French Quarter Custom Dollhouse

My recent visit to New Orleans inspired this French Quarter dollhouse.

I took most of my inspiration for the exterior from Lafitte's blacksmith shop. 

I did the exterior with concrete(premixed stuff that comes in a plastic tub at the home improvement store).  Some I smoothed out like plaster and some I carved into old handmade bricks.

 This side is a whole wall of old bricks, some crooked.

This is an old advertisement for a Bourbon Street dry goods store.  While the glue was wet I manipulated the paper so it would be torn and rippled. I then aged it with a thin(watered down) mixture of black and brown paint.

The old shutters are slightly open.

 This side, I carved large stones.

 I used real twigs to have an old dead vine.

The interior is very aged. I used the same mixture of black/brown paint to get this old look.

The brick wall is concrete carved.  The wallpaper is from the scrapbook department.  The chandelier is battery operated. I made it with wire and crystal seed beads.

I got the columns for the chimney from a scrapbook supplier. 

This mirror is a frame that's a Christmas ornament(photo frame) from Hobby Lobby.  I used a piece of silver cardboard paper(scrapbook) for the mirror. I wasn't sure it would work. But I used a golden brown, black and green. I dabbed it on with a brush. Then I cleaned my brush and took off some of the paint. It worked! It really looks like an antique mirror.  I'll have to do a tutorial about this one.

The curtains are taffeta. They are so stiff naturally that I didn't have to do anything to them. I glued the roman shade in place fold by fold.

This crackled paper and wainscoting is also in the scrapbook isle. 

If you want to purchase this house it's available at CinderellaMoments.

Thanks for the visit!

Reverie Cottage Dollhouse

Here's my new favorite dollhouse!  And this one will be featured in a local magazine! http://digital.turn-page.com/title/4248
 

Reverie Cottage is a custom dollhouse.

I absolutely love theses shades of gray, cream and the bright green of the moss together.  The siding is corrugated cardboard.  The vines are from Hobby Lobby.  The chandelier is made with painted wire and crystal seed beads with a battery operated light in the middle.

 I made the window boxes out of scraps of wood with hot glue for the 3D design.  Painted and aged, it looks perfect.

The wreath is moss hot glued on some wire.

Side view.  Plenty of vines for that cozy look.

I painted the ceiling of the porch robin egg blue.

The light switch and battery are inside the chimney. 

I was afraid the shingles would be too dark. But I love the way it looks. You can never tell until you reach the end!

Inside, my Restoration Hardware big book came in handy! I love that stores new style so much. So I did the chandelier inside a birdcage, the finish on the table and the curtains "a la Restoration Hardware!"  The colors too are in keeping with that store. For those of you in other countries, Restoration Hardware is a store for the home with furniture, bedding, accessories. And it's so elegant and sophisticated.

I did stay true to my shabby chic cottage style by mixing in the more romantic artwork and other details.

And a little Christmas tree too. I dipped a regular green tree into cream paint and sprinkled it with sparkles.

The curtains are roman shades and long drapes. I hairsprayed them to stay stiff and in place.  They are cream muslin with raw edges.

The paper is gray and silver. It's from the scrapbook area at Hobby Lobby. With the wainscoting also from scrapbook section. It comes already painted white!

 I made the flowers on the desk with tissue type paper, added moss and built a box from thin wood.  The glass jar holds some old scrolls. There's a white book.  The drawer opens too.

My sister made these breads and lemons. I sewed a little tote and added a couple forget me nots.

I love this house. I am totally ready to move in myself as soon as I find a way to shrink myself.  LOL!

Thanks so much for coming over and taking a look!

By the way, I had a terrific time at the beach in Florida(Watersound)  with my little Yorkie Lizzie. She's was so thrilled to dig in the sand.  And I got my next great idea while I was in New Orleans too. But I'll share that in a future post. 

Half Scale "My Shabby Chic Cottage" Finished

I decided I was not happy with the interior of the 1/2 scale cottage.  So I changed it!

Ahhhh! That's better! I added some robin egg blue to the walls. Now that chandelier really stands out. I also decided on romantic lace curtains.

I painted this rug.  I used book binding fabric. It's really thick and strong.

Bunting is necessary!

 The fireplace mantel has not changed. But it too really pops now against that blue wall.

Here's a picture to give you prospective on size.

 I also added more vines. I think it looks a little more cozy now.

I'm listing this one in my Etsy shop CinderellaMoments.