I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Dollhouse wall photos and kitchen

I am still adding things here and there to make the dollhouse
more like a lived in farmhouse.  Since I plan on keeping this dollhouse,
I spent quite a bit of time making miniature family photos......
from our real family photos.  I arranged them 
around a "family" quote and placed it on the living room
wall......where I can always see it and remember back on our sweet life.

I had shown you a photo in an earlier post of the dollhouse kitchen. 
I have also added things to make it look like a farmhouse kitchen, 
and I have painted it yellow.


I had this red water pump with the red pail.  I made a miniature dishcloth 
and dish towel  and I made a tiny bottle of liquid dish soap.

I need a lot of practice, as you can see...........in  my "wonky" and uneven
creations.......but I made food and dishes from oven bake clay.
After the clay baked, I painted the food .
There is baked bread and rolls, a dozen eggs, spaghetti and meat balls in the
red bowl, baked chicken and roasted vegetables, and a cherry pie.
I love red handled kitchen items, I also used real tiny wire for
the whisk.
As you can see, the chicken

and the breads look pretty plain.  So they all look 
better painted in the previous photo.




I also made a tiny set of canisters from the oven bake clay.

  and I made more tiny dishcloths and dish towels for 
the storage drawers. ( a little blurry)

I made a small shelf with teapot and teacup decals to 
give the kitchen a "homey" feel.

I will add a few wall pictures to the kitchen later......
but for now......I am pretty much finished with this room.
Or... do we ever really get finished with a room, 
whether it be a dollhouse......or our real house?


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

The sweetness and whimsy ...........

of story book animals wearing jackets is what made 
me choose this design to embroider..........
and to name it Claudia.
Tell me, rabbits, mice, bears......or other,
what is your favorite "jacket" wearing
animal?
I would love to hear!


Thursday, January 9, 2020

A few years back......

I posted about an old dollhouse that I found at an estate sale.
The lady's estate home was full of beautifully decorated dollhouses......
but this one was in the back of an old garage on a dusty floor.
I fell in love with it and dragged it home. 

After cleaning it up, I decided I wanted to fix the dollhouse as a
1940s farmhouse and chose red and white for the kitchen with a rose
wallpaper.

However......it wasn't long before I noticed that the dollhouse had 
a terrible odor which ,when placed inside, made the whole
area smell.  Friends advised me to coat it in a primer made to 
get rid of stains and odors...........

so  I had to destroy the red and white kitchen.......but
it was worth it.  The dollhouse now has no odor and is a blank
canvas once again. 

I have shown you the kitchen in one of my latest posts that I chose to do in yellow....but for now
I decided to work on the living room/dining room section.
I chose paper with green prints and a dark hard wood flooring.

I had had this little bench and chair set for a while, 
which I thought were perfect forms .......

and I made the set into a lovely little couch and chairs 
Happy with this, but still I knew I wanted a fireplace somewhere
in this room

Using one of our vintage cedar shingles that used to be on the 
roof of our home, I made a fireplace frame on it, using Popsicle sticks.
You will see why I needed the shingle as a background in a few moments.

I then gathered rocks on a walk with Sophie and created a 
rock fireplace.

I had found these battery flickering tea lights, and 
covered the front of one with twigs from the yard, 

and now the fireplace looks like it has a cozy fire in it! 

Now the reason for the shingle background. To make 
a space for the fireplace, I covered up the side window 
with the shingle to make a solid wall.  I also made lace curtains
for the other window.

I also decided to wall paper the other rooms so that it 
will be easier to work on furnishings as I go. And speaking of 
furniture and accessories, 
I have gathered a few pieces of lovely dollhouse furniture
here and there at estate sales........but I really enjoy making
a lot of things as best I can.........


Now the living room......looks cozy

I fixed some tiny mantle decorations
And now, I will start working more on the dining room side.  
I still need to add photos and wall hangings to the walls and I need to paint the 
dining room chairs.
I have enjoyed working on this little house. Not sure how 
it will all look when I finally complete it......but for now
it looks inviting.........don't  you think so?
So tell me...........did you have a doll house when you were a child........
or do you have a doll house that  you are working on now?
Do  you purchase your furnishings or do you make them?
I would love to hear!