Time to Play

I've shown the playroom on this blog before, but it was a few years ago, and quite a bit messier then. When I did the big dollhouse cleaning, I took the oportunity to take out a few toys. Both Mom and I have a weakness for toys of all kinds, so the playroom was overflowing. When I straightened up, I decided that I would try to keep only handmade and special toys in the playroom.
 

I cheated a little with the furnishings in this room. The fireplace and corner cupboard are "child scale" (aka half scale) while the game table and chairs are 1/12th scale. My grandparents have a "half scale" fireplace in their real home, so I don't feel it's too much of a stretch.

This little rope bed is the third half scale piece of furniture in the room -but it's so covered with dolls I always think of it as a toy! The little baby boy in the red knit outfit is yet another doll from Lucy Coles.

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!

Before the Ball

In a quiet window nook, there are signs of a party soon to come. A pretty fan with a painted silk scene and some long kid gloves have been abandoned here, along with household advice books (just in case anything goes wrong tonight...)

 

I made the fan a while ago. You can read that post here. These gloves are one of the most amazing miniatures I own. They aren't the typical flat piece of leather cut into a glove shape. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see tiny stitches along each finger. Someone actually a real pair of miniature gloves! I wish I knew who made these!

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.

The Itsy-Bitsy Baby

 Mom's toddler dolls are always among my favorites. This little one fits in the palm of my hand!

 I love her curious expression. Mom kept her outfit rather simple, but there are some pretty lace details if you look closely.

The lace at her hem is one of our favorites. The woman who sold us the lace said that it was a japenese lace, and that it generally sells out far quicker than she can reorder!

My favorite part of this doll is her little kid shoes and lacey socks!

 

 

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!