Little Changes

 I painted the base of the kitchen light fixture white and added a paper shade. It's hard to see but the living room light base is now chrome instead of brass. Both were very simple changes but help to keep the period look. I used nail enamel to cover the brass.

We are enjoying a beautiful weekend here in Indiana. I hope you are enjoying a bit of sunshine, too!

Date day!

Hubby and I enjoyed a day out today. We did a little shopping, ran some errands, had lunch out, and looked for new living room furniture. One of our stops was Hobby Lobby. I found a couple of LED ceiling fixtures to use in the Westville. I bought the only two the store had but I will order more. At only $12.99 they are a bargain. HBS has one just like it for about $20. I think I can add paper shades if I want to change the look but the style is simple enough to use as is. You can see the difference the lights make.

With an overhead light and the lighted TV the living room looks quite cozy.

The light in the kitchen makes a huge difference. This photo was taken without the flash.

I may add shades to these later. That's will be really easy since these lights are magnetic. Bedroom and hall lights will be coming soon!

Touching up on snow day#3

 Today I concentrated on cleaning up little problem areas to make the house look more complete. The living room paneling had several areas that showed up white in photos. A little bit of paint with a fine tipped brush fixed that problem. Looking at the photo below, it looks like the area over the door could use a bit more paint. Well, almost fixed.

 I added ceiling trim to the kitchen because all my wallpaper edges weren't straight. The trim is made from the plastic guards that come over windshield wipers. Cut them at the seam to make two strips of trim, paint the inside, and glue in place. Recycling at its best!

 The cowboy room had a couple of small gaps that were easily fixed with a bit of trim.

The exterior paint work was touched up and sealed with a coat of matte Mod Podge.

Even though these weren't big projects, they were the kind of detail work that makes a mini home look more like a real one. Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Snow day #2

The calendar says it's April of 1955.

Scott paper towels and dispenser added in the kitchen, too.

Mr. S. has a tray to hold his wallet and loose change. He also has the last photo taken of his parents on his chest.

Just a boy and his dog watching a boy and his dog.

I added a little LED light inside the TV. It's just a little battery operated light but look how real it makes the television look!

I love snow days!

 Mrs. S., Davy, and the range all got some updates today. Mrs. S.'s blouse had a floral design imprinted on it. I added a bit of paint to make the print coordinate with her skirt. Also, I added a design to her apron because plain white didn't seem quite right for the 1950s. I worked on Davy's coonskin cap to give the crown some texture and a better color. The range was touched up all along the back panel and I added some watch parts to give the dials dimension. I made all new knobs from watch stem knobs mounted on a circle punched out of a tealight cup. Much better!

 Davy also got brown eyes like both of his parents and auburn hair like his mom. I really like how his hair turned out. It's so much better than the bright yellow that was supposed to be blond. He also has a few freckles across his nose and cheeks.

I don't think I'd posted a photo of the finished back of the house. Ta da!  ;-)

Have a wonderful, blessed day my friends!

Good news!

Our local library has asked me to do a large display of dollhouses and room boxes for June and July. I also just received word that American Miniaturist is publishing my article on the mid century modern brick dollhouse in the July issue. Yay!

What was I thinking?

As always, when I start on a mini project before it has all come together in my mind, I ended up making changes to the dollhouse porch. The brick planter didn't feel as if it was built in because it wasn't the whole width of the porch. So I did a little cosmetic surgery today and now I am satisfied.

Down to the last detail

 After a lovely early Valentine's dinner date with my husband I spent a bit of time making kitchen utensils. Mrs. Sherwood now has a hand carved wooden spoon and spatula, a potato masher, and an egg beater. All fit nicely in her kitchen drawer with room to spare for other fun things.

The egg beater was made by following a tutorial in American Miniaturist issue #151. The other things I just made based on the real ones I have.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day, my friends!

A green thumb

 I knew I wanted a plant stand for the living room bay window. I found this one and this one on Pinterest and and they were my inspiration pieces. I am happy with the result but not as happy with how miniatures sometimes look in large photos, lol. The bit of fuzz has been removed from the ivy plant. The white edges at the bottom of the paneling are not visible when viewing the house normally. Please try to ignore them now!

The African violet in the red pot is the only one that took any time to make. I'm borrowing that one from my Zibbet shop at the moment. The others are just bits of 1:1 fake plants or wire and floral tape. They fill the plant stand very nicely, though, and show Mrs. Sherwood's green thumb.

I still need a few more pieces for the walls but I think I've finished all the major projects for this house. It's been a really fun house to do because I know I won't ever live in a real house like this. Soon it will be time to move on to the next project...

Kind of like hopscotch

 At least that's how I feel as I jump from one little project to the next today. The pan of soup was done last week but I just remembered to show you. I had a rubber band out to make a rawhide chew toy for Davy's dog. As I looked at it, I realized I could cut small slivers and make noodles. My "yummy" soup recipe is rubber band noodles, polymer clay bits of carrots and celery, and amber glass paint. Since Mrs. Sherwood has been deep cleaning all day the Sherwoods are having canned soup, white bread and butter for dinner.

 The table is set with soup bowls and silverware with napkins, a basket of bread slices, butter with a knife, and salt and pepper. There's fresh baked apple pie for dessert.

 I finally got the books made for Davy's shelf. He's got some classics like Charlotte's Web, The Borrowers, and Robinson Crusoe as well as some Golden books. His favorite, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, is on his dresser.

 I made a mailbox out of some scrap metal. It even has an atomic starburst embossed on the lid.

 I wrapped some spice printies around a scrap of balsa to make these spice cans. The little shelf is made from scrap bits of wood. You can also see the recipe cards on the counter in this photo.

The clock is made from a metal lid from a champagne bottle, paper, scrap metal, and a little watch bit. I painted the lid with nail polish.

I still have plenty of little things to do to add personality and life but I am very pleased with the results so far.

Have a wonderful, blessed week!

It's finished!

 I still have lots of details I want to add but the house is done. I'm pleased with how the roof turned out. It's just black cardstock cut into shingles. After I glued them on I painted them.

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The house number is 216 for February of 2016 when I finished it. I'm discovering that I really enjoy giving new life to worn out dollhouses. This is the third one I've done now. I've never really enjoyed the building process so I don't mind starting with an already assembled house. It does make for some challenges but half the fun is figuring out how to overcome those. Next up will be the conservatory that hubby bought for me on our last weekend getaway. I'm still don't have a plan but it will come.

I got the house finished in time to watch the Super Bowl. Go Broncos!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to roof I go

I'm half way there! Roofing is my least favorite part but it's going fairly quickly. By tomorrow evening this house will be finished. Then I can work on the fun little finishing details on the inside. Yay!

Visiting an old favorite

 Both in real life and in mini - DH and I visited our favorite antique/consignment shop today, Then and Now. I found this small cabinet meant to hold a thimble collection. I bought it for my mini antique shop, Then Again.

 It's perfect for this spot. The shelves really highlight each little item.

 While I was reorganizing to make the new cabinet fit I remembered the pin I bought when DH and I visited Holland, MI. My intention all along was to put the shoes in Then Again but I kept forgetting to bring them downstairs.

 I also played a bit with my new project. I added a few things to the attic,...

 ...made a trash can,...

and filled the refrigerator.

The attic wins!

 Since the attic isn't even tall enough for little Davy to stand upright I opted for the attic storage area only. I went digging through the miscellaneous minis drawer and found an attic worthy selection. Unseen are the leftover bark floor boards which are tucked away at the back.

 I added a built in brick planter to the porch.

 Mrs. Sherwood apparently plans to use the bowl of soapy water she's been carrying around to clean the fridge. Do you think she'll come and clean mine, too?

 I got the trim on the bedroom wall and attic floor.

The only thing different in here is that the little dog is now painted as a Westie.

I think the only "big" things left to do are the roof and chimney. Then I can finish up the details. This house will be going to the library next summer for a couple of months. This isn't the only one - they called and asked for a fairly large display. I'm glad it's during the summer. That will give me time to clean and organize before I haul them to town. :-)