Mini Potential

 Here's my collection of purchases with mini potential from today's garage sales. I love the Queen of Multitasking ornament. Stay tuned to find out how these items will be used. Two were fairly easy choices. I purchased them to use in the San Franciscan.

 The ornament makes a very impressive large "oil" painting in the parlor.

The tiger has been mounted on a block. Apparently, Charles did some exotic hunting on his travels.

A Very Nice Interview

 I belong to teammids - Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale. We started out as purely an etsy group. Some of us sell on other venues now but still belong to the team. My friend, Whims (Whimsy Cottage Minis), interviewed me about the library dollhouse display I did in October/November. You can read the interview on the Miniatures in Dollhouse Scale blog. Please stop by and check it out. Also stop by Whimsy Cottage Minis for a beautiful collection of handmade miniatures for your dollhouse or scene.

Can't leave well enough alone

 Since the San Fran is still sitting on the coffee table I have lots of opportunity to look at it. The study desk looked too much like two tables glued together. I wanted something that looked more impressive. I used pieces of a wooden fan and skinny sticks plus some new hardware to give me the look I wanted. Since the desk faces into the office you don't see the front but I know how good it looks now. :)

 This is the view once it's in place. The carved sides and new hardware add a lot to make it look more expensive.

 I also prepared tea for the household. Charles and Faith are enjoying scones with cream and strawberries and tea (with sugar, cream and/or lemon) in the parlor.

Matilda is supervising Noah's tea in the turret room. Noah is also having scones with cream and fruit slices. He's having lemonade rather than tea. He has a full set of silver with his tea because he's also having manners lessons.

The little details are my favorite thing to add. They give the house and its inhabitants character and personality.

We were blessed with two hours of steady rain today. We've been suffering from a moderate drought and today's rain will help with that. My vegetable garden certainly appreciated the gift. I hope you had a beautiful and blessed day!

Is a dollhouse ever really finished?

 The study got a new plant.

 The framed portraits and candles in holders are new in the parlor.

 The silhouettes are new and the first plant I did is now in the bedroom.

 The official family portrait.

I added some color to the landscaping today.

It's finished...mostly

 I'm sorry this is such a picture heavy post but I don't know when I will have access to internet again.  Meet Matilda Green. She's currently the only staff (until I get more dolls made) so she's the housekeeper/cook/nanny at the moment. She's the first doll I've made with Fimo soft and I love how much detail I was able to get in her face. Below is the closeup of the tub someone asked to see.

 Here's the finished exterior complete with the upper porch door and landscaping.

 The entire interior view:

 Faith is resting in the parlor with her lap dog, Chloe. Faith has gotten rid of the horrible stiff green velvet dress and has a lovely new Spring gown. I made or refinished all of the furniture you see in this room. I used a silk tie from the Salvation Army to upholster the parlor set.

 The master bedroom is very pretty. The "iron" fireplace was made from a cookie package. The headboard was made from leftover scraps from a punch out dollhouse, small doors from a Michael's hutch and bits of wooden fan. The linens are made from a vintage handkerchief and the reverse side of the quilt I had planned to use. The chest and dressing table are Dollar Tree purchases that I refinished.

 Noah has a good selection of toys. His original outfit didn't look at all Victorian. Now he's wearing a blue satin suit with knickers. His bed was made from craft sticks and more fan pieces. His wonderful Noah's Ark quilt was made by Mercedes. The chest is another Dollar Tree purchase. Noah currently has his rocking horse in the tower. I think that will be his school room eventually.

 Charles has a lovely collection of things collected from his world travels in his single days. (Sorry for the crooked picture. It's straight now, lol.) The "japaned" cabinet on the right is filled with collectables and books. The desk is two Dollar Tree tables put together. The cabinet is a Michael's hutch. The fireplace and wing chair were made completely from scratch. The jardiniere holding the fern was made from a small vase and a wooden bowl. The rug in here and the parlor and the drapes in here were made from upholstery samples. I also used them as cushions on the dining chairs and Charles' desk chair.

The bathroom has a standing towel rack now. I will continue to add accessories and staff but this house is mostly finished. It's been a fun project.

A brief detour

 Remember I said something about working on a dollhouse for my friend's little girl? I was planning to build the DuraCraft Sweetheart but then tripped over the chunky little house I redecorated after my MIL found it in her attic. It's absolutely perfect for the toddler furniture I found.

I delivered the house last night. She loved it! The look on her face was priceless.  She seemed particularly entranced by the baby in her cradle, the nursery rug and the toilet, lol.  She's not quite 2 so is still excited by simple things. :) She loved the nursery so much that she managed to put herself in it! It's so much fun to make a little girl happy. The last two pieces for the living room came today so her little family can watch TV and read by lamplight.

If you've never gifted a child with one of your mini projects, I highly recommend it. The joy on their little faces makes it all worth while. :)

Still working but here's the start of the tour

 This is the mostly finished kitchen. I finally got the shade made and put up last night. You can't see from this angle but there's also a drain pipe on the sink. The faucets are against the wall so I'm assuming those pipes are hidden. ;)

This is before I hung the shade but you can see more details on the left side. I still have things like milk bottles and cans to paint and towels to put out but it's probably the most complete room so far.

The story develops...

 Charles and Faith and their son, Noah, live in the San Franciscan. Faith is British and her father worked for the British government in India, so that's where she grew up. That's inspired a lot of the decor in the house. (Please excuse the bubbles in the wallpaper and tile in the kitchen. It's still drying.) I need to make a window shade and add the rest of the accessories but this room is mostly finished.

 The turret room will be Noah's bedroom. I have a little Noah's Ark quilt that Mercedes made for me that will be perfect for his bed. The walls will be a blue print but I'm not sure what I'm doing with the floor in here.

 The master bedroom has a definite Indian influence. Obviously, the furniture needs a lot of work to "go" with the decor. The quilt on the floor will go on the bed. The colors are a perfect match and it has tiny flowers just like what's on the wallpaper.

 The parlor is another Indian inspired room. I love the bay with the red. I need a fireplace, sofa, and at least one chair in here. A table or two would be good, too. There has to be somewhere to serve tea.

 I love the study. It's very masculine and I think Charles will be very happy here. Charles has done some traveling (before he met Faith) and he will display a few artifacts from his travels in here.

I'm still debating about the bathroom decor but the tub was made from a Philadelphia white chocolate cream cheese container. I used a cup hook for the faucet with bead handles. I stacked 3 beads per foot to give a claw foot look to the bottom of the tub. It turned out amazingly well.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the other two rooms. Stay tuned!

Time to Mini

I spent yesterday afternoon and evening helping hubby get the garden in. I've been dealing with hives for the past couple of weeks and  they were worse today than they've been so I spent my afternoon inside while DH finished up outside. (Sixteen years ago I had chronic hives for nearly a year. I'm going to get a referral to an allergist this time but I'm guessing it's stress same as last time.)

 I put my afternoon to good use working on the furniture that came with the San Franciscan. It was mostly kits - I think from the Greenleaf Victorian kit.All of the appliances had been painted a solid white. After many years in storage it was mostly dirty white. I still need to make the pipes for the sink but I'm very pleased with how they turned out.

I also worked on the parlor furniture. The chairs came with a square table that I plan to use as a work space in the kitchen. The round pedestal table was one of the kits. I refinished the chairs to match the finish I put on the table. The hall tree was refinished and got a better quality mirror. The piano was refinished with some trim and a music stand added. I also added the sheet music and the keys. It all looks so much better now.

You can see how everything looked when I got it here.