Lyla's Dollhouse

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. 

a dress

When it comes to sewing, I set my mind on creating something pretty extravagant with very little practice and expect perfection. Oh who am I kidding, that is pretty much me with any of my hobbies! haha A few days before leaving on our trip to California back in April (I meant to share this post sooner, but somehow it got lost within the draft archives), I was finishing up packing and really wanting to bring a floral maxi dress with me. With too little time to ship something I found online and no luck searching the limited options we have in this small town, I decided I'd sew a floral dress myself. I used this tutorial, minus the pockets on the front of the dress, and cut my own pattern out of parchment paper. I hacked out the dress two nights before leaving and sewed it the night before our very very early morning flight the next morning. haha Don't look too closely because the sleeves are a little tight and the neckline has two small spots where the fabric bunched but other than that, I was pretty pleased. I think my grandma would be proud! :)

fun and festive 4th of july banner

With 4th of July coming up next week I decided to get my craft on this afternoon and decorate our new shelves for their first holiday. I'm already in love with having the extra shelf space, especially when it is very limited around our apartment.

A fun and festive red, white, and blue star bunting banner... perfect for the fourth!

I bought red, white, and blue poster board at the dollar store for fifty cents each. Pocatello doesn't have many options for cute craft paper, especially of the cardstock value, so even though I had a TON of poster board left over, it would have been just as much if not more to buy scrapbook paper in these colors. I used a small star shaped cookie cutter to trace an even number of stars in each color and then cut them out.

*** Note :: My bottom shelf measures 49" across but I made the banner about 56" to allow for extra hanging room ***





Another reason why I wanted a thick cardstock type paper was for this next part. I stitched the stars together in a red, white, and blue pattern. I ran 7 stitches in between each star so that they were spaced slightly apart from each other.



All that was left to do was use double sided tape to hang the banner on the front of the shelf.
Here is a sneak peak......



Come back tomorrow! I will be sharing the rest of the shelf decor. :) I had so much fun decorating for this holiday and already have lots of ideas swimming around in my head for Fall decor.
Too soon??? ;) HA

{Fall} brought to you by my kitchen table

I decided to force my way out of my slump I had been feeling lately and spent the afternoon with my sewing machine. I've been really wanting a neutral table runner for our kitchen table and it turns out, this is exactly what I had envisioned. I love burlap {even if it makes a HUGE mess} and ruffles. I originally was looking for a plain cream colored fabric for the ruffled center and bottom liner but I found this fabric with the perfect subtle white pattern and I couldn't put it back. The centerpiece idea came from this picture. It was so simple. Just a few sticks, a mason jar, twine wrapped around the top, and rolled flowers from mustard colored paper. Basically it is the perfect addition to my Fall decor. More on that tomorrow :)

Hope you have a lovely Wednesday! 

a little project

With a week and a half left until school starts and being home alone all day I felt like I was going stir crazy last week. I realized there wasn't a better time to learn some of my favorite hobbies because when school starts back up next week, I know I will no longer have the time or luxury.

I got my very first sewing machine last Christmas and in the last eight months and a zipper pouch was the only thing I have made. I already felt like that zipper pouch was a bit ambitious for someone who went into the project only knowing how to thread the machine. Well I did the very same thing this last week, took on another ambitious project for a beginning sewer. I have been head over heels crazy about the A-line pleated skirts I have seen all over the internet so I found this tutorial and gave it a try.

Don't get me wrong, that sewing machine was at its slowest speed the whole time and I had to seam rip a few things but other than that, I was so happy with how it turned out. I think my best moment though was getting the invisible zipper on my first try! I'm pretty sure my fabulous seamstress of a grandmother would be proud right now.