Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Visit to the Dollhouse

December 17, 2018 at 11:38 am by Claudia

Because the interior of Hummingbird Cottage is facing me on a daily basis of late, I took some photos this morning. A bit moody, but I like them. This dollhouse has been photographed and photographed again. It’s been published in two magazines. So I think some moody, sometimes slightly blurred photos are just fine, if only for a change of pace.

Besides, I’m proud of this 6 year long renovation.

I also look at all of this as prep for the found-at-the-dump dollhouse renovation which I’ll be heading into after the first of the year.

Some of you are new to the blog, so I’ll talk a bit about the furniture and accessories, but you can get it all in detail under Hummingbird Cottage on my navigation bar.

The living room. There’s not enough room for the Christmas tree in this space, which is why it’s in the den.

The sofa came from Italy, the chair from a dollhouse vendor online. The table was in a bag of dollhouse furniture and I painted it. The dresser is a vintage Petite Princess piece. The mirror was a gift from a reader. I had the shutter in my stash. The stair runner was from an Etsy dealer as was the rug. So was the sign on the wall. The pink pillow was also from an Etsy dealer.

The fireplace was a gift from my husband and it’s made of plastic. I painted it and now it no longer looks like plastic! The andirons were from my stash and I painted them black. I got the logs from an online dealer and the Roseville pottery was gathered from various sources. I love, love, love it. The window frame is from a bashed cabinet. I can’t remember where I got the painting over the fireplace (I think I bought it in a miniature shop) and the little painting was from my friend, Barbara.

The kitchen. The cabinetry in the kitchen was obtained from New England Miniatures, which is sadly no longer in business. The tray, cutting boards, cookie trays, plates and rug were from online sources. I made the backsplash from brick I had left over from the bedroom. I made the curtain under the sink. I made the refrigerator from a wooden box. The other bits – tea towels, canisters, bowls, graniteware, and pitchers were gifts from blog readers. The microwave came from a dealer in England. Chairs, table and hanging pendant lamp were found online. The corner shelf, which you can barely make out, was made from a kit.

The AGA stove was found online and was a gift from my husband. It’s made by Reutter. I made the shelves above the stove from various bits I had in my stash. I made the pot hanger from a mini curtain rod. The copper pots were found online. The copper kettle was a gift from Barbara, as were the Fiesta pitchers on the shelves. I found the plates from wonderful Etsy dealers, as well as the mixer. I made the roman blind. And the floor, of course.

The den. I made the Christmas tree. The plates on the wall have a bird theme and I gathered them from various Etsy dealers. I found the Shiny Brites, mug, sofa, and platter online. The vase, books, wine bottles, afghan, and McCoy pottery were gifts from readers. The little ottoman was made by a blogging friend – it goes with a wicker chair that I had to move to the bedroom while the tree is up. The singing bird (McCoy) that is in the cabinet was made by a blogging friend in honor of my very own singing birds that are on my piano.

The sofa is from an online dealer. The coffee table was a gift from a fellow miniaturist. I painted it white. The barely seen print on the stair wall is a mini Maxfield Parrish that I framed.

The office/studio. I made the desk and the wing chair. I found the desk chair in an antique shop. I made the crate under the desk. The rug was a gift. I made the wall cabinet from a kit and I also made the hooks on the wall. The dress form was plastic when I got it in a bag full of minis from a reader of the blog. I painted the base and covered it in linen.

I made the pinboard from my stash, the shutter was also in my stash. I think I got the map from Michael’s. The tin and book were gifts. And I got the laptop from an Etsy seller.

The table and stool were found online. Wrapping paper, basket,  ribbon, ironing board, yarn, and sewing machine were gifts. I bought the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird  from an Etsy seller.

The bedroom. The wicker chair was a gift from reader. She made  it. I won it in a giveaway, lucky me! The bed (including linens) was also made by another blogging friend and came to me all the way from Australia. I had the bedside table in my stash. The lamp is vintage Petite Princess. Some of the paintings were gifts, others were my own finds. I bought the chair online (one of my earliest purchases) and I painted it and recovered the cushions. I got the gorgeous rug from an Etsy dealer. The books were found online, the box of macarons was a gift from the same lady who made the bed, and I scored the shoes from a miniaturist at last year’s IGMA show. I found the ottoman on Etsy.

The painting on the wall over the stairs was a gift. Another vintage Petite Princess dresser sits against the wall (I have three of them!) The mirror and vase were gifts. I bought the frame in a miniature shop. I still have to insert some photos.

The bathroom. I found the sink unit online and painted it red. The mirror came from a compact. The rug was found online. The hand towel, soap dish and flip flops were gifts. I made the little white chair. The tub and toilet were in a bag of miniatures my friend Heidi gave me. I repainted them.

I made the shower curtain from linen. The pie safe/cabinet came from a miniature show. It’s filled with towels that I made from wash cloths. The jar filled with sea shells and the wooden jar were gifts.

I didn’t take photos of the rooftop garden and potting shed because that area needs to be cleaned up.

Again, if you want details and links, they can be found in a series of “Who. What, Where” posts that are listed under the Dollhouses/Minis tab on my navigation bar.

Gosh, I love miniatures!

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, miniatures 39 Comments

Gratitude

December 16, 2018 at 9:41 am by Claudia

Rain today, some sleet – an altogether messy day. A good day to hunker down and read a good book, which is exactly what I plan to do – along with washing the sheets.

Yesterday, I was functioning on overdrive. I did work outside, I watered all the plants, I cleaned the kitchen, living room and den – and the bathroom, which you know I hate doing. I ticked a few minor things that had been annoying me off my list, the kind of little chores that you come upon every day and file away for the future.

Very satisfying, indeed!

I’ve a couple of presents yet to buy for Don, but I know what I’m getting him. One is on the way. We’re keeping things rather low-key this year. We’ve had an extraordinary year. We’ve been blessed. And even though the show’s closing caused us great pain, as well as a huge loss of income, the good most definitely outweighed the bad. We don’t take any of it for granted and we are humbly aware of the gifts we have been given.

You know, we’ve had some very tough years in the past. Up until very, very recently we never knew if we were going to have enough money to pay our bills and our mortgage each month. Much of my energy was taken up with worrying about money. How much to pay on this bill or that? Would the check for some freelance work or acting work arrive in time to pay that bill? There’s no way I can adequately describe it to you, but believe me, we were in a constant state of stress about our finances. It’s only within the past couple of years that we’ve been able to relax a bit. We still have to cope with living on a limited income, as so many of us do. It was so wonderful to NOT have to worry about money at all when Don was working on Broadway. That’s over. So we still worry. Just not as much as we used to.

Thankfully, we’ve never missed a mortgage payment. We have good credit. But we had to fight, tooth and nail, to accomplish that.

We’ve had Christmases where we tried to scrape enough money together to spend $50 on each other. Sometimes less. In the end, it doesn’t really matter how much, if anything, you spend on a present. Some of our most creative Christmases were in those very lean years.

We’re just grateful that we’re together. That we have a roof over our head. That we love and are loved. That we have friends and family. That we laugh together – a lot.

It’s all good.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: Christmas, gratitude 20 Comments

Small World

December 15, 2018 at 11:05 am by Claudia

Slow going this morning. I slept in. Glory Hallelujah!

The past two days have been rather busy with commuting back and forth to the city. The sheer length of the round trip commute tends to tire me out. I had very good coaching sessions yesterday with some of the actors. I still have to have sessions with 4 of them, but the stage manager tells me that will be next week, which is just fine with me. Such a lovely group of actors. Christa, the director, is also lovely (I’ve worked with her on three shows now). She’s also an actress. Anyway, I’ve found that nice, good-hearted directors tend to attract actors who have the same qualities.

And in “theater is a small world” news, in addition to the actors I mentioned the other day that I worked with 20 or more years ago, I had a feeling that I knew another one of the other actors somehow. When it came time to work with him yesterday, I immediately said “I think I know you from somewhere.” He responded “I’ve been thinking the same thing.” After establishing that he hadn’t worked in Hartford, I brought up the Old Globe. Sure enough, he’d done 3 shows there and the first one he mentioned was the one I had coached about 19 or 20 years ago. That’s one of the things I love about theater. I invariably run in to actors I’ve worked with before – in this case, more than 20 years later!

My favorite ornament. I found this little bluebird ornament a few years back. Isn’t it sweet?

Today is a day to tend to things around the house. Whenever I’m in the city for more than one day in a row, I feel like I’ve lost control of the house! Although, I did give Don some chores to do yesterday and, bless him, he did them all while I was gone and made a fabulous dinner as well. And he found a grocery store that had Mallomars in stock and bought me three boxes.

He’s a pretty neat guy, my husband.

Stella in the early morning light. I added a few more Christmas trees and I think she’s happy.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Christmas, coaching, Don, Stella, vintage 26 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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