Sunday 30 October 2016

Closing the doors to Rose Cottage

Hello everyone.

How was your weekend? Hope you have enjoyed it. We had quite a bad storm. The sea was extremely rough, strong winds and some rain. I didn't mind it. After all we were waiting for it for quite some time. 

Today I worked on the last additions to Rose Cottage and once again I am closing the door to another project. There is always that pang when I come to close a project. Even if this dolls house was small and I worked mostly on the decor and making miniatures, it still gives me that sad feeling. This dolls house was special because I got to include my girls especially little Leah. Raquel does like dolls houses and she does enjoy her time with me when it comes to miniature making but I can see the difference between my girls. When I see Leah who is only 4 years old I can tell that she is more into them than her 7 year old sister. I can see it in full 'HD' that Leah has the dolls house gene that I had at her age and maybe even more than I did. Most probably if I had one of parents who was involved in dolls houses it would have been more easier for me to start but I have to say I can't complain. The love for dolls houses didn't take long for it to flourish. I am really glad that I get to share my hobby with my children. Both Matthias and Raquel tend to be drawn to their father's gadgets and technology. Leah is more involved in crafts and is eager to participate with me.  She doesn't leave my side until I am done with what I am doing. She asks questions and wants to know about everything. Rose Cottage was the first dolls house that I really let them handle and play with. It was just perfect for them. I am really pleased how it turned out and so proud of the girls helping out.

Finishing off Rose Cottage

Today was curtain making for all the the windows. The bathroom curtain was done a few weeks ago but today I got to make the curtains for the bedroom and the kitchen. Leah was helping out by sticking them to the window.


Curtain making

The kitchen curtain was done in  light blue gingham material with matching frills.

Kitchen Curtains
For the bedroom curtains I used the same material that I used for the bedding. They look really pretty.

Bedroom Curtains

For some reason I like dolls houses with curtains. They look whole especially when you look at the dolls house from the outside. 

Rose Cottage from outside

Then it was time to get the electricity fitted and connected to the power. I always leave the electricity for the last bit. It gives that special feeling when closing a project.





In the kitchen I got to add some more accessories too.


 The bed room looks pretty much the same.




And finally the bathroom....






The last touch was to paint the plastic portico of both window and the door on the outside of the house. They were never painted and as they are made out of plastic, with age they tend to turn yellowish. 


So this closes the door to Rose Cottage. Hope you have enjoyed  it and liked the new look to the house. 

So for the next project we will be having the Queen Mary's Bedroom Diorama. I am really looking forward to start it off and I have so much tell you about this room. So make sure you keep tuned for the next update of the new project.

Before Closing I want to wish you all a Happy Spooky Halloween from the Witch's Den in the Magical Mystery Tower. 


Take Care and see you all soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Thursday 27 October 2016

Making miniatures for Bedroom in Rose Cottage

Hello everyone,

Hope your week has been great so far. Finally we had a little storm today. I don't mind a storm now and then especially when I know that everyone is home safe and sound. Halloween is coming up fast. This year I won't be making any Spooky miniatures scenes. Hopefully next year I would be able to work on a proper dolls house project in that area.

Today I will be sharing with you the last room to complete the house Rose Cottage. I have to admit I loved every minute of it. I loved it even more because it didn't cost me anything. All the pieces of furniture and accessories were pieces that I had collected through the years that I didn't have any use for. If I needed some sort of accessories then I made them myself. 

The Bed room in Rose Cottage
So just like the kitchen the bedroom had a fire place which came with the house. It was stuck tight and so not to spoil the paper I left it there. 


I tried out some of the furniture pieces to see what fits. It is not how I would have decorated it but when space is limited I guess you have to work with what you have.

Adding furniture pieces
I was pleased that I could fit in most of what I wanted so then I started working on the accessories. I was so surprised to find so many accessories to fit in the room.

The little baby fitted in well in the little cradle.


I have hand crocheted a small dollie to put under the oil lamp. I am really happy with it. 

Crocheted Dollie

I had a go at making some toiletries to put on the chest of drawers. Sometimes you don't even realize that some pieces that you would throw away would actually be just perfect for miniatures. As hubby is going through the electricity system of the new premises, I found plenty of these  on the floor. I was wondering if it could fit my purpose.

Electrical Socket covers
I am sure you have came across these and I am sure that most of you have chucked them in the bin. Well here is a good use for them in the miniature world. I have made some nice lovely bottles.
Toiletries 

All you have to do is cut them,  paint the inside, fill them up with matching tissue paper, Seal the bottom, add a small bead at the top and add labels. Voila don't you think they fit the part? They look just right.

I wanted a pair of slippers for the room so I went for my first pair of pink, fluffy slippers for the Mrs. They turned out good. 

The lady's hand made slippers



 Then I tried out my hand for the baby's slippers. Patience is a blessing! For my first pair of baby slippers they are just perfect. I am so proud of myself with these minis.

The baby's hand made slippers


My Little Leah just loves this dolls house and every time I add something, she is the first to see it. I showed her the little slippers that I made and she drew my attention that daddy didn't have a pair. She begged me to make a pair for him. I guess I went back to my work surface and made a pair for daddy. 

Daddy's Slippers



She was thrilled when she saw them. Finally I had to do the bedding for the bed. I went for a darker shade with a floral pattern. I liked the color combination. And so I had finished off also the bed with a little cushion.

The bedding for the bed.
I was really pleased how the room took shape. So here are some pictures of the bedroom.








And so this is all for today. I will be adding a few more pieces but the house is pretty much done. I will be sharing with you the complete house during this weekend. I hope you liked what I have done in this bedroom. Keep tuned for the next updated and the closing of Rose Cottage.

Take Care and see you soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Rose Cottage - The Living Area

Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope you are all doing well. Another week has gone by. The weather is still pretty much the same. Still the same; sunny and hot. Hopefully in the next couple of days we are waiting for some sort of storm. There are big chances that it won't even reach us. I don't mind a good storm as long as me and my family are in the house.  The kids have settled to their school routine and I am back being the normal me. I am really excited about the new premises and I can't wait to post some photos of it....but just not yet! ;-) Before I start I wanted to welcome a new follower to my blog; Welcome Lee Higings!

Today I wanted to share with you The Living area of Rose Cottage. More or Less it is more of a Kitchen but as the dolls house just has three rooms well we have to combine them.

The Living Area in 
 The thing about this dolls house is that I am not spending anything on it and it is just great. The furniture and accessories are all items that I had stashed and have fitted so well in this house. As the style of the dolls house is more of a kids dolls house I didn't want to go over serious but just pretty with detail. The best thing is that my girls helped to decorate. I practically gave them a box of furniture and some accessories and let them enjoy it. I think this house, even if  it is completely part of my collection, it has been an introduction to the girls in the world of the collector's dolls house. Little Leah also has confidence of opening the front just to look at it.

Even if the girls had a ball with the house, there is always my last arrangements and touches. As you could see I  had added a false room at the back and added a false ceiling so I could add a ceiling light.


The room came with a chimney breast. It wasn't really my choice but as it is stuck to the wall I didn't want to risk the wall paper so I guess I had to adapt to it. I had a smaller sink fitted in which has been just perfect for this room. I have added an open dresser and added some miniature ceramics that I had since the beginning of my hobby. Both the sink and dresser fitted in perfectly against the back wall. Just on top of the sink I added a wall shelf with accessories.


I had the perfect oven for the chimney surroundings and added more accessories to it.



As it was the living room I added a small sofa and decorated the wall with some frames and another open shelf.



In the center of the room I went for a small dining table and chairs and I was quite happy with the room.



Still the room could have afforded that little extra detail. So I have decided to make food preparation on the table. I enjoy adding my own polymer clay miniatures and I decided to go for Apple Pie making.

I just love it. Even if it takes me hours to finish off, it is always worth it at the end. So for the setting I totally went for the preparation. The dough flattened and there is another ball waiting to be flattened to be turned into a pie. We have the apple mixture in a ceramic bowl. A bag of flour, a ceramic jug of milk. A few more apples, one cut in half and another is already pealed. We have a pie already baked and a small piece of pie cut for the Mr. to try. Oh yes almost forgot and we have the egg yolks in a bowl and the broken shells by the side. Oh dear! The Mrs. had an accident. She must have dropped one of the eggs on the surface. Well what can I say all the miniatures were done by me except for the rolling pin.


Apple Pie preparation


Flattening the dough

Apple mixture and bag of flour

The ready made pie with the cut out piece

Apples

Egg yolks in bowl

Broken egg shells and egg
The food preparation was just right for the room and gave it that extra detail. With it, it didn't look childish anymore.

The setting in the room
And so with this the kitchen is pretty much complete. Here are some pictures of it all done.




So this is all for today. Next time I will be posting about the bedroom in Rose Cottage which will complete the house. So keep tuned for the next update.

Take Care and see you soon.

Hugs,

Rebecca xxx