipman. I’m a big fan of Lipman, who writes witty novels that often involve romantic social satire – rather like Jane Austen. This one involves the Trump White House and an employee who is fired by the WH for criticizing Trump. Described as ‘mischievous political satire.’
  4. The Forger’s Daughter  by Brad Morrow. A sequel to the Forger (which I haven’t read yet) about books and literary forgery. It takes place in the Hudson Valley, a place I’m rather fond of.

Okay. Have to go.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: books, bookshops, dollhouse, miniatures, monarch butterfly 9 Comments

Painting #9 and the Dollhouse

August 3, 2021 at 9:32 am by Claudia

My laptop was delivered by FedEx around 12:30 yesterday, right as I was in the middle of finishing this painting. First of all, thrilled to have it back! It works beautifully and a bonus of having the keyboard replaced is the fact that it looks brand spanking new! A few of the keys were a bit worn-looking from so many years of use.

I finished the painting not long after the laptop arrived. This is the Freesia pattern and it’s number 9 in my series. It was quite challenging for me but I have to remember that it’s all a learning process. Ultimately, I’m pleased with it.

I straightened and sorted through my stacks of reading matter in the den. It looks better in there, thank goodness. I also pulled a lot of weeds outside, watered all the porch plants, and vacuumed – all this while Don was getting his hair cut. The fact is, I get a lot more done when he’s not here!

I also did a little playing around with the dollhouse. The gorgeous pink chair (made by artisan June Clinkscales) that I purchased a while back had been sitting in the art studio, but it’s on the large side and I suddenly felt it took up too much space in that little room. So I moved it into the living room.

It picks up the pink in the sofa. I’m not sure this is permanent yet, but if you remember, I had the deep red chair in here, which is also beautiful. That chair is now in the studio but I think I have to find a chair that is lighter in color for that room. I’ll play around with furniture placement and see if I can make it work.

I’m starting to work on finishing this dollhouse. I’ve taken a bit of a break but it’s time to head for the finish line. The bed needs to be dressed, the wardrobe needs to be painted, the front ‘porch’ needs to be painted, I need to buy some more lights, and then lots of little accessories need to be added. I’m hoping to get some of those at the miniature show in September; plants, artwork, pottery, maybe some more books and some stuff for the kitchen.

Then…will I finally start on the Beacon Hill? Seems daunting.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, Dove Cottage, miniatures, oil painting, Roseville pottery 22 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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