just what was needed

yay! the bathroom is now finished (or as finished as any room ever is). i've installed the bidet and toilet, along with a toilet paper stand. the toilet paper stand is a reclaimed fireplace tool holder, painted chrome, and now holding a roll of tp.

the only adjustments i needed to make was paint the bidet and toilet a warmer white. now they match well with the sink and bathtub. i keep thinking the space feels a little big, but if the roof were in place, it would be quite snug, so i won't drive myself kooky thinking about it.

the day was coming to an end, the skies loosing the light of the sun, so the photos are not as crisp as i like. i will take new ones tomorrow.

a new spin on plastic food

it feels funny to do baking for a dollhouse; let's just say you can fit a whole lot of cookies and cream puffs on a relatively small life sized cookie tray.

 i decided to bring the halloween festivities into the kitchen. to me this meant cookies, cookies, cookies, cream puff tower, and pennants. frankenstein green, pumpkin orange, and witch's purple were the main colorways throughout.

 i made all of the baked goods with some sculpey i've had for years (bought in bulk when i was making dolls). painted them with acrylic, and decorated with glitter. glitter is fantastic.

a downside to all of this decorating is that the dollhouse is going to feel empty when i take it all down. don't even tell me about christmas. just don't.

something's growing in here

well, maybe not. several weeks ago i tried my hand at growing a moss terrarium. it looked lovely for several days; then just kind of, well, died. i do tend to be that person that can't even keep a rock plant alive. weirdly enough though, i do really well with orchids.

while browsing @home yesterday i came across these little planters (they're around 1" deep x 3" long x 1-1.5" wide). there were three left, so i took them all home. remember, i have this fascination with all things miniature.

at first i was just going to uproot another patch of moss from outside and try my luck again at growing something. but when i woke up this morning i received a stroke of inspiration from an interview featured on etsy; i would needle felt some moss for my new planter!

digging into my box of felt, finding the right colors, grabbing my felting needles, i was glad of my crafting material hoarding ways; i didn't need to get in the car and drive an hour away to see my vision to fruition.

i started with a rich chocolate brown for the soil, mixed a lime green with a softer green for the moss, and felted them to fit into the planter, avoiding my fingers as much as possible. when it was done to my satisfaction, i took a regular needle and some thread to make the little spikes. i accented my first one with vintage stamens that i had also picked up. eh, voila! a non dyeing plant that i can put anywhere!

a little bit further

the bathroom is coming along nicely; all it really needs is that little piece of plumbing that would make it usable. what is that thing called? um, a sink? no, have one of those. a bathtub? seeing as it's called a bathroom? nope, criteria met. oh. a toilet, that would be nice. still working on it; it's incredibly difficult to buy a single piece of the bathroom trinity in the dollhouse world. they won't sell you just the sink, or just the toilet. no, you must purchase all three.

so instead of dealing with the issue of acquiring a toilet, i've instead chosen to focus on finishing details. like, a bright floor mat that matches the grass green of the wallpaper, and making a wooden bath mat for the tub. i'm wondering if i should stain the wood to match the stool? but then it may disappear into the flooring, as the colors are very similar. hm, another quandary to contemplate.

comfy bench that was once a coffee table

i love getting new pieces for the dollhouse, and checking the item off of my list of things that would complete it. while looking at the large room that is the living room/dining room, i pictured a lovely long bench to go under a picture to the left side of the future dining table. it needed to be low enough to sit on and to add cushioning, but thin enough so that it did not crowd the room.

while browsing a dollhouse store we discovered while going the wrong way, i came across a quartz topped coffee table that would be perfect. i was actually amazed that real quartz was used, and not a plastic alternative. it has quite a lovely sparkle and weight to it. i had a few scraps of orange dupioni silk that i was saving for that area and decided to make two box cushions; there not being enough material to make one to cover the entire top. i rather like it, and it goes very well against the wall.

a small milestone

wow! i've made it past 100 posts. interesting; i wasn't sure that when i started this blog that i would stick with it, or even have all that much to say. i've surprised myself. well, happy me! i think this is deserving of a samoas cookie from my last box i've been saving.

i was initially going to post about my butterfly sonata pincushion, before i saw the post #. it's softer in hue from what i have been making. we have a butterfly bush outside my window and it is humongous! it's all covered in flowers now, and attracting quite a crowd of butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. the color scheme is inspired by that as well as the embroidery on the backside.

the brown spots fabric i have been saving for several years now. i kept thinking it would make really nice towels for the dollhouse bathroom, but unfortunately it's just too heavy to lay nicely. i may still use it as a bathmat if it looks okay. we'll see.
i know there hasn't been any updates about the dollhouse for a while now, there just really hasn't been any changes. i have a table in mind for the living room, but it's in charleston and i usually head up that way once or twice a year.
it's funny, now that all of the wallpapering is done, there just doesn't seem to be too much left unfinished. mostly small details and that gaping hole of emptiness in the living room where there'll be a dinette set. i'm still searching for the goods to finish that area.

somewhere to sit and eat

the dolls in the dollhouse can finally sit down and have some breakfast. oatmeal, actually. the table hunt was successful; the cafe style table is a perfect size for the kitchen, not too big nor too small.
i also found a table for the living room, but i wasn't 100% sure of it at the time. i thought i was prepared to go to the dollhouse store, camera in hand, detailed list of needs and wants, in the vain hope of not becoming overwhelmed. i grabbed the above table right away, then saw one next to it that had real possibility for the main dining area. tables in hand, off i went to look for chairs to pair with it. and that, dear folks, is how one starts looking at the want list and adding things. but somehow after an hour and a half, i pulled through, two purchases poorer; purple flowers for the upstairs hallway and a table for the kitchen.

a 2 hour car trip later, upon arriving home and putting said table in it's new locale, i had second thoughts of the other table. about how the glimmer of that mirror, the shade of that frame would correspond fantastically against the table. about how dark the little nook is, how this one piece of furniture would brighten and draw attention. and i doubted my choice in not getting both tables. alas, good thing for telephones and the mail system.
the little table looked alone in the kitchen, so i pulled out my box of old furniture and placed two chairs from the previous dining set along side the sleek new marble top. looking at the pairing i thought, "this actually doesn't look that bad, i actually like the warmth of the wood in correspondence with the cool steel and glossy white." and so they stayed.

everything but the commodore

inside joke. i'm actually referring to the commode. anyways. the tub and plumbing are completely movable in case i decide to rearrange the placement. in keeping with the vanity, the tub faucet is encased in cork as well. perhaps i will get a bidet along with the toilet. if and when i can purchase just those two units alone. i don't really care for another set of bathroom appliances.

the wallpaper has come home

let me first start off with saying that contact cement is a pain. and that the angle of the roof is a pain. and that applying wallpaper on a small scale is still a pain. the wallpapering job is not perfect. nope. because the thing with contact cement is that once contact has been made, it stays, imperfections and all.

but other than those things, i likes it a lot. it's very balanced when all is said and done. and enveloping, like a green house. the star nook is lovely as it's set off with the lavender paper.
i decided to install the cork covered sink, and there's a stool in the room for towels. today i shall go a bathtub hunting. hopefully this venture will be successful as i generally stay away from most if not all forms of mall, be they strip or otherwise.

the mini reveal

i decided to scan the wallpapers before i hang them on the walls. of the three i have to say the first one is my favorite. i like how the rock and planter came out, also the standing bird. i'm not sure how they're all going to look together and set at the angle of the roof. enveloping perhaps.

next step is to adhere the panels to the wall using contact cement. there are two reasons for this choice; one, i can later remove them if i would like, and two, the paper isn't 100% flat so i need an instant bond for it to be smooth. one reason against using contact cement would be the long term archival properties; i'm assuming contact cement isn't good in that department.

this armoire was made for living

when i settle on the right paper, i plan on wallpapering the inside of the armoire. i think it would be a nice surprise. i know it would make me happy to see such a pretty detail in a somewhat plain exterior. like the hidden world that's inside people.

getting the armoire turned out to be a good mistake. it feels so at home in the master bedroom. thanks to elizabeth at elf miniatures for crafting such an exceptionaly fine piece; the wood finish is so smooth and the doors slide like butta.
as a treat i'm leaving you with another peek from the bathroom remodel.

just a peek...

...of what i've been up to. i am in the middle of finishing the bathroom in the dollhouse. i was inspired by an armoire to conclude that the bathroom must have chinoiserie wallpaper. and that that wallpaper was to be lavender gray. how i came to this juncture is still somewhat a mystery to me. as you will see tomorrow, the connection from this armoire to the fanciful imaginings of chinoiserie wallpaper is peculiar.
this is a sample of the drawings that will act as guide to the later application of paint.

a kitty bed!

on a recent visit, my sister made a suggestion for the master bedroom; that it needed something that was low to the ground to fill a space by the fireplace. she suggested a dog bed or cat tree. as there aren't any dogs in this house, a kitty bed would be nice. a chance to get those little hairballs off of the main bed.
i had a scrap of nani iro fabric that was too big to toss, and the color scheme worked well enough; little pink roses on a white background. so with some thread, a couple of cotton balls and a little bow, i made a nifty little bed. i like it, i think kitty does too. now if she only had a ball of yarn or a mouse toy.

pillows

the living room needed more orange in the pillow accents, there was a little bit too much pink going on. a floor cushion would work nice, and fill an area that was looking empty. using needlepoint on linen, i stitched out two different patterns on either side of the pillow; one side mostly a soft pink, and the other cubes. i also sewed together a simple orange silk pillow for the couch to replace a magenta one.

a dolly house remake

well, i've unpacked and put everything to right in the dollhouse. as i was going through furnishings i decided to change the layout a bit. there was also a couple of new additions to the place in the way of new furniture, plants, and groceries.

gourds and squash are all the rage in the dollhouse now, being as it's the fall season.


a new modernica chair, i repainted it an oatmeal color and darkened the legs.

the child's bedroom now has a nice bed i stole from the upstairs apartment.

i like this more colorful version of the hallway.

i even managed to make a rough noguchi lamp for the bedside.

for more images take a gander at my flickr page.

into the dolls' house

an overall view of the house; not minding the upstairs bathroom renovation currently underway. i have plans for two tables, one in the kitchen (preferably round, two chairs), and one in the living room in front of the windows (rectangular, one bench, two chairs). i have yet to come upon tables i like and may end up creating them myself. the kitchen is about 95% complete otherwise.

you can see further photos of the kitchen cabinets on my flickr space. they were from an original kit by elf miniatures and came out excellent by the way.

and then there was a coffee table

i have wanted to get a noguchi coffee table for my dollhouse for awhile now, so yesterday i went ahead and bought one. it is very delicate and beautiful. the top is real glass and is made by a miniature furniture maker, warren richardson. i have to say that it is even nicer in person. now if i could get on the ball with finishing the rest of the room.

modern dollhouse

i believe that a dollhouse should be a reflection of times present. it should be a mix of new and old, color and print. it should yell out your name, or whisper your style. on the first day of the new year i decided to do a major overhaul of the dollhouse my sister had given me several years ago. it did not speak to me, no matter what i put in it.


the very first thing i did was re-wallpaper the master bedroom. i chose a tiffany blue paper from Martha Stewarts' line at Michael's. from there i brought in pale pink dupioni silk curtains, coverlet, and King Louis chair. a dainty vanity and strongly colored picture provided an interesting contrast.


from room to room i went; re-wallpapering, rearranging, incorporating unlikely elements. with each new addition the place started to feel like home. she (for a home is always a she) was becoming a stronger, fresher, grander lady who finally grew into a style that spoke to who she was.


i am still working on the living room, for i wish to create dining/living areas. here is a view of my favorite corner. it will be the crafting/letter writing area.


the kitchen is drawn out on paper, it just needs to be ordered. i am planning on getting glossy white base cabinets with chrome handles and steel counters, along with steel appliances. open shelves will stand in for upper cabinets. i will be going to ELF miniatures for these.


the whole house will always be an ongoing project as i always find interesting things that would go well in there.

to see additional photos of the dollhouse please go here.