The promised photos

 The door and shutters were painted with Soft Plum. It's a pretty muted purple that does a beautiful job of toning down the magenta. Good little girl colors but not cartoonish. This kit has a beautiful door with inset panels on the exterior. I added the stained glass accents with colored Sharpie permanent markers on the included windows.

 The family that lives here is vintage Fisher Price. This is Mom thinking about all the work she has to do to finish the house before Christmas. The box window is gorgeous - with a large shelf/window seat. It's hard to tell with the blue painters tape but I added stained glass to the center window here, too.

 There are three round windows in the upper level. All have been given the stained glass treatment. The colors dance across the pale floor when the sun shines through them.

A closer view of the door and shutter treatments. Also, you can see the stained glass a little better. I am happy to see the house taking shape. Soon I will be moving on to the furniture kits.

Big progress

On the little girls' dollhouse. I am taking a quick supper break and will get back to work. I will try to post some update photos later tonight. :-)

Progressing slowly, really

 We finally have the beginnings of a house. After I can't remember how many dollhouses, I remembered to wallpaper the lower level before adding the second story floor. The Lafayette is small enough that it was a big help to do it this way. The upper floor is now on and drying, I just forgot to take a picture. I decided to make the lower level a great room with kitchen, dining, living all together. It will make furniture arrangement much easier. Of course, I will only arrange it once or twice and then, once the girls own it, it's likely to never be arranged my way again, lol.

 One of the next steps will be to assemble and insert the door. The kit is designed with wood pegs as hinges so it will open and be reasonably sturdy.

The beginning of the trim painting. I still have a lot of painting to do but the girls are visiting this weekend and I had to hide everything. I think I have all I need to put in the windows, door, and porch.

Having a job outside the home really put a damper on my mini habits. ;-) No more staying up 'til all hours of the night because I'm on a roll. That means I can only work in short spurts. At least I can leave the house on the dining room table during the week. I have a work room but not enough counter space to paint, assemble, etc. Besides, Then Again Antiques is still sitting in the middle of my desk. No home has been found yet. Maybe I should stop adding to my collection...nah. :-) I am not sure that is possible. I love to have projects.

Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend!

Another new shopper and her find

 After my hair appointment, I made a quick stop at Goodwill. There I found this really cool little Buddha and a mini Bratz doll. I gave the doll a new handbag and she's ready to purchase the statue. I also accented the studs and chain on her belt with a silver Sharpie marker. The rest of her clothing is very nice, even if it is just plastic. Then Again Antiques has as eclectic a clientele as it does antiques. ;-)

I forgot to post a photo of the salt cellar I purchased to use as a tray when hubby and I were shopping. It's the pretty rose print tray behind the milk bottles.

I hope you are all enjoying a great week! The next post should be back to the dollhouse...

And so it begins...

 I have three coats of magenta paint on the exterior pieces. The trim will be a soft white satin finish. I'm still debating on what color to make the door. I want a third color for accent. I'm making the dollhouse from a DuraCraft Lafayette kit. It's a tab and slot - not my favorite - but so far the pieces are punching out cleanly.

The rest of the furniture will be from kits or from scratch but I found the tub and cradles when DH and I were exploring antique shops last week. The sink, toilet, and family are all ebay purchases. I don't want to make any of the kit furniture until I have the house built. I read at least one review that said full scale furniture doesn't fit well. I have a couple of other houses like that. They just take a bit more creativity to furnish, lol.

I am trying to make myself take this project slowly...or at least slow for me. I guess we'll see how well I do. ;-)

Have a great week!

Still in the Christmas mood

 I made this tree a couple of years ago and it has been listed in my zibbet shop but as I was looking at pictures of it, I decided it needed more ornaments. This is the result. Now it has red, white, silver, and clear ornaments instead of all red.

 The tree skirt is reversible and has hand beaded edges.

 The tree topper is a painted button. The sewing loop just slides over the top of the tree.

A close-up shot of some of the ornaments. I really like the contrast between the white and the red and silver ornaments. The clear/crystal ornaments add a bit of sparkle. I wouldn't mind a Christmas tree like this one in my size. :-)

The next project is a bigger one. I'm making a dollhouse for my daughter's boyfriend's little girls, ages 5 and 3. This will be fun because I love to decorate dollhouses for little girls. Hiding it will be the hardest part.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

...or at least some Christmas minis! These are the projects I started on Saturday. I got some time this afternoon to finish them up and get them listed in my zibbet shop.

 The cookie tray is an acorn cap but I made everything else. I'm so excited about the cookie cutter. I wrapped a strip of craft metal around my flower Kemper cutter and then squished it a bit to become a gingerbread man.

 This is one of my better Santas, I think. I finally managed to make one 6 mini feet tall. Most of the others fit the description in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" - tiny. I think his eyes are improved over some of my dolls, too. I still have a long way to go there, though.

Santa comes with the filled stocking. The decorated tree is another zibbet listing.

Is anyone else making Christmas minis yet? I really need to make more cornucopias but they aren't as much fun as cookies and Santa. ;-)