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...)

Baby Shower Gifts

My tearful scene at Amanda's baby shower was not the only gift I gave to her.

No, Linda and I went in on a gift where Linda bought the onesies and I embellished them. Since I had approximately $2.50 in my bank account at the time, the arrangement worked out nicely for me. Using this tutorial from Prudent Baby, I made two onesie dresses. (Incidentally for those of you who have or might endeavor to make these, despite being advertised as a '10 minute dress', there's no such thing as a 10 minute sewing project for me. Especially a dress. Even if it is a really simple dress like these. So you might want to set aside a few more minutes than 10 to make one of these.)

I love this fabric and have just been sitting on it since I got it at Mary Jo's a couple of months ago. Oh, that I had expendable income! I would make at least a monthly pilgrimage to Mary Jo's and stock up. And I would spend a lot more time buying things at Fabricworm instead of merely coveting. I cut one of the flowers, ironed some interfacing on and stitched around it 3 times to applique it to the onesie.

See! It's still a onesie!

They way you attach the skirt to the dress encases all the raw edges so that there are no scratchy parts for baby, and no ugly threads to show! (Although I did find this part a bit tricky since you can't really see what you are doing, and thus can't arrange or manage your gathers as you sew.)

Another one with ric rac and some fabric rosettes.

Excuse the hot glue spots- it's really hard to be careful with the hot glue when you're working with such tiny rosettes!

I keep old t-shirts to use for various projects. 'Old' should read as 'used and discarded but clean and in good shape.' For the floral cluster above, you just haphazardly cut circular shapes, layering them on top of each other. I did stacks of 3 in diminishing sizes. When you sew them on, you just kind of scrunch them together and again, haphazardly sew them to the shirt. As you stitch through the middle of the circles and pull, it natrually pulls them together into the desired shape. Cluster them close together. Seriously easy. And these look even cuter with washing- the edges of the knit fray ever so slightly and look better with time!

Using the same shirt I just made three ruffles and sewed them on! That one might have taken close to 10 minutes, but it was still more than that, I guarantee. I think I am slow, in more ways than one.

Four gifts- unique, pretty and fun!

(I threw in the public display of emotion as a bonus for the new mom.)

Birthday Gifts for Little Girls

I am so glad I had little girls because what would I sew for them otherwise? I started making dolls about a year ago, and according to my count I have finished 5 dolls (all girls) and started and at least 4 more in varying degrees of completion.Since I am insistent on making my own patterns entirely from scratch, it has been a learning process. Especially since I am almost completely self-taught and I haven't ever read or even looked at a 'real' pattern. Finally, with this one for Fiona I got as close as I have ever gotten. It is almost just as I would have it and I am looking forward to beginning the next one and getting closer to the final product.

Incidentally, one evening when I was becoming increasingly frustrated with a construction issue, I emailed Hillary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls and just hoped she could take a minute and offer some advice. She was wonderful! She emailed me back within minutes, and we relayed back and forth a couple of times. I really appreciated her willingness and attentiveness. Plus, her stuff is super cute, so check out her book!

I also made her a dress, a quilt, and a pillow. I had wanted Timm to make her a cradle but I asked at the last minute so that will have to wait until Christmas.

Her birthday crown, again.

Michelle had the fantastic idea that my birthday crowns would make a great birthday gift. Duh! Bella was invited to a birthday party tonight with only two days notice. I didn't feel like spending any more late nights pursuing my doll perfection ambition, so I whipped this up while Fiona napped.

Then I added a wand to go with it, equally improvised.

I didn't have any wrapping supplies or car to get any, so I improvised here as well. I wrapped up the crown in fabric and tied the wand on with a ribbon.

Is it cute, or hobo-esque?

 Apparently it's also really hard when it is a friend's birthday and not your own. Since I made these last 2 crowns Bella has informed me that she wants her crown to be taller, she wants a bow on hers, ribbon ties on the back, embroidered stars, fabric on the back, and a wand. Poor Bella, always gets the dregs of my creativity. Right. (Case in point: notice her handmade shirt and skirt, which she begs to wear every day. Ahem.)

Birthday (x2)

If you recall, two years ago I had Fiona on Timm's birthday. He thinks it's awesome, I think I lacked some foresight, neglecting to see that I would have double the work and Timm would inevitably get short shrift. (Which I think is why he likes it- he's demented about birthdays.) Yesterday we celebrated that day- Fiona's 2nd and Timm's 31st.

Fiona, enjoying a birthday breakfast of chocolate donuts (faux-nuts) and chocolate milk while Timm slept in until church.

I sported one of Bella's brooches in my hair.

And took car SPs on the way to church.

After church and naps we went to Linda's for a birthday dinner. It was a fabulous gift to me that I didn't have to cook a birthday dinner on top of everything else I had to do and make. Despite Blogger's refusal to properly rotate this picture, dinner was fabulous. Tilapia with a grilled mango salsa, honey rolls, grilled asparagus, a green salad and roasted potatoes. Delish.

Fiona was back to her pirate ways, and when I tried to insist that she smile, she scowled instead.

I let Bella wear her birthday crown because she proved all day long, many times, that it is oh so hard when it is not your birthday.

She blew the candles out almost all by herself! (Aided by a newly-shaven Timm, under Linda's orders.)

My friend and former-BYU roommate Kim made this awesome cake which I was inspired to copy. I planned on doing it for Bella's 5th but had too much to do, so I saved it for Fiona's. I thought it would be awesome if I gave Fiona cancer for her birthday, due to inhuman amounts of concentrated food coloring. (Fingers crossed!)

Kim's photo is much better- mine had poor indoor night lighting. In case anyone is interested, I followed Kim's directions exactly, except that my oven is hot so I only baked each layer for 10 minutes. If anyone endeavors to make the Swiss buttercream (which I did for the first time) drop me a line and we can discuss. Or if anyone else has made it.

Linda was sweet enough to get Bella her own gift (Repunzle) because again, it is so hard when it is not your birthday.

She also got Fiona a stuffed kitty (a hit) and a glitter stretch fashion Cinderella set complete with a 2 horse drawn carriage. A huge hit worthy of much fighting and screaming from both girls.

My gifts were handmade, which I will document (along with her birthday crown) in another post.

Timm got some stuff too.

Now that my late night sewing and birthday deadline was been met I hope to be blogging more frequently. Though to be honest, I am already starting to panic over the massive amounts of sewing and creating to be done for Christmas and the other events that precede it.