Still Work To Be Done

While Grandpa was putting new knobs on the dresser, Grandma went upstairs to check on the kids. Things are a bit too quiet in the house.

Grandma really wished that Grandpa had finished painting this room before he started on all of his other projects! But then, she really needed to get her sewing machine out and finish those quilts she started a long time ago.

Guess there won't be any supper here tonight. The only things in the kitchen are the new appliances. No one will be cooking in here for a while. Grandpa still has a lot of work to do.

At least everyone has a bed to sleep in. Everyone except Sandy. She's still sleeping on the couch.

Sweet dreams,
Kathi

Things I've Learned

I love this little book. If you haven't read it, you need to. Life can really be sweet and simple if we just follow the wisdom here.

I thought of this book when I was cutting and pasting the wallpaper for the bedroom. Wallpapering a dollhouse is not rocket science, right? Scissors and glue are all you need. A ruler helps too!

I found lots of wallpapering instructions online and recipes for wallpaper paste. Since I'm not much of a cook, I decided that real wallpaper paste might be the best way to go? This stuff is great and ready to use.

A word to anyone, like me, who is attempting this for the first time - wet wallpaper tears easily! At least the wallpaper I used did.

If you can cut your window openings before you hang the paper that helps. I did that with the new window on the side wall. The window in the back of the room was very hard to get to and very hard to trim out.

If you look closely you can see the paper on the back wall is a bit too short. I should have measured three times instead of twice. The furniture and accessories will hide any of my little mistakes anyway...

So now it's on with the floor!


I'm left-handed and all of the scissors and other tools I have are right-handed. I've learned to deal with a right-handed world just as I've tried to maintain my childlike enthusiasm for trying new things. Yes, I could get left-handed scissors but I'm too stubborn.

I found that my free bandage scissors work the best for cutting these little sticks. I'll have to buy the next pair! The sticks are all cut. Now it's time to sand each one and glue them down. That should keep me busy and out of trouble for a while.

Hope you have a happy Memorial Day. Remember the families of those who died to protect our freedom. Pray for those who are serving now, like Deborah's hubby. If it weren't for them, perhaps we would not be able to play house like we do.

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sand pile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
-Robert Fulghum

Blessings,
Kathi

Next?!

Now that the bathroom is finished, the master bedroom is next!

I'm so glad I took "before" photos. This is the bedroom as it looked when I bought the house.

Here is what it looked like after I cleaned it up and primed everything.

I thought the room needed more light so I cut a hole in the wall for a new window.

Here is the window installed. It still needs trim on the inside.

I found this pretty wallpaper online. For now it's just propped up so you can see how it might look. This will be the first time I've tried wallpapering a dollhouse room. Do you think the paper is too "busy?"


I'm going to make a hardwood floor in this room too. Then I think I'll paint it white?

I really like this tropical bedding I found on Ebay. This same seller has another set that I really like too! I wish I had another bedroom to do!

So there you have it. My next project! I would really appreciate any ideas or suggestions you might have.

I really like how the bathroom turned out. Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments! I really do appreciate each and every one!

Blessings,
Kathi

Before And After

Here's what the bathroom looked like before.


Here is what it looks like now!


A girl has to have a place to freshen up after relaxing on the beach. A nice cold tropical drink doesn't hurt either!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings,
Kathi

Foam Brushes

I decided I needed a white shelf and a white cabinet for the bathroom. I'm using a Michael's hutch and made a shelf with Starbucks coffee stirrer sticks.

While I was painting with one of my handy dandy foam brushes, I wondered who invented these? Maybe if I had invented them I could retire and spend my days making minis and NOT having to go to work!

Real life size sign found at Beall's in Florida

Super Brush claims to be the company that invented foam brushes. If you visit their web site you can see all of the other handy swabs they've made.

What do you think about while you're making minis? I seem to drift off into another place when I'm painting or cutting and gluing.

The bathroom designer came in while Grandpa was installing the chandelier yesterday. She told him to stop. Seems she wants a ceiling medallion made before work continues...

Hope you have a fun filled Friday!
Blessings,
Kathi

I Love Trash Day!

Look what I found in my neighbor's trash this morning! Old. Cute. FREE!


A perfect little table for a dollhouse!

Looks like I will be painting furniture again this weekend.

There's an old four foot wooden ladder over there too. Should I go get it?

Blessings,
Kathi

It's Home!

I finally got my Craig's List dollhouse today! Thanks Jennifer and Sharyn!

It's big, but not as huge as I thought it was. It is 26" tall, 27" wide and 21" deep including the porch. My beach house is actually a little bit smaller!

Now that I see it closer I'm sure it was handmade. I love that.

The front door is 7" tall. Look at the roughly made hinges and doorknob. I love the little half moon over the door. So simple. So much potential!

Here you can see one of the windows up close. The mullions are painted on, not wood.

If you peek inside you can see the fancy stair railing. The ceiling height is 9". Reminds me of the 9 foot ceilings I had in my bungalow in Florida.

It's just a plain little house that needs some love. I'm still not sure what I'd like to do with it?

Maybe it will be pink? Maybe it's haunted?

The Old Pink House
Savannah, GA

I think I'll just let it relax from its long trip home and let it tell me later what it would like to be. I'm sure it has many many stories to tell...

Guess I'd better go see what Grandpa has been up to. I'm almost afraid to look!

Another beautiful blessing!
Kathi

Grandpa's On The Ladder Again!

I really hope that we don't have another mishap here. Grandpa is on the ladder again. He got the shower curtain rod installed. Now he says he "needs more light."


I'm really nervous seeing him with the chandelier. He's already knocked off some of the shower curtain hooks and the plumbing is missing.

Do I dare go off to work and leave him by himself? Who knows what might happen next!?

Patience is Your Friend

I love the comment in the instructions I found at Craftstylish.com for weaving a paper basket. "Patience is your friend at this point."

Here is my second attempt at basket making. So far so good?

I was trying to make a little basket for the bathroom. This is all I've done. I don't think I am destined to be a basket maker. My patience has run out!

It's back to the shower curtain. I'm hoping the glue I used this time will hold the hooks? We'll see how that goes. Remember, patience is your friend. = }

If you'd like to make some baskets, check out Casey's link/tutorials. I might try one of these instead? Thanks Casey.

Hope you have a beautiful day!
Blessings,
Kathi

Mixed Media

My daughter and I went to an art show on Saturday. One of her friends was selling mixed media art. She made owls and flowers on artist's canvas. They were really pretty.

I thought, "I could make that." So I made this one for my dollhouse.

Now that I see it photographed I see where I need to do some touch ups. It was fun to make and I just used little things I already had.

I also made some towels and painted the cabinet over the toilet. There is still a lot to do.

I've never finished a room before. Now I have an even greater appreciation for all of you who have completed so many rooms and dollhouses!

Back to work again.
Hope you have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Kathi

If At First You Don't Succeed...

As you can see, things are not going well here. I tried sewing the hooks to the shower curtain but they didn't look right. Then I tried some glue. That didn't work either.

I guess I could poke little holes in the curtain and stick the hooks in that way?

Maybe grommets would work better? But then what would I do with all of these little hooks?

I'm going to go take a nap and try again later...

Four More to Go

It's back to the beach house bathroom for me today. I really want to get that one room finished before I start on anything else!

I've made 20 little shower curtain hooks. Only four more to go!

Then I'll need to sew each one of them on to my shower curtain.

Maybe vacuuming and mowing the yard don't sound so bad after all?

Hope you have a happy SUNday!
Blessings,
Kathi

I Got the House!

Well, sort of...

What I did get was a big bag of dollhouse furniture! The house wouldn't fit in the car! I'll have to go back with my son-in-law's truck to get it later.

So tell me. How big is YOUR house? Photos really don't show the size. I've seen some on top of bookcases. Others on small tables. Some on top of hutches. My Craig's List house needs a room of its own!

I thought it was the Mint Julep by Real Good Toys. Their house is 24" x 24" X 17."


My house must be about 36" square including the porch! The owner said she had it as a child and it was given to her mother even earlier. It is solid wood. I don't know if it was a kit or scratch built.

I'll have to install lighting just so I can see what I'm doing inside!

I wish I had taken my camera to show you just how big it really is. There were some great photo ops of my daughter and the lady who owned the house trying hard to fit it in the car!

Alas. No photos of that. Just photos of some of the furniture that came with the house.
Only a couple of pieces still have the labels on them. The sofa and chair are Reeve's Line (USA) and the sofa table is Price Products (Taiwan). As you can see they are different scales.

These pieces are larger. I don't know what scale they are? I wish I had the missing parts to the table. If I can find a photo of one I might try to repair it. If you know anything about any of these pieces please let me know.

I hope to be able to actually get the house tomorrow?!

Hope you are having a great mini day!
Blessings,
Kathi

This Old House

This is the old house that my daughter and her friends rented when they were in college. That's her on the right with the white kitty in her lap. She had a rabbit too, but we think the neighbors roasted it for dinner one night.

I hope she has more photos?

I don't remember much about it except that I worried all the way home about the house, the neighborhood and my sweet little girl living on her own for the first time!

There was a rickety old staircase right inside the front door. The floors creaked and some of the windows were broken. The girls moved in and made the best of it anyway.

So, IF I get the Craig's List dollhouse tomorrow, I'm NOT going to restore it. I'm going to try to make it look like the one that my daughter lived in. Hopefully, she will be able to tell me more about how it looked inside.

I only saw it once, and that was enough for me!

Sweet dreams,
Kathi

Shower Curtain

I've been working on my shower curtain this morning. If you haven't seen this fabric adhesive you need to get some! It dries clear and is very easy to work with. I found it at WalMart. I used it to attach some lace and ribbon to an old hanky. (ie?)

You can see one of the hooks I'm making. I really NEED to get some smaller pliers!

I'm going to try to use the chain I pulled off a necklace to attach the hooks. They fit perfectly over my rod!

As usual, creativity is interrupted by the annoying fact that I have to go to work today.
Hope you have a beautiful day!

Blessings, Kathi

It's Back!

Remember the dollhouse I saw listed on Craig's List a while back? I just saw it posted again today. I am SO tempted to get it this time!

It's the Mint Julep by Real Good Toys!

$50

What do you think? Should I get it? Do I really need/want another house to restore?

Fiddling with the Faucet

After about two hours of fiddling with my new faucet assembly, I think it's done!

I still need to make a shower curtain and some teeny tiny hooks. That should be easier?

Right now I have to go take a shower and get to work.

Hope you have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Kathi

Plumbing 101

Now if I can just figure out how to put this all together?!

Inspiration Photo from Signature Hardware

Blessings,
Kathi

Do You Know What Knurled Nuts Are?

I didn't either. I was at Lowe's today looking in their hardware section, you know... for dollhouse supplies. A very friendly salesperson asked if I needed any help? I said I was looking for a shower head for my dollhouse.

In the blink of an eye he handed me these! No snickers, no raised eyebrows just good fast service!

I also picked up a shower curtain rod (above) and some other "plumbing" supplies.

Then I went to Michael's and got a new silver leaf pen, two more of their dollar hutches, some beads (of course) and some other things I "needed."

I'm going to try to make a shower curtain with grommets. Like this one from Restoration Hardware.


We'll see how that goes?
Hope you are having a good day!
Blessings, Kathi

Saturday Night Bath

I got bored with the brown beads. I like pretty things. I like how my bathroom is looking!

There are still towels to make, something for the window and other details. I need plumbing, a shower curtain, something to go in the back corner...

I'm going to make another hutch too. Great reason to go to Michael's tomorrow! I've decided the blue hutch will be part of my give-a-way in June. Stay tuned for that!

Hope you have a great evening!
Blessings, Kathi

O Happy Day!

I am SO very excited today!
I have 200 followers!!!

Zofia of Miniatury Alienory made my day today! Welcome and thank you for following my blog. Today is a special day for me! I'm thrilled to have found so many mini friends here in blogland!

A special thank you to EVERYONE who reads and follows my little blog! I'm coming up on my first year blog anniversary in a couple of weeks too. I am planning a HUGE celebration and a sweet little give-a-way when that happens! More about that later...

I've started another project since the glue is still not dry on the bathroom floor! You know how I like beads. I just might have to go buy some more!?


Thanks to each of you from the bottom of my mini heart! Hope you have a happy day too!
Blessings,
Kathi

Almost Finished!

More glue, more crushed shells, and the bathroom floor is almost finished!

Here's a close up.

Here is the "finished" floor. Just waiting for the glue to dry.

Keeping it flat under these books...

Hopefully tonight, when I get home from work, I can install my new floor in the bathroom!

Hope your day is a happy one!
Blessings,
Kathi