After the Dust Settles

Christmas is over, and there have been a few new additions in the dollhouses...

 

 The little dummy board I painted went in front of an upstairs fireplace in Mom's house.

 Mom gave me this sweet little framed needlepoint (from this Etsy shop). I thought at first I'd hang it in Pheobe's room, but now I'm thinking it may be better for the parlor.  I'll post more photos when I've made up my mind on the right spot.

 

Three's Company

Last Thursday, Mom finished a commission for a VERY patient customer who wanted three children for a special project. Mom made and sent the two girls off this past summer, but the little boy took a bit longer.

 I photographed him before his buttons went on, but I was racing the daylight! He went to the post office the next morning, so (fingers crossed) he should be spending Christmas in his new home!

A Holiday Tradition, and a Before and After

I've decided I'm keeping the smaller tree in the parlor this year, and the larger one will stay in storage.With that choice made, I really need to find/make a few more gifts for under the tree.

To fill some of the space around the tree, I started  pulling a few toys from around the dollhouse. This little cart is great for holding some of my favorite dolls from Lucy Coles. I have an unconscionable number of these little dolls- and I love every single one! My mother gave me a miniature doll as my Christmas gift every year for most of my childhood. Every year I'd have to hunt all over the (big) tree for the tiny little  hidden somewhere in its branches. The doll

The cart is a plastic toy which I repainted. Here's the before picture of the cart. It wasn't bad, actually, pretty good from a distance. I liked how delicate it was, but the sheen of the plastic bothered me.

Here's a better view of the cart after. I primed the piece with grey, and dry brushed over the top to look like flaking white paint over weathered wood.  I used metallic silver and rust highlights on the wheels. I think the handle still needs a sprig of greenery, and a big bow.

Naughty or Nice?

Today's post is going to be really short, because Christmas decorating is in full swing around here!

I made this little corset following this tutorial (I had to resize the pattern to dollhouse scale) I've tried a few different (mini) corset patterns over the years, and the nice thing about this one is that it really does have a very narrow, hourglass shape. However,  if you try this tutorial yourself, you should know that the hips of this particular pattern were huge. I took them in a bit, and they still look a bit large to me!

 I kept the front panels of the corset plain, but I just bought some silver thread, and am thinking I might be able to fake some little hook and eye clasps down the front with a few tiny stitches. I'll post again if my experiments are successful!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I love decorating for Christmas. I love the anticipation of it- fussing with a red bow here, piling Clementines there (though they're usually half gone an hour later!) So it's no surprise that my dollhouse gets a good dose of Christmas decorations too.

 

I made a bunch of little mistletoe sprigs this year, and have been having fun finding spots to put them.

They're quite tiny! I added a hook made of thicker wire to the top of each sprig to aid in hanging them. Usually I use sticky wax to hang items, but that can create dirty spots over time. So far the hooks alone seems to be working well

I really like this sprig hung over the door to the music room!

I also decorated a little lycopodium tree. I made the tree a year (two?) ago following Casey's tutorial, but I never posted it because I hadn't decorated it. I figured if I didn't start to decorate it this year, I'd never do it, so I finally bit the bullet. I was running low on appropriate beads for ornaments, so I had to get creative. I added lots of Victorian paper ornaments, and some repainted plastic charms like the snowflake (bottom left of the tree). I wanted a few smaller ornaments, so I dipped glue covered wire in glitter to make some gold icicles. I also dipped a few gluey wires in no-hole beads to make small irregular ornaments. You can just see one at the bottom center of the tree. I think they're rather effective from a distance. I still need to make a topper, and when I can get to the bead store I'll add a few more ornaments, but I'm happy with it for now.

I actually have a much larger tree that usually goes in the parlor, but the bigger size makes it look a little modern. I haven't quite decided whether historical accuracy or holiday spirits should carry the day. I may move this tabletop tree to the music room, and put the larger tree in parlor. Either way, I need to make new fake gifts. These red and gold packages are beautiful, but they're a little too perfect for realism!

 Last of all is this little Christmas candle I made last summer. You won't see this in my dollhouse. I only made one, and it sold to a lovely customer at Philadelphia. I liked so much I couldn't help sharing it here.