Welcome!

Harriet and I have six new followers to welcome to the boarding house.
Natalia does beautiful mini needlework and you can see some of her work at Scarlet Sails Miniatures.

Funda is from Istanbul, Turkey. I don't know how to make the correct symbols for the name of her blog but you can find her work here. She has several example of paintings she has reproduced in 3 dimensional buildings.

Macrupe at Minialev has several lovely miniature quilts as well as some upholstered pieces.

The next three followers I was not able to find links for - Mini Aussie, Marielljessica, and Kevin&Karen. As always, please comment if you do have blog or website links you'd like me to post here.

Thank you all so much for following and commenting. I've enjoyed the opportunity to see your work as well.

Saloon video

I've been playing with Windows Movie Maker and put together a movie of the Rose Among Thorns Saloon. You can see it on youtube - here.

Sorry I've been away for so long

I have been working on the boarding house. We're still having internet issues at home but I should be getting a call today from the phone company to see if we're eligible for their DSL. Still have crossed fingers and toes, lol.

Since the boarders' rooms are so large I decided to give both of them comfy chairs for those times when they just want to be alone. Sandy has a matching ottoman. Looks like her kitten thinks it's the perfect spot for a nap.
I added mirrors to the back of these shelves/sconces. The mirrors were cut from mirrored poster board left over from the saloon.

This is George Peterson. He's sold as the father in a pioneer family set of dolls but I got him separately. I changed his vest and tie but the originals are in his armoire. George got a black leather wing chair. The leather I used for this was way too thick - it worked but it was difficult to work with. I wanted to use up what I have on hand before purchasing more.

We may have found a home for the boarding house. I'm kind of afraid to try moving it there but it's a possibility - on top of the entertainment center. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great week everyone!

Adding a bit here and adding a bit there

A trellis with a climbing floral vine - it isn't supposed to be any particular flower. I used a bit of plastic plant from Dollar Tree and added little tissue paper star flowers. The trellis was made from sections of bamboo skewers. A quick and easy project that adds some color to the corner.
This project was a little more involved. The table top was an arched window punchout from a previous kit.. I cut and sanded the straight end to get a half circle top. The decorative back also was leftover from an old kit. The front leg is a stair spindle but I only had one left so the back legs were cut from chopsticks. The carved trim is a section of braided trim. On top of the table is a black rotary dial phone made from a piece of spring loaded clothes pin with a bead and wire receiver and a paper dial. A pad of paper and a pencil are ready for messages. The glue wasn't dry when I took the photo so you can see a little white on the edges of things.

The boarding house is still sitting on my dining room table, waiting for a home. I think hubby is stumped, lol. It's really big.

Sorry, internet issues at home

So I haven't been able to post my current progress. I'm at the church right now so I can give you a quick update.

I made a climbing vine for the chimney side wall. The vine is moss and the leaves are little paper punched stars.

Sandy got some real stockings and leather shoes. Her skin is so pale that I thought she needed the color on her legs. I tried painting first but couldn't get a realistic effect. I cut a bit of real nylon and glued it in place (complete with seams up the back). The leather shoes cover the edges of the stockings and look good, too!

I was on the phone with our telephone provider for almost an hour today trying to add internet to our package. We live in the middle of nowhere and we're right on the edge of the phone company's ability to provide. I'm crossing my fingers but won't know for a couple of days. On the plus side, the representative gave us a better telephone package so at least I'll be saving nearly $30/month. :0)

Harriet has her own ideas

Now that Harriet has been settled in and actually working in her kitchen she decided it was time to make some adjustments. First she wanted some more cabinet space because there just wasn't enough storage. So we found a smaller scale hutch in the drawer and reworked it - took the shelves off and added a bottom to that unit and hung it on the wall. We turned the base upside down, added a new top and bead feet. Then Harriet added some gingham to the doors and at the back of the shelves. Looks great and added the much needed storage. Putting the cupboards in place made the cooker look out of place so that was moved to the opposite wall. Once the green and white cabinet was sitting next to the new cabinets the green looked awful. So out came the blue metallic paint to cover the green. The kitchen is once again functional and Harriet is very happy. She doesn't get grumpy very often but when she is it's best to just do what she asks, lol. The boarders much appreciate it, anyway. ;)

I love this part!

The part that involves filling in all the last details that make a dollhouse look like a home, that is. I built this little upholstered bench with leftover bits from the Brimble, some gingerbread trim and a bit of ribbon.
The coat rack now has a purpose in the foyer with a fedora and an umbrella hanging from it. The hat was cut down from a plastic flocked cowboy hat. I colored it black and added a band and feather accent. The umbrella started as a toy but the handle wasn't long enough. I lengthened it with a toothpick, painted everything and added an umbrella cut from a gray plastic bag.

It's all those little details that really make it look like a real house.