Thursday, March 26, 2015

La Brocante Dollhouse

My new commission is completed. It's called "La Brocante". 
If this house looks familiar it's because it's a copy of my "Un Immeuble a Paris" with a few changes.
This dollhouse has one shop and the entry to the upstairs apartment downstairs.
 I made these doors from scratch and I wrote a tutorial which will be available very soon.
I bought a little bike at Hobby Lobby. All repainted it looks very vintage.
I took this advertisement from the internet. Just tap "print screen" and paste any image into the Paint program.  Cut out the image and save it on a new Paint page and you get a clear image.

The brocante shop is very shabby chic. It has a counter and shelf that I made myself.  I made most of the stuff in this house. I'm learning item by item.  Remember, I started out just making the houses. But build by build I've been teaching myself new skills. Keeps things interesting!
The ceiling is stained and aged. It's 3D paper from the scrapbook section.
This canoe was at Hobby Lobby in the unfinished wood item section. I sawed it off it's base and painted it.
This is a little cupola with a moss roof. There are lots of shutters, architectural element and window in the shop too.
This is a view from behind the counter. The wall is covered with a cream canvas fabric behind that shelf.
This wall has roses wallpaper(from the internet) that is framed with Popsicle sticks.
This is the entry to go upstairs.  I made the little tray table by looking at other people's photos online.  The little welcome mat is made of super thick canvas that is for book binding.
 At the top of the stairs is the kitchen.  And no railing again. I know some of you get concerned with doll safety. LOL! But I need the space and decided on design over safety.
I made the vintage looking range(click here for tutorial) and the little sink to fit on this wall. 
 The next room is a living room. I made one chair super shabby prairie style and one lace chair. The wings on the mantel are cardboard. 
The bricks in the mantel are carved ready mix concrete.
This house has battery operated lights. Each chimney has a switch and battery that controls each side of the house. You can find the links to materials I use on my Resources page. This dollhouse is 21 3/4" tall x
 20 1/2" across x 14" deep.
Thanks for coming over!
P.S.Gigie & Lizzie are doing terrific. 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Petite Maison de Jardin Custom Dollhouse

It's another little shed! Spring must be on it's way right? Although the snow outside(yes- I'm in Dallas, Texas and there's snow!) suggests otherwise. But I was in the mood to make a little dollhouse potting shed again.
I just love playing with all the little garden objects.  I used leftover dollhouse pieces to create the little structure which stands 13 3/4" tall. 6 1/2" long for the house alone and 12 1/4" with the house and yard. 8 1/4" across.
The vegetable garden is 4 rows of clay mounds under coffee grounds(dirt). 
 The walkway is covered with sand gravel usually used for the bottom of candle jars. And my grass is moss. By the way, if your moss ever stiffens just give it a spritz with water and it will re-soften.
I bought the wagon and dipped it into paint stripper. Then I painted dots and roses and added rust(golden brown paint). The watering can is also a piece I bought and repainted. I made the crates. All the vegetables are air dry clay. The potatoes have a little coffee ground dirt on them.
I hand painted this little cardstock paper bunting banner.  There's a little light under the porch.
The shovel is air dry clay. My hose is a piece of plastic kids use to make necklaces. I painted it with acrylic paint and made the end piece with hot glue painted silver.
Yes, that's a pie on the ledge. Maybe you get hungry while you garden? Maybe you have to keep a close eye on your baked goods? It's just cute so I had to put it there. It's air dry clay with some glitter that looks like sugar on top.
Here's the switch(it's that little white piece). The battery is also hidden under the vines.
This is birch strips as siding. I buy them at HobbyLinc online.
I made most of the things inside the shed.
The only things I did not make were the tools and toolbox.
The bags of dirt are actually just printed off Google image search. I think they are Walmart.com images. I just printed 2 pictures for each side of the bag and glued them together with Aleene's Tacky Glue. Let dry completely and fill.  It actually worked. I thought they would not be fat enough. But they look good.
The window shade is actually a bamboo place mat. I cut it to size and whitewashed it. Then finished it off with strips of fabric.
I made the sink too.  The sink basin is a little plastic part that came in packaging. You can use packaging from condiments too. I paint it with primer and then with silver. The spout is a thick wire piece. The handles are beads. All the curtains are sprayed with hairspray to have them look more realistic.
This little house is available at cinderellamoments.etsy.com
Here's little Lizzie enjoying life.
 She's becoming a real model! And no, she does not like Gigie's company yet. Lizzie is not really the type to like pets. So I'm not very hopeful there. Lizzie likes her privacy!
And Miss Gigie not enjoying the outdoors. She hates outside. And she doesn't care for snow. I have to be really quick to take photos. She runs back inside right away. Which is an excellent thing!  Don't worry this is my upstairs balcony so there's no chance of escapes or mishaps. Just a little 1 second stroll. LOL! She's growing like a sprout! And has a very, very big appetite. She's now 4 months old.
Thank you so much for the visit. I appreciate it so much!
♥hugs♥,