Tiny changes

 My renewal gift from American Miniaturist came yesterday. I put the books and glasses in the bedroom.

I added the little tray to the bathroom along with the soap dispenser from a previous renewal.

They also sent vintage recipe cards and a cookbook. I think they will be perfect in the kitchen.

And I finally got the stonework finished on the last wall. I am very pleased with the finished exterior. Now I can move on to the tiny details!

Working my way around

The door was originally the same color as the rest of the house. The stones are penciled in ready to paint.

The finished front. The colors are much more muted than they appear in the photo.

The dormer windows were just the frames over the same house paint so they didn't look very window like. I added curtains, white with blue pompons. It's just a little touch but it helps with the overall farmhouse charm. 

I have the chimney end left to do and then the exterior will be finished. Then I will move on to the personal details inside the house.

Thank you to all who are following along on this project. Wishing you a wonderful blessing filled week, my friends!

Edit: I gave the stones two light coats of a white wash and like the results much better.

I think this is gonna work

 It's a multi step process - draw the stones, fill them in with paint...

... continue to fill in...

 add highlights with a white chalk pencil and shadows with a black one. Then I sealed it all with matte Mod Podge dabbed on with a paint brush to keep the chalk from bleeding. I love how it looks. Now I am anxious to do the front but the end was several hours of work and I need to give my wrists a rest. I hope to get more done tomorrow. I also sealed the areas that I am leaving in their original state like the roof and chimney. The paint is very chippy and I don't know how old the house actually is. Sealing seemed like the best plan.

Inside I added trim around the ceilings of the bedroom, kitchen, and living rooms. That fixed all the areas that had gaps and rough edges.

It was a productive mini day and I got the laundry done, too. Win win! Have a wonderful day, my friends!

Big news but no mini news this weekend

Maverick's birthday party was a success. He greeted his guests at the door wearing this shirt.

And here is his baby brother or sister coming in September.

While they were here a family friend took one year old portraits.

 And this his mama when she was about 8 1/2 months old. Just a bit of family resemblance, lol.

I hope to start painting the stone exterior on the dollhouse this week. I also have some touch up work to do inside. The kind of things that show up in photos that you don't really notice just looking at the house. But once I see them I have to fix them - just like all of the other miniaturists I know. Updates will be coming soon!

Have a wonderful blessing filled week, my friends!

A busy day

The school I work in had to cancel today due to fog. It was a blessing to me as I am hosting a birthday party on Saturday for this cutie.

This is my grandson, Maverick. He and his family live three hours away. He celebrated with his Daddy's family last weekend. This weekend's party is with his Mommy's family. I got the house cleaned and cupcakes baked. In between, I found a little mini time.

 The kitchen got a new wall shelf for mugs and glasses and a new rug in front of the sink.

The bedroom got a new picture...

...and so did the living room.

The little details are my favorite. Eventually I will have to start the exterior but I am having fun finishing the interior for now.

Wishing you a blessing filled day!

I love 40% off coupons!

I paid a visit to Hobby Lobby today and found a kitchen set I really like. With my coupon I was able to buy four bottles of paint and the kitchen set for eleven dollars less than the price of the mini appliances. I modified the stove with new knobs and oven handle to make it look  more realistic and I painted the sink cabinet and knobs. It is definitely a galley kitchen but it works. 

 It's grocery day, apparently.

I added a simple cross to the living room gallery wall. Oh, and the candles were made by wrapping tacky wax around toothpicks. The look and feel like real candles.

It is starting to look like a home!

 The ceilings have been papered now. The living room ceiling is pieced together but still looks better than the dirty pink with wires everywhere, lol.

 The kitchen ceiling was easier and I added a border to cover some of the rough wood near the ceiling. I am still thinking about the appliances.

Looks like someone is celebrating a birthday today.

This is the whole interior as of this afternoon.

The bathroom is finished.

I still need to add the personal things to the bedroom but it is finished, too.

Lots of time to play

 Today was a pretty quiet day after church so I was able to work on the cottage. The bedroom is finished except for the little details. I am so pleased with how it turned out.

 The living room is mostly finished as well. It needs more things to make it look lived in but it looks cozy and comfortable. Wallpapering around the windows with the curtains still in place was interesting. I had already decided to keep the curtains. It's a good thing I did because those things were not coming off. I made the fireplace completely from scratch with my usual random mix of leftovers but it works. ;-)

 I started a gallery wall over the buffet. I made a pretty little bowl filled with glass balls, too.

I got a lot accomplished today. Real life is happening tomorrow so I am not sure when I will get back to it but you all know how I get once I start a project, lol.

Have a wonderful

I'm back!

 My birthday was yesterday. A week or so ago , my hubby and I saw this vintage handmade dollhouse while exploring a new antique shop. Today we bought it for part of my birthday gift from him. I acquired some miniatures from a couple of cousins recently and I will be able to furnish much of the house with them. I am also using a couple of pieces made by miniaturist friends, and some homeless pieces I've made in the past. All I need to purchase are the kitchen appliances.

 I gave many of the pieces a contemporary farmhouse makeover. Black chalk paint does a beautiful job covering the bright red finish on inexpensive pieces.

 The hutch was done by my friend Brenda and the table was made by a friend for a dollar store swap. I made the chaior.

 The bed used to live in the boarding house and the other pieces are all from Dollar Tree.

 This is an early layout. I changed out a few pieces after this photo was taken.

All but the coffee table came from my cousin. The table and buffet both got makeovers. This will be a fast project but I am so happy to be working on minis!