I can't tell you how old I was or what daycare exactly but I have this vivid moment as a child when I saw my very first Victorian style dollhouse. It was something that had been passed down in that family and I could tell, was very special to them. At this daycare, we weren't allowed in the bedrooms of the children who lived there. All the toys we played with were in the living room or outside but one day she made an exception long enough for her daughters to show me their dollhouse. I remember it sitting on top of a small night stand, the outside painted pink with white shutters. It had intricate staircases of the swirling nature leading to different bedrooms on different floors. The beds were adored with the perfect amount of floral and while I didn't touch a thing, it was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.
When I had Lyla I dreamed of making her one for Christmas someday and this was the year! My creative side reveled in every moment I spent on this special keepsake for her. I bought a kit from Hobby Lobby at the beginning of November and finished it on December 21st, just days before giving it to her. It came in a thousands pieces of raw wood that needed to be labeled, organized in phases for assembly, sanded, painted, and wood glued together. I learned the true art of how long it takes for wood glue to cure and dry, it took the most amount of patience I'd say. But it all resulted in this and it was exactly as I had dreamed ...
The original had a second tiered porch which explains the side door from the master bedroom but an open balcony just fit what I imagined so much better.
And what says Christmas time more than tiny little wreaths on every window and a "baby it's cold outside" front door mat!
I covered the chimney and front porch steps with tiny bricks I made out of a painted egg carton.
A view of the inside from the back ...
The cutest mommy and daddy mice ...
I made all the rugs out of velvet paper and sewed the bedding so it would have sheets the mice could slip underneath when they go to sleep ...
While I wanted her dollhouse to be unique, I also wanted it to be special and reflect the things she not only loves but that are in her own childhood home a little bit. The living room had to have a mini version of our family picture on the wall and a tiny blanket ladder!
I also designed the fireplace for the perfect tv stand and sewed curtains for the window in this room.
I love the two toned staircase so much!
This is the master bedroom ... I made the canopy bed and found the sweetest print of an angel bunny to remind her of Rue in heaven that I turned into wallpaper from this room. The fluffy white pillows were sewn from the same fabric I made our living room pillows in our real house and painted the nightstand pink just like her pink dresser in her own bedroom.
The wallpaper is my favorite!
That tiny picture of her and Liam ...
This is the kitchen with the most adorable floating shelves filled with everything the mice need to have a dinner party. ;)
One side has the cutest hatch to play in the back of the bathroom or dining room ...
Everything is cuter tiny!! Like that little wooden stool for a piano bench, a tiny mirror, and the light fixtures.
This is the hodgepodge room. haha It has a spot for the piano, a washer and dryer, and the bathroom in the back. The herringbone floor is my favorite part!! All of the floors were incredibly time consuming but so worth it in the end ... I made them all out of stained or painted popsicle sticks to create wood floors.
The sweetest scalloped wallpaper in the bathroom ...
The attic is the most played with and loved part of the whole house ... I made it with the baby mice in mind ...
I can't get over how darling they are!!
There is another bed up there and a tiny little dollhouse that opens and can fit things inside.
I also adore the attic wallpaper. The tiny little snowflakes in the winter floral pattern will always remind me of this special Christmas, when I gave Lyla her dollhouse.
There were a few dollhouse pieces that survived our house flood back in the day that I was able to use and it made it extra special having some pieces to include from my childhood. The piano for example which I painted black and the forest green bed in the attic. The rocking chair was also mine and was broken but I glued it back together and it doesn't look too shabby after I covered it in a coat of white paint.
Next to having my children (haha), it was my favorite labor of love. I hope she cherishes it for years to come and that one day I can pass it on to my grandkids.
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