Fall Pumpkins - The Dollhouse Saga

I had bought a bag of tiny glass pumpkins. Moiren is painting them to look like the real thing. They will go on the dollhouse porch and in the Haunted Garden we are making. Her little dollhouse family likes to decorate for the holidays.

Moiren is having so much fun and doing a splendid job. 

Peldyn

Macarons - The Dollhouse Saga

Moiren and I had spent a day making teeny tiny french macarons from polymer clay.  We bothe had so much fun!

 

We even made some little lemons!

It has been so, so hot that doing any work on the dollhouse is just misery. I do hop to finish the tea room by the end of September though :)

Peldyn

Mighty Nest Subscription

I just got my first Mighty Nest Sub! This month it is organic wool dryer balls. I am pretty excited to try these. I don't use fabric softener due to allergies so my clothes can be rough and staticky if I use the dryer. Friends who have used these say great things.

To check them out for yourself:

http://mightynest.com

Seeing Green - The Dollhouse Saga

Painting furniture for a dollhouse I haven't even started to build yet *LOL*

Be prepared, right?

Peldyn

Tea Room Floor - The Dollhouse Saga

I had not been feeling well so work paused for a bit on the dollhouse. This past weekend  I felt better so I went to work cutting up wood-look vinyl tile for the tea room floor.

I used a guillotine style cutter. I just had to be careful that the tile did not shift as it was cut.

I then started laying the tile down.

Partway through doing this I injured my thumb pretty badly. Cracked the nail in half, damaged the nail bed. After a couple days of ice and anti-inflammitories I can use my hand a little bit. So today I decided to test out a technique I saw on Pinterest of using shoe polish to finish wood vinyl floors. 

It fills in any light colored spots and gaps. I really like the look versus the untreated areas. Getting all the way up to the edge by the walls will be a pain, but so worth it for the finished look. Hopefully when my thumb is all better I can get the floor completed. I did get the ceiling covered with embossed paper.

It will look excellent once the crown molding goes up. So, still need floor to be finished, wainscoting, crown molding,  and trim around doorways and windows. Other than that it is coming along!

Peldyn

Making Plans - The Dollhouse Saga

Now that I am starting on the tea room/ library it is important to follow a plan of attack. Things need to be done in a certain order to make it all go easier. First I put up the wallpaper. It is looking pretty good. I also painted the last window that was not installed and put that in.

Before paper this room is awful.

I matched up the edges of each paper piece, overlapping slightly. To stick it on the walls I used tacky glue thinned with water. I had the paper extend up the ceiling about 1/2 inch so there would be no gaps when I put up the ceiling treatment.

Now I definitely need an ordered list so as to not mess up.

So this is what gets done next: 

1. Ceiling treatment

2. Crown moulding

3. Flooring

4. Window and door trim

5. Wainscoting

6. Chair rail or trim

I will most likely paper the hallway before the flooring goes in as I plan on having the same floor throughout. 

I saw an adorable little saw on Amazon that would make all my cutting so much  easier. I think the hubby might like it for Father's Day ;)

Peldyn

A Tiny Rug - The Dollhouse Saga

Since I put my back out this week I am stuck mostly on the couch binge watching Bones on Netflix and crocheting a tiny rug for the dollhouse kitchen. Of course before I started I had to get a consensus from my friends of which yarn to use. The blue was unanimous.

The rug is done in chain stitch.

 Instead of joining together in a round I chose to use a joining stitch with sewing thread. This I believe makes the rug less bulky.

I continued in this vein until the little rug was the size I wanted. I wet it thoroughly and pinned it to my ironing board to block it.

After drying completely it is ready to place in the kitchen.

I had envisioned maybe a lighter colour, but the blue is a nice pop. I think our little deer family are happy with it.

Peldyn

Kitchen Achievement Unlocked!- The Dollhouse Saga

With the walls and floors done I needed to do the final placement of cupboards in the kitchen. I set things out on the table to get on idea of how they would look and fit together.

I decided there needed to be a little shelf under the range hood.

I used Popsicle sticks, tiny corbels and the a tiny rod for a rail. It got a coat of white paint and then green.

After I glued everything in place I put in the rest of the furniture and decorations.

I still plan on putting more faux food in the cupboards and I think a broom and maybe an apron on a hook, a little rug under the table. Until I get around to that I am going to start wall papering the tea room/library. I have lovely plans for that room. Delicious plans.

Until then, anon dear friends!

Peldyn

Kitchen Wainscoting Done and Mini Rant-The Dollhouse Saga

Still on a roll, I kept working and finished the wainscoting today. It sure feels great to have accomplished a major goal!

Partway through I got excited and put up a little plate shelf I had made. Then on to chair rails and the white washing!

Last step was putting on a coat of sealing wax.

Now to the rant. I have been purchasing many little decorative items off of eBay and Amazon for the dollhouses. So far it had been a positive experience and any problems with items were dealt with swiftly and professionally by the sellers.

Until I decided to try out Minidreamworld.

They sell on eBay and Amazon. I purchased an assorted order of kitchen food items and they came from China fairly quickly. They were all super cute but one package of wine bottle looked awfully big. Twice the size I expected. The listing stated "good for 1/12." I wrote the seller and let them know they should change the listing to reflect that in fact these bottles are too big for 1/12. I get a reply back that they sell a lot and I am the only one who is complaining. I am totally floored by this reply. As you can see from this photo, they won't even fit on the shelf of my doll cabinet.

I had ordered another package of mixed bottles and you can see the difference in size.

All I had asked was that future listings be corrected as to scale. What was to be a positive transaction has now devolved to a neutral at most. I will never order from them again either. Buyer beware.

Peldyn

White Washed Floors - The Dollhouse Saga

After a bit of time off, spent making tiny polymer food  I finally buckled down and finished the kitchen floor. I decided I wanted to white wash it so I took flat latex paint and mixed it with a bit of water. I brushed it on and then wiped off any excess with a washcloth. I think I am going to put a coat of sealing wax on. 

I still have some of the wainscoting to finish. I plan on doing that tomorrow.

I couldn't resist putting some of the furniture in. Mrs. Buckley Deer is making heart shaped cookies.

What a lovely day to do some baking.

Until next time!

Peldyn

Finished Stove -The Dollhouse Saga

I am so excited to have finished the little stove. I wanted to put adorable little details on it so I got out my fimo clay and made little oven control knobs

They are so tiny! I used a technique I read online to bake them in the microwave. I put them in a bowl of water and zapped them for three minutes.

They look so cute! 

I next added little feet to the bottom of the stove. I used earring backs glued in place, then I painted them black.

The door handle is a piece of heavy wire I shaped and then hammered into place.

It all looks better than I hoped.

Time to cook a tiny casserole ;)

I am wondering if maybe I could add a lightbulb in the oven? It would add to the effect I think. Well, I will have to ponder that.

Peldyn