Doll House

A few years ago, DH and I bought a beautiful doll house at an auction.  Since this is a small town, we knew the girl that it belonged to and her dad who built it from a kit and her mom who probably made the cross stitch quilt and some of the rugs for it.  And we knew her sister who told us the story about the house.

The girl who owned it is now a missionary in Africa and since her parents where moving away to a bigger town but a smaller apartment, they couldn't keep the doll house for her any longer.  And so it was put up for auction with all the other things they couldn't keep any longer.

It was obvious right from the beginning that she loved this doll house.  The furnishings were well thought out.  And the walls had been papered.  But when we got everything home, we found folders full of letters that she had received from companies where she had inquired about purchasing things for her doll house.  She was very much involved with her doll house and had kept everything that had anything to do with it. 

I felt a little guilty having it instead of her.  But so goes life and the decisions that are made.

For Christmas, DH asked what I wanted, and I replied that I wanted a cart on wheels to put the doll house on because it was sitting on the floor and couldn't be moved.  And so couldn't be used.  Or cleaned under/around.  And being the sweetheart that he is, he made me a cart on wheels that fit the doll house perfectly.

And then the fun began.  There weren't many things needed but what fun doing the ones that I thought needed to be added.

First off I did a little knitting and counted cross stitch.

 

An afghan made from fingering weight yarn and knit on size 1 needles.

 

 

 

A quilt for one of the kids' beds.

 



 

And another quilt for the other kid's bed.

 

 



 

A crocheted rug for the master bedroom made from leftover Peace Fleece yarn.

 

 

 

A scarf knit on toothpicks and with lace weight yarn.

 

 

A counted cross stitch wall hanging from a free pattern at Herrschners.

 

And this little armoire was just calling for some clothes hangers and so I made a few from paper clips.

 

 

And now for what the doll house looks like with everything in it....

 

 

It has a wrap around porch and in this picture you can see the cart that DH made.

 

And here you can get an idea of how big it is.  It is as tall as the built in cabinets in the den.

 

This is the full back.

 

A closer shot of the attic.

 

This is the second floor.

 

The kids' bedroom.

 

The bath.

It needs a picture in here.  I just haven't decided what yet.

 

The master bedroom.

 

Main floor.

 

Kitchen

 

Living room

 

And a closer shot so you can see the knitting in the rocking chair and the afghan on the couch.

 

 

It has been so much fun putting all this together and adding my personal touches.  But it was also impressive that a young girl had been so in love with her doll house that she had planned and thought out just how she wanted to decorate it. 

 

I'm honored to be the new owner.

Easter creations*

Many, many years ago when the boys were truly boys, we made these eggs and basket. It was a great way to occupy them for a bit and just think...I have Easter decorations yet. All these years later.

They were relatively simple to make.  All you need is:  balloons, crochet thread in different colors, rick rack, lace and/or ribbons, glue or hot glue gun, sugar and water.  Oh...and a little time.

Blow up the balloons to the size egg/basket you want to make.

Wrap the crochet thread around the balloon in every which direction.

Dip/roll the whole works in a mixture of 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water that has been boiled to dissolve the sugar and then cooled.

Choose which end you want for the bottom and press down to flatten slightly.

It's gonna be a drippy mess so if you can put them in a sink or bathtub to dry that'd be good.

Once they are dry, cut out the front to make an egg or a handle to make a basket.  It's tough going...you gotta have a strong scissors and even stronger hands!

Decorate the outsides and insides as you wish.  And they don't have to be for Easter.  They make cute springtime décor too!

Great project for grandkids also...I think I need to get the materials on hand...  :)

*I know.  I'm late as usual but thought I'd post it anyway.  You can be ready for next year?

Crafty Saturday

Why have a plain old bulletin board....

 

 

when there is ribbon in the house and you have some time to spare? 

 

 

 

 



 

You could go with stripes but there is still ribbon left.  Let's see what else can be done.

 

 

So here it is already in use.  Yea.  I know.  It matches the violet.  I guess I ahh, kinda planned it that way...  Can you say ummm, what's the word...obsessive?

 

And now just for the fun of it, a couple pictures of Teddy.

 



Hey!  I'm sleeping here!

It may be dry...

but we have frogs!

I've been watering trees and flowers and that's where the froggies are hanging out.  I think it's a smart plan.  It's about dry as a desert everywhere else.

This guy froze in place and I was able to get a close up picture.  Wasn't that considerate?

And on another dry(ing) subject....dish drying to be exact.  This is the towel I embroidered for myself.  An cross stitching duckie.  Cute?  Yes?

Sorry about the wrinkles but I've been using it. 

Embroidery!

3rd DS has gotten engaged and there was a bridal shower for his fiancé last Saturday. 

The shower was planned quickly since the hostess was her sister who is due to deliver her second baby any day now.  And so I had a couple weeks to do some quick embroidery.

This is the last of the towels....the one that didn't get to go to MN for the shower cuz I didn't get it done in time. 

It was fun to do.  I hadn't embroidered for such a long time.  I have an extra towel left over....I might just do that one for myself!

Well. Will you look at that.

I made stitch markers!






Pretty pastel sparkley ones.
















And these are made from leftover beads I had from shawl knitting and a couple charms I liked but never knew what to do with.


It was fun! Woo Hoo! :D