The Big Reveal

 What is under the tablecloth? (Besides LoveJoy, the cat, that is.;-) )

 No peeking!

They loved it! I have already done some repair work, though. In retrospect, I would have made the living room furniture from scratch as I think that would have been more durable. I had to glue the couch side back on and I replaced the fancy legs with short wooden spools because the scroll work cracked. The girls and their dollhouse are back home in Indianapolis now so I don't have to resist the urge to put the toilet back in the bathroom or the bed back in the bedroom (rather than the living room, lol.) Sometimes, I wish I still had that child-like imagination where things don't have to be in "normal" places. Anyway, the dollhouse was a hit and they even received some small dolls from others who will fit in well.

Wishing you all a wonderful, blessing- filled New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Help!

I wanted to check all of your blogs out today but when I went to my blog list all I found was post after post from a blog I am not following. I've never heard of it, it's in some language other than English, and based on the title, I'm not sure that it's even appropriate. Has anyone else had this happen? What do I do to fix it?

Snow Day!

Well, not really since neither hubby or I have to go to work today. But we decided, since we are the only ones home this weekend, to pretend that 4 or so inches of snow is enough to stay home, be lazy, and enjoy each other's company. :-) The snow is still coming down steadily and everything looks so clean and fresh. I am going to enjoy the day.

I forgot  to post pics of my "find" yesterday. At a local Meijer store (groceries+department store) I found a small set of bath toiletries in a mini bathtub.

The tub is perfectly scaled. The set of bath gel, bath fizzy, and scrubby was $3. A little bit of paint and it will be ready for a project. Yay!

Life

Sorry I haven't  posted for awhile. Life has been a little crazy here. Oldest daughter spent a couple of days in the hospital with the exact cause still unknown. She is finally getting her strength back. Middle daughter got engaged on Thanksgiving day. :-)  So we are in the midst of wedding plans and almost granddaughters. The fiance has 3 and 5 year old girls. It's been awhile since we had that much energy in our house. ;-) And, today, I found out I'm gonna be switching positions at the elementary school I work at. I am struggling a bit with that now, but I think the change will be good in the long run. It also means I have a chance at a "long run." My current position ends at the end of this school year because the child is moving on the middle school. Please keep me in your prayers as I make this transition. I'm a bit nervous about it.

Hopefully I will be able to get back to minis soon!

Sometimes you just have to find the good in the bad

The bad...The corner shelf that my Greenleaf Jefferson (aka the mini version of my real house) sits on came crashing down today. The good...Somehow the damage was minimal and now the house is clean again, lol. I decided to take advantage of the cleanliness and take some new photos. :-)

 I have a sentimental attachment to these dolls since they represent my family but I am so glad that my dollmaking skills have improved over the years. ;-) The oversized stockings are mini replicas of our real ones. The tree was the first one I made with chenille stems.

 The mini versions of our real life countdown banner and my childhood Christmas "stocking." Behind the boot is a shoe/boot tray that I repainted. We always have a pile of shoes/boots/slippers, etc. near the door.

 The kitchen looks great except for the tipped over high chair. Of course I didn't notice it until I looked at this photo...The only furniture damaged in the fall was one chair back and two table legs. One of the legs broke in a harder to repair place but it turned out ok.

 My son's bedroom was rarely this neat even when he was a toddler but it looks good here, lol.

 The master bedroom with last minute "Santa" gifts.

 I had to stretch to get photos of the top story rooms (because, of course, I didn't remember to take pictures while it was still down low.)

 The girls' bedroom - I used dimensional American Girl stickers that look like the girls' real dolls. The size was perfect and the stickers were on clearance. Doesn't get much better than that!

Santa is on the roof in the chimney. Apparently, all the reindeer are watching over him, lol. The Burl Ives snowman from Rudolph is also hanging out in our yard.

Final Touches

The lack of faucet handles and oven knobs proved to be too much for me. ;-) I had to add them. Now that the bathroom has rugs and towels and the other rooms have final touches, I think I am finished with this project. Now the hard part starts - waiting for Christmas so I can give it to them. :-)