I can't believe I'm still awake. It's midnight and I should really be sleeping but I just finished Jane's birthday present for tomorrow and I'm on a happy high with how it turned out. I'll show you a picture later, but I knitted a doll for her! It's the first doll I've ever made and it was so much fun to make.
I can't believe my little baby will be ONE! Actually, in exactly 15 minute she'll be one. I remember her birthday so clearly. Okay, now that I'm writing about it, I think I'll quickly go find a picture of her right after she was born. Give me just a sec...
Okay! Found one. Here she is only seconds old...
What an amazing experience her birth was. Amazing. It was by far my easiest labor and delivery. (My first experience was horrible. HORRIBLE. My second--better than the first, but still difficult.) But with Jane's, by the time we arrived at the hospital I was at a 9. I had NO idea I was that far along--my contractions were barely painful. In fact, on our way there I had Aaron pull the car over so I could take a little walk in the park to help speed things along but the minute I started walking my sciatic nerve went berserk, so Aaron took me back tot he car and headed straight for the hospital. When the nurse checked me she feared my midwife wouldn't arrive in time for the delivery, but she did. And what a wonderful midwife she was. Thank you, Vicki!
Oh, my little Jane. I love her so much. Here's a cute picture of her when she was three days old...
I need some more recent photos of her so I'll get on top of that tomorrow.
Okay, thanks for letting me be a sappy mama. I just can't believe that one year has already passed by. I wasn't planning on sharing pics of Jane or going into detail about her birth, I swear. My original plan was to quickly share a few pictures of the dollhouse with you so I'll go ahead and do that now. :)
So, as I mentioned in a previous post, a friend gave me a dollhouse that was given to her children years ago. Here's a picture before I refurbished it...
And here's an after picture! I'm not 100% done yet, but it's pretty close. I want to make some curtains, add some trim to the front edges, and finish accessorizing the kitchen.
Before I show you more pictures I have to tell you about the furniture. When my friend Rosie found out I was fixing up an old dollhouse, she gathered all the dollhouse furniture she's collected over the years and gave it to me to furnish the house. GAVE it to me! Can you believe it?! She's my very own personal Santa! I am SO grateful for her. With her permission I painted some of the pieces, like the Family Room set and such. You can see a few 'before' pictures here. I'm really happy with how everything turned out. Thank you, Rosie!!! My girls absolutely love everything!
Here are some close-ups...
~The Family Room~
Of course there had to be a Christmas tree!
~The Main Bedroom~
The bedspread was made from chenille scraps Avey gave me months ago.
I painted the chairs to match the room. I still need to make some throw pillows for them.
I think this next room is my favorite.
~The Nursery~
What's a nursery without bunting?
And what's a dollhouse without a dollhouse??
I love this little toy chest and mirror. It's lacking a teddy bear though, isn't it? I wonder if I can needle felt one. Sorry about the blur in front--the corner of a crib is in the way.
Here's the kitchen. I didn't want to add fabric to the walls like the others because the thought of cutting around the windows made me want to fall over, so it looks a bit bare. I think I'll be happier with it once I add a few cupboards and accessories. Like a red clock. And maybe a rug, too. But I LOVE the furniture! I still can't believe Rosie gave all of it to the girls. So generous.
~The Kitchen~
I was SO excited to give the girls their new dollhouse Christmas morning. Here it is all wrapped up for them...
And here's Miss C playing with it...
Would you like to see the new dolls Santa brought the girls for the dollhouse? I would love to know if any of you recognize them!! These were my favorite dolls when I was their age and I really wanted them to have them--I was lucky enough to find them on eBay! Yep, they are straight up from the 80's. I'm sure collectors would kill me for letting my kids play with them. Oh well--life's short. That's what I say.
May I present to you Rose and Daffodil from Rose Petal Place!
Here's their roadster, along with the evil Nastina spider woman!
Come on all you children of the eighties--how can you forget this face?! Bawhahahahahahaaaa!
Okay, back to business.
Just in case you are wanting to make or refurbish a dollhouse, can I share with you a few things that helped me? I found the majority of what I needed at Lowes. Actually, I found all of it, except for the fabric I used to wallpaper. And I highly recommend using fabric as wallpaper!! It's so easy to use. Just modge podge it on and you're done.
Here's a breakdown of where everything came from:
The fabric for the nursery walls--Hawthorne Threads
The main bedroom--JoAnne's
Family Room--scraps my friend Bethany gave me
The rest is from Lowes:
White tile/caulk for the kitchen
Wood laminate flooring strips--these were perfect! You can cut them with scissors, and the adhesive on the back is super sticky. Perfect for a dollhouse. And they're only $.98 a strip. I think I used about 10.
Trim used for the crown molding and window trim
Primer Spray paint--Kilz primer paint is the BEST primer! It covers the surface so much more efficiently that other brands. It's what I used when prepping out entertainment center. It'll save you tons of time, I promise! One coat is all you need compared to 4 or 5 when other brands are used, such as Krylon.
Regular Spray Paint--this is where Krylon works beautifully! I used their cream paint for the exterior, and white for the trim and furniture. I also used Ocean's Sea Mist for the family room furniture.
Okay, I think that is it! If I'm forgetting anything or if you have any questions please ask me!
xo,
Pamela, a lover dollhouses and Rose Petal dolls
p.s. For those of you who are Rose Petal Place fanatics like I am, I was able to get all the other flower dolls and the cottage, too!! But the girls are going to have to wait until their birthday for them. :)
