Topiaries

I've been wanting to make these topiaries for my front porch for a little while.  It took me some time to figure out how I'd put them together and what to use for the plant material without paying an arm and a leg.  Anyway, I finally made them and I think they turned out just the way I was hoping.  I think I need a wreath for the door now.  It's looking lonely. 

Let there be light...

 I have added a few new things to the living room in Victoria's Farmhouse.  I made a lamp for the table between the two chairs.  I wired it so that it works.  I also added a lamp on the piano that is a Tiffany style lamp. It also works, Yea!  I made a rug for the floor as well.  The room is definitely coming together. 

 I've also attached the cushions on the chairs now, so they are complete.

 Here are the lights all on.  I think they look so warm and cozy.  I think the molding will make the room even more charming once it's installed.  It's bugging me that the door is unfinished. 

 I even added working embers to the fireplace.  So fun and cozy.  I just need a soft throw blanket draped over the couch and some coco and cookies.   

Until next time...

Victoria's Farmhouse Dollhouse Living Room Update!

 So, I have been working on the living room in the Victoria's Farmhouse Dollhouse.  I'm loving how it's coming along.  It's still very bare, but things are starting to look like a real room and I can envision the finished room.  I haven't glued down the wallpaper so it's coming away from the wall in some places.  I also haven't added baseboards or crown molding, both of which will be in the final room.  They will be white.  The curtains need a few adjustments, but overall, I think everything is looking how I had hoped. 

 I made a coffee filter wreath for the fireplace window in the exact same way that you would make a real life sized one.  I think it turned out cute. 

 You can see that the chair's upholstery hasn't been glued down either.  I don't like to finalize anything because I have a hard time making decisions.  But hopefully this gives you a feel for what the room will look like. 

 You can see that the door is falling out of its frame.  This French door leads into the adjoining dining room.  I have to trim the wood floor so the door will sit flush against the floor.  Then it will fit in the frame.  But for now, it is too tall. 

Anyway, I'm excited about the room coming together and will post more pics as it gets finished.

A Little Spring Is In the Air

I think I'm getting sick of winter.  I've been busy trying to add a little touch of spring to my dollhouse miniatures to cheer things up a bit.  I haven't really had a good go at making flowers, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I think this is an art that takes practice.  I am pleased with my flowers and know now what I would do differently when I get in the flower making mood again.  I think they look so pretty and just want to put them in my own kitchen.   These blue flowers are supposed to be hydrangeas...which happens to be one of my favorite flowers.  

These flowers are supposed to be daisies.  I like how they turned out.  I need to come up with something better for the middle part of them though.

  

Some more Hydrangeas, although I smashed them a bit with my fingers too much.  They seem kinda squished. 

Some roses.  Roses are always fun.  I have to play around with the paper I used for them though.  I like them thinner.

I'm actually not sure what these are supposed to be.  I was just playing around with a new punch and wanted to see what I could create.  I'm not a flower expert and wouldn't know what to call these. 

Some more hydrangeas. 

And lastly, I finally put upholstery on my shabby chair in the shabby dollhouse.  I love how muted it is.  I think it softens the yellow of the chair quite a bit.  I made the rug for my Valentine's scene, but thought it looked nice in this room.     

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!  In a few weeks anyway.  All of the projects I'm working on seem to be big things, so nothing is complete.  I thought it would be fun to create something small for Valentine's Day so that I could enjoy at least one complete scene.  I made everything in the scene except for the frame around the picture and the table that everything is on.  I did make the drawers work on it though. 

The rug took me quite a few hours.  I had to weave each little line, and try to keep it straight the whole time.  I think it turned out well though.  I'd definitely make another one.  I like the rustic look of it. 

I've never made cupcakes before, so this was quite an adventure.  I'm pleased with how they turned out, but hope they get a little more realistic looking as I practice.  I love my little rose sugar cookie.  I want to take a bite out of it.  I also love my little jars of candy hearts.  They were very satisfying to make.  I used Garden of Imagination's tutorial on Youtube.    

I made a couple of packages of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, also using Garden of Imaginations tutorials, and another one I saw somewhere else, but can't remember.  I love these little chocolates, so what's better than having them in miniature also? 

I love my little box of chocolates.  It took some concentration to make them since they're so small, but I think they look delicious.  If you look closely, you can see some red chocolate lips!

Alison Jr Dollhouse pretty much all done.

 I'm all finished with DD dollhouse except for the stairs (which are under way).  It looks so cute with its shingles and trim.  I added a little Christmas spirit on the front doors.  I also have to add some door handles to the interior doors.  But the end is in sight.  Excuse the mess behind the house.  My craft room is quite untidy right now.  I was hoping to finish up this dollhouse so that I could clean it up a little. 

The furniture isn't all permanent, but it's a general idea of what the setup will look like.  I think it turned out quite charming. 

Carousel

I just finished making this cute little carousel for the nursery in Virginia's Farmhouse Dollhouse.  I am really pleased with the way it turned out.  

As always, there are a few things I would have done differently the second time around.  I got the tutorial from the cutest little site,CAROUSEL TUTORIAL.  It has other tutorials, but I couldn't resist making this carousel.  It was rather simple to make, but I had to do some adjusting.  I had to print the border around the top and bottom twice, because it wasn't quite long enough as is, to cover around the whole thing.  I also printed at 90% because I felt like the original was too large for scale, and my 1.25" hole punch fit the circles perfectly at the smaller size.  That cut down on cutting out circles, since I used stacked circles for the base and top, instead of the thick stuff she used.  I also added the bead cap and bead on top to give it a little more dimension.  She adds beads around the bottom, which I may add later, but didn't have on hand.  

I think it goes quite nicely with the nursery.  I definitely need a few more toys and things to spruce it up.   But for now, the baby has at least one toy to play with.  :)