Monday, June 22, 2015

A Gift from Agnes and Capucine

A few days ago I received a gift from Agnes of http://capucineetsonninour.blogspot.com/
I absolutely love Agnes' bog. It's so cheery it will make you smile. Let's open this baby up....carefully.
Oooooh! 
 Look at this adorable wooden box! 
The box has 3 compartments. I finally have some of Agnes' famous pencils!!  And I was raving about the paintings on her blog. And she sent me one!! I find her creations so enchanting.  And look at that little card with a drawing by Agnes' doll Capucine. Awwww! It's so precious!
Thank you sooo much Agnes! I love your gifts! ♥
Please go visit Capucine et Ninour. This blog will put a smile on your face and brighten your day.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Flamingo Cottage Custom Handmade Dollhouse

My newest custom dollhouse is ready with all the furniture, accessories and garden.  I call her "Flamingo Cottage"!  I saw a photo of a children's party on Pinterest in all tropical colors. It instantly brought this cottage into my imagination. It wasn't long before I stumbled on a flamingo print fabric on the internet. I had my theme! Flamingo!
It's feel is fresh and relaxed yet still in keeping with my signature vintage look.  
This house is a custom built from scratch.
 This is a little chair I learned to make from the internet:  http://www.evangelione.com/2007/11/wooden-chair-tutorial.html
 I love tiny little front yards.  I use moss on everything. The bushes are air dry clay I rolled in a ball and then covered with glue and moss.
 The little flamingo is also air dry clay. I thought it would be difficult to make. But it was very easy!
 I love to use many different textures. It gives the building instant character.
 The chimney is covered with concrete that's carved into stone shapes. The rest of the white wall is also concrete. But it's smoothed out to look like stucco.

 Inside, Ive made most of the furniture.  The only thing I didn't make was the nightstand upstairs. 
 
 The mantel has a real working "fire".


 This is the coffee table. I kept the design very simple. Saw it on Pinterest! :)
 I paint the rugs with acrylic paint on a thick canvas.
 This is a little shelf/desk.  Very simple design here too. I started making these because I wanted very tall pieces of furniture in my dollhouses. 
 I saw this table on One Kings Lane.  I signed up for their emails and they keep sending brilliant ideas I shrink down to mini size.
 It makes a fantastic entry table.  I also got the design for the planter on One Kings Lane.  I'm telling you they are a treasure trove of ideas!
 This is the area behind the steps. I just removed them to show you the windows and bench. The windows here are massive. The amount of light that pours in is fabulous. I made a simple prim style bench. And also a little basket. I make my baskets with a pretty thick string  and coat it with Modge Podge. It dries very hard and then I paint it brown.
 I got the picture of the flamingo off the internet. The little frames are available at Michael's right now in their dollar bins.
To make these chairs I just got the template and directions from House of Miniatures online. They have all their PDF instructions online. And those include the templates.
 The bedroom has one wall of flamingo and the other walls are polka dots.  I made a green bed with comfy cozy linens. 
 I saw this window treatment on Pinterest. 

 This table has legs that are stair spindles. I just added a couple of pieces of wood to make the top and also a shelf at the bottom.

Here's the nightstand I didn't make. I removed 2 of the drawers and it gives it a more unique look. I wanted a little yellow in here. So I painted lemons on the rug.

Measures 17 3/4" long x 12 1/2" across x 21 1/2" tall.
Gigie(my kitten) and Lizzie(my Yorkie) are doing wonderful. Gigie has not grown very much. I read that Ragdolls don't get full grown until they are 4 years old. So I guess she has plenty of time! I hope you are all doing well! Thank you so much for visiting! 
hugs♥,