And it's finished!

 The bathroom got small details like towels hanging on hooks, a bathmat, a hand towel on the sink, and toilet paper hanging from the side of the sink cabinet.

 The little vintage baby got her molded clothes painted.

 In the bedroom, I added a table/nightstand with a lamp made from a hardware connector and the seal from a bottle cap shaped just like a lamp shade.

 In the living room, I added an ottoman (made from the cap I took the seal from), flowers on the dining table, a Christmas tree on the corner table (the dollhouse is a Christmas gift), a bundt cake on the counter, and a vintage poodle.

The exterior got a few more flowers and a flag. I am so happy with how this all turned out. I will probably update my stone cottage just a bit. You always learn a little more with each successive project - one of the extra benefits of making miniatures. :-)

Updated sofa

The first sofa I just guesstimated on and it just didn't look right. I compared it to the one in my cottage and had a "duh" moment. Now that the cushions are actually deep enough for the mini people to sit comfortably upon, it looks great. :-)

All but the details

 I added a small English country garden to the front of the commission cottage. I like it so much that I think I will have to make a flower garden for my cottage.

 The floral colors are all sort of red, white and blue - at least shades of those colors - to coordinate with the interior colors.

 The couch and chair were made with coordinating fabrics from cardboard and foam core. The corner covered table is a pill dessicant capsule. The coffee table was made with bits of a carved fan, plastic, and a scrap of wood for the brace. The wall decor was done with scrapbook stickers.

 I really didn't like the bed I had planned to use so I ripped off the head and foot boards and added porch posts and a piece from a coffee cup sleeve to make the four poster bed. Now I love it. The crib has bedding in the same floral fabrics as the bed. The dresser mirror is a piece of mirrored poster board framed with a scrapbook frame.

 Another sticker over the crib....

 The bathroom sink/vanity got a skirt to hide the "pipes" and a poster board mirror.

The ivy in the garden winds around the side of the house.

I still need to do the finishing details - curtains, towels and toilet paper, more art...etc. I will post final photos when I am certain I'm finished. It's a commission so I do have a time frame, lol.

Just need to plant the grass

 And the flower garden and the exterior of the cottage will be finished. The roof didn't photograph in true color because the "tin" scrapbook paper is shiny. But you can see the rust and get a feel for how it looks in person.

 I really like how the shingled dormers turned out - but, really, what was I thinking?! I hate shingling and then I had all those angled ends to cut. ;-)

I haven't decided exactly how I'll do the garden/yard but I have some thoughts. I may let those thoughts percolate a bit and get busy on the interior furnishings. Stay tuned!

Back from a little getaway...and it did involve minis!

 

 DH and I just got back from an overnight getaway to Holland, Michigan. One of today's activities was exploring Wee Dollhouse Shoppe. I only got a few things but these hanging pots just cried out to be on the boarding house porch. Harriet was pleased, lol. We also explored a couple of antique shops/malls.

 Yesterday we visited Windmill Island Gardens. They have a real working windmill that grinds flour for several area restaurants. That tour was really cool. Then we explored the rest of the gardens and found this mini village. It looks like many of the houses are actually vintage.

 The people of the village are doing chores and daily activities all over the town. Churning butter, putting wash on the line, loading boats, etc. It's very detailed.

 Last evening we went to the beach to watch the sun set over Lake Michigan. Our trip was brief but it was a great way to end a very busy week. :-)

All in a day's work

 I only got the stone on the front but had to shade and seal it because I couldn't wait. ;-) I'm planning to landscape the base on this one. A bit of grassy lawn and flowers, I think. I am debating putting shingles in the dormers. The roof will be corrugated tin with a bit of rust.

 I like the tile floor. It adds much needed color to the bathroom. I'm going to add a little fabric curtain to the sink cabinet.

 I had to piece the ceiling/bathroom floor so it gave me a great opportunity for beams.

A late afternoon update

 I couldn't resist a trial run of some of the furniture. The kitchen and dining pieces are all vintage plastic with lines that I like. To make the table and chairs look like well used cottage furnishings I added layers of stain and paint and then sealed each piece. The chairs were two different colors when I started. One was white with a red seat and the other was tan with a red seat. I'm not skilled enough to make chairs this detailed from scratch so I am glad that I had these. The table a distressed coat of Bleached Sand Americana paint. The chairs and the door were painted with Aleene's True Blue and antiqued. Both paint brands have excellent coverage. The appliances just got the details painted - handles, faucets, etc. I will be making all the furniture for the living room side.

I'm not certain about anything in the bedroom yet. The dresser and crib are vintage pieces that I've dressed up or distressed. The double bed is a cut down Dollar Tree piece. Both it and the crib need blankets, etc. Even after cutting it down, I'm not thrilled with the bed so I may start from scratch with that.

One other thing I am considering is leaving the third floor bathroom out and then I'd have a beautiful vaulted ceiling in the bedroom. This is a commission for a young girl so I need to check on that with her mom first. I'm not even sure I can handle not having a bathroom, let alone a young lady, lol. It's hard enough to leave stairs out for me. ;-) I look forward to your opinions. Please share!

Mini time!

 I finally got a chance to start on the commissioned stone cottage. I'm sure I've told you all before that I really detest making exact multiples, mini or otherwise. So, of course, this cottage will have some significant differences but still maintain the cozy, cottage charm. The first difference is the carved blue door. I've aged the blue since this photo so it isn't quite so bright. I love how it turned out.

 The main living area and bedroom floors will be a warm golden oak. I am using the same process - draw the boards and then stain over it. Then I will seal the floors with a satin varnish. At this point, I'm planning a tile treatment for the third story bathroom. That will give a bit of color to that very dark room.

There will be updates today or later in the weekend. I'm on a roll now. :-)

More chickens for now....

 Outside work is still taking precedence over minis but I have to get started on the commissioned cottage soon so you will see new work in the near future, I promise. :-) In the meantime, this is what's taking up some of my mini time -

 These are a few of my favorite birds - Houdini (the first to escape the temporary pen - she's some version of Ameraucana/Auracana mix), Aurora (a Red Star- I love her coloring), and Henry (formerly known as Henny Penny until distinct rooster like qualities became very apparent, lol.)

As soon as I enter the run, everyone comes running because they expect a treat. Today's leftover salad was a big hit.

We are still working on the garden, too. The big plots of corn, potatoes, melons and various squashes still need to be done. Hopefully, hubby will be able to till up the plots this weekend so we can finish the planting. We've had rain for the past few days which was desperately needed but it has made the soil too wet to work with.

The other thing we've been dealing with is getting our insurance claims all settled after a brief but powerful hail storm last month. The adjuster looked at our house and property last evening so we know what needs to be done and we have a recommendation for a contractor. That work should start soon.

I've also started working my way through the rooms of the house sorting, organizing and cleaning. I'm dreading the sewing room so that's last on my list, lol. When school is in session, I work just under 30 hours/week and I'm still amazed at how hard it is to keep up with everything at home. I feel for those who have to work full time and still have full responsibility for things at home.

Thanks for your patience as I work on my real life chores before I can move on to the mini projects. :-)