Doll House

For Christmas last year, Timm and I decided to make the girls a dollhouse. A sweet dollhouse that would shape their dreams of domestic bliss, imprint indelibly in their memory, and later fight over as adults. Their fighting over it now as children should have been obvious to me, but it turned out to be a bonus. We didn't actually build it from scratch, as we originally planned. A couple years ago we found a dollhouse, 85% completed, on the side of the road complete with the kit instructions and supplies to finish the rest of the house.Unbelievable. It has sat in our garage awaiting our attention until a few months ago. We peeled off old wallpaper (Timm), did a ton of sanding and painting, and built new columns and railing to replace the gingerbread ones supplied in what was obviously supposed to be a Victorian kit. The rest of it was mostly just decorating. Oh, and building furniture.

My main inspiration was this dollhouse, which  leaves me speechless every time I look at it. Which I did often during the construction of ours. If I had more time and money, it would be more fully furnished and decorated, but as it were this was already a combined Christmas present between parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. So for now, this dollhouse has tapped out.

Let's go inside, shall we?

The Living Room.

For all of the wallpapers and rugs, I used scrapbook paper. All of the wallpapers are from Hobby Lobby, purchased recently. The rugs are old scraps I had on hand and Mod-Podged to the floor. The bookshelf, desk and chair are from ebay. The 'vase' is a painted wooden bead. Timm made the couch, and I made the pillows.

Oh, and those pink wooden blocks? They're minimalist chairs. I found some just like it on a Mid-century/Modern miniatures website (yes, that exists-) for $25. Per cube. For a 2" wooden cube. Yeah, so we made our own. That website by the way, has amazing miniature furniture that you probably didn't know existed. I didn't anyway. However, I don't think it's typically designed for small hands and their imaginations- I think they're designing for more of the serious miniature hobbyist. For instance, if I bought this beautiful $180 sectional that I wish I had in my own living room, I would stand and strictly supervise all play. (More than I already do-) I would employ a guard to protect it when I was unavailable lest my devious children attempt to play with it without my gentle reminding presence.

Which brings me to another point. Everything is glued down. Now I know what you're thinking- 'Wow, how controlling, obsessive and neurotic can you be?' So? What's wrong with that? But here's my defense: 3 year olds are not known for their dexterity, deft hands, and delicate approaches. Not mine, anyway. I knew that if I didn't, everything would be broken and/or lost within days. I did not slave away for so many hours just to have it destroyed so quickly. And as you can see from my referenced website above, doll furniture can be really expensive. (Plus, let's face it- my daughters just don't quite have my design sensibilities yet. If I left it to their design, they'd have that furniture every which way in uncoordinating combinations, unflattering configurations, and really, just downright contrived. I mean to preserve the integrity of the design. Because you know I thought a lot about that.) You're probably still thinking- 'How much fun can it be for them to play with a dollhouse with everything fixed in place?' To which I rely, 'Probably more fun than playing with an empty one because you broke and lost everything.' Also, in my defense- It is the furniture and a few other items that are permanently affixed- they still bring in plenty of other play things to mix things up. And one last item in my defense- on Christmas day, Fiona broke the only 3 things in there that I hadn't glued down yet. Case in point.

If you think I sound defensive, possibly due to my outlined defense, I am. Some people think I am a little too controlling. I don't really see why.

I had a really hard time with some of the furniture- namely couches and beds. The problem is, those widely available are either way too traditional, or as you saw before, way too expensive. I found some that I thought would work with a little reupholstering from me that I ordered on a website. 2 days before Christmas it became evident that that furniture was not coming, so I asked Timm to whip some up. I think I ended up liking his even better- very simple indeed, but pleasing to me. I sewed all the pillows and the like.

A little nook. Furniture from eBay, the books from Hobby Lobby. After much deliberation, I decided to affix the chair legs to the floor, but allow the chair to swivel. Fiona broke it.

And here is our modest kitchen.

All of the furniture if from Hobby Lobby, as are the pots and pans, and cuckoo clock (Which I painted pink)

I did not glue the oven and sink doors closed but I seriously considered it.

Oh wait, that little table is from eBay, along with the food items and the kumquat tree. (!)

I love the kumquat tree- I have always wanted a small citrus tree in my kitchen. I think I might be able to manage that much gardening.

The 'Master' Bedroom

The silhouettes are scrapbook stickers from Holly Lobby, the frame is one I bought from Hobby Lobby and painted. Shelves and tv are from eBay.

Excuse this dresser (from HL). I found out on Christmas Eve that it didn't take spray paint too well. Out of time, I decided to leave it for another undetermined time.

The Kid's Room

The furniture (besides the bed) are from eBay, as well as the book rack. I made the bulletin board.

I appropriated some small items to furnish the kid's room, i.e. the elephant and the ball. Seeing as they were permanently adhered, it didn't go over too well with Bella. At least I reached my goal of having one of my kids cry over their main gift on Christmas day. I promised to resupply the items.

The pennant is a scrapbook sticker.

I love this chevron fabric, so I stitched along the lines to define it. A real quilt for the dolls!

And that's the house. We haven't done much with the top floor yet, but it's destined for a play room. I just sewed a couple of tufted floor cushions for the little alcove and called it good for now.

Exterior

We found some Martha Stewart glitter paint that was absolutely perfect for mimicking the look of a real roof.

And lastly, we bought a coffee table from Ikea for about $30 and put some casters on it. A perfect fit.

Fortunately, it was received as warmly as we hoped. It is a great size for their mini La La Loopsy dolls who populate the abode.

 Go handmade!

(With the aid of many mass-produced items...)

This Girl

Sigh.

2 weeks ago this girl was almost 100% cute.

Just last week she was cracking me up and melting my heart by calling out "Heavenly Father loves me, mom! Heavenly Father loves me, mom!" when she woke up in the morning and from her nap. Yelling, at the top of her lungs.

This week, she is choosing to act the 2-year old part very well. To the fullest. A fully fleshed out 2-year old character.

She's always been quite a character, a lot pf personality. She's always been stubborn and opinionated. But now, she is in full force. She wants to do everything by herself, her way, on her terms. She does not take kindly to any suggestion, request or compromise.

Tantrums and timeouts abound.

It's no accident that parenthood is an essential part of our development, purpose, and exaltation. There are so many lessons that cannot be learned any other way. There is no other relationship that can approximate the parent-child relationship, and I say this all from my vast 6 years of experience as a mother. But seriously, in only 6 years I have learned (or more likely just begun to learn) lessons and character traits and patience that I couldn't have learned in any other way. Parenthood is a crash course in many things including selflessness and compromises and it is not for the faint of heart. So naturally, I daily feel that I am not up to the task and there must be some mistake in allowing me to be responsible for the raising of these children.

Fiona is putting me through the ringer right now. It is making me examine every request and directive that comes out of my mouth and constant assessment of my priorities and what is really important. I am choosing my battles, as they say. The problem is, I am stubborn like a 2-year old myself. I want to fight all the battles. I want everything to be important to me. I want to take stand on every issue, to teach a lesson, a value, a skill, to make a point. Unfortunately that is all more than counterproductive with Fiona, it is damaging and threatens our sanity. I am having to let a lot of things go, relinquish control, disregard what others might think and take a lot, a lot of deep breaths.Basically, I am having to overcome all of my natural inclinations. 

Is it nap time yet?

(That is, until she finally learns to climb out of her crib. Say a little prayer for me.)

Travel Bags

As soon as our travel plans were booked, my first thoughts went to what I would make for the trip. Of course. Because when you are traveling alone with 2 small children you really need some extra work to keep you busy in preparation. I immediately started listing items to help pass the time and keep little ones busy and my sanity intact(ish). Of course it wasn't enough to make activities for the girls- I had to make backpacks to carry those activities in. And I had to invent my own pattern.

(I know. I have a disorder.)

I made coordinating backpacks for the girls, which I will describe in more detail in another post. I filled those bags with the following things:

-New books (part of a great Goodwill score)

-Crayon Portfolios

-Story Cubes

-Magnetic Paper Dolls

-New Coloring Books

-MadLibs Junior

-Pipe Cleaners

- File Folder Games

-Paper Quiet book (not shown, because I didn't finish it until 1 am the night before the trip.)

I downloaded the paper dolls from here, and then printed them on magnetic paper. I had some old tins from the Dollar Spot which used to hold candy and were the perfect size for carrying them. I made a set of 2 dolls for each girl.

Here is a list of other printable paper dolls. I really want to make the vintage Betsy McCall ones here another time. They have over a decade's worth to print!

I made them each a crayon portfolio using this pattern from GingerCake.  They were really easy to make, but I made a few changes to the pattern. The bottom half of the portfolio has two pockets: 1 for paper and 1 for stickers. The bottom pocket for stickers is empty because I didn't have any on hand.

Can I tell you how much I love having fabric scraps? It is almost the best part of a fabric stash. I love having many different pieces left over from many different projects available at my disposal. I love choosing coordinating fabrics for each project, and I love collecting small scraps, organized by color, to use in future projects like scrappy quilts. Or doll quilts.

This one is made entirely of scraps from their quilts. I love these fabrics, and these color combinations.

I also made them 3 file folder games, from this book. Once again, blogger refuses to rotate my picture correctly. 

Angst.

I made them a paper quiet book from here, which like I said, is not photographed because I didn't finish it in time.

Pipe cleaners, or chenille wraps as my mom calls them, can offer endless opportunities for quiet creative play. We also brought a dvd player to fall back on.

In addition to these things, I also packed their empty water bottles to fill once we were on the plane, an extra change of clothes for each girl, and some special snacks and treats.

I can't say that the day of travel was easy or enjoyable, but I also can't imagine what we would have done if I hadn't made all these preparations. On the way back I will still be traveling with them alone, so in addition to these things I will also be getting a good night's sleep the night before. I failed to do this on the way out, and it definitely made a difference. Negatively. 

I am keeping everything in their travel bags, saved only for the ride home (and our 2 road trips) to maintain their novelty. 

Wish me luck!

What Sisters Are For

A couple of days ago I was drying my hair while the girls occupied themselves, playing in the kitchen. Bella, trying to distract Fiona from something she didn't want her to have, offered her some peanut butter on a spoon (a favorite snack among them both). When I came in to check on them, I found this bizarre creation on the table:

On the table with it were the materials used: scissors, tape, and construction paper.

When I asked Bella what it was, she explained that Fiona wanted the pumpkin spoon (see below) but it had a crack in it. 

So Bella made her a new one.

Apparently it pleased Fiona because she was using the taped paper version, and I definitely would have heard from her if it did not pass muster.

So odd, so creative, and so cute.

I love sisters.

February in the Carolinas

This is what late February looks like in NC. A high of 78, and a trip down to the greenway on Saturday. I felt like a good mom for several reasons. For one, I am prone to want to stay inside all the time, but my kids, not so much. 

So Good Mom Reason Number 1:  I chose to let my kids out of doors.

Good Mom Reason 2: I had to lift our super-heavy garage door that is broken and does not open anymore. Have you ever lifted a broken automatic garage door? Very heavy. So I lifted it, braced it on my shoulder, and used my feet to kick out the girl's bikes before closing it again. (Trying to gently let it down before I lost control and it fell with a loud clang and a shudder, narrowly missing my toes.)

(Fiona has the sweetest tricycle in existence. It is a Schwinn roadster.)

Bella, although a bit reticent, did well on her new bigger bike. Much taller than her old one.

Good Mom Reason Number 3: Fiona didn't last too long and I had to carry her tricycle. The whole time.

Good Mom Reason Number 4: After biking on the greenway, I let them play in the creek. 

Bella calls it the riverbank, which I love, but it's really just Clark's Creek. I love it though, and it runs all through the extensive greenway giving us several bridges and many opportunities for wading, skipping, and general exploring.

Good Mom Reason Number 5: I let them get muddy and wet.

(Yes, I made her clip for Valentine's Day...upside down.)

(I love this particular spot. Some other family was there catching crayfish.) 

Good Mom Reason Number 5: I let them go to the playground afterwards. And I still carried her tricycle the whole way home. It's all metal, including metal fenders, and pretty friggin' heavy for a tricycle.

I fully realize that these are pretty average accomplishments for the average mom and their kids, but I am a little slow on the parenting learning curve. Like I said, I am happy to stay indoors, but this is just another learning and growth opportunity that parenting provides. 

And best of all, Fiona took a nap that day.

I love living in the Carolinas. I love the beauty, the trees, the greenway and playground at the end of my street, and a 78 degree day in February.