Punkins!

oh i have been absent far too long!  i hope to get back on track now that Pezza is in school again!  i am also feeling my annual burst of renewed energy and vigor now that the mornings are getting a bit crisper!


i have lots to write about but for today a quick post to show you something i made for a swap i joined on the All Things Miniature yahoo group for halloween:

*squeal* oh how i love when something turns out just the way i pictured in my head!  These are done by hand with Pardo Polymer clay (by far the easiest polymer clay to work with.)  I was partially guided by a tutorial in a book I have called The Sculpey Way with Polymer Clay.  Excellent book - i highly recommend it!

i sure hope my swap partners like them - can't wait to see what arrives in return!

room box contest!

so i was thinking the other day how i don't have enough to do......for those reading who know me well you can pick yourself up off the floor from laughing.  anyway, i really want to do some room boxes in addition to full houses.  My first trip in to the dollhouse shop in Vienna, Once Upon A Time i noticed a Real Good Toys room box kit for $20 so i grabbed it.  turns out OUAT is having a little contest.  OF COURSE i had to jump in!  i will be making a craft room and after it is displayed at OUAT i will raffle it off!  the proceeds will go to charity of course!

i worked on the interior of the walls before i put it together - i painted and cut the moldings i will be using. 

wow oh wow did learning to cut crown molding SUCK!  BUT i am proud to say i mastered it...and then went back to the store to purchase more because by the time i figured it out i had no useable pieces left......

it was finally time to get the walls glued together.  the instructions said to place all of the pieces face down and tape the back and then turn the whole assembly over to glue....

okaaaaaaaayyyyy...if i had eight arms......i managed to get it turned over and did a test fit before adding glue (thank goodness...)

because THAT is NOT right.....

i switched the two side pieces and got everything into place and glued and taped

yes that's my daughter Pezza - my ever-present little helper peeking over the top...

so here is the basic look of the room so far

next step - getting those molding pieces painted and installed!

i have been working on a piece about the shop - Once Upon A Time - i have pics of their incredible display as well as an interview with one of the owners - i hope to get that up soon!

Want to see what else i do in my "spare" time?  head over to my other blog Pezadoodle Designs!

hi all!

i have done LOTS of work on the dollhouse recently - in fact the outside is nearly done (didn't i say that last time?)  every time i get a bunch done i feel this sense of over accomplishment.  then i go back to it and realize - no, i am NOT almost done.....anyway, check it out!

i THINK the only things left are the shingles and then the dormer rooftops!  i got the dormer windows done and the front door is now in place.

 *squeal*! i am so pleased with it!  i did have to get a little help from hubby - the dormer window frames and the door wouldn't fit in their holes :(

and look at the ITTY doorknob!

i love this pic 'cuz it looks just like a pic of a real house but it's NOT! hahahhahha!

i have also dyed the shingles:

Pezza helped (my 4 year old daughter and future owner of the house):

(for those of you wondering - yes, the fear of dye ending up EVERYWHERE as she was messing in it was almost paralyzing BUT no mishaps...)


 i don't think i did it right because there is barely any color on most of them.

some of them look really good but most of them do not.  i may need to do a second round of dye.....

that's a lot of shingles...talk about an intimidating step!  i wonder how long it will take to glue all of those on.....

windows!!!!!

hi everyone!

i finally carved out some time to devote to my dollhouse.  honestly i think i was feeling a little intimidated by the next step which was windows...lots and lots of little trim pieces to be painted and glued and there were rubber bands involved and i pictured rubber bands snapping and shooting trim pieces around the room  EEK!

BUT i really wanted to get to the parts of the dollhouse that come AFTER windows so i finally dove in:

and this is only half of them - i primed them ALL and then painted the exterior ones in the yellow trim color.  the other half are for the interior and will get a coat of white.  i have to say - it actually was not that big of a deal after all and NO pieces were sent flying by rubber bands!

i also got the shutter pieces glued together:

it was very exciting to put them all on - the house is really looking nice i must say!

i got the tower roof done too:

so i could begin putting on the last of the gingerbread

of course i had my usual little baby helper

isn't he just way too cute - i LOVE him and he is SUCH a total momma's boy!

what do y'all think???  it has ended up with a bit more yellow than i had originally intended...and the door will be dark purple of course!

tomorrow i am venturing out with my buddy Christine to Once Upon A Time - a fabulous toy store with an incredible dollhouse section.  afterwards we are heading to my fave mexican restaurant to eat!

i hope you all have a fabby weekend!!!

starting on the trimwork...

hi folks!

well i FINALLY got back to work on the dollhouse today.  it has been a bit neglected lately.  i think i am a bit intimidated by the upcoming steps...mostly the windows.

i got all of my little bracket pieces glued on

to make it easier to put the brackets on the instructions said to turn the house upside down - brilliant!  however. i wish i had done that when i was doing the gingerbread trim on the porch...

WOW! not even close to straight.  but now i know for next time right?  Plum Pudding will be perfect when I put that one together!

I also thought i would work on getting the rest of my trim strips done.  so i measured, cut, glued and realized it was not supposed to go there.

needless to say it did not come off without a fight. *sigh* i am hoping Real Good Toys can send me a replacement piece :P
I painted the rooftop and pulled out all the window trim that needs painting too.  having two little helpers made me get SO much done:

this is our newest addition. he started as a foster kitten we were going to watch for a few days so he could play with our other fosters but he was just SO awesome (he is Maine Coon like our other cats) that hubby just couldn't bring him to the adoption event.  i call him little man but hubby has named him Bubba.

Tiger - one of our other Maine Coons, decided to join in.

she is a LOT of kitty

next thing i know little man is back in there and they are playing through the stair hole

Tiger decided to try out the tower

she is a bit large for it.....

if the cats still want to visit once it is furnished that may be a real problem....

Once Upon A Time

Field Trip!!!

So Pezza and I decided to take a bit of a field trip this week to a toy store in Vienna (about an hour away) called Once Upon A Time.  First my friend Christine told me about it then my Mother In Law told me about it so i figured it was a sign we needed to go check it out.  WOW!  totally worth the drive!

It is a toy store like the old fashioned type - meaning the really good toys - playmobile, american girl dolls, you know TOYS.  not battery operated hunks of plastic junk.  then in the back was the dollhouse area.  my oh my....

This is just a small picture of it from their website - i didn't realize i would need my camera - but it will come with me next time.  why? well do you see the small portion of completed dollhouse on the right and the table with the green drape?  that is a HUGE platform with about 8 or so completed, furnished dollhouses set up around a miniature fully landscaped courtyard. SO. FREAKIN. COOL.

we didn't do much buying that day - just several hours of taking it all in.  i did buy a few items for some furniture i want to make and an unfinished bookshelf for a roombox i am planning.  Hollyn behaved perfectly and came home with a few new miniature items herself.  i think i could have stayed there all day!

now if only i could get all my work done so i could get back to work on my own dollhouse.....

oh look what i found!

hi all!
i am so sad to say that i have not gotten much work done on my dollhouse recently.  instead we ventured off for the weekend in our new camper trailer - heavenly!  i DID take my stack of back issues of Dollhouse Collectibles magazines.  i think i have read through them each a dozen times!  so now i have a head even fuller of ideas and how-tos.  in addition i have poured over whatever i can find on the internet.  one of the things i stumbled upon was a garden scene inside of a birdcage - LOVE!

so i began hunting around for a cheap birdcage.  not much luck.  then i went in to Home Goods on a whim and found THIS and on clearance to boot!

now i need to decide what i will do with it.  like will i paint it?  will i build garden walls new orleans french quarter style? decisions decisions...what i need is a good bunch of inspiration photos to work from.  i have a couple of great books to start with on new orleans architecture - gorgeous pictures!  i may have to consult with my brother on this too!

I am heading to the DC Big Flea tomorrow - YAY!  treasure hunt time!  i also plan on getting the trim finished and windows started on my dollhouse.  i hope you all have a great weekend!