WOW 100 Followers

Reisl from Reisl Today just signed on as my 100th follower. Thank you Reisl and welcome. 100 followers is a momentous occasion for this blog as I do not write in it regularly. My other blog Doreens Miniatures and Memoires is the one I write in the most and I keep this blog to record my whole project when it is completed.

So for this occasion I feel that it deserves a giveaway. As I am still very much an amateur in creating items, I do not have any special item to offer. But I wanted something that I made myself. I'd like to offer you my hospitality of a Salisbury steak and corn on the cob dinner with lettuce and tomato garnish. A can of coke for beverage and a bag of corn chips with grapes for dessert. The reversible place mat and decorative candle will add a little atmosphere and the dollhouse magazine will offer items of interest to talk about . The teddy bear is the only item that I did not make but I think he is warm and fuzzy and is a good companion.

If you would like this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post and I will draw a name for the giveaway one month from now on November 26th. That is the American Thanksgiving day and believe me, I am very thankful for ALL my followers so I think that is a very appropriate day.

Halloween Project

David and Julie like to decorate their house every year for Halloween. This year they thought they would change things around a bit.

They tried a skeleton in the swing but David did not like that idea as that is where he wanted to sit and watch all the kids.

They made a small scene in the garden again.




But this year David and Julie made up a story to go along with their scene. If you wish to read the story it is on my other blog Doreens Miniatures and Memoires.

The graveyard scene is also done.


The Seance scene is all set and the participants patiently wait for Gertrude. Whatever happened to her????



So that is what happened to Gertrude!!!







Now that the decorating is done, David sits back and watches all the neighbourhood children and their various costumes.


The children are all excited because they heard that David and Julie are giving out Taffy Apples!


Julie looks after handing out the sweets.







This is what it is all about - The Treat Table!!






The Finished Halloween House

The Finished Rug

Now that the glue has dried you peel off the mactac but do it slowly and carefully otherwise the rug will come apart. The glue does not get into all the seams.

This is the finished rug.

I have the larger rug in the room now but I think it may be a bit too large.

Making A Braided Rug

I have had several people ask me to do a tutorial on braided rugs. I do not know if this is the correct way but it is the way I did it. I hope it will help you.

When I braid rugs, I use whatever materials I have on hand. After all that is what they did in colonial times - they used what they had. I find three stands of wool does not give a very nice look for me so I usually use six but I did not want as much yellow so I only used one strand of that.

I also was not worried about the different types of wool as I felt it would give a more ragged look that way. Here I have started to braid and this shows my grouping. Putting the white and pink together in pairs gives a more blended look that it would if you used two pink together and two white together.

I use a clamp whenever I have to put the work down so that it does not start to unravel and loosen the tension. The main thing is to try to keep the tension equal on the braids and keep it as flat as possible.

When I finished braiding, I use mactac or contact paper to lay my rug out on. This will help to keep it in place as you form the rug.

Put glue around the wool just under the knot. (More came out than I wanted.)

Then cut the knot off - but cut it straight across to give a flat end.

Then you start to lay it out on the contact paper. I wanted an oval rug so I had to start out with a long "U". If you want a round rug you just go in a circle.

Then you just wind the wool around and around. But make sure to keep it flat and close together. Don't pull the strand tight as it will bunch up on you.


The finished placement.

Cut the ends at an angle so that they can blend in to the side of the rug.

Glue the end down so it does not unravel.


Then I spread glue all over the back of the rug. (I have always been heavy on the glue LOL) This will be the bottom of the rug so I am not too concerned how it looks.

This will be the top of the rug. This is the side you want to be nice and even and flat.


I replaced the backing paper on the glued side of the rug so that I could place heavy objects on top.

Then I placed some heavy books on top of the rug to make sure it was good and flat. I left the books on top for about one hour or so.

I did not leave the books on too long because I did not want the backing paper to permanently be glued to the rug. So I carefully took the backing paper off and I will set the rug aside to dry overnight.

Tomorrow I will post the picture of the finished rug.

Jennifer's Bedroom

Jennifer and her parents discuss their plans for the room. Julie has some material that she thought Jennifer might like and Jennifer has some pillows that she likes for the colours of the room.


Jennifer would like a false wall and a window seat just like Christopher's so David agreed that he would build it for her.



Julie helps David build the wall.








The next step was to get the paint in the colours that Jennifer wanted. She also found the wallpaper that was in the same shades of pink and green.



Julie paints the window well while David finishes up the wall and window seat.



The painting is done and the wallpaper is up. Now Jennifer wants to add the touches to give the room the theme of Tinker Bell.



Jennifer has put the fist TinkerBell poster up in the window well and discusses the rest of the
room with Julie. But Julie said it would be better to wait until the floor is down and the furniture is in place.



The floor is now done so now Jennifer is anxious to put the furniture in so she can start to decorate.



The furniture is in and Jennifer has been putting up all her Tinker Bell pictures and posters. Julie made bedding for the bed that matched the colours of the room.



She also made a braided rug to match the wallpaper.



Jennifer set up the dresser with Miss Kitti that she got from Oese and the cosmetic tray that she got from Deborah. She was so pleased with them both.



More gifts were placed on her desk top. The lamp and perfume bottles from Deborah, the lotion bottles from Paky, The Swedish bird book from Briggita and the teeny, tiny bear from Jenny Wren. The other books and things were made by Doreen.


The pup Trixie came up to play and brought a rawhide bone with her. Jennifer loves to watch her play.


However Trixie is a little unsure of Misty and is trying to share his bone with her


The completed room and everyone seems to be happy and enjoying themselves.

Backyard Shadowbox

This post was on my other blog Doreen's Miniatures and Memoires but it is a completed project so I am putting it on this blog as well.

I finished this project in July and it did take me a long time to complete it as there were many little projects involved with this box. Our two cats Misty and Rusty had to be represented even though they are indoor cats as this box is a memory box of our favorite past-times.



My husband and I both love nature and we love to listen to the sound of birds singing so I put in a birdhouse and bird to represent that.






This is my husbands area. He loves to fish and barbecue. Steaks, hamburgers and hot dogs are his foods of choice (and lots of beer in the cooler.) The can of worms, fishing net and stool I got in a swap but I made the fishing rod and the fish myself.






This is my area. I love to sit in the swing and read, watch the birds, and do crafts. I also love my garden. (see the seed packs and soil under the swing?) I also like to snack if you notice the bag of cheese doodles under the pillow.


I have a craft basket that I take outside with me if I want to work on any crafts outside.

Christopher's Bedroom

The empty room with just the tape wire in. This house is all MDF board and almost impossible for me to hammer those tiny brads in. I used a whole package of brads before I finally managed to get four working ones in.




Julie did not like the slope of the ceiling and asked David what he could do to change it.

First of all, David would need to have a set of tools in order to do work on the house and build things.

David built a wall and put in a window seat.

The bed is made with different types of wood to make it look like a sun.

Julie and David paint the furniture a nice sunny colour. Christopher has shown an interest in space and the solar system lately so the sun should be perfect.

Then they try it with the wallpaper to see how the colours go together. David is still not sure of the bright colour but Julie assures him that it will all go together well.

The wallpaper was the next step. Since Christopher likes the solar system, Julie had a space theme in mind so she chose this paper as it looked like sky.

David did not realize just how much staining was required for this floor, but Julie helped him so it wasn't too bad.

The floor is finished and the wallpaper border is up. MiniKat sent me this border and I was so pleased because it will really pull the whole room together. It is just what I was looking for.

The border and a few space posters all tie together to give a space theme to the room. My husband plays the guitar so I was glad to find one to add to the room at a mini sale.

I used the same material for the bedspread, window seat cushion and topper over the window.

The hutch has a combination of books, games, and toys. I made the play doh with a bead, a printie and a clay lid. I made all the books and it includes the set of Burnstein Bears and Curious George that Christopher likes.

I bought the combination blackboard and art board at a mini craft sale as well as the bat and ball on the stool. The walkie talkies were from a lego set and the other little toys were just stuff in my stash.

Christopher loves to curl up in the window seat and read his favorite books "Curious George" and "The Burnstein Bears".

He also likes to play with his toy soldiers. (I made these from toothpicks.) The lamp was a dollar store find and although it is not electric, it does reflect light.

His train set. This was one of the first items I bought for the dollhouse long before I started any of the rooms. I just knew my boy's room had to have a miniature train set.

Christopher is waiting for his friend to come over so they can play baseball. Spike waits patiently by his side.

He slung his helmet and backpack on the bedpost. (Another dollar store find from ChiChi Chic.)

The finished room.