Thursday, October 21, 2010

Christmas Carol Dollhouse

The Christmas  Carol dollhouse's exterior is mostly painted. For the exterior walls I did a stucco and timber, brick, stone, stucco and wood.I love having all different types of walls. It makes the house look so much more cozy.
All the walls are actually concrete that I carved into different finishes. What makes it come alive is the paint job, especially the aging.
I googled medieval street and this side of a building with this deep salmon color came up. I knew that was the right look for my house. Of course mine had to look much more old and worn, so I use a watered down black and brown paint mix to glaze everything.

I added the little angel since this is going to be Christmas themed.
I brought the bricks to the front of the house for continuity. And for the first floor I've painted everything dark green. I will give the green a couple coats of gloss to look like painted wood.

I did all the trims dark. I love the look of weathered, old, stained wood.


Next, doors and the chimney. Then I'm going inside and tackling the floors!


A special thank you to Gloria for doing another blog post about the clothespins I make. If you want to see it here's the link:
http://thelittleredhousewiththewhiteporch.blogspot.com/2010/10/back-to-my-little-obsession.html#links

Monday, October 18, 2010

Christmas Carol Dollhouse

I'm working on the side of the house that I know how I want it to look first.
I've put on a coat of concrete(this is a strong house).
And then I painted it. The bottom opening will probably be shop doors.

I love this side. It came out exactly like I pictured it. 

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A Little Christmas Whimsy for my Etsy Shop

Today, I worked on Christmas stuff.
The little clothespins are all dressed up. They're all hand painted(and not just the front. I take apart each clothespin, paint all sides and put it back together. Quite painful at times!) Then I added little bobbles to make them festive.
This is a little house ornament. I think I'll make 3 more and offer them as a set. I made my own  template for the house, cut it out and painted it. 
This one's not finished yet. I put snow on it and it's taking forever to dry. So I have to wait to put the last pieces of candy on it. 

What about the dollhouse? Well here's what it looks like today:
I have the left side of the house all figured out. But the side with the porch and balcony is not exactly what I wanted. I'll have to think about it some more!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Samplers and Dollhouses

A couple of days before I went on vacation I started a sampler. I was cruising the internet when I happened upon a blog that I loved a year ago and then lost the site! Well there it was!! It's called Inspireco. Many of you have probably seen it. It's the cutest. Amy(the author) started another blog about 39 squares for a sampler. I just had to try it out. And I'm hooked!!
 Some of the designs come straight from Amy's blog like the gumball machine, Marie Antoinette(I had to add closed eyes with eyelashes to mine because my sister complained that she couldn't tell what it was!), cupcake,sheep, bobbins,teacup,,bowl of cherries,bluebird,house,nest,little girl legs, and the birthday cake. Then I added some of my own: the poodle,yorkie,cat,mouse,sailboat,crown,pumpkin,ice cream,strawberry,bee. I also put on some bobbles I had around. There's a cameo, cabochon, button, twine bow, a mini clothespin, ribbon,rose,butterfly and star.






This is such a fun sampler to do. The only special stitches I used were french knots and chain.
Of course I already started the next one!!

It's Christmas themed. Here's the first square: a mitten.

Now for a dollhouse update! Here's what it looks like right now:

Impressing isn't it? No? I guess I'll have to do more work on it! I'm getting ready to cut out holes for windows and a door in the front. It's going to be like a couple of shops on a Victorian English street(Christmas Carol).  I'm doing at least 3 different finishes outside: a brick, a stone and a stucco/ wood trim upstairs.

Amy's blogs: InspireCo
   
                           39Squares

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Back From Florida!


Took a little vacation to the Sandestin area in Florida. I love those gorgeous white beaches!
This is the first time I went when there were no waves. I'm not a wave fan! I love when the ocean is calm. I think it is so serene and just like the Caribbean.
There were tons of Monarch butterflies everywhere.
Same place but totally different scenery! Didn't see any alligators.
We finished in New Orleans. Beignets anyone?
I had tons of fun. Now back to my miniature houses!!